Fabric Report & More - Week 38

Holy cow.  It's been 4 weeks since I've done a fabric report; and this week isn't great.

Fabric Report - Week 38

Used this Week:  .25 - block exchange blocks 

Used year to Date:   102.25 yds
Added this Week:  0 yards 
Added Year to Date:  0 yards 

Net Used for 2015:  102.25 yards 
Warning -- This post is picture heavy. 

What was I doing instead of sewing ?  Well let's see.  I have been spending a lot of time working on Quilts of Valor quilts.   As I mentioned in an earlier post, we are a large group of quilters and meet 2 or 3 times a month to hand quilt tops that have been donated.  Here are some pics of a recent gathering. 

We set up between 10 to 15 frames each time we meet.

 

This is where I was working that day. BTW, we did finish our quilt! 

Here they are working on a quilt from Kevin'the Quilter's block drive.

Another Finish !!

Our leaders take turns marking all the quilt tops that come into to us. They do a great job and give us lots of variety and sometimes a few challenges too.

As you can see, we get a lot of beautiful tops donated by generous quilters.  They come from quilters all around the area and friends and family members who have a connection to members either serving now in the military or that have served in the past.  We also receive fully finished quilts from churches and individuals.  This is really nice since they are ready to be given to a veteran as soon as the label goes on.

Here are a couple more tops that will find their way to the quilting frames soon.

I get so excited when I receive a call from a friend telling me she has another QoV top to bring me.  I love seeing what designs they come up with.  We get such a variety that the quilting is never boring. Not all of our quilts are patriotic.  We get an equal number of other colored quilts too.

Check out Judy's Fabric Report to see what others have done this week.

On the Needles - 9-18-15

Not much knitting these last couple of weeks.  I did get the second Rose City Roller sock started. I just finished the heel and heading for the toe.

The last couple of weeks I have been busy quilting - both for Quilts of Valor and others.  QOV has met twice in less than a week for all day quilting session.  Note the posting on our bulletin board of the number of quilts we have presented to our veterans since this group was started -- 1,900 quilts.  I think we will hit the 2,000 mark before the end of the year.   More pictures of our QOV quilts will be coming in a later post.

To see more knitting inspirations, go to Judy's Patchwork Gardens and enjoy what others are doing.

On The Needles - Sept. 4, 2015

I am still working on my Rose City Roller little footie socks.  I went camping a few days last week and hoped to finish the whole pair, but there were too many other fun things to keep me busy.  I did finish one and started the 2nd.

Rose City Roller pattern - free on Ravelry

We went camping at Montauk State Park in southern Missouri.  It is a beautiful park and the Current River runs right through it and is known especially for trout fishing.  Close by we found a shop called "Rootin Tootin Alpaca Yarns which sells alpaca and many other yarns plus fabric!  Well you know I had to take time out from fishing and check it out.  I resisted buying fabric, but did buy a couple skeins of yarn. Unfortunately they were very low on the alpaca hand dyed and the colors available were dark and drab, so I didn't get any of those.  I bought a variegated Serenity which is superwash merino wool and bamboo in a color called "Purple Spice"  It looks more reddish than purple to me, but since there was purple in the name, I had to buy it. lol  She had lots of patterns, fabrics and notions.

Check out more knitting projects over at Judy's Patchwork Times.

Fabric Report - Week 34

I'm posting this a bit later than usual so I can count what I've used today to piece together a backing for Easy Street.  I've procrastinated long enough. It is the largest pieced backing I've ever done--108" x 108".   To refresh your memory, here is my Easy Street (folded into quarters); it was started in 2012.

Easy Street - Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt - 2012

And here is the backing on the floor before it was totally sewn together. I couldn't get the whole back in the picture from the angle I was shooting. I'll try to get a better picture tomorrow in the daylight.

So how many yards do you think it took to make this backing with left over fabrics and some whole yardage from stash. If you guessed 10 yards, you would be right. Yes!!  I've hit the half way mark on usage this year. Now to get it quilted and bound before Bonnie comes to Missouri in September.  It was the motivation I needed to get me going. I'm cutting it close, but it's doable if I keep focused and not get sidetracked with some other 'pressing" project. lol  This will be my 9th UFO for this year. There are still too many left for any sane person to have though. 

