Heartland Guild and my September stash report

The Heartland Guild met yesterday. I always enjoy guild, but this one was extra fun.  First, our guild presented 41 fabric microwave hotpad bowls to a local organization that has a soup luncheon as a fund raiser. The soup luncheon features hand made bowls made by students. The diners purchase the bowl with their soup. This year they will also be able to purchase a hotpad bowl.

 

 

And then we had a wonderful trunk show by Catherine Erickson, a certified Judy Neimeyer instructor. She showed us some amazing quilts - each more beautiful than the last - and talked about her business, Canton Quilt Retreat. I think we have more than a few guild members interested in doing a class/retreat with her in the future.  Catherine had patterns for sale and I bought 2 that I've been admiring for quite some time online. And then - I won a third pattern as a door prize. How lucky is that?

And now for my stash report. I must make a confession - September was definitely a month for fabric shopping. And I've enjoyed every bit of it. Just over 39 yards were added to the stash this month, with more than half of that backing for some current quilts. The rest was just for fun!!

 

I've finished some things this month too. Two large quilts are finished and 2 more smaller quilt tops are ready to quilt. And there were a couple of smaller projects finished too. Plus - even with the large purchases I'm still slightly ahead of the stash!!

 

In this month: 39.5 yds

In this year: 127.75yds

Out this month: 31 yds

Out this year: 131.5 yds

July stash report

July has been a bit more productive than June in terms of finishes.  I totally finished a baby quilt and a big quilt plus a few small things (4 pillowcases,a tablerunner, and 2 bags). Another large quilt has finally reached flimsy stage and has been dropped off for quilting. And I've had lots of fun with blocks for Farm Girl Vintage, bringing the total completed blocks to 30 of each size.  

I added some yardage, but most of it was bought for backing, binding, or to use in a current project. I really didn't add any "just for fun" stash this month. I'm trying to be more deliberate in my purchasing until I've made a bigger dent in the stash. And nothing just screamed "buy me" this month. 

In this month: 11 yds

In this year: 79.75 yds

Out this month: 22.25 yds

Out this year: 98.5 yds

Love seeing that "out" number growing and staying ahead of the "in" number.

June status of the stash

The month of June went by so fast that I'm not even sure what I did or didn't do. Yikes!

I do know that I donated some fabric again to a local lady who makes quilts for veterans at the VA hospitals. There are 9 yards of 6" strips in these 2 rolls. She was very excited about how many quilts she could make with these. And I was very excited that it would be used. 

The only finishes I had were small things - a bag, a pillow, a pillowcase, and a mug rug-size mini. But I'm close to having some bigger things to count. It seems like May and June had a focus on individual blocks for lots of different projects, and nothing finished. That will change soon!

In this month: 7.5 yds

In this year: 68.75 yds

Out this month: 12.5 yds

Out this year: 76.25 yds

I'm still a little bit ahead of the stash but have big ambitions to add some large numbers to that "out" column in the next month or two.

June 5 stash report

Just before Memorial Day my sister-in-law Kathy and I made a quick road trip to Rapid City to pick up my granddaughter.  Kathy's a quilter too, so we just had to stop in a couple of quilt shops. I enhanced the stash with 5.25 yards of fun fabric. The fat quarters in front are some I picked out to used for more of the car blocks using the Row By Row license plates. The middle row will fit into my Temecula Circa 2016 project.

That wasn't my biggest sewing/quilting purchase this past couple of weeks however. I replaced my sewing machine too and am glad that I'm not counting dollars spent on quilting. But then again maybe I should be.

I used 1.25 yards of the feather fabric to cut 6" squares for my guild. And I dug into some "adopted" stash and finished a very simple large quilt top to count another 4.5 yards used this week. I need to remember to take a photo to post. I plan to donate that quilt top somewhere.  And I'm donating another 5 yards of fabric from that adopted stash to be used for a charity project at guild.

In this month: 5.25 yds

In this year: 61.25 yds

Out this month: 10.75 yds

Out this year: 63.75 yds

May 22 - Status of the Stash

I realized this morning that the last stash report I made was April 24 - a whole month ago!  I've done a bit of sewing since then.

These 2 blocks are Centauris for May in our Saturday Sampler. The first one is my bonus block to enter into a drawing to hopefully win all of the bonus blocks. This month's them is batiks and I went for bright ones.

