Stash Report - April 9, 2017

I am so glad to proclaim it is finally Spring!!  Although April and May will be busy months for me, I am happy to have March behind me.  If you read my blog occasionally, you know that I often start by saying I've been "proquiltinating".  That is the art of quilting, when I should be doing something else.  Most of the time, that is housework.  Cyndy Brunz had it right when she said, "Quilting is more fun than housework"!  The problem is, when you neglect housework for too long, it takes longer to get back to normal.

About a month ago, I reached critical mass.  The dust bunnies were multiplying faster than the ones outside.  So...I just had to attack the house!  My sons and I spent Spring Break capturing those little bunnies and banishing them from the house.  Along the way, we finally got rid of excess clothes, books, toys, and kitchen equipment.  My husband even joined the bandwagon, and got rid of clothes in the closet he's had since we got married, nearly 20 years ago!  The house feels lighter, airier, and I can finally breathe and sew again!

While I still have some more work to do in my closet and the garage, I am finally at a place I can conquer it as the last frontier of my sewing room.  Not only do I have projects running amuck, my room also became a dumping ground of sorts.  There are books, gift wrap, boxes, toothbrushes (??), and who knows what else lurking in there.  So before I could sew, I actually needed to declutter the room of the items that don't belong.  I also needed to restore some of my fabric to it's proper home, and tidy up the space.  That was my day's project.  While not perfect, the excess has been removed, the floors have been vacuumed, the out of place fabric has been put away, and my happy little sewing room is back to it's normal state of disarray.

I'm back to working on yesterday's guild project, which I didn't finish.  Turns out I took my sew in stabilizer instead of my fusible, so I just stopped working at that point.  Now that I can get the correct stabilizer out of my stash, I can finish the project.  Here are some photos of what others made, and I'll show you mine when it is complete.

I've now completely lost track of how many days I have been in the sewing room this year.  In fact, I haven't even updated my quilting journal, which is very unusual.  Now that the house is more reasonable, I think I can get back to spending at least 15 minutes a day in there, and maybe track it too!

Since I haven't actually finished anything, my stats haven't changed.  I haven't acquired anything either, which is perfect!  See actual projects others are working on and how they are managing their stashes over at Patchwork Times.

Until next time, Happy Spring!
Joy :)

Stash Report - March 12, 2017

About a month ago, I posted I was fighting whatever illness my husband had.  The next day, I lost the battle and had it too.  It seems once I was well, I had to play catchup to all of the things I didn't do while I was under the weather.  When that happens, sewing must take the back burner.  I am better now, and I think I am caught up.  Back to the sewing room I have gone.

For the time being, I have lost count of the number of days in the sewing room.  I'll have to look back at my notes and see if I can recreate which days the last half of February I was in the sewing room.

In the meantime, I did manage to complete a project.  It started as a new piece of "Ugly Dog" fabric in a paper bag that I selected at guild.  We all exchanged the fabrics, and were given some time to come up with a completed project from someone else's fabric.  This was mine...

At first, I didn't mind because I was a Star Wars fan.  I came up with several great ideas.  Then I started to cut out the fabric, and I noticed certain things that hindered me.  First, the color I thought was red was actually pink.  Red just didn't look good with part of it.  Second, I thought the word "Vader" was centered and looked like a mouth under the eyes.  It's not actually centered, and getting that face cut out proved challenging.  Finally, was the fact that the fabric had been washed and was no longer a true black, but more of a dark gray.

I decided cutting the individual sections apart was a good idea.  I really wanted to piece them back together in such a way that they no longer resembled Star Wars fabric. Here was one I tried. I like the pieced face, but not the fabric scraps I put with it.

 Unfortunately, that was a violation of the rules, which stated they had to be recognizable in the finished piece.  So I opted for simple piecing and color blocks.  I especially like the flange of the binding as a mini border and pop of color.  I disregarded the variance in shades of black, and it worked out.  It's not large, but it is finished.

Although the feature fabric was swapped, the remaining fabric, backing, and binding came from my stash.  It's nice to have a little moving out.

Used this week:  0.66 yards
Acquired this week:  0.00 Yards

Used this year:  12.08 yards
Acquired this year:  8.125 yards
Destashed this year:  3.955 yards

See how others are managing their stashes at Patchwork Times.

