Slow Stitching Sunday ... and Some Major Stash Enhancement!!!

Since I have been traveling for the holiday, I was able to get in some sweet hand stitching!  I finally finished up the 7th block in my Promises & Borders quilt.  I only have 3 more blocks to finish this up.

I also got a lot done on my latest Blue Winter Wonderland block.... just a few snowflakes left to finish this one up.  Lots to go before this quilt will be finished though :*)

I always so enjoy the gentle pace of hand stitching and look forward to my time with needle and thread :*)  I'll be linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching linky party, so be sure to go over and see what others are slowly stitching up!

I can't wait to get home (driving all day tomorrow!) and get busy on some really fun projects going on!  Bonnie posted the first Easy Street clue Friday and all I could do was LOOK!!!  I am just itching to chop up some 2" strips with my new die cutter and get busy making those cute little 4 patches!!!  And Jenny at Sew Kind of Wonderful posted the newest Curve It Up QAL block - a curved rail fence - sweet!!!!  Look for some fun project posts SOON!   =^..^=

However, my week was not all spent in traveling, visiting family, cooking, and eating lots of this...

Yes indeedy - that's a 24 pounder!!!!  Just before he went in for his last browning :*)

I also managed to enhance the stash quite nicely!!!!

I always try to go by Mary Jo's in Gastonia when I am in North Carolina, and it worked out perfectly for me to drop in last Tuesday.  I even ran into Mary Jo herself!  I'll do a post next week on my visit and share some of the pictures I took at the shop, but for now I'll just share some of my goodies....

Some of these luscious lime/apple greens will be added to my Easy Street stash!

Love these aquas!!!
These will not only be used on Easy Street but also on my aqua Jamestown Landing (someday!)

This yummy aqua batik was only $7 a yard so I had to bring home some of it - wouldn't you????

This is the gray I decided to use for Easy Street - I like it much better than the one I had in my stash.

Two more fat quarters for Easy Street!

I'm hoping this happy orange polka dot will work with  my Curve It Up QAL fabrics

There are always so many batiks to choose from at Mary Jo's, but these had to come home with me!  I love the rich blues and I'm thinking they will work well with my Butterflies quilt.  This picture does not do the multi-colored one on top justice - the picture below is better....

This is a better shot of the multi-colored blue/purple batik - WOW!!!  It is a gorgeous piece of fabric!

So the Stash Report for this week is.......

Stash Enhancement Report - November 25, 2012 

Used/Destashed this week:  0.0 yards

Used/Destashed YTD 2012: 222.75 yards

Stashed this week: 14.25 yards

Stashed YTD 2012: 269.00 yards

Net Used for 2012: -46.25 yards

Be sure to go over to Patchwork Times to see how others are doing at managing their stash!

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=

Works in Progress - 2/13/2013

Since finishing up Easy Street, I've been working on catching up on some of my other projects, and whittling away at my Get It Done list for February.

But first I thought I'd share this SO CUTE little Heart Basket I made for Valentine's Day!

Isn't it just the sweetest little basket?  

I gave this to my husband filled with his favorite candies for Valentine's Day.  

No, I couldn't wait!!!  He got it early :*D

Here are a progression of pictures as I put it together.  It was a lot of fun!
(And yes, that is a Pocahontas beach towel under there LOL!!!)

The base is sometimes the hardest part, getting it square and the right size. 
It's especially hard when you have these odd angles!!!
Then getting the strips to stand up straight - I learned that this process is called "upsetting".
Yes, it was definitely upsetting to me at times LOL!!!

You have to clip the corners together until it is far enough along to begin keeping the correct shape.

It's beginning to look like a basket!!!  Don't you just love that deep pink reed?!?

The finishing touch!

This basket took me about 2-1/2 hours to make.  The other girls in the class finished up much more quickly than I did because they make baskets every month.  I also got there late :)  So they were halfway finished by the time I got there.  By the time I left, they had finished their basket, as well as a miniature one just like it!  Donna Christian teaches these classes, and she is such a great teacher!  If you're local to Nashville and would like to learn basket weaving, Donna's your girl!  Thanks again Donna!!!

