The Strippie Quilts

Stash Busting Report Week #13

This past week was Easter break and the kids were home from school. Lots of quality time spent with the kids and a few stolen moments in the sewing room. My report for this past week is as follows:

• fabric received in: one fat quarter (gifted)
• fabric used: - 6.25 yards
• net fabric for this week: - 6 yards

Net fabric year to date: -28.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• finished piecing kitty strippie
• quilted kitty strippie
• sewed binding back on cowboy strippie
• sewed binding back on dogs strippie
• sewed 8 maverick stars
• sewed borders on 3 Tiny Teddy panels
• labeled and mailed Leaves, Florida and Putzy to 'forever' owners

My goals for this week:

• piece Green/ white Pineapple Blossom to a flimsy
• sew binding on kitty strippie
• make quilt backs for Tiny Teddy panel quilts
• practice quilting on Tiny Teddy panel quilts

All in all, my week was alot more productive than I would have thought. Amazing how stolen moments here and there really add up. I went to a quilt show today and saw some inspiring quilts and manage not to have anything follow me home...not even lunch! Although, I saw some really, really cute panels there and I walked away from the novelty fabric booth :).

No pictures as my computer and blogger seem to be talking a different language :(. Hopefully soon they will start playing 'nice' again.

Bindings Done

Thanks to the season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice, the NCAA March Madness Basketball games...my team lost :( and a quiet Saturday morning, I was able to stitch down the bindings on the Cowboy and Dog Strippie quilts (pattern here). These are the first two quilts off the long-arm. I can see that my technique has room to improve :) alot!

Thanks Fabric Mom

I won last week's drawing of a floral fat quarter at Fabric Mom's blog.
Thanks! It is beautiful and will be a great addition to my floral stash and I want to make a floral quilt. Is that great timing or what?


ps...picture to follow when blogger will load for me :)

ps2...it loaded...anyone else having trouble uploading pics to blogger?

Maverick Stars

DD decided to read for a spell this morning, so I went down to the sewing room and stitched a few of Bonnie's Maverick Stars. DD's goal is to color in 20 reading boxes at school. That is the equivalent of 10 hours of reading over Easter vacation!

So far I've made five stars, four as cornerstones and one for Bonnie. I hope to make a few more.


ps...blogger isn't playing nice and won't upload the picture of the Maverick stars. Will try later tonight or maybe in the morning. ps2: Here are the maverick stars...yeah...they loaded :)

Labeled, Wrapped and Ready To Truck

I was able to print off the labels for 'Leaves' and 'Florida' on Easter Sunday. I made the labels today and sewed them to the back of the quilts. Inspiration came and I wrote the 'Graduation' message to my nephew.

I wrapped the quilts in washed new pillowcases and packaged them up.


One box is 'trucking' to Colorado and the other to Michigan. All three quilts will soon be with their 'Forever' owners. I hope these quilts will bring comfort and warmth to everyone who receives their *hugs*.

Hoppy Easter

x

Stash Busting Report Week #12

I switched gears this week and set aside the green/white graduation quilt to work up a few quick donation quilts to practice quilting on. My report for this week is as follows:

• Fabric received in: 3 yards
• Fabric used: 6 yards
• Net fabric for this week: -9 yards (used)

Net total fabric for the year: -22.5 yards

It seems the fabric I'm buying is to use with projects that I have in mind, which is good thing! I just need to 'stay away' from the novelty sections of the fabric stores as this is where I tend to do my 'impulse' shopping :)

Not sure that there will be much time in the sewing room as the kids are off school for Easter Break this week. So if I'm not checking in and posting, it is because I'm having fun with the kids while they are home :)

No goals this week...all time spent in sewing room will be a bonus!

A Finish and A Beginning

I put the final stitch in the binding yesterday for the Black and Gold Graduation quilt aka 'Putzy'. Of course, I had to have it done for Show and Tell at guild! One last picture...taken by the jar of jelly beans since Easter is so close.

I sewed my favorite label on. The corner job...just waiting for the pigma pen and words of inspiration. I saw this label style on a blog last summer (sorry...I don't remember who or where.)

And now for the new beginning...I have a new friend in my house. Her name is Val (well at least I think she's a she!) She arrived on Wednesday and hence the reasoning for the Quick Strippies so I could practice on the 'real McCoy'.

I was feeling a little guilty for buying Val but then I took a trip down memory lane and realized I never said, "No" to anything that DH wanted to buy for a hobby.

Please join me for this quick down memory lane!

First is the 1988 Honda GL 1500 Gold Wing. This pony is still in our stable today some 20 years later. Only 5 more years and it will be a classic!

