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.
Used this Period: 0 yards
Added this Period: 4 yards
Used year to Date: 157.39 yards
Added Year to Date: 11.58 yards
Net Stash Decrease for 2016: 145.81 yards
Where has the time gone?! It doesn't seem possible that it is almost August! Our little town had Mountain Man Days June 24-26. It is a fun time--we see a lot of people and enjoy looking at the wares. I helped at the Auxiliary tent for awhile and listened to a presentation on raptors which was very good and quite informative. I won several items through the drawing (you can buy raffle tickets for items donated by various businesses)--a leather Western purse, an eagle picture, a haircut and pedicure, a hummingbird feeder, and some gun cleaning items from the Fly Shop. We had a going away reception for our two priests on June 25; I helped make 200 sliders before Mass--our JCCW is blessed to have wonderful people who put together excellent receptions with a touch of elegance. DH's sister and brother-in-law arrived on June 26 and stayed until June 30. DS and family arrived on June 27 and stayed until July 3. There were so many things to do and so many conversations to have--the time went quickly. The grandchildren are growing rapidly. And the house was very quiet after everyone left! I spent the next couple of days resting and catching up on sleep--not as young as I used to be. Then we had receptions for our new priests for a couple of weekends. And we've worked on cutting/splitting/stacking wood for the winter. I still have a bit to stack, but today (July 23) DH brought the remainder of the split wood to where it is being stacked. I will finish stacking it on Monday and that fall task will be done until the next 3 cords are delivered.
I haven't been down in my quilting studio since my last blog post--oh, except to iron shirts for DH. I still have 14 shirts to iron--maybe this week. We have forest fires that are about 25-30 miles from here--it is so dry. So now we are wondering what we would try to grab if we had one here and were told to evacuate. I told DH that I would want to take the immigrant trunk that was used by my great-aunt's parents when they came to the United States from Austria--that meant we needed to move it upstairs so it would be more accessible. It's hard to think of what you would try to grab if you had only 30 minutes to evacuate. We pray we never have to make those decisions, but we live in an old forest.
The birds ate our sweet cherries--they weren't quite ripe but had enough color to attract the birds. The serviceberries are ready to be picked, and the raspberries are nearly ready. Time isn't going to slow down! DH is going to try to grow morel mushrooms and has been preparing a plot. We planted more trees this year, and they are doing well.
I pulled a couple of large yardages from my fabric stash--both were purchased several years ago at the Hobby Lobby in the middle part of the State (at $2/yd. on clearance!). I purchased a light brown cotton to go with one of the pieces and hope to start cutting a Hunter's Star quilt this week. I'm excited to get started on another quilt.
And that's what has been happening on No Name Mountain during the last month!
Used this Period: 27.11 yards
Added this Period: 1.33 yards
Used year to Date: 157.39 yards
Added Year to Date: 7.58 yards
Net Stash Decrease for 2016: 149.81 yards
I raided the blues again for a Lady of the Lake quilt top, which measures 63x73.
Then I spent the next month working on a Double Irish Chain with embroidered blocks--and again used the avocado-lime green stash. It seemed like it was taking forever to get the leaves embroidered in the center of the blocks--I had 31 blocks that needed embroidery and most embroideries had 22,000-25,000 stitches. I decided to do just the leaves without the words for the edge blocks--that cut each embroidery just 10,000-12,000 stitches. The quilt is 78x98. I'm so glad to have it done and transferred to the Longarm UFOs!
Now it's time to clean my house and prepare some meals as we will have a houseful at the end of this month.
Used this Period: 0 yards
Added this Period: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 130.28 yards
Added Year to Date: 6.25 yards
Net Stash Decrease for 2016: 124.03 yards
Can someone tell me where the time has gone? I know I'm getting older, but surely that isn't the only cause of those calendar pages turning so rapidly. The weeks are whizzing by. However, the two quilts that I have started are not going nearly that fast! Nothing to report again--even though I have been sewing. The "blues" quilt is progressing (15 blocks done, another 5 cut out), but the lime/avocado is still languishing with only 4 strips sewn together.
