Easy Street - Clues 1 and 2

Well, I finally got started on Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street mystery quilt this week.  The first step was cutting 2" wide strips from black on whites and a grey fabric.  Since I'm using what's already in my stash for most of this quilt, I got busy sorting and came up with enough to do the job.  Here on my drying rack are my black and whites cut and pressed waiting to be made into twosies then into 4 patches.

1st set of 10 four patches

I got carried away as I was sewing them, and ended up with a few more than I need. This isn't a very good picture of my pizza box full of 4-patches.

200 four-patches pinned in groups of 10

Now it's on to Step 2.  Making flying geese units with purples as the goose and black and whites on the wings.  I've got some of those cut, but not sewn yet.  Our next clue is due today! It's most likely already posted.  Oops!  I need to start flying faster with these geese to catch up.   

You can check out everyone's progress on Part 2 here. 

Stash Enhancement/Busted - Week 49

My fabric addiction finally got the better of me yesterday. I went shop hoppng with a few friends and did some enhancements to my stash.  I had been so good for most of the year, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. It was lots of fun though.  Just wish I could have held off another 4 weeks.
Fabric Added this week:       12. 91 yards
Fabric Added Year-to-Date:  43.91 yards
Fabric Used this week :         2 yards  (pillowcases)
Fabric Used Year-to-date:-    87.94 yards

Here is a peek at some of my new fabrics.

The ones on the top are for charity projects (pillowcases, backings on baby quilts), the reddish/gold batik is for the liturgical quilt and the floral and fat quarters are for Easy Street mystery quilt.  I'm still in the black for the year, but way off the mark for my goals of using more fabric than last year.  Well, there is always next year, right?

I'm linking up with Patchwork Times, so check there to see what others did this week.

Design Wall Monday and Stash Report

I'm combining the Sunday and Monday postings today because I am running behind.  My stash was busted to the tune of a bit more than 3 yards this week.
Fabric Added - zero
Fabric Added YTD - 31 yds
Fabric Used - 3.11 yds
Fabric Used  YTD - 85.94 yds

I found a cute panel that I had bought years ago for a quick charity project and decided it was time to pass it on. I found backing and binding in my stash to make that happen.

It was called "Fun on the Farm" and I quilted it very simply so it would be puffy and soft.

                      back quilting --->






My design wall still has the same stuff on it as it did weeks ago, but I'm starting the Easy Street mystery quilt of Bonnie Hunter too.  Maybe I'll get something new on the wall soon.

Drop on over to Patchwork Times to see other design walls and check out Bonnie's mystery quilt participants on her linky.                                                  

On and Off The Needles

Happy day after Thanksgiving Day.  I hope all my blogger friends had a good day with family and friends.  I know I did, but as usual, ate way too much.  Now I feel like the overstuffed 'turkey'.

On the knitting front, not too much was accomplished.  Here is my first "On/Off the Needles" post.  It has taken me way too long to finish this scarf because I dropped a few stitches and had to have a friend fix it, which meant unraveling it back to almost 4 inches to finally get it fixed.

It was made for a friend who was moving away and she also loves purple.  Now I'm getting ready to start another one for a Christmas present and I'm trying a circular needle for this one.  I understand that it is way easier than on long, straight, slippery needles.  I sure hope so, because there is not much time left to get a few more done for gifts.

Better get going.  Lots to do before the day is over.  I'm linking up with Judy, so drop by and see other knitting projects.  

Stash Report - Week 47

This week was a busy week of sewing, but I can only count my 3 pillowcases as finished.  I worked on several of my UFOs and hope to get them finished by year end.  Here's my numbers for the week.

Fabric Added

1/2 yard -  this week

31 yards -  year-to-date

Fabric Used

3 yards        - this week

82.83 yards - year-to-date

51.83 yards. - reduced from stash for 2012

I'm still heading in the right direction and am pleased with my goal of not buying unless my stash doesn't have what I need for a specific project, but wish I had more time to sew on my UFOs.

On my last post I mentioned that I would show you more retreat pictures when I got them organized..  Well, Sandy beat me to it.  She's way faster than me on finishing quilts too.  Take a look at some of the great projects that she captured at our retreat. I'm the one with the hand pouring a delicious drink.  I spent part of my sewing time making smoothies for everyone to taste.  

Check out other stash reports over at Judy's.

Back from a Retreat

Today was my first day back from retreat and I was dragging!  I try to squeeze way too much sewing, eating, laughing and fun into a couple days retreat.  Did I mention that I don't get very much sleep!.  I think I got a total of 9 or 10 hours for 3 days worth of fun, fun, fun.  Maybe I'll catch up on my sleep this weekend.

Since my UFO list is so long, it was difficult to decide what to take to work on.  Knowing that our retreats are wild and crazy, it can be hard to concentrate and stay focused on one thing; so I took several ongoing projects to work on.  I always take more than I will get done, but you just never know.

I didn't finish any UFO, but I did finish 3 more pillowcases.  They are so much fun to make. My running total is now 13, only 39 to go.!

Another project that I usually take along to retreats is my scrap string blocks.  When it's hard to concentrate on specific patterns or instructions because of all the laughing and getting up to see someone giving a demo or telling a joke and everyone is talking at once, I pull out my trusty no-thinking string blocks.  I sometimes go around and check the trash bags for more strings to add to my blocks for more variety.  You know the saying about turning trash into treasure, or something like that.

Here is what they look like when you just grab and sew them in no particular order.

