Stashbusting

Fabric Added - 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date - 69.75 yards
Fabric Used - 3.5 yards
Fabric Used Year to Date - 207.25 yards
YEAR TO DATE STASH USED: 137.5 yards

Of course, I had no time to buy fabric this week. Not a bad year actually!

2011 UFO Challenge

Here is my UFO list for JudyL's 2011 UFO Challenge

1. Log Cabin Blocks - 2001 - ready for quilting

2. Lost Socks - 60 blocks - ready for quilting

3. Americana Block Swap - 2007 - needs borders - Borders added 4/1/11

4. RR Snow Globe - 2006 - ready for quilting

5. Square Dance - Halloween - ready for quilting

6. Winter Pines - Some blocks made - FINISHED 1/30/11

7. Butterfly Block Swap - 2006 - top - FINISHED 8/27/11

8. Guild Row-by Row - Kansas Troubles - rows

9. Homespun Cats - 2006 - ready for quilting

10. Christmas Tree Lotto Blocks - ready for quilting - FINISHED 2/17/11

I may put 11 & 12 together:
11. Pinwheel #8 QuiltersCache blocks - 16 blocks These are the pinwheels blocks in this photo

12. Guild Round Robin - 1930's - ready for quilting - this is the center of this photo.

Make me a promise.....

...that before the sun sets today, you will tell each of your children how much you love them.


Those we love remain with us
for love itself lives on,
and cherished memories never fade
because a loved one's gone.
Those we love can never be more than a thought apart,
for as long as there is memory, they'll live on in our heart.



Cory Wasmuth
4/3/88 - 12/21/10

Cory is Dan's youngest son and made his home in Colorado. He must have believed that his job here was finished, as he ended his life early Tuesday morning. We'll never know exactly why and that means an endless stream of what-if's for us to deal with.

Cory and I didn't always see eye-to-eye, but there will always be a special place in my heart for this fine young man.

Napkins and Lots of Embroidery

I worked on these fabric tree napkins for a co-worker last night. I hope she likes them.


Across the room, my embroidery machine was stitching away. Well, with lots of help from me, as it's not as automatic as I might like it to be.

First up was these towels my friend Adrienne brought over. Her daughter is giving these to her boyfriends parents.



And a tennis towel:



Then these fleece throws that Janet brought:




Oops, I have no idea where the name Lilly came from, it was supposed to be Ryan. Maybe I'm not as good at multi-tasking as I thought....



Thank goodness I have my Christmas shopping done and have time for these little jobs for my friends.

Stashbusting

Fabric Added - 8.5 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date - 69.75 yards

Fabric Used - 13.5 yards
Fabric Used Year to Date - 203.75 yards

YEAR TO DATE STASH USED: 134 yards

I bought fabric to make the t-shirt quilt and used almost every bit of it.

Too busy to blog?

Well, it sure seems like it!

So far this week I put together a t-shirt quilt, quilted the strip twist quilt and now the t-shirt quilt is loaded and half quilted. I also cut, sewed and pressed the binding strips for both quilts, attended a guild Christmas party, watched 4 episodes of 24 - Season 8, decorated the Christmas tree and picked out fabric for 2 more crayon bags...(and worked 8-5 too).

No pics to show you just yet, maybe tomorrow.

stashbusting

Nothing purchased, and a little used

Fabric Added - 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date - 61.25 yards

Fabric Used - 5.125 yards
Fabric Used Year to Date - 190.25 yards

YEAR TO DATE STASH USED: 129 yards

Catching Up on BOM & Embroidered Towels

I never did finish the Cheryl's Quilt Shop BOM that was due the last Saturday in November. I was in New York, so I didn't worry about getting it finished. All done now...both of them!

All year I have been planning to set these blocks different than the one hanging in the shop. I would really like a queen size quilt, so I may add these to the 12 1930's blocks I have from an online swap.



