Last Stash Report of 2016

To be completely honest with myself I am getting in my last numbers of 2016.  I had time this past week to get 2 bags of donated fabric added up and put away and had one last trip to the thrift store.

2 bags of donated fabric (not pictured):  19.25 yards

The fishy fabric (lower right) is destined for a school auction quilt this Spring.

4 pieces from Thrift Store.  5.56 yards.  $1.75

I also had time for a few small finishes.

Lucy seems to have settled in to her pillow just fine.

Lucy's Pillowcase:  2.29 yards

Made from someone's leftovers.  Love the brights!

Small Quilt top from Scrap Box Scraps: 1 yard

Last Stash Report of 2016

Fabric Used/Out This Week: 3.29 yards
Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 74.01 yards

Fabric In This Week:  24.81  yards

Fabric In 2016: 121 yards
 
Net Used 2016: 46.99 yards stashed

Out of curiosity I went back to look at my stash reports throughout the year.   Even though the yardage coming in was high, my actual expenses were not.  

69.50 yards purchased at a cost of $50.00

51.50 yards acquired at a cost of $00.00

121 yards in for $50

Bottom Line:   $0.41/yard 

So I am calling 2016 a good year for the stash.  But I really need to stay away from that thrift store and stick closer to the sewing machine in 2017! 

Cleaning Up

We had overnight company the day after Christmas.  I had to clean up and put away 90% of my sewing room in order to have enough floor space for 2 twin air mattresses.  Thank goodness my tables fold.  Now I am putting it back together and trying to get more organized in the process.

I went through some bags of donated scraps and got them all folded and put in the right place. Then I went through a basket of my own scraps and tried to make better sense of them.

I love the colors in this!

In the basket was a bag of leftover pieces, but not from anything I or my mother ever made.  I have no recollection of where these came from.  Super cute fabric.  I know I have looked at them before, but not done anything with them.  This time, since my table was blank - literally and figuratively - I worked on it.  Two of the longer strips were complete and the rest were already cut into squares, so that dictated the design for the rest.  Turns out that with a little bit of make do piecing on a few squares I was able to get the quilt center put together in no time at all.

In an effort to not leave the borders for later, which seems to be my MO and leads to many UFOs, I just dug into my stash and came up with this border.  I really like it, but I have no idea what to do with it.  It is about 34" x 38".  I imagine I can come up with a backing for it without too much trouble.

It felt really good to have a quick finish and use up stuff in the stash on a day I was only planning to clean and restore order.  Just a few guilty feelings about what was essentially starting something new when I had plenty of UFOs I need to work on.

Showing off finishes with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts. 

A Finish for Lucy

Grown Up R adopted a cat a few weeks ago.  Lucy is older and had probably been given away when her owner was no longer able to care for her. She had been in the shelter for a year. Poor thing.  She is calm and friendly and doesn't cause any trouble for R which is the important thing.

Lucy, such a pretty cat.

I had a few odd cat fabrics and thought I'd make Lucy her own little quilt to protect where she sleeps.  I didn't get it done before Christmas so I gave R a promise I'd do it.   She thought about it and then requested a pillowcase instead of a quilt. 

I thought of the Puss in the Corner block but wasn't sure how it would look with the odd fabrics I had.  No problem.  I forged ahead a few blocks at a time and that gave me guidance for what other colors I needed to work in for balance.  My center block was dictated by the smallest piece of cat fabric I had on hand - 4" cut.  The side rectangles were 4" x 2.5" and the corners were 2.5" squares.  Some fabrics I used up completely and that was good!

Sorry for the blur. And this was my only shot before it was sewn up.

Despite the lack of a plan it turned out to be just the right size.  I picked a lining from my mother's stash which sight unseen was also just the right size.  I did not add batting.  I just sewed in the ditch on all the horizontal rows to securely attach the front to the lining.  

Top of the quilted panel.

Then I followed pillowcase instructions - kind of.  I knew a French seam would be too thick so I bound the seam with the same lining.  It worked perfectly.  Then I bound the opening with left over binding from another project.  

Lower part of the pane.  I like the lion square.  It can be her "dare to dream" block.

