Caution - Construction Work Ahead...

Construction has continued on my little village.  I've now completed 20 of these houses.  I have a layout in mind for them, but have to see if I have enough fabric left over to pull it off.

I used Pom Pom de Paris and I'm liking the flowery reds, yellows and pinks (not my usual style).  I've still got another 11 days to finish this one and hope to continue working on it tomorrow.

Until later...

But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, "The Lord is great!" 

Psalm 40:16 (NLT)

Catching up...

Until I started this post, I had no idea it's been so long since I last blogged.  It's been crazy busy around here lately and I've also been out of town for a few days.  I don't see it slowing down much either in the near future.

I haven't been doing a lot of quilting lately (certainly not finishing any projects), but I have made some forward progress on a few things.  Mostly making backings and basting quilts.  I've been meaning to baste 45 and Life to Go for over a month now and I finally buckled down last week to do it.  I had to move most of the furniture in my quilt room out of the way in order to have enough floor space.  I pinned the backing easily enough, but when I laid out the batting I discovered a problem...

When I purchased the batting, I thought the package said it was 120" square.  Even though I prewashed it, I didn't think it was possible for it to shrink this much.  When I looked again, I saw that it was 102" x 120".  The quilt itself is 109" square, so this just wasn't going to work.  Fortunately I had another package of batting that was the right size that I could use.  After a couple of hours, I had it together...

45 and Life to Go Quilt - now basted

You'll notice there aren't any pins in it.  That's because I used 505 basting spray instead...

This stuff is great!  I was a little nervous to use it on such a large quilt because I've never tried it on such a big project.  It took a little more than a can to baste all the layers together.  I also felt like I'd been sniffing glue when I was done and my nostrils wanted to stick together.  However, by morning, everything was back to normal.

And speaking of basting quilts, I also used the spray to baste this little Valentine's Day quilt.  I used a layer of cotton batting and a layer of wool.  I'm hoping the extra layers will give it a lot of definition once it's quilted.  I still want to finish this one and have it on the wall before February 14th.  (Just under 4 weeks to get it done.)

Here's My Heart

This past weekend, I also managed to piece the backing for Winter Wonderland using the label I made for it earlier...

Backing for Winter Wonderland

I know that I won't get around to quilting this one for at least several months (although I want to do it this year), so I've layered the backing, batting and quilt on a hanger.  Whenever I find the time to quilt it, it's all ready for me to pull out of the closet and either load it on the frame or baste it for use with my regular sewing machine.

Backing, batting and quilt - ready to be quilted

I've also finally started on my Full House quilt for the Another Year of Schnibbles challenge.  (You can read more about it here and here.)  I'm using Pom Pom de Paris for mine and changing up the pattern a little bit.  The houses are going together pretty quickly, but the only picture I have to share right now are of the roofs.

Full House Roofs

This one has to be done by January 31st, so it's high up on my to-do list.

On a non-quilting front, I caught David on the scratching post the other day.  I think it's the first time in 2 years he's paid any attention to it.

David on the scratching post

I think Jack got a little jealous though and had to hone in on the action...

David and Jack

I do have a stash report I need to do and hope to be able to show some houses as well, so hopefully I won't be gone so long this time.  Although with everything going on around here, I'm really finding it a struggle to find time to blog.  Hopefully your days are a little quieter wherever you are!

Until later...

The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O Lord endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me. 

Psalm 138:8 (NLT)

Stash Report Week #1 - A New Beginning...

January 1 - 7, 2011

After hemming and hawing last year about continuing with my stash reports, I've decided to keep going.  I like looking at the numbers (especially when they're positive) and I think they help to restrain me from buying fabric (sometimes).  So here's to a new year!

I tried so hard to finish the Winter Wonderland top last year, but missed it by a couple of days.  On the positive side, that means I get to count the fabric used today.  It's difficult to calculate exactly, because the pattern intends for you to have leftovers, but my best guess is I used 13.75 yards for the top, label and binding...

Winter Wonderland Top and Label

I know I won't get around to quilting this for at least a few months, but I am hoping to find the backing fabric for it this week.  I like to prepare it along with the batting and hang everything together in my closet.  That way when I want to quilt it, everything is ready to go!

So...
Purchased-this-week: 0 yards
Used-this-week: 13.75 yards
Purchased-to-date: 0 yards
Used-to-date: 13.75 yards
Net used: 13.75

Not a bad start to the reporting.  I have several projects on my immediate priority list.  I'd like to finish them all in January, but realize that's completely unrealistic.  Unless I gave up sleeping and eating and everything else.

• I need to make a sewing hussif for a friend.  It's to be a surprise though, so no pictures.
• I want to quilt this JoAnn's BOM for my brother-in-law.

• I want to baste and quilt my 45 and Life to Go quilt.

