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First Spring Break (stash report week 12)

And, it's snowing again, non-stop since about 8am!  Crazy, huh?  Today the last of the 50 lb. bag of sunflower seeds went into the bird feeders.  That was bag number two.  We've fed the birds, and squirrels, 100 lbs. of sunflower seeds this season!

Fortunately, we had plenty of warning as we had to go get DS from Grandma and Papa's a day earlier than planned.  Yes, that is how I survived our first spring break - my mom came to the rescue Thursday!

During part of the travel I got to stop at a quilt shop.  And, yes, I did more damage to the stash numbers.  I stopped in Effingham, Illinois, at The Wooden Spool (formerly Angie's Nine Patch). I had been here once before a few years ago.  We travel through Effingham all the time on our way to Indiana but usually the timing isn't right for the shop hours or we just don't have the time.

I stopped to look for perle cotton.  There must be some little stitching shop in St. Louis that sells perle cotton in more colors than I can get at Joann's but I've not found it.  And only one LQS carries any hand embroidery supplies and that is floss.  I don't care for floss.  It tangles so easily when I'm not using it.

Anyway, I found my three colors to work on my bird applique project from last fall.  That's what I did while DH drove yesterday.  More to go but it was so nice to relax with some handwork.

The Wooden Spool has lots of needlework and quilting supplies and the prices on their fabric are great.  I saw a bolt of Kaffe for $7.99/yd regular price.  The most expensive batik I saw was Timeless Treasures for $9.99/yd.


Of course, what caught my eye were these sale fabrics at $3.99/yd.  That dainty blue print will work well with an April Cornell jelly roll that I bought years ago thinking I would make something for my mother-in-law. Now, I'm thinking about another Pineapple Blossom for her.

The pretty floral - well, I love pretty florals and this should work well for a pattern called the "Quilt Camp Tote" that has been sitting in a drawer for ages.

I also got this cute wool kit for less than $17. One shop here had some of these kits and I almost bought one but resisted.  This kit was marked down and has everything I need.  I've already put the background together and am anxious to see how the wool works.

First, I must get the Pineapple Blossom top together.  The blocks are all in one piece and I'm working on the bonus triangle border.  So, today is a border day.  Not a bad thing to do when the snow is coming down.


To the numbers:
Used this week: 0
Used YTD: 44.00
Added this week: 5
Added YTD: 34.25
Net used YTD: 8.75

Okay - seriously - no more additions til more projects are finished, and started! I'm almost back in the red!!

Check out some more stash reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.

Have a great week!

On My Design Wall....

WooHoo - all the blocks are finished!  They aren't together, but they are finished.  The Pineapple Blossom pattern calls for sashing and cornerstones between the blocks.  I'm leaving those out.

As I was looking at the quilt in the darkened room last night I realized why there was something about those components that did not seem quite right to me from first seeing the pattern.  It's because every medium/dark strip in the quilt ends with a point.  The sashing would have a blunt end and I guess my brain felt that something was amiss.  It's just my opinion.

So, that's why you're looking at a dark pic.  The background is busy and I was struck at how the starbursts stood out in the poor light.

And the color photo is so horrible b/c it is another cloudy day which means absolutely no natural light is coming through my itty bitty basement window.

What's on your design wall today?  Click over to Judy's for more eye candy.

Have a great day!

Spring or Snow?! (Stash Report Week 11)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It is snowing here at the moment!  Crazy!  It was over 70 degrees Friday.  And so, March marches along.

Yesterday was a new BOM at the local quilt shop.  This shop has been around a couple of decades and the owner usually designs a sampler quilt.  This year the blocks are all pieced curves, pre cut on the GO Studio cutter.  So, I'm excited to get home and sit down at the machine and start piecing immediately.  It's the cutting that has kept me from trying any curved piecing.

Then, it was our monthly sew day.  It is so nice to sit in a room full of fun, quilty friends - food for the soul! And, I have 30 Pineapple Blossom blocks all finished - woo hoo!

Now, I need to get the last 5 blocks done (I miscounted my strips), get them together, get borders on it, make a pillowcase, and get the backing together.  I am supposed to turn it in at our guild meeting one week from Tuesday for the QOV deadline.  And, this week is spring break with rather yucky weather forecasted - hhmm, we'll see.

It was a slow week for me.  There's something in the air alright, and I've been down with it all week but, thankfully, it is on the run after a trip to the doctor midweek.



Another shipment arrived from Tonya at Ozark Fabric.

She stuffed 7 yards and an envelope of AHHH's into a padded flat rate envelope.

She must go through lots of clear tape because that envelope was secure.

