Stash Reduction Update

So, a couple of weeks ago I mentioned my intention to reduce my stash significantly. Many of you know that I love scrap quilts and if 5 fabrics are called for, I will probably use 25. If it calls for a yard of navy, I will usually use 4 fat quarters or 8 fat eigths, or depending upon the pattern, even little bitty bits.  I've been part of Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User's system for about a year, consciously preparing and then using my scraps.

So, that's only part of the background....I have moved 6 times in 10 years...and each time, I have had a couple of boxes that just "lingered" in the sewing room -- they didn't get fully unpacked or they were made up of bits and scraps and pieces.....so, this time, I spent a lot more time prepping the move. I made multiple trips to AmVets, the salvation army and the diocesan closet. I got rid of a bunch of "stuff" both quilty and not. Books that I would never read again, sheets for beds I no longer own. And a million other things that I either didn't use or didn't love.

But fabric -- fabric is not so easy to get rid of. It calls to me, it speaks to me, it asks me to use it. I did get rid of the scraps that aren't quilty related or that I didn't think I would use. I kept some linen and some burlap, that I invision pillows out of..... but I got rid of my old school uniforms (that I had once planned a quilt around), some microsuede, some taffeta scraps from a hideous bridesmaid dress, and a couple of scraps that friends had "gifted".....needless to say, I did get rid of some fabric, but I must admit that most of it stayed.

So, I moved into the new house with 40 WIPs -- each in its own box, neatly organized and most with the fabrics and patterns in the box. That's 40 quilts that I have started in some way. That doesn't count the PIGS (projects in grocery sacks), or the planned quilts, that I haven't actually bought fabric for. So, that's 40 projects that I started in some way and need to either finish as planned, resize based upon what I have already done, or give away. SO, I checked and made sure that I had updated everything onto my quilt spreadsheet (yes, I have one of those), and prioritized them. Time to get to work!!!!

In addition, I have 27 boxes of fabric. The fabrics are divided by color, but not be size...with the exception of the items that have been pushed into the Scrap User's System. Which represents a VERY small segment. Needless to say I have a lot of work to do.....

So this week I did the following :

• Opened and sorted 3 boxes, removing everything with less than a fat quarter and putting it into the scrap user's pile.
• I also sorted those same boxes into small, medium and large pieces -- larger than a fat quarter, but smaller than a a yard and a half went into the small pieces pile, anything from 1 1/2 yards to 3 yards into the medium pile, and anything more than 3 into the large pieces pile. 
• I worked on a couple of the actual WIP boxes. At the moment I have 3 empty ones. Osprey's Nest, Forever Yours and Sunshine. My goal is to empty 5 a month. 
• Made a couple of pillowcases, and couch cuddle quilts for the family.

So, here's the low down on the usage since the last update :

Osprey's Nest :

9 yards of brights

9 yards of darks

1 yard of binding (already made and in the binding drawer)

Due to the number of seams, I wanted to minimize the seams on the back, so I did buy a 108" back, rather than piece a backing....but I only bought what I needed, so that it a wash!!!

Sunshine

1 yard sashing

2 yards border fabric

16 fat quarters (4 yards) pieced backing

I didn't count the blocks, as they were already made....

Forever Yours

1 yard of background

1 yard of backing 

Again, the blocks were already made, so they didn't get counted.

Miscellaneous sewing

2 yards chevron minkee (Dax)

1.5 yards star wars

.75 black border  fabric

1 yard lips

1 yard minkee

Total Depletion : 34.25 yards

Wow....I guess I got a lot more done than I thought. I hadn't really thought about it until I wrote this post. Maybe I am making progress.....

Now, to keep it up!!!!

And here's a few picks, though not all of them.....a few I have to wait to share....

What are you working on this week???

 

Quiltscapades

What are quiltscapades? That's the affectionate term that I use for adventures related to quilting.....sometimes it us the mad dash to the local quilt shop for fusible batting minutes before they close, sometimes it is the search for an illusive fabric (which might or might not be in my sewing room). Occasionally it is an activity at a retreat....basically anything ridiculous, funny, or even ads that is related to quilting....

