Stash Report - Week 43, 2014

I may not be at home and getting any sewing in, but I know how to add to my stash.  There's a wonderful fabric shop here in town.  And there's a shop hop going on, so I have 1 of 11 shops visited. Not sure I'll get to more than one or two more, but I'd like to try, especially if I can get my aunt to go with me.  The hop only goes through Nov. 1st and the weather is not what I want to be out in - raining and 30 mph winds with gusts up to the 40 & 50 mph ranges yesterday!  Still pouring today.

The purchase I made this week was for the 'constant' fabric for an upcoming annual mystery quilt, so that was two yards because I may decide to use the same fabric for the binding.  I also bought three fat quarters, two of which are neutrals, and one is in the green shade needed.  I was hoping to shop my stash but since I'm 890 miles from it, I'll just pick up a few extras while I'm gone and add some new variety to my scraps.  It's a good thing, right?  

Used This Week: 0 yards 
Used Year to Date: 15.62 yards  
Added This Week: 2.75 yards  
Added Year to Date: 78.56 yards  
Net Used Added for 2014: 62.94 yards 


Linking @ Patchwork Times

Stash Report - Week 40, 2014

This week I pulled out another one of those starts from last year.  This one was Gathered Over Time and I've already written a couple of things about it this week, so I won't bore you with too many more details.

It was an easy quilt; simple 9-patch units and solid squares set on point.  There were quarter-square triangles to set off the ends of each row, and half-square triangles to finish the four corners. 

The amount of fabric required for this quilt, not counting backing or binding, was 4.2 yards total of light and dark scraps for the 9-Ps and for the solid (tone-on-tone) squares as the background.  That is the amount I'm counting out of my stash though a small portion of that went back into scrap circulation as I'm a frugal cutter.

Here's the finished flimsy.  It measures about 58 x 70.  I laid it out on my living room floor and stood up on the sofa arm to take the photo. 

Used This Week: 4.2 yards 
Used Year to Date: 15.62 yards  
Added This Week: 0 yards  
Added Year to Date: 75.81 yards  
Net Used Added for 2014: 60.19 yards   
               
Linking @ Patchwork Times

What's Wrong With This Picture...Yet Again

After last week's flimsy finish, I've been busily working on Gathered Over Time.  I'll post more on that tomorrow as it is now a flimsy and I can count that fabric out of my stash.

Some nights I was working on this sweet little quilt until 11:00 or later, and you know it's said that you shouldn't keep working on something when you're tired.  Well, here's proof, and you can see what is wrong with this picture.

Hmmm, it looks like it could make a good boat, but that just isn't right!

Nope, those ends do not align correctly, rippit, rippit.

Ah yes, now that looks more like it.

And don't you love that yellow tape on my design wall?  Some day I will cover the wall with white flannel...some day!

Come back tomorrow and check out the flimsy finish.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

I've resumed work on another project that had been set aside late last year.  This one was my October 2013 NewFO and I wrote about it here last November and at that time linked to Cat Patches where Barbara hosts her monthly NewFO Challenge.

Pinned to design wall for block placement.

The project, titled Gathered Over Time was all cut out and the 9-Patch units were all sewn together.  Last night I laid them all out on the design wall, then removed them by rows, labeling as I did.  Today I began sewing the blocks together and they are going together so very nicely.  With this project being set on point (not to be confused with ballet's en pointe) I put the first corner section together, well sort of.  When I pulled out the half-square triangle corner unit, my-oh-my but it looks big, and it IS!

This is what's WRONG!

It may not be the easiest to see, but look at the size of that corner unit, it's ginormous! 

A close up which shows it extending on the two sides about an inch beyond where it needs to be.  My first thought of course, was 'oh, I goofed'.  I went back to the instructions and double-checked my cutting.  Nope, I didn't goof, as instructed, I cut two 6" squares in half diagonally to make four half-square triangles for the corner units. 

I searched online to see if an errata had been posted anywhere and there was not.  I shouldn't complain, better to be way too big and be able to cut down, than have the reverse, and this was a free pattern put out by Windham Fabrics...oops!  I noticed too that the quarter-square setting triangles for the sides are a wee bit over-sized too, but not as badly as the corner triangles.  I'll just trim all four sides of the quilt when the top is done.

While typing this up, I remembered it's Monday which means I can link this up over at Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday - way cool!  Then I can get back to sewing while watching-listening to The Voice.

Stash Report - Week 39, 2014

I'm reporting in for Judy's Stash Report Sunday, though it IS late in the day.  Better late than never!

Used This Week: 7.92 yards 
Used Year to Date: 11.42 yards  
Added This Week: 0 yards  
Added Year to Date: 75.81 yards  
Net Used Added for 2014: 64.39 yards                  
Linking @ Patchwork Times

While I didn't get Circle of Light to the flimsy stage yesterday, I DID get it there today, and rather than show it on the design wall - wish I could reach 8' high without the stool, which is a pain - I spread it out over a double bed.

Here are a couple of pictures:

 

Making Progress

Time passes way too quickly for my comfort these days.  My time home is already approaching the half-way mark!

Over the last four days, I have finally been able to get in some sewing time in between all the cleaning 'catch-up'....trust me, you do not want to know what my breakfast bar and stove looked like before I hit them with a scrubby sponge and ammonia! 

Instead of working on the project I mentioned on the 23rd, The Twisted Sister project by Ami Simms, I pulled out Circle of Light which I had written about as my January NewFO in 2013, that's right, 2013! Previously, I had all of the blocks completed but needed to fix two of them and that's how it remained from 8 January 2013 until the 23rd of this month.  Fixing the two blocks was really easy, and now I have six rows completed, and the remaining four only need one or two more seams each to connect the remaining segments, then I can begin pinning the rows together.  

From the pattern: Circle of Light designed by Susan Dyer & Nancy Raschka-Reeves, Glad Creations, Inc, Minneapolis, MN

It's possible for me to have this become a flimsy by the time the weekend is over, but only if I can stay motivated.  I'm finding that hard to do after having so much quilty-down-time with the path life has taken this year.  I keep thinking of a whole lot of other things that I should be working on as well. 

I'm really liking the earth tones of this scrappy quilt.  It's perfect for fall.

Bulb Success

I successfully found a new bulb for my sewing machine at a local machine shop.  I forgot to take a photo before putting it into the machine - not as easy as removing it - but by comparison to the photo of the old one, the new one is perfectly clear and you can see the filament that is in it.  I was wondering if perhaps I shouldn't have purchased a spare as one never knows how hard it will be to find one after another 10-plus years!

I also thought I'd have been sewing by now, but am struggling to stay focused long enough to figure out which project I should work on.  And so far today, I've only been attempting to clear an area in the garage for the stuff I brought back from the wet land that needs to be stored for now, and now I have a sinus headache from the dust stirred up from packing stuff up for charitable donations and moving a whole lot of empty boxes around.

Well, the day isn't over!  

Maybe I'll re-tackle this one that I've had so many problems with.