Finished Some Pillowcases

Well, I did get some things finished today.  I felt much better as the day went on.  Thanks to the well wishers.

I worked on my sewing area and got some things done.

First of all, I' put my cutting table on stilts.

Now it's MUCH nicer to cut on my table.

I put my brand new sewing table and the Janome sewing table and a smaller table together to form a little sewing island.

I was sewing on my Bernina and my daughter was sewing on the Janome Horizon.

I'm just such a Bernina girl!  Perhaps because I learned on a Bernina.

My daughter started out on a Janome and she prefers the Janome hands down.

Anyway.

I also got several pillowcases finished.  I had purchased fabric for five pillowcases slated for Christmas presents.  One of the pieces of fabric was ruined when I prewashed, so I made it up and gave it to my daughter, but here are the four that turned out nicely, lol.  The main part of the pillowcases are flannel.

So, what did everyone else do today?

"Just Get Rid of It"

OK, all you Eleonor Burns fans will probably recognize that phrase.

I work up at around my customary time this morning (somewhere between 4 and 5), but my tummy was not happy.  So, my body decided to "Just Get Rid of It" (whatever it was in my tummy that was upsetting it...ICK) and I lay back down for a while.

I feel better now, but the kiddos have been running about the house for several hours like little banshees (playing with foam swords that I bought in a moment of weakness yesterday when I was on a "Mommy's Day Out" day with Sophia) and I think I'm going to play heck trying to get them to settle down enough to do school today!

That can be the downside of homescooling...when the teacher doesn't feel well, the students can suffer.

I hope I feel better because I took my machine in to have it cleaned yesterday and I REALLY want to sew today!

What are your plans for today?

Hope you have a quilty day.

Quilter's Accountability Report - November 17

Goodness, I got a LOT done this week!

1. Practice FMQ every day - missed one day
2. Continue to work through Quilter's Academy...working on it at least 15-20 minutes a day - didn't work on it specifically every day, but I did work on it a lot
3. Quilt my Christmas Tree Skirt - Done
4. Begin working on Christmas gifts...I asked the adult members of my family whether they wanted a fuzzy, warm pillowcase, or a cool mug mat and most of them answered back, so I need to get those started.  Have you seen those pillowcases made out of Minkee??????  I mean, how fun are those???????  Hmmmmm...I wonder if they make your hair all tangly by morning, lol. - finished two pillowcases...I went with flannel instead of Minkee, lol
5. Get stuff in the mail...I have those quilt tops to mail to Alycia, Block Lotto blocks, and the prizes from my giveaway to send off, so I'll go to the post office today...WARNING, "I'm coming to see you today, Cheryl!"  (I LOVE my post mistress.  She's SO awesome!) - DONE
6. Binding needs to be done on a table topper and one of the 1930s quilts.  (Don't you love how I worded that?  It "needs to be done."  As if some binding fairy will read this, sneak into my house one night, and finish it while I'm asleep!  Well, one can dream, can't one?) - DONE

I must have just kicked into high gear for the holidays, lol.

Anyway, I guess I should make some goals for this week.

1. Block Lotto blocks
2. Niblet exchange
3. Finish stocking for A Dozen Quilters
4. Block 2 of Layer Cake Quilt Along
5. Finish the pillowcases I bought fabric for
6. Make stockings for my kiddos
7. Continue to work on Quilter's Academy and practice FMQ (free motion quilting)
8. Continue to work on sewing area remodel

That should be enough, I would think, lol.  Make sure you check out Bari's blog and see how everyone else did.  Join us!  Accountability is a good thing!

New Goals

I'm already thinking about 2011 and the quilty goals that I'll have for that year.

The first goal I have added is to become more proficient at appliqué and embroidery.

I have this AWESOME appliqué quilt that I want to make.  I didn't get started on it this year, but I'm going to finish it in 2011.

Also, I have a paper pieced quilt that my best friend and I are going to do in 2011.

Have you thought about goals for next year?  After all, November's halfway gone!  :-)

Two Finishes!

OK, Ladies and Gentlemen!  I finished the binding on two quilts today!  Woo Hoo!  Cookin' with Gas!!!!!

First, I finished this table topper that I did for my beginner quilting class.

I had already sewn the binding on the front, I just finished it with the machine.

And, I also cut the binding and put it on this 1930s quilt.

It's going to my daughter Sophia.

I have another quilt almost just exactly like this one, but it's still in the quilting phase.

I'm REALLY excited because these will both come off my stash report on Sunday!  Life is good!

Design Wall Monday, November 15

On my design wall this morning is the first official "project" in Quilter's Academy.

This is the middle section of a sampler quilt that will be completed as I work through the books.

Every step was very precise and when I measured it, it was EXACTLY 14"...just like it's supposed to be!

What's on your design wall this morning?  Skip on over to Judy's for some more inspiration!

Christmas Presents

I finished a couple of pillowcases for Christmas presents.

The bottoms are flannel, so they're so nice and soft and cozy!

Now that I have in mind how easy the pillowcases are to make, I'll be making some more.  I have quite a few people on my list that are getting fuzzy warm pillowcases for Christmas, so this should be fun.

What did you do today?

A Finish!

I quilted this Christmas Tree Skirt this afternoon!

I had made this tree skirt a couple years ago and I had ditch quilted and then stopped.

So, when I decided to go ahead and quilt it up, I was somewhat at a loss as to what to do on the big white expanse.

But, my hubby came to the rescue.

He suggested that I put everyone's hands on there...since there are six sections, it was a PERFECT idea!

So, here's everyone's hand...

I'm so happy with the way it turned out and I think we'll enjoy it for years to come.

Stash Report -- November 14

Yeah!  Finally able to put down a little stash busted.

First of all, I've completed my goal of finishing seven quilt tops to send to Alycia for QOV (Quilts of Valor).  (Read how I discovered that starch is my friend while completing this last leg of my goal.)

I had counted some of that last week, but I get to count another 12.5 yards this week.  (I'm also sending some lengths of fabric for backings and bindings.)

I've busted a little stash in my Quilter's Academy Project.  Making up the practice squares eats up quite a bit of fabric!  I've busted 2.4 yards so far there.

I've also busted little bits of fabric for small projects like Block Lotto, and Christmas presents.  That's another 0.75 yards.

But, I bought a little fabric for Christmas presents...3 2/3 yards.

So, here are my numbers...

Fabric in: 3.66 yards
Fabric out: 15.65 yards
Total fabric in: 40.08
Total fabric out: 85.93
Fabric used: 45.85

Getting closer to that net 100 yards out!  Getting closer to that goal of only having fabric that I LOVE!

Make sure you visit Judy to find out what everyone else has done this week.  I suspect that we'll start to see some stash busted since everyone is getting focused on Christmas presents now.

PS:  This is my 200th Post!  Remember when I posted my 100th post?  That was only in August!  I guess I've been VERY verbose lately!

YEAH!

I finished quilt top number seven for Alycia!

It feels SO good to have that goal finished.

Now, I can focus on Christmas presents.

I'm excited about Christmas this year for the first time in a long time...thank goodness!

I bought this fabric today to make pillowcases, so I can begin work on those now.

What did you all do today?