Archive for the 'The Stash 2018' Category
December 16th, 2018 - You Got To Have Heart
Great news today! My brother may be getting a new heart! He’s been in the  hospital awaiting a heart transplant for the last 3 months. It’s kind of a weird situation. You pray for him to get a new heart but then when you think about how he has to get one, it’s really sad. Mixed emotions all the time. We have to thank all those people who sign a donor card and their families for following their wishes. Have you signed your donor card?
Anyway on to the quilting side of things. I went to see my brother twice last week. Two hour trip and as long as I’m not driving and it’s daylight, I can stitch in the car. I managed to stitch a few hours each time I went. But the first time I went, my 2 sisters went with me. The 2 hour trip there took us 4 hours. We had to make a stop at Pastime Pieces in Blenheim ON. What a cute shop! It’s in a little red barn on their property. I love that place so much, I wish I lived a little closer and I would shop there all the time. I ended up buying a couple pieces of really nice flannel for backings and some Kona Snow to go with a Christmas layer cake I purchased in the States. I have it cut out but I’m not including it in my totals until the top is done.
 I’ve made a few things in the past weeks. My son asked me to do some embroidery work for a Secret Santa gift. I bought the designs on Etsy and they are pretty cute. And I embroidered on a chef’s cook and that came out awesome. And I made a few placemats to go with the jacket. These are  the recipient’s  favourite Pixar characters.
I also finished this pillow up. I just bought the kit in November at Pastime Pieces, my favourite shop, and worked on the stitching on my trip to London on Saturday. I had to hurry up and do all the finishing stitches before my sister left as I don’t have any 12 weight threads and I used some of hers.
I finished up this little stitchery, just needs a pillow form and little silver star buttons on the right boots. It will be all ready for next Halloween.
I have made over 100 items in the past year. I’ve been keeping track. I always feel like I am not very productive in the sewing room but since I’ve kept track, I can actually see how many items went through here. It’s amazing the number of things that I have made.
Now for those numbers.
Fabric used this week: 11.61 yds
Fabric used YTD: 193.64 yds
Fabric added this week: 28.9 yds
Fabric added YTD: 257.23 yds (I need to stay out of fabric stores for a while)
Net fabric busted: -63.59 yds
Once I get the flannel washed, I will be making backings for a couple of quilts. I already cut into the Kona snow yardage and will be putting that top together this week.
On the 15 Minutes to Stitch Challenge, I think I’ve been doing pretty good. There were only 2 days in the last 4 weeks were I didn’t stitch at all. Week 1, I stitched every day for a total of 31 hours. Week 2 had me stitching every day for a total of 39 hours. Week 3 saw me at 35 hours. Last week was the only time I didn’t stitch every day. But I managed to get in 18.5 hours.
No stitching yesterday because I drove my son and his kids over to the States to go to Jurassic Quest in Novi MI. I think they enjoyed themselves. Lots to see and do but I kind of think it’s for kids that are a little older than these two. I would have liked to look at every exhibit and read all the info on each but these 2 were too antsy. Maybe from the car ride over. Anyway, they were all excited to show their mom the dino balloons we bought.
I’m linking up with Kate at Life in Pieces for the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge and with Donna at quiltpaintcreate for the stash report.
I hope everyone has a great week. And please think about signing an organ donor card.
November 18th, 2018 - Busy, Busy Life
Lately it seems that life is speeding by far to rapidly for me. Or I’m just too busy! That’s it! With my son moving back home and the grandkids here 50 percent of the time, I’m finding that I don’t have as much free time.
Last week, we made clothes for my grandson’s Wish Bear. I have never made bear clothes before or doll clothes either. I measured out the bear but forgot to add the girth so the shirt didn’t fit. If it was a flat bear, I would have been in luck. I slit it down the middle and it’s now an open front shirt. It even has a  facing along the front. The pants were too short in the rise and looked like real low riders with the bear’s butt crack, if he had one, showing. I made a new pair of pants the next day. Much better! I wish I would have taken some pictures. You would have laughed at my efforts. I can’t believe I can sew up quilts and not doll sized clothes. I’ve never even drafted up a clothing pattern before. Definitely not my forte.
I went to a quilt retreat 2 weeks ago and I had a great time. The hardest part about a retreat is deciding what to bring to work on.
I finished up the sashing on Sticks and Stones . The blocks are entirely from the scraps, all 1.5″ strips and 1.5″ squares. The black is from my stash. I could probably make 2 more quilts from those bins.
