Design Wall Monday, March 31, 2014

Well, here we are again, another Monday, and Cactus Rose remains up on the wall. There has been progress, though. Pinned up here beside her on the wall are all of the base curve pieces I need for the rest of the borders, and half of the arcs I need, all finished and de-papered. There are more of the arcs in various stages of being finished. I still need to do the top parts. Getting this far was my goal for March, documented and posted as # 87 in the goals linky party on the Lovely Year of finishes.


     

The other thing up on the wall is a McKenna Ryan quilt, called In Full Bloom. I put it up there last week in the middle of a snow storm in the effort to make the place look more like spring. I also needed to get some fabric for the borders, so I wanted to study it for a while. The borders are purchased, and I also managed to spend a bit of time with my fabrics and tiny scissors, and finished the middle block with the bunny. So, this one is all ready to sew together and get the borders on. I'm not going to put a time on this one. I want to concentrate on getting poor old Cactus Rose finished first. I think she's waited long enough. And, although she may be gorgeous, I must confess that I'm getting awfully tired of looking at her. But I will persevere and get her done.
I'm linking up to Judy's Design Wall Monday and also to the Finishes party for the Lovely Year of finishes.

Stash Report, Week 13, 2014

My stash usage numbers have taken a bit of a hit this week. Back on Wednesday, we, that is my husband, son and I, took a trip out to Woodstock to visit a printer who is going to print some of our son's photography for him, for a display in a gallery, with hope for some sales for him. The printers reaction to his photography was "this is great stuff. Why don't I know about you?" (Insert proud mama smiles here). We are hoping to head back out there this week to pick up the finished product. (Insert more proud and excited mama smiles here) While we were out there, we had to stop in to a near by quilt shop, Country Patchworks, where I dropped off some advertising book marks for our quilt show in October, and of course, I couldn't
come out without buying something. Five fat
 quarters came home with me. I grabbed the
red one, just because it grabbed me, and the
greens, because my supply of green for applique
and piecing is getting low.

 And then yesterday,  I had the great pleasure of going on a road trip with a great group of ladies. Karen, Christine, Gail and I headed off for a day of quilt shop hopping and lunching and having tea and desserts. And along the way, there was also a stop to see some model trains. Gail's husband is a member of a model train club. Well, let me tell you, our fabric stashes have nothing on these men. It was held in one of those steel buildings that are found on some farms. The number of trains and cars and assorted accessories to go with it was astounding. Gail wrote a post about our day trip here, including some pictures of the trains. She was in charge of documenting the day, complete with photographic evidence.

So, my purchases yesterday were some yardage for borders for In Full Bloom, which I showed here. I only have the middle block to finish, and then this one can go together and get quilted. The pink and the dark grey batiks are the borders for it. And the fat quarters are additions to my collection of light neutrals and the collection of grey/red/yellow that is one day going to be a Lady of the Lake quilt. I probably have enough to start it any time now, but I am on a self imposed strict non-starting anything new until various other projects are finished. So, the numbers:







Used this week:                                           2.5 yards
Used this year:                                          30.7 yards
Added this week:                                      10.5 yards
Added this year:                                         25 yards
Balance:                                                     5.7 more yards out than in.
Not bad, I'm still in the black. But I'd better get busy and get something done this week, because there are five more yards of really fun Thomas the Tank Engine fabrics coming from the Fat Quarter Shop for birthday gifts for our grandson Avery. Thomas is his favourite toy, so I'm going to make him some pillow cases and some pajamas. I'm linking up with Judy's Stash Report.
 And then it just might be time to clean up this mess in my sewing area.   
I can't get near my sewing machine, or my cutting table. Maybe if I put on some music, and assign myself to work at it for the length of an album, I can get some of it tidied away. It has rather gotten to the point where I don't even know where to begin. Maybe some Michael Card will help to sooth this savage beast of a mess.

Dreaming of spring.....

I found this very old, probably eight years old, UFO in a drawer this afternoon. So it is spring in my studio. Even though it is still winter outside. 

Design Wall Monday, March 24, 2013

I still have Cactus Rose on the wall. It is slowly growing. I have one more section to put together for the top border, and then it can go on to the quilt. I've been slowly working on paper piecing the parts required for the last of these 2 borders, and then it will be done. I was going to put it away, and work on something else for a while, as I'm getting rather tired of looking at this. But I've since changed my mind. I'm going to keep at it until it is done. I don't want to take the chance that it will get packed away and then left to age some more. It's old enough, and ready to be done.
On Another note, my challenge piece for the "A Road Runs Through It... " is done, and ready to be quilted. I'm so pleased with it! And so pleased with myself that I got it done.
I'm linking up to Judy's Design Wall Monday.

Stash Report, Week 12, 2014

I have spent all day today working on a challenge piece for the guild. The theme for the challenge is "A Road Runs Through It...." I can't show any pictures of it, because it's a secret, but I've had so much fun working on it today! I can count the fabric for it next week, but that's as public as I can go, until after the May meeting. However, it's getting late, and my eyes are going rather buggy, so it's time to quit for the day. Apart from this, the only quilting behaviour going on here on my own quilts that has used any stash, has been sewing hanging sleeves onto the backs of quilts for a quilt show in Sheddon in the middle of April, and my 2 aqua rainbow challenge blocks yesterday.

Used this week:                                  .9 yards
Used this year:                                28.2 yards
Added this week:                                    0 yards
Added this year:                              14.5 yards
Stash Reduced by:                             13.7 yards

These numbers could be changing this coming week. I've heard talk of a road trip to some fabric shops next Saturday. I have border to pick up for one of the quilts on my UFO list. Whether I'll bee disciplined enough to only pick up that border fabric, and nothing else, remains to be seen.
I'm linking up to Judy's Stash Report. 

Aqua scrappy Saturday

I just finished the 2 pinwheel blocks I've been doing monthly for the SoScrappy Rainbow Saturday. I wanted to get both of them done today, because there is a chance I'll be going on a road trip next Saturday. Said road trip just might involve some friends and some fabric and yarn purchases, so I wanted to get them done today. I've had a few distractions today, though,  the main one being DD and the garment sewing I've been doing for her. I remember now why I make quilts. The fitting of the skirt wasn't right, of course, so I had to rip out, and alter and then sew back together. It now fits, but it needs a lining. I think it's going to wait for a while now. In between working on the skirt, I've been sewing these pinwheels, which are a whole lot more entertaining. As usual, for these blocks, I've done the pinwheels in the monthly colour, and the frames in the colour directly opposite on the colour wheel, in this case a kinda redish/orange/pink. And now, I have hanging sleeves to do.

Finish it Friday

 Here she is, in all her glory. It was a gorgeous day out today, so I took the opportunity to recruit husband and son for some help photographing this wonderful quilt. It is Thanksgiving, by Judy Martin, in her book Patchwork Among Friends. I Quilted it with a fern leaf type free hand design in all the open areas, and continuous curves in the leaf blocks. This quilt was a joy to piece, with the instructions clear, and the piecing easy, although there was an awful lot of it. But so very very worth it.

Here's a closer look at the bottom corner. This quilt has been just over a year in the making. It finished up at 98x98 inches square. It has my usual striped faux piped binding. I love this quilt!! I'm linking up to TGIFF and Link a Finish Friday, just because I'm so excited about this quilt that I have to share it.