Happy Spring!

The flowers are about 4 weeks ahead of where they usually are.  Our red bud started blooming last week, and I have a bud on one of my irises.

Nothing In, Nothing Out

My stash report is the same as last weeks, nothing in, nothing out.

Used this week: 0 yards
Used year to date: 32.5 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date: 18.25 yards
Net used for 2012: -14.25 yards

 I have been sewing some, though, and working on my Bonnie Hunter Pineapple Blossom quilt.  I wanted to make it double bed size, but I ran out of my background fabric and only got 25 blocks done.  I need 36 for the double bed size.  Now my choice is to pick another background fabric from my stash and make 11 more blocks, or make do with 25 blocks and a series of borders.  Or just consider it done as it is.

I have been taking advantage of the lovely weather this week and working in the yard.  These are the flowers that are blooming in my yard now.

                                                       

                                                     

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I made this little stocking for my friend Sue, who always celebrates St. Patrick's Day in a big way.  The chart is in Blackbird Designs 'March of the Daffodils'.

Bonnie Hunter Class

Anothe boring stash report, since I neither bought nor used any fabric.

Used this week: 0 yards
Used year to date: 32.5 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Added year to date: 18.25 yards
Net used for 2012: -14.25 yards

I did get in  a whole day of sewing, though.  Last Wednesday I attended a class taught by  Bonnie Hunter  (http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012_03_09_archive.html scroll down to see Bonnie's account).  Someone thought ahead and brought a pigma pen, so Bonnie signed blocks for everyone who wanted a signature.  I will have to remember this for the next class.  I got 10 pineapple blossom blocks completely finished and 10 more partially done.

This quilt will be made completely of scraps.  The polka dot print is backing from a quilt I made about 3 years ago. 

This is the second Bonnie Hunter class I have taken.  She began both classes by having us check our 1/4 inch seam.  You would think that someone who is so concerned about having an accurate 1/4 inch seam would be nuts about precision, but Bonnie is pretty relaxed. I heard her say that if you want your piecing to be precise, you need to paper piece, and who wants to do that?

 She looked at my blocks where a few points are cut off and told me that was just 'normal variation'.  She also looked at one of my units that was about 1/16 inch short and said it was a little small, but close enough, she would press it really flat  and use it anyway. Her corrections never felt like criticism.  I think that is one reason she is such a popular teacher.

Last week I also finished another chemo cap for my sister.  She requested one in black.  I am using 100% cotton yarn since she told me the ones that are acrylic make her feel like her head can't breathe.  Why aren't hats that are especially made for chemo patients,  made of soft, non-irritating  material?   My sister has bought several hats that drive her crazy because they are so itchy.  I've also completed a white one for her, but no picture yet.

We spent the weekend in Williamsburg at a soccer tournament.  The weather was very nice for March.  It was a windy, but sunny and the temps were in the 30's to the 60's.  (This beats the sleet we had for the February tournament.)  It was run by a local soccer club, but our field was an hour away, and we had to have the kids there  at 7:15 a.m. Saturday morning, which meant we had to get up at 5:15.  All I did was walk from the parking lot to the field, sit in a chair and watch the games, but I am exhausted!  My DH and DS got sunburned.   

Stash Report

I hadn't planned to buy any fabric when I walked into the Bernina shop on Feb. 29.  I was just looking, killing some time.  But there was a 29 % off sale on fabric, including all sale fabric.  I ended up buying 2 yards of fabric that was marked at $5.88/yard, and got 29% off my purchase.  I could have bought many more yards, but I didn't.  I'm learning that there will always be another good sale, another great deal. 


Used this week: 0 yards
Used year to date: 32.5 yards
Added this week: 2 yards
Added year to date: 18.25 yards
Net used for 2012: -14.25 yards

A Bonnie Hunter scrap quilt, 'Roll, Roll Cotton Boll', completed in 2011.

The Porch Project

When we bought this house 10 years ago, we liked everything about it except for the deck.  Four years before we moved, we had put a sunroom and screened porch on to the old house, and when we moved, we really missed having the outside living space.  The deck on the new house wasn't in great shape, and we weren't intesested in repairing it because we thought one day we would tear it off and put on a screened porch.   Now the deck is in really bad shape.

There is a missing rail, the deck boards are splitting, and worst of all, the deck is structurally unsound.  None of the 4 contractors who looked at the deck could tell us why it it pulling apart.  The gap started very slowly, over many years.  Then all of a sudden, we had a 3 inch space between the boards, and the floor was sagging.  We would liked to have blamed it on the earthquake, but that really wasn't the cause.  One of the contractors we talked to propped up the floor with some old 2x4s, so the floor wouldn't collapse while we were deciding what to do. 

At this point, fixing the deck is not an option because it it so far gone.  We thought about putting in a patio, a new deck,  a covered veranda, or  a screened porch.  We started talking to contractors back in October and have finally come to a decision.

 We're going to put on a 14 x14 ft. screened porch, and at the same time, we are going to have the utility room turned into a real  (8 x12 ft.) room instead of a hall.  Right now our washing machine, dryer, and utility sink are in a hallway separating the kitchen from the garage.  If you are moving clothes from the washer to the dryer, you are likely to get hit in the head by a door by someone coming in from the garage.  It is also next to impossible to pull out the dryer to clean the lint out of the exhaust hose without standing on your head.  We are making the room big enough for the dogs' crates.

The new utility room will come about to the edge of the brick walkway.

Where the grill and the steps are is where the new utility room will be.  The new steps will go down into the yard onto a walkway to the driveway.  I am very excited to finally get this project moving.  We will be signing the contract next week. 

Still Cutting

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I've been cutting scraps for over a week.  I started out cutting blue and neutral for my BIL's snail trail quilt.  I've gotten about 1/4 of the way through that.

Then I found out that I got into a Bonnie Hunter class, scheduled for next Wednesday in Tidewater VA.  I am not a member of the quilt guild there, but they had an opening. I snapped it up and started cutting 2 inch strips.  The project is Pineapple Blossom, and the free pattern can be found on her website.  http://quiltville.com/pineappleblossompf.html  It is meant to be a scrap project.  I've decided to do a controlled scrap quilt using pink, yellow and orange. 

This is not a color combination I would usually choose, but it is growing on me.  The white dotted fabric was leftover backing from another quilt.