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....

Stash Report Week 8, 2011

It was a pretty good week for me. I was able to get the last pair of pants cut and all the pants sewn up.

Before leaving for my trip on Friday, I was able to finish the fleece blanket for the dogs. They used it in their cage in the car on the trip. Then, when we went to dinner once we got here, the dogs peed on it so here it is coming out of the washer.



At least it's finished! And they love it. lol

Fabric added this week: 0.00
Fabric added year-to-date: 0.53

Fabric used this week: 5.39
Fabric used year-to-date: 17.87

Net Fabric Used: 17.34   Nice!!

Jasper says... High fives!!

Short on time...

But not on pants! I got the last 2 pairs done last night at 11 PM because I realized at 10 PM that it was 10 PM and I had not done a thing for most of the evening.



Six pairs of pants, ready to wear!!

Max wonders if they can possibly be as wonderful as this quilt...

Stash Report Week 7, 2011

This has been a great week!! I got the pants cut out from fabric that I had on hand. Lots of pants!



And I found a fabric that was hiding this morning so I will get another pair cut out before I start sewing everything together.

I also used a FQ and some yardage for the binding on the mini quilt.

Fabric added this week: 0.00
Fabric added year-to-date: 0.53

Fabric used this week: 11.78
Fabric used year-to-date: 12.48

Net Fabric Used: 11.95

Max was just happy to rest and recuperate from his teeth cleaning on Friday. I think he is feeling better today.

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.

Pants Party!

I finished the pants for Barb tonight and I will be delivering them to her at the hospital tomorrow! I will also be meeting the newest addition to her family!



And after I got a little set up for this pair, I think that I can get working on the rest of the fabric that I washed for pants and get them cranked out fairly quickly. I will start with cutting the fabric out tomorrow night!

Design Wall Monday, 2/7

It's been a while since I have had anything worth reporting on my Design Wall. Heck, since I have had anything but the Midget blocks on my Design Wall! lol

This week, I have a pair of pants cut out to make for Barb who will be delivering her baby boy anytime now. I have to get them finished to be able to deliver them to the hospital so she can wear them while she is recuperating.



I'm hoping to get them finished tonight after my Guild meeting. :)

Retreat Post – Saturday #1

Saturday, I think I woke up around 6:30. Way too early for me since I went to bed late and was woken up around 3, but once I was awake at 6:30 and people were moving around outside of our door, there was no getting back to sleep. I went to the gym and found that I had no drive to sew anything so I just chilled in my chair until breakfast. After breakfast, I continued working on the 4 pairs of pants. Many thanks to Jen for letting me use some of her thread. Thread was something that was overlooked in my rush to pack on Friday.



(I must say that since retreat I have learned that Masterpiece is not the thread to use while assembling pants because it does not create a strong enough seam to hold up to repeated wearing of pants. I have since had to reinforce a few seams in all of the pants made that weekend. Oh well, lessons learned.)

After I was done with the pants, I was sort of lost again and tried to re-organize my area so that I could work on something else. I ended up with my teal and white blocks for the BOM that I am doing through the shop. I like this quilt so much that I am making two – 1 for me to keep and 1 for me to gift – and I am a couple of months behind so I was working on 2 each of 4 different blocks. I got my pieces cut and ready to sew on the lines, but there was so much going on that I kept getting sidetracked and listening to side conversations or watching what others were doing. Eventually, we heard the lunch bell and went to eat. I think that sometime in the afternoon, I was able to finish the stitching on my Thangles pieces for the BOM and I started cutting the HSTs apart, but I didn’t get much farther than that.

Everyone kept pretty busy for the rest of the day. Moneik showed Jennifer how to make a Lazy Girl Runaround bag and ended up making a bag for me for her Pay It Forward gift from last year.



And here is what some others worked on and made.

Jennifer N made some log cabin blocks.



Becca finished a quilt top. Very cute!



Quite a few people finished their pie pin cushions from the kits that Jen supplied everyone with.



Jen made a top from some signature blocks that she put together.



Trish worked on her baskets Friday and most of Saturday. She really wanted to get her top together!

April Accomplishments

I almost forgot about the accomplishments for last month. Even though I had a retreat, I didn't get a whole lot done there. Everything that was finished, was done before retreat.

Actual Quilty things

1. Finished the Nickel Quilt for the shop sample
2. Began posting instructions for a special project on my special blog
3. Quilted 4 lap quilts for Regina the I
4. Made 23 rice bags
5. Made 4 pairs of pajama pants
6. Made a block roll up

Non-Quilty Things

1. Collected lots of donations for the retreat
2. Got new glasses
3. Had my car broken into
4. Finished cleaning the house for my retreat guests
5. Completed the quilt retreat

OK, so really ... I only did 6 quilty things. Six! Unbelievable!