Another retreat finish. I drafted up the colour placement for this quilt, Stars over Scott, a free pattern from Jamie at L’Fair Quilts. I have made this pattern a few times and I wanted to try something. This is for the grandkids bedroom. I didn’t really want to make a pink or blue quilt so I thought I’d try a colour wheel look. I think the center needs work but it might just stay like this.. Not pink and not blue.
And lastly, I worked on another Urban Abacus using the Quick Curve Ruler. I made all the blocks at the retreat, brought it home and finished it up last night. I also have another one cut out and ready to make. When I first saw this quilt, I had to make it. I love the fabrics. I think I have enough left to make another top. Nine fabrics and you only need a 8.5″ strip from each.
Now for the good stuff! What did I purchase while I was gone?
My first stop was at Delphines in Gaylord MI. I was looking for small Christmas prints and I think this layer cake fits the bill. It’s for a project, not the stash.
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After the retreat was over, I stopped in Charlevoix MI and went to Hearts to Holly. They were having their anniversary sale and everything was 22% off. This is one of their Holly Bunches. Twelve fat quarters. And I bought 2 Holly Bunch patterns.
Plus. I bought 6 yards of Christmas fabric. Most of this is from the Peppermint Reindeer line form StudioE fabrics. The red and white stripe is from Timeless Treasures. And yes, it’s for the stash. Busted!
Now for those numbers. Yikes!
Fabric used this week: 20.55 yds
Fabric used YTD: 182.03 yds
Fabric added this week: 10 yds
Fabric added YTD: 228.33 yds
Net fabric busted: -46.3 yds
If I could cut the backings for 10 quilts, I might be in the positive numbers. If being the operative word!
On the 15 Minutes to Stitch front, I’ve tried to sew every day but some days I just can’t. I finished up my hand project and now I need to bring another one upstairs to stitch while the grandkids are playing. Week one I stitched 21 hours. Retreat week I stitched 44 hours and last week I stitched 22 hours. I guess I do stich a lot but I’d really like to stitch more. I have lots of fabric, kits and threads to use up. Really, I don’t need to add any more to the mix.
I’m linking up with Donna at quiltpaintcreate for the Stash Report and with Kate at Life In Pieces for the 15 Minutes to Stitch report.
Have a great week!
October 28th, 2018 - The Stash
I only managed to get one thing completed this week from my latest purchases. I made a flannel quilt top from the layer cake.
This little missy helped me with the layout. She was really good at smoothing out the blocks. I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe she will turn out to be a quilter like her grandma.
This was our final layout. I found the pattern from Missouri Star. Nice and simple and most of all, quick. I love all these flannels from Maywood Studios. All 42 pieces were different, no colour repeats. It makes for an easy layout.
This is the corner of the completed top. The blue border is the same as the backing fabric and the outer border was some flannel I had left from another quilt. All Maywood studios, which was kind of cool. I love their flannels!
Now for some numbers.
Fabric used this week: 8.48 yds.
Fabric used YTD: 161.48 yds
Fabric added this week: 0 yds
Fabric added YTD: 218.33 yds
Net fabric busted: -56.85 yds
I might get my ‘Net Fabric Busted’ to be zero by the year’s end. Hey, you never know. That’s at least 5 complete lap sized quilts. I better get busy with that. And stay out of the fabric shops too!
On the 15 Minutes to Stitch front, I managed to sew for 17 hours this week. I actually sewed every day this week except for last Sunday. I cleaned my sewing room but you would never know. There’s still lots of stuff in it. I also started scaling down on my other crafts. I have tons of rubber stamp supplies I’d like to get rid of but my grandkids love to play with all that stuff. I did get rid of 2 bags of yarn and a bag of fabric scraps. My niece uses all that kind of stuff at the day care she works at.
I’m linking up with Donna at quiltpaintcreate for the Stash Report and with Kate at Life at Life in Pieces for the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge.
Well until next week. Maybe I will be at zero!!!!
October 21st, 2018 - The Stash
OMG! I bought more fabric! Am I nuts? But it was so much fun that I didn’t even realize that I actually bought some fabric. I even went to a quilt show and didn’t buy any fabric. I went to a quilt shop to exchange a item that didn’t work and bought a ironing board cover but no fabric.
Then as I was walking out, there was a bolt of sale fabric with my name on it, so I bought some. Some being 5 plus yards! As soon as I figure out what fabric to use as setting triangles, it will be cut up into a few comfort quilts.
Then at another quilt shop, I browsed too long and bought more fabric. Nice soft cozy flannel from Maywood Studios. I love their flannels! I bought the layer cake and backing fabric. Again, another comfort quilt. Just need to find the right pattern and it will be used up.
