Stash Update - Week 34

There was lots of quilt related activity this week and even a tiny bit of fabric used in a finish.

I finished the top for our guild challenge. The reveal is next month, so I have a couple of weeks to get it quilted and bound. I will wait to show you until it is finished. It is not really too exciting, but I did try a new technique, so that is a plus.

After putting the top together, I really wanted something with more immediate gratification, so I used Julie's  Moda Bakeshop tutorial to make this little zip pouch.   I used a mini charm pack from QuiltCon and a fat eighth from my stash for the lining.   I practiced some free motion feathers in the quilting.

It was so fun, I used some extra squares from the challenge quilt to do another one!  I used an orange peel pattern for the quilting in this one.

But, the big news is week was the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild fall retreat on Saturday!  We sewed from 9am to 8pm with short breaks for lunch and dinner. So much inspiring fun!  

I worked on some string blocks for a Quilts of Valor project, organized by Alycia at Alycia Quilts. I finished 20 and they are packed and ready to send to her on Monday!

I also worked on my Penguin and Fish blocks. I finished all the ones I originally stitched, but I purchased a few more this summer and I am going to add a couple more before I stitch them onto a quilt top. 

It was loads of fun to sew with friends and so inspiring to see what everyone was working on!  I didn't sign up for last year's one day retreat and I remember thinking that it seemed like a lot of trouble to pack up all my projects so that I could sew somewhere else for a day when I have such a great sewing space at home.   

Now I know it is totally worth it!  It requires project organization and commitment to work on what you take and that means progress on long neglected WIPs!

Used this week-  3 yards for foundation and strings in the QOV blocks and a half yard in each of the two zip pouches.   Next week I hope I can report the challenge  quilt and make a bigger dent!

Fabric added this week - 0 yards

Fabric added YTD - 75 yards

Fabric used this week -4 yards

Fabric used YTD - 64 yards

Net Stash change -+11 yards

I am linking up here, just to stay on track!

Stash Update - Week 33

Blogger tells me that it's been 76 days since I started this post, so I guess it's been that long since I finished any projects.  It feels good to have something to report today!

This week, I finished the 'Eye Spy' quilt and so I can report the 2.5 yards for the front, and 2 yards for the back and binding.  I used Carla's tutorial which adds a lot of energy to the block arrangement.

I pieced the backing from some of the leftover layer cake pieces and some remnants from JoAnn. It was wide enough to cut binding strips from what I trimmed off after I quilted it.   I makes a very scrappy effect!  I like it a lot better, now that it is finished.

I have also been  working on a guild challenge today, so I hope I have another finish before too long! 

Fabric added this week - 8.5yards

Fabric added YTD - 75 yards

Fabric used this week -4.5 yards

Fabric used YTD - 60 yards

Net Stash change -+15 yards 

I am linking up here to try to stay on track!

Stash update week 17

This week I added three yards of almost solid fabric that I bought for a 10" square swap. It is a 'rainbow' swap and my assigned colors were red and red-orange. I didn't have anything suitable in the stash so I ordered some sale fabric from Fabric.com.

And, since there is free shipping if you spend $35, I filled out the order with some Suzy Ultman dolls and some coordinates for a story book /dollhouse panel that I got last summer. The order totaled 5.5 yards.


Finishes this week:
I used 1.5 yards for the Baby Animal Blocks.

Not much progress, and still going the wrong direction. I thought I would have the Punctuation quilt done, but the embroidery took priority.

Fingers crossed that I will get some projects wrapped up this week!


Fabric added this week - 5.5 yards
Fabric added YTD - 63.58 yards
Fabric used this week -1.5 yards
Fabric used YTD - 55.68 yards
Net Stash change -+7.9 yards

Stash Update - week 13

We are home from our road trip and catching up! This post should have been done on Sunday, but better late than never!

What a great week of fabric shopping!
First, I got 5yards of the Ikea "numbers" fabric. I love it that you can find the same fabrics at Ikea months or years later sometimes, if it is a good one. I have not used this one before, but I have seen other folks use it to make great quilt backs, so I bought 5 yards. It is wider than 44", maybe 56 or 60, I think.

