Stash Report

I planned to use only my stash for Bonnie Hunter's new mystery.  You know where this is going already, right?  Well I didn't have enough orange, or rather, I had enough orange but not enough variety in orange for a scrap quilt.   So I went by an LQS and solved that problem. A couple of the pieces are from April Rosenthal's new line BEST.DAY.EVER!  I like the bright colors in this line of fabric.

 I'm thinking about maybe making a quilt for a little girl out of this line because my brother and his partner may be adopting again!  The child they adopted last year has a brother and half sister who are coming up for adoption, and the agency asked if they would be interested in the other two kids.  Nothing is set in stone yet, and we'll know more in January.  But if they do adopt, both kids will need welcome to the family quilts!

Used This Week:  0 yards                                                    
Used Year to Date: 75.375 yards 
Added this week: 1.75 yards 
Added year to date: 81.875 yards
 Net Added:  6.5 yards

We are out of town, so I have no new quilt pictures to share, but I try to post a new pictures with every post, so here's my first amaryllis to bloom.  It is super short, just about 12 inches tall.  I've never had good luck with amaryllis bulbs, so I'm happy to see it bloom.

 

To see more stash reports:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2014/12/14/stash-report-week-50-2014/

Sewing Space

In less than two hours, I got 80% of the mess in my sewing space cleaned up.  It's not all organized, but scraps are all picked up, trash thrown away and the floor is vacuumed.

 

My sewing machine is in the corner of our bedroom, so out of respect for my husband, I try and keep things reasonably neat.  Once in a while it gets out of control, but he never complains. 

 

I'm ready to sew now!

Need to Clean

I am a messy quilter.  I pull fabric out and don't put it back.  I drop paper all over the floor when I'm tearing it off of a paper pieced block.  I miss the trash can when I'm trimming dog ears.  Right now my sewing space is out of control.  I've been meaning to clean it up for a couple of weeks now but haven't gotten around to it yet.  If I show you my mess, I'll have more incentive to get it cleaned up.

 

Today I lost my second seam ripper in there.  I need to clean it up!!!

Grand Illusion, Step 2

I finished Step 2 of Grand Illusion today.

Bonnie gave 3 different methods for making these units, but I decided to use Deb Tucker's (Studio 180) Corner Pop tool instead.  The ruler is pricey, but, for me, the accuracy makes it worth the price. I don't mind sliver trimming if that will help my accuracy.  http://www.studio180design.net/videos/?id=32

I've made several Bonnie Hunter patterns with that same unit, and my accuracy was never very good before.  I can't say that all my units are perfect now, but they are much better than they used to be. I believe the only way I could get better accuracy would be to paper piece them.

Linking up  with Mystery Monday:   http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2014/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-2.html

Stash Report

Are you tired of seeing pillowcases yet?  I made three more last week.  The Great Pumpkin pillowcase is a Christmas gift for a friend's mom who loves Peanuts.  We spend Christmas Eve with our friend's extended family, and give small gifts to her parents. 

 

The baseball ones are for my squeaky wheel sister who has been dropping big hints that she would like homemade pillowcases.  She lives within walking distance of the National's baseball field and sees as many games as she can, so I think she will like them.

Used This Week:  3.875 yards                                                    
Used Year to Date: 75.375 yards 
Added this week: 2.0 yards 
Added year to date: 80.125 yards
 Net Added:  4.75 yards

Project of Doom Toad Block

I finished the embroidery on another POD block.  Both times I've made Trevor the Toad, I've had a hard time getting everything to match up correctly.  The second time was easier than the first, but I still had issues.  I am not entirely happy with this block, but I'm not making the darn toad again!  This time I am not happy with the contrast between the dark back legs of the toad and the background fabric.

 

 

 

I decided to outline the back legs to make them stand out a little more.  That helps but doesn't entirely fix the problem. 

 

 

 

Here's Trevor the way he appeared in my first POD quilt.

 

 

The most exciting quilting news of the week is that I have finished piecing all 30 blocks for the body of the bookcase.

 

 

There are still 10 blocks that need titles, and I will be making more blocks for the items that are on the top of the bookcase.

 

 

Grand Illusion, Step One

I got step one of Grand Illusion done this morning.  I wasn't sure until I started cutting what colors I would use.  So far, they are Bonnie's colors but in different places.  The pink is consistent in this step, but I won't have enough of it for the whole quilt. The goal is to use my stash only.

 

To see more Grand Illusion Quilts:  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2014/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-1.html