It has been awhile

It has been awhile since my last post. I really enjoyed my staycation and I got a lot of sewing done. Sewing has gone down hill from there. I do get to do a little hand piecing of  my Grandmother's Flower Garden while I am on the phones waiting for callers to find the answers to my questions. Last week we had computer issues company wide and it effected mostly the work at home people. I spend 3 days in the office. Call centers can be very loud. Not everyone uses their inside voices. I took Monday off and they finally got me fixed and now I am happily working at home once again. I have been working on yet another Kid's Komfort quilt. 

This is the baby quilt for baby Lily from next door. I dropped it off last night and it was a big hit with everyone. Mom and dad were amazed and Lily enjoyed cuddling in it. And the good news is that they are not moving after all and Brandon will still cut both our yards this spring and summer. Yeah!!

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report Week 11

You can tell that my vacation is over and I am back working regular hours and overtime. My sewing time has been cut drastically. I am working on my sister's picnic quilt. It is such fun to work on. I try and do a little bit every morning before work and on my days off. I am finding such joy in using my stash. I have a bit of it in a rubber maid tote and I sewing and sorting at the same time. I also have to work on the April Kid's Komfort quilt. I want to have another quilt for the guild meeting the first Monday of April.

Used this Week: 0.0 yards
Used year to Date: 36.50 yards
Added this Week: 0.0 yards
Added Year to Date: 7.5 yards
Net Used for 2014: 29.0 yards

Linking up with Judy L at Patchworks Times.

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report, Week 10

I have been on vacation for the last few days and have spent most of them in the sewing room. I am making progress. I do not have pictures today, but definitely will have pictures tomorrow.


Used this Week:  27.50 yards
Used year to Date: 36.50 yards
Added this Week: 0.0 yards
Added Year to Date: 7.5 yards
Net Used for 2014: 29.0 yards

Linking up with Judy L at Patchwork Times.

In stitches,
Judy

Updates

I am in the middle of my eight day staycation. I have gotten quite a bit of sewing done. No pictures yet. I have finished quilting the baby quilt for the baby next door. I will put the binding on today. I have made several blocks for my sister's car quilt. Picnic time is coming and she and the kids need a car quilt for their summer adventures. I have made 4 walker bags for the nursing home. And I will be making my living room curtains today.

I have been to a play with my mom and spent the entire day with my sister in Columbus. Went to a Racino and a casino and came home with money. We went to quilt shop just before closing time and I did not buy a thing. I am on a strict no buy diet and I need to stick to it.

I have four more days of sewing and I hope to get lots done and use up a bunch of my stash! No pictures yet and I have made a real mess of my dining room/sewing area. It will  be cleaned up by the time I go to work on Wednesday.

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report, Week 9

I was signed up for a class that was to have happened yesterday. I went out and bought a little bit of fabric for this class. We got some and some snow and the class was cancelled. So now I need to get busy and work on my stash my numbers are growing and not in a good way.

Used this Week:  2.25 yards
Used year to Date: 9.0 yards
Added this Week: 2.0 yards
Added Year to Date: 7.5 yards
Net Used for 2014: 1.5 yards

I am still in the black! Linking up with Patchwork Times.

 I am on vacation starting tomorrow for eight days. I am spending most of my time with my sewing machine. I have big plans to use massive amounts of fabric. Wish me luck!

In stitches,
Judy

Thursday

I did get to sew a bit yesterday on a baby quilt for the baby next door. And I have my  GFG in my lap while I am on the phones for work. I am making progress on it, at least in my eyes. When I started this many, many years ago, it never dawned on me to sew it in rows. Now it looks like an amoeba or a jelly fish. So I  am slowly correcting the shape into a rectangle.

I am taking some vacation time next week and the weather people are talking snow and ice and plain yucky weather. I have lists of things I want to work on and finish while I am off. As long as the power does not go off I will be fine. I have been to the grocery store and now I am ready for what ever falls out of the sky!!

