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 

September Goal Report and Setting October Monthly Goals

We are still 5 days out from the end of the month but things are going to get very hectic between now and then. We leave to go on a 5 week break on Thursday, Boyo (our youngest son) is home from a university in Brisbane for the week and we have a few things on so I thought I might grab a bit of time right now to finish September off and be ready for October.

I was late putting my September goals up  (they went up on the 6th) and I was pretty ambitious with what I planned to do but I am delighted to be able to say that I can count each one as successfully completed. Oops - no there is one that isn't fully completed Sigh -its half done which is pretty good though.

My goals are high lighted in red.

• Update stash spreadsheet with fabric purchased at Gold Coast (done) and put the fabric away (not done as I have been pulling fabric from it to cut projects for whilst we are away. Also I am slack)
• Keep Blog up to date - I have blogged a  Sunday Stash report each week and a Wip Wednesday too all month and have also had a few extras . I haven't done a Fitness Friday for a long time... mostly cause they would have to be un Fitness Friday. I have been trying to get my 10 000 steps each day now for a couple of weeks so perhaps I should start updating that. My weight has crept up again and I have been trying to hammer that down so maybe restarting Fitness Friday will help.
• Prep projects for travel. I have a pile of hanging towels prepped and packed. I have also cut out things for some zipper bags and pot holders but I want to do a pile more so better keep going with that. I have also started to cut the fabric for 25 zipper pouches that have been ordered for HWL 
• Finish Repeat Wall Hanging. This is done and hanging on the wall of our Patchwork room.
• Work on Birds of the Air Twilter quilt. This is completed.
• Jenni's baby quilt - Bessie's Stars - Done
• Catch up on club mystery quilt. All the blocks are made and I am currently working on my own design for putting the pieces together
• Make items for Handmade With Love* - I completed 2 zipper purses and all the projects that I have prepped to take with me are for HWL. I also helped one of our sewing ladies make a little round zipper pouch.
• Quilt Peyton's baby quilt - Done
• Quilt "My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes" Done.

So that is a pretty good go I reckon. I was thrilled to get 4 quilts, a wall hanging and 2 zipper bags completed this month. That is pretty good going!

Now to work out what I am going to do this next month. We will be travelling for the whole time - well at least away from home. We hope to do some free camping and that means no power for my sewing machine so I am going to need some hand projects. I am still working on that. Maybe an applique project and some crochet.

The other things I have bubbling away which I want to at least dabble in  

• Work on Doily quilt. I need to put the pieces I have cut up on the design wall and decide on the sashing and corner stones and get these cut.

• Work on String Quilt. I have the foundation fabric cut. I need to decide on the background fabric and also string pieces.
• Work out the design for club Mystery quilt and start to piece. Make extra blocks requred

• Decide on a design for Suzu's quilt.(She is the daughter of our 2004 host son from Japan. I get to claim her as a grandchild since he calls me Mum).I am tossing up between a pattern I have bought or an applique quilt with Australian animals. The applique one would give me a hand project whilst we travel..... 
• work on projects for HML. I have a neat pile of things cut and ready to take away with me. I might get to add to it before we go.
• work on hand projects. Crochet towels or perhaps applique
• Work on the 4 Christmas Stockings I have been commissioned to make for HWL (they are for my sister but the money is going to Handmade With Love)
• make 25 simple zipper pouches - a commission for HWL

That will well and truly keep me busy for October. Have you chosen some projects to work on for this coming month?

*Handmade With Love or HWL is a sewing group that I am part of. We sew things to sell to raise money for Our Rainbow House, (ORH) a school in Chainda, Zambia for the poorest children in a settlement. The charity was started by a local woman from my hometown and is run from here. My husband, Fixit Guy, helps with the financial side of things 

WIP Wednesday

This week my Twilters "Birds in the Air" block swap blocks arrived. It took a little while for them to fly back to swappers on this side of the world. Lyndi and mine arrived together

Its been so much fun seeing the designs that others in the swap have worked out.