When I was at the quilt show, I bought the book “Mini Wonderful Curves” and the ruler. While shopping I found the kit for the cover quilt, Color Love. I am planning on making this quilt at an upcoming retreat.
And then I found this very cool fabric. One has silver stripes and the other has dots. It might be Christmas fabric or it might not be Christmas fabric. I have the perfect pattern for it. Wait and see!
And here’s a quilt I made using my stash. Except for the backing. It’s all quilted up using Pretty Paisley pantograph from Willow Leaf Studios. I love how it looks and I’m sure my sister-in-law will love it too.
Now for those magic numbers.
Fabric used this week: 13.7 yds
Fabric used YTD: 153 yds
fabric added this week: 21.08 yds
Fabric added YTD: 218.33 yds
Net fabric busted: -65.33 yds
So much for trying to get the net fabric busted to be 200 yards to the good. Next year, I hope!
As for the 15 Minutes to Stitch, I’m not quilting as much as I would like. I managed to sew 15 hours per week for the last 3 weeks. Not bad but I’d really like to sew more. I have tons of fabric to use!
I’m linking up with Donna at quiltpaintcreate for the stash report and with Kate at Life In Pieces for the 15 Minutes to Sew.
Have a great week!
September 30th, 2018 - Sunday Stash and Sewing Report
There is not much going on over here in the stitching department. Too much drama in this house for me to stitch. My son’s family is splitting up and there are 2 little munchkins in the mix. My son cannot drive due to medical reasons and all I seem to do is drive back and forth across town. Yup, my car is getting lots of miles put on it which doesn’t matter much because it’s warranty has expired.
And that’s another story. I bought a 7 year warranty in December 2011. So you would think it expires in December 2018. But that’s not the date the manufacturer uses. They use the date the car is put in service which was August 2011. So shame on my for not noticing it sooner. The other issue was that it was in for service in April and they said the noise was from the winter tires. We changed the tires and it still had the same issue, wheel bearing, but we were so busy and couldn’t get the car in until last week. Well, seeing as it’s not under warranty anymore and even though it was in for the same thing, it would cost us over 1000- to get it fixed. Boy, was I mad! Still am. Needless to say #1-I am never buying a car from Windsor MINI, here in Windsor ON and #2- I am never buying a MINI again. Too many issues with getting it fixed. When it comes time to buy another car, it’s going to be a car that any mechanic can fix.
So in the sewing department, I did not buy any more fabric. Woo hoo!! I did manage to use a few yards and I finished a stitchery that I have been working on for a few years now.
Not a very good picture but Cool Guys is done! Ready to be quilted. It seemed to take forever to stitch all those snowmen faces and hats. The noses where supposed to be appliqued pieces of material, I think, but I chose to outline stitch them in orange perle cotton just like the snowmen. The coolest part about this quilt is the only fabric from my actual stash is the white and the dark blue border. The center blocks , the light blue outer border and the small blue and dark blue checked border are all from a bag of scraps I bought from Island Batiks. It’s the fabric that’s left over from when they make 10″ squares. I can’t believe how much fabric was in there. I didn’t count it in my stash because I wouldn’t know how.
And I used some of it for a border of another stitchery project too. Plus there’s more than enough to make a quilt or 2. Best deal on fabric ever!
Now for some numbers.
Fabric used this week: 3.78 yds
Fabric used YTD: 139.3 yds
Fabric added this week: 0 yds
Fabric added YTD: 197.25 yds
Net fabric busted: -57.95 yds
I made this Mondo Bag this week. I have it listed on my Etsy site, TheQuiltingJunkie. I have a few of the Quilt Smart panels to make a few more. I was thinking of making a Christmas one and maybe a scrappy one, just to use up some scraps.
In the 15 Minutes to Stitch department, I seem to sew in spurts rather than every day. I managed to stitch on average 2.3 hours per day. Some days I don’t go in my sewing room and other days I sew for hours. On the days I don’t sew, I feel all antsy, like I should be in there using some of that fabric. I am a little crabby on those non-sewing days. What I would really like is to sew every single day, all day with no interuptions. Right and I’m the tooth fairy too!
I’m linking up with Donna at quiltpaintcreate for the Stash Report and with Kate at Life in Pieces for the 15 Minutes to Sew.
I hope everyone has a great week!
September 9th, 2018 - No Stash Busting Here
That’s right. There’s no stash busting going on here. It seems that there is a lot of stash enhancing going on. Since my last post, I have accumulated 57 plus yards of fabric. Most of it was on sale! Woo hoo! But now I need to sew like a crazy person to meet my goal of busting 200 yards of fabric. I will start on that next week.