Fabric Report - Week 34
Used this Week:  10.5 yards (10 yds for backing,  1/2 yd gifted to a friend  

Used year to Date:   102 yds
Added this Week:  0 yards 
Added Year to Date:  0 yards Still have not bought any fabric this year! Not counting donated or gifted fabric. 

Net Used for 2015:  102 yards 

I'm linking up with Patchwork Times.  To see more reports, check HERE. 

Quilts of Valor Finishes

August has been a very busy month and I haven't taken the time to post some of our wonderful quilts that we have hand quilted recently.  Here are a couple of our latest ones.  We have presented over 1,850 quilts to our veterans since our first meeting 10 years ago.  We had an anniversary party in July to celebrate the milestone.

Getting close to ringing the bell.!

FINISHED!

This is one of the many quilts that we made from Kevin's block drive last year.  We will be quilting these for quite some time.  We are quilting them all differently though, so that will make it more interesting for the hand quilters.

Since it rained almost 2 inches this morning, I don't have to spend any time today watering my garden and plants, so more time for stitching.  I need to get moving and finish up something so I will have some fabric "used" to put on my stash report. lol

On The Needles - August 21, 2015

I couldn't quite make up my mind which yarn to use next for my next pair of socks, so I picked a completely different one that I've been wanting to try.  I decided to make a pair of the short footies that someone posted recently (sorry, right now I can't remember who, but I put it on my "to do" list immediately).  They are called Rose City Rollers and it is a free pattern on Ravelry HERE.  I figured they would go quickly and I can wear them before winter in my tennis shoes, Here's how far I got this week.  I have been busy finishing a custom quilt so not much time was spent with my knitting needles. .

They are knitting up pretty quickly with a slight variation in the pattern than I'm used to.  I'm using Panda Superwash yarn which has bamboo, wool and a little nylon.  They feel very soft and cushy.

Check out Patchwork Times to see more lovely knitted items this week.

Fabric Report - Week 33

This is the last time you will have to look at these dragon pillowcases! I used all of the fabric, even the last 1/2 yard.  I made the last two for me and my DH with the small left over piece. They are the two on the front left with only the cuffs made out of dragons--black bottom for him, yellow for me.  I wanted to keep something as a reminder of what the fabric looked like (Right, like I would forget anytime soon lol) AND to remind myself NOT TO BUY any fabric at a sale that you cannot inspect first!!  I think I've made enough pillowcases this year. Delivered 53 in June to St. Louis Children's Hospital and there are 32 more here on the table. They will go to Our Ladies Inn, a safe shelter for abused women and their children. Thanks to several of my friends for making a few too so I wouldn't go crazy as quickly.

These pillowcases were helping my stash numbers each week.  Now I'm in trouble --I really will have to get going on the UFOs again if I want to hit my goal of using 200 yards for the year.

Fabric Report - Week 33
Used this Week:  7.5 yards (6 yds for pillowcases, 1 1/2 gifted to friend for baby quilt.

Used year to Date:   91.5 yds
Added this Week:  0 yards
Added Year to Date:  0 yards
Net Used for 2015:  91.5  yards  

Stop by Patchwork Times to see more stash reports for the week.

Almost a Happy Dance and Fabric Report - Week 32

It's getting real close to me doing the Happy Dance at my house. The end of the dragon fabric is getting soooo close.    I counted just 6 more to go after the nine that were finished this week.

Also this week, I finished another UFO that in inherited last year from my good friend, Barb that passed away in August. You might remember, I volunteered to finish her quilt projects that she was working on for her family.  These scrappy squares were started with her young niece, Brooke who was 9 or 10 years old.  Brooke helped pick her own fabrics and even sewed some of the blocks herself.  I quilted it with Dragon Fly by Pattern Man Designs.  She certainly won't need a quilt for a few more months since it's going to be in the high 90's tomorrow, but it's ready and waiting for her to snuggle in when winter gets here. I'm sure she will have fond memories of her time spent with her aunt Barb making her quilt top.

Back with dragon flies

Fabric Report - Week 32

Used this Week: 9 yards

Used year to Date: 84 yds
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2015: 84 yards  

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork 
Gardens where you will find others who are trying to manage their stashes.  