Retreat Post - Friday #4

After the excitement of giving Linda her quilt, we all settled in and got busy sewing. Jennifer kept saying that she wanted to get her top done because she wanted to go home and be able to tell her husband that she can be productive and should go on more retreats. Sounded like a plan to me! She got this top done.



Jen got 2 pillowcases done - Linda's to match her quilt and Sherry's to match her Democratic tendencies!




Cindy finished up her wall hanging. She was very proud!



Cindy also had other news on Friday. One of the ladies who wasn't with our group brought a Singer Featherweight to sell. Hallie had told me when she got there and after dinner, it was on display at her table. Cindy had developed Featherweight envy after Sherry got hers and when we walked past Hallie's, I told Cindy that she was selling it. That was all it took! Ten minutes later, the machine was at Cindy's table and she was trying out names for it.



There was also a cheese curd tasting 'contest.' Jen brought Wisconsin cheese curds for me to try since I didn't taste them when I was up in October and Regina the I brought New York curds so that we could pick the best.



They both could tell the difference between the curds from the 2 states. And I still have not tasted a curd.

Regina worked on this beauty.



I'm not sure what others worked on, but I worked on my 4 pairs of pants that I had started sewing before retreat. I worked until my back was about to give out and sleep was a necessity.

Cleaning and a meeting

I don't have any actual quilting news to report on. I still have not quilted Wagon Wheels, but I am planning on doing that this weekend. Wednesday night, I was able to fondle fabric a little while I was cleaning and organizing my sewing area. I put all of the projects away that I haven't worked on or that do not have an imminent deadline so that it will help me concentrate on what really needs to get done. I think that there are about 5 bags that are still out. And fabric for some more pajama pants. I just can't bring myself to put that fabric away when I know that I can finish the pants quickly once the fabric is cut. And once I have Bubba returned to his cherished position on my sewing table.

Anyway, the master bedroom and closet are just about finished. The upstairs hallway is finished, but will get another vacuuming the weekend before company arrives. The little dogs are happy about that - they *HATE* the vacuum! And the spare bedroom is in great shape. I have a couple of things to do this weekend and it will be complete, too! The upstairs bathroom will get a little more attention this weekend and it will be done, too.

Saturday was to be my first day off from both jobs in over 2 weeks. After working so hard last weekend, I was really looking forward to being a bum! Then, I realized that I need to get my driver's license and tags for the car renewed and all thoughts of sleeping in flew out the window. Then, we had our staff meeting at the shop last night. :(

A couple of weeks ago, there was a computer glitch and all of the data for the fabric counts was lost back to the last back up. And the last back up was January 4. Saturday, once the shop closes, we are doing inventory. And we have to have it done and all of the fabric back on the shelves by Sunday at noon when we open back up. So guess where I will be on Saturday night. There goes my day off!

There were some bright spots from the staff meeting. I got my first choice of a sample to make! We finally got Amazing Nickel Quilts in and I am making a lap quilt from that book! I am excited! I have been nagging Jan about getting the book in since it was released! I think that this might be the one that I keep.

Also, Jan is scheduled to give a lecture to a Guild in Indiana and she can't make it. She asked if I would give it in her place. Of course, she has to make sure that the change of topic is OK and that sending me is OK with the Guild. As long as it is, I'm off to Southern Indiana for a lecture. I am NERVOUS! But I am more comfortable with the new topic (stash) than the old topic (color). Jan has a very intense color lecture that she gives and she is awesome! I took the lecture last year and then heard it while I was in the shop and working this year, but there is just too much for me to be able to learn and remember in such a short amount of time. And now that I think about this, I am starting to hope that the Guild asks her to reschedule. But Jan does have faith in my ability to talk in front of a crowd…. Oh, I am just so nervous I could pee my pants!

I need to concentrate on something else! Nickel quilt, nickel quilt, nickel quilt…. Retreat, retreat, retreat! Ok, that might do it! :-D

A few little things...

A few days ago, I realized that I needed some more flannel pants to go along with my Lucky Charms pants for the winter months. Joann's had this fabric on sale and I got enough for a pair of pants and a pillowcase. I got the fabric washed with the laundry today so I just need to iron and cut it and make the pants. Now, if I can just get that done in the next week or so, I will be in good shape. Although, there are some other holiday flannels on sale this week that I will have to go and pick up for pants, too.



