Stash Busting Report Week #48

Well, we're coming into the home stretch of Stash Busting 2008. I happy to say that I have used more fabric than I have brought in, so far this year! Knock on wood! Time for me to start thinking about my Quilting goals for 2009. In the meantime, here is my report for this week:

• fabric received in: 0 yards
• fabric used: -15.5 yards
• net fabric for the week: -15.5 yards (used)

Net fabric for the year: -15.75 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

• quilted and bound Betty Boop in Las Vegas
• made two placemat purses
• pieced, quilted and bound Santa Wall Hanging
• pieced, quilted and bound Kitchen Wall Hanging

Goals for next week:

• work on Christmas gifties!

I am very thankful that I was able to accomplish so much! DH and DD hung out together both at his work and Christmas shopping so I was able to work in the sewing room. DS encouraged me to work on the Santa Wall Hanging otherwise, I probably wouldn't have completed that project! DS even made the best pizza ever for lunch that day so I could keep on 'a sewing'! Thanks for my family! :)

A Kitchen Quilt

Here is the door that leads from the garage/mud/laundry room to the kitchen. Behind this door are some very big holes from the previous owner. They must have hung something heavy there as the holes are from those sinker thingies that expand as you screw the nail into the wall.

I've been wanting to make a little wall hanging to cover those holes since we moved in two years ago but I wasn't sure what to make. I had brought some kitchen-y fabric before the move thinking it would make a good stack-and-whack but never got around to stacking and whacking it! (sound familiar?!)
Fast forward to the November meeting at the Oconomowoc Quilt Guild. Lucky me! I won the last door prize and it was this book, Tessellation Quilts by Christine Porter. I have been fascinated by tessellation quilts and now I own a whole book of ideas! :)
This past week, I was able to pull and wash the kitchen-y fabric and a few go-withs. Here is the finished quilt hanging by the kitchen table. I need to search and find my other two hangers so it can hang behind the door and cover those un-sightly holes!
A close-up of the quilting...Popcorn...and the tessellation. I sewed a six inch spacer between Santa and this kitchen quilt, pinned the piece to the long arm and just kept rolling and sewing on Friday. I got this idea from Lori at this post. I did change out thread color but it was a really fast way to quilt up theses two wall hangings! Fellow bloggers are so smart and willing to share their knowledge!

Santa Claus is coming to Town

I was fixin' to make this Santa Wall Hanging when the Land O'Lakes Quilt Guild held their December 2006 Challenge. (I was a member when we lived in the Metroplex.) Life happened and we moved, so this project was put into a moving box then the bottom of the fabric cupboard with the other Christmas stash. I decided this fall that this would be the time that I make this quilt and pulled the fabrics from the cupboard! I almost didn't make it as I thought the letters would be too time consuming but DS persuaded me to make it.

I'M GLAD HE DID!

I followed Tonya's Free Pieced Letter Instructions found at Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville. I quilted it with one of my favorites, Popcorn from Willow Leaf Studio.

I'd better be good cuz, "Santa Claus is coming to Town"!

More Purses...

...I made two more Bunny Ear placemat purses from the book, Simple and Sensational Purses from Placemats by Ricki Bremer. One for me and one for DD. DD has already gone Christmas shopping with her new bag. Next, it will be my turn to be *styling*!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends in the US. Best wishes to all over the world. :)

A quilt-y note: I took the last stitch in the binding of Betty Boop in Las Vegas last night about 11:30 pm. A late night for me.

The upper left corner of Betty.

The lower left corner of Betty. Betty is about 52 x 58, a tad shorter than I like but all I could find was 1 1/2 yards of Betty and she shrunk a bit after the washing process. The pattern link is here, if you are interested. This quilt makes up really fast and can be adapted to any size...just depends on the inner panel fabric piece that is cut.

Tuesday

Today I worked on the quilting of the Betty Boop in Las Vegas top. Many thanks for all your input! The black and white checkerboard was every one's favorite! I think Starfishy was right when she said that the black and white reminded her of the dice in both the main print and outer border print!

DD picked the dark green thread and it blends right into the prints and is very hard to see. I used the Happy Times panto from Willow Leaf Studio.