While I was sewing these blocks, my embroidery machine across the room was humming along on these towels for A & E. I bought the mitts at Kohl's, but they didn't have towels even close to the colors. I stopped at Target last night and they did. I can't believe how close they match. Turned out nice, I think!

The Dresden Plates

This one is finished, binding and all. I'll ship it to Mary tomorrow and can't wait to see what she thinks. Thanks Viki, for the suggestion of pebbles in the center circles. Hobbs 80/20, which by the way has just gone up in price :(
So Fine and bottom line thread.



I love how the back looks:

Design Wall Monday

These blocks were made a couple years ago and put away because I got confused when arranging them. The pattern is Strip Twist by Bonnie Hunter. Our guild has been asked once again to make twin quilts for Visions of Hope, a residential treatment center for young women. All their bedding is lavender and they want purple quilts. Hopefully, I can get this one together and quilted in the next couple of weeks.

Stashbusting

Fabric Added - 6 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date - 61.25 yards

Fabric Used - 24.25 yards
Fabric Used Year to Date - 185.125 yards

YEAR TO DATE STASH USED: 123.875 yards

I bought quite a bit, in my opinion, but used way more. I finally added my JudyL's mystery quilt to my spreadsheet and that alone was 9.5 yards. 2 yards purchased were for the napkins and 2.25 yards were for the bibs and bag. The other 1.75 yards are because I earned 2 free fat quarters at threads of time and ended up purchasing 5 more to go with the 2 free ones.

Threads of Time Retreat

Janet, Dottie and I drove over to Danville, IL to the Threads and Beds Retreat Center and I got some holiday sewing done. I think I accomplished quite a bit in the short time we were there.

First up was my JudyL mystery quilt that still needed some borders. It always amazes me how much time it takes to pin on and sew borders. I finished this up a little before midnight on Friday. Dottie finished a charity quilt that she was making for our guild.



Got 6+ hours of sleep and the first thing on my agenda was to use up the extra nine patches. I'm not sure what will become of them, but as of now it's just 12" x 12"



Then I made a bag for Elizabeth to hold her tea set (that she's getting for Christmas) and I used the same fabric to make her an apron and one for her dolly, too. Dottie made a really cute apron, but I didn't get a picture of it.



A hooded towel for her dolly was my next project.



Then I added ribbing to these tea towels to make bibs.



Janet wanted to learn how to make pillowcases, so I made 5 of them and I think she ended up making 6, or maybe even more. I took along my serger for the bibs and pillowcases, which made both projects much easier. (I think Janet wants a Serger now!)



Finally, it was time to get out the Go Cutter. I had taken some leftovers from a bag project last year at Christmas and used the tumbler die. It probably took me about 20 minutes to cut them out and the top was finished by about 11:30pm.



I figured I could start something else before turning in so I cut out two of these fabric napkins, just to see if they looked OK. Janet wasn't quite ready for bed, so I stayed up with her until 12:15 and then finally said good night! (Thanks for the great tutorial Lynn!)



Another good nights sleep and I cut out the rest of the napkins and stitched them up.

I pulled another project out of my bag and started sewing a UFO together. It's still in rows and is now on my design wall, waiting for tomorrow's post.

We looked and looked for a Blockbuster to get a cup of coffee!

Cupcakes for Elizabeth

And one for her dolly

How about some custom? And a GO!

I made a backing for the dresden plates tonight and loaded it. I'm almost half done and I'm liking the way it's turning out.



I haven't decided on the sashing yet, or the centers......any ideas?

The FedEx truck stopped at my house tonight and looky what came. My new Accuquilt Go Cutter. I played with it for just a bit, but needed to finish the backing, so more fun with this new toy later.

Angie's Nine Patch Quilt

Another pretty fall quilt....this one was made by Angie, who is a very new quilter. She made this one for her mom for Christmas and boy will her mom be pleased! The nine patch fabrics are Kansas Troubles, I think....yummy!



Quilted with Feather Me panto, Coats & Clark variegated brown/gold thread on top and So Fine in the bobbin, Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Mary's Fall Flannel

I finished this yummy flannel quilt of Mary's tonight. It really is more green than this photo shows.

