Sunday Stash Report, Week 31

I went into the sewing room today for 15 minutes and spent over 4 hours in there! Besides doing some cleaning and organizing, I finished a dress for baby Mya:

 

I made it a little shorter, because she is finally crawling!  She's almost 10 months now.

 

 

I added a vintage button from my mom's collection to disguise the fact that I didn't have the neckline even at the back!

 

And although I didn't a picture, my grandson just "had" to have stuffed starfish for his upcoming vacation, so I made two of them (one for my older granddaughter as well) so they could have hugs from Gramma at the cabin!  (Both families are going)

 

So, 1 1/2 metres out!  But....

 

this week's the hens came home to roost.

 

 

 

 

My package arrived from Ozark Fabrics.  The best thing about ordering from Tonya is that she will wait until you have a full envelope or box, and then ship it!  That means I can buy what tickles my fancy, but not pay shipping for every item.  It is a closed group on Facebook, but I highly recommend it for quality fabrics, great prices and a unique shipping method.

 

The bottom fabric is 7 yards of "Color Me" fabric - to make pillowcases for all the boys this Christmas. There was actually enough to make 9, and I only need 7 so I gave enough for 2 to my friend and co-worker. I still have 4 yard of "girl" fabric coming - it was on backorder.

 

The quatrefoil fabrics are for Christmas projects as well.  Good thing I got them now, because I got a layoff notice and I'll be looking for work to start in September.

 

 

I also got these various 1/2 yd and fat quarter pieces, plus my co-worker gave me the Scrabble board fabric!  More Christmas present sewing in my future!

 

So the totals are:

 

Added: 15.75 metres
 

Added Year to Date: 19.75 metres 

 

Used/Given away: 3.0 metres

 

Used/Given away Year to Date: -21.0

 

Added for 2015: -1.25

I'm still in the negative, but barely.  I better start kicking out some more finishes!  I have a ton of quilting to do, and hope to tackle some of those tops this week.

Finally back at the machine! Sunday Stash Report, Week 15!

Wow, it's been 10 weeks since I've been able to post a report!  The move is mostly done, still some totes to go through but I've been able to make a path in my new sewing room and do some sewing.  

My brother and his wife are finally grandparents, so I had to make a quilt for my grand-niece!  Little Eloise is finally here, and this weekend my daughter flew to Calgary to meet her so I had to finish off this quilt for her!

(I wish the picture was better, but it was late at night.)  The quilt police will have a field day but it is made with a mix of poly-cottons and laces and trim from my mother's sewing room, and these are scraps from the dresses and clothes my mom made all her granddaughters.  I backed it with minkee, which is another synthetic material, so it probably be quite durable and hardy for a baby.  I don't care what the "pros" say, the sentimental value of this little quilt is all that matters.

We great-aunties and gramma-friends are all referred to as Gramma ____ (name), so of course I had to use that name when signing the label, with a homage to my mom.  My daughter will explain it to my niece when she gets it to her.

(Still too yellow of a picture, but shows the laces and trim better)

I practiced my barely-adequate free-motion quilting skills and did a meander with a flower loop-de-loop.  Some of them looked like butterflies!

This quilt is my own design and I think I'm going to make a larger version as a summer quilt (maybe for me).

On to the stash report, still no purchases!

Added: 0 metres

Added Year to Date: 0 metres  

 

Used/Given away: 3.25 metres

 Used/Given away Year to Date: 15.25 metres

 

Added for 2015: -15.25 metres

Tomorrow, more work in the new Quilt Cave! Here's some gratuitous kidlet pictures! 

Mya, (5 1/2 months) on her first Easter, 

Zoey, (4 in June) and Alex (6 1/2) enjoying the first marshmallows of the year!

Linking with Judy's Stash Report at www.patchworktimes.com and Michelle's Let's Make Baby Quilts. 

I'm back! Sunday Stash Report, Week 40

I took an unplanned blogging break - after vowing to post for 30 days straight.  I have been struggling with my depression again, and I thought by setting a goal would help motivate me - instead it seemed to "freeze" me.  

