Getting Ready for the New Year

Just 3 days before Christmas, 2019, and I've started looking forward to the new year.  My sister and I will be drawing numbers to finish UFOs and/or NewFOs for 2020.  I didn't do this last year and I think I only finished 2 quilts--maybe not even that many as I didn't record finishes.  So, even if we don't finish a quilt every month, we will at least finish some--but I'm hoping for the best!  I will need to reorganize my quilting studio so I will be ready to go on the first day of January!

FABRIC STASH - WEEK 2, 2018 (1/7-13/18)

Used this Period: 0 yards 

Added this Period: 2.25 yards

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

Net Stash Decrease for 2018:   0 yards

 

On Monday we traveled to the nearby big city.  DH was donating blood, we got some grocery staples, and I went to JoAnn's to get some more fabric for my January quilt (#10).  I had finished 12 blocks with leftover fabric from past quilts, but did not have enough to finish.  What a zoo it was at JoAnn's--they were having a big sale and there were people everywhere!

 

As I was looking at embroidery floss, a woman came up and started talking to me about all the colors of hair she was seeing on both young girls and older women.  (She wondered if they didn't have mirrors to see how they look!)  That topic evolved into her life story in recent times.  She came to the United States from Lebanon to receive medical care after ISIS bombed the car in which she was riding.  She lost 4 sons and was burned over most of her body--and she now has a colostomy bag as her abdomen was shredded.  She showed me her legs--scarred and mutilated--and her face looked like the skin was "new."  She told me they are Christians and want to remain Christians, but that ISIS won't allow them to practice their faith.  And then they called my number at the cutting table--I had to interrupt our conversation to get my fabric cut and did not see her after I left that area of the store.  We are so fortunate here--I wonder if we are as thankful as we should be for the freedoms we enjoy.  I hope and pray that the United States remains the beacon of freedom we now are.

While I was waiting to get more fabric for #10, I went through some of my embroidery stuff--what a mistake!  I found between 7-10 unfinished projects--why did I start them and not finish them?!  One is an afghan of bears of the month that I have the January bear about half finished.  I loaned the pattern to my niece a few years ago; it took her a year to finish it.  I should have finished all the X-stitch that was on the 18- and 22-count fabric when I was younger!!  My son gave me a magnifying glass for Christmas so I started working on it again.  But in searching for a hoop, I found all the other unfinished pieces, plus a Christmas stocking kit and a kit showing a Singer sewing machine.  Oh, my--not sure what I am going to do with all those unfinished projects!  

I also found a partially finished X-stitch quilt top that I started 10 years ago.  It has a long story.  When I bought the kit, I started working on one half of the quilt top--without sewing the two halves together to cut down on the bulk.  Then I decided that it would be best to sew it together before continuing to work on it--and found that the second half had been printed on the back instead of the front.  So there was no way I could put those 2 halves together.  I contacted the company and they told me to just throw it away and they would send me another complete kit--which they did.  I finished the second kit, working it in pinks.  I couldn't throw the other kit away--after all, I had a lot of work done on it already.  So, I decided I could pull the table apart and make a sort of light box of it--and transfer those X's to the front of the quilt!  I have now sewn the 2 halves together and have traced some of the X's--and started working on it again (the bear afghan will just have to wait!).  I have a lot of tracing to do, but am determined to get this done.  I'm using a blue and yellow color scheme on this kit.  Wish me luck--maybe I'll finish it before the end of the year!

I have finished my physical therapy now, with one appointment scheduled for a month from now.  I continue to do exercises twice a day at home and will continue those for at least a year.  The swelling and stiffness are decreasing, but I still struggle with both.  I'm very careful as we have snow and ice on our mountain now, and I don't want to fall.  It has been 4 months since the surgery--the time has gone quickly in some respects--and has crawled in others.  

I will have to really get busy this next week if I want to get the January NewFO completed. 

FABRIC STASH - WEEK 1, 2018 (1/1-6/18)

Used this Period: 0 yards 

Added this Period: 0 yards

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

Net Stash Decrease for 2018:   0 yards

 

A new year, a blank slate, fabric stash to be used--and my first week's stash report is zero!  That's the bad news.  The good news is that I spent time at the sewing machine this week, the first since I participated in the Henry Glass Desire to Inspire Challenge last August.  It felt good although I had some swelling of my knee (replacement was done the latter part of September) and resulting stiffness.  I have finished 4 blocks for my autumn quilt (#10 on my NewFO list), all in the Sawtooth Star pattern--only 19 more to go.  I wanted to complete more blocks yesterday but Smokey, the Lhasa, came downstairs wanting some company.  Guess I need to sew while he is napping in the mornings!

 

I hope everyone is feeling energized by the New Year and that we all meet or exceed our goals for 2018.  Wishing good health and much happiness to all!

