Monday, December 31, 2012

End of the Year Stash Update December 30, 2012


Looks like this is where I am going to end up this year.  More used than in~always a good thing!

fabric added this week:      0 yards
fabric added this year:  +219 yards

fabric used this week:        0 yards
fabric used this year:  -245.5 yards

net fabric for the year:  -26.5 yards

What I accomplished this week:

nada, nothing, zero, zip!!!!

Goals for next week:

nada, nothing, zero, zip!

Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Happy Recipient of the Christmas Crumb Quilt

Marie is the happy recipient of the latest Christmas Crumb Quilt that was *up for grabs* at my family Christmas Party.  Just her colors~red, white and blue as she splits her time between her home on the Hill in DC and the country house in Virginia.  :)

It is my understanding that Marie wore her other red, white and blue quilt out by excessive loving!  :)

Enjoy, Marie!




ps.  Marie is my sister's dog and she gladly gave Marie the quilt to enjoy!

Monday, December 24, 2012

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, all my blogger friends!

*if you celebrate, that is!*

Have a Wonderful Day, Everyone!!!

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Stash Update Week # December 23, 2012

No sewing/quilting happening around Bell Creek Quilts!

DD and I traveled to Michigan aka *The Mitten* for  Mom's burial service and Christmas celebrations.  I promptly got sick, real sick so DD and I have been sleeping the days away.  :)

Looks like this is where I am going to end up this year.  More used than in~always a good thing!

fabric added this week:      0 yards
fabric added this year:  +219 yards

fabric used this week:        0 yards
fabric used this year:  -245.5 yards

net fabric for the year:  -26.5 yards

What I accomplished this week:


nada, nothing, zero, zip!!!!

Goals for next week:

nada, nothing, zero, zip!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Winter 2013 *To Sew* Wish List



my Fall 2012 *To Sew* Wish List

Personal

1. my bed quilt...
done!
2. place mats:  August...done!
3. DD's bed quilt
4. Lake Country Challenge due December 2012
5. assorted Christmas gifts...one done!

UFO's
1. blue ridge beauty
2. quilt #1 
3. virginia bound 
4. quilt #3
5. blue wicked easy
7. quilt #5

Donations

1. sew 3 more  Quilts of Valor to a flimsy...one done!
2. quilt the 6 of 12 I will have..one quilted but not bound!

Yikes!

I think this list needs to be carried over to work on this winter...

Time for my Winter 2013 *To Sew* Wish List

Personal

1. place mats: February, March
2. DD's bed quilt
3. Lake Country Challenge due December 2012~January place mats
4. aprons


UFO's
1. blue ridge beauty
2. quilt #1
3. virginia bound
4. quilt #3
5. blue wicked easy
7. quilt #5

Donations

1. sew 3 more Quilts of Valor to a flimsy
2. quilt the 6 of 12 I will have.


Friday, December 21, 2012

Happy Winter Solstice!

Happy Winter Solstice!  picture found here.

Time to review my Fall 2012 Sewing Goals...uh oh!!

I didn't finish as much as I had hoped but in my defense, I did spend about three weeks with my Mom before her death....

Monday, December 17, 2012

Stash Update Week # December 16, 2012

No sewing/quilting happening around Bell Creek Quilts!

Only Holiday Preparations!  :)

fabric added this week:      0 yards
fabric added this year:  +219 yards

fabric used this week:        0 yards
fabric used this year:  -245.5 yards

net fabric for the year:  -26.5 yards

What I accomplished this week:


nada, nothing, zero, zip!!!!

Goals for next week:

nada, nothing, zero, zip!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Stash Update Week # December 9, 2012

A wash really.  I had one finish but I also brought fabric...which, btw, has been sitting in the dryer for two days!  great hiding space, right?!  but man, oh man! it will be wrinkly!!!

fabric added this week:  +8 yards
fabric added this year:  +219 yards

fabric used this week:  -8.5 yards
fabric used this year:  -245.5 yards

net fabric for the year:  -26.5 yards

What I accomplished this week:

finished Patriotic Crumbs

Goals for next week:

work on Angel wall hanging
work on Challenge piece~due Thursday!  oh my!

Saturday, December 8, 2012

My Late Friday Finish...

...is the patriotic crumb quilt for my family's gift exchange.

whoop!whoop!

Let the holiday season begin...  :)

Although I am a little late, I am going to link up with:

Sarah at Confession of a Fabric Addict

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

WIP Wednesday

The first installment of hockey lace bracelets this season.  :)


Sometimes the snippets are more appealing than the project!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Where I Left Off...