From Philly, I went to NYC and shopped at Purl Soho and Brooklyn General! At Purl, I got one yard of Shelburne Falls Dress Floral for a Denyse Schmidt charm swap. And, I bought a mini rainbow stack of 20 Liberty Lawn prints. A total of a yard and a quarter.

At Brooklyn General, I bought one yard of vintage cotton - off the bolt! (I thought I had a photo, bit I can't find it. I will share after I am unpacked!) They had about a half dozen vintage light weight cottons on bolts and 3 or 4 bolts of bark cloth. It was new old stock from a store on Long Island. Early 60's I would say, judging by the original marked price of 28cents a yard.

The total is 8.25 yards added. I have to say, though, there were many more yards that I was tempted to get, so I feel pretty good about it



Fabric added this week - 8.25 yards
Fabric added YTD - 40.58 yards
Fabric used this week - 0 yards
Fabric used YTD - 37.18 yards
Net Stash change - +3.4 yards

Rainbow of Liberty!

Ikea numbers classic!

Stash update week 11

Better late than never!  I thought I had posted this yesterday, but I have lost all track of time!

No finishes, and no fabric added. No official change to the stash. I did get some blocks made, but I won't count it in the report until it is quilted and bound. 

The Mister and I are on the road, but I brought two layer cakes and some strips to put with them. We will have a few days between visits with family and I may get some sewing done. Or, I may not. 

If I do make some progress on a couple of tops, then I will plan to quilt them at retreat when I get home. 

Fabric added this week - 0 yards

Fabric added YTD - 29.83 yards

Fabric used this week - 0   yards

Fabric used YTD - 37.18 yards

Net Stash change - 7.35 yards

Stash update - week 8 & 9

This is a two week report, since I was at QuiltCon last Sunday.

A lot of fabric came home with me, but I showed great restraint in purchasing!  I bought a mini charm pack of Oakshott and a bag of scraps from Lotta Jansdottir's studio.   

Lotta had a booth on the last day of the convention and had mentioned to some folks that took her class that she would be selling some scraps from her studio, so I made a point to find her as soon as the doors opened. It was kind of a pricey little bag but it does have quite a variety of fabric.  Probably a yard at most, by weight.  

This is the rest of what I brought home. I have to confess that I may have gone back to a couple of vendors more than once, but the bulk of the 14 yards (!) was some yardage from a vendor booth  used as table cloth and skirting that was left behind after they tore down. Alissa Carlton said, "hey, why don't one of you volunteers take this fabric" and I was all over it!  I only 'undressed' one table, though. Another lady claimed the other one. Good thing, since I was not checking a bag for the flight home and my carry on capacity was filling up!

I can only report a tiny bit of fabric used in the last two weeks,  .07 yards. Just a ten inch square that I used for an embroidered label for Bebe Quilt Collaboration #4.  You can see the finished quilt (and the label) here.  I took the embroidery blocks for #5 with me to Texas, but really didn't have a spare minute to stitch.   The Mister and I are taking a road trip in a couple of weeks, so they will be my travel project.  I need to hand them off to Dsis at the end of April.

I had hoped to have the pastel scrappy trip that I started before I went to Texas finished. I would probably have finished it yesterday but I basted it poorly and had to pick out a bunch of quilting and do it over. I am using some puffy polyester batting for the first time and it was a little more challenging than I expected. It will be a very warm quilt and I think the loft will be appealing to a child. And, I am using what I have. 

Fabric added this week - 14yards

Fabric added YTD - 25.83 yards

Fabric used this week - .07yards

Fabric used YTD - 30.93 yards

Net Stash change - 5.1 yards

I am going to sew all day today, so I hope to be able to report significant usage next week.  And I hope to have a two more donation quilts to take to guild next week!

Stash update - week 7

This week, I am reporting the fabric I used for the coasters (1/2 yard) and the alphabet quilt which I finished last night and is not out of the dryer, yet. The panel was 24" and I used an additional 3.33 yards for the sashing, borders, back and binding.

