Dear Jane Goes to Districts

Middle E swam in the District Swim Meet with her high school team.  Their team came in 1st overall and she did very well in her events - Butterfly leg of the 200 Medley Relay which took 1st place and she placed 3rd in the individual 100 Butterfly.

I was prepared for all the sitting around waiting to watch her events.  After Hurricane Matthew I was inspired to work on the Dear Jane blocks more and I had some prepped and ready to go.

First I finished J11 which had not gotten quite finished during Matthew.

Then K 7.  My sewing is better, but I think I need to redo it making 4 identical quarters and sew them together so it is more like Jane's.  Something to think about.

B 12  Getting better.  And they are becoming addictive, but I have a job and other things I need to be doing when I am not on the road watching/waiting for swimming.


Coming up - Dear Jane Goes to Regionals and States

My Favorite Little Thrift Store

I'm still playing catch up so it's old news on the in side and new news on the out side.

Fabric In  - Stopped by my favorite thrift store a few weeks ago looking for furniture for Grown Up R's new apartment.  We had been told that on Wednesdays everything was half off.  That was not the case but I got a good deal anyways.

4 blue & black checked panels.  $1.00. They had been hemmed with iron on tape so they were easy to undo.  I love how the check goes with the puppy fabric for my Happy Blocks.  I think this is my new favorite fabric.  

1 yard purple batik.  $0.50 !!!  I keep thinking I need to get out the boxy stars I was working on in purples and pinks and try again.  This gives me more variety which is why the project got put aside. 

1 FQ  light blue.  $0.50  I don't have anything in mind and it looks like it would play nice almost anywhere.  

2.81 yds for $2.00.  I'd be crazy not to buy it at that price.

Fabric Out - Soon after Grown Up R came back home I found 2 stools in a neighbor's trash pile.  They were nice and even swiveled.  But one had a stain on the seat.  Of course I picked them up and then stored them at my sister's since she has more space than we do.  Somehow during Hurricane Matthew the stained chair got even worse.

Fast forward a few months and Grown Up R now has her own apartment and it has a kitchen with a pass through window/counter that is the right height for the stools.  So she picked fabric and I offered to recover the stools.  Actually I took the old cushions apart and then taught her how to recover.  They came out great.  The best part is that we covered the foam with a fabric lining from my stash before covering them nicely in her good fabric.  0.67 yards out!!!

More fabric out - quilted and bound the Happy Quilt  3.1 yards of the red I got a while back at my favorite thrift store.  It was perfect for this quilt.  I used a variegated threads of bright colors on the top and solid red on the bottom.  3.1 yards out!!

Fabric Used/Out This Week: 3.77 yards
Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 62.9 yards

Fabric In This Week:  2.81 yards

Fabric In 2016: 77.3 yards
 
Net Used 2016: 14.4 yards stashed 

The gap is getting smaller.  A zero balance is actually within reach if I have a few more finishes and no more additions.  What I really want to do it go back and look at how much I actually spent for the fabric that I added this year.  Yes, it is way more fabric than I have ever acquired before, but I think my total spending per yard is still pretty close to my almost zero budget for fabric.

Staying accountable with Judy over at Patchwork Times.

Happy Quilt is Finished

As my father tells Middle E about swimming - "Get it on your mind!"  I was determined to get this quilt done before Thanksgiving and I did!   Now that swim season is over there is more time and that helps a lot.

We used to make this block in Guatemala when I taught the high school girls to sew.  It was easy and fun.  I have no idea where I saw it originally, but it was called the Happy Block.  The girls called it El Cuadro Feliz.  So this is the Happy Quilt.

I love the bright colors.  It is a Happy Quilt.  My sister stopped by and saw it after the binding was attached, but not sewn down, which I always think is a strange stage to see a quilt if you are not a quilter.  She had asked for a baby quilt for a friend.  Well, when she saw it she liked it so much she thought the big brother should have a quilt too.  I just happened to have on hand another baby quilt top.  I had made it for my nephew before I knew what the "correct" theme was.  It had been waiting for just the right little boy.  Turns out many of the fabrics in the Happy Quilt are also in the smaller baby quilt.  So the final decision was that the Happy Quilt would go to the big brother since it is larger and actually has an I Spy quality to it and I will finish the smaller quilt for the new baby.  Works for me.  Lots of stash fabric heading out.

