Sunday Stash Report - a couple of finishes!

Its been a fabulous week for finishes. I managed to get the 2 quilts I had pinned quilted over a couple of days.

Sparkle Baby quilt, based on the Sparkle design from Missouri Star I did a swirl and loop pattern on all over. It has become my go to design these days. Its not all the same as I change direction periodically and its not all even. The loops change size but whatever - I like doing it and it worked.

For the backing I used a really big bright and cheerful jungle print with some strips down the side to make it bigger. As is my want it wasn't centred in the end but whatever. Its cool

The baby quilt is destined for either a niece having a baby soon or a friend. Not sure who will get this one and then who will get the next one I make.  3.27m


The second one I finished off I have finally named Chillingworth Mystery since it was the club mystery quilt from last year and the fat quarter pack that made up most of the fabric in it was Chillingworth Bicycle (or something like that) 

The backing for this one was pieced. First of all I used up the excess blocks I had made that didn't fit with the pattern on the front, plus some of the leftover fabrics from the fat quarter bundle and then lots of other strips from my scrap stash that kind of toned in with the front... sort of.

When I was putting on the binding I found I was about 18" short. I had used up all the orange tones in my scrap stash so I used a strip from the batik jelly roll I had busted open to use in it. The piece I chose was the orangiest I had but it was a bit pinky... you can see it at the bottom of the picture. But I don't sweat the small stuff and it doesn't really worry me. It might annoy you from now on looking at the photo but you get that. 4.01m

There were 4 smaller finishes earlier in the week - 4 zipper pouches in pop culture fabric, items for the Comic Con stall I am having later in the year. These ones were in TARDIS, My Little Pony and Ninja Turtle fabric. I have more cut out ready to go but am awaiting either zippers or stiffening fabric. .61m

No fabric purchases this week... so its all straight profit.

Week 8
Fabric used          9.34
Fabric added        0.00
Net usage            9.34m

Year to Date     
Fabric used       45.99
Fabric Added     11.74
Net Usage        34.25m

linking up with Patchwork Times

WIP Wednesday... lots of progress

Despite still not being 100% energy wise (but maybe that's age and heat related too) I have accomplished "Great Things" this week! I am so pleased. I haven't finished any of the WIPs but have advanced a lot.

Hexagon Quilt.

I have had the backing made for this for ages and even the batting cut but when I went to load it onto the quilting frame at Patchwork I found I had cut it too small. I finally cut it again and HOPEFULLY its the right size this time. I also made the binding for it. I blogged here about how I didn't really like it any more. I am still a bit unsure of it but its such a massive undertaking I will certainly finish it. I've arranged with my friend Lyndi to quilt this next Thursday. Woot.

Handwork Heritage

I attached the piano key borders. The centre is made from doilies that I inherited from various family members. I only cut up the ones that were stained or had holes in them, or were shop bought. These were sashed in various 1" finished pink scraps. The borders were made from the scraps left over from the centre blocks and more pink scraps. I had kept on making the piano key borders till I ran out of doily scraps. When I went to put them on I had enough to go around 1.75 times almost. Oops. They went into the backing. The leftovers I put into the backing interspersing them between strips made from vintage sheets. Having finished the backing I also made the binding (pink checked) and cut the batting.

If I get time next Thursday after I have quilted the hexagon quilt I may try to get this one loaded and quilted too.

Sparkle Sparkle

My latest baby quilt finish! There are 2 babies due this half of the year to whom I will gift a quilt. This is another adapted from Jenny Doen's Sparkle quilt pattern. I am not sure which of the bub's it will go to. The top for this one has been finished for a while. This week I made the backing, a simple affair this time. I added 2 strips to a wildly colourful width of fabric animal print to make it wide enough. I made the binding too. Today at Patchwork I got it pinned ready for me to quilt it on my domestic machine. (One of the 3 I got pinned today)

Stringen' 'Em Along.

This quilt made to Bonnie Hunter's String X pattern is for our Japanese Granddaughter (daughter of our Japanese host son) She will be just over one when we get to see her in July this year. I finished the top last year and wasn't sure who was going to get it - I made the pattern cause I fell in love with it. I hadn't gotten around to making the backing. When I decided that I loved it so much it had to go to someone special, our grand daughter was the obvious choice. 

Because the front wasn't very baby orientated I wanted the backing to have more pictures and fun stuff, and also reflect the Australian side of things. I fussy cut out heaps of Australian Animals from various fabrics I had on hand, framed the pictures with various 1" finished strips and then made them up to 10" size with an assortment of fabric including plains and Australian fabrics. A couple I framed with some Japanese fabric I had used on the year quilt I had made the year Sho was with us.

