Stash Report - 2/26/17

Still working away at finishing up more of the QOV tops from the Block Drive that needed borders, bindings and pillowcases to go with them before being quilted.  I cut and attached borders, made bindings and pillowcases for Nos.# 14 & 15. When possible, I tried to match the fabrics used for bindings or part of the pillowcases with the border if there was enough fabric left. I find that using only what is available from stash has made it a bit more challenging. Since the blocks are so scrappy, I wanted to have some consistency, if possible to pull it all together.  I hope the recipients won't be too critical of the color combinations.  Everyone that has worked on these has done so voluntarily and from their hearts.

2nd top pieced by Kim & Kevin

Pillowcase edge matches border

                               

Pillowcase edge, binding and border match
This top was pieced by Lou C.

I also added borders to two Honor Flight quilts, made a couple of blocks for our Scrap Club project and blocks for my block exchange group.  Pictures on those later.  When I needed a break from sewing, I cut pieces for more "scrappy snake blocks" for our next meeting of the Cave Quilters.  It's a good feeling to get things accomplished and all from my stash.

Hope you all had a good week playing in your fabrics, I sure did.  It helped me see that I need some more organizing of my stash, that's for sure.! lol

Stash Report -2/26/17

Fabric Added this week - none

YTD Added - 0.25

Fabric Used this week -  5.75 yards  - borders, bindings and pillowcases

YTD Used in 2017  - 34.87 yards

Linking up to Judy's. Stash Report.

Finished 2nd UFO of 2017

Another UFO crossed off my long list. This old antique top was given to me by a good friend who said it was thought to be made by her husband's grandmother. The 2.5" squares used in it are from the early 1900's. There are squares of flour sacks and children's clothing, shirts and dresses.  I was surprised by the size of this top from that time period.  It measures 72" x 92". I decided against adding a border since the size was sufficient to keep my toes warm.

Since this is such a traditional quilt and using all these older fabrics, I thought a quilting pattern of the era was in order.  I used a Baptist Fan for the quilting design.  I love flannels on the back of quilts, especially those that will be used on beds.  In looking through my stash for something appropriate, I found a bolt of  yellow floral flannel that had been sitting on my shelves for well over 10 years. It's time has finally come to put it to good use. It makes it feel so soft and I can't wait to snuggle under it. The yellow floral picks up the yellow squares scattered over the front. Perfect timing I'd say since our predicted temperatures for the upcoming nights are going to be in the 20s and 30s.

Here's a closer look at some of the interesting fabrics used in this old quilt.

This was my UFO for February and will be linking up with Judy's linky on March 1.

Fabric Stash Report

This week  more progress was made on adding borders to the QOV tops I showed HERE and making bindings and pillowcases for each of them.  Finished 2 borders, 3 bindings and 2 pillowcases so far.  

Pillowcases to match QOV quilts

Bindings for QOV quilts

I also took time to quilt an old UFO that's been hanging around for too long. The binding is made and attached and this week I'll be working on hand stitching it down to the back.   Here are my numbers for this week. 

Stash Report -2/19/17

Fabric Used this week -  5.375 yards 

YTD Used in 2017  -29.125 yards

Fabric Added this week - none

YTD Added - 0.25

You can see more stash busting results over at Judy's  Patchwork Times.

QOV Sew Day

Monday I was invited to the Perky Piecers Quilt Guild in Troy, MO.  They volunteered to help put together some of the blocks from the QOV Eastern MO Block Drive into tops.  I was thrilled with their offering to help me. I am getting closer to using all the blocks that I received.


We set up and organized by working in teams with sewers and pressers and before too long, there were 6 finished quilts!  I'm thrilled they accomplished so much.   Now I have the task of adding borders and making pillowcases for each of these from my stash and donated fabrics so they can be turned in at one our next QOV quilting days in Feb or March.

Here are my super helpers and their quilt tops.

Helen and her teammates finish the 1st top of the day

Kim and Kevin finished the 2nd one of the day

# 2 from Kim and Kevin's team. They were over achievers!

Ann of Attic Threads & Quilts showing off her beautiful finish 

The quilters are hard at work.  

Susan and teammates show off another finish

There was another top almost finished (needed a row or two added), so I'll post that next time. 

We brought our lunches so we would have more sewing time. I brought dessert in the form of a cake decorated like our original QOV layout to show my appreciation for all the help this group has given me. There was a slight accident with handling the cake, but it was still delicious but no one minded the little crack.  Thank you Perky Piecers!!