The second block is made with the Saturday Sampler fabrics, which are an over-dyed muslin. Very crisp fabric that sews like a dream. I don't usually go for these dusty colors but I have to leave my comfort zone once in awhile.

Over the past month I did finish a quilt top (elephants in 30s fabrics) and a table runner (Easter Sunrise). I've made a TON of blocks of various sizes that will have to be added in later to the stash used. And I've bought some background, sashing, and border fabrics to finish up some other projects. 

So here is the stash report for the past 2 weeks.

In this month: 6 yds

In this year: 56 yds

Out this month: 5 yds

Out this year: 53 yds

The stash is leading but not by very much. And I'm optimistic that I'll be bumping up those "out" numbers this summer since I won't be working full time. I have some major sewing plans.

Sunday Status of the Stash

Again I'm posting a 2 week report because I forgot all about it last week. And I'm guilty of having added some yardage to my stash in the past 2 weeks. I've done a lot of sewing this week but it's mostly been individual blocks so I won't be counting much. I did make 1 new pillowcase and I finished the binding on a baby quilt so I can count the yardage for that quilt. I'll get a photo of it to post tomorrow.

This is the Sunny Sunflower block from Farm Girl Vintage and is this month's challenge for our Sew Vintage group. The small version is cut out and ready to go.  There is another block called Crops that is a stem and leaves that pairs up nicely with this one, but I haven't decided yet if I'm going to make that. Maybe.  And the last couple of blocks from the Facebook group I'm following are not done yet either.

So here is the stash report for the past 2 weeks.

In this week: 10.75 yds

In this year: 50 yds

Out this week: 7.5 yds

Out this year: 48 yds

Oops!  I've allowed the stash to get into the lead. 

Sunday stash report - March 27

Happy Easter!  

I forgot all about a Sunday stash report the past couple of weeks. Maybe that was my way of avoiding the addition of new numbers to the "in" column. I've made some purchases, but it's been mostly background, borders, backing, or binding fabrics. I needed those to finish some projects, right? 

As for the "out" column, I've finished a couple of small things. The 3-D Pinwheel table runner was a finish this week. And I have the Dresden Plate quilt top ready to be quilted. That makes 2 child sized quilts hanging in the closet, ready to quilt and bind. 

And this baby quilt will go to the quilter this week because I will need to finish this one and mail it to the new mom and daughter. And now that I see the photo, I think another dark chevron at the bottom would balance the design better and won't be a problem for the length. Back to the sewing room to cut and sew a few more HST for that last row. I am counting 3 yards for this top. 

In this week (actually 3 weeks): 8 yds

In this year: 25.75 yds

Out this week: 7.5 yds

Out this year: 42 yds

I am still ahead of the stash!

A small finish to add to my stash report

Wow!  I am so much happier with this mini quilt than I was when I first started it. And I finally got a photo that is fairly accurate with the colors.

Isn't it strange how sometimes when you have a project going in those first stages, it suddenly doesn't look like you imagined it would?  And then the disappointment sets in and that is when things are in danger of being set aside to never to finished. 

That is where this project was after I had about 3 of the sections made. I was seriously questioning my color choices and just didn't like it.  But I pulled it out this month and decided I needed to "suck it up" and finish it anyway. It has a lot of pink in it so it will meet our guild challenge to make something with pink. And now that it's hand quilted and bound - I love it. 

This pattern is from a book on paper pieced minis called Little Gems. And now that I have this one done I've already been looking through the book to figure out which one I want to try next. But not right away.

Now for a quick stash report. I forgot to do one last week so this is a 2 week report and I only have 1/2 yard of "used" fabric to claim - for this mini quilt. But I'm getting really close to adding some bigger used numbers as soon as I finish some binding. Last week I did add 3.5 yards of stash enhancement however.

In this week: 3.5 ydsIn this year: 9 ydsOut this week: .5 ydsOut this year: 18.5 yds

I am still ahead of my stash by 8.5 yards this year so far. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Sunday stash report

I've actually USED a lot of fabric this week, but none of it will give me a finish that I can count - yet. The top for the Cottage in the Woods is done, backing is pieced, binding is made, and I've made a few more blocks for Allietare. But no finishes.

As the photo shows, Allietare is coming along slowly. I'm wishing I had stuck with Bonnie Hunter's choice of grey where my green is, or that I had picked a nice clean blue. The green is OK but I think blue would have been even better. Oh well . . . 

