Stash Report Week 36, 2012

I am making great progress on my focus blocks for my fourth Scrap Squad quilt for Quiltmaker! Unfortunately, I can't show pictures of my blocks yet.

Trust me, they are looking fantastic!

I am trimming my scraps up into OBW pieces. Here is what I have from the first two pieces of florals.



And I am waiting to finish my set of blocks from the last fabric before I cut it up into OBW pieces. Turns out that I miscalculated the number of blocks I needed from each fabric and I only have this fabric left to use. I'd like to throw out a couple of blocks from the first set of blocks I made, but I am not sure if I can do that at this point.



Time will tell. I still have enough of this fabric left to make 2 more blocks. And if I have to do that, I just won't end up with enough One Block Wonder pieces to make a quilt. It will just have to be a wall hanging or something around that size.

Fabric added this week: 0.00
Fabric added YTD: 59.48

Fabric used this week: 4.64
Fabric used YTD: 106.36

Net Fabric Used: 46.88

The pups are enjoying time on the bed with me sewing and cutting away!

Stash Report Week 35, 2012

I haven't posted for a couple of days because there has been so much going on around here and it hasn't been sewing related. sigh

Thursday and Friday night were supposed to have been spent quilting and binding the baby quilt for my neighbors. Saturday was the baby shower. Unfortunately, there was a lot of drama going on in the neighborhood and I was not able to get the backing made much less the quilting done. But here is the backing that I picked for the quilt.



Friday night, the dad to be was home and the mom to be was out so I showed him the quilt top and backing and said that the top was for her and the back was for him since he loves cars. He thought the backing was great and loves the top, too. And Saturday, I wrapped up the pieces and let Melissa open that and she said that the colors match the fabrics that she chose. They were both very understanding about the quilt not being finished.

One thing that I did get done this week was cutting up the first fabric for the next Scrap Squad quilt's focus blocks. And when I had the pieces cut for that, I was able to cut the rest of the fabric up into pieces. This will become a second quilt with the rest of the floral fabric scraps. A One Block Wonder!!



Yesterday was a day of running around - the baby shower, a trip to the shooting range that was a bust due to a long wait, and an evening out with neighbors to celebrate a birthday. There was also a walk to The Dip to sample the new fall flavor - Pumpkin. I see more trips to The Dip this month in my future!

So here is my report!

Fabric added this week: 3.00
Fabric added YTD: 59.48

Fabric used this week: 2.33
Fabric used YTD: 101.72

Net Fabric Used: 42.24

And now, I am going to get to work on straightening up the studio and getting some things sewn!

Shopping on Saturday

Barb and I had plans to go shopping on Saturday for about a week. We spent all week texting about the shops and what we would buy! She showed up at my house around 10:30 and we were off!

She snapped a shot of me getting my books out of the car when we got to Valley Quilts.



They had their monthly Fat Quarter Frenzy over the weekend and all of the fat quarters were $1.75. This was great for me because I was looking for FQs for 2 different quilts. We spent about 2 hours in the shop and, for the most part, we were the only ones in there. I think that we were amusing the staff with our running to and fro to look at the patterns and the bags and the fabric!

Here is fabric for the first quilt I picked for. The pink and cream will be accents and I will cut the greens to follow the pattern and help enhance the design. I think this is 25 FQs with another half yard.



I also picked some FQs for a new challenge that the Tran-Quilt-ity group is starting. I'm working on the group blog for our challenge and when that is all set up, I will have a post about it with information. I'm really digging these colors and fabrics though! I think that they will work with the color scheme I have in mind.



The last little bit at Valley Quilts was the patterns and miscellaneous fabric and a spool of red, white and blue thread to quilt the comfort quilt that I am working on. I think that I know what I will do with this fabric. It's spools of thread on one set and sewing notions on the other. Very neat!



Towards the end of our visit at Valley Quilts, I was pushing Barb a little because I was hungry! We headed to the Village Family restaurant in Waynesville for lunch and pie and energy for shopping at the Fabric Shack! Barb had the apple dumpling and I had the peanut butter pie. Yum!!



Around this point, I think that Barb was muttering something about eating quietly, but I couldn't hear her over my mmmm's for the PB pie!! lol And I forgot to take a picture of my empty plate! :)



After lunch, we drove up the street to the Shack and I showed Barb all around it. Then, I got carried away with all the fabric and forgot what I was looking for and I wandered around aimlessly looking at all of the lines and imagining taking it all home with me! lol

Eventually, Barb found the Alexander Henry lines. Barb has a slight obsession with the pin up girl fabrics and she bought some island girls fabric and used it to make a One Block Wonder and it is very cute! She has also been sending me links to eBay auctions she finds and there was one fabric that I thought was awesome. I loved the colors and thought it, too, would make a great One Block Wonder. Fabric Shack had it. Now, I have it! It's called Future Ella in pink and is very retro to boot!