So my new goal is to get the smaller baby quilt quilted this weekend and maybe even bound and done.  On Saturday I will go pick up the jeans for another commission quilt so the pressure is on.  Everyone wants everything by Christmas.  Hmmmm

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict  to show off finishes.

Dear Jane Evacuates

When we evacuated for Hurricane Matthew I was too busy moving precious items upstairs and grabbing the essentials to think hard about what to take to keep myself entertained.  I could not find my Dear Jane Busy Bag, so I just grabbed a bit of this and a bit of that along with the Dear Jane book and figured anything I got done would be a bonus.

We stayed at the home of a friend of my sister about 45 minutes west.  Far enough to miss the worst of the storm surge that was expected, but still in the outer bands of wind and rain.  We evacuated Thursday night while it was still light.  We were a mix of three families - 7 people in all.  We did not lose power the first night and took bets on when power would go out on Friday.  Unfortunately I won and it was lights out before noon.

Turns out the homeowner, who had evacuated much farther west and was not there, is also a crafter.  So early on I was able to use her iron and then when I needed a different color thread she had it!  I made a bit of progress and enjoyed the process.  Which turned out to be good, because there was a lot of waiting around time in which to do handwork in the weeks to follow.

My Matthew blocks are:

F 13  My circles are not too bad for a start, but the melons need work.

G 3  During the hurricane I only got the pink center done because my fabric was too wrinkly to cut the outer ring and by then the electricity was out.  I finished the outer ring on the latest road trip and I was very glad I waited to get it ironed and cut straight.

B 7  This one I finished completely during the hurricane, but looking at it up close like this I am not very pleased.  With all the hand sewing I have done recently I think I can improve it considerably.

 
J 11  This was the last one I started during Matthew and I got it nearly done.  At my next hand sewing opportunity I finished it.  I am mostly pleased with it.  The lower right melon is not quite uniform, but for now it is staying as is.

I have to say that for not having worked on them - or any applique - at all for over a year I was definitely out of practice.  But I also have to take into consideration the relatively primitive surroundings while I worked on these particular blocks.  Maybe I'll leave them as a memory of hurricane Matthew.  Or maybe I'll need a quick hand project in the future and I'll fix them up a bit.

Coming up:
Dear Jane Goes to Districts, Regionals and States!!

Out With the Old, In With the New

Since I am playing catch up from the last month or so this will be a combination of old news and new news.

Old news.  We went to my favorite thrift store looking for things for Grown Up R's new apartment a while back.  For me it is just an excuse to check out the craft room.  On this trip there was a lot of tulle and decorator fabrics and just a bit of cotton.  Probably a good thing since more fabric has been coming in than going out lately.

All the little rolls added up to 2.36 yards.  I paid $1.50 so that is $0.63 / yard.  Super cheap.  

I already have plans for the purple. I Started Bonnie hunters Boxy Stars in pinks and purples quite a while ago but ran out of variety.  I was thinking about it recently, so this is perfect.

New news.  A finish.  The Happy Quilt top for my sister who will gift it to a friend by December.  My stash rules say that I can report fabric out when all of that step is done for a project.  Otherwise I might never show progress.  Since this top was made entirely from stash I can happily report 2.84 yards out of my stash.

Fabric Used/Out This Week: 2.84 yards
Fabric Used/Out in 2016: 59.13 yards

Fabric In This Week:  2.36 yards

Fabric In 2016: 74.49 yards
 
Net Used 2016: 15.36 yards stashed 

Slight progress in the right direction.

Staying accountable with Judy over at Patchwork Times

Fun Flimsy

My sister asked me to make a quilt for a friend who is having a baby boy.  She did not really care to be involved in the details as she did for the Moon Quilt.  I could make whatever I wanted on someone's else dime.  What fun!

I had been thinking about the Happy Block that we used to make in Guatemala.  I had some fun fabrics and this seemed like the perfect outlet.  Then life happened and I lost my sewing/project room and most of my access to my "stuff".

