The Stash & Stitch Report - 1/6/13

I have decided that this year I will post a "Stash & Stitch Report" on Sundays, which will include my Stash Enhancement Report to link up with Judy over at Patchwork Times, as well as any progress made on my Slow Stitching projects which I enjoy linking up at Kathy's Quilts.

For the "Stash" part of each report, I will continue to share fabric additions and finishes - don't we all love eye candy! - but I will no longer post yardages purchased versus used etc.  This girl just wants to have fun and not feel guilty about whether I'm adding too much or not using enough stash :*D

I don't have any additions this week, so that part of today's post is pretty darn easy.

But I do have a finish!

This is an older picture in different lighting so the colors look different....

My poor Blue Pineapple Blossoms quilt has been folded up in my sewing room ready for its binding since March.  And today I got busy and got 'er done!  You can read more about this fun quilt HERE if you are interested.  This was a class taken with Bonnie Hunter in Alabama several years ago.  What fun that was!  We are looking forward to Bonnie coming to the Music City Guild this spring.

I'm really late in joining up with Judy for her Get It Done party for January!  Here is my list:
1.     Binding on Pineapple Blossoms - DONE!
2.     Complete piecing Easy Street mystery top
3.     Complete writing up the pattern for my Stitchery Keeper
4.     Dresden Blog Hop project

I've also been busy doing a little Slow Stitching this week.  My current Promises and Borders block got some attention while watching tv a few nights this week ....

And  I made a couple of luggage tags with these cute little paper-pieced sewing machines - 

I hand embroidered some names at the top (shhh!  it's a secret!) as well as all the little details on the machines.....

Aren't they just the cutest little things!!!  I found the pattern on Pinterest.  It is designed by Megan at Monkey Beans blog, and she is sharing the pattern free for the sewing machine if you would like to make one too :*D

And I also stitched down this gorgeous plate on the next Blue Collection block...

It fits in between the bowl of peaches and this yummy aqua vase, which will be next to go under the needle.  The vase has much more aqua in it than it shows here.

I really enjoyed preparing the pieces for this block using my new favorite method - the starch method!  You can read about how I fell in love HERE if you want to know more about it.  I also wanted to show you the iron stand I picked up in Gatlinburg for the little applique iron.

I was having a hard time keeping the iron in a safe place and off the floor.  But this stand works perfectly - it made the whole process just that much more enjoyable :*)

In other news, Gypsy wanted me to be sure to let you all know that she is feeling much more herself and happy to be on the mend!  She thanks you all SO much for your kind thoughts and prayers =^..^=

Here she is back to one of her favorite habits - drinking from a slow stream of water in the bathtub.
Can you tell that she is a little miffed that I am taking a picture instead of turning on her water????

And last - but certainly not least! - did you notice my new blog header picture?  Well, that was painted by none other than MY MOM!  She was so surprised when she saw that I had made it my header LOL!  I'm thinking she's pretty talented with a brush, right?  That's a bird with personality!  Mom knows that I love cardinals, and she told me I can have this picture if I promise to make her a small quilt just like it for her standing frame - I told her "Heck yeah!  It's a Deal!!!!"

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Linking up with:

Sunday Stash Report – Week #13

This was a pretty good week for my stash.  I added three ½ yard pieces to enhance my batiks, and I finished up several projects.

Finishes first - because I just can’t wait to show you!  I have finished another of my UFO’s that needed to be quilted!  Here is my Blue Blossoms….

This is a pattern from Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville called Pineapple Blossoms.  I drove all the way to Alabama to take this class from Bonnie in May of last year with a couple of equally insane excited friends.   I got perhaps four blocks completed that day because I was having too much fun meeting and chatting with Bonnie!  She is the most down-to-earth and fun teacher I’ve ever met!  Once I got home, the quilt pieces sat for a while until I finally buckled down at a retreat last year and finished it up.  I was delighted when Joanne offered me a long-arm day so I could quilt it and finally call it a QUILT!!!

This quilt design is called Crepe Myrtle - it is a nice simple design with a lot of interest.

The fabric for the back and binding on this quilt came to about 5-1/2 yards.

Another finish - I posted HERE about my wonderful April Calendar quilt top.  Yes, I think it deserves another look-see, don’t you?  

I can’t get enough of it =^..^=   The top took approximately one yard of various fabrics to complete.  Since I won’t get it quilted until next week at retreat I’m not counting the backing or binding yardages yet.

Purchases –  Here are the fabrics I just had to bring home with me this week….

The two brownish/coppery batiks with the lines in them are really interesting because the back side looks like a different color fabric altogether.  