Here it is in the checkerboard portion of the outer border.

I also worked on my wall hangings but will wait to post about those when they are closer to being completed.

Our First Snow of the Winter Season

When I awoke this morning, a gentle snow had fallen. The temperature is right around 32F so the snow is very heavy...good for making snowmen and snowballs!

Of course, Miss Daisy likes to chase her tennis ball no matter what the weather! The snow just makes it a little more challenging. :)

Stash Busting Report Week #47

A quick report this week:

• fabric received in: 0.25 yards
• fabric used: -7.5 yards
• net fabric for the week: - 7.25 yards

Net fabric for the year: - 0.25 yards (used!)

What I accomplished this week:

• quilt, bound and washed Floral Bulls Eye
• pieced Betty Boop to a flimsy
• made an oven mitt prototype

Goals for next week:

• quilt and bind Betty Boop
• piece kitchen Wallhanging
• piece Holiday Wallhanging

This will be a short week with Thanksgiving on Thursday.

I am thankful for many things including my family and the ability to create in my sewing room! :)

Floral Bullseye

I finished sewing on the yoyo centers onto the Floral Bullseye last night. I wanted to wash this quilt before giving so that the flowers would start to rag.

Completed quilt before wash.

Completed quilt after wash.

One flower before wash.

Same flower after wash.

I normally don't wash a quilt before it is gifted but this one turned out so snugly and cozy and wonderfully crinkly...I just might change my mind and wash before giving! The edges are just starting to rag but after a few more washings, it will be nice and fuzzy.

Therapeutic Sewing

When I'm looking for some therapeutic sewing, I make 4 patches. So 4 patches were on order for today in the sewing room.

First I made a small pile of yellow/purple. One of my favorite color combinations.

I paired them with a Betty Boop in Las Vagas focus fabric and casino tokens as the remaining border. Pattern here. I had to adjust the pattern slightly as all I had of the Betty Boop focus fabric was a 40 x 44 piece. This combination just wasn't working for me (sorry for the blurry Betty's).


Then I made a small pile of black/white 4 patches. Did I tell you that I love to make 4 patches?!


When I paired these 4 patches, I think the whole top looks better. (More blurry Betty's, sorry) I think I'm leaning towards using the black/white combination. To me, it just seems to make the quilt *pop*. Just to be safe, I thought I would ask the design team for input...so what do you think looks better? (if you ignore the blurry Betty's and just look at the color combinations)

Gifties in the Mail

Thank You, Fabric Mom!

I won her drawing for this beautiful fat quarter of poinsettias last week. Isn't it pretty? She even included this precious magnet for my fridge. Quilting bloggers are the nicest friends! If you like this fq, she is having another drawing of the same fabric so hop on over to Fabric Mom's blog and take a peek. She's got cute kids, too! :)

Thanks for the gifties! :)

'Tis the Season...

...to step out of the box and explore new possibilities.

I found this oven mitt pattern while trolling the web awhile back. I would like to make a few as gifties this season so I thought I would *try* the pattern. I changed a few *things* from the pattern and now *I know* why the pattern was written like it is! I feel like this oven mitt has a mutant thumb! I'll have to get DS (whose hand is bigger than mine) to try it on and then I cam make *some more minor* adjustments to the pattern.

WIP Wednesday

If it's Wednesday, think I'm working on sewing a binding back?!

Yessiree! Today I am working on sewing back the binding on the Floral Bulleye and I made YoYo's for the center of the flowers. I brought the Clover YoYo Maker in the summer and this is the first time I have used it. Pretty nifty tool. I have a new appreciation for the 'YoYo enthusiasts' out in blogland that make so many YoYo's! While I was Google-ing about YoYo's, I came across this tutorial for Heather Bailey's favorite knot. I was usually *confused* as to which way to lay the thread before tying the knot, but Heather's pictures totally explain this. A very good tutorial for a visual learner like myself.

Talk About It Tuesday

I was inspired by Amy at The Calico Cat to make this quilt top in the summer of 2007. She originally pieced her top (and blogged about it) on August 28, 2006. (You will need to scroll to the date as I couldn't figure out how to link to the particular post.)

