Monday, January 30, 2012

Design Wall and Monday Goals

The Diamond 4 Patches are all pieced and the setting diamonds cut.   My design wall is the bed---


Night picture--bad color again.  Here's a scan from the book--


I need to find fabric for the half diamonds.  They used a brown plaid--I would like a brown of some sort.   The blocks are fairly large--7" across and about 11" long.  

Weekly Goals--

  1. Trim half the Arrowhead blocks
  2. Quilt on "Chains of Lurve"
  3. Plaid 4 Patch
  4. Scrappy Bargello

That's enough to keep me busy.  January is almost over and I need to review my 2012 guidelines.  

How are you doing?  




Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sunday Stash Report

I made some purchases this week.  2 yards of Kona black to finish a sashing.  2 yards of COC backgrounds.  1/2 yard cuts of 4 prints--another 2 yards. 

This week---6 yards In
YTD--37 yards In
Used this week--0
Used YTD--12.5 yards
Stash is leading--24.5 yards

There are finishes planned in the next few weeks--so the numbers will head the other way!~


Saturday, January 28, 2012

Weekly Goal Check In

I'm there!  I have 121 Arrowhead blocks!


Some need trimming--but they are pieced and pressed!  Woohoo!  

Last night I was thinking about the projects I am working on.  And an old one that needs finishing.  They are---

Diamond Four Patches
Plaid Four Patch
Four Patch Posey

Do you see a pattern here?  Four patches!  And the middle of the Arrowhead blocks have a four patch in them.  

Heading for the sewing room.  I'm back in South Dakota and its too quiet--no Mason or Asher.  Grandma is lonely!
 



Monday, January 23, 2012

Monday Goals

Time for goals!  Last week my only goal was to finish 10 more Anita's Arrowhead blocks.  It was a good week--I finished 29.  A queen size is 121 blocks, and I now have more than 100.   Marilyn, Liz, and I are each making a quilt called Four-Patch Plaid from the book Nickel Quilts.  It's a project using our stash.   I have half the 4 patches made, and about half the long 2 patches.  No more can be done on that until I get back to my stash.  Found a huge wadge of noodles sewn together in pairs in my sewing room--and I couldn't remember what I had been making.  I packed them thinking I would unpick them and use them in the Four-Patch Plaid.  I laid them out---hmm--each pair of noodles has a matching pair.  And then I remembered!  I was making a Scrappy Bargello

Scrappy Bargello Strips, 4 patches, Arrowhead blocks
This week I will--

  1. Make 10 more Arrowhead blocks
  2. Work on Scrappy Bargello strips

I'm heading back to South Dakota in a few days.  Just watching the weather and checking road conditions.  We're had snow, rain, ice and wind the last few days. 





Friday, January 20, 2012

Motivation Friday

How has your week been?  The weather has been bitterly cold, I haven't ventured out in a few days.  Mason has pulled his lego table into my bedroom.   He's great at pretend--a small yellow flashlight from my purse became a school bus to play trucks with.  We've made cookies and done all sorts of fun things.  Tonight he and his mother did "arts and crafts" and I have new wall art.
  
I've worked on my Anita's Arrowhead blocks, two more seams and these will be complete.  20+ in this pile.  10 blocks were my goal this week.  There should be 90 blocks with these--only 31 more!  They are addicting.




Sometimes Asher sleeps on my bed, I've been reading books to him.  I don't think he's interested yet--see the little hand--he's snoozing underneath his blanket.  




Monday, January 16, 2012

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

I've started piecing a new quilt.  It's called Diamond Four Patch from an older book "Quilts from America's Heartland".  I have 64 diamond 4 patches made.


These were strip pieced and cut on the 60 degree angle.  Easy!  They are 7" on a side--so not that small.   I love antique/vintage quilt patterns.  

Goals for the week--

10 Anita's Arrowhead blocks

That is my only goal for this week.  I'm in Mankato with Mason and Asher, that's going to keep me busy.   Trucks and cookies, crafts and reading books, lots of rocking.  Yup--looks like a good week!



Sunday, January 15, 2012

Sunday Stash Report

No fabric bought this week.  I finished the Garden Bargello--I estimate that used 10 yards.   I made 4 blocks for a donation project and mailed them off.  We were asked to make them in the color we don't use/don't like.  Mine is lavenders and purples.  Since I was making blocks, I also made the same blocks for my "Jay's blocks sampler".  


The top left block is done in a teal green.  I love teal green, it just happened to be on top the scrap box!  4 blocks--1/2 yard?  Close enough!

Used this week--10.5 yards
Used year to date--12.5 yards
Bought year to date--31 yards
Stash ahead--18.50 yards

How was your week?  








Saturday, January 14, 2012

Weekly Goal Check

I've made more Arrowhead blocks.  Finished binding Henrietta's leaves.  


A binding finished on the Garden Bargello, its a Bonnie Hunter pattern--Scrappy Trips Around the World.  A good way to use noodles.  


 
I have another quilt loaded on the Princess.   Lots of sewing this week, it's been too cold for anything else! 