• I need to quilt Here's My Heart.  I want to hang it for Valentine's Day so hope to get to this one quickly.

• I'm joining in on Another Year of Schnibbles this year.  The pattern for January is Full House.  I've got the pattern and think I'm going to use Pom Pom de Paris for it.  This quilt has to be done by the end of the month.

• Last but not least, I want to finish appliqueing blocks #11 and #12 of Ladies of the Sea.  

So those are my goals for the forseeable future.  They should keep me pretty busy I think.  Hopefully, your new year is off to a great start as well!

Until later...

Let them praise your great and awesome name. Your name is holy! 

Psalm 99:3 (NLT)

Take #6?

My Christmas present came in the mail a couple of days ago.  I've been eagerly awaiting it's arrival.  It's a new iron, a Digital Velocity V100.  I consider myself sort of a connoisseur of irons.  This is at least my 6th new iron since I've started quilting (which was only 7 or 8 years ago).  It's not that I've picked bad irons.  I've actually bought some wonderful (and expensive) irons over the years.  At one point I had an Oliso iron; you know the one that raises and lowers automatically.  It was a pretty good iron.  Nice steam and easy to use.  It lasted about a year.

Most recently I've been using a Rowenta iron (made in Germany).  It's been a great iron as well.  It's has awesome steam capabilities and is a very, very heavy iron.  Some people might not like that feature, but I personally love the extra weight.  Between that and the steam, I find my seams lie flatter and my quilting is just overall better.  Again this one lasted almost a year before it too started to leak.

I understand that leaking or spitting is a common complaint among iron owners.  I've been careful to use the right kind of water (purified in this case) and to care for it as the directions state.  In my case, it's not the manufacturers fault that mine start leaking.  Actually, this is the real culprit...

David on my sewing machine

He's a 22 lb behemoth who has repeatedly knocked over my ironing board (and hence my iron).  Of course, I can't place all the blame on him.  Some of it belongs to this one...

Jack

As well as this one...

Moses

The only one I can't blame is Sam and that's because she can't jump that high.  My Rowenta still works pretty well, but I can only fill it a third full or it starts pouring water out on my fabric.  So I'm constantly filling it.  It also doesn't seem to stay as hot as it used to.  I considered buying another Rowenta, but read some awesome reviews about the Digital Velocity irons from here and here.

I wouldn't have considered buying another expensive iron if it weren't for the new ironing board I have.  My dear husband built it for me for my last birthday.  In the 7 months I've had it, the cats haven't even come close to knocking it over.  This baby is as steady as a rock.

My 'New' Ironing Board

I'm so confident that it's solved my problem that I've invested in what I hope will be my final iron (or at least for many, many years to come).

Digital Velocity V100 Iron

I bought my iron from Kelly Jackson at I Have A Notion.  I have to stop for a moment and just say what amazing customer service she has.  She matched a cheaper price I found elsewhere, shipped it immediately and included several extras in the package.  She's just an all around pleasure to deal with!

So back to the iron...  I carefully read the instructions before using it.  I knew ahead of time that this one recommended using distilled water (something they say not to use in a Rowenta), so I bought a couple of jugs in preparation.  This iron holds 1.8 cups of water, so much more than any other iron I've ever had.

Water jug for the iron

I didn't have anything in particular to work on, so I made a label for a quilt.  I have to say it was a pleasure to iron with.  My points came out really sharp in no small part due to the pressing.

Winter Wonderland Label

Overall, I'm very impressed with it.  Although not as heavy as my Rowenta, it has enough weight to press seams flat.  It also generates a lot of steam and I love that I didn't have to refill it even once.  Time will tell how it holds up, but so far I'm very happy with my investment.

Until later...

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

Hebrews 13:8 (NLT)

And it's done!

This is such an exciting finish for me and technically it's not even done!  I've finally put the last stitch in my Winter Wonderland quilt top.  Last I left it, I needed to make 34 HST units.  I cut all of the fabrics I needed, but before sewing them I decided I needed to organize the remaining fabrics first.

Leftover fabrics from Winter Wonderland

Don't they look so pretty bundled together?  I probably have enough to make another small quilt with them and I have just the one in mind.  After cleaning my mess up, I got down to the business of making those HST's.  I used triangle paper to make the 3" finished units and they went together lickity split!

Sewing the HST's

It was only after I starting cutting them apart that I realized I had made twice as many as I needed.  Duh!  But as you'll see later, I managed to find a use for a lot of them.  Here are all 64 blocks...

Final blocks needed for this quilt

Now I could start assembling the borders.  There are 34 blocks in the borders as well as the HST's.  I'm so glad I labeled each block as I made it with it's placement.  Otherwise, it would have taken me forever to figure out where they went.

Assembling the borders

Everything fit together so well with this one.  That isn't always the case.  It didn't take too long to finish assembling it.  This quilt is 64" x 71".  Looking back through my previous posts, I think I started working on it in early September 2010.  So has definitely taken a while, but I think it was totally worth all the time and effort!