It sat in my sewing room for 18 months with the backing made waiting to be quilted. After taking my Gammill textures class, I thought I would give the free motioning quilting a whirl.

In the border, I did a loop-y swirl and in the background, I tried to do a meander.
I can see that my meander sizes are quite varied but for a beginner, I am happy. The biggest step is to 'just do it' and 'practice it'! I realized that after I was rolling the quilt top that I should have secured the center of the bulls eyes...oops! Maybe I will make some yo-yo's and secure those as flowers centers. Or maybe tie some French Knots? What do you think I should do? I want to wash this before giving so that the raggy edges start to fray.

After all, didn't someone say, "Necessity is the Mother of ALL inventions"?!

Stash Busting Report Week #46

A strong Saturday sewing day helped a great deal in using some stash. My report follows:

• fabric received in: 4 yards
• fabric used: 10.5 yards
• net fabric for the week: -6.5 yards (used)

Net fabric for the year: + 7 yards (added)

What I accomplished this week:

• made 4 QOV pillowcases
• made 3 floral pillowcases

Goals for next week:

• load and quilt Floral Bullseye (a UFO for almost 18 months!)
• start on Holiday gifties

I had a good week as Bonnie Hunter arrived in town. I participated in 2 workshops and attended 2 lectures...a mini retreat yet home each night to my family. In the coming weeks, I will focus on the various Holiday gifties I enjoy making and giving. I also am invited to my nephew and his fiancee's bridal shower the Sunday after Christmas. Last Spring I made the Putzy Quilt for his college graduation gift so I'm thinking a different type of gift (not a quilt!) should be made. Now to brainstorm an idea or two...

Saturday Sewing and Quilt-a-thon

JudyL is hosting her November Quilt-a-thon this weekend. So in an effort to clear some space on the cutting table, I decided to sew my QOV pillowcase *kits* that I had cut last week or so. I followed the McCall's Quiltmaker pattern (here).

Friday night, I sewed one pillowcase together. Throughout the day, as I could sew for a few minutes, I finished the other three pillowcases.

I decided that I wanted to included pillowcases with Orange Sunshine and a UFO (Flower Bullseye), so I washed more of the floral and green swirl fabric this afternoon. Tonight, I made these three pillowcases. Although this wasn't a big job, it feels good to cross the pillowcases off of my *To Do* list. One of the best parts is that this fabric came from stash. WooHoo! More stash busted as we are heading into the final weeks of the year!

I'd like to welcome my friend, Maureen to the quilting blog world. Hop on over to her blog, Quilting on the Road and at Home and see the wonderful quilts she pieces while travelling in her Airstream and at home. Maureen also documents her Airstream travels in her blog, Where in the World are Alan and Reen? Hop on over and take a look around and tell her, Pat says "Hi!"

Two More Stops...

Thursday, Bonnie had two more stops on her tour of Illinois and Wisconsin. In the morning, she gave her Scrap User's System lecture and trunk show to the Lake Country Quilt Guild, had a little bit of lunch, took a nap then in the evening went to the Oconomowoc Quilt Guild. I was fortunate to be able to attend both of Bonnie's presentations. Even though it was the *same* lecture...it was definitely different both times and it was a pleasure to see all of Bonnie's quilts that she could manage to bring on her flight to the mid-west! I don't know how Bonnie has so much energy! She has been gone from home for almost two weeks by the time she gets done teaching her last workshop on Saturday, November 15th.

The pictures are a combination of her morning and evening lecture/trunk show. Her quilts are even more stunning and beautiful in person. If Bonnie is presenting even remotely close to where you live...I highly recommend that you go and enjoy Bonnie's presentation and quilts! She has changed the way I will look at scraps forever. :)

Virginia Bound

Today I was able to sew with the Piecing Friendships Group.

Bonnie was teaching her Virginia Bound quilt from her book, Scraps and and Shirttails.

Here are a couple of views of the room we were sewing in...









...and another view.

This quilt is a combination of foundation piecing and paper piecing. Two techniques that I don't have a whole lot of experience at doing. It was fun to learn as I pieced and felt more comfortable sewing the block quarters together! I would sew a strip that I thought was very wonky and when I flipped the strip...it looked *almost straight*! By the end of the workshop, I was getting more adventurous with my angle strip placement.

