Stashbusting Report – June 24 2012

We’ll I have just one backing to add to this week’s sewing — the backing for the 30’s bowtie caring quilt posted last weekend when I was quilting on it.  I still need to get to the binding but haven’t gotten around to that yet.

So a total of 4.5 used this week for a grand total of 57.25 yards used so far this year.

I’ve been playing a bit in EQ on a super simple quilt design – Lifesavers.

 I’m not particularly fond of the borders on this one but I do like the block and it will make some simple, bright charity quilts.

I’m contemplating using this block for a block swap  using batiks – it would be oh so pretty.

But enough playing in EQ for today – I’v got some work to get done and I’ve puttered between knitting and EQ all morning.

Denise 

 

Stashbusting Report

Good news on the stashbusting front finally.  Fabric used and none purchased this week – even tho I had the opportunity to stop at the quilt shop yesterday but turned it down. 

Fabric in this week: 0 Fabric out: 7.5 YTD Used: <1.5>

Yes, I’m still in the red but not as deep. 🙂  Here’s what some of that fabric went to.

 This is for the Quilting Gallery’s Winter Mini Swap.  It still needs a little of the binding sewn down but it will be on it’s way to it’s recipient in tomorrow’s mail.  I love these little tobaggoners.  I have a whole quilt top full of similar blocks except there are three on the tabaggon.

And then I also started on my niece’s graduation quilt.  Have everything except borders cut and have started sewing blocks – here’s one of them.

Design wall Monday

What’s on the design wall — well the big “M” quilt for my nephew is still up there but now that the table is cleared off there’s hopes of getting it layered to start quilting on soon.  But here’s what’s been added just yesterday.  They are snow globe blocks from a swap I hosted and here’s the ones I got from the other swappers.  Some are wintery scenes and others are various landscapes but they all look so cute as snow globes.

There’s a few more of my own I want to make to add with them since some of the ones I was going to k eep of my own met with that horrible slashing incident the other night. 🙂

Don’t forget if you are making Crop Cricles, the February block comes down next Saturday … going going gone.

Here’s Janet P’s February blocks and if I know her (and I do) she’s chomping at the bit for the next month’s blocks. 🙂

And what was waiting for me when I got home – the last of the yarn purchases.

 Yes, no more yarn shopping even tho I’ve got free yarn to claim at one of the shops since I’m such a good shopper.  But what fun is it to claim the free stuff and not buy just a little more – I shall wait (yes Judy I said wait) 🙂  My goal is to wait until July and I’ll claim it as my birthday gift to me (and buy just a few others I must have). LOL

The two little groups of four hanks are for a particular pattern where you switch between the four in a group so that the color gradually changes across the sock.  It will be interesting to try those out ( and wind those little buggers into cute little balls).

Lastly, in honor of National Quilting Day coming up this month, don’t forget it will be another Justquiltin Weekend.  Info and yardage estimates can be found here.

Stasbusting and other quilty things

Well the numbers have not greatly improved since I’ve been working on projects already in progress but at least there were no more shopping sprees!

Used this wk – 1 yd; Used YTD 51 yds; Purchased YTD 48; Net busted: 3 yds

Here’s what I’ve been working on, I’ve got just the first round of HSTs laid up on the design wall.

It looks a bit wonky on the design wall  because none of those HSTs are sewn yet so there’s a gap between the black background of the center and where the HSTS are.  The tan looking fabric is actually a black and cream that looks like a check until you look at it close up and it is really circles and not squares – sort of like a window screen look.  So I’ll be getting the rest of the HSTs up so I can start stitching them together today.

 

 

I also got “lost” for several hours yesterday playing with an old EQ design  I’m thinking about using for my niece’s graduation quilt.  It started out originally as this:

 

Probably wouldn’t be done in these colors for her but in multiple fabrics with a light, medium and dark to keep the same general look.

But then I began playing with the symmetry button and got some other layouts.  Haven’t decided which I’ll use but here’s some of the other different looks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Now back to that design wall to get those blocks laid out.

Tracking Bear – continued

Are you Justquiltin this weekend?  My errands are done so I’m gathering the necessary supplies (like just started a pot of coffee and found a few good movies to watch) so I can begin stitching.  I posted last night the first two sets of instructions for Tracking Bear.  And am going to post the next two in a few minutes which will give you everything except the borders, which I’ll add tomorrow morning.  I have decided my version of Tracking Bear will not be a graduation quilt but stay here for me to use or maybe be a charity quilt  (new plan I like better for the graduation gift).   Here’s my pieces of Tracking Bear that are done so far – just need to cut the strip sections that go in the missing places yet and I’ll be ready to sew rows together.  I’m not overly thrilled with the red/bright blue combination sections but don’t know that I hate them enough to bother changing them.  Will have to stare at those a while longer to decide if there’s something else I’d rather substitute.