Circa 1995 (or close to it) brought a couple of SeaDoos into the picture. My in-laws had brought a cottage on a lake and we used to visit every weekend. So it was only natural that we had rides on the lake too. The SeaDoos were sold to a family friend that had just brought their cottage (on a different lake) and we moved to Texas in 2003. (uh-oh...can't find a picture...it was pre digital and I can't find the scanned pix)

In 2004, we added two Honda dirt bikes to our stable. These are currently in storage at my in-laws cottage in Michigan for the winter season.

and finally our latest addition as DS turns 17... a 1979 Chevy Corvette...what more could a teenage boy want!

and of course, a picture out my kitchen window about 9:30 am...an Easter snowstorm for us in SE Wisconsin.

EDIT: DS helped me find the SeaDoo pix...lucky for me that he is computer literate!

Quilt-a-thon #2 Lunch Update

I was at a good breaking point for lunch and thought I'd show my progress so far on JudyL's Quilt-a-thon #2.
I machine sewed the binding onto Putzy using this tip (scroll down to bottom of post) and it worked like a charm! Best of all, it kept the binding off the sewing room floor and I didn't roll over it once with my chair!


I was also able to cut and sew one of the Quick Strippies.
I choose to use the cowboy fabric first.



5:00 pm update:
I was able to sew another of Mary J's Quick Strippie quilt tops after lunch. This time I choose the dog and bones fabrics.

All in all, a very productive day for me in the sewing room! Thank you JudyL for hosting Quilt-a-thon #2!

JudyL's Quilt-a-thon #2

JudyL is hosting her second Quilt-a-thon today March 18, 2008 and I have a plan!

The pattern: Quick Strippie by Mary J.
The fabric:The objective: to make as many donation flimsies as possible

Before I start on the 'Quick Strippies', I want to machine sew the binding to the front of 'Putzy'. The next step will then be to hand sew the binding to the back and label. It would be kinda cool to get 'Putzy' almost finished at Quilt-a-thon #2 because I made most of her blocks during Quilt-a-thon #1 :)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

A few pictures as promised...I was the quilt holder and DH was the photographer and as you can probably tell...I'm not very tall :)...
first is the 'Michigan Fall' or 'Leaves' Quilt...

next is the 'Florida' Quilt (both quilts only need labels)...





last but not least... a peek at the green and white pineapple blossom blocks for the next graduation quilt (a Michigan State University grad).

Stash Busting Report Week #11

I was doing real good in the stash busting effort until last Saturday rolled around! I went to two LQS and JAF. oh boy! At JAF, I brought backing for two charity quilts with that 40% off coupon...sometimes it just gets the better of me. The local Ben Franklin (and a very nice quilting store) was having a 'Meet the Authors' Day so I wanted to check out and see if anyone would be suitable to teach a workshop or give a lecture at day guild. Well...I 'needed' yardage for the border of the green/white Pineapple Blossom I'm making and DD had on her 'Sparty' green coat so I had her stand next to all the bolts of fabric while I made my choice. I also had a $5.00 off coupon for $25.00 purchase and a gift certficate for $20.00. Of course the border fabric was only about $18.00 so what's a girl to do? I 'needed' to get to the $25.00 mark to use the second coupon, right? With all that said, my report is as follows:

• fabric received in: 13.5 yards
• fabric used: 8.0 yards
• net for week: +5.5 yards

Net total for year to date: -13.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• made 40 postcards for day guild give-away
• sewed bindings onto 'Leaves' and 'Florida' quilts (pictures of finishes to follow once I can get my quilt holder to hold :))
• pieced 20/24 green/white pineapple blossom blocks
• dropped and picked up 'Putzy' from Juli (my LA-er)

Goals for next week:

• sew binding (front and back) to Putzy
• piece green/white top to a flimsy
• piece charity quilt

I'm counting the 'Leaves' quilt in with the stash used as it is a UFO from last year but I've already counted in the yardage from 'Florida' . I hope to do better this week and need to stay away from the fabric stores!

Day Guild Goody Bags

Good News!

The day guild ladies liked the goody bags and I received 30 completed surveys! WooHoo! I think just about everyone filled one out to get the 'goody bag'! Now onto read the surveys and make sense of it all :)

Here is a picture of the stack of completed surveys and the almost empty basket of 'goody bags'. I had one 'Friendship' and two 'St. Patrick's Day' goody bags leftover.

Quilt Give-away

Hop on over to Dana's blog, Old Red Barn Company. She will be giving away a quilt to celebrate her 200th post. Today (March 12th) she was on post #198.

New Signature

Over at Passionate Quilter, Karen found a site that allows you to place a cool signature of your name at the bottom of your post. I thought I would play around with it and 'see' if I could get it to work :) Thanks! and also thanks to the commentors who explained 'how to get the siggie into the blog'.

Mom's Helper

Yesterday, DD was off school for Parent Teacher Conferences. She was looking for an activity to keep her busy so...

...she helped me by stamping the 'postcards' and

arranging the 'postcards' and seeds to go into the 'goody bags' and

here she is posing with two of the completed 'goody bags' and Paprika, her Bitty Baby. She stayed in her pj's until noon when DH called and invited 'his girls' to lunch at McDonald's.