And while I was wandering around, I saw a cart with a sign that said 50% off! See that big roll? That is 40 5" strips of the Valley Forge line! The fabric is gorgeous! And I think it will be great for a Nickel quilt. I had also ordered some half yard cuts of clearance fabrics from the site and I was able to pick those up while we were there. Can't pass up 99 cents for a half yard! And I found a spool of King Tut red, white and blue thread so I got that for the comfort quilt because I prefer this brand over the other that I got at Valley Quilts.



After Fabric Shack, we headed to the Super Joann's. Barb was enthralled by the tins. She got all excited and took a long time to pick just one. :)



After running around the store, hearing a lady yell at her kid in a foreign language and finding some great stuff, we headed for the check out. While I was pulling my things out of the cart and putting them on the counter, a very rude lady walked right past Barb and came up to the counter I was at and handed her bias tape to the cashier. When I looked at her with my mouth hanging open in shock, she said, "Well, do you MIND?" Hmmm, what am I supposed to say at this time? Sure, it was one little package of bias tape. Then, SHE PULLED OUT A CREDIT CARD for a transaction that was $1.23!!! She didn't know how to work the machine and the 'quick little order' that she had ended up taking longer than my entire order! She didn't even say thank you. We had a good laugh with the cashier about it and then Barb and I chuckled about it a little more with thoughts of the "anonymous" comments that were left on my blog that morning.

So here is what I bought... 2 unidentified ornaments which will be presents for someone, but I've already changed my mind about who so it may be changed again soon. A pair of fuzzy socks and a magazine with part 3 of a mystery in it. And fabric for a Christmas pillowcase! And yes, we did actually find this fabric at Joann's!



So that was our day. We had a ton of fun and laughed a whole lot! And we have plans to do it again soon!

Stash Report Week 47

Yesterday was a great day! In spite of the childish comments left for me from people who can't identify emotions (and let me be clear - all of that was very amusing and gave me great laughs!), Barb and I spent the day shopping and laughing and looking at awesome fabric! My tummy hurts a little from all of the huge belly laughs we shared throughout the day! (Barb - I told ya it would!)

I am very excited about all of the purchases I made! I have taken pictures of everything, but I need to make a separate post about all of the activities from yesterday so the pictures will be added later today I hope. Of all the fabric added, I only paid full price for 6 yards and that will be used in a One Block Wonder quilt. But again, I am just concentrating on Usage. It's nicer to think in terms of what has actually been made and used this year.

Fabric added this week: 31.31
Fabric added year-to-date: 331.06

Fabric used this week: 1.22
Fabric used year-to-date: 176.79

Net Fabric Used: -154.27

Now, I have to get ready to meet a friend and her hubby for lunch at Olive Garden. I am eagerly anticipating this because I haven't had Olive Garden in a long time! And I skimped on breakfast and I am starving! lol

It's finished!!

I sewed the last stitches down last night on the On the Way to Oz one block wonder quilt! I'm very excited! I had to stitch the binding, the hanging sleeve, the permanent label and the label for the quilt show.



*The black on the labels is to protect the innocent! ;)*

I can't wait to see it hanging in the show! Less than 2 weeks away!

On the Way to Oz...

It's quilted!!! Big loops and twisters.









And a back view...



Now, to add the binding and hanging sleeve! I can't decide if I want to make the hanging sleeve permanent or removable so that I can take it off once I am done showing it. Thoughts?

Quite timely!

As my BFF Regina pointed out, an all time favorite movie just turned 70!! The 'Wizard of Oz' has enjoyed a re-birth in recent years! Here are a couple of articles that Regina sent me:

USA Today article
blog entry by John Hobbs
Slide Show by abcnews.com

There have been several lines of quilting fabric for the past few years. How awesome is it that I finally finished my One Block Wonder top made from a Wizard of Oz panel just a little over a week ago???



It is way cool!!! What an awesome tribute, if I do say so myself!! :)

Weekend progress

When we last left off, I had finished the OBW top and was working on piecing the backing. On Sunday, I finished the backing and did a little housework.



I'll be able to take the quilt in to be quilted at the shop tomorrow when I go in to teach a class.

I also had a few kits of blocks to make for the Friendship swap with one of my Guilds. I made 4 blocks on Sunday and the 5th this morning.



After putting laundry away and straightening up the house a little, I made a wall hanging top out of the crumb blocks from the Bonnie Hunter classes.



I also cut the backing and made the binding, too. I plan on getting it quilted this week.