I pinned it ready for quilting today at Patchwork. It was one of 3 I pinned up there today.

Club Mystery Quilt

Last year our club ran a mystery quilt. Each month we were given instructions for a particular unit for 6 months. It was fat quarter friendly - in fact we were told to choose 6 coordinating fat quarters for it. In the end we were given a design we could use but were also invited to make up our own design which is what I did. Mine had ended up being very dark so I added some extra orange to lift it a bit. 

I had put the centre together last year but was yet to finish it off. Looking at it this past week I decided it needed more orange so put in a final border. Monday I worked on the backing for it. I wanted to use up the left over scraps of fabric and left over blocks too so I made them into strips. Then I raided my scrap drawers and pulled out all the 5" strips that were in the colour scheme of the front.

The result isn't all that striking or wonderful but I am happy with it. It took the best part of the day to put together but you get that. Now the batting for it is cut too and the binding (more orange) made. And at Patchwork today I also got it pinned. 

That makes a total of 5 quilts ready to be quilted.

En Provence

I finally got around to assembling a couple of the blocks on the design wall. I have cut all the yellow squares needed to complete them. I have yet to sew any together but at least I know what I am aiming for now

I've also worked on a few things for the Comic Con stall I will be having in September. I've now made one zipper bag and 3 satchels/messenger bags featuring Star Trek, Star Wars and skeleton cat fabric. 

I started work on another project today. Its going to be a secret project so I won't be posting any photos - but I did start work on it today.

And finally I did a bit of a clean up of my sewing area on the weekend. I spent Saturday morning cleaning up the cutting table and sewing table and then sorting through all my notions and redistributing stuff to places where they will be most useful. Its been great to be able to put my hand on various things as I have needed them as soon as I have wanted them. 4 days later and I have managed to mislay my fabric marking pen and one of my quick unpicks (seam ripper)

How have you gone with your WIPs this week?

Linking up with 

WIP Wednesday

I've had a busy few days sewing this week.

Last week Charlotte Hawkes released the cutting instructions for her mystery quilt that begins in January. I got it all cut over the weekend. Its called "Surrounded By Scraps" and you can find details here if you would like to join in.

The 4th clue in En Provence, the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt for 2016 came out on Friday - very late in Australia so I didn't even look at it till Saturday but had no chance to work on it till Monday. I blogged about it here 

Today at Patchwork group, between having a super yummy morning tea and lunch to celebrate Christmas, I worked on the piano key border for Handwork Heritage. I got the borders done - there is oodles of it. I got a bit carried away.

I also worked on "Stringen Em Along", my Bonnie Hunter String X quilt. I got the borders on it - I went with the same fabric I'd used as my background. And then I made the binding. I decided on a scrappy border. I might have gone with a binding in the lavender background fabric if I'd had any of it left but I'd used it all up. Again I went a little crazy and I think I will have enough binding fabric for a couple of quilts!!

Just yesterday I heard that my niece is having another baby, due in May. This will be the 3rd grandbaby in just over a year for my sister and followed on 3 weddings in 6 months - they overlapped somewhat. Given that she only has 4 children that was good going. The single childless sibling is not feeling any pressure to join the club!!

Anyway - my baby quilt choice this year has been the sparkle quilt pattern from Missouri Star quilt company. I had some left over pieces and so this evening I have been working on making a quilt for the expected bub. I have the 9 star blocks made and working on the off setting borders now.

I also worked on the Craftsy BOM quilt that I have been working on - the Amy Gibson one (2012 I think) I didn't start it in 2012 but it has been a long slow cooker one. Anyway. I finished off the quilting on my domestic machine and got the binding on. Still have to do the label but since I haven't come up with a special name for it nor a place for it to go I am not in a hurry to do that. (No photos yet... perhaps for Stash report on Sunday)

Hope you have made some progress on your projects this week if that is what you have wanted to do. But maybe you have been prepping for Christmas not sewing. Whatever you have been doing I hope you have enjoyed it.

Linking up with 

WIP Wednesday

Wednesday again and once again I have made progress on a number of fronts.

At Handmade With Love yesterday I worked on finishing off the pencil cases I started a few weeks back. I had done more work on them on Monday so on Tuesday all I had to do was sew the inner and outer pieces. It was beaut to get them done. I also worked on a couple of other pieces from the box of stuff there - not anything that I had started by myself.

