Sunday Stash Report, Week 31 and Christmas Sewing Plans

 

Each week, I say I am not going to buy more fabric unless it is for a specific project and each week, it seems I fail miserably.  This week is no exception.

 

 

Pink Castle Fabrics was offering "Golden Tickets" with purchase to a limited number of customers, and prizes ranged from $5 to a year's worth of Stash Club fabrics.  I have coveted Lizzy House's Pearl Bracelets for a while now, so I splurged!  I also got some text prints.

 

I also went to my local shop, Hamels, on Super Saturday (20% off all regular priced fabrics, actually goes from Friday through to Monday night online this month) and picked up some more blacks-on-white for the never-ending quilt project, Easy Street.  I picked up Block 7 of Family Reunion, which has been on hold forever... thank goodness they are patient.  A few fat 1/8's and a fat quarter for my hexies rounded out the fun!

 

Added this week: 7.5 metres

Added Year-to-Date: 153 metres
 

Used since last report: 0 metres

 

Used Year-to-Date: 29.5 metres

 

Net used/Added for 2013: 123.5 metres

Lookee, lookee - I won $25 free fabric from Pink Castle!  Now I can add a bit more fun to my stash.

 



 

Now seriously, no more fabric until I plan out what my Christmas sewing is going to look like!

 

Bonus for me - this is a long weekend so I have an extra day to play.  But...my kids and grandkids have gone to New Brunswick to visit their dad (only the second time in 22 years they have seen him), so I am a little lonely.  That must be why I had to splurge (my excuse and i'm sticking to it).

My newest obsession!

I've been trying to resist for a while now, but every once in a while I would slip and pick one up.  But today, I fell off the wagon big time!

 

Welcome to Vintage Love!

 

 

I lost count at 12 sheets and 10 pillowcases, plus I got 5 more shirts for my Moth in a Window blocks.  I only paid $10 for the whole lot!!!  I love garage sales!

 

The next one wasn't to be outdone, and I picked up close to 20 metres (about 20 yards) and two finished kids aprons for $15.

 

I had only gone with the idea of picking up sheets and shirts, because I've been trying to declutter, but found more bargains.

 

And a Nancy Drew book printed in 1961, in excellent condition for just $3.  I need to find my old ones, including a couple from the 1940's that belonged to my mom.

 

I also picked up a partial set of dishes.  I'm going to smash them up and tile the top of my old potting table, which has seen better days.

 

I'm going to sand it, paint the bottom white, and add new plywood to the top, then my daughter is going to help me create a mosaic top.  I may end up boxing in the bottom area and making a storage cupboard for the deck cushions. 

 

I also picked up some tea cups for a friend.  She wants to have a tea party for her daughter's 5th birthday, and I promised to keep a look-out for some pretty ones.

 

I may end up keeping this one!  The colours are perfect for my sewing room, and I can see a cute little pincushion in the top.  It is older than the others, but isn't marked.  I think it might be bone china from about the 30's but I could be way off.  I don't know much about china.



Sunday Stash Report 2013, Week 4 - Oops, I did it again!

Easy Street is causing me to break my resolve not to add to my stash this year!  I ran out of blacks-on-white so I had to make a quick run to my favourite store yesterday.  I couldn't go Thursday to support my LQS, but I certainly made up for it yesterday!  (Please pardon the lighting in all my photos, it's another rainy day here on the Wet (West) Coast of BC, Canada - also be warned, I tend to ramble and this post is more so than usual!)

 

Added this week: 6.75 metres

Added Year to Date: 25 metres

3/4 metre were blacks-on-white, the 2 metres of Bella Snow is for next-up project using Mama Said Sew and the rest - well, just because ;o).  There are 2 metres of the black and white check which may become sashings or a binding, and a bunch of fat 1/8ths to add to the stash.

