Stash Report

I'm in the middle of making pillowcases for graduation gifts.  They need to be done in about a week, which gives me plenty of time.

Used This Week:  1.75                                           
Used Year to Date: 35.125 yards 
Added this week:  4.25 yards
Added year to date: 53.125 yards
 Net added: 18.00 yards

Linking up    http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/05/31/fabric-report-week-22-2015/

It is hard for me to stay inside and sew this time of year.  Almost every day I take a walk around the yard and find something else is blooming.  Yesterday I spent all afternoon weeding. 

This is swamp milkweed.  I planted it because the garden center nearby said they had had 'crop failure' of the orange butterfly weed last year.  It is taller than the orange variety, and it didn't bloom much last year.

This viburnum is a wild bush that grows between our yard and the woods.   Before I knew it was a viburnum, I tried to get rid of it.  Now that it has gotten so pretty, I'm glad I failed!  It is taller than I am.

 

This is the area I redid last year.  I pulled out the old azaleas that were burned by the cold weather and eaten by the deer.  I moved all of these plants from my backyard, and they are all doing well in this spot. Someone told me the yellow flowers are Mexican primroses.  I got them from the backyard plant sale a couple of years ago, and they seem to bloom no matter where they are. 

The coral bells  love it here.  They look much better than they ever did out back.

My sister made me a birdhouse, and I hung it last week.  No birds have moved in yet.

 

My family gave me this hanging basket for Mother's Day, and I've managed to keep it alive even though I'm pretty stingy with the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gravity: Intergalactic Blocks

Here are my latest Gravity blocks:

 

These blocks remind me of fallout shelter signs.

 

Linking up:  http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2015/05/gravity-quilt-along-block-4.html

Henrique's Quilt Bound

I spent the afternoon binding a quilt for my soon-to-be nephew.  Henrique is 4 now, and the adoption should be final sometime this year. 

 

The back is blue minky, and the quilting is a swirly pantograph.

 

 

I've decided I like to bind quilts that have minky on the back because the binding stitches disappear into the minky.  You can't even see them, so it doesn't matter if the stitching lines are a little off.  I'm pretty happy to have this quilt done early, with over a month to spare!  Now I need to get started on graduation pillowcases for my son's friends.

Linking up:  http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2015/05/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-little-shopping.html  and
http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2015/05/its-all-about-scraps.html

The End of an Era

Our  third son has played soccer since he was four years old. Last night we watched his last high school soccer game. The team was first in the district until last night. The game was a nail biter! After two 5 minute overtimes and two 5 minute golden goal sessions, the game ended with a loss in penalty kicks. 

I will miss watching his games, but most of all I will miss the other soccer parents.  Some of us have been together for 10 or 11 years on various travel teams.  We have sat through games in the blazing sun, pouring rain (soccer only stops for lightning), and occasional hail.  We've gotten to know their kids, both the ones on the team, and the younger  ones who come to watch the games.  We've endured bad coaches, injuries, and  the politics of club soccer and still managed to  remain friendly.  We've carpooled together, sometimes to practice, sometimes to games out of state.    I've spent more time with some of them than with my family.  They have seen my son at his best.  Now it is time for the kids to move on, and I'm ready for that.  But I will miss my soccer friends.

Stash Report, POD blocks

It's kind of silly posting that I used 0.5 yard of fabric this week because I just now bought another 0.5 yard for binding on my new nephew's quilt.   That doesn't count as fabric added yet because it wont arrive until next week, so next report, I'll be back up to 16 yards added.


Used This Week:  0.5                                            
Used Year to Date: 33.375 yards 
Added this week:  0 yards
Added year to date: 48.875 yards
 Net added: 15.5 yards

Here are my latest Project of Doom blocks:

 

Books with Hermione's jar of blue flames

 

 

Howler on top of books

 

 

 

Row of Books

 

Linking up:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/05/24/fabric-report-week-21-2015/

Binding Dandara's Quilt

It rained all day today, so I sewed.  It took me most of the afternoon to get the binding on Dandara's quilt.  Dandara is the eight-year-old girl that my brother and his partner are adopting.

It seems like I'm slower than most people at putting on binding.

 

The back of this quilt is pink minky.   It feels so good!  I wish minky came in 108 inch widths, so I could use it on bed sized quilts.  I don't like the idea of piecing it and having a thick seam on the back. 

 

Linking up:  http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2015/05/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-two-finishes.html

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2015/05/catching-up-on-bee-blocks.html

Gypsy Wife Burnout

I worked on Gypsy Wife all last week. I have 3 sections left to go, and like to think the hard part is done.  I will have to do something with the right  bottom corner where I ran out of fabric.  I cut strips selvage to selvage and didn't waste a lot, but some of my strips had less than 40 inches of usable fabric when the selvages were cut off.  With a quilt this busy, I'm not too worried about substituting another fabric.  I'm at the point where I just want this done!

 

Linking up:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2015/05/18/design-wall-may-18-2015/

http://www.freshlypieced.com/2015/05/wip-wednesday-i-need-nap.html

http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.ca/2015/05/lets-bee-social-73.html