Stash Report and Finished QOV Tops

This week has been productive for using my stash exclusively. I finished putting all the rest of the borders on the tops for QOV that have been pieced by friends and me.  There is one pillowcase made and bindings made for 4 Honor Flight quilts.  All in all, it's been a real Red, White and Blue week!

Here are more of the pieced tops from the QOV block drive and the Honor Flight quilts waiting for their bindings to be stitched down to the back.

Pieced by Brenda K - blue polka dot border

Pieced by Brenda K - blue border

 

Pieced by Sheron M - diagonal/blue border

Pieced by Coleen S - HST/red border

Pieced by Sheron M - gold center/red border

This brings our totals of Finished Tops from the QOV Block Drive up to 11 so far. We still have more to go with a sewing day planned for Monday, February 13 at Troy, Missouri.  We are getting close to using all the blocks that were made and sent in for the drive.  Thank you again for your help in getting these quilts put together and on to the veterans who will appreciate your efforts too.

Here are the 4 Honor Flight quilts that will be given to the Greater St. Louis Honor Flight group which will be added to others and will be  presented to the next group of veterans that leave Lambert International Airport in March for their flight to Washington, DC.  There are usually between 25-30 on each flight and they take 3 or 4 groups each year from St. Louis.  These little lap quilts go fast since they requested the size to be 36 to 40 inches square.

Honor Flight Quilts 

My stash numbers reflect the fabrics used for borders, bindings, pillowcases and a repair to my DH's favorite quilt.  I did cut lots of strips and started on a project for Scrap Club, but have not counted any of that fabric yet.

Stash Report 

Fabric Added this week - none

Fabric Used since last report -  4.5 yards 

YTD Added - 1 fat quarter

YTD Used - 23.75 yards

Check out what others sewed and finished this week over at Judy's HERE.

Off The Needles - Feb. 10, 2017

Finally, my second pair of Scrappy Frankensocks are finished.  And, these really are a strange pair,but I love them. No need to worry what to wear them with because they will go with anything and everything!

You will notice that I did repeat one yarn in each sock.  That way, I'll know which ones I knitted as a pair.  The top of one and the toe of the other is the same little leftover ball of yarn.  Do you think anyone other than me will notice that? lol  I made the leg portions a bit longer so they will go farther up my legs when the weather is unusually cold.

I am going to peruse my patterns to see what is next to put on my needles.  I don't want to leave them bare for too long.

I'm linking up with Judy over at Patchwork Times where you can see more knitted goodies.

Scrappy Fun with Snakes

We had a blast last week playing with snakes.  Now don't fret, they were friendly and very colorful snakes.  Maybe I should explain more.

I was invited to participate with 3 of my friends (Jan of The Colorful Fabriholic and Cherie of Quilted Jonquil) for a day of sewing and creating in the Quilt Cave of Kevin, The Quilter.

What a fun day it was too.  We started off visiting the new baby chicks that were only a few days old that Kevin has incubated and hatched for the first time.  They were just the softest and sweetest little things ever! You can see them HERE picture from Kevin's camera and read more about them on his blog.

We got together to learn to piece a block that Jan designed for a QOV quilt.  Cherie gave us a refresher on paper piecing methods for the arcs and finally after making a few of those, we moved on to the sewing of the arcs into the two corners to complete the block. Jan showed how it was done to get the best results on this step.

I had it down pretty well by the time the day was over.  I really like this block and can't wait to use more of my red and blue scraps to make a bunch more.  I think this would make a cute baby quilt too with bright primary colors or even pastels. Don't you agree that these are friendly, colorful little snakes?  The variations in the blues just make the block sparkle like facets of a jewel.  You can read more about the project and see step-by-step pictures on Jan's post.

Our lunch was gourmet to put it mildly. It was the prettiest presentation and most delicious lunch I think I've had since I traveled in Italy. Not only is Kevin a great quilter, but his culinary skills are right up there with Mr, Ramsey and Ms. Stewart.  Kevin, when are you going to open your restaurant?

 It was so good, I went back for seconds. The recipe Kevin used can be found HERE on his blog.

And look at our place settings.  Aren't those napkin rings the cutest.!! He thinks of everything.

We finished 14 complete blocks by the end of the day in between holding the chicks, eating, laughing, learning, eating more, checking on the chicks and having fun.  Not bad for a days' work.

Can't wait to see what the next project will be for the newly formed Cave Quilters.