Hamels has these wonderful baskets full of fat 1/8th's and I was having trouble finding any blacks-on-white. They even let me go through their hidden closet of stash as well - there were bags and bins full just waiting for room in the baskets on the floor! (When I figure out how to get the picture off my phone, I'll share it.) I've come to the conclusion that there must be lots of Easy Street quilts being made here in the Fraser Valley, because there wasn't one to be found.  I ended up with 2 Fat Quarters and a piece of yardage.

 

But I did find all these other great pieces while I was digging.  There is a method to my madness when I buy fat 1/8ths and I usually don't buy more than 10 at a time - at 99c each, I'm getting 1.25 metres for just $9.90 - a bargain in Canada where prices can be as high as $16/metre.  A fat 1/8th in Canada is also 5" tall (whoops, my math was off - it's 10"x22"), so I can get 8 charm squares out of one piece or strip it down a la Bonnie Hunter-style.  I've included more on how I sorted these ones at the bottom of this post (just so I don't bore you!)

 

I also had a finish this week!  My Gramma quilt top is finished:

 

Used since last report: 4.5 metres

Used Year to Date: 5.25 metres

Net Used/Added for 2013: 19.75 metres

 

I bought this as a kit the same year my grandson was due; since he is now 4, I figured I better get it done as part of the Year to Get it Done.  The kit was purchased at Tangled Threads in Lynden, WA, another shop I consider local to me as it is only about 40 minutes away from my home.  It was packaged with a blah black background, so the owner let me choose a different fabric - I choose these wonderful splotches in primary colours.  It also came with a soft print in a light green for the arrows - which no longer went with those primaries - but I liked it so I left it in the kit to be added to the stash later. 

 

I bought a charm pack of Moda Marbles in brights and left the whole thing until this past summer, when I raided the charm pack to add blocks to my Tetris quilt.  Alex picked the aqua Minkee from my stash for the backing, and wants a yellow binding - and Gramma, can you put a hammer and a sword on it? Not sure how to accomplish that - on the label probably - even though this quilt isn't specifically for him (it's for the spare room that the grandkids use).

 

 

The sayings have positive affirmations and are hand-printed by Block Party Studios - they have lots of options available, including some for quilters!  Tangled Threads carries a wide variety, but BPS has so many more online (no affiliation, just thought I would share the link now, instead of when I get the inevitable questions).

 

 

I continued piecing Easy Street blocks as leaders and enders.  I need a total of 300 4-patches to make mine king-size, and I got them all done! Now on to 32 of each more block, and I can finish that quilt up!

 

 

The kit was generous - I had a full 1/2 yard left, plus some smaller pieces and triangles for the scrappy bins.

 

BTW - do you ever do this?

 

 

I think I need a haircut when I start tying my hair back with selvedges!

 

Now, on to my Fat 1/8ths purchases:

 

I tend to buy for one of the following reasons:

- it will find into a current project

- it will fit into a planned project

- it is from a new/current line that I might buy more of (cuz I'm getting it at a much cheaper price, up to 1/2 off the regular price)

- it fills a colour gap in my stash (a fat 1/8th is the smallest size I put in my colour bins)

- or just because I like it!

 

Today's purchases were:

 

1 fat quarter and 1 fat 1/8th - put away with my Hexie Madness project, which is still stalled.  Made from all '30s-style prints (and a few real ones from my grandmother's stash).  Every flower is different, no centre/ring combination is the same.  I am currently at about 80 of 270 flowers needed.

 

1 fat 1/8th added to my tribute-to-Mom quilt.

 

2 fat 1/8ths added to my coordinates (ignoring the one Christmas fabric moved to the above project)

 

Hamels sells scrap bags of coordinated prints - it works out to about $5.33/metre and can include current lines, like Vintage Modern and Blitzen!  By adding to these bags when I find bits in the fat 1/8ths bin, I've been able to gather enough to make lap-size or baby-size quilts.  Which I should probably do soon again, as I am now up to 2 overflowing shoeboxes full.

 

The black wordy print got put away with the rest of my Word Play fabrics - I have enough now to make a lap/twin quilt - I just have to decide on the accent colour.

 

And the rest, well let's be honest - it doesn't all get put away at once (as you can see from my piles-to-file on top of my bins of colour!

