Sunday Stash Report

I had a finish this week! Yay so excited. Not a little finish like I have had the other weeks of this year but a quilt measuring 60" square. Its great to get it done and I have 2 more pinned and ready to quilt and have arranged with Lyndi to put one on the quilting frame at Patchwork club after our sewing day on Wednesday. As a group we have decided that we don't want people using the machine whilst we are all there sewing. Its a bit noisy and irritating when there is a group of us up there. 

Hopefully I will get at least one big one done then and maybe 2. I have my hexagon quilt, and Handwork Heritage ready to go on the frame. Stand by for some BIG usage numbers soon.

Stringen' Em Along was made from Bonnie Hunter's String X quilt pattern. I made the blocks whilst we were on our holiday last year (late September to early November). I cut an old light sheet into the required sized rectangles to be the base of my string blocks. I was able to use lots of scraps in the blocks themselves - from my strings scraps (under 1.5") as well as lots of 1.5" and 2" strips (some of which I cut down to 1.75")

The backing for the quilt was also heavily pieced - Australian animal pictures that were framed first in 1" finished strips and then wider strips to make them up to 10" blocks. So - its more like 2 quilts. 

I did my go to all over meander when I quilted it and bound it with pieced binding. Originally I was going to use it as an outer border but when I decided to give it to my Japanese Grand daughter I decided to use it as the binding instead and I am really happy with how it turned out.

A pieced back along with a pieced front uses a lot of fabric so my wonderful Fixit Guy who is very computer literate worked out another option for me on the spread sheet which caters for pieced back and pieced front. Using this option I can now say that Stringen Em Along used 5.86m

I have done a lot of sewing this week but Stringen' 'Em Along is my only finish. I have been working away on my En Provence quilt. I have put all the blocks together and am working on the sashing. Its going to be a big quilt when done.... the blocks are 15" finished and its 4 blocks by 4 blocks plus 3" sashing between each row

And its been another week of NO fabric purchased! 

Week 6 
Fabric used        5.86
Fabric added      0.00
Net usage          5.86m

Year to Date     
Fabric used       13.34
Fabric Added       9.05
Net Usage           4.29 Whooo back in BLACK

Now that I  am back in the black I am going to go buy the fabric for the sashing and border of my A to Z quilt so next week there will be some purchases.

Linking up with Patchwork Times

Friday Fitness

I have managed to shift a bit of the weight I found whilst not feeling well. I do almost resent people who lose weight when they are sick. Unless I am physically throwing up my response to not feeling well is to eat... maybe this will make me feel better - no? okay then maybe this. So when hit with the lethargy that  had me sleeping in, snoozing during the day and not doing much in between - I tried to heal myself with nibbling lots.

Anyway this last week I have taken myself in hand somewhat and managed to walk every day and some days to walk twice. I've also had 2 dental appointments (after which my wallet felt a lot lighter) and a chiropractor appointment. Apart from an 18th birthday party last Saturday night I've eaten far less indulgently and continued to try to make good choices. The scales have shown a drop and this morning I was 96.6kgs.

I haven't been looking at my step counts for the day although I am wearing my fitbit. I made 10 000 steps last Friday but haven't since... been in the 9 000 most days and 8 000 other.  Its been really hot here and I am still not sleeping well so I wake up sluggish and with morning appointments I haven't had time to walk before them and then it gets so hot. We walk on dusk which is quite nice - still hot but bearable.

Anyway - hopefully I am back on track and things will improve from now on!

Mid month Goal Review

There is one goal that I should have put up this month. Its one I have been working towards. I really really want to get back into the black as far as my stash report numbers go. 

Back at the beginning of the month a trip to Make In Sew in Brisbane at which I purchased lots of fabrics in the pop culture line saw me well and truly into the red. I bought the fabric in order to sew things for the stall Handmade With Love will have at the Brisbane Comic Convention in September. It was under 9 metres so not a huge amount (although it cost enough believe me) 

However that bigger purchase combined with my mystery lethargy/fatigue has seen me not completing any major projects. I started the year working on a few small UFOs and also participating in a couple of mystery quilts so finishes have been small. As I write this I am still in the red by 1.57m - I am so close to the black I can smell it.

