Stash Report, Smart Phone Quilt

I got another  three blocks done this week for my Smart Phone Quilt, so now I have a choice:  put together a 4 x 4 quilt, or make 4 more blocks and make a quilt I'm happier with.  If I finish this quilt now, it will just go into the closet with about 15 others that need quilting.  I have no need for this quilt myself and no recipient in mind for it.  So I think I'll just put it away again until I feel like finishing it.

The downside of putting this aside for a while is that the look of the apps changes often.  This quilt may be obsolete before it is ever finished!

Used this week: 0
Used year to date: 79.375 yards
Added this week: 0.25 (green for Smart Phone Quilt)
Added year to date:  86.875yards
Net  Added:  7.5 yards

Linking up:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2016/11/20/stash-report-november-20-2016/

http://www.joscountryjunction.com/ufo-progress-8/

Smart Phone Quilt

I pulled out my Smart Phone quilt blocks this week to see how many more I needed to make.  I counted them twice, and I had 11 which meant I only needed to make one more.  Then I could make a small 3 X 4 block quilt, and it would be done, if smaller than the one I originally intended to make.  So I spent about 6 hours putting Google Maps together.  It was a challenge, especially the 'g'.

Right before I finished it, I put the 11 completed blocks on my design wall, and realized there weren't 11, there were 12 blocks already done.  Which means that now I have 13 blocks done.  Change of plans!  Now I need 3 more to make a 4 X 4 block quilt.  But I really don't want a square quilt, and a 3 X 5 quilt would be too narrow to look right, so I think I'm going to make a 4 X 5 block quilt.  UGH!  If this keeps up, I'll have the 4 X 6 block I originally intended.

Linking up:  http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2016/11/brushstrokes-quilt-complete.html

http://www.joscountryjunction.com/ufo-progress-7/

Stash Report, Harvest Home

I finally finished the cross stitching for Harvest Home.  I've had the kit since September, and the finishing class is the 19th of this month.  For some reason, the stitching seemed to take forever. I was working on it regularly at first but found myself playing Words with Friends in the evenings instead of stitching.  Yesterday I forced myself to sit down and stitch during the day.  Two hours of dedicated stitching time made a huge difference!

Used this week: 1.0  yards (binding 2 quilts)
Used year to date: 79.375 yards
Added this week: 2.5 yards (backing Mod Bear Paw)
Added year to date:  86.625 yards
Net  Added:  7.25 yards

Linking up:  http://www.supermomnocape.com/vintage-embroidery-monday-stitchery-link-party-83/

October/November Goals

In October, I wanted to

1. Bind Scrappy Mountains Majesty.  DONE!

2. Sew strips to Goose in the Puddle's backing to make it wide enough for quilting.  Not done, but I thought about it a lot.

3.  Keep up with RSC.

4.  Keep up with Mod Bear Paw.  The top is done.

5.  Get the rest of  Talkin' Turkey blocks done.  Figure out the rest of the parts.  Decide if I have enough cut. 

I got the rest of the Talkin' Turkey blocks done, but I did not figure out what else needs to be done on this quit or what else I need to cut.

6.  Bind Emily's Christmas quilt,   DONE!                                                                                               

In November I want to:

1.  Pull out Smart Phone quilt and decide how many more blocks I need.  Make a plan to finish this.

2. Sew strips to Goose in the Puddle's backing to make it wide enough for quilting

3.  Keep up with RSC.

4.  Finish Harvest Home.

5. Piece the backing and get Mod Bear Paw to the longarmer.  

I'm keeping my goals for November simple because Bonnie Hunter's Mystery comes out this month.

I

Science Fair Bound

I finished the binding on my Science Fair quilt today.  This quilt was made with a  jelly roll of Bella Solids. I was happy with the colors, but the fabric itself seemed thin, and I'm not a fan of the pinked edges.  Also, I didn't notice that there was a slub in one of the binding strips until the quilt was almost done.  I'm not going to take the binding off and redo it, because it isn't that big a deal, but I wish I'd caught it earlier.

The backing is raspberry minky.

This quilt will be a Christmas gift for my niece Emily.  I still need to make a label, but it has been washed already, and I'm very pleased to say than none of the fabrics in this quilt bled, unlike the last few quilts I made.  All 15 of my color catchers came out clean!  Why so many color catchers?  Because they are cheap, and I have had a few bad experiences.

I am counting the binding as an October finish even though I technically put the last stitch in today.  

 This is a Jaybird Quilts pattern and uses the Hex N More ruler,  The good news is that I've now used this ruler on 3 projects, which is my new goal for any specialty tool.

The first was Gravity:

The second was Daybreak:

I am a big fan of Jaybird Quilts' rulers and patterns! 

Linking up: https://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com/2016/11/lets-bee-social-149.html

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2016/11/brushstrokes-quilt-top.html

Scrappy Mountain Majesties Quilted and Bound

I  finished piecing Scrappy Mountain Majesties (a free Bonnie Hunter pattern)  in September of 2015.  I finally got it to the longarmer in a few weeks ago and got it bound yesterday.  This will be a high school graduation gift for one of my ten nephews.  I'm going to hang on to it for a couple of years.  Two nephews and a niece will graduate in 2018.  I have to plan ahead since there are so many of them!

All of the fabric on the top is from old shirts except for the red checked binding.  The backing is red flannel.

Linking up:  http://confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com/2016/11/can-i-get-whoop-whoop-survival-winners.html

http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/2016/11/finished-or-not-friday-and-tgiff-linky.html

http://www.shecanquilt.ca/2016/11/the-november-scraptastic-tuesday-link.html

Late October Flowers

I have a few flowers left in my backyard.

Only  tropical milkweed is left (the orange and swamp milkweeds are long gone).

 There are still a few flowers on the crepe myrtles,  a couple of cannas, geraniums with one or two blossoms on them, a patch of very short yellow zinnas, floppy sedum past its prime, and a host of marigolds.

These flowers are prolific in my yard.  Several years ago they started taking over my beds, and I tried to control them with Preen.  This year I let them run wild.

Lantana is an annual here, and it is still going strong by the mailbox.  This is one lantana plant.  Full sun makes all the difference.  I have some out back, but it is too shady to grow very well there.

One of my camellias is blooming now; one one of them never blooms, and the third one died in the August heat.

I chose red mums for the porch this year.  I am hoping they will last until Thanksgiving since we are hosting it again this year.

I may leave my Halloween display up until Thanksgiving too.  Two of my birds are missing.   I suspect my dog got them and buried them somewhere under the porch or in the woods, but  I haven't been able to find them anywhere.  I would like to give the dog the benefit of the doubt, but I know him too well.