We went to the nearby "big city" so I could donate blood and stay on the same schedule as DH. It was an excellent experience--the tech got a good stick and I filled the bag in good time, which is not always the case. I was well hydrated and had abstained from caffeine (coffee) for a week, hoping that would facilitate a good draw. I don't know how much that mattered; however, I had my first cup of coffee yesterday after a 2 week abstention--it did taste good!
Mama Moose visited a few times, still looking seriously at the cherry and plum trees. She was at the back of the house; but by the time I got to the window to watch her, she had gone around the front and around to the side of the garage. I cautiously went to peek at her around the corner of the garage--and heard a loud thrashing sound (she was going through the undergrowth on the forest floor--away from me). I thought maybe she was coming back around the corner, so I pivoted (or tried to!) to run back up on the porch. Unfortunately, I twisted my knee in doing so--and am limping around now! Mama Moose probably thought that loud little dog was going to chase her again--so away she went! Moose can be extremely dangerous--probably wasn't even a good idea for me to try to peek around the corner at her! We have had incidents where a female moose went up on a porch when someone got too close--and kicked and broke a jaw. Or even charged a vehicle. This is especially true if they still have their young ones with them.
Used this Period: 0 yards
Added this Period: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 130.28 yards
Added Year to Date: 6.25 yards
Net Stash Decrease for 2016: 124.03 yards
Nothing to report this week. Darn! I pulled fabric for another lime green/avocado quilt top, 2 greens for a Double Irish Chain--both from my "petting cabinet" (you know, the one that has fabric that is just too pretty to use but that you take out to look at and pet). One has some gold highlights, so I looked through my stash to find a gold that I could use for the larger sections. I wasn't very successful--either there wasn't enough to use or it was not neutral enough to use. The closest one had some gold flowers with a bit of blue and an old gold background (the background would have been perfect!). I mulled over whether I should just go ahead and use it or wait until we go to the Big Town and try to find something that would coordinate better--and decided to wait. So, I have a few strips cut for the chains, but that is all that is done. However, since the gold fabric with flowers and a touch of blue was out, it occurred to me that maybe I should combine it with some of those never-ending blues.
I'm singing--oh, wait, that is "sewing" the blues again! I chose the Lady of the Lake block to use and started cutting and sewing. The size will depend on how many blocks I can make with the amount of gold fabric--no end of blue fabrics to choose from!! I have 2 blocks made and 2 blocks partially sewn. I'm using 16 small HSTs per block--that's a lot of sewing, trimming, sewing!
I think we'll go to the Big City on Monday--I'll donate blood, break my fabric diet, and get some groceries. We had snow on Thursday, but it melted quickly. Most of my flower beds are out from under their blanket of snow, and the lilac leaves are budding out. Mama Moose visited us this week, trimming the pussy willows. When she decided the plum trees looked quite delectable, DH and Smokey (the Great Hunter--not!) chased her down the ravine. I'm sure she will be back--just too many good things to eat on this side of the ravine! The mountain goats are entertaining us again--they've been down near or on the highway. With all the melting that is going on, their usually pristine coats are looking a bit muddy.
Used this Period: 14.75 yards
Added this Period: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 130.28 yards
Added Year to Date: 6.25 yards
Net Stash Decrease for 2016: 124.03 yards
Well, that was a marathon sewing event! I completed the lime/avocado green quilt--yea! I had to add a third fabric for the border (I ended up with five inches left of my second fabric)--the woes of quilting from stash! I have 2 more fabrics in the same color scheme (but that didn't look quite right with the fabrics in this quilt), so I will make another quilt but am not sure what pattern to use. This quilt measures 85 inches square. You can't tell it from the picture, but the outside border is made up of 1.5 inch logs, to match the interior logs.
I have crocus blooming--the harbinger of spring on the mountain. My front beds are still covered by a foot and a half of snow, but the snow level is decreasing pretty rapidly. It is always so nice to see those first flowers of the season.
Used this Period: 4.75 yards
Added this Period: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 115.53 yards
Added Year to Date: 6.25 yards
Net Stash Decrease for 2016: 109.28 yards
Another panel--it just popped up in the baby fabric!--found when I thought I had all the panels done! This one was easy as I just added borders and made a backing. Maybe I'll get back to the lime/avocado green quilt now--it has been resting long enough.
