Sunday Stash Report, Week 46 - and are you lucky number 1?

The push is on to get Christmas sewing finished.  It sure is nice to see some numbers in the USED column:

 

Added since my last report: 0.5 metres

Added Year-to-Date: 200.5 metres

 

Used since last report: 12 metres

 

Used Year-to-Date: 81.5 metres

 Net used/Added for 2013: 119 metres

 

I got the backing pieced and pressed for Easy Street:

 

 

I got the backing at IKEA for just $3/m and because it was 60" wide, I only needed 6 metres and spent just $18.

 

 

(from IKEA website)

 

All packed and ready to go.

 

 

It was dropped off for quilting and will be ready the first weekend in December.

 

I also got five of the six pillowcases I need for Christmas finished  for another 5 metres out! Here is my favourite, destined for my granddaughter, Zoey. 

 

 

I only make these once a year, and last year had tried the "burrito" method of making them, but couldn't remember where I found the tutorial I used.  I found a couple that were close, so I mashed them together and made my pillowcases.  I had no idea how many different ways there are to make a pillowcase.

 

Now I have to take the time to thank my fellow bloggers and hats off to all of you that take the time to provide tutorials!  I decided to make a tutorial for myself so I don't have to hunt next year, and although I can whip together a pillowcase in less than 30 minutes start to finish, it took me 1 1/2 hours to sew one while I was taking the pictures.  AND that was having the fabric already cut and pressed...and I still haven't written the tutorial.  YOU GUYS ROCK!

 

I also did a bit of sewing for me.  My regular readers know I'm big fan of Bonnie Hunter and her leaders and enders method of sewing.  Often, I will put together a small project while I'm sewing another.  I made two projects in the last couple of weeks while I was working on my Christmas sewing:

 

First up, a cute Berry Basket from free tutorial by Anna of Noodlehead:

 

 

I didn't have a stiff fusible batting or interfacing, so mine's a little floppy but that is okay, once it was filled

 

 

with my collection of charm packs

 

 

it stands up quite fine!  Here it is in its new home:

 

 

Good for another half metre out.

 

Last but not least, I designed and finished a daybook cover, complete with credit card slots and a zippered pouch.  This was for a challenge put out by the Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild, which I've recently joined.  I've counted half a metre out for this one, even though there are a total of five different fat quarters used - the leftovers will show up in another project!

 

 

I'll do another post on it this week. 

 

And Debbie never claimed her prize from my giveaway last stash report, so I drew a new number:

 

 

Glenda in Florida!  I've sent you an email for your snail mail address.  Thanks for playing!

 

Hope you all had a productive weekend. For more stash reports, be sure to visit Patchwork Times.

 

Thanks for visiting,

 

Terri in BC

 

 

5 Weekends to Christmas!

 

I've already made a good start on preparing for Christmas this year - I don't know what is wrong - that's not like me at all.

 

I've made a list and checking it twice:

 

1. Quilt for B&R
2. Placemats for S&R (they'll get their quilt next year)
3. Christmas dress for Zoey
4. 8 pillowcases (6 for the goody bags, 2 to match #1)
5. 6 small gifts for girlfriends - not sure what that will be yet
6. Advent calendar for B
7. Christmas wall hangings for B&S
8. Start Celtic Solstice!

 

 

This quilt has been dropped off at Quilted Cats Hideaway:

 

 

Linda suggested her Circle Lord swirls pattern, which I think will be a lovely counterpoint to the straight lines and angles.  Pick up is scheduled in 3 weeks, so I have to plan binding this king-size monster before Christmas (I prefer the look of a hand-stitched binding).

 

My sister and I have carried on a tradition of "goody bags" for the little ones, that my mother started when our kids were little (read more here).

 

I make the six pillowcases and since my sister loves to shop, she usually ends up filling them.  I make or buy a few things, but in my opinion, she does the hard part.  All but one has been prepped, and I'm making two more to match the quilt above but need to make a trip to Hamel's today.

 

I've started collecting a selection of smalls to review and still need to decide what to make for my friends.  I'm leaning towards pouches.  I have a board on Pinterest to review today! 

 

To keep my sanity, I'll work on the newest Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt.  This year it is Celtic Solstice, in honour of her recent trip to Ireland.  Being of Irish heritage, I'm looking forward to doing something that will also reflect my background.  This year, she is offering two sizes, large double or king size, but I think I'll start with half the size and plan on using it in the kidlets' bedroom.  Here is a mockup using her colours:

 

 

Not my usual, but I think my grandson is going to love it!

