Time and Season, Framed at Last!

This project is Moria Blackburn's Time and Season.  I started it in 2010 as a round robin, and it has traveled to Canada, Germany, Wisconsin, Iowa and California.  Most of the stitching was done when it got back to me, and I finished it last February.  But framing is really expensive, so it sat until I got a gift card for Mother's Day and could afford to  get it framed.

 

All the ladies who worked on it stitched their initials in the bottom border. 

 

Thanks to Kathy (Canada); Dane, Gaby, Gaby's mom (all Germany), Jodi (Wisconsin), Cheryl (Iowa) and Nancy (California) for all their work on my round robin. 

May Ornament

I finished my May ornament!

 It was a challenge for me because I ran out of the floss I was using about 3/4 of the way through the ornament.  There is no LNS nearby that carries Needle Necessities.  Even if there were, overdyed floss varies from lot to lot, so just choosing the same number would not guarantee the same color.  I improvised, using 2 DMC colors to mimic the variation.  Can you tell where I switched from NN to DMC?

 

To see other ornaments:   http://stitchinglotus.ca/2013/05/ornament-sal-may-check-in/

Improv Design Wall

I've never had a design wall, and I've never really felt like I needed one until now.  The last time I did a one block wonder quilt, my son was in school, so I used his bed.  Now all my kids are home, and there is no spare bed for me to use.  I've been lying  the blocks out on a batting on top of my bed, but when we go to bed, I have to fold up the batting.  Then the blocks get all messed up, and I have to organize it all again.

Today I hung up a plastic table cloth and pinned the blocks to it.  I can leave this up for as long as I want and decide if this is where I want the blocks to be.  I've worked for 15 minutes trying to get this picture to rotate the right way, but it wants to stay horizontal.

 

These are totally NOT my colors!  It's going to be hard for me to finish this quilt because the colors are so boring. 

 

To see more design walls: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/05/27/design-wall-monday-17/

 

 

Stash Report

I had a frequent customer card from an  LQS that was going to expire the end of May.  I went to the store thinking I'd use the $15 to help buy fabric to make summer pillowcases for my uncle.  Instead I bought cat fabric

 

and made cat pillowcases:

 

 

I intended to buy just enough to make them, but I ended up with  1/2 a yard extra because I finished up the bolt for one of the fabrics.  I sewed the pillowcases this evening because I want my numbers to still be headed in a positive net used direction. (Crazy quilting mind game.)

 

Used this week: 2.0 yards            
Used Year to Date: 43.5 yards
Added this week: 2.5  yards
Added year to date:  42.25 yards
Net Used: 1.25   yards

 

To see more stash reports: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/05/26/stash-report-week-21-2013/

Sleepy Hollow, Week 3

I did a little more than 2 hours of stitching last week, and I allowed myself to start of the horse without finishing the tombstone.  I'd had enough gray, ecru, white, and off white for a while.

Next week, I'll probably just get in 2 hours on this because I want to get an ornament stitched for May.

One Block Wonder, Take Two

I went to my LQS last week and borrowed their die cutter to cut the pieces for my next one block wonder quilt.  I started sewing them together Friday.  I have about half of the medallions ready.

 

I like the way some of them look like stars,

 

snowflakes,

 

 

spirals,

 

and some are circles.

 

 

I chose this fabric because it is more masculine than the usual floral I'd pick for a one block wonder.  The olive green and khaki make me think of camo.  To see more design walls:

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/05/20/design-wall-monday-16/

 

 

Stash Report

I made 2 graduation pillowcases this week.  One is for the young lady who is getting the Harry Potter quilt.  I'm going to wrap it up somehow in this pillow case.

 

The other one is for one of my sons.  The oldest should graduate from college in December, and the middle one next May.  The following June, child number three will graduate from high school.

 

I bought a couple more yards of

 

because I anticipate making more graduation pillowcases soon, and the fabric was 30% off.  I also got a free yard of yellow with white polka dots on it for using my  frequent customers card at my LQS. I'm still in positive net used territory, but I feel myself slipping.  Gotta finish something and improve my numbers.

                                                           Used this Week: 2.0

Used Year to Date: 41.5 yards

Added this week: 3.5  yards

Added year to date: 39.75 yards

Net Used: 1.75  yards

 

To see more stash reports:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/05/19/stash-report-week-20-2013/

Look What I Won!

I entered a give away a couple of weeks ago on Rhonda's blog and I won!  I used to enter every give away on every blog I read, and I never won anything.  Now I only enter one or two a month when I really like something, and I was lucky enough this time to win Rhonda's  rhino mug rug.

 

The workmanship is very good, and there is a lot of detail.  She has given away a few mug rugs, so go over to her blog and  and take a look.  Scroll down to see the latest one she has, a tropical fish.  I won't be greedy and enter  to win again, but I really like this one too.  Thanks, Rhonda!

 

http://ravelly1-quiltzblog.blogspot.com/

 

This is the second rhino we have in our house.  Here's a pic of my son's art project.  He had to copy the work of an old master.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%BCrer's_Rhinoceros

 

 

 

 

Spiderweb

I'm entering my first spiderweb quilt into Amy's Creative Side Blogger's Quilt Festival.  http://amyscreativeside.com/2013/05/17/bloggers-quilt-festival-spring-2013/  I'm linking mine to the scrap quilting post.

This spiderweb quilt is the first quilt I kept for myself.  I used Bonnie Hunter's directions. The blocks take longer than you would think to piece.  This quilt is a time capsule of my first 2 years of quilting. 

 

 

 

There is a lot of pink and orange in this quilt because I'd just finished Mark's orange and black quilt and Kathryn's pink nine patch.  I see scraps from a Thimbleberries quilt, a Christmas quilt, a bag I made for a friend, and many other projects. 