Before trimming

After trimming

And here's the progress so far.  I'm aiming for a large twin.  Right now it's only about 45" x 58" so I've got a ways to go.

After I get my pictures organized, I'll show you a few of the other wonderful projects that were completed by the other gals.

Stash Report - Week 46

These weeks are flying by so fast.  I can't believe it is Sunday again so soon.  I didn't get as much sewing done as I planned, but what's new? :)   I also noticed that my week number is not the same as Judy's and I don't know if my calendar is crazy or me (don't answer that!). When I count the Sundays this year starting with Jan. 1, 2012 until today, I get 46 Sundays.

I did finished another pillowcase this week for the kids at St. Louis Children's Hospital and bought a yard more for another one. I'm up to #10 toward my goal of 52.  I've got a long way to go. The latest one has cute beach articles on it.  Makes me want to go south and play in the sand.  The weatherman says WINTER is coming tomorrow night!  I'm not looking forward to cold, icy winter days.

Back to my report.  Here are my numbers this week.

Used this week:  1 yard

Used year to date:  79.83

Added this week:  1 yard

Added YTD:  30.5 yards

New for 2012:  49.33

I'm going on a short quilting retreat next week, so hopefully I will have lots of projects finished or further along. 

Drop on by Judy's to see what others did this week.

Stash Report - Week 45

The only stash bushing I can count this week was the two pillowcases that I showed earlier in the week.  Didn't get around to working on any more of "my" projects, but I didn't have time to enhance my stash either! :)   Here's where I am for the year.

Used this Week: 2 yards
Used year to Date: 78.83 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date:  29.5 yards

Head on over to Patchwork Times to see how everyone else is doing this week.

What Have I Been Up To??

Well, here's a short list of what's been keeping me busy this week.  First off, finished two more pillowcases - one for the kids at Children's Hospital and one for QOV.

Then on Wednesday, we set a record at our monthly Quilts of Valor meeting.  We had 129 ladies come and sew all day.  We have now presented 987 quilts to our Veterans since this group first got together.  It has sure grown in 7 or 8 years of existence.  I was so busy sewing on bindings as they were being finished and taken off the quilting frames, that I forgot to take pictures of our finished ones for the day.  We completed a bunch.  I was pooped when I got home and had to take a nap.!

Next I finished quilting a couple customer quilts that have been waiting patiently for attention --

I quilted this with hot pink thread using a pantograph called Featheration.  My customer was pleased with the thread choice because her granddaughter just loves the color -- hot pink. 

I also baked 6 dozen cookies, but didn't take pictures of those !  Instead they were taste tested by friends and DH and have vanished very quickly.  I tried a new recipe for one batch Peanut Butter, chocolate chips, oatmeal cookies.  I love them and they must be healthy because they have oatmeal in them, right?  I'll put the recipe on my 'recipe page' if you are interested in trying them.  They are yummy.

That about brings me up to speed for the week.  Hope you are having a fun and productive week too.

My thoughts and prayers go out to those in Hurricane Sandy's path and hope that they are getting their lives put back together.

Design Wall - Monday Oct. 26

Here's my design wall today.  I finished the side blocks and am starting the auditioning process for the background of the center portion.   I love picking out fabrics for quilts, but I must confess it is sometimes frustrating and slow.  I keep changing my mind and seeing new possibilities and then it's hard to decide which way to go!

For more ideas and to see what everyone else is working on, take a look at Patchwork Times.

Stash Report - Oct. 28, 2012

I was looking forward to this week's Stash Report.  Since the weather has gotten cooler, it's motivated me into doing more sewing and I'm using my stash. Being in a hurry and working into the wee hours of the night has it's drawbacks though. I  miscut and ruined the only fabric I had bought this week. Ugh. Now I will have to rebuy that piece again, or be creative in trying to selvage the pieces.

Fabric Added this week - .3/4 yards 

Fabric Added Year To Date - 29.5 yards

Fabric Used this week - 6. 25 yards

Fabric Used Year to Date - 76.83 yards

I finished piecing the back for the QOV Tilted Stars.  I decided to use up so many smaller pieces and cut 10.5" blocks.  I tried to keep them somewhat organized into a pattern, if I had enough of a color to do so.  I did pretty well, I think -- only ran 1 block short on one color.  Does it stand out too much?

The other sewing I did was on my 25-patch stain glass blocks.  I added setting triangles on all 8 of them.  They are now ready to have leading added to them; and then decide what fabrics to use for the next phase of the project.

Drop by Patchwork Times to see more Stash reports.

Recent Audio Book

Lately I've been behind on reading books because of being too busy with other things, so I've gone back to renting audio books from the library.  I do enjoy listening to books while I sew or quilt.

Since I'm a Janet Evanovich fan, I quickly grabbed several of her audio books from the shelf without reading the covers.  I loaded my long arm, popped the disc into the player and got to work. Thinking it was going to be about Stephanie, Ranger, Lulu and Joe Morelli, I was surprised to find out the characters in this story were Lizzy, Diesel and Gerwulf, nickname Wolf, and Glo.  Lizzy is a pastry chef recently transplanted to Boston from NY City and has inherited an old house from her aunt.  She encounters two men with unusual talents and strange powers, a monkey that seems human and a ninja cat.  It has fast paced action, mystery and many humorous situations throughout.  This crew was as entertaining as Stephanie's gang and kept me in stitches -- laughing wise, that is!

If you want a lighthearted, comical and a bit far-fetched story line to entertain you for a few hours, "Wicked Appetite" should do the trick.

Now on to another book and another quilted quilt!!