 

Have a great day,

 

Terri in BC



Sunday Stash Report, Week #44 - and a winner for my giveaway!

 

First up, I'd like to thank everyone for reading and commenting on my last post!  Unfortunately, life got in the way and I wasn't able to reply to everyone nor even do the draw last week like I was supposed.  On a positive note, I got through those bags of fabric (it was a great stress reliever!) and have 5 + yards of 6" strips to give away to:

 

 

 

 

#10 - Debbie. 

 

I hope you are reading, Debbie, because you don't have a reply-email set up.  I'll wait until Wednesday, then draw another number if I don't hear from you.

 

And today, I assembled the remaining rows of Easy Street:

 

 

This quilt is assembled on the diagonal - the longest row is over 12 feet long! 

 

 

Most people use quilt racks to display quilts - me, I use them to assemble all my pieces on! Here are all eleven rows and two corner pieces ready to go.

 

 

And here it is!  All sewn up and ready to go to the long-arm quilter's.  I have draped it over the kidlets' bunk bed, what you can't see is two more rows at the top.  This quilt is huge!  I'm keeping it here until I can drop it off, no wrinkles that way.

 

(Sorry for the washed-out colours, but our winter rains have started and it's hard to get a good shot. The colours in the middle picture are the closest to actual.)

 

Now, a drumroll please.... this is 20 yards out!  Talk about making a major dent in my numbers.  Adding in the 5 yards of my giveaway and that is more than half of my used total for the year.  Nice to see some progress, finally.

 

Added since my last report: 0 metres

Added Year-to-Date: 200 metres

 

Used since last report: 25 metres

 

Used Year-to-Date: 69.5 metres

 

Net used/Added for 2013: 130.5 metres

 

It's been roughly three years since I discovered quilting blogs, and one of the first sites I can across when I was trying to deal with my scraps was Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville.  I became a firm believer in her Scrap-User's System and started using Leaders and Enders for all my sewing.  Mostly, I use parts from various stages of one quilt project (for example, when working on a mystery quilt such as Easy Street, as soon as Bonnie released Week Two's clue, I would start that one, and use Week One as my Leader and Ender).  But when I didn't have any parts on hand, I would reach into a small bucket of 2" squares and assemble 4-patches.

 

 

I got a lot of 4-patches done while I was making Easy Street!  In fact, I have enough to finish what I call my first Bonnie Hunter project.

 

 

This is where I left off the last time I emptied the bucket.  The center square is 16x16 1.5" squares, with a 1.5" white sashing, then a ring of 1.5" squares, 8 squares high.  Maybe I'll get this one done next week! Other projects call, and Christmas is fast approaching.

 

Thanks for visiting,

Terri in BC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sunday Stash Report Week 42 - and a giveaway!

Two weeks have passed, and no new fabric has entered my house!  Good thing, I totally overdid this year, and that gift I received pushed me to the limit.  My sister and my friend were thrilled with the bags I gave them and I have finally gone through the last bag.  I have a giveaway at the bottom of this post, read on!

Added since my last report: 0 metres

Added Year-to-Date: 200 metres

 

Used since last report: 3.5 metres

 

Used Year-to-Date: 44.5 metres

 

Net used/Added for 2013: 155.5 metres

 

 

I've started my Christmas sewing and last Saturday, my sister and I got together and made 6 pairs of pyjamas in about 6 hours!  We bought the fabric at the big New Year's Day sale this year with great intentions, and I'm happy to say we did it.

 

 

My sister has four grandsons, and she made them all the one-piece jammies.  We have had a family tradition of new pyjamas to open on Christmas Eve since I was a little girl.  They were always from my great-grandmother, but since my mom is no longer around, I'm keeping it up for my grandbabies.  It's such an ingrained tradition that my adult daughters won't let me drop it, so I end up getting new pyjamas for everyone in the family.

 

I hope to change the used number by the end of today!  I finished the last of my Easy Street blocks yesterday (why do I procrastinate so long?) and laid them out this morning.  In between housework and cooking dinner since the kids are coming over today, I'm going to sneak in some sewing the rows together! 

 

 

This is one big quilt!  Even with all the furniture moved aside, I still ran out of room on my "design floor".

 

 

 

It will measure about 110" x 110" once finished.  At least I won't have to make borders!  My daughter wanted purple so I used darker and lighter purples where Bonnie Hunter had aqua and lime greens where she had her purples.  (I still like the version that is more aqua, but this isn't for me)  I already have the backing and batting, so once it's put together I'm taking it to Quilted Cats Hideaway to be quilted.  No way I am tackling this monster myself!  It will be finished just in time for Bonnie to announce her newest mystery American Thanksgiving weekend.