So today's quiltscapades? Fabric hunting. As in I need a 6" strip of a specific fabric, which i know is in my stash, but I have no idea where....so let the unboxing begin!

See you tomorrow for the next installment of quiltscapades.....

2014 BOM - May

Well, it's almost the end of the day, and apparently I scheduled this post incorrectly, because I started getting emails about when I was posting the BOM....which I wrote up and scheduled for the 13th of the month for the remainder of the year some time in March....apparently, there is a change in the functionality, and most post was sitting in a pending status, so, sorry about that!!!! And here it is....


I made some changes this month -- specifically, I used some batiks with cottons, and moved to a darker and flatter "background" -- mainly because I wanted this month's example (which will become a pillow (as have most of my samples)) for someone else's house. Someone who is much younger and as a result much much hipper than me.....

So, here we go....

Cut 4 - 4 7/8" squares from your focus fabric (multi colored batik)
Cut 2 - 4 7/8" squares from your star fabric (black)
Cut 2 - 4 7/8" squares from your corner fabric (grey)
Cut 1 - 4 1/2" square from your star fabric (black)

Now, let's mark and sew the HSTs. I would normally draw a line on the wrong side of the batik print, but in this case, it was too busy to see it, so I marked the solids (black and grey). The black was a little tricky, so I used my herra marker, instead of a pencil, though you could also use a chalk pen or a sewline pencil. As long as you can see it, it works! Now, place the solid 4 7/8" squares with the batik ones, (2 grey + batik, and 2 black + batik). 

Now, you will sew on both sides of the drawn line, use a matching thread. I used a super light thread so that it would show up in photos. 

Now, cut them apart on the drawn line, and press towards the solid.

Now trim off the dog ears.

And layout your block.....

Now sew the rows together, press the top and bottom rows to the right, and the middle row towards the left, and sew the rows together.

Done.

Enjoy!!!

Happy Quilting!!! See you next month!

Catherine

Osprey's Nest

I've been working on my Osprey's Nest on and off for a few weeks....and I finally managed to get it all done....Overall, it was a really easy one, but very time consuming, since the pieces finish at 1". Yes, they are cut at 1 1/2". Of course, I took my pictures, boxed up the quilt and THEN realized that it was upside down in all of my pictures. Typical Catherine.....

I did make some change to the pattern to get the effect that I wanted, and I did want to make sure that you knew in the event you want to repeat this one.

1. I reversed the lights and darks. If you look at the original pattern you will notice that the darks are along the edge, and the center "paths" are light. I reversed these, making the pattern's darks into brights, and the pattern's lights into dark blues. I also chose to scrap both the lights and the darks. In the pattern, only the darks are scrappy. I made both scrappy, because if 9 fabrics is good, surely 18 is better. Right?

2. I added additional fabrics. In a couple of different locations. In addition to making the darks scrappy, I also made the dark geese scrappy to carry through that scenario. In addition, I chose a separate set of fabrics for the bright geese, since I wanted the geese to "color wash" and there were only 9 fabrics in the body component, and 12 geese. Since I was adding at least 3, I decided to choose clearer colors for the geese that I had for the logs. So, I actually added 6 fabrics for the bright geese, and left a few out (for example, there are no purple geese). This was done mainly because I needed fabrics that were enough contrast to the navy blues that they could stand out, and the purples just couldn't do that, so they got replaced. I also ran short of the original pinks, so I had to replace those....

And that folks is Osprey's Nest. It might be my favorite Judy so far. Which is saying a lot. I love the traditional-ness of it (is that a word???). I love the modern-ness of it. I just love it all around. 

I dropped it off at the quilter, and now I am anxiously awaiting its return.....

Now, what project should I work on??? Oh, the pressure....

Happy Quilting!

Catherine

Celtic Wave QAL

Well, we are nearing the end of this QAL, and while part of me can't believe it is almost over, part of me thinks it has been going on forever.

As I mentioned 2 weeks ago, I played catch up this cycle. I managed to get my curved piecing done, and am now ready to move on to the final layout and assembly. 

