Stash Report 013116

Can't believe we are already finished with January.  Where does the time go?

Just a little bit of sewing this week.  Work just gets in the way of sewing!  I imagine that is a common problem!!

My finish was the fixing of Little S's quilt from her Mama Cristy and I had to add binding from the stash, so that was good.  Not much, but something.


Fabric Used/Out This Week: 0.3 yards

Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 6.8 yards

Fabric In This Week:  0 yards 

Fabric In 2016: 3 yards
 
Net Used 2016:  3.8 yards

Linking up to Judy at Patchwork Times to share our stash reports. 

I've Been Working on This One Forever

My MIL sent a quilt for Little S almost 3 years ago.   It was super cute and was a lot of appliqué work.  Little S slept with it, snuggled with it, read with it. Everything.  This was not the first quilt Mama Cristy had made for her.  Nor the last.  But something about it made it precious to her.

Looking back I realize this was just after my mother had passed away so maybe it was a way to hang on to her other grandmother. 

The quilt was tied at the corners but kept coming untied with excessive use.  I finally gave up and took out all the ties and started quilting it.  I did not unsew the binding which was the backing turned to the front.  Unfortunately as i worked my way from one end to the other the backing shifted.  Turns out it  was larger than the front and so I ended up with a giant bunch of backing and couldn't continue quilting.   Little S used it anyways!

Another year passed.  I needed a hand work project on a road trip so I took it along and got all the binding unsewn.  Then it sat on the UFO pile. 

Almost a year passed.  I had a brief window of sewing opportunity after I quilted the carnival quilt so I bit the bullet and finished it off.  With all the imperfections in the original construction and then my changes to it it ended up far from perfect.  But probably only a quilter would notice.  

I debabted using the backing I had trimmed off as the binding.  But it was already showing a lot of wear so I chose a cute check on the diagonal.  

It came out great. Not perfect. But still really cute and will last many more years.  I love it.  And Little S thinks I am super mom for getting it back in service.  

Linking up with confessions of a fabric addict and  crazy mom quilts to show off finishes.

Stash Report 012416

Backing for Carnival Quilt #1

Got this quilt quilted.  I needed to practice before quilting the Moon quilt and this was perfect.   I like the multicolored thread.

Especially how it looks on the solid back.  

The class likes it but the teacher wants a white binding to show off the bright colors.   All I can think is how dirty it will get.  Oh well.  It isn't mine.  I was envisioning a solid orange or bright green binding   Next time!   I just need to finish it and move along.


Fabric Used/Out This Week: 2.5 yards

Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 6.5 yards

Fabric In This Week:  0 yards 

Fabric In 2016: 3 yards
 
Net Used 2016:  3.5 yards

Linking up to Judy at Patchwork Times to share our stash reports. 

Carnival Auction Quilt #2

This carnival Auction quilt is for Little S's class.  I had originally thought I'd use the rest of the fun brights on this quilt but it just didn't seem to work as well.  There were 22 blocks so I had to work at making it a rectangle or square.  I added two blocks of dog fabric (the teacher LOVES dogs) and tried a rectangle with black sashing.  I liked the black but the fabric itself was awful and the whole top had to be unsewn.

On the second attempt I added a year block to bring it up to 25 blocks and make it square.  I liked it better this way.  I think maybe the red outer border is a bit too wide but better than too narrow.  When it's all quilted I can figure out what works.

The backing will be a flannel with sporty bears I had been given years ago.  The colors seem to be just right and the class is pretty sporty so it will do. There were 5 panels of it with finished edges.  It was directional so it took nearly 4 of the panels to make the backing. I had hoped it would use it all but this is good.  

Quilt #2 is very different than Quilt #1 but it just spoke to me differently.  The kids are thrilled with it and hopefully they will both bring in beau coup bucks at the auction. 

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

I Love You to the Moon Quilt

Made good progress on the commissioned quilt this weekend.  Got the top done and the backing ready.  Now just to quilt it. 

It is very pale, but the colors are even more washed out in this light.

I have not quilted anything in over 6 months, so I think I will quilt one of the carnival auction quilts first to warm up a bit.

Colors are better here.

So now I will iron this and the carnival top and all the backs and get going on the quilting.

This went a lot faster than I thought, so that it good.  I think that I have not sewn in a long time and have forgotten how much I enjoy it and also the timing of things.  I am also reclaiming my sewing surfaces for the project and that is always a good thing.

Head on over to Patchwork Times   and see what others are working on.

Stash Report 011716

Nothing In, Nothing Out

I got a good start on the commissioned quilt but that is all fabric provided by the client so it doesn't count for or against me. Good thing.  

I was in fabric stores several times this week for work-related craft projects, but I managed to skip the remnant bin every time!  

Fabric Used/Out This Week: 0 yards

Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 4 yards

Fabric In This Week:  0 yards 

Fabric In 2016: 3 yards
 
Net Used 2016:  1 yard 

Linking up to Judy at  Patchwork Times to share our stash reports.  

Carnival Auction Quilt #1

I'm making two auction quilts this Spring.  One for Ms D's class for the third year.  Last year Little S was in her class so last year's quilt was a bit more personal.  Funny story the previous year.  Ms D asked if I'd do it again this year.  So that class and Little S's current class will auction quilts this year.

I did a trunk show type quilt lesson for both classes before they made their squares.  Ms D was fast and they had their blocks done quickly just before a slow weekend and I already had a plan in my mind so I got that top done a while back but never showed it off. 

I had been gifted some bright fun scraps just before so I worked them right into that quilt.  Kind of wild but the class loves it.   Now for the quilting.  It will get a solid navy blue backing to calm it down a bit.

