Sunday, June 26, 2022

Stash Report 062622

Fabric In:  I found more fabric that my sister picked up at work and passed on to me that had not been reported.  Little S's school mascot is the shark, so maybe I will use that up on her.  I am really hoping she won't need masks again next year, but ...    3.95 yards

I am nearing the end of the main body of my Dear Jane quilt and am running out of variety.  So I actually made a purchase of my own at the thrift store.  $0.75 for 0.61 yards 

Fabric Out:  I made 2 masks from the Spider Man fabric for my SIL, but forgot to take a picture.  0.18 yards  Every little bit helps, right?


Fabric In This Week: 0.61 yards

Fabric Received as Donation This Week:  3.95 yards

Fabric In YTD: 36.46 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 0.18 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 26.42 yards

Stash Movement: 10.04 yards in


As far as time spent sewing ....... 

Summer is definitely helping my productivity.  Except for the day I was too sick to get out of bed, I have been sewing every day the last two weeks.  I thought I would start Part 4 of the Jubilee Mystery, but I am on a roll finishing the Dear Jane blocks, so I'm going to stick with that.  I finished Row K!!  Just Rows L and M to go!  Woohoo!!   We'll be traveling this week to pick up Little S from her sister in NC, so I will prep all that I can for hand sewing on the way.  Hope to knock out some of the dreaded melons!

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing this week (and last): 13/14

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing June:  20/25

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022:  144/176

Percentage: 82%


 

Monday, June 13, 2022

In the Works!

Since I was caught up on the Quiltmaker Mystery and school was taking all my energy, I needed something easy to work on.  I choose Two-Step from the book Scrap School by Lissa Alexander.   

I started with already cut squares in primary colors from the scrap users system.  Then I moved to the already cut strips.  Not until I had to did I cut from yardage.  I made a big batch of low volume 2-patches to get me started and that worked out well.

This was a good project to work on in dribs and drabs as I had bits of time.  I just kept sewing 4 patches without much of a plan.  I originally thought that an 8x8 layout would be good for a baby quilt, but that was too small.  Then I added turquoise to my mix and went to 10x10, but still not to my liking. 


Finally, I added lime green and went to 11x11.  I think this will work.  Also, I am ready to move on to another project.
Just a few more blocks to finish it up.

I am pleased with this project.  Just what I needed when I didn't have much brain power.  Super cute for a baby boy or girl.  I have to have the living room floor cleaned up by tonight, so that will force me to finish up the last blocks and get it at least webbed together.  I have something I think will work for the backing, so that puts it even closer to the finish line.

Sunday, June 12, 2022

Summer Vacation is Here at Last!

Fabric In:  Considering I barely left the house except for school, an awful lot of fabric made its way in.  My sister has been volunteering and is now working at our favorite thrift store.  When she is working in the craft room, she gets to see all the new arrivals and has picked out a few.  The real problem is at the end of the month when the items that have not sold in their allotted time get thrown away!  Yes, thrown away.  So she is working hard to at the very least get those items to other thrift stores or to people who can use it.  That means the fabric comes to me.  I think I'm going to track it separately, since I did not choose this fabric.  I also need to aggressively find somewhere local to donate to.

I need a red & black idea!

Fabric Out:  At the end of the school year I gave a bag of fabric, trims, and thread to the custodian who cleans my classroom.  We have a good relationship speaking Spanish at the end of the day and I know she sews for her little granddaughter.  Had I known what was heading my way I would have given her a lot more!    


Fabric In This Week: 0 yards

Fabric Received as Donation This Week:  16.51 yards

Fabric In YTD: 31.89 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 4 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 26.24 yards

Stash Movement: 5.65 yards in


As far as time spent sewing ....... 

I can't believe it has been over a month since I have posted.  May just came and went.  All the end-of-the-year school tasks just snowballed.  I don't think it would have mattered if I had had projects prepped or not.  I just didn't have the energy with all that was going on for school.  It is good to get back into the sewing room and get creative again.  

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing May: 14/31

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing June: 7/11

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022: 131/162   

Percentage: 81%

Not as bad as I thought, but I'm definitely looking forward to more stitching this summer.  I have a fun project in the works already. 

I love the bright colors.

Linking up to Kate's Life in Pieces and quiltpaintcreate to share progress and stay accountable.

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Stash Report 050822

Fabric In:  Nothing in this week.  Woo hoo!