Last night, the dogs and I were in bed and Max ended up with his head on the pillow and his eyes tightly closed. By the time I got my camera, he had opened his eyes and moved a little, but it was still a good photo op.



Tonight, we went outside and he escaped. Right in front of a moving car! My heart stopped! Luckily, it was my neighbor Kim driving and she saw me running through the parking lot after him and screaming like a mad woman. This may have been the closest call he has ever had with a car. Currently, he is tucked safely back in bed!

After work today, I loaded up a charity quilt on Lenny and gave Squiggy a long overdue cleaning and lube job. I probably need to wind 1 more bobbin, but it is ready to be quilted tomorrow. This is part of my test plan.



Hopefully, I will get it quilted tomorrow night. We'll see. It is a Monday night small group night.

October Accomplishments

Although not a lot was actually sewn during October, there were some big things that happened. It was a good month. A nice month to catch my breath, so to speak, to prepare for the upcoming holidays.

Quilty accomplishments

1. I made a decision on how to handle my scraps and I started to organize them. Not much to show for it now, but knowing what I want to do with the scraps is a step in the right direction.
2. I also made a decision on how to handle my UFOs. Again, it’s just a step in the right direction especially since I didn’t get much sewing done on anything this month.
3. finished my Flintstones pajama pants
4. finished my Naked Cowboy pajama pants
5. Cut pieces for a Moon Pie quilt kit
6. Cut pieces for a Chicken in Every Pot quilt kit
7. Went to Wisconsin!!
8. Finished the binding on 2 charity quilts
9. Finished the last block in the $2 a block BOM at my quilt shop!
10. Got all of the stars finished for my Thangles Milky Way quilt
11. Made a traveling notions bag for Cindy

Non-quilty accomplishments

1. Read/listened to O, P, and Q in the Sue Grafton alphabet series. I have a couple of more books to go in this series and a few more books in the queue, but I am going to need something else to hold my attention pretty soon.
2. Went to Wisconsin – really this is a quilty and a non-quilty accomplishment. Quilty because we sewed and shop hopped and non-quilty because the dogs and I had an adventurous road trip with toll booths and all!
3. Enjoyed some Cheech splashes!
4. Introduced the Northerners to some great Cincinnati favorites – Skyline dip and Buskens cookies
5. Enjoyed the first pumpkin pancakes of the season at IHOP in Wisconsin!
6. Began working at Best Friends on the weekends

I think that I need to make up some goals for myself for November and spend some time actually sewing this month! I do have some deadlines that don’t involve Christmas so I had better get started on those items! And the Guild Retreat is only a week and a half away! Woo hoo!! I should be able to get some things accomplished that weekend! *fingers crossed!*

The week in review

There are some things that have happened that I haven't updated on because I have been a little busy. I hope that I can remember everything.

Sunday, I started the day by working on the Flintstones pants. This was what I had pulled on Saturday night right before bed. Finished!



And how fitting was it that the next item pulled was to finish the naked cowboy pants! Finished!



I really took my time on the pants and watching some TV shows so when I pulled the next piece of paper and saw that I needed to spend 30 minutes ironing Joann's fabric, I guess I went a little overboard. I know that I was going to cut all of my scraps into 5" squares or 2.5" strips or squares, but I remembered that most of my Joann's fabric was going to go into the stash quilts from the Stash Pot Pie class at Best Friends. Last weekend, I had spent some time organizing my patterns and putting the stash pot pie patterns into a binder and I looked at the patterns. A lot of the patterns call for odd sizes so I didn't want to start cutting these fabrics down and then not be able to use them.

I decided to use the first batch of Joann's scraps for a Moon Pie quilt. If you go to this post on Cathy's blog, the last picture is the moon pie quilt that she made. I spent the rest of Sunday evening ironing the fabric that I will use for this quilt and starting to cut the pieces.

Monday was a Guild meeting where I was 'installed' as the secretary for the year. Basically, I was called to the front of the room and people clapped for us. It was great to see my buddies.

Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I spent watching TV and continuing to cut fabric for the moon pie quilt. Wednesday night, I got a perm and then cut fabric.

I have since decided that cutting fabric is what I like to do the least in the quilt making process. Once I get back from Jen's house next weekend, I am going to implement a new basket with new tasks. I will have one basket for sewing items and one basket for projects that haven't been started and need to be cut. I will pull one that needs to be cut, get the cutting done, add it to the needs to be sewn basket and then pull one from the needs to be sewn basket. The needs to be sewn basket will be almost like a reward for getting something cut and ready. At least, this is what I am hoping for so that I can start getting some things done. :)

And now in other news.... I got the call today that I have been waiting for. Bubba is ready and I am going to pick him up tomorrow after my stash class. I am going to check and make sure that he is sewing up to par and then I am going to pack him up so that I can finish getting ready for next weekend.

