Stitching and DeStashing--Week 52, 2019

I'm later than usual in posting my Sunday Stash Report for the week. That is because Ed and I spent the last few days at the beach. We went to St. George Island, which is just off the panhandle of Florida near Apalachicola. The beaches were gorgeous, and there were very few people there--perfection! We spent lots of time walking the beaches, ate plenty of delicious seafood, and had a very relaxing vacation.

Because we rented a house at the beach, I was able to take a sewing machine along and spent some of my time quilting. Most of that was cutting pieces for Bonnie Hunter's Frolic mystery, plus I did a little bit of stitching too. I also finished a couple more Orange Peel blocks during the drives down and back. 

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. Because I was able to quilt at the beach, my total for the week was 7 for 7. I will post my final numbers for the year next week.

15 Minute Challenge:  

12/22 - 12/28           7 of 7 days

2019 Total         342 of 362 days

Before we left on our trip, I finished joining all the blocks together from Alycia's 2019 Winter Quilt-Along. I haven't been able to get any complete photos of the finished top yet, but here  is the center of the quilt. Yardage used for this quilt was 5 yards. No new fabric added last week.

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             5.0 yards

Used year to date:                        63.0 yards
Added last week:                            0.0 yards
Added year to date:                    71.75 yards

Net added year to date:            8.75 yards

I will update my final totals for 2019 next week. There's still a chance I might be able to use some more fabric in the remaining 2+ days!

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 51, 2019

Like most of us, this time of year can become very busy and stressful for me. Quilting is my favorite way to relax and decompress. It is also my favorite solution for gifting challenges. Early in the week, I realized that the gift I had ordered for my sister-in-law Jane wasn't going to arrive in time for our gift exchange on Saturday. Beginning Tuesday evening, almost every free minute was spent working on this gift for her.

I used 3/4 yard of fabric from my stash, plus parts of a dozen old ties to make this pillow for Jane. The ties had all belonged to her father, and there may have been a tear or two when she opened her gift.

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             .75 yards

Used year to date:                        58.0 yards
Added last week:                            0.0 yards
Added year to date:                    71.75 yards

Net added year to date:          13.75 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. The tie pillow totally filled my free time this week, the only way to get it done in time!

15 Minute Challenge:  

12/15 - 12/21           7 of 7 days

2019 Total         335 of 355 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and Stashing--Week 50, 2019

This week's Stash Report includes both additions and subtractions. Those darned Black Friday sales got me again--another 9.5 yards added. They were all turquoises/teals or yellows to add to the collection for Bonnie Hunter's "Frolic" mystery. These will join the blacks, greys and lights that were shared last week.

It was a good week for fabric usage. 2.5 yards was used for the block framing and the border on my RSC Tiny Tuesday sampler quilt.

I also used 3 yards for a quick baby quilt, but I don't have any photos of it to share just yet.

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             5.5 yards

Used year to date:                      57.25 yards
Added last week:                            9.5 yards
Added year to date:                    71.75 yards

Net added year to date:            14.5 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I was able to spend more time than usual quilting last week, and it shows in my stash report usage numbers.

15 Minute Challenge:  

12/8 - 12/14             7 of 7 days

2019 Total         328 of 348 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and Stashing--Week 49, 2019

It was fun having my stash totals sitting at zero (yards used vs. yards added) for the past few weeks, but that's all over now. I added 10.5 yards to the stash last week, and there will be more added next week. I just can't resist those Black Friday deals!

Black and grey were my main selections in this batch. I wanted some new black/dark grey prints to use as the background for my Orange Peel blocks, plus I am also using those colors in Bonnie Hunter's "Frolic" mystery.

The light grey at the left end in the above photo is a fabric that I've been waiting to go on sale before I bought it. That fabric is becoming the framing on my Tiny Tuesday sampler blocks for the 2019 Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I've made a good start on getting the blocks framed out, and before long they can get joined together into rows. I would love to have a finished quilt top before the end of the year.

Tiny Tuesday blocks

The other fabrics I got are intended for the Frolic mystery. The three on the left are all from the Captiva line by Connecting Threads. That is the line of fabrics that became my color palette for the mystery. The two fabrics on the right are additions to my light/background choices.

