Stash Report, Week 3

I have been sewing this week, but my goal is to completely finish a project before I count it in my report. So I need to spend some time with the sewing machine this week and next week my numbers will be even better.

Used this Week:  0 yards
Used year to Date: 2  yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2014:  2 yards

Please stop by Patchwork Times to see how everyone else is doing with their stash journey.

In stitches,
Judy

Moving right along!

This is what I have been working on. I am trying to work on my stash and make 12 charity quilts for our guild's Kids Komfort project. It is just the top today but I am hoping to start machine quilting it after work today. I need to rummage thru my stash and see if there is anything I can use for the backing.  The option for a pieced back is always on the table.

In stitches,
Judy

Grow Your Blog

I have decided to try something new and join Vicki at 2 Bags Full for her grow your blog party.

Please click on the image on my sidebar to play along.

In stitches,
Judy

Cown

This is a picture of Cown. Last year my girlfriend, Barb, asked if I could re do her daughter's favorite stuffed animal. I said yes and away I went with a picture of her daughter and her Cown. There was not much left of Cown, two legs, a part of the body, the head and an arm. I reconstructed a body out of double knit and her mom still had this outfit partially done. So in December I went to her house and we put Cown together. Let's just say there was not a dry eye in the house on Christmas morning.

I was at Barb's house today and I got to take a picture of Cown.

In stitches,
Judy

My day off!!

 

How come I seem to try and stuff as much as I can into my day off. I have been up and sewing. My courthouse steps blocks are done. They need to be pressed and sewn into a quilt. Next I am off to the auto mechanic for a car check up. Then I am hanging out with a co worker, who also works from home. She will be working and I will be shadowing her and taking notes. Then we are going out for lunch. And to end my day, I have a meeting to attend. Once I get home tonight, I hope to get the pressing done on my blocks and start sewing them together.

In stitches,
Judy

Simply Sewing

 

I have been busy sewing today. I am working on blocks for a baby quilt. I need 42 blocks for a baby quilt according to my calculations. I am chain piecing them. I have 42 blocks to the almost done stage. I am hoping to get back to the sewing machine and get them all the way done before I go to bed.

My neighbor, Tina, came back today for additional help with her sewing. She has sewn before but it has been a while ago. She made three dogs scarves all by herself today. Of course, the sewing machine did misbehave a bit, but a mini clean up, new needle, and a dab of oil had the machine humming along just fine.

In stitches,
Judy

Stash Report, Week 2

So far so good. I have been doing a little sewing and no shopping. It has been bitter cold here earlier in the week. I did not leave the house. But I did do a little bit of sewing and my numbers reflect that.

Used this Week:  2 yards
Used year to Date: 2  yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2014:  2 yards

Please stop by Patchwork Times and see how others fared the second week of the year!

In stitches,
Judy

Styling at the Grocery Store

I really like using my own bags at the grocery store. I hate having all the plastic bags around the house that I have to take back to the store at a later date. I forget and then they pile up and are terribly messy.  I have made grocery bags in the past and I seem to give them away to family and friends. This year I am making a much better effort to make and keep some for myself. These are the first two of many. All from my stash!!

In stitches,
Judy

Stash report, Week 1

I am starting my second year of a no buy fabric diet. I did not buy much fabric last year but I also did not get much finished or used up. This will be a better year for using my stash. I have been looking at my scraps and can see a distinct pattern forming. I have what I call my ugly fabric that has been cut into 2.5" strips and now are sub cut into squares. This is fabric from my dark, country phase. It won't seem so ugly when it has been cut into much smaller pieces. Bigger pieces of my ugly fabric will work wonders as pieced backs.

I am using my bright, happy scraps to make baby quilts for our guild's charity project, Kid's Komforts. I want to make one quilt a month. I have decided on the pattern and I need 504 blocks to make 12 quilts.

I have decided that I will not count fabric in my totals until the project is completed finished. So this week's numbers are really good.

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

Please check out Patchwork Times  to see how everyone else is fairing this early in the year.