Then last week the fatigue started to lift and I was able to get back into the big sewing. I worked on a number of projects (see this week's WIP post here) as well as a few more smaller projects - items for the stall. 

That was working towards one of my goals as well - Make 10 items for Comic Con Stall. I am up to 5 items made (1 zipper pouch and 4 messenger bags)

One of the WIPs that I made progress on accomplished another of my goals. Complete backing for Stringen' 'Em Along. I have not only completed the backing but now have it pinned and ready to quilt. I have already made the binding as well.

Another of the WIPs I worked on was the Handwork Heritage and in doing so completed another goal. Attach the borders to Handwork Heritage. I attached the borders, made the backing and made the binding. I am hoping to quilt it on the long arm next week.

I have also worked a little on En Provence and plan thus completed the goal Work on En Provence. I have cut the 3.5" squares that were needed to complete the blocks. I have laid a couple of the blocks out to see how they look. 

I have yet to start sewing them together. Perhaps next week.

That leaves 3 goals that I haven't made any progress on (but it is only the end of week one so I can be forgiven)

Charlotte's February clue is not yet released  so  I can't yet Complete February clue on Charlotte's mystery. 

I will be quilting on the long arm next week and hope to get 2 done (that will make up for the one I didn't do last month) Quilt one quilt on long arm.

The last goal for February was A to Z Challenge quilt - Assemble. I can't assemble it yet as I need to buy some fabric for the sashing. I don't really have anything suitable in my stash and I want something that will tie all the different blocks together. And I don't want to buy more fabric till I am back in the black again as far as my stash report is. One of my little conceits

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 

Sunday Stash report on Tuesday

I started this report a few days early and saved it and then didn't get back to finish it for a couple of days. So its coming to you a few days late

Projects completed this week:

Satchel - this is for the Comic Con stall I have decided to participate it. (pattern found here) I will be selling stuff with pop culture theme and sharing a table with Gamer Girl who will be displaying and selling her art work. The fabric for this satchel features skeleton cats and fish bowls and the lining is white skulls on black background. Fangirl assures me that skulls are very "in". .65m

Zipper Pouch - bike fabric. Whilst not strictly pop culture bikes on stuff is very popular so hopefully someone will like this..24m

Fabric In - None. Again. Go me. I have done a LOT of sewing this year and apart from my blow out when in Brisbane buying pop culture fabric, I haven't purchased any fabric and almost everything that I have used has not only come from my stash but also from my scrap stash (apart from the above 2 items which came from the specially purchased fabric either this year or last) You would think that I would be noticing some more space in my scrap drawers but not so far!!

I have 3 5 quilts with backings made and batting cut already to be quilted. A couple I will definitely do on the club long arm but the other 3 are probably small enough for me to do at home. Whilst I would prefer to do them on the long arm as I loathe pinning, and whilst the hire of our club long arm is only $20 per item so very inexpensive I am madly trying to save money for our trip to Europe and Japan in August so...  

Once I get these quilts done my stash report numbers will be well and truly back in black However for the moment I am still in deficit.

How has your fabric usage gone this week?
Week 5 
Fabric used        0.80
Fabric added      0.00
Net usage          0.89m

Year to Date     
Fabric used         5.52
Fabric Added       9.05
Net Usage         -3.53m

Linking up with Patchwork Times

Fitness Friday

Or should I call this not so fit Friday. Since mid January I have been battling some sort of fatigue thing. I put up with it - did what I could on days I felt good, took it easy when that was more my inclination and kept on keeping on. 

It finally got too much for me and I was starting to get a bit worried so I went to see my doctor who ordered blood tests for all sorts of things and on Wednesday I went back to see her and got the results. Basically they were able to rule out lots of nasty stuff and there were only a few things that were worthy of note - my Vitamin D was down again - well down and so was my platelet count. Also my cholesterol was up. Ho hum.

