STASH REPORT - Week 31, 2014 (8/2/14)

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

Used year to Date: 118.01 yards
Added Year to Date: 50.64 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2014: 67.37 yards

 

Oh, what a week this has been!  But to get the bad news out of the way first--no stash reduction.  Then all the good & fun news...

 

We got all the furniture back in place after the carpet cleaning.  I now have 5 apple crisps in the freezer (my son & family brought me apples from WA), and I have the last picking of the rhubarb washed and in the refrigerator--ready to be cut up for freezing and baking.  The laundry is done, and the cherries are picked.  The raspberries are a day-by-day thing.

 

I spent my week at a Linda Taylor longarm retreat/workshop--an excellent experience.  Gammill provided Vision II machines and we had 2 heads per table.  There were 12 of us in class from various states--New York, West Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Idaho, etc.--with varying levels of experience, different machines at home, but all eager to learn.  Rick provided a tension workshop on Monday evening, and most of the spouses attended.  Then we had 3 packed days of hands-on learning.  It was interesting to see the improvement we all exhibited; I think I'm ready to tackle those tubs of pieced tops now!!  I shared my table with a gentleman the first day, and then with a lovely lady named Aileen the next two days.  She is a lovely, gentle lady, and it was such a joy to work beside her!  It was exhausting, but I'm so glad I had the opportunity to attend.  I've never done a hands-on class at HMQS (Salt Lake quilting show), but I could do that now.  I don't do art quilts and I'm pretty structured in my quilting (I'm a Virgo!)--but I think I will spread my wings and "fly" every now and then!

 

There is a nip in the air already, and the hummingbirds are acting like their feeding frenzy is just around the corner.  I have lots of daisies still blooming along the back property line, some hollyhocks and Tiger lilies leading their beauty to the yard--what a lovely time of the year. 

STASH REPORT - Week 28-30, 2014 (7/26/14)

Used this Period: 1 yards
Added this Period: 4.45 yards

Used year to Date: 118.01 yards
Added Year to Date: 50.64 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2014: 67.37 yards  

 

It has been a busy 3 weeks on No-Name Mountain!  We went on a dinner float on the river, a BBQ on the mountain, our son and family visited, and various other things.  We had our downstairs carpet cleaned after our son's dog had a bad night while they were in Yellowstone--so all the furniture had to be moved out and there was no access to my quilting studio.  I did get a large piece of flannel made into a pillowcase before all this happened--so the flannel tub is empty!  I bought some flannel for backings & borders on lap-quilt size panels.  (But it didn't go into the empty tub.)  This coming week I will be in a longarm class, so there won't be any stash reduction at this house.  Oh, and my carpet looks great!

STASH REPORT - Week 27, 2014 (7/5/14)

Used this Period: 2.8 yards
Added this Period: 0 yards

Used year to Date: 117.01 yards
Added Year to Date: 46.19 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2014: 70.82 yards  

 

Another small step forward.  My usage this week was:  1) .75 yard for machine embroidered shoes, 2) 2.05 yards for a Christmas panel made into a lap quilt.  I finally finished embroidering all the Sally King shoe designs I have purchased; now I have embroidered blocks for 3 quilts.  One is embroidered on a pink background (12 blocks), one on an aqua background (18 blocks), and one on a green background (13 blocks--one for the backing).  The embroidered blocks are 8.5 inches.  I will have to decide on a setting for each--in the past I've used a log cabin setting, a sawtooth star setting, etc. to incorporate embroidered blocks.  I'm very pleased with them--these shoes have such detail!--and even more pleased to take the embroidery arm off my machine for awhile!  

 

While I was doing the last shoe design, I looked in my basket of quilt panels--why did I listen to that siren song calling "buy me" when I saw them on sale after Christmas' past?  I pulled four flannel panels that I decided needed to be finished soon.  Then I got out that container of leftover flannel pieces and pieced together 4 borders around one panel--and added another lap quilt to the LongarmUFO stack!  I will need to purchase flannel for backings and borders for these 4 when we go to the big city.  Remind me at Christmas--DON'T buy any more Christmas panels until all panels in the basket have become quilts!!  It doesn't matter how cute they are!  I used Bonnie Hunter's system of cutting the remaining flannel scraps into various sized blocks for future use.  I have one piece that is large enough to become a pillowcase; I hope to get it finished this week.

 

 

STASH REPORT - Week 25-26, 2014 (6/28/14)

Used this Period: 2 yards
Added this Period: 0 yards

Used year to Date: 114.21 yards
Added Year to Date: 46.19 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2014: 68.02 yards 

 

Finally my stash decreased--not much, but every bit counts!  I have been machine embroidering the Sally King shoes and that accounts for the yardage used.  I have 12 blocks (8-inch trimmed) done for one quilt and 18 blocks (8.5-inch trimmed) for another quilt.  I have 1 block done for a third quilt but won't count that until I finish the other 11 blocks.  DH adjusted my longarm so it is ready for another top, but I want to finish this third set of blocks first so I can take the embroidery unit off my sewing machine.  