And this brings me to my other news - in 1 week from right now, I will be in Milwaukee with Jen and Cindy and Mike and Holly Bear! I am very excited! The dogs are a little excited because I am telling them to be excited because they are going with me. I have mapped out my route which will include stopping at one quilt shop on my way up.

Now, if I can just get through 4 more work days...

How did I do?

Pretty well, I think! It took a bit longer for the oil change because there was a problem with a tire that I had checked out. Thank God I did! I could have had some serious issues when driving up to Wisconsin in 12 days. There was a piece of metal in one tire and they were able to patch it, but it took quite a bit of time. When I finally left there, I hit a few shops and then came home. Then, it was nap time since I didn't get home until about 2:15. Two hours later and I pulled my first task.

30 minutes cleaning the spare bedroom (where my stash is kept). I hadn't put anything away since just before the Shop Hop so it was a bit of a mess. After 30 minutes, the piles had been tamed and the only things remaining were bags of scraps and fabric that needed shelf space. On to the next task.

Prepping the Thangles BOM half square triangles. I was only going to iron and cut the fabric, but I remembered that I have a (very cheap) Singer that has always done well so I pulled it out and found this.



The thing laying on top of the machine is supposed to be attached to the plus looking thing on the left. I tried attaching the piece with super glue, but it didn't work. I was able to sill use the machine and I got all of the HSTs sewn and cut down to the right size and ready for when Bubba returns.

I think that at this point, I pulled out to quilt a charity quilt. This is what I made some slight modifications to the plan. I decided that I didn't want to work in the basement because I have TV shows to watch so I put this one to the side and pulled another piece.

I spent 30+ minutes working on stitching down binding and I watched Friday's Ghost Whisperer.

The next piece was to update the UFO and projects listing on my sidebar. Easy! And done!

At this point, it was about 11:30 and I was ready for bed. I spent some time ripping out some stitching and then headed to bed. But not before I pulled the piece to work on next. Finish Flintstones pajama pants.

This seems to be working quite well! Although, I may put off quilting anything for today, too. There is enough for me to do without even thinking about the charity quilts that I have to work on.

September Accomplishments

In spite of a week long vacation with an ancient machine, I still got quite a bit accomplished. Not as much as I had hoped, but enough to keep me happy!

Quilty accomplishments

1. Finished piecing a disappearing 9 patch top for the Alaska quilts
2. Finished the St Jude and Lucky Charm pants
3. Finished August block for BOM
4. Quilted 2 charity quilts on Lenny and Squiggy – still in the process of ripping out the quilting on one.
5. Almost missed a class at Best Friends, but was able to show up a little late and catch up quickly!
6. Did the Tri-State 2008 Shop Hop with buddies. Had a great time! Spent lots of money and got loads of great stuff!
7. Posted a contest and then wigged out on picking winners! I will do that this weekend! Promise!
8. Won the Lazy Days of Summer contest with my Sunny Lanes top over at the Quilting Gallery blog
9. Finished the 4th of July table runner for Judy’s housewarming
10. Finished 4 placemat tops for Judy’s housewarming
11. Quilted and finished the Ugly Quilt for mother. She loves it!
12. Had to piece on an antiquated Kenmore while on vacation
13. Finished my Courier bag
14. Finished my HSTs for my Thangles class that I almost missed.

Non-Quilty Accomplishments

1. Read/Listened to K, L, M and N in Sue Grafton’s alphabet series
2. Got a cat bed from Linda for the dogs. They adore it!
3. Got a GREAT CMG’s wife story! See here for that. ADD LINK!!
4. Went to Florida for a vaca
5. Got lots of turtle pics while on vacation
6. Returned from vacation to my little dogs who missed me a lot!
7. Had lots of fun and laughs feeding the dogs an ice cream cone

Another update

Yesterday, I spent some time stitching down binding and watching some TV so I didn't get as much accomplished as I would have liked. I did watch 2 movies - The Savages and Definitely Maybe. I really like Definitely Maybe - it was very cute!

After running out to treat myself to dinner and The Dip, Judy called and asked if I wanted to go and see her new house. She closed last week and I was the only one of the group who hadn't seen it. She also had some boxes to take in so I went and helped her, Dominique and Jeanette unload some things. The house is very cute! Judy is very excited to be moving in to a place on her own!