 

I have been doing a small amount of sewing - primarily to get some much-needed baby projects done for my niece and my daughter.  And now, another niece has announced her much-wanted first pregnancy.  That's the third niece this year!

 

The only fabric added since my last report almost three months ago was project-specific, bought by my sister and right back out so I haven't counted it. 

 

Added since my last report: 0 metres

Added Year to Date: 64.1 metres 

 

Destashed since my last report: 3.35 metres

 Destashed year to Date: 27 metres

 Added for 2014: 35.75 metres

 

Total spent  YTD $294.20 = $4.59/metre

 

First up, I finished this quilt for my niece's baby due in November.  It's my own design, I call it "Modern Rail Fence". Once things simmer down around here, I want to develop a pattern/tutorial for it.  I first wrote about it here.

 

 

I quilted it with alternating organic straight lines in pink and wavy lines in purple, which really didn't show up much but that's okay!

 

 

She also asked me to make a car seat cover - I made it rag quilt style and backed with the leftover minkee from the quilt.

 

 

I made a burp cloth with the leftovers so that I didn't add to the ever-growing scraps.

 

 

And while I was at it, I made a new car seat cover for my daughter - her baby girl is due in just a few days!

 

 

I'm almost finished her quilt top, then on to quilting it so hopefully next week, I'll have a big finish!

Linking to Judy's Stash Report and Michelle's Let Make Baby Quilts

Finally made it back to the sewing room!

After what seems to have been the longest month ever, I have finally made it back into my sewing room.  Last night, I cut out most of this:

It's from the May/June Issue of Quiltmaker magazine, but instead of pink and orange flowers, I'm going to make purple ones to go with the new little one's bedroom. It is so exciting to have a new baby in the family, and she won't be the only one - my niece is due in November as well and since we all live with a block of each other, I'm sure these new ones will be close!

I haven't decided which quilt I'm going to make for my niece yet - still waiting on her colours (she loves to be colour-coordinated.

Off to sew!  (In between loads of laundry of course).

Throwback Thursday - Day 3 of 31 days of blogging

One of my other crafty loves is scrapbooking, so much so that I was a Creative Memories consultant for 17 years and now a Close to My Heart consultant.  I host weekly workshops which are generally well-attended, but sadly my own scrapbooking efforts have also fallen off the wagon. 

 

Last night, I had a workshop and started going through pictures to add to some pages I had already decorated!  I came across these lovelies of my sweet grandchildren:

 

 

August 2011 - Alex was almost 3, and went to his first Airshow.  Smart parents got him ear defenders, and even though it wasn't raining, he thought the umbrella was fun!

 

 

Lucky Gramma got to babysit this little sweetheart!  Zoey was 2 months old and spent the day with me.  It took me about a dozen shots to get this beautiful gummy smile! 

 

Now for the best news of all!  Grandbaby #3, a little girl is on her way!

 

 

 

Zoey is going to be a big sister in October.  My daughter is due the day after what would have been my mom's birthday, we are all so excited! I'm not taking holidays this summer so I can have time off to help out once the baby arrives and daddy goes back to work.

 

To my US friends, have a great long weekend!  To all the rest of you, only one day left until the weekend!

The last of the Pure!

Thanks to everybody who has viewed and commented on my Bowls!  I'm sorry I haven't replied to each of you personally but I'm suffering from a bout of vertigo and can't stay on the computer for long before everything spins out of control.  I will be going through in short spurts through the weekend and can't wait to see all your lovely bowls as well.

In the meantime, I wanted to show you what I did with the last of my Pure fabrics. After making my bowls, I still had a good pile of scraps and I had a baby shower coming up, so I played with them and came up with this:

Sized at 36 x 46", it took just 2 evenings.  I used my favourite chocolate Minkee on the back and turned it to the front for the binding.  I even broke into my precious Heather Ross goldfish to make a label:

(Get it?  My last name is Fisher ;o)

The word print fabric is perfect for a little boy - all the things I wish for him in the future.

I think he likes it!