 

Have a great weekend!  I'm off to Easy Street for now!

 

 

 

Sunday Stash Report, Week 31

Yay, I have some big numbers to report this week (partly due to no stash report last week)! 

Used this Week:  8.75 metres

Used year to Date: 69.5 metres

Added this Week: 6.75 metres

Added Year to Date: 55.9 metres
Net Used for 2012: 13.4 metres

I finished two, count them, two quilts this week for my brother and his wife. 

The first one is the "boy" version for my brother - the colours aren't quite true, it was still early in the morning when I took this picture pre-pinning.  I've quilted it in a simple cross-hatch.

This is the "girl" version for my sweet sister-in-law.  Angled straight lines finish it off.  Both were pre-made panels that I bought on clearance about 4-5 years ago, and are from Moda's Chocolat line.  The top one is wovens and the bottom one is a mixture of wovens, regular fabrics and even a few jacquards.  Of course, I forgot to take a final picture so I'll post them next week.

And there was this pair of pj pants that Alex helped me make for him!

And my wonky Union Jack got finished into a pillow. 

I used the trimmings to piece a back.  Originally I was going to use a grey zipper but at the last minute I changed my mind and used red - so glad I did. 

I recycled a down pillow by giving it a new ticking and voila!  A beautiful pillow for just $5 and 1 metre out of the stash (including the ticking).

And last but not least, I finished my secret project for the Bowls with Borders Blog Hop except for the binding (my post is due on August 16th)!

Of course, once you use up some stash it's a good excuse to go shopping!

A close-out sale of a quilt shop in the next town (so sad to see another one go) and a sale on a Mary Englebrecht checkerboard that I may use for sashing for my Farmer's Wife.  Another 6.75 metres added to the stash - at least I'm still ahead by 2 metres on the two-week total.

Sunday Stash Report, Week 15

Happy Easter or Passover, whichever you celebrate! Where has the time gone?  It's been four weeks since I did a stash report - how did that happen?  Okay, I confess - I do know why I haven't added things up. 

Hi, my name is Terri and I'm a fabriaholic. (And I didn't want to admit it)


I got done in by our local Sewing & Crafts trade show, and the fact it was my birthday seemed to have granted me permission to buy, buy, buy. 
So - drumroll - please!

Used this (4) Weeks:  3.6metres

Used year to Date: 43.7 metres

Added this (4) Weeks: 18.25 metres

Added Year to Date: 34.9 metres
Net Used for 2012: 8.8 metres

Even though there hasn't been a lot of sewing, at least it's still in the positive.  It's been a busy 4 weeks, as it is and it's income tax prep time and the mortgage market has started to heat up here in the Lower Mainland of BC.  Good thing, because I have a big trip coming to pay for!


One of my favourite booths is Quilt Essentials.  They have a huge table with piles and piles of fabric scraps, bolt ends and manufacturer samples and it's like sharks having a feeding frenzy. I wish I thought to take a picture - it is so much fun!  I bought 2.75 lbs of fabric.  At roughly 2.5 metres per pound, I got about 7 yards of fabric for just $38.  Regular prices here run about $13-$16/m ($12-$14.50/yd) so $5.50/yd was a terrific bargain, especially when it included some new designs that haven't even been released yet, including Kaffe Fawcett,  Michael Miller and Moda fabrics, and much, much more.  I did give up a yard of Sweetwater's Hometown to another lady, as I had just bought one the week before (it was probably the bolt end from the bolt I bought off of at full price).

 My other favourite booth is Hamel's Fabrics.  They are located in my hometown and my first stop for any fabric or notions I want to buy.  I always stop to say hi to the ladies working so hard and see their displays, as they are usually different then what I see in the store - they do a lot of trade shows across Canada and have a huge internet store.  Because they were so busy, I made a stop by the store on my way home to buy what I wanted and I got another 7 metres (7 3/4 yds) - a finishing kit for these blocks!

I posted about these blocks here.  They were a Thangles Block of the Month project, and I finally finished them off - 24 6" blocks.  

