Sunday Stash 8/20/17 And My Sewing Room

No fabric in or out this week. I finished piecing a quilt top but won’t count it until it’s done.
Quilting Gail asked to see what my sewing room looks like now, so here it is in all it’s cluttered glory. The room is about 10′ x 11′.

The two largest bins on the bed hold multiple UFOs. The design wall is covered with ideas with no space left for design. I need an idea wall and a design wall! The shelf holds a little bit of everything.
I did clean off my sewing table yesterday. I moved the fabric and stabilizers out of the treasure basket and the treasure bag onto a shelf behind the ironing board (out of sight to the right). All the rest of the treasures fit into the basket, which I moved to the floor next to the scrap shelf.
That gave me enough room to start quilting the butterfly top again.
As I finish projects I’ll work on cleaning the room up a bit. Small progress is better than no progress.
Fabric In: 34.125 yards
Fabric out: 16.375 yards
Net Fabric Added: 17.75 yards
How did you do this week?

1. Kate
2. Melissa G.
3. Meloney
4. Patricia
5. Melanie
6. Julie in GA

Eye Opener

This week moved at the speed of light.
The defining moment was my half hour search for misty fuse. I knew I had it, but I moved it and couldn’t remember where I put it. I went through just about everything before I found it. Afterward, I wondered just how many projects I had sitting around.
Then I made the mistake of counting.
There were 18. That did not include projects in the UFO boxes or the ones in boxes on the shelf. Some of those projects are piles of fabric with no work completed. They could fade away in the next few months. It’s not officially a UFO until I start working on it.
However it happened it needs to stop, and I definitely need to finish projects before I start anything else. I’d hate to see the UFO list double when updated at the end of the year.
Those 18 projects should give me plenty of variety. I refuse to take anything else out of the UFO boxes until the number decreases.
Here’s a picture of the sewing room from several years ago, when I thought it was a cluttered mess.

I only wish it looked like this now.

Jam Packed 24 Hours

It’s a busy week in the sewing room. First I finished the cat top.

Then my iron broke. It has gone to the great appliance graveyard in the sky.
For now I’m using a circa 1950 General Electric steamless iron that must weight over 7 pounds. I have to be very careful not to scorch my clothes. The only temperature it seems to have is super hot.
Next I picked fabric for my Art Quilt Group’s surface design round robin and fused my mini-collage (left corner).

We are hand stitching on the collages at our meeting next Tuesday.
And that was just the beginning. More to follow.

Sunday Stash August 13, 2017

No fabric in or out this week. I didn’t finish the cat top before I left town. That will be a project for later today.
I didn’t buy any fabric on our road trip. We stopped at the Nelsonville Quilt Co. and a Joann’s, but I couldn’t think of anything I needed. I already have fabric for everything on my want-to-finish list and then some.
My big find at Joann’s was the Mandy Pattullo collage book. I had a 50% off coupon and a gift card so it cost me nothing.
I was shocked that they had it, and they only had one. Books are always hit and miss there, and different stores carry different things. I consider myself very lucky to have found it.
That’s my last weekend away for this month. Maybe that will help improve my numbers.
Fabric In: 34.125 yards
Fabric out: 16.375 yards
Net Fabric Added: 17.75 yards
How did you do this week?

1. Kate
2. Melissa G.
3. Karen at Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
4. Meloney
5. Julie in GA
6. Quilting Gail

Adventure Class

A few weeks ago I took a class called “Further Adventures In Free Form Piecing” and never got around to posting what I made. The class was taught by a fellow guild member and was one of the funnest classes I have ever taken.
First we made curvy blocks. I know I made something similar years ago. I will have to look for those.

Next we made quarter circle blocks.

These were by far my favorite. I intend to play around with the technique more, only with smaller blocks.
Next we made leaves.

I love the look but did not enjoy making them. Maybe someday I’ll revisit them and see if I feel different.
After that we could experiment, so I made acorn blocks. I decided to applique the stems later rather than piece them in.

Those were fun in a more playful way.
I also had an idea for a lady bug that I didn’t get to. I might try that on my own.
I don’t have plans for any of these blocks. I know they won’t all go in the same project and hope I didn’t just start four new projects. It reinforces the must-sew-more-to-finish-things-up idea.

Sunday Stash August 6, 2017

No fabric out this week but progress made on the cat quilt.

Because the blocks are asymmetrical, the placing of the neutral fabric around the edges is inconsistent. I bought a yard of a neutral print to use as borders around three sides. The quilt takes another border in one of the prints I used to frame the blocks. Then it will be a finished top.

I hope to complete it this week before heading out of town again. I’d like the whole quilt done sooner than later because it will half my net added number.

Fabric In: 34.125 yards

Fabric out: 16.375 yards

Net Fabric Added: 17.75 yards

How did you do this week?

1. Julie in GA
2. Kate
3. Meloney
4. Patricia
5. Melanie
6. Quilting Gail

August 2017 Short List

Hard to believe it’s time for another Short List. This month I’m changing it to correct what isn’t working.
The Short List includes something old (UFO), something new, a handwork project and Art Supply Creative play. I started using this system in November 2014 to keep myself focused. I add and delete categories over time as my interests change.
I finished the table runner in July, which was in the new category.
I’ve done almost nothing with Creative Art Supply Play this year, so I’m changing it back to Creative Play.
I also decided to start a leader and ender project because I’ve had trouble lately with my blocks getting sucked down the needle plate. I’m sure it had nothing to do with me sewing through a flower head on a pin. I didn’t want to start anything new though. Instead I went through a few UFO boxes to find something that would work. I discovered I still love my UFOs and felt bad I never finished them. The list will shift to incorporate more of them.
Something Old – I already finished the UFO number that came up this month. I started working on the Snippet Butterfly quilt in July and will continue with that. It’s my oldest UFO.

Something Else Old: Once I finish piecing the cat quilt, I’m going to work on my Bouquet Applique quilt. The center applique is done but needs some repairs. I like to have a piecing project going all the time and the border will work for that. Lots of little pieces there.
Something New – I’m still working on the cat quilt. The rows are all pieced and three of the five are sewn together. After that it needs some borders.
Handwork – I made no progress on the second pillowcase, but I’m leaving it on the list.
Creative Play – I’m going to make a first attempt at a small collage this month. To encourage me to do something, I’m linking to the Learning QAL.
The next couple weeks are very busy, then it will calm down for about a month. Whatever I can finish this month will have to be good enough.