In the meantime, I’ve decided not to hand applique the giant “M” on my other nephew’s graduation quilt.  It’s just too unwieldly a size to do that with so am going to change it and satin stitch it in place so want to get that done so I can start setting that one together.  There’s also one other project I want to get started on so don’t know what I’ll work on first but whatever it is, this weekend is dedicated to Justquiltin. 🙂

Also finished the last of my snowglobe swap blocks last night so just need to get those squared up this weekend and also get the binding stitched down on a winter themed potholder for a swap. Oh yes, and there’s a winter themed mini quilt that needs to be made but decided it’s going to be made from some of my other snowglobe blocks so half the work is done already.  Just need to figure out how to set them.  Hmmm… how many days are there in a weekend? I may need an extra day or two for all I want to accomplish!  Here’s the last of my snowglobes

The New Yarn….and other stuff

I got the bag delivered today from the friend who’s car I forgot it in so here’s the new sock yarn I bought – along with a couple extra sets of the needles I use the most so I don’t go grabbing the wrong ones and can leave one set in my desk drawer at work with a sock to work on during my lunch hour and not have to drag it back and forth from home.

 

 

 

And here’s what’s currently on the design wall – some of my Crop Circle Blocks.  I have almost all of the small and medium sized ones done so just need to finish the last 4 or so large blocks with the petals in them.  I’m liking the way the colors look together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly, I needed to test a block pattern to see how difficult it would be to piece – I’m not a fan of curved seams but this one was surprisingly easy to piece and I killed two birds with one stone.  I need a winter themed potholder for swap so once I trim this block down to size it will be my winter potholder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and why is it a winter theme – well look at the close up of the background fabric — crazy little kitties sittin in trees during a snow storm. 🙂

Design Wall Monday

What’s on the design wall today — well several things in progress.

 

Baxter Bear is still up there – I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to add any more to that one or call him finished and ready to quilt so I’ll just keep staring at him a while longer.  There’ s snowglobe blocks for a block swap – they’ll be hanging around a while too since I”m got more to make and they’re not due for a few months.  That one lone block above the snowglobes is an acorn with oak leaves – it’s a block for a seasonal potholder swap that I need to quilt soon.  And below Baxter is the new quilt I started this past weekend – or at least a small portion of it.   The whole design (this is just a quarter of the very center) reminds me of crossstitch, hardanger work, tapestry — stitchery stuff – with the x’s and woven looking areas.  It still needs a name tho so take a look  HERE for the whole layout and tell me what you think would be a good name for it. 🙂

Snowglobes block swap

I’ve been busy working on more snowglobe swap blocks.  Yahoogroups photos are having issues loading so I’m loading the photos here for our members (and everyone else) to see.  If you click on the thumbprint, it should open a larger photo.  Some pictured are actually stitched, others are just laid on the background waiting to be made.  Plus there’s a photo of 4 new fabrics I found today that at least three will make great snowglobes – not sure about that reindeer print but it was too cute to pass up.  The blocks are so fun and quick to make. 

Saturday Sewing

Today is one of  The Quilting Post’s (online group) PJ Party weekends.  The second weekend of each month  we try to get some dedicated sewing time and chat on line about our projects.  I was a bit slow sewing today (but did manage to stay in my pjs till mid afternoon sewing) 🙂 but the slow down was mostly due to an interesting movie I was watching.  Too much watching – not enough sewing.  However, I did manage to get the rows finished and top sewn together from my Moon Over the Mountain swap blocks. 

I’m going to call it “Once in a Blue Moon.”  One of the blocks in the far right row that looks like it has a white moon (due to the lighting/flash in my sewing room) is actually the palest blue hand dyed moon – hence the name.

Now my dilemma is that I was originally thinking it would be one of the graduation quilts I’ll need next spring but it turned out a bit big for that since I’ve been making the nieces and nephews twin bed size quilts to use in their dorm as they head off to college.  I’m going to have to throw it on my bed and see how large it really looks and try to decide if I want to make it larger with borders and if so, what the heck kind of borders I want to add.  Right now it must measure about 77″ x 89″.

So one more baggie of swap blocks out of the UFO boxes.  There’s just two blocks left over – one will be a lable on the back and the other was my favorite block I made and I’m going to make a little single wallhanging out of that.

Now to see what other trouble   projects I can find to get into.

From blocks to rows

Most of the Moon over the Mountain blocks that were on the design wall yesterday are now sewn into long rows.  Once again I’ve changed my mind on how to set them together and I think they will be offset as they look on the design wall, with the top and bottom filled in with that purple fabric between the blocks.

I was too lazy to move the ironing board but the botom is offset like the top too.  I’ve got one more row to finish joining that goes on the right side.

Oh it’s stashbusting reporting day – well, I’ve been shopping again – had to buy the fabrics for the sashing and framing on this quilt, and some other fabrics hopped into my bag this weekend – to sash and border a wallhanging.  But I’ve sort of fallen off the wagon (perhaps I need to call a stashbusting sponsor for a pep talk) :-)as far as keeping track on my chart as to fabrics in and fabric used – so I’ll have to play catch up with my little spreadsheet but that’s too much hard thinking for tonight since I have to figure out what I used on a couple projects.  At least the fabrics I bought for sashing, framing and borders won’t end up in the stash since I’ve nearly got them all sewn into their projects already.

And look what I picked froom my garden pots yesterday …

The biggest one was nearly 5″ long – nice big one which was delicious on the salad I had with dinner that night.

There was also some baking going on today.  I love the mixmaster for making bread – it’s my new best friend.  Mixes it up so quickly and no more sore wrists from kneading dough.  Made a loaf of bread and the rest of the dough made into a pan of raisin cinnamon rolls. Yummy!