GET IT DONE 2013 - MARCH

GET IT DONE 2013 - MARCH Goals

DONE     1)  Design/piece T-Shirt quilt for my grand-niece (UFO).  How did I get talked into doing this?!  My niece and grand-niece said "please" and that was it!  I've machine quilted 1 T-Shirt quilt for a friend's granddaughter and decided it was not my favorite thing to do--and it was put together.  I believe a few of the t-shirts have been backed but that's all.

2)  Finish Red Basket Xmas quilt (UFO).  I did work on this--and am loving the way it is looking.  I am designing around the center motif, and deciding what to do as I go--and then hit the scourge of quilting from stash.  I don't have enough of one of the fabrics to finish!  I guess I could have stopped with the quilt being 70 inches square, but wanted to put another border on it.  A friend purchased 1.5 yards for me (thank goodness it is one of Hobby Lobby's staple fabrics--but it wasn't available on line), and she will bring it up to me in about a week.  Sooooo, I will finish it in March.

DONE     3)  Design/piece Embroidered Undercover Kids quilt (UFO). 

4)   Machine quilt/bind 4 quilts from my LA-UFO stack.  I only got one quilt done :-( so will add these to my March goals, too.  I didn't get the QOV bound yet--will get that done in the next couple of days.



GET IT DONE 2013 - FEBRUARY Goals

1 DONE     1)  Machine quilt 4 quilts from my LA-UFO stack.  One quilt is partially finished; it's on zippers, so I just need to put it back on the longarm and start stitching again.  Two will be chosen randomly from my stack; and one will be the QOV I didn't get quilted in January.

NOT DONE     2)  Design & piece Red Basket Xmas quilt (UFO).  My quilting friend and I usually make one quilt a year for which we use the same pattern.  They turn out so differently--color, fabric, embellishments, settings--it is so much fun to compare when they are finished.  Anyway, Sandi will probably finish hers soon--and I haven't gotten beyond the center motif (which has been done for over a year!).     

NOT DONE     3)  Finish Embroidered Undercover Kids quilt (UFO).  I have the 12 blocks machine embroidered, but will need to make the blocks larger as they are about 6-inch squares.  I'm thinking of using a flying geese setting around each embroidered piece.

DONE     4) Finish piecing the top of the blue/lavender Pineapple quilt started in January (UFO)

ADDED:
DONE     5) 10 QOV blocks for Alycia's Block Drive

DONE     6) Finish piecing top/backing for black/yellow Pineapple quilt started in January (UFO)

DONE     7) Make 2 pillowcases, using the sausage or hot dog method.

STASH REPORT - Week 8, 2013

Used this Week: 0 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards

Used year to Date:  50.42 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2013: 50.42 yards

 

Well, nothing to show for week 8!  We took a road trip during the early part of the week--well, two actually, one close and one far.  I must be getting cranky in my "advanced years" because I don't enjoy flying (when did those seats get moved so close together?!) and I don't enjoy driving long distances!  But we drove across the state, and then home--had some white-out conditions going down but beat the storm coming back.  Yesterday we watched the huge flakes of white stuff descending and were glad to be inside, being warmed by a nice fire--and at home!

 

I did sew--and did use fabric and reduce the stash--but can't count it yet as the quilt top isn't finished.  I again ran into the limitations of sewing from stash--not enough fabric to finish!  Fortunately, the fabric was from Hobby Lobby and is one of their "staples," so I called a friend and she went to her Hobby Lobby and purchased what I will need to finish the quilt top.  Unfortunately, she and her husband don't like the amounts of snow we get, so she will bring it up when they come up to open their mountain home for the summer!  So, I will put that top aside, and work on something else!  I do like the way the quilt top is turning out--I only had the appliqued center motif done so I am working from the center out and deciding what I want to do as I piece.  After the first row of HSTs, I knew I wanted the simplicity of just continuing that pattern--can't wait to get it finished!

 

Perhaps today I can get down to my sewing room and put it in order before starting on another February goal--February is nearly over and I have a lot of goals that haven't been completed!