This is a close-up of the two types of 'postcards' I made, being a Libra I couldn't decide on one motif over the other so I did half of each :) Hope the quilting ladies like them!

and finally, here is my basket full of 'goodies' and the survey I hope will be filled out.

What type of iron do you have?

Su Bee at Pieces of Time is considering buying a new iron. She was wondering what type of iron we all have and to give a summary of it's good and bad points. This is a Rowenta Powerglide 2. I't my second one...it's okay. It is heavy so it does most of the work when pressing seams and has an auto shut-off (which I like since I never remember to turn off the iron until I'm about 5 miles down the road and think 'Did I turn it off?') I don't remember how long I have it but it is starting to loose some of its heating power...just doesn't seem to get as hot as before. I haven't put water in it so I don't know if it spits when steaming. I like to use Mary Ellen's Best Spray Starch Alternative when I'm pressing before cutting. If I remember correctly, Rowenta's can be a bit on the pricey side. I most likely used a coupon to buy this one :) When it dies, I don't think I would buy another Rowenta iron but hey, this is just my opinion. What's your opinion?

Mary's Give-a-way

Hop on over to Mary's A Very Mary Designs for a cool give-a-way. She is having a week-long de-stashing give-a-way! Every day someone will *win* some of her fabric!

Go ahead and hop now...

What are you waiting for? Pigs to fly, hehe :)

Pincushions

Blueberry Lane Designs is giving away two out of print pincushion books by Lynette Anderson! All you need to do to be entered is to post a picture of your pincushions and then leave a comment on their blog...how great is that? Here are my favorite pincushions. The purple tomatoe is my 'on-the-go' and binding one. It lives in my sewing bag and travels wherever my sewing takes me. My chicken and tread catcher stay next to my machine for the pins that I'm removing as I sew. My dress form has to be my fav! I use it when I pin my borders on my tops. I like that it is a little taller than the others and I've been know to tape a 'face' on the 'neck' for my own brand of 'quilting voodoo'...how crazy is that?! DS says that I definately have 'issues' but as you can see that there is currently no one that I am 'hexing' :)

Stash Busting Report Week #10

JudyL was discussing when do you count the fabric out of your stash.

I suppose I need to pick a 'method' then stick to it, eh? I think once I've cut for a top, the fabric is pretty much committed to being in that top. I don't usually cut fabric then put it back on the self...well...maybe...but not too often. I think once I have the top pieced, I'll count the fabric as out of my stash :)

My report for this week:

• fabric received in: 5 yards
• fabric used: 16.5 yards
• total fabric year to date: -19 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• finished Putzy to a flimsy
• pieced Putzy's back
• pieced Putzy's binding
• pieced a spring-y tote

Goals for next week:

• finish cutting and start sewing Rachel's MSU quilt top
• make 40 day guild participation prizes

Wow! Putzy (the black and gold quilt) was a real stash eater. I had to add up the yardages called for in the pattern twice to believe it...she was 15 yards worth!

I decided to treat myself to a 'me' sewing project since I finished Putzy and her back and made this spring-y type tote that I will use as a purse. I'm hoping to leave the snowflakes behind and see some flowers popping up soon...very soon *s* DD had brought home some of her art work so I decided to include it in the photo op. The tote pattern is from Atkinson Design's Happy Hour Booklet. I've made this pattern twice and each tote turned out a little different :) must be my sewing...

I'm conducting a survey for my day guild and want to make a little something to give out. I've already brought some seeds and was thinking about a fabric postcard. Would you like to receive a fabric postcard as a give-away? and would you want it to be 'a St. Patrick's Day' theme or a 'Friendship' theme? I'm going simple and fuse fabric on the front and back then zig-zag around the edges...

EDIT: I forgot about the 5 yards Mamaspark sent me of Sparty fabric...yikes...How could I? (12:52 pm)

Fun Mail

Lookie what Mamaspark sent to me! We have been *talking* about Big Ten quilts. I had sent her a few yards of University of Wisconsin Badger fabric for an upcoming project and she said she would send me Michigan State University Spartan fabric that I wanted for the back of Rachel's graduation quilt! Now...on to piece the front in green and white.


Yesterday, I pieced Putzy's back and even included a Western Michigan University logo from an old t-shirt from DS. I've never incorporated a t-shirt into a quilt before so I'm anxious to 'see' how it works out.


Linda, from my night guild, shared a tip she had read somewhere (maybe Fon's and Porter---I guess I wasn't really paying attention :)), that as you are making your binding you put it into a baggie. She had said that she did this and it worked well without any wrinkles and the binding comes out of the baggie pretty good when attaching to the quilt. Since I was on a roll, I decided to make Putzy's binding, place it in a baggie and test this tip myself.