...crumbs on the design wall.


I spent a little time and now it is a flimsy.  :)

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Stash Update Week #December 2, 2012

Finally!  Some movement on the numbers!  yay!

fabric added this week :  + 1 yard
fabric added this year:  +211 yards

fabric used this week:  -17 yards
fabric used this year:  -237 yards

net fabric for the year: -26 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

bound Stars and Rails

Goals for next week:

work on crumb quilt
work on Lake Country Challenge piece
work on an Angel wall hanging

Between running DD around, my doctor appointments and the hockey game...this should keep me busy...

Friday, November 30, 2012

Whoop! Whoop!

Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!

I finally finished the binding on the Stars and Bars quilt. 

Here it is...on my bed.  I may yet gift this quilt to a special someone or maybe not!  Too soon to tell! Thanks to DD who went down for a 3 hour nap after Mom's funeral so that I was able to sew back the binding, just the calming activity I needed.

Pattern based on Mary's Patriotic Rail Fence.

I am linking up with:

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Thank You Blogger Friends...

...for understanding!

I was the designated *family* member to be with my Mom during the days of her last week of life.

She passed away peacefully in her sleep early Thanksgiving morning.

Visitation was Sunday.

Funeral mass and luncheon was Monday.

Travel day was Tuesday. 




Today was the return to normal~DD to school, DS working on his laundry, DH returned to work on Monday and me with a dentist appointment today.

As Mom would say, "Life belongs to the living!"  and a million other sayings!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A Blogging Break...

...I'm taking some time off to attend to some family issues that need to be taken care of. Definatley NOT a vacation but i thought this pix was cute...

link here.

 
I'll be in and out of blogland and not on a schedule. Thanks in advance for you continued good wishes and good kharma that are being sent my way!  Peace and love, Pat

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

WIP Wednesday

I decided on plain gold sashing for the giant pinwheels.  Although, the pinwheels blend in with the sashings.

I kinda like it...makes me wonder how it was constructed!  :)

Monday, November 5, 2012

What I'm Working On...

I did trim up my *oops* blocks and decided to sew them into giant pinwheels.

Next time~I better follow the instructions!  :)  otherwise I will need to be creative again!

Stash Update November 5, 2012

Busy week here at Bell Creek Quilts but no sewing...

DD made her acting debut and finale this past week with the 8th grade play.  She also performed in her first piano recital.  Two things I have never done!

We had two home hockey games~one of which we volunteered as extra workers so we had to be at the stadium 1.5 hours before the puck dropped!

Which leads me to the statement, "No change in my numbers"

fabric added this week:      0 yards
fabric added this year:  +210 yards

fabric used this week:        0 yards
fabric used this year:    -220 yards

net fabric for the year:  -10 yards (used and holding steady)

What I accomplished this week:

not a whole lot

Goals for next week:

quilt and sew   :)

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

WIP Wednesday

HaPpY HaLLoWeEn!



















Remember when I was so excited about my leaders/enders project?!

Well, once I sewed the solid strip to ALL the blocks and started to lay it out...oh no!  The Halloween Gremlins must have muggled my mind!  See how I have blue to blue and red to red?  Must be when you go from odd to even number of parts in the block then the alternating goes *bye-bye*.











Maybe I'll just make a quilt of giant pinwheels....

Have a fun Halloween Night! I'll be at the Admirals game....section 218 row B seat 16...if you need me!  :)

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Stash Update Week October 28, 2012

No fabric in and no fabric out so the numbers stay the same.

fabric added this week:     0 yards
fabric added this year: +205 yards

fabric used this week:        0 yards
fabric used this year:    -220 yards

net fabric for the year:  -15 yards (used)

What I accomplished this week:

pieced Stars and Rails to a flimsy

Goals for next week:

continue to work on Stars and Rails
  (this includes loading, making a back, quilting and binding :))

Friday, October 26, 2012

Whoop! Whoop!

I finished the last section of my bed quilt.


The pangea.



I'm linking up with:

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Whoop! Whoop!

pattern based on Mary's Patriotic Rail Fence, found here.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

WIP Wednesday

*Continent 3* sewn together!


*Continent 4* waiting and ready!  But not right now as I am heading out the door for parent/teacher conferences for my 8th grade DD. :)

Thanks to Annie (a no reply commenter on the previous post) that is Mary Ellen Hopkins who coined the phrase and concept of *continents*!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

What I'm Sewing...

...my bed quilt.

