WIP Wednesday - 9/26

Today is my follow up from my dental work a couple of weeks ago. I have been eating soft foods for 2 weeks (mostly) and I am SOOOOO ready to get the OK to eat whatever I want. My lunch tomorrow will probably consist of Taco Bell and Doritos! Most definitely the Doritos!

I didn't have much to post last week so I skipped the WIP Wednesday post. I do have things to show this week so I am pretty stoked to post!

I made 2 Midget blocks.







I made 2 BOM blocks for the Paris in the Fall BOM that is from 2009. An older UFO!



I also worked on another UFO as a leader/ender project. This is called Moon Pie. There are 2 more pieces to be sewn to these blocks and I think that there are 48 blocks total for the quilt. I actually sewed a bunch of these Tuesday morning while I was watching the news. So much for keeping them as leaders and enders.



I had to finish a UFO for my Queen of UFO's Yahoo group so I pulled out a selection of charm squares and a pattern that I put aside last December for holiday table runners. I got this finished in just about 36 hours. I worked on the piecing while I watched Survivor and the Big Brother finale (so excited for Ian to win, btw!)!






I have made great progress on my fourth Scrap Squad quilt, but I can't show anything. There is a lot of paper piecing and I am in the assembly phase of the top right now. I have decided that since my quilting space is limited, I am going to send this quilt off to Ruth in Indiana for quilting and she will have it ready for me at the quilt retreat that is in 3 weeks and 1 day.

Even though I am still working on the fourth Scrap Squad, the magazine has already selected the fifth pattern and sent that last week. I spent Friday evening drawing the pattern up in EQ and then re-coloring everything until I found the design that I like. I think that I am going to start pulling fabrics as soon as I finish the fourth Scrap Squad and make the Blog Hop goodies. The winner has been very patient, but I don't want to wait too much longer!

Last week...
Make next Midget block
Make next BOM block
Scrap Squad #4
Finish the blue baby quilt
Make goodies for the Blog Hop Giveaway

Next week...
Print out next 10 Midget blocks and pull fabric
Make next BOM block
Scrap Squad #4 - Finish it, make backing and ship it out for quilting!
Finish the blue baby quilt
Make goodies for the Blog Hop Giveaway
Quilt a customer quilt

I'm linking up at Freshly Pieced.

Stash Report Week 38, 2012

Another week with just a little used. I am still working on the fourth Scrap Squad quilt and using up some fabric, but most of it has already been counted.

And even though I made a table runner, the fabric was counted as busted when the fabric was cut.



I have a list of things to get done and I spent most of my day yesterday giving the dogs mani/pedis and spa treatments in the utility tub with flea shampoo and then vacuuming and cleaning the first floor. Oh, and laundering blankets and bed sheets. sigh... I think that I have earned the right to sew all day today and watch TV. I have last season's The Good Wife on DVD from the library and I need to catch up now that the new season is beginning.

I want to get this fourth Scrap Squad done today because we already have the fifth one and I want to have that one done before retreat so that I can actually spend retreat on things that I want to work on. Wish me luck! 

Fabric added this week: 0.00
Fabric added YTD: 59.48

Fabric used this week: 0.14
Fabric used YTD: 108.46

Net Fabric Used: 48.98

While I am sewing, Maisy and Lula sit on the bed in the studio and monitor the goings on in the parking lot and watching me work. As I move to my ironing station, Lula usually looks at me with her tongue sticking out from her mouth to some degree. She cracks me up.

FNSI Results - 9/21

Yesterday, I was able to finish the table runner that I started earlier this week. While nothing else was really worked on, I was very happy to have even a small finish!



I just did really quick straight line quilting on my machine.



But it is enough to make this a nice Christmas gift.

I can't wait for the next FNSI because I will be on retreat! Woo hoo!

Monthly Accomplishments - December 2011

I'm a little late on this one, but better late than never. It doesn't seem like much and I know that some of these things only took one or two nights.

1. Assembled blocks and put on several borders for the Guild Raffle quilt
2. Midget blocks – 24 and 25 
3. Quilted a purple lap quilt
4. Quilted a yellow and pink baby quilt
5. Quilted an animal baby quilt
6. Cut up an old FQ bundle and made 2 table runners - 1 and 2
7. Cut out the cow quilt and started assembly
8. Sewed the binding and label down on the Bug Jar quilt

And I read....

1. Sleight of Hand by Kate Wilhelm
2. Mistletoe Murder by Leslie Meier
3. A Wrongful Death by Kate Wilhelm
4. Cold Case by Kate Wilhelm
5. Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs
6. An Amish Christmas by Cynthia Keller

Considering all the time off that there was, this really doesn't seem like a lot. I guess I just needed a down month.

Maxie thinks there wasn't enough cuddling.

Progress and a tumble

Yesterday, I got off a little early from work and when I got home, I some how got stuck watching a Jersey Shore marathon. This show is crazy and a total train wreck and I watched from the afternoon until midnight when I finally pulled myself away to go to bed. I'm not necessarily proud of this, but it did help me make progress on the cow quilt.