Fabric Report - Week 31

Not much to add this week except a few more pillowcases are finished.  I'm getting closer to the end of this orange dragon fabric!  I bet you are saying, thank goodness.  We are tired of seeing the same old pillowcases.  ME TOO. 

Used this Week: 6 yards
Used year to Date: 75 yds
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
 Net Used for 2015: 75 yards  

Check out Judy's Patchwork Times to see how others made out this week on their sewing numbers.

Off The Needles - July 31, 2015

Off my needles this week is the Pretty Basic Shawl  a free pattern on Ravelry.  This was also my first garment to block using wires. It was a little tricky, but turned out ok. . I didn't follow the pattern exactly (well I meant to, but I made a big boo boo reading the pattern and didn't realize it until I had gone too far), so it is what it is. Wish it had turned out bigger like the original picture showed. I even added more rows thinking it would be larger.

I'm still debating what to start next.  I miss not having a sock on the needles, so I may cast on a pair of those next. Then the decision of which yarn to use--Judy's Loopy Legion on the Right or Denise's Mallard Duck on the Left - both are Lorna's Laces fingering weight yarns.
  

Come back soon to find out which one I choose.  Which one would YOU choose for socks and which for another knitted item?

I'm linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.  Stop by there to see what other lovely things are being made this week. 

Fabric Report - Week 30

Nothing in and a few more yards out this week.  I'm working on getting those 24 pieces of dragon pillowcases done--4 finished this week.  I also gifted some fabric to a friend.

I know it's hard to beieve, but I still have not bought any new fabric this year.  Only 5 more months to go.   Maybe I should take bets on whether I'll make it through December. lol

Week 30
Fabric Added - O

Fabric Used:  5.25 yards

Fabric Added YTD - O

Fabric Used YTD - 69 yards

Net used from stash this year-  69 yards

Check out more reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.  

A surprise in the Garden

Earlier this summer as I was checking my patio tomatoes, I noticed a "weed" that had come up in one of the pots and was about to pull it out.  A friend told me she thought it was a sunflower.  Now how could she tell that with it being only 4-5 inches tall. Having never grown sunflowers before, I had no idea.

I didn't really believe her, since how it got in that tomato pot was such a mystery. I had used pre-mixed potting soil to give the plants the best chance to produce big, tasty delicious tomatoes, and I know I didn't plant anything else in that pot.  Well, I carefully dug it out and planted it in my flower/veggie garden in the yard....just to see what it really was.

This is what finally became of the "weed".   Unfortunately, it faces away from us as we look from our house.

Please excuse the weeds. This little garden has a few flowers, 4 tomato plants and 2 green pepper plants. Oh yes, and now one beautiful sunflower.  Also, lots and lots of weeds.  They are my speciality!

Notice the tiny honey bee at the top inner ring and the large black bumblebee below it?  The whole plant faces to the East, I guess to greet the morning sun.

Switching gears a bit - 

At our quilt guild last month, we had our annual Summer Salad Supper program along with a white elephant gift exchange..  We were to wrap our "white elephant" so it would be enticing and completely covered. We could bring anything, even items unrelated to quilting.

The organizers had a game plan to make getting our gifts very random. As we waited for our numbers to be called, we could hear laughing and oohs and aahs coming from various sides of the room. A friend of mine at the next table got something that caused her whole table to break out in loud laughter. I looked over to see what all the fuss was about.  She got a great white elephant. She thought it was awful and did not want it. When she said who wanted to buy it, I jumped at the chance.  I thought it was the cutest 'white elephant' in the whole room.  You wouldn't believe some of the terrible 'white elephants people came up with.

Meet my new kitty.  She is house trained, doesn't need a litter box and she doesn't wake me up too early in the morning, but I think she is the cutest kitty around town.  Don't you agree?  The flowers she is carrying are Suoerbena, a Verbena hybrid. Royale Chambray is the color. (Of course you know it HAD TO BE PURPLE).

Has anyone ever tried to winter annuals over in the house?  This would make a pretty addition to our sun room in the winter.  I know kitty would prefer to be indoors when it's cold. lol