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report, Week 8

Life is a series of baby steps and so goes my stash. After last week's hiccup for my sister's dress, I am on track this week. No, I did not work on the dress, but I did finish another quilt for Kid's Komforts and it came out of my stash entirely. And I am still in the black!

Used this Week:  2.25 yards
Used year to Date: 9.0 yards
Added this Week: 0.0 yards
Added Year to Date: 5.5 yards
Net Used for 2014: 3.5 yards

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.

In stitches,
Judy

Moving Right Along

I have been moving right along on some of my sewing goals for 2014. I am still kind of on a new buy diet. I did get fabric for my sister's dress but that is it so far. I wanted to make one charity quilt a month for my guild's charity. And I have finished January, February, and March so far. And all of them are from my stash. My numbers are looking good so far. 

I have also brought out my Grandmother's Flower Garden to work on yet again. It sits in my lap while I am at work and whenever I am put on hold or my caller is looking for information for me or when I do not have a call I am putting in a few stitches. There is not much change in it but I am slowly getting bits of it pieced. I am working towards getting the top pieced this year.

I still have a few things I want to finish for February. A baby quilt for the baby next door and the curtains for my living room windows. There is still a bit of time left for these items and only time will tell.

In stitches,
Judy

Sewing

I see some serious sewing in my future. I am going to try and squeeze in some sewing each day this week before I go to work.Perhaps a couple of new grocery bags. Something to offset my most recent fabric purchase.  I am still seeing some overtime in the week ahead.

The weatherman is promising warmer days this week and rain. At least you don't have to shovel rain and it will help get rid of the snow in my yard. I would really like to see my yard and get my car back in my garage!

In stitches,
Judy

Better Late Than Never

I am so grateful for Vicki and all her hard work she did to put this party. Yesterday was the big day to draw the winner of my surprise gift. Yesterday got away from me. I got up and worked my required 8 hours, took a 30 minute break where I went out and dug the snow off and around my car, ran to the convenience store for a few things, and back to work an additional 2 hours of overtime and then to bed.

I have not mastered the fancy gadgets of number picking so I let my sister pick the number today. She picked #34. As soon as I hear back from them I will be mailing out the surprise gift to them.

Sarah and Dan said...

Hand-quilting, only because I don't have a decent machine! Man, you have done a lot of projects!

I had such fun with this party, but I did not seem to be able to visit all the blogs. Things are still terribly busy at work and the overtime is kicking but and we are not allowed to take time off during our busy times. I am saving my PTO hours for a trip to see my grand baby in March!!

In stitches,
Judy
 

Stash Report Week 7

I am in a dither. I am on a fabric no buy diet and I was at JoAnn's this afternoon with my sister, Patty. I bought fabric, 5.5 yards of fabric. But it is not for me. I am going to make another dress for my sister. I will get the scraps for my quilts so I guess I am going to count it as mine. And I was doing so well. I guess I need to get busy!!!

Used this Week:  0.0 yards
Used year to Date: 6.75 yards
Added this Week: 5.5 yards
Added Year to Date: 5.5 yards
Net Used for 2014: 1.25 yards

Linking up with Judy L at Patchwork Times.

In stitches,
Judy

Happy Friday!!!

 

It has been a busy week around here and I am surprised that it is Friday and there is not much to show for it. I am thinking that I have broken at least one toe and bruised another toe. It is certainly a pretty shade of purple. I was able to slide on a pair of boots yesterday to collect the mail from the box and start my car. It turned right over even though it had been parked out on the drive since Sunday. I am going out later today and sprinkle some melting compound on the porch, the walkway and around my car and the hump that will appear once we get that dusting of snow that has now grown to several inches today. The weatherman is promising us warmer temps next week. Not holding my breath on that idea.

I did start another baby quilt for Kid's Komfort. Our guild meeting is the first of March and I do not want to fall behind. I am also sewing prong collar covers of dogs. My neighbor is making and selling dog scarves at a charity event this weekend and she wanted some of these to sell. They are not hard to do and all I need to do is cut and sew on the velcro. Mind you, I do not have a pet dog or otherwise. I am hoping to get some time at the sewing machine this weekend and maybe finish the baby quilt.