I sew *sections* or *continents* together as I assemble my bigger quilt tops.  I think it was my friend, Lori at Dakota City Quilter that described my method as sewing *continents* together.  :)   I'm not really sure who coined the phrase but it is the easiest form of construction for me.

The first *continent*

The second *continent*



The third *continent* waiting to be sewn. As you can see, the first and third *continent* pretty much fill up the width of my design wall batting.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Stash Update Week October 21, 2012

No finishes and I brought a little fabric.  No picture as I already cut into it to add a little variety to the rails....

fabric added this week:    +5 yards
fabric added this year:  +210 yards

fabric used this week:        0 yards
fabric used this year:     -220 yards

net fabric for the year:    -10 yards

What I accomplished this week:

worked on Stars and Rails

Goals for next week:

continue working on Stars and Rails

I am at the point where I usually slow down.  The piecing is done and the top needs to be assembled into a flimsy.  90 x 90 seems so large as it is coming together in my sewing space...wish me motivation this week as I work on a bed quilt for me.  :)    thanks!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

More of Other Stuff...

...while I was cutting for the rails, I remembered that I started a leader/ender project with 2.5 inch red and blue squares awhile ago.  Earlier in the year, I began to see Planet Patchwork New Year's Mystery 2012 pop up around blogland. (here, here or here)  I was wondering just what the status was of my 2.5 inch strips so I pulled out the bag and discovered that

I had sewn them into 2 x 4 blocks units.  bummer....I decided to work a little with this project.  Since I didn't join in for the Planet Patchwork Mystery and I don't have the instructions~my blocks will be 8 inches finished.  Otherwise I would link to the pattern but I think Planet Patchwork must have removed the instructions from their site.

I have quite a few ready for the final strip (pile on the left) but I need to cut and sew more 2.5 inch red/blue blocks together in order to get the pile on the right ready for the final gold strip.

Funny (or maybe scary!) how a throw quilt top set of pieces fit in this smallish bag!

See?!  I think I have Quilter's ADD...

What Else I've Been Doin'...

...making *Thank You* cards!

My friend, Maureen is an awesome card maker and she has shared some of her talents with DD and I.  :) 

I cased these cards from the website Clean and Simple Stamping, sketch 212.  I think they turned out sorta cute. 

The group glamour shot.

card 1.

card 2.

card 3.





card 4.

Friday, October 19, 2012

More Rails

I sewed more rail fence blocks earlier in the week but I just finished pressing the red up and cut them into 6.5 inch squares.  really? really!

I must have quilter's ADD...now off to do something els....

Monday, October 15, 2012

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Stash Update Week: October 14, 2012

No finishes this week and I did buy fabric.

fabric added this week:  +5.5 yards
fabric added this year:  +205 yards

fabric used this week:     0 yards
fabric used this year: -220 yards

net fabric for the year:  -15 yards (used)

What I accomplished last week:

pieced 4 more stars for my quilt













Goals for next week:

piece rail fence blocks
assemble stars and rails to a flimsy
(based on Mary's pattern Patriotic Rail Fence found here)

Here is the fabric added this week~the brown is a match but not the cream...

Thursday, October 11, 2012

WIP on Thursday!

Still no cutting, no sewing and no quilting!

But today is a double quilt guild meeting.  Meaning I have my regular day quilt guild and then tonight~my night guild moved their meeting up a week!  Now I have two meeting in one day and tonight I am one of  the  *snack Quilters*.

So last week I made some pumpkin spice cookies and froze them.  Easy peasy recipe here.

My friend LindaJ had posted a recipe for Candy Corn Oreo Truffles on Facebook last month so I thought I would try those out.  Pretty easy recipe (read: no cooking!)  but you do need to wait awhile after each step.






I think I am going to mix up a bit of my trail mix to take tonight too as some of the girls are on restricted diets.  My trail mix includes  raisins, cashews, Golden Graham cereal and M&M's.

I am doubting if I will make any progress in the sewing room at all this week as it is time for the minivan oil change. Looks like Friday will be minvan day and stop at Wal*Mart as I pass Wal*Mart on the way to the dealer.  *sigh*  maybe next week!  :)

Monday, October 8, 2012

Design Wall Monday

The last *thing* on the design wall is this experiment with the Twister blocks.  I am smitten, in case you can't tell!

I read online somewhere~wish I could remember where!  That if you trace the lines from the L'il Twister ruler onto a 6.5 inch ruler and start with your pieces cut at 8 inches...you end up with a medium size twister.

The before.