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             0.0 yards

Used year to date:                      51.75 yards
Added last week:                          10.5 yards
Added year to date:                    62.25 yards

Net used year to date:              10.5 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I've gotten in my 15 minutes every day and hope to continue that streak through the end of the year!

15 Minute Challenge:  

12/1 - 12/7              7 of 7 days

2019 Total         321 of 341 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 48, 2019

This is the time of year when the stash report tends to get rather lopsided, mostly due to my inability to resist splurging on new fabrics at the Black Friday sales. That was true again this year, but none of the fabric has arrived yet, so I can continue to enjoy my balanced totals for one more week. Next week, it will look very different!

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             0.0 yards

Used year to date:                      51.75 yards
Added last week:                            0.0 yards
Added year to date:                    51.75 yards

Net used year to date:                0.0 yards

Soon I will be able to include the yardage for Alycia's mystery in my usage total. All the blocks are made (easy half-square triangles) and this week's clue was to start joining them into rows. Here's a photo of my blocks on the wall waiting to be joined together. This will be 1/3 of the finished quilt, and I hope to get them stitched into rows before the next clue is posted on Wednesday.

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I missed one day early in the week, but I still got in at least 15 minutes on all the other days.

15 Minute Challenge:  

11/24 - 11/30           6 of 7 days

2019 Total         314 of 334 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. I'm also linking up to Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 47, 2019

It is another quiet week for the stash report with no fabric used or added. Unlike many people, I don't wait until a quilt is completely finished to count the fabric as used. I generally consider fabrics as used once they have been cut and pieced into blocks. That gives me the satisfaction of fabric used each week rather than a large number at the end of a project. Right now I am at the point of joining blocks together for a couple of quilts, which means the usage numbers are not changing. I'm happy to keep my net usage/additions total at zero for another week. 

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             0.0 yards

Used year to date:                      51.75 yards
Added last week:                            0.0 yards
Added year to date:                    51.75 yards

Net used year to date:                0.0 yards

One of my current projects is finishing up the quilting on a Christmas wallhanging. I've completed stitching in the ditch around the piecing, and now I'm doing free-motion quilting in the background. It's adding so much texture to those areas.

This is a view of an unquilted piece of the background fabric. My quilting is following the designs in the print. It's a little tricky to figure out my path, especially when shapes get cut off by the piecing seams, but it is getting easier as I go along. I hope to have this quilt finished by next weekend.

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. There weren't any huge chunks of time for quilting this week, but I still got in at least 15 minutes every day.

15 Minute Challenge:  

11/17 - 11/23           7 of 7 days

2019 Total         308 of 327 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 46, 2019

I'm off to a slow start today, but that's okay because there really isn't much to report. Many of my quilt projects have reached the point of needing blocks joined together or final quilting to be done. That means no changes to the stash for the past week. I'm happy to continue with my usage vs. additions at zero for the year.

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             0.0 yards

Used year to date:                      51.75 yards
Added last week:                            0.0 yards
Added year to date:                    51.75 yards

Net used year to date:                0.0 yards

I did start a new project yesterday, Alycia's Winter Quilt Along 2019, but it hasn't yet reached the point where I can count anything as used. Here's what is done so far--lots of half-square triangles, with the ones on the left waiting to be trimmed to size. They measure 6.5" after trimming; those big pieces show off the background print beautifully.

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I did get in my 15 minutes every day, either applique stitching on the train in the morning or machine quilting in the evening, sometimes both in the same day.

15 Minute Challenge:  

11/10 - 11/16           7 of 7 days

2019 Total         301 of 320 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. I'm also linking up with Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework.

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 45, 2019

I didn't post a stash report last Sunday because we were in Wisconsin for our niece's wedding. It was a great weekend complete with lots of wonderful family time. There was even a surprise guest at the wedding reception, Bucky Badger, for the many University of Wisconsin alumni.

Bucky Badger

The stash report has finally reached a major goal for the year. My number of yards used finally caught up to the number of yards added. My net total is zero! It's like starting the year all over again.

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                           2.50 yards

Used year to date:                      51.75 yards
Added last week:                            0.0 yards

Added year to date:                    51.75 yards
Net used year to date:                0.0 yards

Most of the 2.5 yards used went to my most recent finish--2.25 yards on this Santa wallhanging for my Santa-collecting husband. This will fit perfectly over the living room mantel. I've had this panel since 2015, so it's way past time for it to be finished!

