FABRIC STASH - WEEK 38, 2016 (9/18/16)

Used this Period: 0 yards 
Added this Period: 0 yards

Used year to Date:  171.78 yards
Added Year to Date:  16.58 yards

Net Stash Decrease for 2016:   155.2 yards

 

Nothing to count this week.  We went to Yellowstone  National Park for a couple of days and drove for the dealership one day.  Yellowstone was nice--but very crowded!  Old Faithful erupted shortly after we got there--for over 4 minutes and very, very high.  We left by way of the west entrance and the mountains were ablaze with color; the maples and aspen were gorgeous.  We will be giving blood in the near big city on Monday and taking a road trip to Utah on Tuesday.  I hope I can at least get a few more blocks sewn during the latter part of the week.

I fell in love with a new Ram Rebel--what a pickup!  How I wish our lot were 12 feet wider.  Can you believe that the top-stitching on the leather dash was done in red and silver?  Just what a quilter needs!  My heart said "yes" and my head said "no."

Miss Petunia has been paying regular visits during the wee hours of the night.  The neighbor down the way was outside giving his labs a scrubbing yesterday--he said they had been skunked 5 times this summer!

FABRIC STASH - WEEK 35-37, 2016 (9/4-11/16)

Used this Period: 0 yards 
Added this Period: 5 yards

Used year to Date:  171.78 yards
Added Year to Date:  16.58 yards

Net Stash Decrease for 2016:   155.2 yards

 

Not much sewing going on at this house!  We took a quick trip out to Seattle to see our son and family--and then it takes some time to get rested up again.  It was a good trip and was fun to slip into their family routine for a few days.  The granddaughters have started school and are involved in soccer practice and gymnastics--always fun to watch.  The grandson is a flurry of activity.

 

I was at the near big city to buy coordinating fabric for the next quilt--well, for the next 2 quilts.  I have 4 quilts spinning around in my head, with fabric waiting to be cut.  I've made so many quilts in the past few years that I'm going through a burn-out period.  I looked through one tub of fabric (large yardage) and every piece in there was purchased for $2/yd. or less--bought at Hobby Lobby in our previous home town.  They had such good sales and very pretty fabric.  Guess I have my work cut out (well, not quite yet!) for me!  

 

Twice this week I've spent time in my quilting room--ironing DH's shirts!!  Finally, they are all ironed and upstairs in his closet--whew!  Why do I put that task off?  Anyway, I found a picture of a quilt that I had saved on my computer and for which I had set aside some Daisy Kingdom fabric--and I got started on it yesterday.  I'm excited!  I have 3 blocks made and really like it.  Guess the coordinating fabric I purchased will have to wait a few weeks until I get this one done.  Since we are spending a couple of days in Yellowstone this week, I won't get much done on the quilt that I have started.

 

We've been having a little excitement with wild life in the past month.  A cinnamon bear decided it liked the neighborhood.  We have a "thicket" (willows, bushes, trees) between our property and the neighbor's cabin; we left the trees that were there and have added some for color and variety--it gives us both some privacy.  When I got home after being an election judge in August, I let our Lhasa out and heard a lot of thrashing around in the thicket.  I walked down near it, trying to see into the shadows it creates, yelling "Get out of here,"etc.  Smokey, the dog, came running back up onto the porch and I followed him as I was getting really weird vibes and thinking it was really dumb to be walking down there when I didn't know what was in the thicket.  However, I wasn't too smart because I grabbed the flashlight (bear spray was sitting right beside the flashlight just inside the door!) and went out to see what was making the racket.  The trashing was still going on--and I was still yelling at whatever--and then I thought "This is really dumb--DH isn't home and it could be anything (thinking bear, mountain lion, wolf!) in the shadows."  I turned around and scurried for the safety of the house, leaving whatever was making the noise there.  I do know it wasn't a deer--nor was it a small animal.  Four days later a cinnamon bear got into a neighbor's house (2d house down from us) and was rummaging through their garbage can (the door must have been ajar as our neighbor was getting ready to take the grandchildren fishing)--it left the house by itself.  Game & Fish set up 2 cages and the cinnamon bear was caught in one of them that night.  DH said there was bear scat on the paths the deer make as they come to "trim" our trees and bushes.

 

And, of course, where you have deer, you have predators looking for lunch.  A mountain lion was seen sunning itself on a driveway up the hill from us this week.  That's scary--both for Smokey and for us!  This morning DH found scat near the edge of the grass by the cherry trees and potato patch.  It looks to me (and I'm no expert!) like bear scat though it doesn't have a lot of seeds and berries mixed in.  We have three fawns that are roaming the neighborhood with their mother--I hope they stay safe.  There are also a 2-point and a 4-point buck hanging out.  We haven't seen Petunia, the skunk, in the last few days although she showed up on the game camera recently.  And the racoon strolled through the yard, too.  This is more wildlife than I'm willing to share my yard with!!  

 

It's feeling a lot like fall here!  We got a bit of rain last night--could use a lot more to put out all those forest fires.  The maples are turning in the canyon and the forest floor is now browns and golds--winter will be here soon.

FABRIC STASH - WEEK 30-34, 2016 (7/31-8/28/16)

Used this Period: 14.39 yards 
Added this Period: 0 yards

Used year to Date:  171.78 yards
Added Year to Date:  11.58 yards

Net Stash Decrease for 2016:   160.2 yards

 

Finally!  This quilt has been draped over the longarm for over a month, about half done.  I love the print fabric--it's made in England and is such a delicate print--was languishing in my stash.  I hoped to find some light apricot fabric to coordinate with the print, but had to settle for a taupe instead.  I will quilt it with a gold metallic to bring out the metallic in the print.