Basket making is something I enjoy as a totally different hobby than quilting.  Sometimes I tend to get in too deep with quilting, too intense, too obsessed, so that I eat, sleep, breathe quilting!  I'm sure that never happens to any of you LOL!!!  It's nice to totally switch off the quilting button once in a while and take a breather.

Knitting/crocheting is another way I like to switch it up and relax with something different.  As I shared in my last post, I am working on this scarf which is a free pattern from Red Heart called Shore Thing.

And this is how far I've gotten on it.  

It took a little bit to get started because I couldn't get the instructions right to save me!  But it finally came together and it's coming along nicely now.  It's not an easy pattern though, so it won't be one of those I just pick up and work on without thinking about it.  I'm loving the colors, especially since they are not colors that I've worked with recently - another nice change!

As I expected, I was able to get quite a lot done on my next blocks for The Blue Collection at sit-n-sew on Monday!  This first block is completed except for leaving an opening at the mouth of the vase for flowers to come later after the blocks are assembled.

This was a really easy block to do because I basically let the fabric do the work of embellishment.  All the fabrics have lovely goldwork in them.

Then, I began working on the second vase, which will require quite a bit more work because it is assembled with lots of layers...

I noticed when posting this picture that the brown section seems woppy at the bottom, but I went back to check the pattern and it is that way too.  I may have to go back and smooth that out anyway.  We'll see.

And last, but certainly not least, I need to decide on a back for Easy Street.  I have this wonderful wide-back piece of aqua that I just love with it...

The problem however, as you can see here, is that it is not long enough....  

I must have bought the end of a bolt in a sale when I got this, because I always buy at least 3 yards of a wide-back - this is only a little over 2 yards.  I thought about keeping it for a lap-size quilt, and I may still do that.  But if I decide to use it, I either need to find a similar or complementary piece to make up the difference or make more Easy Street blocks to carry the design over to the back.  Ugh!!!  Not sure I could handle making more ES blocks right now!  Having this quilt and the backing ready for quilting is one of my February Get It Done items, so I want to get it done quickly and not just put it on a shelf until later.

So that's what I'm up to this week - busy, busy, busy!!!

And what does Gypsy think of all my hard work?  

Something tells me she is NOT impressed LOL!!!

I'll be linking up here with these fun blogs - come join in the fun!!!

************************

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

I'm in Love!!!

Seriously in Love..... with Easy Street!

Easy Street Linky Party HERE!

This Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt has been sew much fun to work on!  

I did fall behind during the weeks leading up to Christmas with so much going on.  Unhappily, our children were not able to come after Christmas for their usual visit, so I decided to make myself busy to take my mind off my disappointment.  And Easy Street was a very willing project =^..^=

The only clue that still remained to be sewn up when Clue #7 posted on New Year's Eve was #4 - the aqua/purple flying geese.

They were all cut, but I had not yet sewn them up and attached them to the white/purple flying geese.  Fortunately, I did not need these #4 units in order to work on #7 which showed us how to construct the corner and setting triangles, so I was able to make them up quickly.

Four Corner Triangles

A couple of the 12 Setting Triangles

As soon as I saw these made up, I knew this was going to be a quilt that I'm going to LOVE!  

These colors are the main reason I decided to go ahead and join up for this mystery, even though I had so much that was already making demands on my time.  Aqua and Lime Green are my two favorite colors - and I knew they'd be gorgeous with purples and black/whites!

Bonnie promised a "Rapid Fire Finish" to this mystery - and boy, she wasn't kidding!!!  We got Clue #6 on Friday morning, followed by Clue #7 on Monday (New Year's Eve), and Clue #8 - the Finale! - followed immediately on its heels on New Year's Day!  Whew!!!

The final clue was The Big Reveal!  We were given two blocks - a main block and an alternate block - both gorgeous!!!  Here are the first of both of them for my quilt.  I just LOVE all that scrappy happiness :*D

Block A - the Main Block - isn't this just gorgeous???