In stitches,
Judy

Progress

 

I spent several hours last night going through my fabric stash. I had two tall space bags with fabric in them. I am thinking I will have to change my plans for 2014 just a little bit. I think I will be doing a few string quilts as there is a lot of strings all over the sewing room. I also found a quantity of pieces of yardage. Any where from a 1/2 yard pieces to pieces that are several yards.  It seems that I will have lots of fabric selections to chose from during my no buy fabric diet!! There is still a bit that needs to be done.

Time to get ready to start another day at work. Then I can come back and play with fabric after my shift.

In stitches,
Judy

Busy times

This is what I did on my day off yesterday! I put together two of the six chairs I bought for my dining room. I am not sure if the rest will be done any time soon. I am not expecting any guests over Christmas.

My shopping is finished. Well kind of. The stuff Christmas is done. The stuff for the kids has to be sent to Brooklyn but they will not be home for Christmas, so I am not mailing to Brooklyn until after the first. I still have some sewing to do for Elly.

I am going to start sorting my scraps. I have bunches of scraps and lots of ideas on what to do with them. I just need to get started. I am trying to get my plans for 2014 set up. I am still on that ever familiar no buy fabric diet. I think of it as an adventure to use my stash to make quilts.

In stitches,
Judy

Saturday

This is the view off of my meager deck. It is pretty to look at. I am thankful that I do not have to go out and drive in it as I work from home. I would like to say I have gotten bunches of sewing done and I have. But not that I can show you. It was not Christmas sewing. I just did not take pictures. It was a cover to for a chair so that Elly can sit in a chair for a meal when there is no high chair available. They are spending Christmas in India and might not have a high chair to use. I am currently converting a hand puppet into a golf club cover. No pictures of that either.

I have three large boxes with my new dining room chairs in them. They need to be assembled but there is not much time to do that right now. I have been doing some cooking and I like that.  After the first of the year, I want to tackle my basement and donate stuff to Goodwill. There are things in boxes that I know I don't need and there is stuff I have under my basement stairs that I have been saving for my daughter in law's sister. She is now back in India and I am sure she does not want it anymore. I will take pictures and text them to my daughter in law and see if there is anything that needs to be saved.

I have been thinking about what kind of projects I want to start in 2014. I have also been thinking about the projects that I need to finish in 2014. Once I have a handle on the list I will share it here.

This is how I spent my time at Thanksgiving! It was such a joy to have them for a short visit. So glad there is Skype!!

In stitches,
Judy

Baby quilt update

I would like to say the baby quilt is all done and the baby next door is enjoying the quilt but that would be a lie. I have never had so much trouble making a quilt. I have sewn several blocks wrong and have become great friends with my seam ripper. So now the blocks are all done and I am ready to assemble the top. I originally decided on purple cornerstones. Can you obnoxious. I made a quick trip to Joann's last night and now I am on track again.

I ordered dining chairs from Amazon and it looks like they will be here in time for Thanksgiving. I won't be hosting the dinner here but it would be nice to have chairs that are not broken when we eat our other meals. I have been cleaning and decluttering a bit. I am on schedule for the arrival of my family from Brooklyn, including my grand dog, Frankie. Should be a wonderful visit all around.

 I need to get a few more things done before I start work in an hour. The sewing for today is to make new covers for my throw pillows on the sofa. I am using my brown and teal quilt and the orange plaid homespun covers will clash. And after that it will be working on the baby quilt.

In stitches,
Judy

Slow Saturday

Work is slow today. They offered overtime and several people took the company up on their offer. Now there is almost nothing for us regular Saturday people to do. So I am moving my sewing machine out of the dining room and into the living room next to my desk. I am going to use my time wisely and work on the baby quilt. Napping is not an option.

I got to Skype with Elly last night. She was a cranky baby. She missed her nap in the afternoon and that power nap at dinner time was not a good idea. Showed her the fabric I have for her pants and nightgown. She was not impressed but her mom liked them.

In stitches,
Judy

It's a numbers game!!

Quilting is a numbers game. And I think my math is rusty! I decided I needed 20 blocks for the baby quilt I am working on. I cut enough pieces to make 21 blocks because I am using 7 different pink prints and I would end up with one extra block. That is doable. I ended up cutting more background squares. That is fine. I trimmed them all last night and pressed them. That is when I found out I actually had 8 different pink prints. Now I will have 4 extra blocks. I guess  I will be making another pink baby quilt in my future. Oh well!