The button fabric will be used for the lining in my mom's sewing macine cover.

My positive stash numbers won't be here for long.  When I was a the LQS, I almost bought more and said to myself, "Why? At least wait til you've finished another project."

So, that's what I'm doing.  I need to get back to my mantra, "just keep sewing, just keep sewing."


To the numbers:
Used this week: 0
Used YTD: 44.00
Added this week: 7
Added YTD: 29.25
Net used YTD: 13.75

Check out some more stash reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.

Have a great week!

word verification "on"

I am so sorry - I hate those word verification windows - but I've had to turn it on.  More spam was coming in than actual comments - uggh.

Hopefully, after a few weeks, I can turn it "off."

Have a great day!

Pineapple Blossom & Stash Report Week 10

This past Wednesday I went to Indiana to have lunch with my mom and then on to the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show in Bloomington. The reason I went to the show was to attend a workshop taught by Bonnie Hunter.  This is the first time I've gone to a workshop with a nationally known quilt teacher.  

Bonnie was as nice as she could be! Nothing was done wrong, no quilt police, and she taught us how to use every inch of our fabric. She did an impromptu trunk show for us as she had lots of her quilts with her for her engagements in Texas prior to coming to Indiana. I'd like to take another class with her and learn a new technique.





I tried using a new 1/4" foot on the featherweight but I didn't like it.  First it was almost solid and I could not see the needle very well.  The other reason was when I measured my sewn rectangle it was 6 3/8" long, not 6 1/2". Yes, the seam itself measured 1/4" but when pressed back it lost a teensy bit in the seam allowance.  








If you look at Bonnie's Pineapple Blossom (a free pattern btw), she used the bonus triangles cut from the blocks in the second border.  She had us cut a 3" square from an index card and then in half diagonally to use as a template to mark the stitching line for the bonus triangles.  So, the corner background squares all have two lines. 

Unfortunately, I was a bit under the weather with a cold that started on Tuesday and seems to be letting up a bit today.  The one plus in not feeling well was that it kept me from doing too much shopping.  Only a single 1/2 yard cut came home with me. There were only about 35 vendors to visit.  The show was small and juried.  So, our two hour lunch period allowed us to take it all in. 


To the numbers:
Used this week: 0
Used YTD: 44.00
Added this week: 0.5
Added YTD: 22.25
Net used YTD: 21.75

Check out some more stash reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.

Have a great week!

Bonnie Hunter Workshop

This is a quick post - I have DS's cold, uggh.  It manifested itself Wednesday morning, when I left for Indiana. The past three days have been very busy, fun and business, and today is my day to rest.

However, I had to share a bit of fun.  More tomorrow on meeting Bonnie Hunter.



These are the 6 blocks that I finished for the Pineapple Blossom quilt in the workshop.  I have many more started, but like chain piecing a log cabin, it takes a while to get a finished block.

My background is very busy.  And I confirmed my suspicions, I only think I have a lot of fabric because I need more variety in my scraps.

Have a great Saturday!

Check out some more Whoop Whoops over at Sarah's blog - she's having a giveaway!

P.S.  Check out The Shabby, there's a great FQ bundle giveaway.

Stash Report Week 9

Lots of snow fell here this week! Unfortunately, none of it stuck with temps hovering just above freezing. The view out the window was lovely.

I had one little finish.

At least one of my machines gets a pretty cover. Although, I rarely have more than one out at a time.

Here's my first blog win of the new year.

It's a layer cake of Midwinter Red by Minick & Simpson. It will debut at spring Quilt Market. There's not even a photo on the Moda website to share with you. Now to find a pattern.

 I got out the GO! Baby last night after a day of cleaning house and cut some squares from scraps. They must tamed before they can be used.

 My 2" bin is overflowing. I wish AccuQuilt would make 1.5" and 2.5" square dies for the Baby. That would give me a little more variety with the small pieces. If only all my scraps had a nice straight edge on one side to make cutting easier - LOL!

To the numbers:
Used this week: 0.75
Used YTD: 44.00
Added this week: 2.75
Added YTD: 21.75
Net used YTD: 22.25

Check out some more stash reports at Judy's Patchwork Times.

Have a great week!

Thursday finish on Friday

With a Noteworthy charm pack and a yard from Ozark Fabric, I made myself a sewing machine cover. Went together quite easily.

I was a bit concerned about the lining being separate and upside down, so I used some perle cotton and big stitches to attach it to the outer fabric/batting. Also, I did not put on a separate binding. I cut my lining pieces 1.5" longer and then folded the extra edge over twice - voila!

Check out more Friday finishes at Sarah's Whoop Whoop celebration.