Fabric Out:  The Curtain Quilt is an old finish.  This was a quilt I made just for me.  You can read about it HERE.  I thought I had already reported the top as fabric out, but I can't find it anywhere on the blog.  That sure works in my favor now.     top: 5.45 yards all from curtains   back & binding: 4.95 yards from curtains, yardage, and sheet
 


Fabric In This Week: 0 yards

Fabric In YTD: 15.38 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 10.4 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 22.24 yards

Stash Movement: 6.86 yards out


As far as time spent sewing ....... 

Not my best week for a mix of reasons.  Company over the weekend, which was good.  Teacher E and SIL came!  It was her cousin's birthday and Mother's day, so that warranted a road trip.  It was a nice visit and very welcome after a long week at school for both Little S and I.

I did not get worked prepped last weekend and that sure made a difference this week.  I worked on an idea that had been in the back of my mind for a while, but my time was not as effective as when I have a specific project ready to go.  I'm not sure that is going to improve between now and the end of the school year, since it is only getting busier.  But it was a good lesson for me to learn about what works for me.

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing this week: 5/7

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in May: 5/7

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022: 115/129

Percentage: 89%

Linking up to quiltpaintcreate to share progress and stay accountable.

Thursday, May 5, 2022

The Curtain Quilt

This was the first quilt I finished when I had job security and made the decision to start "quilting by check" to get tops finished.  It is a personal favorite.  The top was finished back in February 2017.  It got quilted in 2020 I think, then bound in 2021, and is now finally getting documented.

I love the quilting design!

When we emptied and closed my parents' house years ago I kept all the curtains my mother had made.  Some were so old and worn that they disintegrated in the wash.  But I held on dearly to what survived.

I should have taken a before picture.  The curtains in the "pink" room were cream on the top 2/3s and horizontal 2.5" stripes of various fabrics on the lower 1/3.  They were lined, which may be why they survived the south Florida sun in somewhat better condition than others.

After much thought, I decided to cut the striped sections into as many uniform sections as I could and form a sort of Chinese Coin type arrangement stacking repeating sections of curtain.

By joining pieces of the cream fabric I was able to use it as the sashing between the coin sections.  I was not aiming for perfection, but for holding on tight to a memory.  So all the fade marks and stitching lines that didn't come out in the wash are still there.  

The back took another year, since I couldn't decide and then I couldn't face the math.  For the back I used 2 small plaid panels that were all that survived the wash from another set of curtains.  Combined with a blue print and a solid pink it works.  Both the blue and pink were oddly shaped pieces, but with a lot of math and creativity it worked out.  I did end up having to add part of a sheet from the "pink" room to bring it up to big enough.  The backing was finally finished in 2019. 

This will always be a favorite for me.  It hangs on a ladder in the living room where I can see it all the time.

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Stash Report May 1


Fabric In:  This week there were some irresistible pieces at the thrift store! Our school mascot is the sea turtle and Grown Up R works for an animal rescue, so these are very likely to get used up for something and not linger in the stash.   0.88 yards for $1.00 

Fabric Out:  I finished Part 3 of the Quiltmaker Mystery Quilt.   I have been able to get the magazine digitally from our local library and that has been working fine so far.  The flying geese are not on the design wall yet, but they are finished.  1.85 yards out
Parts 1-3 except the flying geese.  It hard to tell, but most all of the darks are scrappy.

Fabric In This Week: 0.88 yards

Fabric In YTD: 15.38 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 1.85 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 11.84 yards

Stash Movement: 3.54 yards in


As far as time spent sewing ....... 

I missed one day that was just too full of afterschool activities to even try to climb the stairs in the evening.  Even so I finished up all the remaining blocks for the Mystery Quilt.  Since I am caught up with the Mystery Quilt, I pulled out a very old UFO to work on next.  I need to make a plan for exactly what I will work on this week and leave it ready to pick up easily each day.

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing this week: 6/7

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in April: 28/30

Days of at least 15 minutes of sewing in 2022: 110/122

Percentage: 90%

Linking up to quiltpaintcreate and Kates Life in Pieces to share progress and stay accountable.

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Easter With Dear Jane

We had a four-day weekend for Easter.  Even with making 3 desserts and having a big family lunch and spending time on grading papers and lesson plans, I had a good amount of time to devote to Dear Jane.  

Missing blocks for Row I. 
I went ahead and pulled out the copies to complete Row I.  At first I thought I bit off more than I could chew, but by Monday I had them all complete.  I 10 was a bugger.  Even harder than the star in a star I thought.  
Hardest one so far.

Now I have rows A - J nearly complete.  There are a few random missing blocks and the inner corners that I have not decided which color to use, but the end is definitely in sight.
Rows A-J.  Easter 2022