I got the wonky parts sewn together and everything pressed and I am in the progress of final assembly on the blocks. Here was 4 thrown together.



And there are a few more to press and more to sew.



I still have more table runners to assemble. They are out of the way, but not put away because I would like to work on them this weekend.



Here are the charms that I put aside for patterns. Kits, if you will. :)




And the tumble relates to my stash report this year. One of the local shops is closing and opened their shop today to get the rest of their fabric out. At $2.50 a yard for quilt shop quality fabric... who can pass that up? Not me!! I met Lynn at the shop when they opened and we shopped til we dropped! I will have to go through it tonight for the stash report tomorrow.

Stash Report Week 52, 2011

Merry Christmas!! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday!

I busted a bit of stash this week. The rest of the fabric for the cow quilt top and binding and backing for a couple of table runners.

Here is the runner that I finished yesterday.



And this is the first block that I finished for the cow quilt. Twenty-nine more to go!



I'm not sure what else I will get done before the end of the year, but I am still in a better place with my stash reports than I have been in past years. :)

Fabric added this week: 0.00
Fabric added year-to-date: 165.94

Fabric used this week: 5.16
Fabric used year-to-date:139.83

Net Fabric Used: -26.11

Another Christmas gift finished

I just finished another table runner for a Christmas present. Since I haven't finished any of the quilts that I planned for this year, I'm thinking I should stick to runners for future years! lol

This is the pattern that I got the runners from. Little Charmers II. I have plans for a few more from this series of patterns. They are pretty quick and easy!



And here is the finished runner.



And from the back - the quilting. Another very easy design that looks very stunning, I think!



And last night, I finished cutting out the pieces for the cow quilt and I made a block. One down, just 29 more to go... Help!!

Finished present

First of all, I should mention that I have my laptop back!! It's been running for about 3 hours now and so far so good!!

I finished the table runner on Monday and gifted it on Tuesday to my boss at the Christmas party that she throws for the department. I think that she really liked it!



The pattern is Little Charmers II from Anka's Treasures. I think that I am going to try a couple more runners from this series of patterns.





Everything was from stash!! And here is a look from the back to see the quilting. I really like how the quilting design looks from the back!



It was a big hit! I think that my boss got choked up when she was talking about how beautiful it was today. :)

Monthly Accomplishments - February 2011

This was a great month! Let's see what got done!

1. Made Midget Mania block #5 and #6
2. Made a pair of pants for Barb to wear after her delivery
3. Put the binding on 2 Project Linus quilts
4. Made 6 more pairs of pants
5. Made the dogs' fleece blanket - they loved it in their little cage and in Florida! So glad I got it done in time! But I think that the Florida bound dogs need one! lol
6. Quilted and bound the mini quilt for a Guild auction
7. Got Granma to sew the binding down on two dog table runners 
   
8. Sewed the binding on the poinsettia table runner
9. Made the centers of 2 pillow shams for Granma
10. Worked on blocks for the UFO Challenge for February
11. Made a Margo bag for my mom
12. Went to a quilt show with mom, dad and granma. I still have to post the pictures...

Not too shabby!!

And because of the long car drive, there are more book finishes this month that usual.

1. Look Again by Lisa Scottoline - This was my first time reading this author and I enjoyed the book. It was read by Mary Stuart Masterson and I think she did a great job. There was a pretty big twist at the end that I didn't see coming so I like how it ended!
2. The Penny Pinchers Club by Sarah Strohmeyer - A nice easy read. Love Strohmeyer's books! A bit of romance and a lot of humor!
3. The Minotaur by Barbara Vine - I enjoy reading books by this author. Her real name is Ruth Rendell and Vine is a name that she writes under. Most of the books she writes are dark and twisted and I enjoy them! This book was no different. :)
4. Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner - I'm excited that I read this book because I just requested the next in the series from the library today. I kept thinking that I knew what was going on and what one of the main characters was hiding, but it was still a shock until the end. I'm glad that I listened to it because I think that I would've stayed up way too late a couple of nights reading and I would've scared myself!
5. Mercy by Jodi Picoult - This was a typical Picoult novel, but there was a lot more sex occurring in this book than in any of her other books I have read. I'm just saying. Also, it was kind of an abrupt ending. It was like, Ok, the lawsuit is over and BAM so is the book with everything wrapped up in about 2 minutes.
6. The Morning Show Murders by Al Roker with Dick Lochte - I got this book on a lark from the library and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was going to be read by Al Roker himself! If you enjoy Al on the Today show, I think that you would enjoy the book and his reading. Beware that there was some strong language, but I wasn't bothered by it. And the story was a great one!

Well, that about covers my month! Now, if I can just get going on March....

Year of the PIGS - 2/23

Oh my goodness! I just realized that this was a post that should have been done LAST week! Why didn't someone remind me then??? Oh well!

This week, we are going to do an easy post. What is your last finish and what UFO are you working on now?

I have a few finishes this week since I am on vacation. It's amazing what you can get done with work not getting in the way! lol

A mini quilt just needs to have my info written on the back.



A couple of continuous line table runners in dog fabric.



With dog fabric on the back! And thanks to Granma for stitching the binding down for me!