 

We've had a lot of wet, cool weather in the past week or two--the forest floor is loving it, as are my flowers.  The lake is up to 72% capacity, and we can see the Wyoming end from the deck.  I wish they wouldn't take so much water out each summer; supposedly, they are trying to get rid of the rainbow trout and restore it to browns and cutthroat, which are native to it.  Last summer they took it down below 6% capacity; you could drive along the old highway and see the old foundations, which are normally covered.  I don't believe they should fluctuate the level so drastically.  But, I guess no one has asked me what I think!

STASH REPORT - Week 24, 2014 (6/14/14)

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

Used year to Date: 112.21 yards
Added Year to Date: 46.19 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2014: 66.02 yards

 

Nothing in, nothing out--nothing changed!  What did I do to make the week pass so quickly (besides being a week older?!)--visited a friend who had surgery, had dinner for a friend whose husband was out of town, packed troop boxes with the Auxiliary and helped weed the Memorial Garden, went to the big city (140 miles round trip), had guests for a couple of days, etc.  The only thing I accomplished in the sewing room was to get one more "shoe" machine embroidered--and what a beauty it is!  It's a Halloween shoe with a pumpkin on the heel portion and intricate little basket/watering can/pail off the toe of the shoe.  I agree with whomever said blogs are better with pictures; maybe I can get a picture up next week.  In the meantime, here's to stash-busting.

STASH REPORT - Week 23, 2014 (6/7/14)

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

Used year to Date: 112.21 yards
Added Year to Date: 46.19 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2014: 66.02 yards

 

A finish--in the Longarm UFO stack!  I used a CircleLord Baptist fan board since this scrappy bowtie quilt seems traditional and old-fashioned.  I bought the boards from a lady who was selling her longarm supplies a few years ago, but I had never used the Baptist fan boards.  One of my goals is to keep doing new things on the longarm--so this met that goal.  I was happy with the way it turned out; now it's time to hand-sew the binding down on the back of the quilt--not looking forward to that because the quilt is 92x95.  I have another backing loaded and hope to start on the next quilt tomorrow.   UPDATE:  I started quilting on a lap-size stack 'n whack kaleidescope; I have one more row to stabilize before starting on the custom part.

 

I machine embroidered another of the Sally King (BFC website) shoes--that's 7 done and 9 to go for my 16 block quilt.  They are sooooooo detailed and creative!  UPDATE:  I now have 9 shoes embroidered--my favorite is the one I did yesterday as it is so feminine and beautiful.  The colors blend so well--pinks and peaches, my favorite colors!

 

In my "spare" time I picked the rhubarb and made a pie.  It is so beautiful outside--sunshine, green grass, blooming flowers.  And those little black and white critters are out and about.  One of our friends called one night and wanted DH to come and get rid of the skunk that was under her deck (her husband is out of town).  They have some lumber and other materials under the deck, so it was difficult to dislodge Mr. Skunk--and he went down the hill pretty fast when he lost the battle to stay hidden from view.  I'm sure he will be back and we will get another call. 

 

NOTE:  I'm doing "updates" since I start the blog early in the week and finish it before posting.  I didn't get the binding done on the scrappy bowtie quilt--it's still waiting on the stair railing!

STASH REPORT - Week 22, 2014 (5/31/14)

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

Used year to Date: 112.21 yards
Added Year to Date: 46.19 yards 

Net Stash Decrease for 2014: 66.02 yards

 

Nothing in, nothing out--but lots of time in the studio!  I quilted a lap-sized Christmas throw from a panel, using a clam shell board.  The flannel is luscious--feels so soft and comforting.  I used leftovers from another quilt for the borders and the binding--the inside border had to be pieced.  Since I was already 19 quilts behind on my goal of quilting 5 quilts a month, I loaded another top on the longarm--and didn't have a king-sized batting that was needed so that got put on hold.  Darn--no excuse not to finish cleaning the house!  I just have a few things left to do downstairs.  I got a king bat on Thursday (no quilting supplies in our little hamlet), but have not started the quilting yet.  Since it's a new month, I'm now 24 quilts behind on my Longarm UFO goals!

But, in the meantime, I started on a machine embroidery project for another quilt.  Have you seen Sally King's shoes for machine embroidery?  They are very detailed and so creative (http://www.bfc-creations.com/Designs/000menus/SallyKing.shtml).  They remind me of the shoes in the movie "P.S. I love you."  Where were those kinds of shoes when I was young (and foolish?!) and wearing 3-inch heels?!  Anyway, I have 5 blocks embroidered and am in love again.  If you have time, go look at these shoes on the BFC site.  I try to get one done each day.

This is such a pretty time of year here.  My daffodils and tulips are blooming, and the columbine aren't far behind.  I need to get rhubarb picked and put up--and my garlic chives are already popping blooms on top--everything is early this year.  I did get one flower bed de-grassed (is that a word?!) and need to spend some time in the yard--and in the studio!!