Recap of 2017 goals

It's time to review stash usage and completions for 2016.   My goal was to use a net yardage of 200--my gross yardage used was 112.6 and my net was 90.23.  Not even close to my goal of 200 yards!  It is interesting to review the usage and completions for the past 6 years.  2013 and 2017 were years punctuated with medical problems, which is reflected in the totals.  I have reduced the new fabric purchased (22.4 yards), but still have not reached the net stash decrease goal.

 

2012:  18 quilts finished - 223 yards used - net stash decrease 95 yards

2013:  9 quilts finished - 137 yards used - net stash decrease 119 yards

2014:  19 quilts finished - 186 yards used - net stash decrease 98 yards

2015:  21 quilts finished - 205 yards used - net stash decrease 165 yards

2016:  15 quilts finished - 198 yards used - net stash decrease 175 yards

2017:  8 quilts finished - 112.6 yards used - net stash decrease 90.23 yards

 

 

Stash Busting Goals - 2018

Stash Busting Goals - 2018

I didn't end my blog very well in 2017, having stopped in September which is when I had knee replacement surgery.  I'm hoping for a happy and healthy New Year with much getting finished in the quilting studio!  My goal for 2018 is for a net reduction of 200 yards.  My 2018 goals are:

 

A) Reduce the LongarmUFO list.  That will start in January.  I won't put a definite number per month since that didn't work in any previous years.  Quilted quilts take up more space than pieced tops--but that would be a good problem to confront!

 

B) Reestablish a UFO/NewFO quilt top list--this will be A and B lists, as follows:

1a) Embroidered Redwork Angels (NewFO)

2a) Solid/Scrappy Quilt w/Quilted Spirals (NewFO)

3a) Embroidered Child's Parable Quilt (NewFO)

4a) Embroidered BFC Cupcakes (NewFO) (machine embroidery not done)

5a) 3-Size Blade Dresdan Plate Quilt (NewFO)

6a) Bear Claw in Bear Claw (NewFO)

7a) Scrappy 16-Patch Quilt (UFO)
8a) Embroidered Morehead Angels (NewFO) (machine embroidery not done)
9a) Sandi-Pat Challenge Quilt-Manipulated Quilt (NewFO)
10a) Halloween Ohio Star Quilt
11a) Double Dresdan Quilt (NewFO)
12a) Penguin (NewFO)
1b) Waterwheel Variation Quilt (NewFO)  
2b) Scrappy Birds in the Air (NewFO)
3b) Dizzy Geese in R/W/B (NewFO)
4b) Biscuit Quilt (NewFO)
5b) Scrappy "Corners 81" (NewFO)
6b) Basket Quilt (NewFO)  
7b) Sunshine Pineapple (NewFO) 
8b) Selvage/Scrappy String Quilt (NewFO)
9b) Halloween  Black-Orange Star Quilt (NewFO)
10b) Color Spectrum Jigsaw Puzzle Quilt (NewFO)
11b) Courthouse Steps Quilt (NewFO)
12b)

C) Work on Machine Embroidery/Embroidery/Crochet/Decorative Painting UFO lists.  All of these lists are on paper; I will list completions as they are finished.  I will attempt to include more pictures of completions and stash on my blog.

Smokey, the CA pup...

Ah, Smokey--a source of constant wonder! The continuing saga of our bed/mattress situation is almost over. 

For any new readers, here is a little background.  When we moved to No-Name Mountain, we got rid of our waterbed (which was not the open bladder type but had a structured bladder) and went back to the world of regular mattresses.  I told DH I wanted a firm mattress to better support my back and didn't want a pillowtop because I wanted to be able to rotate & turn it.  Well, the mattress we got was the epitome of firm--can you say "board?"  We slept on that mattress for 10 years; our conversations were always about getting a different mattress and getting rid of "The Board."  With a few false starts and some in-home testing, we finally had a bed in place; no more daily calls to the company about returns of a defective base, whereabouts of new base, sleeping with one king-twin mattress on the floor (Smokey loved it!) and one on its base, return policy, and myriads of other details.  We got the luxury firm mattress, one that was touted as the Goldilocks model.  After 10 years of sleeping on "The Board," the new mattress was something dreams are made of!

One small problem though--the bed is HIGH!  Smokey, our CA Lhasa, is 14 years old and not as nimble as he once was (and he has slept on our bed ever since he joined our family.)  Or so I thought; DH said Smokey could jump clear over the bed if he wanted to.   I worried about a broken leg that could happen when he jumped off the bed in the middle of the night.  (He does have his doggie bed in our bedroom and often goes to sleep in it sometime during the night.)  So...Smokey needs to have doggie stairs so he can get on the bed..of course!  The stairs arrived, and it was time for lessons to teach Smokey to use the stairs.  Can I say that Smokey was less than impressed with the stairs and the training sessions?!  To get him to go up the stairs, you had to have a treat held at the top--and then after he ate the treat, he would jump off the side of the bed.  Not exactly the result we were hoping for!  DH persisted in the training sessions; me--I would lift Smokey onto the bed at night and lift him off and onto the floor before I fell asleep.  Sometimes I fell asleep before I put him on the floor and Smokey would jump down.  Those expensive stairs weren't working quite as planned!