Tata for now,
Joy :)

Stash Report - February 12, 2017

Happy Sunday!  It has been a busy week.  I've been fighting some crud that my husband has, but so far I have managed to stay ahead of it.  I felt just bad enough I could push off a few things and stay home, but not so bad that I couldn't sew.  And sew I did!  I managed more than 15 minutes in the sewing room all 7 days, which brings my annual total to 36 out of my 200 goal.  See how Kate is doing over at Life in Pieces.

I have finished all of the center blocks for Bricks in the Barnyard by Bonnie Hunter, in an enlarged size.  I think I have also made the french braid border long enough, but I won't know for sure until I get the center put together.  I am normally a piece the row by row then join the rows kind of quilter, but I decided this time to make large 4-patches from the blocks, and then assemble those into larger four patches.  I think there will be less of a chance that I will reverse some of them.  You'll understand when you see them, so come back tomorrow for Design Wall Monday to see my final arrangement.  I'm hoping to have a completed top by the end of the day!

I also attempted to join the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2017.  I had an idea for a finished quilt that would use the scrappy colored blocks with a little preplanning.  I really wanted a constant light neutral for it, but I don't have any yardage in my stash.  So...I went shopping!  I came across these two lovely fabrics.  One is such a light gray, that I would call it silver if it had a sheen to it.  The other makes me hungry, because it looks like sprinkles on a cupcake.  They are teeny, tiny polka dots.  I think the colors would be perfect for the RSC17.  I bought 3 1/2 yards of each, so I could make sure I had enough as a background.

So I took my idea and made a block with the purples I had pulled out.  Then I made a second block.  FLOP!!!  I hated them both.  I disliked them even more together.  So, I disassembled them!  I didn't even bother to take a pic.  I've now gone back to the drawing board, and I am pondering another idea.    If I get the top together today, I may try a block or two and show it tomorrow.  See...you have to come back!

Yesterday was also our guild day.  We made a  Simple Sewing Companion from 2 fat quarters.  This will be great for keeping my scissors and needles secure while I am on the go with handwork.  I love how unique everyone's turned out.

I also won the door prize, which included 7/8 yards of Valentine's Day fabric, a quilt coloring book, and colored pencils.  What a fun holiday surprise!

Be sure to check out Patchwork Times for updates on how other quilters are using their stash.  There are some fabulous ideas there!

Used This Week:  0.50 yards
Acquired This Week:  7.875 yards

Used Year to Date: 11.42 yards
Acquired Year to Date:  8.125 yards

Net Destashed Year to Date: 3.295 yards

Until tomorrow...Blessings!
Joy :)

Stash Report - Week 4

This week, I got to celebrate my elder son.  Even though he was turning 12, he still wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese.  To show he is growing up, and much to my husband's dismay, he asked for only books for his birthday.  That makes a Mommy proud!

Despite having been a busy week, I did manage to get into the sewing room all 7 days this week.  That brings me to 22 out of my 200 day goal for the year.  I am following along with Kate over at Life in Pieces.

I was able to reassess where I was on Bricks in the Barnyard by Bonnie Hunter.  I had all of the pieces made for the original quilt size in her book, but then remembered I wanted it larger.  I'm a tall gal, so I prefer to make my quilts long enough for me.  (Just in case I love the quilt so much I keep it!)  That will require about 1/3 more blocks.  I spent the week cutting them out and beginning the piecing.  I was doing pretty well, until I pressed all of the seams for one unit the wrong direction.  Oops!  I have to press them all again before I can move on.

I paused on the making of the Bionic Gear Bags for my Mom and Sister.  I decided I didn't like the zippers I had for the outside.  I really want a purse zipper with two larger pulls.  They will just make these bags a little nicer to use.  I have one, but the color isn't quite right.  I've ordered new ones, and they should be here this week.

Although none of these projects are complete, I am encouraged by the amount of progress I made.  I did have to buy the zippers, but I have been able to use what I already have for the rest of it.  Still, I have an addition for the week.  Our guild celebrated our 1st birthday.  One of our members made these cute fabric cupcakes for everyone.  So, I have the 1/4 yard addition.

I'm staying accountable by reporting in with Patchwork Times.  So my numbers for the week are:

Used This Week:  0.00 yards
Acquired This Week:  0.25 yards

Used Year To Date: 10.92 yards
Acquired Year To Date: 0.25 yards

Net Destashed Year To Date: 10.67 yards

Blessings to all,
Joy :)