My goal was for it to be easily washable, but it actually turned out to be completely reversible.  The lining can even be folded back over the front to form a duff.   This has great potential for future pillowcases.   

She seems to like it!

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts to show off finishes.

Tasty Tuesday - Christmas Candy canes

My mother used to make these for every Christmas morning that I can remember.  When she got sicker she make them the day before.  I'm not sure if I have her original recipe card or a copy, but despite being laminated it has obviously seen some use.  I don't make them every Christmas but I did this year. In the midst of all the other food prep, company, Christmas sewing, gift wrapping, and house cleaning I was thankful for a tried and true recipe.

I made the dough on Christmas Eve and left it in the fridge overnight.   It was just right to roll out on Christmas morning.  I rolled and the girls made the filling and completed them.  

They got creative on their design which actually worked out well.  The circle shaped rolls were easier to handle for eating than the candy cane shaped rolls.  I left them in the oven a few minutes longer to make sure they cooked  all the way through.

Christmas Canes

credited to Fleischmann

1. Scald 1 c milk: cool to lukewarm.  In large bowl combine 4 c unsifted flour, 1/4 c sugar, 1 t salt, and 1 t grated lemon peel.  Cut in 1 c Fleischmann's margarine until coarse like meal.

2. Dissolve 1 package Fesischmann's Active Dry yeast in 1/4 c warm water (105-115F).  To flour mixture add yeast, lukewarm milk, and 2 beaten eggs.  Combine lightly.

3. Cover dough tightly: refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.  When ready to bake your Christmas Canes, prepare desired filling.  See below.  We use Cinnamon Apple.

4. Divide dough in half.  On a floured board roll out half of the dough into an 18" x 15" rectangle.  Spread 1/2 of the filling over 2/3s of the rectangle.  Fold dough into a 3-layer strip 15" long.  (Personal note about folding: Fold the 1/3 that is uncovered over the center 1/3.  Then fold that section carefully over the final filling covered 1/3.  Prevents filling from falling out so much.)

5. Cut dough into 15 strips.  Hold each end of strip and twist lightly in opposites directions.  Pinch ends to seal. Place on greased baking sheets.  Shape top of each strip to form a cane.  Repeat with rest of dough and filling.

6.  Bake in a 400F over 10-15 min or until done.  Cool on wire racks.  Before serving, frost with confectioners' sugar frosting.  We skip the frosting.

Four Fabulous Fillings!

1. Cranberry: Combine 1 1/2 c finely chopped cranberries, 1/2 c sugar, 1/2 c raisins, 1/3 c chopped Planters Pecans, 1/3 c honey and 1 1/2 t grated orange peel in a pan.  Cook over med heat: bring to a boil and cook for 5 minute.  Cool.

2. Cinnamon Apple: Comnbine 1 1/2 c finely chopped apple, 3/4 c chopped Planters Pecans, 1/3 c sugar and 1 1/2 t cinnamon.

3.  Prune Pecan: In pan blend 1 c chopped prunes, 1 c brown sugar (packed), 1 c water, 1/2 c chopped Planters Pecans and 2 T lemon juice.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Continue boiling until mixture is thick, about 10 minutes.  Cool.

4.  Lemon Cheese: Cream together 1 c soft cream cheese and 1/4 c sugar.  Stir in 3 T flour, 1 egg yolk, 1 T lemon juice and 1/2 t grated lemon peel.  Beat until smooth and creamy.

Stash Report 12/25/16

Got a few Christmas projects done this week.

An apron for my co-worker's first grader.

Complete with mini utensils. This was super fun to make and used up some odd bias tape in addition to 1/2 yard of fabric. 

Sorry for the blur.  The fabric has cute Christmas gingerbreads.

Also got Grown Up R's apron done.  It was her fabric left from recovering her stools so I can't count that as out for me but the lining of the hot pads was from my stash along with a double layer of batting.  And more odd bias tape out. 

It was hard to center around the placement of the repeats in this fabric.

These were fun projects to sew. 

We had company for Christmas Eve dinner.  Middle E used my mother's Christmas apron while she made guacamole.  I think I need to make aprons for all my girls next.  

Christmas Eve 2016      I love seeing them work together.