I'm not sure what I was thinking but I was surprised when I opened the instructions and discovered I had to add another round of HSTs to each block:

I have to say I was both dismayed and relieved - I hope they will help improve the contrast on the block, I'm still not thrilled with how the smaller blocks have turned out but it will get finished, come hell or high water.


Over the last few weeks, I've made some other purchases.  I purchased a metre of Sweetwater Hometown, a 1/2 m of Sherbet Pips, the cute little puppy on blue & some polka dots for bibs, and 3 other Fat quarters.  No pictures but my total purchases over the last month came to a whopping 17 1/4 metres!


But I have had some finishes.  I made this cute little skirt for Zoey from an old Moda honey bun I've had hanging around.  I think it was Oh, Cherry.  

I also made 2 baby bibs and a blanket from flannel backed with minkee for my niece's baby shower.  Again, no pictures yet - they're on my sister's camera.  I made another bib for my daughter's friend as well.  The bibs used some of the puppy dog fabric I picked with, with adorable brown polka dot ties. Perfect for little boys!


Today I'm hand-sewing the bindings on two quilts, the small one in my previous post and my Orca Bay!!  I picked it up at the quilter's, Quilted Cats Hideaway, on Wednesday and I'm saving the reveal until that binding is down - all 336 inches of it!  It finished at 77" x 87", perfect for the double bed in the grandkids' room.  And I just had to add another metre to my purchases - I forgot I picked up a cute freckle dot in white on black for the binding. I also finished a small chair "rug" for my dog to lay on when she lays on the spare chair in my sewing room.  She doesn't shed but at least it will keep it clean for visitors. Again, no pics - I must get better about that!


It's a beautiful, sunny warm day so after finishing spring-cleaning my kitchen, I'm off to my daughter's for a non-traditional Easter barbeque!  I'm really happy I don't have to cook!  Have a great one, everyone and thanks for sticking with me this far.  I don't always respond to comments (between 3 jobs and life, I read more than I post) but I appreciate each and every one!

May for Me!

Tonya of Hillbilly Handiworks and and her friend Marcia of Marcia's Crafty & Sewing Blog have started a 'May for Me' page on each of their blogs, and have invited people to join in, so I thought I would!

My plan is to try to do a little crafting every day for at least 15 minutes, and post about it. I'm also going to do some other "for me" things during the month, as I need some rejuvenation time.  Tonya and Marcia are posting helpful tips, projects and even a Mystery Quilt 'n Stitch-along. 

 

Today I'm going to spend my time sorting through some UFOs to decide which ones to work on, but I know I'll also start something new (maybe the Quilt 'n Stitch along) with this wonderful fat quarter package I just purchased!

 

 

I highly recommend 1choice4quilting.com.  Shawna's shipping was fast and the little extras were fun, and she even has free shipping (in the US) if you order more than $50.  And the bundle is even on sale now (just my luck - I might have to order more). 

What's on my design wall!

A sweet bunny quilt for a sweet baby granddaughter, due to arrive about June 1st!  This quilt has moved from the UFO pile to the WIP pile.

(My apologies for the crappy picture - I do live on the "Wet" coast after all, and winter weather means rain and clouds.)

The pattern is called Cherished Memories from Rabbit's Haven by A. Neely,  a (somewhat) local designer from Vancouver Island.  I purchased it as a kit from my favourite quilt shop, Hamels, when I started back at quilting (for the third or fourth time) about 5 years ago. 

When I pulled it out about 2 weeks ago, I had only stitched 2 1/2 blocks before putting it away.  Since then, I have completed a total of 9 blocks, with only 3 to go.  I think I might finish this on time ;o)

January Finishes - warning picture-heavy!

I have never had a more productive month and I have to thank all the lovely quilting and sewing bloggers out there!  I get so inspired when I see pictures and read about what they are doing, so much so that I put my little netbook computer in my sewing room so I can easily look things up!