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

Commissioned Baby Quilt

I have been commissioned to make a baby quilt.  Went to pick fabric with the client.  It is interesting explaining the hows and whys of fabric combination to a non-quilter.  It took a while and in the end she was happy with her choices and I could envision it all together.  I do like the fabrics and think it will be very delicate for a baby girl.

Bottom - moon inspiration fabric is backing, outer border, squares, burp cloths

Gray, chevron & pink w flowers - squares

White - inner border

Deer Head - binding, burp cloths

Gray Flannel (not pictured) - burp cloth backing 

Since it isn't for me and isn't scraps I did pre-wash it all.  Unfortunately now I have to iron it all.

So as soon as I finish up another sewing job that has been in the que since November I will start on this.    There will be burp cloths too.  Personalized.  By mid-February.  Sure.  What was I thinking?

Get off the computer and go sew!

Linking up to Patchwork Times

Stash Report 011016

I can usually resist buying but not this time.  I was looking for a plastic koala for school at the craft/fabric stores and just had to check the remnant bin.  Two 1/2 yd pieces of black.  Since I just finished working with black for the carnival auction quilt I knew that I will need solid black for any future projects.  

No luck on the koala at 3 stores so I also headed to a thrift store to drop off a donation bag and check for what treasures there might be.  I found lots of valentine doilies for school which is perfect since this year we are going to make cards for deployed soldiers and collect for care packages instead of exchange among each other.  Three-year-olds exchanging valentines is not any fun for anyone so we are changing it up this year. 

I also found some fabric.  One-yard pieces for 50c each!!!  Can't beat that.  Middle E is currently redoing her room in lavender and the light blue will fill in my diminishing stash of solids.  

3 yards for $2.50.  I could not say no.

I had hoped my auction top finish would outweigh the incoming fabric but not quite. But... My sister had gotten me a sewing job to make a cat pillow and I had to supplement the given materials with a piece of my own, so that worked out just perfect.  Whew.  The pressure to not be in the red also got me to finish the job in record time!

So here's my second report of 2016. Despite a lot of work the bottom line stays the same, but that's okay.

Fabric Used/Out This Week: 2.5 yards auction quilt + 0.5 yards cat pillow 
Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 4 yards

Fabric In This Week:  3 yards 

Fabric In 2016: 3 yards
 
Net Used 2016:  1 yard 

Linking up to Patchwork Times  to share stash reports.

Tasty Tuesday - Onion Casserole

I've been wanting to compile the recipes that our family likes so that the girls will have it when they are on their own.  I think I entered one or two into a Word document a few years back and that's as far as I got.  College R will graduate in May, so I better try harder.  Thinking of ways to better utilize the blog I figured I would try this year to post a recipe each week. 

So without further ado...

Onion Casserole

4 large onions
1-2 T mayonnaise
1 1/2 c shredded Swiss cheese (or whatever cheese you have on hand)
1 t pepper

Slice the onions top to bottom - north pole to south pole - to make slivers, not rings.
With clean hands separate the slivers in a large bowl.
Add mayonnaise and work it into the slivers so they are all lightly coated.  Add more mayo if needed, but don't over do.
Stir in pepper.
Stir in cheese.  More cheese never hurts.

Pour into a greased casserole.  Cover and bake at 350F for 60 - 90 minutes or until browned on the top.
Bake time will depend on size of casserole and height of onions in the casserole.

Onion Casserole is at 12:00

This recipe is super flexible as far as ingredient amounts.  I pretty much just use what I have. The original recipe used Swiss, but we prefer cheddar or a Mexican blend.   My family finished off a Christmas version with 5 large onions in 24 hours!  It is currently our most requested dish.

Making Progress at Last

Got the auction quilt back together again.  I pre washed the black just in case it bled and tested it for shredding before cutting.  Success this time.  I changed the layout a little bit this time around.

You can read the sad "before" story here.

Back to work tomorrow.  No sure when I'll actually get borders on and get it done but at least I got it this far.  

Check out some other design walls over at Patchwork Times

First Stash Report

This report is not what I had in mind and is not very encouraging.  But it is what it is.

I was working on Little S's class's auction quilt and met with disaster and had to unsew it all.  You can read sad story   

But by unsewing and throwing away all the fabric that shredded and the remaining strips I automatically had fabric out for 2016.  Not what I was hoping for, but fabric out is fabric out, right?

So here's my first report of 2016.

Fabric Used/Out This Week: 1 yard 

Fabric In This Week:  0 yards 

Total In 2016: 0 yards
Net Used 2016:  1 yard 

Linking up to Judy over at Patchwork Times  to share stash reports. 

Frustrating Friday Un-finish

I had a finish. I really did.

But as I finished webbing it together the black fabric began to shred whenever it was tugged.

 Always at the setting square not the white block.  Strange.

At first I thought I could just replace the weak ones and then quilt it to death.  But after it was all done I realized it just was not going to work. I would have to unsew it all.

It is the auction quilt for Little S's class so it will most likely be handled a lot.  I could not in good conscience give them a faulty quilt. So I spent the evening unsewing and will try again tomorrow.

It was so hard to unsew the setting squares that I think I will cut the squares down to 2" rather than struggle with the unsewing.  I need 2" squares for another project so that will work just fine. 

At least I know what I am doing and just have to recut sashing and squares.  No agonizing over the colors and layout all over ago.  And I i know to give all future fabrics the shred test before using.

Go on over to Confessions of a Fabric Addict to see that others were more successful this week.