Here are four of my quarter units that make up one block! Yes, I *stole* the reds from a *back burner* project and added a slew of greens for a Christmas-y effect.

My table mate to the right had chosen lights as her background and blues/greens for her kite. It is always amazing how the same quilt pattern will look so different dependent on where the fabric colors are placed.

My Blue Heaven

Bonnie taught her My Blue Heaven workshop for the Oconomowoc Quilt Guild/ Patched Lives Quilt Guild today! Bonnie is a real sweetie! I felt like I have known her forever. :) Sorry Bonnie, I snapped the picture mid-sentence as you were explaining something! After her tutorials on *how to use* the Easy Angle and its Companion Angle, were we let loose to sew our *parts* for the star and puss blocks. My half square triangles were indeed half square and my flying geese were the closest ever I have made them to what they are actual suppose to be! Must be the rulers! There is also very little waste, assuming that you cut the first cut correctly, that is!

Bonnie's goal for the sewers was to complete 5 star blocks and 4 puss blocks. Here are mine on the table. My table partner had to leave early so I was able to spread out at the end of the workshop. I was ironing my last block at 3:30 pm when the whistle blew signalling the end of the day. These are the only two pictures I took as I was busy sewing and socializing with the other girls. A very fun day with lots of learning .

:)

A Finish and Stash Busting Report Week #45

I was able to stitch back the binding to Orange Sunshine (pattern here) while I was doing laundry earlier today.


I quilted it with the Trailing Vine panto in orange thread, that really blends in well. (Sorry, the orange is really off in this picture...the top picture is closer to the actual color!)

Here are two of the parrots from the backing fabric.

Here are two more. I just love the parrots on this fabric. :)









I finished this quilt just in time to be included in this week's report:

• fabric received in: 4 yards
• fabric used: 10 yards
• net fabric for the week: -6 yards (used)
  

Net fabric for the year: +13.5 yards (added)

What I accomplished this week:

• made my fall leaves purse
• quilt and bound Orange Sunshine

My goals for next week:

• enjoy Bonnie Hunter's workshops and lecture

What can I say?! In three of the next four days, I will meet and see and learn and be inspired by Bonnie Hunter :)

Texture Class

Friday I went to my Textures class at Quilt Center, where I brought my long arm. The class had the students *play* with a lot of different fill in techniques. I know its is hard to see but I was able to try free handing stars/loops, all sizes of the meander, heartbeat, cursive 'e' and 'l', leaves, Celtic 8's, swirls, pebbles and about 11 different items. My leaves look like some sort of funky flowers and my feathers are backwards! Cathy, our teacher, even tried to *show* me how to make the feather but I still did it backwards!

I do believe, the sky is the limit on the type of quilting one can do! I definitely need more *practice* on this artist side of quilting. :)

Thursday Happenings

Yesterday and today, I spent most of my time in the sewing room preparing for future projects.

I cut for 4 QOV pillowcases (pattern here). This will be nice for when I have a few minutes that I can just pick up the pieces and sew! The pillowcases will be the travelling cases for my quilts when I ship them.

Did you hear?! Bonnie Hunter is arriving in Wisconsin this weekend! I am so very fortunate to be able to take two of her workshops and attend a lecture next week!

Workshop #1 will be 'My Blue Heaven'. I plan on using blues and creams like Bonnie's since I already had the blues cut for another project that got shifted to the back burner. That meant I was cutting cream strips. I'm not planning on making my quilt as big as Bonnie's so these strips should give me a good beginning! I am taking this workshop through The Oconomowoc Quilt Guild.

Workshop #2 will be 'Virginia Bound' from her book, Scraps and Shirttails. I plan on using my treasure bag of greens and reds for a Holiday quilt. I already have the reds cut from the same back burner project as above, so I have also been pressing greens. This workshop I am taking through The Piecing Friendship Guild. Again, this is just a start and I will add more fabric as needed.

Since I was cutting, I also added to my growing collection of 2.5 inch strip R/W/B coins for our 'Strip Poker' game day in January 2009. I thought I would show the guild girls how I made my coins as it is easier to 'see' it in person than only a 'word' explanation (well~ at least for me!).