Here's my little parade of projects.  First up, a 3-year-old UFO - a table runner for my sister.  I started this while her family was living with me after they suffered a devastating fire.  She picked Lava Red for her new kitchen colour, and when I saw this little charm pack that featured cats, I couldn't help but think of her!  It must have been one of Moda's first charm packs, because it was only 4-inch squares (the fabric is "Cats that Cook").

I put it aside because of those pesky triangles.  I forgot that when you cut a square in half, you lose 7/8's of an inch due to seams, so when I tried to put my rows together of course nothing would line up. I put it away until this month.  Then, when I went to machine quilt it, I discovered that I can't lower the feed dogs on my sewing machine - what gives?  My 30-year-old machine could, so I expected this 15-year-old machine would - nope.  I persevered and it turns out it does a pretty good job with no puckers, even without a walking foot.  I used a featherstitch to do the quilting.

Here is the finished table runner in its new home!  I forgot to take a photo of the back but it has an inset of the blocks.

Next up was another UFO that I finished up for a good friend of mine.  About 3-4 years ago, I purchased a small fat quarter pack and had enough to make 2 lap-size tops.  It was so nice to pull one of these out and finish it off with a cream Minkee backing.  I tried machine quilting again with a leafy vine design in the ditch and I only had one small pucker in the back.

I let myself start a new project since I was so good to finish 2 UFO's.  I kept it small so as not to add to the pile!  I made a Modern Valentine table runner (pattern by Sherri at A Quilting Life).  Bloggers are so generous, Sherri and her friends put together a "blog tour" and shared seven days of beautiful Valentine-inspired projects.  I found the blog tour through one of those elusive buttons on another blogger's site.

Made using scraps and a few pieces broken out of one of my precious Honey Buns - Oh, Cherry, Oh from Moda. 

Then I made 2 of these:

Roll-up high chairs!  This is a pattern of my own design that dates back to when I had my babies.  My twin nieces had babies last summer, 3 weeks apart, and now that the little ones are sitting up, I made these for their diaper bags.  Very handy when you are visiting, in a restaurant without high chairs or even in a shopping cart.

This was also my first attempt at machine-sewing the binding.  My first bit (the T-shaped piece) was pretty lousy as I did the sewing from the wrong side.

I did better on the second one.  I reviewed some instructions on the internet and realized that you sew the binding on the same as if you were hand-stitching it down; then from the front, you machine-stitch in the ditch and hopefully you'll catch the binding in the back.  It also helps to keep your stitches straighter.

In this picture you can see the front of the larger piece on the bottom (much better), the front of the T-shaped piece in the middle (yuck), and the back of the larger piece on top (much better, but I should have made that run to the store for matching thread.  You can also see the flap on the back to hook over a chairback when you are using it as a "high chair".

And my last finish (although it doesn'l look like it), is a bench cushion for the top of my cedar chest.  How I finished the back is the subject for another post.  It involves recycling!

I also busted out 3 BOMs that have been in limbo and started on those, plus picked up the newest "Buck a Block" Thangles program at my favourite local quilt shop, Hamels.  More on those later as well.

All in all, I had a great month and I'm so happy I got my sewing groove back.  I have completed more things in the last 4 months, than I have in the last 5 years!  Thanks everyone for your inspiration and hopefully I can inspire you too.

What Cross-Border shopping got me!

I am fortunate enough to live just 20 minutes from the nearest border crossing, so I have US mailing address that I can have parcels sent to.  I went on a little post-Christmas shopping spree last week and this what I got!

All of this cost me $95 including shipping and handling, taxes and minimal exchange.  My best estimate is that I saved about $60 IF I could have found the same items here.   I bought from 3 different shops, but could have saved more if I had been able to get it all at one.

Don't get me wrong - I normally prefer to shop local when I can and I have the best LQS within 10 minutes of my home, but some things just can't be found in Canada.  I've been waiting forever for PURE, but it's been difficult for the wholesalers to get enough stock in, I've been told.  And that Moda Scrap Bag - heavenly - I was lucky enough to get Happy! by My and My sisters.