Today at Patchwork group I worked on a couple of things. First of all my friend Lindi once again helped me pin a couple of quilts - yay. Now the first of the Sparkle baby quilts and "My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes" are pinned and ready to quilt. I would love to get them quilted in time for my stash report but since I am going away tomorrow till Sunday night that isn't going to happen. I am taking my Janome Gem with me but I don't quilt on that! Actually I probably could take the baby quilt and get it done as it is small enough to work under the small throat space. I used Minky dot in the backing of it. I love the feeling of minky and the look of the dot one even more. 

This baby quilt will be for one of my Mum's great grandies as it features some of her embroideries. I have a great niece and great nephew born in the last couple of months that are "owed" quilts and another one cooking away as we speak. I also have 2 other babies, the grand daughter of a friend and the daughter of my daughter's friend, that I also plan to make quilts for (I made one for their siblings so I kinda have to) so.... after I had pinned (sorry we) had pinned the quilts I got to work putting together another of the sparkle quilts. I had made the blocks at Patch n Peace. I plan to put another border on it but the centre is done.

Then I started making some more blocks for the next baby quilt - this one for the great grandie due later this year. Fortunately Lindi was at a loose end and she was a great help pressing the blocks for me. I'd snow ball one corner, sew the second seam (to make a half square triangle out of the bit you snip off) and she would trim to hst off and then press the corner out so I could snow ball the adjacent corner. I sewed the second seam and she snipped the hst off and pressed it again. With her help I was able to get ALL of the squares done quickly. Now I can make the blocks whilst away this weekend. 

Since I got home from Patchwork I have worked at trimming the HST from the first three quilts I made. I now have a lovely pile neatened down to 2.5". I think I will make a border out of them for one of the baby quilts. Not sure that there is going to be enough for more than one but we will see. I didn't do the HSTs from today's efforts as they were still in the car, ready to take away with me. Hopefully I will get them trimmed whilst I am away.

I have put together all the bits I need to make the final sparkle quilt - well the 5th one for this batch. This baby lives in Iceland so I have chosen Australian animals to be the centre of the blocks and fabric from my Australian wildflower collection to be the snowball pieces for the blocks. Instead of working with white background this time, I am using beige as it tones in better with the colours in the blocks. (lots of yellows and tans and browns).

I sorted through fabrics and Handmade With Love yesterday. I was looking for scraps of Christmas fabrics to make circles to Cap the bottles of savoury peanuts I have made. Instead I found some gorgeous fabrics, too nice to chop up for caps but perfect for  table runners. I bought some home and if I can find my pattern I will make some of those this week for the Christmas in July craft fair at the end of next month.

These will make a lovely table runner I think.

I will get the caps for the jars out of this fabric I think although I might think of something more creative

So how has your week been? Have you made good progress?

Mid Month Goal check in

Only 10 days in the month left so that means I am 2/3 through the month and a great time to check how I am going with my goals. I really enjoy setting goals for myself and seeing how I am going with them. I set myself a huge list this month and quickly decided I was unlikely to get through all of them but was willing to give it a go.

Basically I listed all the things that I had on the go without really thinking through the logistics of it. Mind you I did have my 5 day quilt retreat (actually it was 3 full days and 2 half days) so think I expected to accomplish so much then... which I did but not perhaps as much as I had hoped.

My goals for this month were

• Assemble the Amy Gibson 2012 BOM quilt (from Craftsy) - top together unless I decide to add another border but think its done.
  
• Finish Diamond Dash quilt - done!

• Finish Twilter's Hashtag quilt - done! (No photo as my phone just went flat so can't upload the photos)
• Catch up on the Summer Reading QAL (run by The Stitch TV show) done
  
• Complete Birds of the Air blocks for Twilter swap - done
• Make hanging towels for HML Done
  

• Make Pencil pencil cases for HML stall - I have made 2 and have more cut out to work on but haven't touched them since I last reported. I didn't specify how many I would make so having made 2 I guess that qualifies as Done. .sort of
  

That's 7 completed as of today.

• Make three baby quilts - blocks made and one centre put together. 
  

So that is one goal started.

• Make 3 casserole carriers for HML stall - no progress
• Make backing for the Hexie quilt - no progress
• Make backing for My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes - no progress 
• Pin and quilt Onya Bike - not done yet (not enough pins when I went to do it last Wednesday and have now decided I will leave it till our club's Longarm quilting machine arrives and I'll do it on that which won't be till next month

And 3 with no progress made and one deferred.   My priority for the rest of this month is going to be the baby quilts. We were told yesterday that we have another great niece or nephew on the way so that is another quilt I will have to have done by the end of the year so better get these three completed.