Stash and Stitching report, Nov. 4, 2012

I finished another Promises and Borders block. That makes 3 out of 10 done.
All it needs is the textile medium added to the coloured areas to make them colour fast. I'm enjoying the added dimension the colouring adds to the stitchery.
And there has been stash used, as well. I had a Quilt of Valour from the guild to do up, and it needed a backing, so that used some stash. And then I've started another quilt for one of our grandsons for Christmas, so that's used some, as well.

Used this week:                                5.4 yards
Used this year:                               109.3 yards
Added this week:                               0 yards
Added this year:                             159.5 yards
Balance:                                            50.1 yards more in than out.

I'm linking up to Judy's Patchwork Times stash reports and Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.

Stash and Sunday Stitching Report

I think I might be starting to climb out of the fibromyalgia pit I've been in for the last 2 weeks. I actually managed to spend a little bit if time in the sewing room yesterday, and pieced a backing for a quilt, and did the set of orange nine patches for October's nine patch swap at the guild. I did get a lot of hand stitching done in the past week.
I think the only thing left to do on this is the centers of the flowers, and then colour the rest of it in. I've been working on Laurie's stocking, too, and it is getting close to being done. I'm on piece 74 out of 117.

I haven't done a stash report in a couple of weeks now, and the numbers reflect that. I picked up 4 fat quarters of sky looking fabric for a quilt I have planned. There is a "quilt til you wilt" day coming up in November, and I know exactly what quilt I want to work on, and I needed more sky type fabrics for it. And then I picked up a package of 40 five inch I Spy charms, that have been trimmed to tumbler shapes. I'm collecting them to eventually be able to have enough for a twin sized quilt.

Used since Oct. 14:                                         6 yards
Used this year:                                            103.9 yards
Purchased since Oct. 14:                                1.7 yards
Purchased this year:                                     159.5 yards
Balance:                                                          55.6 more yards in than out.

I'm linking up to Judy's Stash Report and Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.

Stash and stitchery Report

I'm doing the Grandmother's Choice Block of the week, and I must confess to a few groans, and at least one "oh no!!" when I saw this week's block. It is most certainly not an easy one, and the thoughts of machine piecing all the "Y" seams and handling all the teeny pieces through the machine gave me a few shudders. However, once I calmed down a bit, I decided it would be a block that I would piece by hand. I traced out all the pieces onto fabrics and took them with me to work last night, to work on during breaks.
The first round of pieces is almost done. If I take it to work and do the same thing tonight, It should have this round, and most of the second added to it. The other hand piece I'm working on is the second of the Promises and Borders. I didn't get a lot done on it, but it is coming. I don't have a deadline for this, so slow and steady is OK.
I think all that is left to do on it is to do the flower centers, and then colour it in, and to put the textile medium over the coloured pencil, once I get the colouring done. And looking at it now, I've noticed that the bird's wing isn't finished.

There has been some movement in my stash, too. I've loaded my Heartland Star onto the machine, in the hopes of having it done in time for the quilt show at the end of October.

Used this week:                                   6.6 yards
Used this year:                                    91.5 yards
Added this week:                                  0 yards
Added this year:                                 152.8 yards
Balance:                                                61.3 yards more in than out.
Just out of curiosity, I checked last years numbers. This time last year I had used 102 yards, so I'm 10 yards behind that. This time last year I had added 121 yards, so I'm way over that. Neither is a good or a bad thing, it is just fun to keep track and to compare from year to year. I would like to end the year using at least the same amount as I used last year.
I'm linking up to Judy's Stash Report and Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching.

Sunday Stash and Sttichery Report

I managed a lot of hand stitching this week during the 2 days that I spent in the recliner chair, nursing my sore back. But taking those 2 days to rest it, and get lots of heat on it worked. It is pretty much back to normal.
  This is the second block in the series called Promises and Borders. I am loving doing these. It has been a long time since I've done any serious large scale embroidery projects. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it.

I discovered on Thurday, at the guild meeting that they have a different vendor there every month. Oh oh. I made the mistake of going back to the vendors table with Charlene, just to see what they had. I wasn't going to buy anything. (yeah, right......) I was looking at the stuff, quietly saying to Charlene, (quietly because the speaker was doing her presentation, and it was a good one too), I'm not buying anything...... I'm not buying anything......... and then I saw these.....
and I bought something. But they were so  pretty I simply couldn't say no to them. And so they came home with me to add to my ever growing stash.
Used this week:                                  .5 yards
Used this year:                                 84.9 yards
Added this week:                               5.5 yards
Added this year:                            152.8 yards more in than out.