I didn't add any fabric this week!  

Fabric added this week - 0 yards

Fabric added YTD - 11.83 yards

Fabric used this week - 4.5 yards

Fabric used YTD - 30.86 yards

Net Stash change - 19.03 yards

Next week at this time, I will be at QuiltCon and I will probably spend a bit of time in the vendor hall. I will likely buy some 'souvenir' fabric, but maybe not.  I won't have much room in my carry-on! 

Maybe I should look for a thread souvenir...

Linking here!

Stash Update 2013 - Week 5

Another week with a good trend!

I finished the orange bird quilt and used 4.5 yards for the top,  1/2 yard for the binding and 3 yards for the back.

Fabric added this week - 0 yards

Fabric added YTD - 6.5 yards

Fabric used this week - 8 yards

Fabric used YTD - 21.41 yards

Net Stash change - 14.91 yards

I am almost ready to start quilting my autograph quilt which won't use very much fabric, since it is small.  At least I will be able to report the back and binding, which will be a couple of yards, anyway.

There is a guild meeting this week, and our sponsor is the Epic and Legendary quilt shop, "Sarah's Fabric" from Lawrence, KS.  My plan allows a modest purchase at our monthly meetings to support our sponsors so I may not make any progress next week. I just hope I don't fall too far off the wagon!

Linked here to keep me on track!

Stash Update 2013 - Week 3

A couple of things got checked off the list this week!  

I finished the Madrona Road challenge quilt and I finished the hanging sleeve for my Quiltcon entry. The challenge quilt used 4.5 yards of fabric and the sleeve used .66  yards. 

Fabric added this week :0 yds

Fabric added YTD: 6.5 yds

Fabric used this week: 5.16 yds

Fabric used YTD:  5.16 yds

Net stash change YTD: +1.34 yds

I also made progress on another project. I finished this top that I made following the Craftsy 2012 Block of the Month. 

Please excuse the distorted image!  I hung it in my kitchen for the photo and the stove was in the way!

I didn't make all of the blocks exactly the same as the BOM, but I did use the same techniques.  I particularly enjoyed the paper piecing.  I have seen the Circle of Geese block (upper left) in a lot of places and thought it looked really fun.  Now that I have the paper piecing pattern for it, it may pop up in lots of my projects! 

I am thinking that I might enroll in Leah Day's Craftsy free motion quilting class. She is using this sampler quilt in the class and it would probably stretch my fmq skills more than just quilting it up with the patterns that I am already comfortable with.   I don't want to enroll in any more classes until I have completed the ones I have already signed up for, though.  As much as I would like to be able to report the fabric usage for this top (after it is complete) and put my usage in the 'black', I think I will wait. 

I decided not to make all the blocks for the 2013 BOM, though. I plan to only make the blocks that are a new technique for me.   

I haven't started the January Lucky Stars BOM yet, but I still have 10 days left in the month. 

This time next week, I might start feeling a little behind, but just now, I feel like I am on track for a very successful year of quilting!

I'm linking in at Patchwork Times Stash Updates here!

Stash Update 2013 - Week 2

Well, after two weeks of the year, I thought I would be able to post that I have used some fabric from my stash and made at least a small dent. 

That is not the case.

I am not going to count fabric as "used" until the project is completed (to help me stay on the finishing track).  Even though I have been sewing quite a bit, I have been working on a couple of quilts and have not finished either.  

And, I bought 6.5 yards of fabric at guild meeting.  

We usually have a meeting sponsor, generally a local quilt shop, who pays our meeting room rent in exchange for setting up a small shopping opportunity before the meeting and at break.  This month, the sponsor was a small shop that is (sadly) closing their doors at the end of the month.  They brought all their remaining fabric which was 40% off!  Well, I wouldn't be a good member if I didn't support our sponsor, right? Right.

So for the second week of the year:

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 0 yards
Added this Week: 6.5 yards 
Added Year to Date: 6.5 yards
Net reduction for 2013: - 6.5 yards

Next week, I am determined to make the last number a positive one!

I am linking up at Patchwork Times to help me stay on track!