Block B - the Alternate Block

 The addition of the Alternate block really adds a nice sashing effect, with multiple chains throughout the quilt.  Yummy!!!

And this is with the blocks in their place in the quilt.....  

I finished up the aqua/purple flying geese last night, so I should be able to go to town on finishing up these blocks and putting this amazing quilt top together.  I can't wait to see it done!  For a change, Bonnie does not include pieced borders on this quilt.  I haven't even begun to think about the fabrics I might choose for mine.

Are you working on a fun project right now?  What's got you excited about 2013???  

I'm making up lists and plans and getting really excited about the New Year!

And I'm looking forward to sharing the fun with all of you of course!

=^..^=

Hugs & Blessings,

Teresa

=^..^=

Linking up with:

It's SO GOOD To Be Home!!!

Easy Street is on my Design Wall today....  

Well, it will be once I get these strips sewn together and make a ton of 4-patches  :*D

We just got home last night from our 9-day marathon trip to visit with family in North Carolina for the Thanksgiving holidays!  Whew!  We had SUCH a great time, but we are pretty exhausted.  It is always a joy to spend time with our family, and we treasure every minute together!  But afterward it is so nice to come home to our own home, with our own bed and our own things!  Dorothy was right, There's No Place Like Home!!!

I do think this little fella is going to be missing us though....  =^..^=

This trip, we even took our 17-year-old cat, Gypsy, with us because I would have worried about her too much to enjoy myself, even with someone coming in to feed her twice a day.  I just felt that even for a cat, being left alone that long would not be a good thing.

We were pleasantly surprised at how patient and quiet she was during the trip out there and then back and forth to different homes.  She was a real trooper and behaved like the royal princess she is =^..^=  She was not named Little Egypt for nothing!!!  But on the way home, she had had enough I guess.  About 2 hours into the trip, she began letting us know in no uncertain terms that she wanted out of that darn cage!!!

So we decided that as long as she sat still we would try letting her sit on my lap for a while.  This was my view the rest of the trip!

I was surprised at how interested she was in everything out of the window!  She loved the mountains and was just amazed at the semi trucks as we passed them.  She was fun to watch!

But I can tell you, she was one tickled little kitty when she got to her own house!  She kept looking around as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming!  I actually think we all felt that way :*)

As soon as we got in the house and unpacked the car, I happily trotted up to my sewing studio and dove into the first clue for Easy Street!  Remember I told you yesterday that I found this wonderful gray .....

 .... to use instead of this one I had in my stash?

Well, I could hardly believe it, but when I put them with the background black-on-white (BOW) prints, I decided I like the original gray better!

New gray with the BOW prints

Original gray with the BOW prints

I felt the new one blended in too much with the white prints, and the original gray seems to have more contrast with them, so I went with it.  The new one will go in the stash for another project.


I cut my strips very quickly tonight with my Sizzix 2" die cutter - wow does it make fast work out of that job!  This is 6-1/2 layers of fabric, each cut into five 2" strips.  One swipe of the cutter and I had all the gray strips I needed for Clue #1!

And very little waste too.  That was something I was concerned about with using the cutter, but I've found that I don't have enough waste to worry about at all.  This is all I had left over from the cuts!

Then I layered up the cutter with these cute BOW prints to pair up with the gray strips and make 192 four-patches!

I'll get as many 4-patches as I can sewn up today during my Monday sit-n-sew with friends.  Several of us are doing the Mystery, so it will be fun to work on it together.  I'll try to update this post later today to let you know how far I get :*)

And just because I missed you all so much, I want to share a funny picture with you....

Have you ever seen a plane being transported by truck before?  I HADN'T EITHER!!!  It was the most ridiculous looking thing hanging out of the back of that truck!  But I suppose if you've gotta move a plane and it doesn't fly, you don't have too many options :*D

I hope you all have a fantastic week!  I'll be linking up with Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville for her Easy Street linky party and with Judy at Patchwork Times for her Design Wall Monday post.  Be sure to go by and check out what everyone is working on!!!

Also linking up with:

   

Hugs & Blessings,
Teresa
=^..^=