I do have a big quilt being quilted so hopefully I'll have another finish to count fairly soon. I'm hoping that I have something in my stash that is suitable for binding it. Guess I need to do some digging later today.

In this week: 3 yds

In this year: 5 yds

Out this week: 0 yds

Out this year: 11.5 yds

I'm still happy to be ahead of my stash. 

A little cottage & stash report

The small version of this cottage block is just as cute as the large version. Love this one even though there were a LOT of 1" squares in this little gem.

My big finish for the week was the flannel quilt so I get to add 12 yards to the used column. Yay!! That includes the 6 yards used on the back. 12 yards might be a bit low but since the quilt blocks and top were made so long ago I just doubled the backing and called it good.

In this week: 0 yds

In this year: 2 yds

Out this week: 12 yds

Out this year: 16.5 yds

So I've gotten a bit further ahead of the stash at least temporarily.

Sunday Status of the Stash - January 10

The only fabric purchases made so far this year . . . 1 yard of black flannel to use for binding an extra long twin sized flannel quilt and a snowman panel that was 50% off. I picked up the quilt from the long arm quilter and hopefully I'll get that binding on during this next week so I can count the whole quilt as "used" yardage. I did the machine work on that binding yesterday so now I need to trim it and then do the hand stitching. 

I finished some pillowcases this week, including this short one using a Disney Princess panel. It is just big enough to hold an 18 or 20" square pillow form.  This one may have to be mailed to my niece in Texas to give to her granddaughter since they just returned from a trip to Disney World where she had the ultimate princess experience.

In this week: 2 yds

In this year: 2 yds

Out this week: 2.5 yds

Out this year: 4.5 yds

So I'm still ahead of my stash by a little.  

Status of the stash

My accomplishments for the week were 6 pillowcases for donation and adding some Christmas-y fabric trim to 2 dishtowels. I decided my infected eye wasn't allowing for accurate cutting or accurate stitching. The eye isn't getting much better so I'm guessing another visit to the doctor is going to happen this week.

• In this week:  0 yds
• In this year:  218 yds
• Out this week:  6 yds
• Out this year 190 yds

Status of the Stash:  Stash is winning by 28 yards.

Sunday stash report

No new finishes to count this week and I made some purchases that added to the stash. 

I'm considering doing the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt this winter, and I picked up some yardage for it yesterday. I stopped in our local Ben Franklin Crafts to look for some embroidery floss and ended up with 5 yards of fabric purchased on sale.  3 yards of dark red batik (even though the photo looks purple) for $8.99/yard and 2 yards of a nice rich gold (not washed out like the photo) for $5.99/yard. Score!!  Plus I found a Christmas gift for my youngest grandson in their great children's toy selections. Double score!!

And if I don't end up doing the mystery quilt I've added some lovely pieces to my stash for a future project. No guilt. 

In this week:  5 ydsIn this year:  201 ydsOut this week:  0 ydsOut this year 174.5 yds
Status of the Stash:  one step forward and two steps back! I'm falling further behind.

Sunday status of the stash

Two weeks worth of status to report since I forgot to do it last week.  It has actually been a more productive couple of weeks than I thought it would be.

When my husband is gone for work I tend to get more sewing done, and he has been gone for 2 weeks straight on a job site. He came home Thursday night late and will leave again early this afternoon for another 2 weeks. 

So in these 2 weeks I finished 2 UFOs: my Halloween block swap and a wall hanging. That will be 8.5 yards total for the quilt backing/binding and for the wall hanging. I'll post about that later this week. I also used up 3 yards on new pillowcases, 1 yard to make scissor cases, and a 1/2 yard on binding for a charity quilt. Total of 13 yards in 2 weeks. Yay!!!!

In this week:  2 yds

In this year:  196 yds

Out this week:  13 yds

Out this year 174.5 yds

Status of the Stash:  still way behind the stash but making progress! Down by 21.5 yards.

Week 39 Status of the Stash

In this week: 6.5 yds
In this year: 170 yds
Used this week: 0 yds
Used this year: 159.5 yds

Stash is ahead by 10.5 yards and the gap is widening!

I bought 2 yards of extra wide backing for my Halloween quilt on Monday and the quilt is already back from the quilter and ready for binding.  Yay!!  And I purchased the 30s jelly roll yesterday during a 20% off sale at The Pin Cushion following a WONDERFUL trunk show by Diane Gubels. 