This is the second time I have made this quilt. It was a great machine embroidered applique design I bought off Etsy. Very well designed and digitized.   Next time, I’m making it in colour.
Here are my numbers.
Fabric used this week: 8.04 yds
Fabric used YTD: 135.92 yds
Fabric added this week: 57.94 yds
Fabric added YTD: 197.25 yds
Net fabric busted: -69.37 yds
There are 16 Sundays left this year and I need to use 269.37 yards of fabric. That amounts to 16.83 yards of fabric used each week. Now what can I make in a week, 16 times to reach my total? On my mark, get set, go!
Now on the 15 Minutes to Sew front, I think I’ve got that covered. Too bad I didn’t use much of my fabric this week. I had to go to a family baby shower and my mother-in-law wanted me to make a few things. She bought the fabric and we sewed for 38.5 hours, making up little baby things.
We made 5 self-binding receiving blankets, 3 bibs, 3 burp cloths and 4 nighties (2 newborn and 2 - 6month sized) I also embroidered 4 onsies. I think I spent more time figuring out how to hoop and embroider the onsies than making all that other stuff. And let me say that not all the designs you can buy off Etsy are created equal. But I enjoyed making the stuff just not the clothing part. Give me quilts and blankets or just let me embroider the clothes but don’t ask me to make those tiny little clothes. Much too fiddly for me.
No pictures of the embroidered onsies. I forgot and it was so last minute that I had to stuff them in the basket. Plus I had to hand sew on the label on the quilt I made. Can’t forget that.
Anyway since I last posted, I have managed to sew for 12 hours week one , 20 hours week two  (and I babysit the munchkins for 4 days) and last week, 38.5 hours. I think I even managed to get 15 minutes in every day. Yes, life is good!
I am linking up with Donna at quiltpaintcreate for the stash report and with Kate at LifeinPieces for 15 Minutes to Sew.
Have a great week!
August 19th, 2018 - What’s Going On
And that would be, nothing much over here. I can not seem to get in to the sewing/quilting groove. Weeding and cleaning the garage seem to be the only things that are getting done. Even with access to my friend’s long arm machine, I am not feeling very quilt-like lately. I have made a few wallets but that’s about it.
Instead of going to bed, I was goofing around, trying to snap a picture of a few of the wallets I have made. I really enjoy picking out fabric combinations for these wallets. I’ve even tried vinyl for the first time in the grey Mini NCW. I have a few of these wallets posted in my Etsy shop, TheQuiltingJunkie if anyone is interested. My next venture is to try to make a few bags like the Double Flip Shoulder Bag from Emmaline Bags.
On the fabric stash department, not much going on. But I really want to go to a fabric shop! And then again, I do not wan to go to a fabric shop. I have enough fabric to last a year or two or three or… You get my drift. I did use a little bit of fabric making wallets but not much. Here are my numbers.
Fabric used this week: 3.8 yds
Fabric used YTD: 127.88 yds
Fabric added this week: 0 yds
Fabric added YTD: 139.31 yds
Net fabric busted: -11.63 yds
I would like the “Net fabric busted” to be 200 yards.  So I am going to be busy sewing up a storm the next couple of weeks. I have a baby quilt due by September 8th and someone just messaged me about a custom quilt order.
As for the 15 minutes to Stitch situation, not much sewing is going on here. For the past 4 weeks, I’ve sewed 41.6 hours in total. That averages out to 10.4 hours per week. This week I hope to spend a bit more time in my sewing room.
I’m linking up with Kate at Life In Pieces for the 15 minutes to Stitch and with Donna at quiltpaintcreate for the stash report.
July 22nd, 2018 - Slowly but Surely
I’m slowly getting out of the negatives. No fabric purchased but hardly any used. It’s a step in the right direction. I did sew but it was at my friend’s house on her long arm machine. I ended up getting 3 quilts quilted.
I finished this beauty. I just love the simplicity of it. The binding is all by machine which is my new binding method. If it was a show quilt, then I would do the binding the traditional way. I drew this quilt out on EQ7. I usually draw it out on a piece of paper but I really need to learn the software.
A funny story about the room colours. I stayed at a B&B in London On about 4 years ago and there was this room done up in greys and white. Very calm and elegant. No visitors were in the room so I snapped a few pictures of it. Then  later in the year, I was in Barrie ON, shopping with my sister-in-law, and I saw a comforter in a home store very similar to the quilt I just made. I totally forgot about these pictures until Thursday when  I was looking for some pictures and I came across these pictures.