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I missed one day over the past two weeks, but it was for a very good reason (my niece's wedding day in Wisconsin.) I did manage to get at least 15 minutes on all the other days, even the rest of the visit in Wisconsin. Thank goodness for a portable project!

15 Minute Challenge:  

10/27 - 11/9         13 of 14 days

2019 Total         294 of 313 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 43, 2019

The stash report shows a small change for the week, 1/2 yard used to make the three blocks shown below. The upper block is a Flying Dutchman variation that will join a very mixed assortment of other blocks in blues and browns. You can see the two Framed Crumb Star blocks along with all the other rainbow colors in yesterday's post.

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             .50 yards

Used year to date:                      49.25 yards
Added last week:                            0.0 yards

Added year to date:                    51.75 yards
Net stashed year to date:           2.5 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I missed one day last week, but got in plenty of quilting time on the other six days.  

15 Minute Challenge:  

10/20 - 10/26           6 of 7 days

2019 Total         281 of 299 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 42, 2019

It was a fairly quiet week as far as the stash report is concerned. I used 3/8 yard of fabric to make two more Framed Crumb Stars for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. You can see them in yesterday's post. 

For the first time in nearly two months, there was fabric added to the stash. After deciding last weekend to continue making more of my Orange Peel blocks, I knew that I would need to add some more black prints to my collection for the backgrounds. I got four fat quarters yesterday that will bring more variety to the quilt. I will probably continue to pick up a few more black and dark grey pieces here and there when I find them.

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                           .375 yards

Used year to date:                      48.75 yards
Added last week:                            1.0 yards

Added year to date:                    51.75 yards
Net stashed year to date:           3.0 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I've continued finding stitching time every day, usually hand applique on the train in the mornings and some time at the machine in the evenings. 

15 Minute Challenge:  

10/13 - 10/19           7 of 7 days

2019 Total         275 of 292 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 41, 2019

There's not much to tell for my stash report this week. I have spent some time quilting every day, but I'm getting to the point of joining blocks together on a couple of projects, and the fabric used in those blocks has already been counted. That means no fabric used to report this week, but fortunately also no new fabric added (although I was seriously tempted by a sale at the Fat Quarter Shop!)

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                             0.0 yards

Used year to date:                    48.375 yards
Added last week:                            0.0 yards

Added year to date:                    50.75 yards
Net stashed year to date:       2.375 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. I've continued finding stitching time every day, usually hand applique on the train in the mornings and some time at the machine in the evenings. 

15 Minute Challenge:  

10/6 - 10/12             7 of 7 days

2019 Total         268 of 285 days

Here's a little preview of my Orange Peel hand applique project. You can read more about it and see more photos in yesterday's post.

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA

Stitching and DeStashing--Week 40, 2019

The leftover pieces from another old project were unearthed last week. This time it was a bundle of partial strip sets left from making a Many Trips Around the World quilt top as a class sample back in the fall of 2000. Here's a photo of half of the original quilt top.

I had just enough parts left for a single Trip, plus I was able to dig out enough pieces of the same fabrics to finish it off. The border is one of my favorite old Paula Nadelstern fabrics, probably from the late 1990's or early 2000's.

Trip Around the World
37.5" square

This little quilt used 1.25 yards of fabric, and I also  used 5/8 yard on my brown Stairsteps blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (see them in yesterday's post.) No new fabric added to the stash!

2019 STASH TOTALS

Used last week:                         1.875 yards

Used year to date:                    48.375 yards
Added last week:                            0.0 yards

Added year to date:                    50.75 yards
Net stashed year to date:       2.375 yards

Kate's 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces has us tracking how many days each week we get in at least 15 minutes of quilting time. Hubby has been working more nights lately which means more quilting time in the evenings than usual.

15 Minute Challenge:  

9/29 - 10/5              7 of 7 days

2019 Total         261 of 278 days

Check out more stash reports at quiltpaintcreate and join the 15 Minutes to Stitch challenge at Life in Pieces. 

Happy quilting everyone!

Julie in GA