It was quilted using Leafage by Keryn Emmerson, with Olive Drab Permacore thread and Fairfield low-loft poly batting. The thinner batting works well with the heavyness of a flannel top and backing, making it a snuggly quilt. Hope she likes it!

Design Wall Monday

Well, the dresden plates made from the shirts is now a top! I have a few customer quilts to quilt before I can load this one and get it finished.

Suzanne's Christmas Cats

Suzanne made this cute quilt for her sister, I believe. They both love Laurel Birch fabrics and she did a wonderful job.



It's quite a busy quilt so I quilted it with Echo Holly & Poinsettia by Dave Hudson using Glide thread.

Stashbusting - November 28, 2010

Fabric Added - 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date - 55.25 yards
Fabric Used - 7.25 yards
Fabric Used Year to Date - 160.875 yards
YEAR TO DATE STASH USED: 105.625 yards

I didn't buy anything this week and made 5 stockings and finished 7 placemats. It's good to be over 100 yards!

When in Philly......

You gotta have a cheesesteak sandwich!
The first half of my journey has been smooth.

Stephanie's Christmas Lap Quilt

What a cute quilt, but the fabrics are pretty busy, so I quilted it with the Echo Holly pantograph, green Permacore thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.



Today, I'm off to New York to spend the holiday with my son and his wife. I hope the airports are not too bad.

I'm wishing all my blog friends a Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday today to my wonderful daughter, Julie!

Stephanie's Table Toppers

Stephanie made these table toppers to give to her sisters, I believe. The backing fabric was purchased by her mother, long ago, to make a pants suit. I wasn't sure how it would work for the back, but I didn't have any problems at all. They are just under 40" square.



I quilted them all the same, with a feather meander in the center, loopy curve in the inner border and freehand flowers and leaves in the outer borders. Hobbs 80/20 of course, and So Fine tan on top and a white PermaCore bobbin.







And the back:

It was a Bag Weekend for Me!

I made 2 bags this weekend, this Margo bag for myself:



I was searching my stash for fall colors and ended up with these. I'm not really a fan of oriental fabrics, but I like it. I just now remembered that I wanted to make a black and white one....maybe next time.

Then I made this cute Children's Activity Bag for Dané's nephew, who will be at Thanksgiving. I was originally searching for a crayon bag pattern so that I could make one for Elizabeth. Now that I've made one, I know a few things that I would do differently.



The pattern is a free one from Moda's Bake Shop. Instead of a charm pack, I used novelty fabrics in his favorite color, blue.

Stashbusting November 21, 2010

Do you think I can make 100 yards by next week?

Fabric Added - 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date - 55.25 yards

Fabric Used - 5.5 yards
Fabric Used Year to Date - 153.625 yards

YEAR TO DATE STASH USED: 98.375 yards

Julie's Holly Jolly

Here's Julie's Holly Jolly wall hanging/table topper. I'm not sure how she will use it. I quilted straight lines in the setting triangles, serpentine lines in the candy canes and meandering long-arm feathers in the blocks, with white PermaCore thread and Hobbs 80/20 batting.

Julie got these fabrics and the pattern a couple years ago when I won the $250 Fat Quarter shop gift certificate for stashbusting. I was so used to not shopping for fabric, that I had a hard time spending that much, so I told Julie to go pick out what she wanted. I'm happy she picked this one cause it's cute as can be.

Design Wall Monday

Here it is, something different for a change. These are the pieced borders for my Connect The Dots quilt, a mystery by JudyL.

1 for Customers, 1 for Me!

That's what this past weekend was like. I quilted this oh-so cute baby quilt for Stephanie, using Popcorn pantograph and eggshell thread.



The colors are actually more subtle than my photos and it's absolutely cute-as-can-be.



And the back, which is a soft lavender:



Then, I quilted one of my own using the same panto and pink thread. This one is for Kendyll, the new daughter of one of my co-workers, Bryan.