 

Last weekend my kids went to a cabin in the interior of BC to meet their cousin for Thanksgiving, so I went to my sister's for dinner.  I was thrilled to see how much my great-nephew loves his I-Spy quilt!  He drags it everywhere.

 

 

Now for my giveaway!  Remember those bags of fabrics I was given a few weeks ago?  Are you a Bonnie Hunter fan? When I divvyed up the quilting cottons between my friend and I, I cut a 6" strip off of the larger pieces.  Why did I choose a 6" strip?  If you follow Bonnie's Scrap-user's system, you can easily cut it down into her recommended sizes.  You can get 4 1.5" strips, or 3 2" strips, 1 each of 1.5, 2, 2.5" strips, or any other sizes you want.  If you make I-spy quilts, there are some prints perfect for 5" squares.  Most are quilt shop quality, a few are chain-store prints, but are perfect for scrappy quilts a la Bonnie.

 

I appreciate all your comments, I'm not the best at responding especially the last few months due to work, but things are getting better and I see more free time in my future!  This giveaway is my way of sharing the goodies I've been given and to show my appreciation to fellow bloggers, commenters and everyone who shares so generously in the blogging world.

 

I have about 5 yards of strips to give away to one lucky winner who posts a comment to this post.  That's it - that's all you have to do! I'll use the random generator next Sunday to select a winner.  The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents, and if you are willing to share postage, international as well.

 

 

Thanks for visiting,

Terri in BC

 

 

Crummy Monday!

 

I was fortunate enough to have some extended time in my sewing room yesterday, and of course, that meant I could play with some more crumbs!

 



 

 

More blocks for Maverick Stars!

 

Then I had to try something new (why not have another never-ending project LOL) from this book:

 

 

 

There are 224 blocks in her Pineapple Crazy (not including the border), each one has 45 crummy pieces.  That would use over 10,000 little crumbs - assuming I make it as big as Bonnie's!  I may stop at pillow size, though.

 

 

 

I don't have a lot of neutrals left, after making Orca Bay and Easy Street, so I'm going to make mine in the colours of the rainbow (with a few extras):

 

 

Looking good so far!

 

 

I'm keeping track of the colour order by marking each sector on the foundation:

 

 

 

Wish me luck,

 

Terri in BC

Sunday Stash Report #40 - Overwhelmed with fabric!

 What could be better than being gifted with one bag of fabric?

 

How about 5 bags - these are large Kitchen Catchers stuffed to the gills!

 

I have been working my way through the bags for the last two weeks.  Every night when I get home I pull out a stack and divide it up.  There are yards of quilting cottons - the average size of most pieces is about 2 metres, but some are as large as 4 metres.  Once I pulled them all out, I had a 3-foot high stack!

 

 

There is fleece, linings, knits, poly-blends and satins mixed in.

And even quilt battings, interfacing (both fusible and non-fusible) and quilting frames.

I am sharing the wealth with some of fellow sewists.  My sister is getting 2 bags of the non-quilting related fabrics, with the exception of a few knits I'm holding back.  My best friend is getting one bag full - I'm sharing the quilting cottons with her by dividing them up.

There were a bunch of "scraps"  - some of these totaled a yard or more of leftovers from projects she had made (like aprons,etc.)  I've been working through those, cutting them up Bonnie Hunter-style.

As I'm working through the stacks of fabrics, I am cutting a 6" strip off the end of the larger pieces.  When I'm done, I plan on having a giveaway right here on my blog (hopefully next week)!  Any Bonnie Hunter fan will love these - there is everything from modern to 1970's calicos.  So far, I have 24 strips (4 yards) put aside, but there will be more by next week.

I have lost count of how much came in, but I have estimated that I kept about 25 metres of the quilting cottons for myself and gave about the same to my friend - I am going to make my added-this-year figure an even 200.  So that is what is in, folks!  I better start punching out some of those projects.  I am officially on a fabric diet until the end of the year.

Added since my last report: 28 metres

Added Year-to-Date: 200 metres

 

Used since last report: 11.5 metres

 

Used Year-to-Date: 41 metres

 

Net used/Added for 2013: 159 metres

 

 

Although I had some finishes this week, they weren't enough to offset the very generous gift I received. I finished this Chevron Chenille from this tutorial by Anneliese of aesthiticnest.com!

 

Of course, I didn't get a picture after the many hours of cutting - by that time I had to leave for the baby shower!  This little quilt is deceiving, what I thought would be a quick project took a lot of hours, about 5 hours of stitching every single one of those chevrons and twice as many cutting them.  I used small scissors as it was easier to control. If I'm ever crazy enough to make one of these again, I would use one more layer of flannel in the middle (I used 2).  This project was good for 4 1/2 metres used.