However, all is not lost. I have a new toy tool to help me whittle down all these pieces of scraps and fabrics so that I can get to sewing faster.
I have resisted getting one of these for a long time, and now I wonder why on earth I waited so long. This thing can take scrap strips and turn them into squares so fast, not quite a blink of an eye but still faster than the rotary blade and ruler can do....... it's wonderful!  I have a couple of quilts on my want-to-do list that require 2 1/2 inch squares. I played with used this tool last night for 45 minutes or so, and came out with a huge pile of squares. It took longer to iron the strips so that they would lay flat than it took to put them through this thing and come out the other end with squares. I can get the squares cut, and kitted up to become either quilts to work on, or leader and ender projects. WOOHOO!! I'm linking up to Judy's Stash Report and Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, then I'm going to have some lunch, and then I'm going to go play with fabric, and maybe with my new toy tool. I'll do a quitathon day 4 post later on today.

Stash Report and Sunday Stitchery

Well, I can't say that there has been a whole lot of sewing going on in my world this past week, so not a whole lot to report for stash usage. And there hasn't been a whole lot of hand stitching this week, either. A large hunk of time last week went to planning for our move into our new apartment that needs some work. And before those meetings was a large hunk of time just getting ideas of what we would like to do with the space. It is fun planning it, but it sure does take an awful lot of time. But I'm sure it will be more than worth it in the end.

However, I did get the first stitchery block for the Promises and Borders BOM finished, although that isn't saying that much since there wasn't a whole lot left to do on it. I added in the yellow centers in the orange flowers, painted on the textile fixative to make the coloured pencil permanent, and pressed it. After I finish here, I'm going to get the next square ready to do.

As for the stash report, here goes:

Used this week:                                            .7 yards
Used this year:                                          84.4 yards
Added this week:                                           0 yards
Added this year:                                      147.3 yards
Balance:                                                     62.9 yards more in than out.

I'm linking up to Judy's Stash report and Kathy's Slow Sunday stitching, although there is nothing slow about this Sunday for me, considering I have to work this afternoon. But tracing out the next block in the Promises and Borders series will slow me down, and focus my mind on where it should be, on my Father in heaven, and His promises.

Stash Report and Sunday Stitchery

I've set aside posting about stockings for a while, as I can't show pics of it because I'm now working on Laurie's. But, I started a new stitchery project this past week. I have been drooling over this project since it first came out in January. It is called Promises and Borders and it is a stitchery block of the month that will eventually finish into a wall hanging. I hadn't started it earlier in the year because of wanting to focus on the Christmas stockings that I wanted to have done by this Christmas. Well, 3 out of 4 of them are done, and the 4th is about 30% done, so I figure I can start something else.
Earlier this week Denise did a post about an owl stitchery she was working on, where she was using coloured pencils to add to the stitchery, and I had an "aha" moment. So, I got out my own coloured pencils and started doing some shading into the stitched areas. I love the added depth the shading gives it. I still have a little bit of stitching left to do in the center of the orange flowers, and then I can add the textile medium over top of the coloured pencils, and I can count the stitchery on this square done, and then go on to block #2.
And now, I get to add up all the numbers from all the projects I've been working on this past week.

Used this week:                                       7.7 yards
Used this year:                                       83.7 yards
Purchased this week:                                   0 yards
Purchased this year:                            147.3 yards
Balance:                                                 63.6 yards more purchased than used. I am hoping to crack the 100 yards used by the end of this month. I've started a Newfo for September, actually, make that 2 of them, that might help towards that 100 yards goal.
There is a new block of the week by Barbara Brackman that started yesterday. I read about it on Denise's blog yesterday here. She's such a good influence....... LOL!  I'm even using the same fabric collection, since I loved the way her block looked so much. So, I immediately ran, well make that walked quickly, up the stairs and pulled out my fabrics and made the block in the 45 minutes I had left before having to go to work.
The theme of the whole quilt is Grandmother's Choice and it will follow the history of the fight for the right to vote for women that took place in the early years of the last century. Did you know  that women in Canada didn't get the full right to vote until 1919? Women in Quebec, according to Wikipedia, didn't get that right until 1940! In the USA, the right to vote came in 1920. So, we've had this precious right to have a say in what goes on in the government of our countries for less than 100 years!! Every week, along with a block, there is going to be a bit of history about the fight for this right. I am an history nut, and love finding out the history of various times and countries. I am also, as everyone knows by now, a quilt nut, so what could be better than to combine the 2? I am going to try really hard to keep up with this one.
I'm linking up to Judy's Patchwork Times for the stash report and Kathy's Quilts for the stitchery report.