I worked out my design and have managed to get the centre of the quilt together. Now to work out a border that will set the lovely blocks off

I've got sore fingers tonight. I pinned 3 baby quilts today at our Patchwork Group sewing day today. Usually my friend Lyndi helps me but she had her own mission today and baby quilts don't take so long. Trouble was that 2 of them had minky backings and they have to be really well pinned to stop them going wonky. I used up almost all the pins in my box. Mind you I do have another one already pinned so with 4 quilts ready to go its no wonder I have very few pins remaining!!

Tonight I got 2 of them quilted. I did very open and simple stipple. I've cut the binding but have yet to stitch it together. I would love to get them finished off this week.

Yesterday at Handmade With Love I stitched the ribbon hangers on the little mini Christmas Stockings I had finished off last week. I have left them at HWL and we will sell them at our Christmas markets at the end of the year.

I worked on finishing off the table runners over the weekend. It was good to get them all done. I dropped them off at HWL yesterday too.

Friday we are heading over to Sarina for a few days. We are taking the caravan and as well and so I will be able to sew whilst we are away. So I am prepping a few projects whilst we are away. I have my eye on making some of these bags

I've done a little preparation. Will have to make sure I have all the rest of the bits and pieces that I need. I am also.

So... its been a busy and productive week. How has your week gone?

Sunday Stash Report

This week has been cool and wet here in Central Queensland. Now you could expect it to be cool since its officially mid winter but we are on the Tropic of Capricorn so we don't do winter too well. Yes it gets cold overnight (sometimes down to zero but that's pretty rare. Under 10 normally) but during the day we usually get to the mid 20s. A common saying here is we get 2 weeks of winter where you have to leave your jacket on all day. Its been low to mid teen maximums this week on quite a few days. So we little thin blooded precious babies have felt the cold.

And its wet. That isn't usual. We normally get summer rain... infact not too far north of here people don't talk summer winter spring autumn when it comes to seasons. Its the Wet season and the Dry season and the winter months is the dry season. So winter rain isn't common but this year we have had the highest rain falls for June and July for many decades.

So cold bleak weather - who wants to go outside. Not me that is for sure. Its been great weather to stay home and sew. I got over my horrid cold but Fixit Guy came down with it so - he's not been wanting to do too much that would distract me from sewing.

SO I have accomplished quite a bit this week and have heaps of finishes. Mostly they have been small things but - whatever. A finish is a finish.

Fabric Baskets: I made 3 of these for the Handmade with Love stall. 2 of them have Christmas fabric on the outside which came from the HWL stash but the linings all came from my stash as well as one outer so a small bit of usage. .21m 

Pencil Cases: I've made 13 of these this week to the new pattern I found. The tutorial can be found here. My sister sent me the feature fabric that I used in 10 of them. I had to input the fabric as well so its not "pure profit". 1.59m

Table runners: I finished off 8 of these this week. I had made the tops last week but got them all finished off so can count them at last. I handed 3 in without photographing them. I made 8 following the picture of one I found on the Pinterest. It was only the picture not a pattern. (I can't assign credit as the picture didn't say)

 and 3 from leftover scraps. Some of the fabric came from Handmade With Love stocks so I only counted half of what I made in my calculations. 1.56m

Bessie's Bears: Finally quilted and bound the baby quilt I pinned out a few weeks ago. I called it Bessie's Bears in honour of my mum who stitched the embroidered bears on it. Its based on the Missouri Star Quilt Company pattern "Sparkle".  Its going to a great niece in Sydney. I'll take it when I go down in August. 4.02m

I deliberately didn't put all the pictures going the one way so the quilt can be used in any direction. Of course if my niece in law is OCD that might just drive her nuts... I don't think she is

I love my mum's embroideries. She isn't stitching anymore so the remaining embroideries I have are being carefully hoarded in order that each of my nieces and nephews will be able to get a little of mum's work

Summer Reading QAL : yesterday I finished off my bookshelf wall hanging. I had the "shelves" all done for a while now but finally got cracking and put it together and then quilted and bound it. I even put the hanging sleeve on it and the label so its all done. The pattern is by Daisy Fredericks of Lazy Daisy Quilts (and Reads). The pattern is on Craftsy here. Pam and Lynne from The Stitch TV Show ran the QAL. I added .2 to my fabric tally to allow for the sleeve and the extra wastage and piecing for paper piecing. 1.14m

Pippin wanted in on the action.