The after.  This block is 18.5 inches, so finishes at 18 inches.  I think I would cut my beginning block at 8.5 inches so there is just a bit more wiggle room when cutting across the block set.


EDIT:  Here is one tutorial and she DID say to cut the first block at 8.5 inches!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Stash Update October 7, 2012

Not a whole lot happening but I did finish my lighthouse place mats.

fabric added this week:        0 yards
fabric added this year: +199.5 yards

fabric used this week:       -2 yards
fabric used this year:    -220 yards

net fabric for the year:   -20.5 yards (used)

What I accomplished last week:

bound lighthouse place mates

Goals for next week:

pick a project and work on it!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Twistin' Again

A few of the FAB's meet online to use our Li'L Twister rulers.  (LindaJ and CherPam and Norma had family commitments today~which is cool ~as family comes first with the FAB's!  :)

I worked on blue, white and grey twisters.

I love the before picture!

The after picture.  The twister on the right is the one from the *before* picture.   Sorry~I forgot to turn the picture and save so the orientation is the same.

Big FUN! 

Here is my DD~waiting for hockey practice to begin.  :)

OUT!

Blogger tells  me I am out of photo storage space.  :(

I did buy more but will be a bit before it all posts and I can post pictures again.  :(

See you then!  :)

Friday, October 5, 2012

Getting my P's and Q's Together...

My Mom used to say that!  :)  Happy Memory!  :)

I finally got *it* together enough yesterday to sew back the bindings on the Milwaukee Pier Lighthouse place mats.  Whoop!  Whoop!


Linking up with:

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Thursday, October 4, 2012

I Got Nuthin'!

No piecing, no quilting and no sewing back bindings!

Nothing has been happening that is sewing related.  :(

Since a post with no pictures is no fun...here are the cowbells for the upcoming season.  DD painted hers and her Dad's.  The splattered on the left is hers~cow spots in the middles is Dad's.  Some of my masked yellow peeled off with the blue painters tape so it looks like I need to touch mine up a bit.  :)

Be back when I have some quilty content.  :)

Monday, October 1, 2012

What I'm Working On...

...the bindings have been applied to the Lighthouse place mats this morning.  Now to sew them back and trim up the threads!

Stash Update Week September 30, 2012

Not as a productive week as I had hoped.  :(

But there is always next week, right!  :)

fabric added this week:        +5 yards
fabric added this year:  +199.5 yards

fabric used this week:          -2 yards
fabric used this year:        -218 yards

net fabric for the year:     -18.5 yards

What I accomplished last week:

experimented with the L'il Twister ruler
pieced Lighthouse place mats

Goals for next week:

bind Lighthouse place mats
work on another project
prep for Saturday FAB Sew day


A sorta quilty picture~the fabric added this past week.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Lighthouse Inspiration

Donna had asked about the Lighthouse pattern for my place mats.  Truth be told...there is no pattern.

I *knew* that I wanted to depict the Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse.  Photo credit here.  (oops~this is the Racine lighthouse but in the pictures it looks just like the Milwaukee lighthouse.)

I took this picture of the lighthouse in Manitowoc, Wisconsin this summer.  This gave me roughly the layout for my place mats.  I  *knew* that I wanted my place mats to finish at about 14 x 17 and I wanted the *sky* to be a bit bigger than the *water*  So I pieced the background using  8.5 x 17.5 in for the sky and 6.5 x 17.5 for the water.

For the shape of the lighthouse~I found this wood cut-out at either JoAnn's or Michael's for $1.00.  I fused two way fusible onto the back of red and black fabric and then traced the shaped onto the paper size of the fusible.  I wasn't too sure what to use as land so I remembered my brown plaid in the stash.  I fused a 3 in (by wof) then free cut the *pier*.


Here is my Milwaukee Pierhead Lighthouse before quilting.

WIP Wednesday

Monday and Tuesday, I worked on my L'il Twister tester.  Some of the FAB's (Cher, Linda, Norma and Pam) are meeting online for a sewing day and some of us~will be working on Twister projects.

I wanted to try out my ruler since I just picked it up last Friday. 

I followed the direction included with the L'il Twister ruler and made my patchwork.

I then cut it up and sewed the pinwheels together.

One complaint I read about was that there is waste with this method.  True but I am not too worried as I will put the snippets in the scrap boxes and they will return as parts of crumb blocks.




The finished L'il Twister quilt on the family room wall.  Be kind~I was having an off day quilting.  :(





This twister quilt was inspired by the September Color Palette challenge that is being hosted by JudyL at Patchwork Times and Vicki at Field Trips in Fiber.