I finished my last 2 parts of one secret project.



I finished laundry - it just needs to be folded and put away. I finished washing some fabric for the second secret project that I am working on. I got this fabric ironed, too.



I looked at a Kid Komfort charity quilt and decided that there wasn't enough border fabric and if it was added, I wouldn't be able to use the backing given so I am going to quilt it as is. I am not counting this as one of my charity tops to piece.

I did get the binding finished on one of the Kid Komfort quilts that I quilted last month.

So far today, I have finished 2 pairs of the pajama pants. My Lucky Charms and the St Jude fabric pants.





And these are the pieces that I have so far for the Alaska quilt top. It's a disappearing nine patch pattern, but there was only enough fabric for 7 full blocks. Not really enough for a quilt top.



OK, I am off to get cleaned up, make a fruit salad and pack things up to take to Patrice's. We are still getting together for our Monday night group and we are cooking out! Yeah!!

Things to do

To keep myself in line, I am making a list of things that HAVE to be done this weekend. I know that I tried this a couple of weekends ago and I barely got anything done, but that was when I had a lot of homework for my Courier bag class and that took up A LOT of time. With this being a 3 day weekend, I think that I have a better shot of accomplishing more. Especially since I have most of my bag homework done for the next class.

There is only one problem with the next class. It is on Tuesday night and I have been invited to go to the Reds baseball game for a work function. And due to information that was learned last weekend, I *really* think that I should go to this work function. It would be BENEFICIAL for me to go to this work function. ;)

Anyway...

So far tonight, I have already cleaned up the house and am ready to start laundry. I just have to gather the laundry from the bedroom and take it to the basement and sort it and get started. I also spent a little time earlier in the week just straightening up my sewing table and all of the projects that are in the works.

All right, here is my list of things that I absolutely have to get done. Or at least work on! These are in no particular order.

1. Quilt an Alaska charity quilt
2. Quilt a Kid Komforts charity quilt
3. Piece an Alaska charity quilt
4. Piece a Kid Komforts charity quilt
5. Finish the 4 secret projects
6. Work on the other set of secret projects
7. Finish one more pair of pants
8. Finish my Courier bag homework
9. Piece my August block for the BOM

I have quite a few more charity quilts to get pieced and a few more than that to get quilted. Lenny and Squiggy could be getting quite a work out!

OK, I'm off to get started!

Quilted Chaos meeting

Monday nights when we don't have a Guild meeting, we have a small neighborhood group meeting. Last night, everyone was there except Linda who was in Michigan visiting a friend. (Hi, Linda! We missed you! And YOU missed a GOOD time!) We always bring things to show off.

Dominique finished a quilt that she calls the B*tch quilt. I think it looks great! And all the quilting is free motion that she did on her frame.







Since I had the camera out, I had to get a picture of Daisy, our mascot! She's such a pretty girl! And stingy with her kisses! :)



Last week, I showed off my pants that I finished at the retreat. On Thursday, some of the ladies went shopping and Patrice got me a little something.

How cool is this?!? I can't wait to put them in my pants! :)

Lastly, before we left, some of us exchanged some ugly fat quarters for our mini-challenge. We have to make something with out fat quarters by the end of October. Here is what I got. I think it's pretty! And it's a half yard so I have to figure out something really awesome to make!



And Jeanette found some other fabrics and scraps that she wanted to get rid of while she was looking for her ugly fat and we were all lucky enough to come home with some extra pieces. This is what I got.



Well, that is it for now. I'm off to work and then tonight is the second class for the Courier bag. I am excited to be getting back to classes! I always have a great time!

So, How did I do?

Well, I was not as productive as I had hoped this weekend. But at least I have my sewing all laid out for the next week or 2.

1. Finish the last 5 pairs of pants - 1 pair is completely done, 4 are ready for the waist and hem (I need to get some matching thread for at least 1 of these pairs.)
2. Quilt the Courier bag pieces for class on Tuesday
3. Piece the August BOM block
4. Piece at least 2 charity quilts
5. Quilt at least 1 quilt
6. Work on 4 secret projects
7. Start on 1 secret project

And here are pictures. The witches underwear pants.

A closer view of the fabric:



And here are my pieces that have been quilted for the Courier bag class. The pink is the lining. I am working ahead some - we only had to have these pieces quilted and working on the pockets was optional. I figured that I can get the pockets done tonight for class that is tomorrow.

And here is a picture of the quilting. Looks cool, huh? This did not take as much time as purses that I have made. I will have to take some pictures and show you why tonight!