I had wanted to cut out a few more blocks, but that just didn't happen. I had to work this evening on some reports for work and I had some difficulty with the laptop. It all got done though and it's a good thing since it is back to work tomorrow. :(

Sunday while Becca was here

I kept meaning to post this all week, but it just didn't happen. And Sunday was the day that I got the most done while Becca was here!

When I woke up, Becca was already dressed for church and sewing borders on a quilt. We chatted and I checked emails until she left. Once she left, I had breakfast and then made a Runaround bag. Now, I just have to mail this off to the recipient.



Then, I finished attaching the binding to the Milky Way quilt. I was 2 strips shy when I tried to attach it all the first time. Once I had that binding on, I put the binding on the Storm at Sea quilt since I was in a binding mood!



Then, I started working on the borders for the One Block Wonder quilt. The dogs were very excited while all of this was going on...



When Becca was ready to leave, we ran down to the Dip for an ice cream. It was a great end to the weekend!

Stash Report Week 36

This week, I have been working on my OBW quilt to finish the top and prep the backing and binding. I ran out of the border fabric and had to get a little more so I got a bit extra for the backing, too.

And just because I am digging it so much, here it is again!



Fabric added this week: 4.00
Fabric added year-to-date: 269.26

Fabric used this week: 7.34
Fabric used year-to-date: 156.50

Net Fabric Used: -112.76

I'm getting better! And I'm off now to sew some more! :)

It's a top!!!

Today was the Open House at the quilt shop and, man, was it a long day!! We were very busy for most of the day so it went by pretty quickly!

Once I got home, I had a bowl of cereal and rest and unwound for a couple of hours. Then, I decided that I just had to sew! I had to work on the stash numbers. I think I did pretty well!!!

Presenting .... On the Way to Oz!!!



I took the class for this One Block Wonder quilt in October of last year. Once I got the center together, I set the whole thing aside. I haven't touched the quilt since December.

Now, it's been doggie approved.




And here is a picture of the original panel that I used for the One Block Wonder technique.



I think that it looks really cool now that the borders are on. I started working on the backing and I am about halfway down with it. I am putting the panel on the back as a record of what the original fabric was.

I'm going to take it to the quilter next week. I have a deadline for finishing this one!!

Weekend update

I got a lot accomplished yesterday! So far today, not so much. I am still trying to get into my groove.

I finished my March Thimbleberries blocks - 4 total. I have 3 more months prepped and ready to sew - 12 blocks total.



And the 4 May BOM blocks. Just 4 blocks left and I have all of the blocks done. Now, I just need the shop to get on the ball about getting the finishing kit finished.



I finished the tool caddy. It holds different tools to carry along so that you can work on projects on the go. I still need to get a small ruler and square to put in it and the fill it up with a pencil and maybe a couple of other things. I made some of these for a couple of the peeps for retreat.




Here are some of the new Jitterbug fabrics that I got. With the fabrics that I have, I believe that I'm going to make a queen size Yellow Brick Road quilt. :)



And the backing that I got. All of these were $3 a yard fabrics!



And these are the fabrics that I picked up for the One Block Wonder.



And I decided to make myself homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner. It was very yummy!!



OK, now I'm going to try and get some more done!

See - too much

When I got up this morning, I saw the bag that I brought home from the shop on Saturday with my samples and I realized that I forgot to list my Wizard of Oz One Block Wonder in my previous post. On Saturday, I discussed the quilt with Jan and we picked borders and I have a game plan for finishing the top. It's going to be very out of the box for me, but I am excited about it!

So, this needs to be added to the mix, too.

Jen left a comment on the previous post about going back to the One Hour a Day and I think that this just might be the ticket to get me back on track! Great thinking!

*big sigh*

I hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving! I got to see family and had a great meal that I didn't have to cook. It was great!

I also got some sewing in. I worked on my One Block Wonder and got pretty far on it last night. I have just finished piecing it and ironing and then starching. I can't wait to take it to the shop to pick out borders.





And some close ups.





It looks really cool!! Now, I have to work on a sample for the shop that I should turn in on Sunday and then I have to work on blocks for a class for next Friday. I better get busy!

OBW Class today

Class today was AWESOME!! A small group of us met for breakfast at IHOP before we headed to the shop and we had a great time there, too. The quilts were just amazing! We were all able to throw our pieces of and some of us made a few cubes.

I had a bad case of quilt envy! And then I started seeing how mine looked as it was going together. I love it and can't wait to finish it!

Here is Anne's quilt.



Here's Linda's quilt.



Patrice's quilt is to the left in this picture.



And here is my quilt in pieces.



This is how it looked after I sewed my strips together.



And a couple of close up shots.