 

Even the flannel back is scrappy.  Most of the backing was a gift from my friend Holly.

 

 

This quilt stays in the family room most of the year.  We have other quilts downstairs, but this is the one I like the most.

 

Sleepy Hollow, week 2

My goal was to work at least 2 hours on this piece, and I'm not keeping close track of my hours, but I know it was at least 2 this week, probably double that.  Sleepy Hollow went from:

 to this:

 

 

I'm still stuck in the gray, off white, ecru, tan part, but I hope to get to the black next week.

 

Needle Turn Applique Is Not For Me

Here's an old baby quilt top I unearthed this week.  It is made almost entirely from fabric given to me by my friend Holly.  I like to try something new with every quilt.  This quilt was my first attempt at needle turn applique.  I like the way it turned out, but not enough to do it again. (Lazy, I know).  I feel like I gave it a good shot since I did 3 fish and all the bubbles that way. If I'm going to stitch by hand, I'd rather cross stitch.

This quilt is 'Fish and Bubbles' from 'Lots of Scraps It's Time to Quilt' by Jeanne Stauffer and Sandra L. Hatch.  My quilt is scrappier than theirs.  I didn't have enough of any one blue to do the outside border, so I substituted a piano key border from scraps.   I like the colors, and  I like the way the batiks look in this quilt. 

 

 

 I've got a lot of time invested in this quilt, so it has to be a special baby that gets this one.

Stash Report

 

 

I wasn't sure about all the yellow in this baby quilt, but I got so many nice comments last week, that I'm going to leave it as is and consider it done.  One and a half yards of scraps used!  Unfortunately, you can't tell from my scrap bins that I used any at all.  I'll need to make a few more baby quilts to see any difference.

 

 

                                                            Used This Week: 1.5 yards

Used Year to Date: 39.5 yards

Added this week: 0 yards

Added year to date: 36.25 yards

Net Used: 3.25  yards

 

To see more stash reports: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/05/12/stash-report-week-19-2013/

 

I've seen a lot of people posting pictures of their messy sewing spaces, so I thought I'd show you my son's room.  He just got home from college, and, yes, he really does sleep in this room.  He is upstairs trying to organize his stuff for his next move. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sleepy Hollow

I started the Cross Eyed Cricket's  Sleepy Hollow sometime last year.

  http://www.123stitch.com/item/Cross-Eyed-Cricket-Sleepy-Hollow-Cross-Stitch-Pattern/07-2439

 I only worked on it a couple of times, and then I put it away.  It is a smaller count linen than I like to stitch on, and the linen is hand dyed, stiff, and no fun to stitch on.  I started in the middle of the chart, a very unexciting place in this chart: gray, white, off white, ecru....

It will get better once I'm done with this part, but I'll never get done with this part unless I start stitching on it.  So my goal is to work on it at least 2 hours a week.  I'll try to remember to post pictures to keep myself accountable. I might even get it stitched by Halloween.

Rethinking the Baby Quilt

A couple of weeks ago, I was my LQS, and I found 'Victorious', a Deb Tucker pattern that uses her square squared and vee block rulers.  Since I have both rulers, and the pattern was on sale, I bought it.  I am happy with the rulers, and I like the pattern.  I am not happy with my color choices.  Too much yellow, I think.  I wish I'd done the border using purple instead.

 

Right now the quilt is a good size to be a baby quilt (45 in. square).  I could tone down the yellow by putting on a purple border, but then the quilt would be big for  a baby quilt.  What size is the perfect baby quilt? 

 

To see more design walls:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/05/06/design-wall-monday-15/

Stash Report: Positive Net Used!!!!

By getting my Project of Doom quilt bound, I've pushed my net used numbers into positive territory.  Just barely.  So far this year I have a net used of 1.75 yards. My goal is to continue this trend!  Regular readers of my blog are probably sick to death of this quilt. (I love it, but I'm a little tired of it too!).  If you need close ups of some of the blocks and quilting pattern: http://sewingoutofmycomfortzone.blogspot.com/2013/05/project-of-doom-bound.html

Many thanks to Jennifer Ofenstein, who provides the Quilt of Doom pattern free this site: http://sewhooked.com/harry-potter/

If you'd like to see other people's versions of this quilt, there is a flickr site.  http://www.flickr.com/groups/projectofdoom/

If you are not a Harry Potter fan but like the Hobbit, comics, Sesame Street, Dr.Who or The Hunger Games, check out
http://www.fandominstitches.com/  for free patterns. 

                                                          Used This Week: 9.25yards

Used Year to Date:  38.00yards

Added this week: 0  yards

Added year to date: 36.25 yards

Net Used: 1.75  yards

 

To see other stash reports: http://www.patchworktimes.com/2013/05/05/stash-report-week-18-2013/

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Spring!!

Spring has finally arrived.  It is warm, and everybody's yards look great.  This is one of my favorite times of the year.

 

                                                     Dutch Irises

 

                                                     Pincushion flowers

                                                   Verbena

                                                    Columbine

                                                               Bearded Irises

Project of Doom, Bound

It took 4 months, but I've finally completed The Project of Doom!  It is bound, and I stitched a sleeve on the back, so it is easy to hang.  I am done in plenty of time since the graduation party is May 25.  I estimate I used 8.5 yards in this quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

I've also finished some doll clothes this week that have been cut out for a while. A couple of dresses:

 

 

 

A pair of low rise pants:

 

They look better with the top. The top is my own design.

I estimate I've used 3/4 of a yard in total for the doll clothes.  The dresses and the top close with zippers, not Velcro. 

To see what other  people are working on:
http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2013/05/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-lions-and-tigers.html