 I started out with a small bundle of Fat 1/8's - about 12-15 and 1 yd of one of the blue prints (I think) and made the bench cover.  I also bought 2 charm packs at the same time.  A few months later, Melissa of Happy Quilting had a quilt-along, and the size I chose needed a layer cake or 4 charm packs, so I did what any good quilter would do and bought the layer cake!  I used the 2 charm packs and half the layer cake, so that I would have bigger pieces left over.  So glad I did, because they were perfect to piece my bowls from.

Now, this is all I have left over:

Who says you need a lot of yardage to make quilts?

I'll put the 5" wide pieces in one bin, the remaining 2 1/2" wide pieces in another and the left-over HSTs in a third, and use them eventually - probably in another Bonnie Hunter scrappy quilt!  Her latest book is on its way to me as I type this.

Thanks again for all your kind comments.  Time to go lay down again as the room is spinning.

Baby Update

It's been a long, busy week but I think we're finally settling into a routine.  My daughter, Sarah, did amazingly well through a long, hard natural childbirth (40 hours from the time she was induced); came through it with a few stitches and is a patient, calm mother!  Baby Zoey is struggling with breastfeeding, and has some jaundice, but is doing well otherwise.  She is Sarah and Rob's first, and the way they are with her, you would think it was their 10th.  Here's a few more pictures.

My other daughter, Brianna, waited until Sarah and Zoey were home to introduce her to her cousin, Alex, age 2 3/4.  At first, he wasn't too sure how to hold her but it didn't take long for him to fall in love.

This is my new all-time favourite picture!

He still has a hard time remembering her name because we referred to her as Baby No Name for so long!

Zoey seems to be asleep all the time, mostly due to the jaundice, but she makes lots of faces.  This one is my favourite.

She lost 11 oz. before leaving the hospital, but gained 2 oz. back the first day.  The health nurse comes to the house the day after release, to weigh her and see how she is doing.  It was a great chance to see her with her eyes open.

Welcome home, Baby Zoey, we love you lots!

She's here (i'm a little late posting this)

Just a short post with a picture of my beautiful granddaughter, Zoey Marie, weighing 8 lbs, 7 oz.  She took her time getting here but was totally worth the wait.  She's already acting like a princess and wants her food handed to her on the proverbial silver platter, but I'm sure she'll get the hang of things soon.  Between work and the hospital, I've been pretty busy but I'll be back with more pictures tomorrow!

Still waiting for a baby...

My new granddaughter is proving to be just as stubborn as her mother - she is now a week late!  If no baby by Friday, my daughter will probably be induced (as long as the hospital has room). 

To keep my mind off of things, I decided to make a trial block for my Sunkissed quilt.  The overwhelming consensus was to do a Snail Trail (also known as Parasols or Virginia Reel). The patterns I could find all involved 1/8" and 1/16" measurements so I decided to wing it!  Here's a photo story on what I did:

First, I wanted a block between about 6 1/2-9", tough to find a pattern that size so I "guesstimated" the starting strip by looking a few book patterns.  I started by cutting 1 1/4" strips from 4 different fabrics.  (Part of my Sunkissed stash included some sample pieces bought from my local quilt shop - they sell off the samples they receive from the manufacturers pretty cheap so I started with those).  I sewed the strips together in pairs, then cut a 1 1/4" piece of the end of each each and sewed the two pieces together to make a 4-patch that finished at 2 inches including seam allowances. I also pressed the seams open to avoid any problems later on.

 Now comes the tricky part, calculating the size of block to cut for the triangular pieces.  I measured one size (2") and subtracted 1/2" to figure out what the finished size will be (1 1/2").  Then I added 3/8" to the finished size for a measurement of 1 7/8".  I cut that size block from each of the 4 fabrics, then cut each in half from corner to corner. You have to add that extra little smidge to account for cutting the block in half to make a Half-Square Triangle (HST). I sewed two opposite sides first, matching it to the block of the same fabric, then trimmed off the dog ears. I used one (HST) from each fabric and put the other aside for use in another block.

I labelled it to make it easy to use later on.  My Snail Trails will have 5 rounds in total.

Next, I pressed all my seams open before adding the other two HSTs.

I wasn't perfect getting the triangles centred on the seam, but the next step fixed that!

You can see that by making the HST block a little larger, it hangs over the edge of the adjoining triangle, which will leave you with a proper seam allowance.

