Final Stash Report and Quilts Finished in 2017

2017 was a big year for me as far as stash acquisition. I added 255.25 yards this year, an all time high.  My stash usage was also at at all time high, 155.75 yards, thanks to the many quilt finishes I have had. For the past 5 years, my goal was always to use more fabric than I bought.  I didn't always reach my goal, but I was at least trying.

2016  20.875 yards added
2015   6.357 yards used
2014   2.5 yards added
2013   9.5 yards added
2012   20.25 yards used

This year, I wasn't even trying.  For the most part, I bought what I wanted when I wanted.  I have plans for most of it, but not all of it.  In 2018, I'm hoping to rein it in a little and use up more of what I bought this year. I won't need to be as frugal as I was in the past since I'm working a little,  but I don't have as much time to sew as I used to either.  

I have one quilt at the longarmer's and eleven in my closet waiting to be quilted, so I almost met one of my goals this year:  to have no more than 10 unquilted tops in my closet.  Four of the tops I got rid of were donated to charity, unquilted.

I ought to go through my sewing room, take inventory of my unfinished tops and set a UFO goal. I know I have fabric for 4 OBWs.  One of them should be done in January.  One of them has been cut, and the other two are waiting.  I have three Bonnie Hunter scrap quilts in progress, enough string blocks for a top, a paper pieced project, 2 more graduation quilts to make and give by May.  I have also started a block a day quilt, which I abandoned in March of last year.  There is a shop challenge that I need to have pieced and quilted by April.  I have a hunter's star quilt, barely started. I have 2 Charlotte Hawk's mystery quilts in progress:  one is just waiting for a border and one is in pieces.  I have a new Dresden quilt ruler that I'm dying to try too.  Enough to keep me busy in 2018!

I completed fourteen quilts this year!

Thimbleberries (Given to my sister Karen):

Project of Doom 3:

Talkin' Turkey:

O Canada (A wedding gift):

Janie's Dogs (this quilt is shown unquilted, because I neglected to get a picture of the completed quilt):

Allietare:

Stars Around the Corner (Given to my cousin, Sarah):

Goose In the Puddle:

En Provence (Given to my sister Martha):

Rolling Waves (Given to my sister Julie):

Shaggy OBW (Given to Sandra, my bunko buddy):

Arrow Point Path:

Here Comes the Sun (A Christmas gift for Nicole, my nephew's fiance):

Urban Nine Patch:

Linking up: http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2017/12/a-sew-together-bag-for-emily.html

P.S.  I added 11 more yards of fabric a couple of days ago, and I need to get it in the last 2017 report, so I can start 2018 with a clean slate. ( Mind games.)  So my updated numbers are  265.25 yards added and 155.75 yards used for a final total of 109.5 yards added.  I feel like I'm making a confession! 

Pillowcases

I've made a little progress on my to do list:  three pillowcases.  One of these is a gift, two of them are to wrap other gifts.  This one is for my friend's mom.  I've made her a Peanuts pillowcase almost every Christmas for the last 5 years.  She will be going into assisted living right after Christmas, and I hope this will brighten up her room and give her something to talk about with the other residents she meets.

The Grinch pillowcases will be used to wrap next year's gifts.  I wasn't sure they would be finished in time, so I've already wrapped all my gifts for this year.

Stash Report:
Used this week: 3.5 yards
Used year to date:155.75 yards
Added this week:  7.5 yards (backing, pillowcase fabric, store challenge)
Added year to date: 255.25 yards
Net Added: 99.5 yards

On Ringo Lake, Clue 4

I just finished clue 4 of Bonnie Hunter's On Ringo Lake mystery quilt.

 I'm so glad to get this clue finished today as I have a lot of other things to do this week.  I have to make cookies for tomorrow night's neighborhood cookie exchange, work tomorrow, pick up our son from college, sew one more pillowcase, go to a doctor's apt, lunch with a friend  and grocery shop.  Every time I start making a list, I think of something else that has to be done before Christmas. Anybody else overwhelmed?

Linking up:  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2017/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-4.html#more

Christmas Wraps

Every year we  go to our friends" house for Christmas Eve dinner with her family, and give their young adult daughters something small for Christmas.  I try to be creative with the wrapping of these little gifts, and over the years, they have received all kinds of small pouches, ornaments, and purses with their gifts inside.  This year I made simple zipper pouches:

I tried to make them Christmasy without screaming Christmas, so they can use them for something else year round if they like.  If they want recycle them to wrap a friend's gift, that's ok too.