And the binding on the poinsettia table runner is finished, too.



Now that all of this is done and out of the way, I am starting to decide what to do with my February UFO so it is next on my list to work on.



The project is a quilt using the Star Struck pattern from Bonnie Hunter. I'm hoping to get the blocks put together before leaving Florida. I have lots of choices of fabrics to use for both the darks and the neutrals, but I'm afraid that I am going to run out of the darks and that is what is holding me up.

So what have you finished and what are you starting on?

Share your thoughts here! In order to be entered for the February drawing, answer the question on your blog and post your link to the post here. (For example, this link was for my post on the PIGS - http://jillquilts.blogspot.com/2011/01/year-of-pigs-15.html and this link is for my blog - http://jillquilts.blogspot.com. Please post to your link and not just your blog.)For non bloggers, answer in the comments on this post and identify yourself as "Your Name - COMMENT" in Mr Linky.

I will draw a name on March 1st and we will follow the new every other week schedule from here. Sorry about my mix up!!

Saturday update

I got to work on my list today. I got some of the cleaning and organizing done, but also the easy things marked off my To Do list from yesterday.

The first thing I got done was cutting out all the pants. I thought that I had 6 pairs to cut out, but one piece of fabric was too short for even capris. I am going to start sewing them together in the morning.



I worked on all of the bindings next and fit the quilting of the mini quilt in there, too.



Maisy had to test out the Project Linus quilts so I am going to have to give those a wash before I can drop them off.

Year of the PIGS - 1/26

This is an off week, so there is no question to be answered. I thought that you quilters participating and following along might need a little motivation! I have been working on a UFO and was hoping to have it finished to show a finished UFO, but I am still chugging away at the binding.

I went through my posts from last year and found my first PIG finish from the year. Two sets of placemats and table runners.



I made my first set of this pattern in 2008 and then got the fabric to make these 2 sets in possibly 2009 (I'm not sure of the year, but I am pretty sure that it was in the summer) and the fabric sat for a while. I'm not sure what made me get them out and work on them, but once I got past some binding issues, I was able to get everything done pretty quickly!

So it is possible to finish UFOs and work on PIGS! ;)

Design Wall Monday, 1/24

Well, this is going to look more like design floor. I got some quilting done this weekend!

Saturday, I got the poinsettia table runner loaded and quilted. I have enough of the red stripe to be used as the binding, too.



Ivory/cream colored thread on top and red Bottom Line in the bobbin quilted with loops.



I got a quilt loaded after I finished the table runner. The quilt is #6 in the UFO Challenge through Judy L.'s blog and was pulled for January. I quilted this one with a Lava thread in the top and a pink Bottom Line in the bobbin. The quilt is Sibling Revelry that Regina made for me last year.



Oh, this is an awful picture, but the pattern of the quilting shows up well. The pattern is Party Hearts from Golden Threads that was in a Sweet & Simple pack that I got.





And here is the backing that she sent me to use. It's great!!



And I was lucky enough to have a quilting buddy while I was working! Maisy made herself a little bed out of the extra dog blankets that I leave on the floor in the basement.



Although I think all she wanted was the snack that I was eating between rows!

Busy bee here

On Friday, I posted about my plans for the weekend. I think I was extremely successful! Even prolific, some might say! ;)

I finished the sweater front.



And started the sweater back. I actually got all of the ribbing done and a few rows of the body Sunday night, but I didn't take another picture. Imagine the sweater front again with about an inch to an inch and a quarter knit! lol



I got the baseball quilt mostly cut out for the computer guru neighbor. (Update on the laptop - the Guru thinks that he will just have to reformat the hard drive again and drop all the files in that he saved from last time. I think that I am going to give him my external hard drive to copy the files to. Let's hope that this won't take another week... I can't stand another weekend at the library with smelly old men next to me!) Anywho, here's the pieces for his quilt.



Now, remember those 5 projects that I have on my staging area? That would be from this post. Well, I wasn't counting my table runner that I showed. So it was really 6 plus the one that I don't want to work on but just can't store anywhere else.

Anyway, on Sunday when I got back from the library, I decided that I was going to try to work on my Jitterbug YBR and assemble the rows. As I was going along, I realized that I had a spot on each row when I would need to cut the thread to piece the last 2 pieces together. Instead, I pulled out the Bento Box pairs that I had set aside and I started using them as leaders and enders. I've never done this before because I never thought ahead to having another quilt 'ready' to piece.

I have to admit that I loved having two things going at once. And once I realized that, I jumped to the table runner and got that pieced. I am glad that I ripped out the last seam that I had put in because I found a way to line up the pieces on each side of the sashing so it doesn't look like things are floating away. I still don't like how this turned out, but I guess if someone is to use it with garland and candles or something to take away from the center blocks, it might not be so bad. (Mom? Can you do that? lol)



A closer picture of 2 of the blocks in the runner.



So I was able to get the runner finished, sew on 3 sets of the leader/ender Bento Box blocks and sew 3 rows of the Jitterbug together.

Can you guess what Maisy was the happiest with? And as soon as I threw the third row on the floor, Max was all over that! lol