Fabric Used/Out This Week: 0.6 yards
Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 70.72 yards

Fabric In This Week:  0  yards

Fabric In 2016: 96.19 yards
 
Net Used 2016: 25.47 yards stashed

Judy didn't do a Stash Report this week, but I'm still staying accountable. 

I Can Check This Off My Bucket List

I have always been curious about making quilts from jeans.  Periodically I have saved our old jeans, but I have never made a jean quilt.

That all changed when I got a commissioned job to make a memory quilt from jeans.  I knew it would be very different from a regular quilt so I did a bit of research and made a plan.  The client wanted it to be super simple and that helped.

6 pairs of jeans + 2 pairs of denim shorts

I was nervous about the weight since she wanted batting, but for the size (twin) the final weight was not too overwhelming.  It was a bear to cut and sew though.

The client is super happy.  I am pleased with myself for having stepped out of my comfort zone.  I also know that I don't really need a jean quilt for myself, but I could do it again if asked.

It looks puckery, but it is not.  Just needs some loving to get it smoothed out.

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict to show off finishes.

Seen at a Thrift Store

A few weeks ago I saw this in a thrift store I rarely go to. 

It was sewn by hand.  

I was sorely tempted.

Everything was 50% off.

But I left it there.   

I'm sure someone snatched it up and gave it a good home.

Dear Jane Goes All the Way to States

Middle E's Medley Relay qualified for States.  Wowzers.  She has been hoping to get to States for the past 4 years, so this was a big deal.  As a senior she finally made it.  Another road trip for Jane and I.  4 hours each way this time plus a hotel stay.  Senor J did the driving, so I got to sew there and back plus in the hotel.  Way too hot at the pool this time.

Not as much waiting and watching since the format was different.  She was the first event in Prelims bright and early which we saw and then the first event in Finals in the evening which we opted out of.  I really had a hard time not staying for Finals, but someone was antsy and it is a LONG day (8.5 hours of pure waiting between events) to watch another 27 seconds.

That's my girl!!

So Little S and Senor J swam at the hotel and then we headed home.  Since it was during the day I had light and could sew more.  We were actually home long before Finals even started.  Middle E was so good about it and fixed it so we could watch the Finals relay live on her Facebook, which made it okay.

They ended up 11th - in the State!!

My Finals and final blocks of the swim season are:

G 3 This is the block I started during the Hurricane, but had to wait for electricity in order to iron the outer ring.  No way I could have done it with wrinkly fabric.  It was hard enough as is.

B 8 I thought and though about this one.  Finally I cut four white triangles and four red kite shaped pieces.  I pinned a kite to each white and then sewed them back together to form a square.  I did the hand sewing on the trip.  Yes, I had taken into consideration the seam allowance when I machine sewed the red to the white triangles.  First I finished sewing the other 2 sides of the kites.  Then I sewed the leaves over the seam line.  Not prefect, but I am satisified.

J 1 This one is okay, but I am thinking that given the chance I would try again to get better points on the diamonds.  We'll see.

C 6 This is by far my favorite block so far.  I did a lot of thinking on this one and I am super pleased with how it turned out.  Makes me believe that I really can do better on some of the others.

Stash Report 12/18/16

Christmas is almost here so it is fitting that Christmas fabric gets reported this week.  Unfortunately it is coming in not going out but that's okay.  Amazing deals from my favorite thrift store and I have plans for most of it.

Assorted Christmas fabrics 9.39 yards total $4.75.

I'm planning to make an apron this week for my coworker's first grade daughter for sure.   I was also thinking of Christmas pillow cases for my girls.  They want a "real" Christmas tree skirt but that is more likely to happen next year if I want to do a good job. So, I am all set for anything Christmasy that comes along and I'm okay with that. 

When we were first married and living in Moscow, Russia I started a Christmas quilt of 8-pointed stars sewn by hand as I traveled by train and sat in church services.  I finished the top and was hand quilting it when we lived in Guatemala.  We used it when I wasn't working on it.  Well one Christmas it was stolen (along with most everything else including the stove and our underwear) while we were in the US with my sick mother.  I am thinking since I have a good supply of nice Christmas fabrics maybe it is time to make another Christmas quilt.