I also made my first boxy zipper bag.  I was going to make 2 of them for the girls, but this one turned out bigger than I wanted it to be.  It also is floppier than I like.  I used fusible fleece inside, but I should have probably used a heavier interfacing or done a lot of quilting to make the bag stiffer.

I am not sure what I"m going to do with this one yet.  Maybe save it for next year?

Linking up:  http://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2017/12/bags-and-more-bags.html


Stash Report:
Used this week: 2.375 yards (Sew Together Bag and wrapping)
Used year to date:152.25 yards
Added this week:  14.5 (Xmas, pillowcases, backing, charms)
Added year to date: 247.75 yards
Net Added: 95.5 yards

On Ringo Lake, Clue 3 and Letting Quilts Go

I finished the third On Ringo Lake clue today.   This was a big clue!  I'm very happy with the variety of scraps I have in these units.

These units feel like they belong in a border to me, something like in this quilt.

I have recently let go a few more quilts.  Stars Around the Corner and 2 coordinating pillow cases went to my cousin, Sarah.  She lives in the house my mom grew up in, and she is the one who finds us places to stay when we visit.  She also does a lot of the cooking for my family when we visit too.  She deserves a quilt!  

I gave my Rolling Waves quilt to my sister Julie at Thanksgiving.  She got this quilt because no one in her family had gotten a quilt from me yet.  It is one of my favorites!

My sister Martha got En Provence this weekend.  She lives in the same city as my parents and helps them out a lot.  Her latest good deed was to take my mom, who is 79 years old, car shopping.  She deserves more than a quilt for this!

Linking up:  http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2017/12/mystery-monday-link-up-part-3.html

Halloween Sew Together Bag

We are having a secret Santa exchange at work.  I drew Kate's name, and I made her a Sew Together Bag.  Kate loves Halloween, so I used Halloween fabric.

If I were making this again, I would have changed the way the pumpkins are oriented, but overall, I'm pleased with this bag.  I took my time and tried to do my best sewing.  Kate was in the Sew Together bag class that I took earlier this year, so I know she will appreciate all the time I spent making this for her.

I sewed the binding by hand to make it as neat as I could.  If it were for me, I probably would have machine sewn it.  

My zippers went in well, but I just saw a tutorial I may use next time that shows how to make fabric zipper stops.

I had enough time to embroider a label for the inside.    I filled the bag with Christmas chocolates and wrapped it in green Stonehenge fabric, a favorite of Kate. 

 This was such a fun gift to make, and I can't wait to give it to her at our reveal party!

Linking up: http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2017/12/tea-pouches.html

Urban Nine Patch Bound!

I've had the binding sewn onto this quilt for about 3 weeks now, but I finally got it finished today.  I machine bound this one since it will be going to a college student, and I expect it will get some hard use.    Here is my Urban Nine Patch:

To be honest, this is not my favorite quilt.  I like the Urban Nine patch  pattern, but not so much the colors I used.  I love the quilting on this one, though!  Debbie Cooper did the longarming.  She sent me 10 images of my quilt with different pantograph patterns superimposed on the quilt.  I would probably not have chosen this pantograph otherwise, but I'm very glad she suggested it!  It may be one of my all time favorite pantographs!  

One other thing I really like about this quilt is the backing.  This is Tula Pink's Free Fall.  I never would have chosen this fabric if I hadn't seen my friend Ellen's quilt, which used this fabric in the purple colorway.  I love the scale of this print!  Giant polka dots interspersed with birds.  It is beautiful in person.  If you see just a little image online, and don't know the scale of the print, it really makes no impact.  I liked it so much I bought another piece in another color for a different quilt.  And my longarmer bought some too.  

Stash Report:
Used this week: 5.75 yards (Urban 9 Patch backing and borders)
Used year to date:149.875 yards
Added this week:  4.75 yards (store challenge, black for OBW borders, sew together bag)
Added year to date: 233.25 yards
Net Added: 83.375 yards

Linking up:  http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2017/12/gingham-quilt-complete.html