 

And this I-Spy and another one almost the same - these were birthday gifts for my 3-year-old grand-nephews. My twin nieces are so in sync that they managed to have babies 3 weeks apart.  Not only that, they both delivered at the same time of day, on a Saturday, and they weighed exactly the same.  (In a funny coincidence, my grandchildren were also born on Saturdays and weighed the same)

I love making I-Spy quilts for the littles.  I keep them simple, using 99 different 5" squares in a 9x11 layout.  I back them with minkee for a nice warm cuddly quilt and just quilt them with a cross-hatch from corner to corner for the boys (and a petal design for girls).  I plan on making a couple for the friend who gifted me all that fabric, for her grandbabies.

Each I-Spy uses 1.6 metres for the front (finished size approx. 40x60"), the same for the back and .3 for the binding.  Total for both quilts - 7 metres.

 

I seem to work best under pressure, which means I don't have time to take a picture of the finished project before it goes out the door - must get better at that!

This week I need to get started on my Christmas projects.  I'm down to the last few blocks of my Easy Street blocks (after fixing 5 that had pieces turned); so hopefully I can bang those out today and start the assembly.  It needs to get down if the long-armer is going to get it done for Christmas. 

 

And of course, a few grandbaby shots:

 

Yesterday I took Alex to the fire truck displays.  He loved all the tools he could see and touch, but his favourite thing to do was to use the window crank - he had never seen one before!

 

 

 And Zoey has started her first dance class.  I couldn't believe they start them at 2 now, back in the day it was 3 and potty-trained.

 



 

Doesn't she look adorable with her little ballerina bun and tutu!  I love the magic wand that she insisted went with the outfit!

 

Have a wonderful day - make it a sew day if you can - I am!

 

Terri in BC

Back to regular posting (and breaking the Candy Crush habit!)

In an effort to sew more, I've decided that I need to have regular days to post on my blog!  (I seem to sew a lot more when I want to have something to share - must be the narcissist in me?)  So, I'm going to try this schedule:

 

Farmer's Wife Friday

Sunday Stash Report

Crummy Monday

Needle Network (Canadian Bloggers) WIP

 

Any other linkies you might suggest?

 

Perhaps now, I might get off of Facebook and the stupid games I play!

Even though it's late in the day, I am going to do my first Crummy Monday post!

 

 

I love crumbs!  And I can't resist doing fun things with them.

 

My first excursion into crumbs was these cute little 3 1/2" blocks.  Anything larger than 3/4" is fair game. 

 

 

My smallest crumbs go in one of three jars - warms, cools or neutrals. 

 

 

Sometimes when I just need some mindless sewing, I dump out a jar and make a few crummy blocks!

 

 

I make the blocks using one colour family.  This weekend it was yellow, grape and aqua!

 

So far, I just hang them on a little clothesline with miniature clothes pins in my sewing room.  Someday I'll have enough to do something with them.

 

I love selvedges as well.  I was inspired last year by this quilt:

 

Simple Selvage Squares quilt by Riel Neilson

 

 

 

(If you never visited her blog, you are in for a real treat - she makes the most amazing unique quilts and wall hangings, and she's also an author!)

 

Of course, my selvedges are cut very frugally, so I didn't have a lot of print showing.  That doesn't stop me!

 

 

I recycle dryer sheets (washed a couple of times to make sure all the softener is out) and layer my selvedges over top.  I use a zig-zag stitch to reinforce the edges, because the first couple I made didn't hold.  The advantages to using the dryer sheet are that I don't have to remove it, it is soft and flexible and adds little weight, and it stabilizes the block which is important when dealing with some of those skimpy cuts.

 

I love the ones that have different designs instead of dots.  I have been known to buy a fabric simply because of the selvedge.

 

 

These also hang on my clothesline - it's a nice decoration in my room!

 

Lastly, I tried a Maverick Star this weekend!

 

 

This a free block tutorial from my favourite designer, Bonnie Hunter, and is perfect for those cut-off triangles from other projects.  I'm sticking to my monochromatic themes for these as well, not what I'm planning but it might make it easier to assemble in one project some day.   This block measures 6 1/2" unfinished.

 

 

So here is the result of my Crummy weekend - some mindless sewing to help get my mojo flowing again!  Oh, yeah - I also make 3 1/2" 4-patches from 2" squares from my scraps as well.

 

 

Have a great week!

 



Terri in BC