The only fabric in was the .5 m of super hero fabric my sister sent me.

I have ordered some Pokemon fabric from Equilter to make some more pencils, book bags, zipper pouches etc to capture some of the market created by the Pokemon Go craze sweeping the world. Hope they are popular. I don't have to count that till it arrives though... phew

Wks 28 and 29

Fabric used                          8.31 m
Fabric Added                       0.51m 
Weekly Net                          7.80m

YTD
Fabric Used                      71.64m
Fabric Added                    36.86m
Year Net                            34.78m

Linking up with Patchwork Times

Wip Wednesday

I've had a nasty cold for the last 12 days. It has meant that one way and another I haven't gotten my WIPs or stash reports written for a week or 2 but you get that.

This last 2 week I have been working on a number of different things.

I have got the top of the last of the 5 baby quilts that I need to make put together. I have one pinned ready to quilt but have to make backs for the other 4 before I can pin and quilt them all. They are all variations of the Sparkle Quilt by Missouri Star

I have also been working on some Christmas table runners for our Handmade With Love stall at the Christmas in July Craft fair. Some of the fabric came from Handmade with Love and some from my own stash. I had found the pattern on Pinterest and adapted it to suit me. The pattern had it made from a charm pack but I cut mine from yardage for the most part plus some 5" squares in my scraps. I ended up making 5 table runners to the pattern. I photographed them before I sewed them together...

From left over hst I made another 2 table runners. I also made 4 log cabin blocks from the scraps that I put together into 8th mat. 

At HML this week I was able to get 3 of the table runners finished off. I hope to get the remaining ones done this week, or at least before I go away on the 22nd. I forgot to take photos of the finished ones before I handed them over. Silly me! I might take some photos when I go over with my other goodies for the stall on Saturday.

My sister asked me to make her grandson who starts school next year, a special pencil case for her to give him for Christmas. She had seen pictures of the ones I had made with the pencils on the pencil case and thought it would be great for him to have one with super hero pencils. The fabric she sent me really wasn't going to work on narrow pencils, given the size of the superhero's on fabric.

 I found a picture of another "pencil" pencil case on Pinterest but the website was in German and the translation ap on my computer didn't make it much clearer.

 There wasn't a full set of instruction on the site anyway from what I could tell.  I was able to sort of work it out and ended up making 2 of them, using up all the spiderman fabric she had sent me. (she sent me a selection of 6 fabrics but they were only 10cm cuts). It was a bit frustrating not knowing exactly how the designer had gone about making them.

The pattern I found was here. As I said - in German! Today looking at the website I realised that there was a link to the original tutorial on the pencil case ... in English. The tutorial is on www.GwennyPenny.com here. 

I contacted Gwen to find out about paying the reasonable licence fee and she kindly agreed to waive it for our group since we sew for charity. It was very kind of her.

The tutorial is great and it will be much easier to make them that way than how I did them.

It was a really exciting day today for our patchwork group. We took delivery of our new longarm machine, which was obtained via a grant we were given. The people we bought it from delivered it, set it up and then ran a workshop on how to use it. Its great to have. I have a couple of quilts I want to get done on it asap. One has a very definite deadline. My friend Lindi (who has a much younger brain than me) listened intently and has promised to help me when I do my first quilts (its good to have younger friends with a retentive brain)

 Lindi and the shop owner during the setting up time

Lindi on the Longarm. 

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?