So I am actually getting four fabrics instead of two – which is great for appliqué and scrap quilts!

The pink is for this cute little Cottontail bunny tabletop quilt pattern that is only 14-1/2” square.  

It will be displayed on this table topper frame that I finally broke down and purchased this week as well.

All in all a fun week in the Ivory Tower, and good numbers to report.  I moved 5 yards closer to being in black numbers this week – yoohoo!!!

Used this week:      6.50 yards

Used YTD 2012:      50.50 yards

Added this week:   1.5 yards

Added YTD 2012:   61.50 yards

Net Used for 2012: -11.00 yards

How is your stash coming along?  Head on over to Patchwork Times to see how others are doing with theirs.

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Get It Done - January 2013

We got a little snow here in Nashville last night, but not enough to write home to mom about.  Still, it was snow and I was happy to see it sprinkled on the ground this morning :*)  Snow, I like.  But I admit I'm not so crazy about the cold temps!!!  I'm so glad to say goodbye to January!  I know, wishing my life away and all that, but I am just NOT a winter person!  February means it's at least halfway over LOL!!!

I know a lot of quilters like to snuggle up in a warm spot and stitch during the winter - I have a hard time doing anything in cold weather.  I think I have a lot of bear in me!  All I want to do is curl up somewhere and hibernate until it gets warmer :*D

The cold did inspire me to pick up the knitting needles for the first time in a long while though.  I've been drooling over some of the cute hand warmers I've seen lately.  Having an iPhone means I need to have my fingers uncovered to use it, so I finally decided to find a fairly easy pattern and try to make some of my own.  This is my first one and I'm tickled to say it fits perfectly - it's exactly what I wanted!!!

If you look VERY closely, you can see the little bit of sparkle in the yarn - 

and you all know how I love sparkle, right?  :*D

 The opening for the thumb area was larger in the pattern, but I wanted my thumb pad to be kept warm too, so I closed it up a little more and I'm very happy with the result!

Here is a picture from the book and the yarn I used - you can see more of the sparkle here!
The pattern is from Expand Your Knitting Skills by Leisure Arts  

I knitted this one in just one evening and did the stitching together the next night.  

I think I'll be making a couple more pairs of these :*D

I'm linking this finish up with Judy's On The Needles!

Considering all the cold weather I had to suffer through in January (LOL!), I think I did pretty well with my Get It Done list.  Since this list is just to keep me focused, I'm not going to be upset with myself when I don't finish everything up!  I'll simply carry the unfinished items over to the next month.

1.     Binding on Pineapple Blossoms - DONE!  (see picture HERE)

2.     Complete piecing Easy Street mystery top - almost, but not quite .....

I finished up piecing all the blocks last night, but I still need to piece them all together into a top and apply the borders.  I'm still trying to decide on the fabrics for borders too.

I wish I could get a better picture of the whole quilt from indoors :(

3.     Complete writing up the pattern for my Stitchery Keeper - again, almost but not quite.

I still have a few tweaks to make to the pattern, especially since I added a zipper pocket to the design that was not in my original.  I will then need to work on packaging & marketing. 

4.     Dresden Blog Hop project - DONE!  You can see pictures of the Big Reveal HERE!

So for February, my Get It Done list will look like this:
1.    Complete Easy Street and have it ready for quilting, including the backing.
2.    Complete instructions for Stitchery Keeper and have it ready for sale.
3.    Catch up on all Curve It Up QAL blocks.
4.    Prepare and stitch next block in The Blue Collection.
5.    Complete and assemble the 2012 Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt - Rainbow Pineapples.

I added a fifth item since two of the items on the list are simply finishes from January and shouldn't take too terribly long.  Plus, I really want to finish that Pineapple quilt!  Go over to Judy's Patchwork Times HERE to see how others have done on their January goals!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

A Visit from Quilting Royalty =^..^=

Bonnie Hunter has been visiting our Music City Quilt Guild this week ...

and what a fun visit it has been!!!

These geese greeted Bonnie and gave her a good-ole Tennessee welcome when we went to dinner Tuesday night.  The food was great, but the company was better :*D

Bonnie gave a lecture on Tuesday morning and then taught a half-day class that afternoon.  I didn't sign up for that class because she was teaching Pineapple Blossoms which I had taken from her several years ago.

But I did sign up for today's class - Jared Takes a Wife.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the class and the easy-going, point-by-point way Bonnie led us through the different parts of the block.

Here is Bonnie posing in front of her quilt at the end of the day after many of us had pinned our blocks on top of some of her blocks on her quilt - LOL!!!  All of the top & bottom rows are Bonnie's blocks ....