Sorry - super blurry.  I'll do better next time.

Well, fast forward 3 months - Grown Up R is now out on her own and Little S is back in her room and I have my space and my stuff back.  I got the blocks finished and webbed together.  I am thinking solid red for the backing and binding, since I have plenty.  Hope to get it quilted this weekend - or at least work on it tonight and Saturday night since that is really my only available time.  Better than nothing.

I need to get it done soon.  Another commission job is coming in.  A jean quilt.  The client (a stranger) balked when I quoted her a price three weeks ago.  Then she called this week and says she wants it after all.  She says it doesn't matter when it gets done, but then she says she'd like it quickly.  I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into.  But I've always wanted to make a jean quilt so I'm going for it.  I am going to ask for a deposit up front though when I pick up the jeans.

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

Tasty Tuesday - Ham & Cheese Roll Ups

Ham & Cheese Roll Ups

Big swim meet for Middle E one weekend a while back.  The kids were served subs, but they were not very appealing so there were a lot left over.   

I was offered the subs at the end.  That's a lot.  I had an idea. 

My mother used to make a ham & cheese roll up.  This might work 

I made the dough in the bread machine. 

Rolled it out and spread it with a light coat of mustard. 

Then took apart the subs.  Some were ham and some turkey.  I could not separate the cheese from the meat and I was worried that it would not melt properly, but it did.

I then layered the ham & cheese sections on the dough alternating the turkey and ham in rows 

Sprinkled more cheese on top. 

Rolled it up

Sliced

And set it to rise.  

Low and behold, they rose.  I am not always so lucky with yeast dough.

When they came out of the oven the girls came flying downstairs.  They have never been so excited about my cooking.

I'm calling that a success!

Back in Action

Looks like I missed the entire month of October.  Feels like it to.  Can't believe Christmas is on the horizon.

Middle E swims on the High School swim team.  So Fall is always pretty busy.  She can drive herself to most practices but even so it is a hectic season.  I go to all the home meets and volunteer to time at them and I go to as many of the away meets as I can, where I can just watch and not volunteer.

In the middle of the season we had Hurricane Hermione which caused no damage in our area, but did cause a meet to be postponed.  Then we had Hurricane Matthew which had a huge impact on our area and caused one meet to be cancelled and another postponed.

Then we were into the Championship season.  Districts was fantastic and they won!!  Middle E qualified for Regionals for the Medley Relay and the 100 Fly.   The girls got 2nd overall at Regionals and she advanced to States with the Medley Relay.  Woo hoo.  She had never been to States and as a senior this year, that was a huge goal met.  Their relay finished 11th in the entire state!!

Butterfly leg of the 200 Medley Relay States Finals.

All these meets and drives and sit around and waits really set me back on sewing and blogging. But now I can report that swim is over - for forever.  Kind of sad, but good too.  She had a good 4 years, but she does not want to swim in college.


In the midst of swimming Grown Up R moved out on her own.  She had saved up and figured it was time.  Her job is going well.  She is only a few miles away and can still see her sisters often and come for dinner on the spur of the moment, but she is no longer under our roof.  I loved to hear all the girls giggle at night and I surely do miss that.  But I am glad that Little S has her room back and that means that I have my sewing room back.  Try as I might I just could not get anything done while everyone was all compacted upstairs.

I did get some hand sewing done on all the sitting and waiting times with swimming and I will report on that soon.  For now I just hope to get caught up slowly - both in blogging and getting things done.  I have a few deadlines projects that are due soon.  So there is plenty to do.

For now I am just happy to be back sewing and catching up with life.

Giant Bugs

I don't think I ever reported on the bugs made of disposable salad bowls and dinner plates.  They were a huge success - pun intended!!

Giant lady bugs from take out salad bowls.  

Giant spiders from sandwich platter and dinner plate. Did you know pipe

Cleaners come in XXL?  Yep, perfect  spider legs.  

Ants from dinner plates.  My boss' 3-month-old grandson loved the ants so much he now has one over his crib.  Apparently he "talks" to Mr Ant and it keeps him very entertained.