 

STASH REPORT - Week 7, 2013

Used this Week: 15 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards

Used year to Date:  50.42 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2013: 50.42 yards

 

Yea--I hit the 50-yard mark!  I finished the black/yellow pineapple quilt and made the backing.  Then, just because I wanted to have a net decrease of 50 yards, I made 2 pillowcases.  If you remember my "watercolor" pineapple quilt, you will recall that the pineapple pattern isn't really distinctive because the fabrics blend too much.  That was why I started the black/yellow one--and made a 2-color instead of a 3-color quilt.  Anyway, I had just enough yellow to make a 3X3 setting.  If you look closely at the 2d picture, you will see that I added a blue piping between the 2 black fabric borders--it's sort of hard to see at a distance.  Anyway, because I didn't have enough yellow to insert a yellow border, I decided to pull out the piping foot for my machine and make some piping.  Once I figured out how to do it, it was really simple--and I love the touch on the quilt!  There's just a bit of blue and yellow/gold in the black fabric.  The pillowcases were made with a Mardi Gras fabric--it was $2/yard on sale!

So--now on to the rest of my February goals--longarming and the red Xmas basket quilt (UFO).  Guess that means I'll finally have to decide on a setting and/or blocks to put around that center motif!!

Procrastinating

Well, I'm procrastinating!  I'll soon go downstairs and work on my black/yellow pineapple quilt.  Next step will be to sew the triangles in the corners of all the blocks, then put the blocks together.  And then comes borders, backing, and binding.  I'm hoping for a finish by tomorrow or Wednesday.  I was thinking as I lay in bed last night about my stash--I've completed a lot of quilts in the last year or so--and my stash doesn't seem to be dwindling!  Do you suppose there are reproductive gremlins hiding in the fabric cabinet?!  Or is it just that I could never resist a bargain (most of my fabric was purchased when on sale for $3/yd. or less)--and thought I would live forever?!  Oh, well, I must be making some progress even if I can't tell yet.

It's a beautiful sunny day here, temps in the low single digits, and a good day to sew!

STASH REPORT - Week 6, 2013

Used this Week: 1.25 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards

Used year to Date:  35.42 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2013: 35.42 yards

 

It was a slow week for busting stash!  However, I did finish 10 blocks to send to Alycia's Block Drive.  Do you remember DeeDee's stash report last week?  She showed a photo of 26 blocks that she made for Alycia's Block Drive--and I thought "I should do that!"  So, I made 10--it was so easy and will be so fruitful.  The hardest part was finding red/white/blue fabric.  So, thank you, DeeDee, for the nudge--and thank you, Alycia, for coordinating so many QOVs!  I'll get them in the mail this week.

I resumed working on my second pineapple top (black & yellow)--I'm going to cut the size to a 3X3 setting--and hope I'll have enough yellow fabric.  (I think I will have just enough.)  And as soon as it is done, I'll have to work on my red Xmas basket quilt!

 

Our mountain goats are down near the highway again--they are so pretty and fun to watch.  And our resident deer herd come to visit several times each day and night.  They have found the bird seed that has been knocked to the ground below the feeders.  Usually there are 5 or 6--and yes, Smokey, our Lhasa, hears them and wants to go out to protect "his" yard from the invaders.  They have gotten over the shock of seeing the furball streaking out to find them--now, they just stand very still or walk down the ravine a short ways and watch him!  He's on an electronic collar and won't go much beyond the perimeter of the yard.

Have a good week!

STASH REPORT - Week 5, 2013

Used this Week: 12.5 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards

Used year to Date:  34.17 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2013: 34.17 yards

 

More stash busted!!  I finished the lavender/blue Pineapple quilt--and made the backing so the numbers are good.  I had to improvise a bit on the original plan since I was piecing strictly from stash, but I think it turned out OK.  (I used every bit of 2 of the 3 fabrics--and had to piece one corner triangle.)  Sort of looks like a watercolor picture.  The second pineapple quilt (yellow/black) is on hold as I'm not sure I have enough yellow.  I'll take another look at it this coming week to see if I can make it 3x3 instead of 4x4 and have enough yellow to finish it. 

I was correct--had the wrong fabrics for the Pineapple!  There is not enough contrast between the green/lavender/blue fabric and the lavender & blue fabrics.  It makes it look more like a watercolor.  Not sure how I will quilt it to make each stand out--but since the LA-UFO list is so long, I have lots of time to think about it!!  Without going outside (brrrr!) and hanging the quilts over the deck or porch railings, it is hard to get a good picture.  When DH was taking pictures this morning, he said "I guess I need to make something so we can get better pictures."  :-)

Then here is a picture of the small pew bench my husband made for me.  He was given some pews from our church--they had been replaced when the church was rebuilt to enlarge it.  He cut the 12- & 14-foot pews down and made this small one.  (He made another one and donated it for the JCCW bazaar--you should have seen the silent auction line for adding bids, especially in the last 30 minutes!)  My bench is just the right size for our foyer, and makes a wonderful place to sit and put on boots, etc.

Hope everyone has had a good stash-busting week--or at least, a good week!