Stash Report - Week 22

I can't believe it has been a whole week since I've posted anything.  That's what happens when you are flying high with traveling to MQS and Spring Quilt Market, quilting all day for QOV, taking a road trip with 5 good friends, attending a graduation and finishing a quilt for the graduate and working.  The weeks just fly by so quickly.  Now I guess it's time to get my feet back on solid ground and get some sewing done and fabric busted, right?

My numbers didn't change all that much since last week, but I did win a fat quarter at our May quilt guild , so I've added that.
Fabric Added:  .25 yd (won fat quarter)
Fabric Used:    0 yds
YTD Added - 15.25 yds
YTD Used - 33.963 yds
Net for 2012  - 18.713

Check out Judy's and see others reports.

Here are a few of the quilts that we finished hand quilting at our QOV on Wed. this week.  We had many more and I'll post those later.  We were at a small country church and we set up in their sanctuary.  They do not have pews, but comfortable chairs, so they moved them all aside and set up 18 full size quilt frames.  We even had 3 more frames in the foyer.  These ladies made us a spectacular lunch of bar-b-que chicken, green beans, potato salad, and pineapple upside down muffins.  It was delicious.  There were 113 ladies attending this week.

These are not the best pictures since they were taken with my cell phone.  My regular camera battery was deader than a doornail and I didn't want to miss getting some kind of shots of them.

RWB sampler

Embroidery and stars

Can you see the one in the foreground of some of the pictures?  That is one beautiful quilt that will be finished in a few more sessions.

Stash Report - May 20

I've been to MQS and Quilt Market this week and I'm almost speechless. There were so many spectacular quilts hanging at the show, it must have been very hard for the judges to pick only a few for the top honors in each category. I can't imagine how they do it.  Almost all were winners in my book.  One of my friends had two quilts entered in the show and both of them won awards.!!  Congratulations to Ann on her two wins- one in the Fabric Challenge division and one in the Thread Challenge category.

Since being home, (only 1 day), I've unpacked my suitcase, did laundry, looked over all my new purchases again (to remind me of what I bought):), sorted the new threads into their color families, watched a couple of my new videos and attended a graduation.  I'm so inspired after seeing all the new fabrics at market to start something new, but I can't right now.  Too many other deadlines are close at hand.

Still working on the binding for the graduation quilt due in June.  The graduation ceremony was last night and it was one of the best I've ever attended.  The man who gave the address even graced us with his beautiful voice and sang several verses from appropriate songs to emphasize his point.  A very memorable graduation.

Nothing added or subtracted from my stash this week because of the above activities.  My totals are

YTD Added - 15 yards
YTD Used - 33.963 yards
Net for 2012 - 18.963 yards

Jump on over to Patchwork Times and see what others have accomplished this week.

Spring 2012 Bloggers' Quilt Festival - Updated

A friend of mine convinced me to enter a quilt into the Bloggers' Quilt Festival, so here's my entry for this Spring Edition..  Just a FYI - I was assigned #406 if you want to vote for my quilt.  Thanks much.

Gracie's Stars was started as a BOM for one of my quilt guilds and I was trying to use up some Aunt Grace fabrics scraps that I had left over from another project.  I wasn't real fond of working with these reproduction 30's fabrics because I have a collection of original 1930's quilts using the "real" 30's fabrics and feed sacks of the times and I didn't need another 1930's-look quilt.   But I started making each month's blocks from my scraps anyway, trying to use them up..  When I had 9 blocks finished, I decided I was tired of doing them and wanted to get it done and on to something new.

Then came the call for finished quilts for our guild quilt show in a couple of months.  This was to be hung with other BOM for that year-2010.  Now I was being forced to finishing it quickly!  Then came the problem of how to make it unique.  I played around until I came up with several ideas but none excited me much.  When I decided to make narrow sashing strips between the blocks with multiple colors and added a cornerstones with 4 different colors in each quarter to match the strip going into the block, they looked like little arrows pointing into the cornerstones.  This got me real excited because it made the quilt look better.  By the time I added the pieced triangle border, I was really getting excited and was having fun watching it evolve.  This was turning out a whole lot better than I thought and now I really like it!  It was a good thing there was a deadline or I might have kept adding borders and trying new ideas.  It measures 60" x 60".  The name comes from the type of fabric used, not any relative in our family.  :)

Gracie's Stars

I learned several things from this quilt - never give up trying different ideas until something works.  I had to do a lot of re-calculating and "fudging" to get things to match up in the borders, sashings and cornerstones; but in the end it all came together.  This quilt afforded me the opportunity to try new ideas and techniques, with no preconceived idea of what would look good or how it would work.  The other challenge I had on this quilt was the quilting.  I played with new quilting designs that I had never done before.   I had just bought a long arm and hardly knew how to thread it much less quilt a custom quilt on it -- but I did try it just the same.  After all, it was going to be "my" quilt so if it wasn't perfect, it would be my "beginner sampler".  I'm proud that I finished it and that it turned out as well as it did.  It gave me confidence that with more practice, I'll get better.

Here are a few close-up shots of the blocks and quilting detail.

Quilting from the back

Thanks for stopping by to see my quilt and thank you Amy for sponsoring the Bloggers' Quilt Festival.  Seeing all the quilts is such an inspiration.