Here are my outside curves....with darker edges...

And here are the inners....

Which means I am all ready to assemble....

  

Time to use these that I cut last time to complete the final assembly....

Now, time to get this up on the design wall....

Here's a quick refresher on what we have next.....

Checkpoint 7 : May 12 - Start Assembly
Checkpoint 8 : May 26 - All DONE!!!!

Can you believe there is only one more check point???

How are you coming along on getting your Celtic Wave done??? Is anyone interested in doing another one of these??? I think I will take a couple of weeks off, but then I might start another one....the only question : Which one???

Happy Quilting!!!

Catherine

Bring on May

I can't believe it's already May....April was crazy, and it's only getting busier around here.I did lose quite a bit of time in April to the move. And though everything is in the house, I still don't feel quite moved in, I haven't found new homes for everything, since this house is set up so differently than the old ones. I know that it will all come together eventually, once I spend enough time at home getting it organized and sorted. In the meantime, I have a bunch of things I really want to get done for the business and a bunch of prep work that I really have to get done for classes in June and July.

Of course, I also have a stash reduction plan which officially started on May 1st, and as per normal, priorities constantly change....so here's how it has changed and what we have happening around here....


The goals as stated at the new year are in black, amendments (changes/additions, etc) are in blue, and status is red....

Piecing
1. Captain's Wheel complete and sent to the quilter
2. Celtic Wave (Queen) - Piece Along to start in mid-February! QAL in process, all blocks complete, now working on assembly.
3. Flower's for My Wedding Ring - Got all of my fabrics picked, my backgrounds cut out, and am ready to get started with piecing. (No change since last month)
4. Scrappy Trip (80 pairs prepped), 8 blocks finished
5. Osprey's Nest All piecing complete, just need to sew the columns together.
6. Hawaiian/Prairie Star - Just added to the list.....because apparently I didn't have enough commitments
7. Fire Island Hosta Queen - Because it is gorgeous.

Quilting
1. Winter Wonderland - sent to the quilter
2. Glacier Star - this one remains on display for classes, so I have no idea when I will get it to send it to the quilter.
3. Mariner's Compass done. Quilted and bound.
4. Compass Rose - at the quilter
5. Meandering Star - done. 
6. Captain's Wheel - at the quilter
7. Celtic Wave Queen - 
8. Flower's for My Wedding Ring - 
9. Scrappy Trip
10. Osprey's Nest - backing made this month

Pattern Writing
1. 2014 Block of the Month - starts on January 13th! - Done. started February 13th. whole year worth of patterns have been scheduled!!! Yippee!!! Have you been following along???
2. 5 new patterns for spring market - all done!!! I'll be introing all of the patterns over the next few weeks.
3. 5 new patterns for fall market

Other projects :
1. Amazon Star finished
2. Pepperdish finished
3. Crackers finished
4. Feathered Star Queen finished
5. Project Destash

And now that I have stated my goals for the year, they are bound to change. I am super excited about the new things that Judy is releasing at market, and I know that I have only seen 10% of them, so I fully expect a LARGE number of changes next month, as new classes get scheduled and new patterns get released. So, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

How are you doing on your quilty goals for the year???

Happy Quilting!!!

Catherine

Fun Fun Fun

Well, I just got home from a weekend at Cotton and Chocolate in Thousand Oaks. We had a great time! Most of the class is finishing up their Mariner's Compass quilts. 

Lauren got her triangle together first...but by the end of Sunday, everyone had all the parts together and we're working on getting the curved piecing started....for more minute to minute details, follow me on Instagram as Queeniequilts .

So of course, we started planning and scheming our next Judy Niemeyer quilts....most of the class has decided to work on Fire Island Hosta. We have a couple of slots open in the Sunday class, but you need to sign up quickly before it fills up.

Ilsa has plans for a rainbow sherbet version. I'm in love with this color combo....

And now, I am off to take this adorable puppy out for a long walk. Because I can't resist that face.

Happy Quilting!

Catherine