DH has been out-of-town for 2-3 days now, so I've had to take up the slack with Smokey.  No more nudging DH at 5 o'clock in the morning and saying "Smokey needs to go outside" as Smokey walks the floor and jingles his tags.  Nope, I have to get up and stumble out at 5 in the morning--but I put him on his leash, and he can't snoop around the yard for 15 minutes--by which time you are thoroughly awake.  He gets to go out and then has to come back to bed so I can catch a few more Zzzz's.

So, last night I put Smokey on the bed; and just before I was entering the Land of Nod, I picked Smokey up, carried him to his doggie bed, and gently laid him down.  Feeling pretty snoozy, I padded back to bed, vaulted (the bed is high for me, too) onto the bed--and before my head hit the pillow, Smokey walked up the doggie stairs and settled down for the night on top of the bed.  No doggie bed for him--he was taking up DH's side of the bed!  And then at a quarter to 5 this morning, Smokey walked down the stairs and proceeded to jangle his tags to let me know it was time to go outside!  The faker!  DH was right--he is quite capable of using the doggie stairs to get on and off the bed!!

Projects from Desire to Inspire...

I am Pat Carter, and I live on No-Name Mountain in Alpine, WY, a small town nestled between the Wyoming and Salt River Ranges in northwest Wyoming.  We are located south of Jackson Hole, WY, at the southern end of the scenic Snake River Canyon.  Grand Teton National Park (40 miles) and Yellowstone National Park (90 miles) add another dimension to the many outdoor activities of this area:  snowmobiling, skiing, fishing and lake recreation on Palisades Reservoir, ATV, mountain biking, hiking, hunting, etc.  Wildlife abound in this area--from Petunia the Skunk to elk/deer/moose and bear.  All of the trees we have planted on our lot have been creatively pruned by the deer who call our lot their favorite dining-out spot.  The annual snowfall in this area can exceed 500 inches. 

My husband and I are retired teachers and are year-round residents.  We love it in the summer when all the snowbirds return, but we also love the winter months when the town loses its summer folks and our mountain becomes a winter wonderland.  The snow drifts straight down, and the trees shed extra snow weight in mini avalanches.  Then the sawdust flies in my husband's shop, and several of the beautiful wood turnings find their way down to my quilting studio!   

My mother and grandmother were quilters; they spent many winter hours hand quilting on a frame my father made and set up in our farm house.  I learned to embroider, crochet, and sew as a young girl, but did not make my first quilt until several years later when my high school was closed for asbestos removal in 1989.  We went to a split session, sharing space in the other high school.  I spent those free mornings taking a quilting class--and a new love was born!  This new hobby led to the purchase of a longarm quilting machine and another aspect of the quilting avocation.  I became involved in making quilts of valor, a project dear to my heart; I would often combine machine embroidery with piecing.  My personal quilts gravitate toward traditional patterns, with a twist (i.e., a basket within a basket, machine embroidery in a center block of a log cabin, etc.).  I have incorporated Sally Fields' shoes (machine embroidery found at BFC Creations) in 4 quilts--her shoes have such creativity and detail!  I'm currently trying to reduce my stash, some of which is 15+ years old--and I'm using those favorites that I have just "petted" fondly throughout the years.  Does anyone else have fabrics that are so pretty that you have not cut into them?!  My bucket list of "quilts to make" grows longer each time I visit Pinterest!

Some of my favorite fabrics have been from the Henry Glass collections.  I used a Henry Glass fabric book panel named "Why" to make a quilt for our grandson, and liked it so much that I made a second baby quilt!  (You can see the "Why" quilt on my blog:  http://tetonnuggets.blogspot.com/2015/01/stash-report-week-2-2015-11015.html

And then I was notified on August 1 that I had been selected to complete the August Desire to Inspire Challenge--thank you Henry Glass Fabrics!  What fun!  I anxiously awaited the arrival of the fabric which landed on my porch on August 8 (we are a little out of the way!).  Since the Country Cuisine fabric featured strawberries, my thoughts turned to kitchen projects.  I kept adding items to my "want to make" list, but finally ran out of time.  So, here is the fabric collection I received: 

I made a 72-inch table runner, a liner for a basket with ribbons/strawberries on the outside, and a small fabric basket for napkin rings, teabags, or whatever.  (I have little jars of jelly in it.)
 
I made a small table runner, 4 placemats, napkins, and a fabric basket to hold napkins.
  
I made an adult apron...

and 2 children's aprons.

The table runners, placemats, aprons, fabric baskets, and basket liner were all lined. 

What a fun project this has been!  The Country Cuisine collection by Isabelle Biche lends an air of spring to any kitchen, reminiscent of soft breezes, fragrant flowers, lush green grass.