Winter Wonderland Quilt Top

One of my goals is to get it quilted before another year passes.  I have no idea how to quilt it yet, but am open to suggestions?

Closeup of the stitching

As for some of the leftover HST's, I was able to use them in the label.  I also had an extra embroidered block that I put in the middle...

Label for Winter Wonderland

The label finishes at 15" square, so it's a large one.  Once I have the quilt quilted, I'll add all the information to the block.  I've already made the binding for this quilt as well, so all I need to do is find a backing fabric.

Sam kept me company while I finished this one up.  She's probably my best sewing companion as she's content to take a nap while I work.  Doesn't she perfectly match the quilt she's lying on?

I love her many poses...

Until later...

Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. 

Proverbs 3:6 (NLT)

2011 - A wrap up...

I thought it would be a great idea to do a post detailing the things I accomplished (quilting wise) in 2011.  I did one last year and it was so nice to see pictures of everything together.  I finished 35 projects - 27 completely and 8 tops.  That's much more than I would have thought.  So here's my year in review...

Stargazing, Nestled in the Branches, Table Topper and Hootville

Twisted Rope, Pincushion, Rope Bowl, Pillowcases

Roll-up Shades, Ironing Board, Star Crossed and Man Cave

Hodgepodge, Grace, Connections and Baby Blocks

Dilly Dallying Around, Around the Block, Orange Sherbert and Holly Jolly

More Pillowcases, Harmony, Winter Wonderland and Splash 

Note: Winter Wonderland wasn't done at this point.  I just needed a 4th picture.  Although as of last night, the top is done.  Yeah!

I also finished 4 projects for the group I'm in called 'The Twelve of Us'.

Quilted Greeting Cards, Star Bright, Under the Sea and Peonies

The following are quilt tops that I've finished this year.  Most of them don't have names yet though.

And finally, I finished all of the applique blocks for my Baltimore Halloween quilt.  It's taken me almost 3 years to get to this point.  I'm hoping to get the top completed the first quarter of this year and have it quilted by Halloween.

All 13 applique blocks for Baltimore Halloween

So that's my year in review.  I'm not expecting to be as productive-  numbers wise - this year.  My goal is to get some quilts made for our bed (king-size) and those will take a lot longer to make.  But above all, I really just want to enjoy the process from beginning to end!  

Until later...

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun. 

2 Cor. 5:17 (NLT)

Last Stash Report of 2011!

December 11 - 31, 2011

Not a lot of sewing or buying has been happening over here.  I'm sure a lot of you can relate.  Preparations for Christmas took over most of my time and it was more important to spend time with loved ones than to complete projects.  I had hoped to finish the Winter Wonderland top this year, but didn't quite make it.  Another couple of hours on it tomorrow should see it done though.

I was so excited to see the Fat Quarter Shop's annual 12 Days of Christmas sale again this year.  Looking back at last year, I see that I bought a ton of Jelly Rolls then.  Although they had some wonderful deals this year too, it wasn't really on fabric that I was wanting.  In the end I only bought 2 pieces of fabric - 6 yards of the Jovial Black Grunge by Basic Grey and 5.5 yards of the blue Reindeer Games by Sandy Gervais...

5.5 yards of Reindeer Games and 6 yards of Jovial

So my totals for the end of the year are...
Purchased-this-week: 11.5 yards
Used-this-week: 0 yards
Purchased-to-date: 407.75 yards
Used-to-date: 513 yards
Net used: 105.25

I was looking back at my quilting goals for this year.  (I posted them here the same time last year.)  I had hoped to purchase less than 150 yards of fabric for the whole year.  Hmmm.  I didn't do a very good job on that one.  In fact, I bought about 90 yards more than last year and used 13 yards less.

I'd also hoped to concentrate almost exclusively on my UFO's.  I did an OK job on that one.  I did get a lot of tops quilted and ended up completing 27 projects this year - 10 of them UFOs.  And finally, I made a number of prayer quilts and charity quilts during the year (which was another goal).

As for 2012, I'm planning on the following:

1. Continue with my stash report.  I'd like to whittle my purchase number down, but I'm not going to commit to a specific number.
2. Finish at least 2 quilts for our king-size bed.  (I have about 6 planned though and one top waiting to be quilted.)
3. Whenever the need arises, drop everything and make a prayer quilt.  It's important to have priorities and God's calling is the highest. (A repeat from last year.)
4. Make several more quilts and/or pillowcases for charities.
5. Participate in Another Year of Schnibbles.  I've missed out on this the last couple of years, but plan to play along in 2012.  (I already have enough Charm Packs to do the whole year!)

So those are my goals for this new year, how about you?

Until later...

How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! 

Psalm 147:5 (NLT)