I got in quite a bit of sewing last week since the hubbie was gone all week on a golf trip. This week he'll be on the road for work, but I'm not anticipating much sewing time. I'm taking Wednesday off to help my daughter's family move into a new (to them) house. And Friday morning I'll be on a bus headed for our guild shop hop bus trip. I'll have some major additions to the stash next week I'll bet. But it will be a lot of fun adding to the stash.

Week 38 Status of the Stash

Nothing added to the stash and nothing finished this week. But this weekend, I've had plenty of sewing time since the hubbie left Saturday morning for a week-long golf vacation with a group of guys.  My September pieced block for Saturday Sampler is finished, and so is the miniature version.

In this week: 0 yds
In this year: 163.5 yds
Used this week: 0 yds
Used this year: 159.5 yds

There were a few other small sewing tasks completed this past week - but involves individual blocks again, so no yardage counted as used YET.

Week 37 Status of the Stash

Well - I added 6 yards to my stash this week, but it was purchased for $7 a yard and will be ideal for backing. So no guilt involved in this purchase. I did have a small finish this week for 1.5 yards used in the little Halloween table topper. And I can check off another UFO with that one even thought it ended up being something different that it originally was planned.  

In this week: 6 yds
In this year: 163.5 yds
Used this week: 1.5 yds
Used this year: 159.5 yds

Status of the Stash: I'm behind my stash again by a 4 yards.  

All of the rest of my sewing was individual blocks for a variety of projects. But variety keeps me from getting bored, so it's all good. 

Saturday was split between enjoying some "quilty" social time at Saturday Sampler and Sew Vintage, followed by a neighborhood golf outing and party.  A great fall weekend with warm sunny days following cool crisp mornings. I love this time of year!

Week 36 Status of the Stash

I had some progress this past week that used up quite a chunk of fabric, and I only purchase 1.5 yards. Hey I needed to add to my orange selections as this month's RSC15 color is orange.  

My Minnesota wall hanging and the Halloween flimsy used up a total of 7 yards of fabric.  Can't wait to get the Halloween one quilted because it will look great in my family room in late October. 

In this week: 1.5 yds
In this year: 157.5 yds
Used this week: 7 yds
Used this year: 158 yds

Status of the Stash: I'm ahead of my stash by a 1/2 yard.  Yippee!!!

No sewing today, but I did get a round of golf played. This was the only round I've played since the first week of August. We had 30 mph winds on the front nine and it looked like it would rain any second. But the wind died down and the rain missed us, so we played all 18 holes.  Maybe some sewing will happen tomorrow since my hubbie will leave in the morning for a business trip and my house will be very quiet.

Week 34 & 35 Status of the Stash

It has been a wild and crazy couple of weeks and very little of that was spent sewing. It's pre-service workshop time in our school districts so I've been on the road every day for work. Happily, school has now started for most of our districts so my schedule is back to a more normal pace.

In the past 2 weeks I purchased almost 6 yards of fabric, with most of that being for a baby quilt for a gift. This yellow, grey, white color scheme should be pretty. And I also finished some things totaling 8.5 yards, so that is a positive number.

In this week: 5.75 yds
In this year: 156 yds
Used this week: 8.5 yds
Used this year: 151 yds

Status of the Stash: Still behind my stash by 5 yards, but have reduced that by a little bit so I'm optimistic.

Weeks 32 & 33 Status of the Stash

Oops! My first post this morning was very incomplete and makes me wonder how I managed to do that and not notice immediately.

In the past 2 weeks I've managed to add 9 yards of new fabric to my stash, including fabric for a baby girl quilt and other fabric that just wanted to come home with me. Call it retail therapy I guess. The only finish I managed this past couple of weeks were 4 pillowcases. My favorites are the fish - so bright and cheerful. 

I've also made quite a few blocks for other BOM projects such as RSC15, Traveling Stars, and Saturday Sampler, and I made 2 rows from the Row By Row kits I've been collecting. But since none of that can be counted until I have a completed quilt top, it doesn't show up in my count yet. But I did make a binding for a UFO and plan to work on that later today so there is hope that a few yards will be counted in my next report.

In this week: 9 yds
In this year: 150.25 yds
Used this week: 4 yds
Used this year: 142.5 yds

Status of the Stash: Still behind my stash, by almost 8 yards.  I need to get my mojo going again and use up more of that stash.