Stash Report 033014

Lots of little progress.  Long overdue protectors for the arm rests of my dad's two recliners.  Not great, but done and used up something from the stash. 

Finally bound the pink & purple quilt.  Bound the blue & green quilt also, but since I used the trimmings from the backing it had already been counted as used.  Since I usually can only sew in small spurts of found time, my progress is slow, but I'm okay with that.

If the baby is a girl I will take the pink quilt.  If the baby is a boy, I'll take the blue!

When I first started the blog and linking up to the stash report I decided to report as "used" the amount for a completed step of a project - blocks, sashing, border, etc - rather than an entire completed project.  The reason being that a little progress regularly would be more encouraging and motivating than a giant chunk every now and then.  It is working.  Every week I make extra effort to get something done and something used up!


Fabric Used This Week: 1 yard for recliner arm protectors, .35 yards for binding for pink & purple quilt

Total Used 2014:  20.95 yards
Fabric In This Week:  0 yds 

Total Bought/Received in 2014: 7.25 yards
Net Used 2014: 13.7 yards

Stop by Patchwork Times and see how others are doing with their stash.

This was a Tough Finish

The pink & purple quilt quilted relatively easily so I never imagined so much difficulty with the blue & green quilt.  But like children - no two are alike.  My goal was to get it done this week and I did.

I had hoped to get them both bound as well.  Not sure about that, but I'll try.  The girls are having a sleepover with their grandfather tonight and I am having a one-woman quilting retreat!  No telling what I'll get done.

Hooking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for a Friday Finish.

Stash report 031614

Back to sewing after a few weeks of forced separation from the sewing machine.  Yippee!!  So I have fabric moving out again.

Sashings, inner and outer borders on the blue & green baby quilt DONE.  All scraps and fabric from the stash. 

Fabric Used This Week:   1.7 yds for sashings, inner and outer borders

Total Used 2014:  16.7 yards

Fabric In This Week:  0 yds 

Total Bought/Received in 2014: 7.25 yards

Net Used 2014: 9.45 yards

Now to see what I can use up to make a backing.

Go see some other stash reports at  Patchwork Times

Flimsy at Last

Took longer than I had hoped but I finally got the top done.  R was home from college briefly, I was called in to work extra days, etc, etc but the delay worked out fine.  I had more time to think about getting the borders on since I was unable to sew so I changed my original plan and went with solid corners in the outer border. I like having more yellow to liven it up even more for a baby and it was easier. So when I finally got 15 min to sew again it was DONE!

Thanks to a situation that has been hanging overhead for ages reaching resolution the quilt doesn't have to be done by mid-March after all. Phew!  I am happier for the resolution than the postponing because it means that we are good for overseas travel again!!  So I can hand-deliver!!!! either the pink quilt or this quilt to the new niece or nephew in Guatemala this summer.  We are so excited!

Spring break is next week. I will have plenty of time to get it quilted and then get this quilt and the pink & purple quilt bound for sure.  I am eager to get back to the red, white and blue quilt. 

Found a great place to photograph the quilt while killing time waiting for Middle E's activity - a 20 min drive for a 1 hr meeting in a really out of the way place :(   Little S remembered the playground at the athletic field nearby and saved us from sitting in a parking lot!  The view from the top of the slide/bridge is perfect to get a nearly direct overhead shot.   I have a feeling we will be back!

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict to show off a finish.

Scrappy Challenge Near Finish

I almost got it done.   The center is finished.  I need a few more keys on the piano though.  Came up a little short there. 

I have a great excuse.  It is R's Spring Break and she is home from college for 5 days.  Yippee!  I would not trade that for anything.  Her sisters are loving it.  It is so nice to see them all together again.  Not sure when we will have her again, so we are taking advantage of every minute.

In this upside down picture you can see the January Scrappy Challenge block in the upper left and lower right.  The February Blocks are in the center of each outer side.  The 4 center blocks are stars made from the leftovers of my Smith Mountain Morning with a few adaptations to work with the scraps and colors for this quilt.  The upper right and lower left are churn dash blocks - making do with what I had.

It has to be completely finished by mid-March in order to get hand delivered to Guatemala for the new baby.  It will be.  After R leaves I will pour myself into it instead of moping around missing her!!

This was a good challenge for me.  Gave me something to focus on for a needed quilt instead of spending too much time agonizing over choosing the perfect design.  I enjoyed learning new units.  It all went together quickly.  I look forward to March's block.

See some other scrappy finishes at Patchwork Times

Design Wall Monday

There are 2 quilts on the design floor.  Sr G is away so we can use the living room floor for a few days without any complaints!

Little S wanted to start another quilt since the D9P is done and turned in.  I did not want to think too hard about it, so I got out a bag of precut 5" blocks that I had gotten at a yard sale and had her play with them for a while.  There were oodles and oodles (a new word for the girls and they are trying to find places to use it!) of peachy ones.  So I cut a bunch of 5" squares to supplement from a slightly darker peach that was in the stack of guild fabric to use up and she laid them all out.  Somehow I don't think she is going to finish and get it up off the floor before her father gets back, but it gives her a project for the next little while - and stuff moving out of the piles and stacks.  That's my plan - get it moving out.