Neutral cream w/ blue (top of photo)  5.31 yards $1.00

Can't go wrong with a good neutral. 

Black & white (far right in photo)   1/2 yard  $0.25

Another good stash basic. 

Bag of assorted Pink & Purples  1.77 yards total   $0.50

I've already used some of the pinks & purples and neutral in my boxy stars. That's my current leader & ender project and I'm glad for the new variety. 

 

Final Numbers:  16.97 yards.      $6.50      $0.38/yard   I can't regret that.


Fabric Used/Out This Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 70.12 yards

Fabric In This Week:  16.97  yards

Fabric In 2016: 96.19 yards
 
Net Used 2016: 26.07 yards stashed

Staying accountable with Judy over at Patchwork Times.  

Tooth Fairy Pillow Tutorial

The hardest part of this project was deciding what size to make the pillow.  I made the tooth first and then went with what was visually pleasing to me.

Also, for the sake of finishing in one sitting I recommend making the tooth in advance.  I used white felt and black fabric paint.  It dried overnight and was ready when I was.  

My pillow finished at approximately 9.5" x 7.5".  

First cut 2 pieces of fabric 8.5" x 10". Or one piece 10" x 16" and save yourself a seam.

Position the tooth on the right side of one piece of fabric (or fold your larger piece of  fabric in half and with the fold on the bottom position the tooth).

Sew the tooth on three sides leaving the top open.  I used a fancy buttonhole stitch on machine just because I never had used it before and this was a nice trial.  My original plan was just a straight stitch which would have worked fine.

Cut 2 pieces of 3/4" or 1" wide grosgrain ribbon 18" long.  Position them 2" in from the upper corners.

Make sure they are inside the pillow and don't get caught in the seam when you sew the edges.  Don't ask me how I know that!!

Place the 2 pieces right sides together (or fold the bottom up to the top if you used a single larger piece of fabric) again making sure the ribbons are not in the seam line.  Pin them inside if in doubt. 

Sew around all open sides leaving an opening of 2"-3" for turning and stuffing on one end.  Clip corners and turn right side out. Press. 

Stuff lightly.  Make sure to get stuffing all the way into the corners.
Sew opening shut by hand. 

Enjoy!

I made this because a friend wanted to learn to sew on her machine and wanted to make a tooth fairy pillow.  This sample went to my nephew who absolutely loved it and wore it around his neck for most of Thanksgiving.

My friend used these basic guidelines, but made hers with the front out of a fun focus fabric and the back out of a solid.  She also skipped the ribbon and made it be just a pillow.  I love the flexibility to make it be whatever you want.

Sharing finishes with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Stash Report 12/11/16

A few small outages:

Bravo's Vests

Tooth Fairy Pillow (tutorial coming soon)

Baby Jesus Felt ovals for school

And some fabric in: 

Remnants were 75% off after Thanksgiving.  There were some good greens which I need for a college quilt I will make in the Spring.  

And this cute flannel from the thrift store.  25c for 1 yard.  How could I not get it? 

At this point I think there is no way I can get out of the red for 2016.  I am working on a jean quilt that will be done by Christmas but it is commissioned and everything was provided so no help there.   

But I'm not going to get bogged down in the increase to my stash this year.  So much of the incoming fabric was free or super cheap that I am considering myself blessed with the provision of fabric. 

Fabric Used/Out This Week: 1.5 yards for various projects
Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 70.12 yards

Fabric In This Week:  1.92  yards

Fabric In 2016: 79.22 yards
 
Net Used 2016: 9.1 yards stashed

Staying accountable with Judy over at Patchwork Times.

Bravo's Vests

One of my co-workers is a Puppy Trainer for K9s for Warriors.  This year her service dog-in-training is Bravo.  Bravo is a golden retriever and comes to school three days a week.

We got a head start on getting little Bravos ready for the students to take home when I found golden retriever Webkins at the Dollar Tree.

Since I knew from experience with Valor what worked I got these done lickety split.

Pressure from a student leaving in December and having to have his Bravo ready helped a lot too!

Way to go, Bravo!  You are going to make a great service dog!

Showing off finishes with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Dear Jane Qualifies for Regionals

Woo hoo.  Middle E qualified for Regionals with the Medley Relay and the 100 Butterfly.  Regionals was 4.5 hours away - one way.  Plus the usual sitting and waiting.