 

Monday, January 9, 2012

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

I have 70 Anita's Arrowhead blocks completed---


Night pictures have cruddy color.  Try to overlook that!  I'm enjoying making these blocks, only 51 more for a queen size top. 

Goals for the week---
  1. Load a quilt on the Princess
  2. Complete 10 more Arrowhead blocks
  3. Finishing binding Henrietta's Leaf quilt

I'm way ahead on my monthly stash organizing goal.  Tonight I did my sewing room closet--there were 8 "cubes" of fabric plus what was stored on top of the cubes.  The results--one box of batiks, one box of 30's, one box of civil war repros.  A cube each of solids, hand dyes, fossils ferns and moda marbles, and one of indigo's.  If I'm very brave I'll look UNDER my sewing table later this week.  I've found a few unexpected things.  Why do I have at least 10 yards of solid red?  I don't remember buying it.  Maybe someone gave it to me??  I found one UFO--the blocks are pieced and sashed and the magazine with the pattern is there too.  I was looking for my 30's and the solids that matched--I found them.  Now I have to remember why I was looking for them!

The weather has been unusually warm--but colder weather will be here in a few days.  I found a ham bone with some ham on it in the freezer--ham and bean soup is planned.  The "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" book is out--maybe some really good Peasant bread with the soup.  YUM!!  





Sunday, January 8, 2012

Sunday Stash Report

A good week for stash enhancement.  My numbers?  31 yards in--2 yards out.  A 50% off coupon on ALL my fabric--so I didn't pay more than $3.00 yd.  11 yards for a backing/binding.   Some cream, tans, yellows and golds for my stash.  

Stash in---31 yards
Stash out--2 yards


Stash is ahead--29 yards!


So how was your week??



Saturday, January 7, 2012

Motivation Friday

Oops--I realized on Thursday I forgot to post any goals.  25 Anita's Arrowhead blocks completed this week.  

One of my 2012 guidelines was to sort/clean one spot in my stash each month---today I did my cutting table.  Okay--you say that's not much??  My table is 9 foot long and 30 inches wide--that can hold a LOT of stash when you pile it two foot deep!  Fabric was refolded and sorted by color.   I cut a noodle from each piece for the noodle basket.  Bricks for the brick stash.  And a 8.5" strip for my Arrowhead stash.   Some went directly into my scrap box, I am pleased to report I have a full box again.   



Did you see the heat wave we are having?   South Dakota was warmer than MIAMI!!!  Yes--parts of South Dakota saw 70F.  The high at our house was 68F.   Although its good to be home--I miss Mason and Asher. 



Monday, January 2, 2012

Design Wall Monday and Weekly Goals

First week of the new year!  I've picked my game plan for 2012 and I'm comfortable with most of it.  

Last week I wanted to complete 10 more Anita's Arrowhead blocks.  I'm not there, but I'm half way through 25.  No design wall--but I do have a table.

25 Anita's Arrowhead blocks
Yesterday I made an quick trip to JoAnn's to buy fabric for bassinet sheets--Mason and I sewed them up tonight.  Its been a long time since I sewed with a wiggly child on my lap.  We used my machine that does zig zag and other stitches--Mason ran the forward and reverse--we practiced numbers by finding the right ones (lucky I picked ones like "4" and "1" and not "37").  So those numbers will be on next week's stash report--2 yards in, 2 yards out!

2012 is going to be all about enjoying life.  Time for a new cutting blade, oiling the machine, and a new needle.  Pull out your patterns, pour your coffee, find your chocolate--we're off!



Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012 Guildelines

I've been reading everyone else's 2012 goals.   Thank you to everyone who gave me ideas.  I choose these for me--

Refold/organize ONE cube/spot in my stash per month

Judy's color challenge--make ONE block for my sample block stash

Work on ONE ufo per month and move it one more step to completion.  (add borders, set blocks into a top, etc)

Any piece of stash less than 9" wide goes into the scrap box to be recut into usable units--noodles, 3.5" x 6.5" bricks, 5" charms.  

Buy a tool/gadget box.  I need to keep them together and on a shelf.

Finish a UFO before starting a new project


I made a list of 10 UFOs I want to finish in 2012-
  1. Sunny Lanes
  2. 4 Patch Posey
  3. Raggy Edge Flowers
  4. "Two Lips"
  5. Sister's Choice
  6. Scrappy 9 patch
  7. Navy blue Irish chain
  8. Anita's Arrowhead
  9. Kids quilt kits (2)
  10. Blue/white Jacob's ladder
I plan to participate in Design Wall Mondays, Stashbuster's UFO Challenge, and other internet fun.  Even Stash reports!  I may not post to each one every week--but I enjoy them. 

I plan to make quilts for donation and some for family.  I realized its been a long time since we've had a new quilt on our bed.  

I will participate in internet fun.  

I will remind myself its the PROCESS I love the most!


Playing Catchup

Its been busy!  Thanksgiving has come and gone, soon it will be Christmas.  We got our vaccinations a couple weeks ago--Covid, RSV, Influena...