I need to make a trip to the local quilt shop to gather the supplies for a quilt class I am taking the first Sunday in March. I guess I will have to break my no buy diet for this class. It is class taught by Carrie Payne . Check out her blog. She was a past president of our guild before she and her hubby relocated to Alaska. I am so excited!!

Guess it is time to knock out a few prong collar covers before signing on for work!

In stitches,
Judy

The good and the bad

I had a wonderful day with my mom and my sister. We had brunch and went to see a play, On Golden Pond, put on by the Greater Hamilton Civic Theater.   It was an awesome production and we had a great time.

When I got home someone and I am not sure who, shoveled the frozen hump that was deposited at the end of my driveway by the snow plow, part of my driveway, and my front walk. I am so grateful to who ever did that.

No for the bad. I think I have broken at lest one toe on my left foot.  If you look on Pinterest for frozen colored balls. You fill up balloons with water and food coloring and freeze them.  I have done this before and they are so pretty. I needed the space in my freezer so I put the four frozen balls in plastic bags to move them outside. The bag broke and two balls fell out. One on the ground in the basement and the other one made it to the ground after crunching the toes on my left foot. All I can say is that is never a dull moment at my house.

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report, Week 6

Nothing has changed around here. The same cold weather, the same snow, and the same work schedule of mandatory overtime. And with that said my stash report remains the same. No sewing and no buying so my numbers are still good.

Used this Week:  0.0 yards
Used year to Date: 6.75 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2014: 6.75 yards

Linking up with Patchwork Times !!

In stitches,
Judy

Promised Pictures!

 

 

Here are the pictures I have been promising to show you of the two quilts I have made in January. I did not get to go to the guild meeting this month. Mandatory overtime is kicking butt!! I did my mandatory 10 hours last week plus an additional 4.18 hours. So far this week I have done 6 hours of my mandatory 10 hours and it is only Tuesday. I am hoping to do some tonight. But we are expecting bad weather with an ice storm, I hope my power holds.

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report, Week 5

Still on the straight and narrow with my stash. Been working lots of overtime and have not left my house except to make a grocery run. I have been sewing and have managed to make two Kid's Komfort quilts in January. They are upstairs with the camera and I am down in the basement. Perhaps later today I can get a picture of them!


Used this Week:  2.25 yards
Used year to Date: 6.75 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2014: 6.75 yards

Please stop by Patchwork Times to see how every one else is doing!

In stitches,
Judy

Busy Sunday

My job does not give me the option of two days off in a row. There are pros and cons to that. I like being off  during the week to schedule appointments. But when I am on a sewing roll, I hate having Sunday and Tuesday off. And now we are starting mandatory overtime. Ten hours a week of your choice. Lots of incentives. But again I would rather be sewing. So now I am trying to figure when I want to do my overtime so that I can still sew. I have another Kid's Komfort I want to finish before our meeting, the first Monday in February. Weather permitting. I have a panel that I am going to FMQ.

Sunday, Tina came down and sewed on her dog scarves. We had an oops and some of the scarves' openings were not big enough. I told her not to worry I would fix those for her. There were a bunch cut but now sewn that needed an extension to make the opening big enough. I cut and sewed them to each scarf before she got here. She is a new sewer and I did not want overwhelm her with all the jerry riggin I had to do. I was able to get the Valentine ones fixed (all 25) for her and now she is on track to finish the rest of them. She is big on supporting rescue dogs so all the proceeds from the sale of the scarves will go to the dog rescues where she got her dogs.

I did bind my scrappy kid's komfort but the camera is here with my computer and the quilt is upstairs. I will get it together and post a picture so.

Time to do some laundry and get ready to log in to the work's system. I am taking calls this week. I am rusty on calls, but I am getting quicker. And for that I am glad.

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report, Week 4

So far my stash number for 2014 are looking pretty good. I have been stuck in my house by cold weather and snow. I have been doing some sewing, using my stash and working overtime.