Round 2 is now complete! I squared it up and moved to the next round.  I measured one side, figured out the finished size and added 3/8" to calculate my next block at 3 1/4".

Can you see my mistake?  I put the HST on the wrong side.  When I attached my first set of triangles, they "move" to the left of the original square. That means when I'm attaching the next round, I have to keep the same "movement" to the left.  Instead, I went right.  Time to pull out the seam ripper!

Now that Round 3 is complete, it's time to square it up.  I lined up my ruler centering it on the four-patch in the center first, then adjusting it so that I am trimming it down to 1/4" seam allowance from the point where the triangles cross. See the close-up below:

My block now measures 4 1/2", finishes at 4" so my next set of HSTs are cut from a 4 3/8" square.  Round 4 makes a 6 1/4" block, finishing at 5 3/4.  Now I was starting to get nervous because I needed to cut

6 1/8" squares and my fabric sampler pieces didn't look big enough.  However, with some careful cutting and even more careful sewing, I was able to squeak them out!

Here you can see that the one side is pretty skimpy compared to the other side (the grey ones were skimpy too).   But once it was all trimmed up, I had an 8 5/8" block - perfectly fits right at the size I wanted!

At this point, I remembered that I don't want the same colour darker value in each block - drat!  I guess that's why they call it a trial block.  I'll keep it in case I need it to finish the quilt.  I love how it looks and for me, it's easier to cut the HSTs as I go, instead of a whole bunch at once.  Because I'm trimming them up as I go, I also don't have to be finicky on those pesky 3/8" measurements.  As long as I'm doing my squaring up, I should be good!  Now I just have to calculated how many I need to make a double-size quilt.

Waiting (im)patiently...

My daughter was due on June 1st with her first baby (a girl) and she might be in labour!  She had a non-stress test at the hospital today, and she was having contractions about 8 minutes apart, but she's not in any pain, so we're not sure yet.  We just got back from an hour-long walk and she had a couple of strong ones, but she is handling it so well.  I hope this is an indication how she handles the tough part.

 I remembered that I missed having some handwork during the wee hours of my first daughter's labour, when she was resting, so I dug out my hexies.  They've been put away for a few months while I worked on baby stuff.  I needed to prep some more flower groups so first I had to punch some more cardstock hexagons with my Creative Memories punch. I also punch a hole in the centre to make it easy to take out and reuse it.

  

The hexagon on the left is my cutting template.  I cut my hexies out of 2" and 2 1/2" strips, which minimizes waste.  Here is my little bin of precut strips - I've reused a veggie and dip container, the little hole for the dip is perfect for some precut hexies and my cutting template.

I'm using my collection of '30s reproductions to make the flowers and because I want each one different, I pulled out the ones I've already completed:

I have completed 59 so far.  As you can see, I've started putting the flowers together in groups.  I didn't want to use a traditional setting so I'm starting with groups of 9 flowers, one from each colour group so they will be well-distributed amongst the finished quilt. Every flower is different, if the "petals" are the same, the centre has to be different. Here's my prepped flowers ready to go for the trip to the hospital!

I'm following the Hexagon tutorial from Bonnie Hunter's blog - I've done hexies before, but the joining of so many small units bored me silly.  Now by doing a hexie and joining it to a flower right away, I have a sense of completion each time I do one. It takes me less than an hour to finish one flower.  Here is the back when it is done:

I won't remove the templates until they are joined to other flowers.  When I started making the hexies, I needed a case for my needles and pins, so I made a hexagon one using my selvages and a vintage button from my mother's collection.

When I was punching my cardstock, I looked at my smaller punch and wondered how small of a hexie I could make.  I pulled out my smaller punch (also from Creative Memories) and punched out the smallest size hexie, with a finished size of  3/4".  Each side is just 3/8".  (My regular size hexies finish at 1 1/2", with 3/4" sides.  The flower is just the cutest, but I don't know how many I would make - maybe enough for a doll house quilt.  Here it is with a spool of thread to show you how little it is:

And with one of my regular hexagons - which looks so big beside it!

Well, I'm off to bed to get some sleep. Hopefully, that little girl makes her arrival soon!