I bet you can pick out my block..... it's the small, bright one with lime green points, top right.  

Bonnie said, "It so cute and little and bright ... just like Teresa!"

Here's a closeup of the two blocks I completed in class....

My blocks are half the size of Bonnie's original quilt blocks - 6 inches finished instead of 12.  My goal is to make a small wall quilt for this project, and since I wanted a lot of color and interest going on, just doing 4 or 6 big blocks just didn't work.  I needed a lot of blocks to get the variety and color I wanted going on in it!  So I graphed the block to half size - these colored squares finish at 3/4" and they are cute as a button!  I think maybe 16 blocks will be enough to get the size I would like.

At the end of the day, I asked Bonnie for a hug and a picture with her....
          .........in case you were wondering, I'm the little short one on the left

=^..^=

I'm not in the Smith Mountain Morning class tomorrow either, but that's okay.  It has been such an amazing week!  But I have to say, I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning :*D

Besides, I think Gypsy has been missing her morning sleeping buddy, what do you think?

Thanks to everyone who told Bonnie to tell me Hello!  

It was really fun to hear from you that way!!!

UPDATE:  Click HERE to read Bonnie's post about this fun day!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for a huge Whoop! Whoop!  

I think sewing with Bonnie deserves one, don't you? 

Pets on Quilts 2013

Boy oh boy, am I coming late to the party!  But I just couldn't let the Pets on Quilts party slide by without joining in, could I?  Not with a beautiful kitty like Gypsy to share, right?

Gypsy is 17 years old this week - lookin' pretty good for an 'old lady' isn't she?

In these first pictures, she is sitting on "her" quilt.  This is a quilt that I found at a yard sale.  It was very dirty and all wadded up, half in and half out of a black plastic trash bag, lying in the dirt!!!  I was so offended, I huffed out loud and grabbed it up immediately.  I asked the lady how much she wanted for it before I even looked at it.  I wanted to take it home and nurse it back to health!  Imagine my shock when she said, "Well, is $3.00 too much?"  Trying very hard not to appear too eager, I paid her quickly and left.  I was even more surprised when I got it home and found that even though it was pretty dirty, it was unstained and in great shape, and it was even custom quilted!!!

"What are you up to now, Mom?  Can't you see I'm trying to take a nap?"

True story.... I took this quilt to my Guild meeting that month and told the story of finding it in the dirt.  When I unfolded it to show the group, one girl on the front row blurted out, "I think I made that quilt!"  Sure enough, after looking it over up close she remembered making it for a raffle several years earlier and never knew what had happened to it.  Needless to say, we were all amazed at that coincidence!!!

"Uh-oh!  There's that flashy box again!!!  Don't you have any business of your own to get into?"

The quilt was given a home on our sofa in the living room, and before long Gypsy had claimed it as "hers."  Being a long-hair cat, she sheds like crazy, so I'm delighted to have something catch that hair besides my wine-colored sofa!!!  Gypsy's quilt goes with us when we travel and helps her feel comfortable even in a strange environment.  She is a true quilter's kitty and loves her quilt!

"Okay, you can play with that flashy box all you want - I'm taking my nap!!!"

In the evenings, after hubby has gone to bed and I'm ready to relax, I have recently begun sitting in my recliner upstairs in my sewing room, watching taped TV, and working on whatever knitting project happens to be current.  It's soothing and helps me relax enough to get sleepy - something that gets harder and harder to do the older I get LOL!!!  Gypsy has caught on to my routine and loves to come sit in my lap and catch a few zzzzz's.  The minute she hears the TV come on, she shows up at the foot of the chair, ready to jump aboard.

If you look very closely, you can see that I snuggle up under my blue-and-white flannel rag quilt, My Blue Heaven

Sometimes she gets aggravated with me though when the knitting yarn "tickles" the hair on her back, or if I move around for some reason and poke her with one of the needles LOL!!!  Can you tell she was not particularly happy with me because I was trying to take her picture?  Yes, her face is very expressive :*D  If she were human, she would be Sophia on The Golden Girls LOL!!!

Here she has chosen to sit in the other recliner in my sewing room while I was sewing.  This is my Blue Pineapple Blossoms quilt, a Bonnie Hunter design.  Just in case you can't read kitty expressions, she is very snarkily sweetly telling you all to have a wonderful week and to leave her alone now so she can take a nap!!!

I think at her age I'll take a lot of naps too!  

I just hope I have beautiful quilts to snuggle up with like she does =^..^=
Sleep tight, my friends!!!

Check out all the wonderful Pets on Quilts link-ups HERE

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=