On The Road Again

Well, I'm all packed, got my shopping list made and excited about heading off to MQS and Quilt Market in KC.  I took an inventory of my threads just to be sure I get all the colors I need.  I'm going to look for a few new pantos, some "must have" rulers and whatever else jumps into my shopping cart.   I'm also taking 4 classes with well known quilt teachers and I have several friends who have quilts entered in the show, so I'm anxious to see their entries.

On another note, I was informed this evening by my DH that another robin it sitting on the "old" nest in our bedroom window again.  When I asked if there were any eggs, he didn't know.  So up I marched to see after dinner, and guess what ??!!  there were4 eggs there again. I'm not sure how long they've been there and I don't know if it's the same female or a different one;  but they sure do like that nest or the location.  I just hope this time she waits until I get back from KC before she does anything exciting. :)

I'd better get to bed because 6 am will come fast. I'm going to need my  sleep because with 4 wild and crazy  ladies sharing a room, we probably won't sleep much during the show.!!

Stash Report - Week 20

Finally my stash numbers are looking better.  The way I calculated my fabric usage in the past was to wait until my quilt was totally finished before counting the yardage used.  That was not very encouraging, so this year I changed my method.  I count the fabric used in steps up to the finished quilt - when the top is finished I count that fabric, and then the backing and binding fabrics are counted when the quilt is quilted and totally finished.  So... the graduation quilt is quilted and binding is made. I used the double rose vine panto because the flower looks like the ones in the plaid fabric on the front.
I'm off to the Machine Quilters Show this week, so the matching pillowcases and label will have to wait until later. The graduation party isn't until the first week in June, so I should be ok, if something else doesn't interfere - like work or cleaning the house! :)

Dbl. Rose Vine panto

       Fabric Added - 0 yds.
       Fabric Used -  13.625 yds.
       YTD Added - 15 yds.
       YTD Used - 33.963 yds
       Net for 2012 - 18.963 yds

 Stop on over to Judy's and check on other Stash Reports.

Some Updates

Several people have asked about what happened with the baby robins I was watching on my window ledge.  It so happened that the last pictures I got of them was their parents feeding them one morning before I left for the AQS show in Paducah.  When I returned 3 days later, they had fledged from the nest.  No good-byes, notes or anything!  I was disappointed not to see them take their first steps/flights.  I hope they all made it safely to the ground from the 2nd floor bedroom ledge. There  probably will be another family next year (if I leave that nest there again). :)  It's been home to two families in two years.

I also wanted to provide the name of the B & B picture I posted last week.  This was one of the most unique lodgings we stayed in during our bike trip on the Katy Trail.  It is the Rivercene Mansion B&B in Boonville, Missouri.  This house holds some great stories and was the feature of a documentary on PBC about the 1993 flood that hit the St. Louis and surrounding areas. 

Design Wall - May 7, 2012

I was trying to get my graduation quilt top finished for today's design wall, and I almost made it.  I'm one border short.  I had unexpected company this weekend, so I did not get as much done as I planned.

This is as far as I got.  It still gets a wide pink border that matches the pink backing.  Maybe by next Monday, I'll get the last borders on and quilted.  Think I'll make it??  :)   The graduation party is the first week of June!

Also was busy this week with another Quilts of Valor.
This is the 5th finish of my goal of 12 in 2012 for QOV.  The blocks were made by members of the Southern Quilters and put together by Darla G all from of one of my guilds.  We hand quilted it at our bi-monthly meeting of QOV and I finished the remaining parts - binding, label and pillowcase.

Tune in the others' design wall over at Patchwork Tiimes.

And the winners are ....

I didn't have very many guesses on the first picture I posted Wednesday, but Patti at Osage Bluff Quilter came pretty close.  She was the first to identify the river with only the first picture.   Patti, if you will send me your snail mail address, I'll get your gift in the mail.  After giving more clues and pictures, two of my friends locally, who I might add  had "insider information" came up with the correct answer.  Joanne and Barb, I have your addresses.   It was taken on the Katy Trail State Park - which is the longest rail-trail in the country.  The park is built on the former corridor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (MKT or Katy) is now 240 miles long and has 26 trail heads and two fully restored depots along the way. Part of the trail has been designated as an official segment of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.  It is also part of the American Discovery Trail and has been designated a Millennium Legacy Trail.

It has been one of my goals to ride it from beginning to end, which I have done and still enjoy riding sections of it every summer.  There are beautiful vantage points along the way that overlook the Missouri River plus many wonderful bed and breakfasts and wineries to visit.  Most people spend 4 - 6 days riding and enjoying the local food, sights and history of the trail.  We met people from as far away as CA, AZ, CO and the UK who heard about it and come to enjoy the wildflowers in the spring and fall foliage and cool weather during September and October.

More Clues ....

I've only had a couple of guesses as to where the picture might have been taken on the Wordless Wednesday post.  Here's more clues that might help.

These sights are in the same area as the first one.

Soon, I'll let you in on the location of these beautiful sites.

A Bed and Breakfast

My First Giveaway

If anyone can identify where the picture was taken on yesterday's Wordless Wednesday, I will send them a surprise gift.  The first clue -- it was taken in Missouri.  And no it's not in my yard.!!

Wordless Wednesday