I got the 16 blocks done for the baby boy quilt I need.  You can read more about that here.  Now I am contemplating what color sashings.  I thought white since this will be the pair for the pink & white quilt that can be seen here, but then I thought maybe light blue.  It will get a piano key border.

Playing with scraps these are my choices.  I don't like the medium blue.  The light light blue is good and if the white was muslin instead of this very white I would like that better.  Since I am walking past it constantly I have a chance to think about it.  What do you think? Medium, light or white?

Even though I need to get this done ASAP in order for it to be ready to go to Guatemala in early March there are other things I really have to do today - homework for a class I am taking since I am a week behind and I have a commissioned project that I need to just bite the bullet and do.  It doesn't have a deadline, but for me I need to get it done.  And this is why I stopped taking commissioned projects after the green quilts last year.  I just don't like them hovering overhead.  I'd rather play in my scraps!!

So I am getting off the computer and hitting the sewing machine to get the commissioned project started - and hopefully finished.

Check out some other design wall at Patchwork Times

Stash Report 021614

In a surprise burst of sewing I got the rest of the blue & green blocks done.  It started with Judy's January & February scrappy challenge blocks which you can see here and here.  February worked better with my scraps.   I like the January block, but not my color choices.

January - upper left & lower right.  February - center two blocks on all four sides.

I worked with my precut scraps and a few pieces of larger scraps that hadn't been cut down yet. I was also able to use up some of the blue strips and tri-rec center triangles leftover from the Smith Mountain Morning quilt. All in all I used up quite a few odd chunks of fabric and discovered a new unit a really like.  I love the effect of a secondary star spinning in the background when the block is all together.

My new favorite unit. 

Only up close can you tell how pieced this yellow triangle is.  I only needed to squeeze one more out of the last bit of scrap and I got it!

As I ran out of particular colors I made do with other fabric and/or changed the block design. In using the SMM scraps I went ahead and made the tri-rec star points. At first I didn't like them in there but as I worked with the block arrangement and got them placed them in the center I liked it better. 

A whopping 1.9 yards out of the scrap bins.  It wasn't even enough to have been folded and placed on a shelf and yet I got an entire baby quilt out of it.  Well almost - I still have to make sashings and a piano key border.  Who would have thought?

Fabric Used This Week:   1.9 yards for blue & green baby quilt blocks

Total Used 2014:  14 yards

Fabric In This Week:   0 yards

Total Bought/Received in 2014: 7 yards

Net Used 2014: 7 yards
 

There are lots of other stash reports over at Patchwork Times.

Design Wall Monday

Scrappy Challenge Blocks

They aren't that scrappy looking but they are from my precut scrap drawers.  I think as I run out of these initial scraps then there will be more variety.

I have got to finish the quinceanos quilt so I can have my design wall back!

I wanted to try the scrappy challenge blocks that Judy is designing each month, but I didn't really need a new project.  You know how that goes.  I really like the February block and I need a baby boy quilt in case the new baby (not mine!) is a boy.

My favorite unit - the triangle with the half triangle on one side.

I have lots of blue strips and scraps left from Smith Mountain Morning that are the perfect size for these blocks.  I've been wanting to use the green left from the Green Quilts so this seems like just the right project.

Chain piecing and ironing.

My plan is 16 blocks with sashings like the Pink & Purple Baby Quilt.  I got lots of pieces cut for the various units needed and even have some other variations in mind.  So I will just work at it as I can.  They do go together very quickly which is good, because life is no longer allowing me to sew as I was able to in January.

Go see some other design walls at Patchwork Times.

A Finish, But It's Not Friday

It's been a rough week. I'll take any finish I can get.

Last weekend I started trying Judy's Scrappy Challenge January and February blocks.  In my pre-cut scraps I had almost everything I needed already cut. But my brain just couldn't make it happen. I attributed it to the project being too new and set it aside to marinate for a while.

January

Moved on to quilting the pink & purple baby quilt which is what really needs to be getting finished now anyways. Thought that a mindless stipple would not be too taxing for my brain. Wrong again. The tension wasn't right and it didn't catch it until way late.  Unsewing was definitely brainless.

From there I gave up and realized I was not incompetent- I was sick.  So I put all sewing projects on the back burner.

Today I am feeling well enough to try again.  This time it all came into place with no problem.  I even spun the centers of my 4-patches.  I have seen it and seen it, but never tried it.  Sure enough - simple and effective.

 I got the January and the February block done in no time at all.  I need another baby quilt in case the baby in Guatemala is a boy and I think this might be it.  I added yellow to the centers thinking it softens the blue and green a bit.  They are not as scrappy as I envisioned, but except for the green in the large triangles and the yellow it really all came from the precut scraps and today I was going for easy with not too much thinking involved.

February

 Head on over to Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict to see some other finishes.