I have been slack this month with my Vitamin D tablets - kept forgetting to take it. I consulted Doctor Google and found that unexplained fatigue can be a symptom of Vitamin D deficiency. (I looked here). 

I found more information about it on Vitamin D on Jean Hailes website here which explained the various levels of Vitamin D deficiency. At 32 I am in the mild category, so not too alarming but not ideal.

SO...... I have been taking my Vitamin D and have actually started taking 2 of them (at one stage the Dr had me on 4 so I am not overdosing). They are 1000 mg each. I will do it for a week or so and then go back to just one.

I have also pushed myself a bit more; Not lain down whenever I have felt like it, gone for a morning and/or afternoon walk with the dog whatever my inclination. I have been more active during the day.

 

Also with feeling so low and lacking in energy and enthusiasm I was treating myself to all sorts of snacks - eating chocolates and chips and the like. So - no wonder the cholesterol was creeping up. I have cut back on the treats too. 

I am also trying to be a bit better with my bedtime routine. I haven't managed to get to be early early but have tried to get there by 11 and working on doing it earlier. (Had to write a blog post one night... so stayed up later) I am also not looking at my phone once I get into bed or during the night. I listen to podcasts to go to sleep or to put me back to sleep if I wake up. So that is all I am doing with my phone in bed - setting up the podcast and putting the phone on the bedside table. (I have blue tooth headphones now - so cool)
Fixit Guy had to go to Brisbane on Wednesday for a funeral. He won't be home till tomorrow night so I have had to be taking care of myself so that has helped push me along.

So between not doing much walking for over 3 weeks and eating all sorts of rubbish to make me feel better I have put on a bit of weight but not as much as I would have in the past. This morning I weighed 97.1kgs.

Exercise wise I have only made my 10 000 steps once this week but hoping that things will improve from here on in and I will be back to getting them regularly.

And because I haven't been walking as much I haven't taken any nature photos to delight you with... sorry. Actually haven't been walking by the river so much either. We go to the park with Pokemon stops fairly regularly for one but also Jack dog has been indicating he would rather walk around the block. It bemuses me cause when we go by the river he is off the lead and can run where he likes but when we go around the block he has to stay on the lead. Maybe he likes the extra smells on the block walk. 

Anyway here is my Jack this afternoon He was sleeping but woke up when I took the photo. He then looked hopeful that I would take him for a walk now or at least give him some attention but eventually sighed and looked away

WIP Wednesday

I have been plagued all week with a mystery fatigue producing "something" that has had me dragging myself about the place, doing a lot of sleeping, sitting and not a lot else. My usual eagerness to sew at every opportunity has diminished somewhat but I have achieved a good bit despite this. (I have done very little else though)

En Provence has languished. I promised myself I would have a bit of a look at it this week but nadah.

I did finish of the 9 Patches and 4 Patches which were the first clue in the Charlotte Hawks mystery. There were 80 of each... that's a lot of 1.5" squares. 

I have also made a little progress in the backing for "Stringen' 'Em Along". Its to be a gift for our Japanese Grand daughter (daughter of our host son from 2004) so I am making the backing from various Australian fabrics. I am piecing 10" blocks out of various picture fabrics sashed with 1.5" strips

 and then made up to 10.5" with Australian prints. 

Its rather time consuming and fiddley but I am enjoying it. 

I've also had 2 finishes today - my first 2 items for the Handmade With Love stall at Comic Con. I made a zipper purse (which I forgot to photograph) and a small satchel. I used the Kid-Sized Messenger Bag pattern by Merriment Design and to be found here. I hope to get lots more done this month. So long as I keep well I should be able to do it.

I have had to come back and update this blog post as I forgot to add the link to the pattern I used for the satchel AND I forgot the main sewing activity I had this week.

I have been working on my A to Z Blogging Challenge project. I had intended to just get 8 blocks done this month but I got on a roll and now all the blocks for the month are done and hopefully this month I will get the quilt together. Don't know how I forgot this since it is the only thing I got out of bed for for much of the week. Well not true but I could work on it and not fall asleep which I would do the rest of the time.

How are your WIPs going this week?

Linking up with