I was running out of blocks that were just applique except for a few that were way too complicated for me at this time and certainly not for this kind of setting.  I was the passenger going over in the morning so I got a lot done on the road and then more while sitting.  I took my shift driving coming home in the dark, so that maximized my sewing time.  I actually ran out of prepped blocks.

H 12  The easiest of the batch.  I'm very pleased.

D 8  I really tried hard to get my symmetry and uniformity right on this one.  I'm satisfied.

B 3  Another easy block.  I had thought a lot about how to do this.  It did require more prepping, but that made it easier.  I just made 2 identical 4-patches.  I cut a circle from one and rotated it over the other and appliqued it down.  Perfect.

 G 11  I figured out that sewing the 9-patch first and then adding the applique made it easier to get the diamonds in the right spot.  I'm not thrilled with the shape of my diamonds, but done is good.


I also worked on I 11 but my prep was rushed and not great and the 4 sections were not uniform when I tried to finish up the machine sewing at home.  Didn't even take a photo it was so bad.  I think I can redo just one quadrant and then I'll be okay.  Later.


 Don't miss the next installation -  Dear Jane Goes All the Way to States!!

Jean Quilt Progress

This commissioned project is moving right along.  Thankfully I have spurts of time, because the heavy duty aspect of dealing with the jeans makes it tiring and perfect for little spurts.

Deconstructing and cutting took over 30 minutes per pair of jeans.  Kind of surprising.  Glad I had the stopwatch going.  I got 16 8" squares from each pair of jeans and 4 8" squares from each pair of shorts. After I took out the squares that were stained or had a hole per the client's wishes, I had 96 squares to work with.

An 8 x 12 layout.  Just a tad under what I had hoped for.

I knew I would have a good chunk of time on Sunday afternoon, so I made sure to be ready to lay it all out and web it together.  It was surprising how many of the denims were so close in color.  But I think I got the colors and pockets "randomized" pretty well.  It is very heavy as I suspected it would be.

The client wants batting, but it will be very thin.  She also recently saw a denim that is lightweight that she would like for backing instead of the solid blue cotton that had been her first choice. She says it isn't chambray, but looks like denim.  I think I'm going to have to go to the fabric store and ask a lot of questions.

Does anyone know anything about a lightweight denim???

Check out Patchwork Times to see what others are working on.

Sometimes It's Good to Forget

I started this quilt over a year ago for my nephew-to-be.  Then I found out there was specific theme.  I aim to please so I set this aside and started over on a bear's paw quilt with woodland animal themed fabric.

Spring 2015

So this top has been languishing waiting for just the right baby.  Well, it's time has come and now I need to finish it up.

Since we are headed in to the home stretch of stash reporting for 2016 I am looking for any finish I can to help me out.  It turns out that even though I finished this quilt top I never reported the fabric out.  That certainly works in my favor.

Fall 2016

The pattern for this quilt can be found over at Jo's Country Junction.  It is a smaller version of Unchained Melody.  Their directions are super clear and this was a fast quilt to make even though quite a few of my fabrics were directional.  I adapted the outer rows for the smaller size quilt.  I would definitely make this pattern again.


Fabric Used/Out This Week: 5.72 yards top, backing and binding
Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 68.62 yards

Fabric In This Week:  0  yards

Fabric In 2016: 77.3 yards
 
Net Used 2016: 8.68 yards stashed 

At least I'm out of the double digits!

Linking up to Patchwork Times to stay accountable.

Transportation Quilt Finished

Th Transportation Quilt was a surprise finish.

I had made the top last year, but then found out that it was not the "right theme" for the baby.  So I set it aside.  When my sister decided she wanted a coordinating quilt for the Happy Quilt I knew just what to do - finish the transportation quilt.

I had originally thought a red backing, but it just didn't seem right.  So I made a color block backing of red and blues and I like it a lot better.  The blue binding is perfect for framing it all up.

So a surprise finish, a quick finish and a finished finish!!

Coordinating, some fabric is the same, but not still unique.

Flapping in the breeze just because I like it.

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict to show off finishes.