I think I must have had this colour scheme in my head for all these years and didn’t even know it. All I need now for my room is a new lamp and mirror in these kind of colours. I love the way it looks and so does my husband which is a score for me!
Now for some numbers.
Fabric used this week: .64 yds
Fabric used YTD: 123.88 yds
Fabric added this week: 0 yds (even though I was tempted by new Christmas fabric at the LQS)
Fabric added YTD: 139.31 yds
Net fabric busted: -15.43 yds
As for the 15 Minutes to Sew. I managed to sew every day but Wednesday for a total of 22 hours. I feel like I didn’t sew at all but I quilted instead.
I’m linking up with Kate at Life In Pieces for the 15 Minutes to Sew and with Donna at quiltpaintcreate for the stash report.
Have a great day!
June 10th, 2018 - More Fabric
There is never the right fabric in my stash. I want to make a quilt for a friend who is into biking and I can’t believe that I don’t have any bicycle fabric in my stash. So I went shopping and found the perfect guy bike fabric. Plus I needed to get a fat quarter pack for my contribution to the 2018 Canadian Quilt Along. I didn’t even count that in my stash because it’s already mailed out.
Now isn’t that the perfect fabric? And a nice flannel backing too. Plus I bought a lot of grey fabric at the shop hop that will go great with this one.Once I finish my quilt top in greys, this will be the next one up. Of course, neither of these quilts are on my list of quilts to make but will be added on the Tops to Quilt list.
Here are this weeks numbers.
Fabric used this week: 8.17 yds
Fabric used YTD: 104.55 yds
Fabric added this week: 5.42 yds
Fabric added YTD: 139.31 yds
Net fabric busted: -34.76 yds
I also made 2 Necessary Clutch Wallets (NCW) this week. I have so many fabric combinations that I could possibly make that it’s slightly overwhelming. Too bad one wallet uses only about 1 yard of fabric.
The black and silver NCW is listed on my etsy store, TheQuiltingJunkie.
This one I made for a friend. She helped make it too which is a good thing seeing as I sewed the main piece and thought something was wrong with it. I even topstitched it too. Then I realized I forgot to sew the flap on. What a dough head! Too much talking going on! Anyway my friend unpicked that mistake and then I sewed it back together the right way.
On the 15 Minutes to Stitch front, I sewed for a total of 22 hours this week. Some days, I don’t get to sew at all but I certainly make up for it on the days I do sew.
I’m linking up with Donna at QuiltPaintCreate for the stash report and Kate at Life in Pieces for the 15 Minutes to Sew.
April 15th, 2018 - Spring?
How about this wacky weather! My sister came for a visit last Saturday and was supposed to go home today but is stuck here until the weather improves. Not that it’s all that bad here in Windsor, just rain right now, but Northern Michigan is a mess. I bet most of Michigan is closed due to inclement weather. At least she’s getting in a really long visit with family and friends.
Now about that stash. We went on a mission yesterday to see if we could find a Kona solid called snow. It’s not white but slightly off with a hint of yellow in it. No one here carries Kona, mostly Northcott solids and I certainly don’t buy that colour, only white because that goes with black the best, so she couldn’t shop my stash. Anyway, I ended up buying more fabric. Some white batik from Cantik and raspberry Toscanna from Northcott and I just love the colour. I will be sure to prewash that before I use it. Here are my numbers and I’m still in the good. Whew!
Fabric used this week: 2.46 yds
Fabric used YTD: 80.09 yds
Fabric added this week: 5.77 yds
Fabric added YTD: 75.91 yds
Net fabric busted: 4.18 yds
As for the amount of time spent in the sewing room, I’m here for hours most days but I’m not working on my stuff but helping my sister get many of her UFOs done. I think we finished 4 already and will probably finish a few more before she gets to go home. That’s okay because I will be cutting out fabric for stuff for my Etsy shop. I’ve collected most of the materials to make a load of items to sell. Wallets, bags, little quilts and the like. So my time spent sewing has been a lot less than normal.
April 1-7 2018: 11 hours
April 8-14 2018: 19.5 hours
It’s still a far amount of time and I’m very fortunate that I’m retired and can spend all this time down here, sewing away in my space with the diffuser misting out Peace and Harmony and my music playing in the background.
I’m linking up with Donna at QuiltPaintCreate for the stash report and Kate at Life In Pieces for 15 Minutes to Sew. I hope everyone has a great week and spring gets here someday. Tomorrow would be nice!