After work, I will start assembling the blocks and hopefully get to quilt it soon. I should have something show you tonight.

In stitches,
Judy

Slow and Steady

I had such high expectations of getting this baby quilt done quickly. Not quite happening that way. I am going back to the sewing room tonight to work on it again. With a little miscalculation, I have already made a second trip to Hobby Lobby to get more background fabric.

I have spoke with Tania and got measurements for Elly's pants. I am excited to start on Erin's refurbished bunny. Tania thinks it would be nice for all of them to have matching night clothes for a Christmas card. She needs to decide soon. Thinking about sending her and my son to JoAnn's the day after Thanksgiving while I am working to get the fabric. We shall see. Or we can go after I get off work.

I have decided my door decor for December, a quilted wreath from bow tie blocks. I have found a pattern for January/winter. Mittens!! I like it when I have ideas dancing in my mind. Just keep working out of my stash.

In stitches,
Judy

Cutting and sewing

I have spent most of today cutting and getting ready to sew. I have to decided to skip my guild meeting tonight and stay home to sew on the baby quilt. I read the newsletter and there is no program or speaker tonight, just sewing room sale. For $5 you can set up your wares for sale. I have enough wares now and am on a no buy diet except for certain projects. If I stay home, I cannot get into trouble.

I had to go out and buy some pink background fabric this morning. My quest sounds like the three bears. The first background was too light, the second background was too dark and the third background is just right. I have a good audio book on my Kindle Fire and I am ready to go. I have no pictures to share now but check back tomorrow. I hope to have the top ready for machine quilting!

In stitches,
Judy

Sunday stuff

It has gotten a bit chilly in this part of Ohio and that makes me want to layer a quilt and do some hand quilting. I have a flannel top that is pieced and a pieced flannel back that needs to be pin pasted. I have decided to use crochet thread for the quilting and use a big stitch.

And then again, I am okay with starting something new. I have decided what I want to do for my door for December. A bow tie wreath. And it will come from my stash. So that is a good thing. I have not been buying fabric unless absolutely necessary. It is such fun to shop from my stash.

I am starting to look towards to 2014 and trying to decide what projects I need to finish and want projects to start. I am thinking about putting a quilt in my floor frame and quilting it during the winter. I have several quilts ready for hand quilting.

Just as everyone's weekend is winding down, mine is just starting. I am normally off on Sundays and Tuesdays, but this week I took off Monday. Three days off!! I have done the mundane stuff today. Laundry and grocery shopping. I did make a stop at JoAnn's for some flannel to back the baby quilt that I am getting ready to cut out. I am pretty sure that I will be able to finish it by the end of Tuesday. It goes next door for the new baby girl. 

In stitches,
Judy

Happy Friday!!

I had such plans for my day today, but the wind storm we experienced in my part of Ohio last night changed my plans. My power went out last night right before midnight. I was able to find my flashlight with its very weak batteries and my battery operated radio. Note to self, time to get more batteries just in case. Power came back on at noon. I ended up missing about two hours of work and had to take a drive around the neighborhood to recharge my phone. But all is well and I am back at work and lost nothing in my frig to spoilage. 

 I was able to hang my new fall wall hanging on my front door and I think it looks pretty good. I call it Ticker Tape Fall. Linking up with Finish it up Friday

In stitches,
Judy

October

 

 
It is hard to believe that we are saying good bye to yet another month. I feel like I have accomplished much this month. I embellished three turtle costumes for the dogs up the street, I made 18 dog scarves, the costumes for the kids, and the wall hanging that is going on my front door in the morning. This week has been the only week I have not worked any overtime.

I have already decided on my November projects. I want to make a Christmas wall hanging for the front door, pants for Elly, start refurbishment of Erin's bunny for Christmas, the baby quilt for the new baby next door. And cleaning of the house in anticipation of company at Thanksgiving. I will probably squeeze in some overtime into the mix.

In stitches,
Judy