Used this Week:  2.5 yards
Used year to Date: 4.5  yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2014: 4.5 yards

Check out Patchwork Times to see how others are doing on their stashes!

In stitches,
Judy

Grow Your Blog!!

 This is my first time doing anything like this and I want to thank Vicki for putting together this wonderful party. Welcome to the party!! There will be a giveaway at the end of the blog. You do not have to follow me in order to be entered in the giveaway.

My name is Judy and I have been quilting for about 20 years.Why do I blog. It is a way for me to stay connected to others who share the same passion I do for quilting. Also it lets my faraway friends keep tabs on me and what I am doing. When I first started this journey, I was under the impression that true quilters could machine piece but never machine quilt. Needless to say, I did not get much done in the early days.

But I have wised up and now I am happily machine quilting on my Bernina in my dining room. I do have most of my fabric in the basement, but enjoy being upstairs to sew. I live alone and work from home and have been known to set up my sewing machine next to my desk to sew in between calls.

My favorite kind of quilts are scrap quilts. I have been a fabric magnet for years. People seem to want to give me fabric. And I gladly accept it all. I am working thru the ugly fabric in my stash. I have decided that if I cut it up small enough, it won't be so ugly.

Here are a few examples of the kinds of quilts and things I do. 

 This is a quilt made entirely out of ribbons. A gal had it made for her daughter who showed horses when she a teenager.

This is my biggest quilt to date. It is Confederate flag quilt that was 120" square for my brother in law for Christmas several years back.

This is a triple shot. I made the quilt on the bed for my son and daughter in law, I made the baby blanket 30+ years ago for my son and this is my only granddaughter, Elly.

This is a barter quilt. I  bartered with my sister and she came and did yard work and I made this quilt for her to give to a co worker.

This is my beach houses quilt. The fabric screamed summer! I need to dig it out now that is 14 degrees and we are expecting more snow tonight.

This quilt was for a friend who just became a grandmother. The fabric was a sheet that matched the bedding for the baby's room and I added sashing and borders.

 

    
This is a Kid's Komfort quilt. This is a charity that our guild supports. My goal this year is to make 12 quilts one for each month. A good way to use up my stash. Or at least put a dent in it!

This is a quilt I designed and entered in JoAnn's quilt challenge a few years ago. It was not a winner by their standards but it sure got me out of my box.

 

 This is Elly's baby quilt. It was machine pieced but I did hand quilt it for her. She was a premie so I did not have the quilt done in time for her arrival. 

 

 This was my art quilt phase. My sister suggested I make an art quilt and so I did. Her husband thinks it looks like a fancy car mat. 

This is lamp I made. I covered styrofoam balls with fabric, small wooden spools with floss and covered the shade. It matches my dining room.

 This quilt started out as my original Joann's challenge quilt. I did not like it, so I redid it as the quilt from the picture above. I doubled the amount of circles and added a border. Then I  shipped to my son and daughter in law. They love it!!

 

 
     I made this quilt for a co worker's daughter. It is a memory/matching quilt. The backing is skull and cross bones with pink ribbons on their skulls.

If you have read all the way down to the end, I would like to reward you with a giveaway. The only problem is that there is no picture of it. I was going to the local quilt shop this week to pick out something special for this occasion. But it snowed and got very cold and I have not ventured out of my house since Monday expect for a quick trip to the grocery. So there will be a prize for the drawing on February 15th and I will post the picture as soon as I can get out. There is nothing you have to do to enter. You do not have to become a follower. You can answer the question "Machine quilting or hand quilting, which is your favorite?"

In stitches,
Judy

Homebound

It is certainly winter in my part of Ohio. It is  below zero this morning and fresh snow from yesterday. And I am not leaving my house for anything. So I am alternating between sewing and working overtime. I am doing 2 hours each day this week either before or after my shift. So far today I have put the binding on a Kid's Komfort quilt and will start my overtime in about 20 minutes. I am at home and don't have to get dressed if I don't want to. But I am dressed in layers and will be able to do some more sewing this evening. Yeah!!

In stitches,
Judy