Week 3 Stash Report - January 19, 2014

A fairly quiet sewing week.  Didn't touch the binding on my sister's quilt.  I decided I could make some items that were on my mental UFO list and use up a bit of fabric.  Not everything needs to be a full size quilt. 

I made a 10 Minute Table Runner for a silent auction at work in 2012.  Two coworkers who did not win the auction were disappointed.  I decided then to just go ahead and make them each one.  This didn't get done in time for Christmas 2012 or 2013.  However, they will be their first Christmas gifts for 2014!  I bought the center fabric in 2012 or early 2013.  It's the same fabric used for the auction table runner, only off the clearance table this time.  The border/backing fabric is estate sale fabric.

The blue is darker than the picture, more of a royal blue.  I like the blue one best, the design is omni directional.  The red one is uni directional, so the Christmas trees are upside down on one side. 

Although they are called 10 Minute Table runner, it took me just under an hour to make each of them.  The only thing I had done ahead was decide on the fabric.  I think even with the fabric cut, it would take me more than 10 minutes to complete. 

When I got them done, I decided to do a little more.  I chose a decorative stitch on my machine and topped stitched all the way around the blue one.  Decided to cut back on time on the red one and just did the stitching across each end.  I ended up liking it better. 

Here's a pic of the corner, so you can see the difference.

I did do a bit more on the Maverick Stars, but no more complete.

Didn't even go anywhere that sold fabric this week, so didn't buy anything.  Yippee!

Fabric in this week:  0 yards
Fabric in Year to Date:  .5 yards
Fabric out this week: 1.66 yards
Fabric out year to date:  4.66 yards

Total Change - 4.16 yards out

Check Judy's blog, Patchwork Times, for other stash reports.  

Stash Report 2 - 1/12/14

As I started to write this,  I noticed my header seriously needs to be updated.  I think those clematis are from the summer of 2012.  If I showed a picture of my yard right now, it would feature half melted snow, dead leaves and mud.  But that's not what we are here to talk about.

Not much happened on the sewing front this week.  I am going to try to finish up some UFO's this year.  The first is binding a quilt for my sister, Nan.  My mother bought the top from a friend probably 10 years ago, and about 2 years ago I paid to have it quilted on a long arm.  Before Christmas I cut the binding strips from the excess backing.  This week I ironed them. Today I trimmed the edges of the quilt. Are you beginning to see why I don't have many finishes?  And since I neither purchased or sewed any of this, I won't be counting it as part of my stash busting.

I just mentioned that I want to finish up UFOs.  So this week I started a new project.  I know.  I want to use this as a leaders and enders project, but thought I'd better make a couple of blocks, to be sure I like them.  I'm going to make some Maverick Stars from Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville.  Here are the two I have completed.

 I am making light stars on dark backgrounds, as I have a lot fewer light than dark scraps.  My squares will be cut 2 1/2", so will take about 25 blocks to use a yard of fabric.  If my math is correct.  I think.  I won't even try to count the little scraps I will be using to make the star points.  I did cut both light and dark squares for this project this week. 

My scraps are organized (ha) by my own system.  Bonnie Hunter has a thorough description of her organization system on her blog.  I did not want to cut up fabric without knowing what it was going to be used for.  So, I came up with three scrap quilts I wanted to make, and sorted and cut fabric with those projects in mind.  Anything larger than a fat quarter is stored in a drawer or shelf in my sewing room.  Smaller pieces were cut, when possible, into 2 1/2" x 16" strips, for a future Scrappy Bargello quilt (also from Bonnie Hunter).  I need 128 strips and I have over 80 cut.  Smaller pieces are sorted into a string quilt box and a crumb quilt box.  I made a string quilt top last summer (also on the UFO list) and have made some crumb blocks.  I went back through these boxes this week and pulled what I can use for the Maverick Stars, my fourth ongoing scrap quilt. 

Now my scraps will be sorted into Bargello, Strings, Crumbs and Maverick Stars. 

I got a email coupon from my favorite fabric store this week.  From reading other blogs, I know that coupons can get us in trouble.  However, this was for only one piece of fabric, so I couldn't go too crazy.  I ended up buying a half yard of  this -

which I plan to use to bind the Maverick stars, in some far off someday.  Been wanting to do a striped binding.

It has taken me half of forever to get to the point of this blog, my stash report.  I'm sorry, I cannot tell a short story. 

Fabric in this week:  .5 yards
Fabric in Year to Date:  .5 yards
Fabric out this week: 0 yards
Fabric out year to date:  3 yards

Total change:  2.5 yards out

If you want to read other (mostly shorter) stash reports, check out Patchwork Times.

If you're still with me, here is my favorite find from the 3 estate sales I went to this weekend.

I plan to use it to bring in veggies from my little garden this summer.

Hope you all have a great week.  Happy Sewing.    

Stash Report 1 - 1/5/14

I have been reading the stash reports at Judy L's blog, Patchwork Times, for quite a while.  I found all sorts of reasons why I shouldn't participate.  I buy a lot of my fabric at estate sales, so I'd have to measure it all.  I even buy scraps,  how do you measure an ice cube bag of 1960's garment sewing scraps like I recently purchased. Do I count fabric that's not for quilting? How do you count as yards when you make those scraps into crumb or string blocks?  Finally decided to just do my best  guess, and use this report as more of a way to see what I have used, instead of worrying about how much comes in.  And it will also become a way of showing some of my bargains.  I like showing those off.

Today I finished a baby quilt for a coworker.  My quilting career contains a lot more starts than finishes.  This is the biggest project I have completed. 36" x 36" I learned a lot about piecing, quilting, binding, and measuring for your backing correctly.  The 4 patch blocks and binding are all from stash, I did buy the back piece, to go with the baby's safari animal nursery. 

Four patches, arranged by color

When you don't buy enough backing, you improvise

My personal rules for this report will be to only report fabric out when the project is complete.  Before that, it is still in my sewing room.  Hopefully this will inspire me to finish some of my works in progress. 

This week's report -

Fabric in this week:  0
 Fabric in Year to Date:  0

Fabric out this week: 3 yards
Fabric out year to date:  3 yards

Total change:  3 yards out

If you want to see more stash busting reports, go to Patchwork Times.