Design Wall Monday - 2/28/11

Where did February go?  I'm sure you are all wondering the same!

My February went in bed, it feels like, lol.  Lots of resting and recovering.  I didn't realize that recovery from my surgery in January would take SO LONG!

Anyway...I have finally given myself permission to rest more until my body says it's rested enough, and it seems to be going better.

On my design wall this morning is an idea for my Monochromatic quilt...yes, I know, it's the 28th, lol.  I think I'll still do it because I don't think it will take that long to sew it up now that I have the idea.

The red blocks are for my A Dozen Quilters project.  Those will go in the mail today.

Make sure you check out everyone else's design wall at Judy's blog.  I'm sure you'll see some really wonderful things!

Stash Report - Week 8 & 9

I wasn't able to report last week since I was at retreat, so I have a lot to report this week.

First of all, I rid myself of 98 yards in the giveaway.  That felt SO good.  Added to the 32 yards from before, that's 130 yards out of my stash!

Secondly, I finished two tops over the last few weeks.

So, here's my numbers.

Fabric in: 2.5 yards
Fabric out: 6.61 yards
Total fabric in: 27.5 yards
Total fabric out: 39.06 yards
Fabric given away: 130
Net: 141.56
Goal: 150 net yards out


Make sure you check out how everyone else did at Judy's blog.

Help Me Choose

OK, Ladies.  I finally got some sewing done!

I finished Block 8 for the Layer Cake Quilt Along, but I need help with Block 9.

Here's Block 8.

It's basically a Disappearing 9 Patch block.

On Block 9, there are four ways to put it together, and you all get to help me decide.

Number 1

Number 2

\

Number 3

Number 4

I think I like the first one the best, but the girls like number 2.  What do you guys think?

ADDENDUM:

Thanks for all your help, guys!  I chose Number 1 because I liked the way it folded in on itself.  Now, I'm all caught up on Layer Cake Quilt Along!  Woo Hoo!

Quilter's Accountability Report - 2/23/11

Good morning, everyone!  Here's my list from last week.

1. Baste the quilts that I have finished - Not Done
2. Finish block for Block Swap Adventure - Not Done
3. Finish blocks for A Dozen Quilters - Not Done
4. Work on UFO challenge and Monochromatic quilt - Done
5. Finish last border for Shangri-La quilt - DONE
6. Block 8 and 9 for Layer Cake Quilt Along - Not Done

So, I did get a few things done.

When I went to the quilt retreat this week end, I actually took the Shangri-La quilt and put on the borders first thing.  Of course, that only took a few minutes.

I spent the bulk of the week end on the Hummingbird Quilt which is actually #1 on my UFO list.  I finished that (except for a small border).

I think I'm going to take the basting party off the list and see if that will motivate me, lol.

So, here's my list for this week:

1. Finish and send off block for Block Swap Adventure
2. Catch up on Dorinda Mystery Quilt
3. Catch up on Layer Cake Quilt Along
4. Finish Monochromatic top
5. Blocks for A Dozen Quilters project

I think that should keep me busy!

Make sure you check out Bari's blog...and consider playing along with us!  It's fun to be accountable to other quilters.

Have a quilty day!

Design Wall Monday, February 21

On my design wall this morning are two things.

First is my FINISHED Hummingbird top!  YEAH!  Well, to be completely honest, I guess I need to decide what to do with the border, lol...OH NO!  Another border quandary!

I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  It was the PERFECT project to bring on the retreat.  I think if I hadn't brought it on the retreat, I would never had finished it.

Now, I'll be working on my Monochromatic top for this month.  Here's a photo of the fabrics that I found in my stash.

It will be fun, I think.  I have a plan for it and I don't think it will take that long to get it sewn up.

Make sure you check out Judy's blog to see what everyone else is up to!

Stash Report - Week 8

Well, this is me, checking in from the retreat.

Why didn't you guys TELL me I would have so much fun?!?!?!?!?  Oh my gosh, I just can't believe how much you can get done and how fun it is to be surrounded by a bunch of people who LOVE quilting as much or more than I do, lol.

I don't really have totals today because I left some of my figures at home, so I'll just tell you that I got borders on my Shangri-La quilt.

So, since I finished my UFO (top) for this month, I decided to take another UFO with me.  I'm SO glad that I chose the one that I did!  It's so fiddly that I needed this concentrated time to work on it.  I think I should be able to get the top finished before I leave today...if I'm able to leave, lol.

Most of the state is under a Winter Storm Warning and it's supposed to be worse the closer I get to home, lol.

Anyway, this is the Hummingbird Quilt...or part of it:

I started this quilt in a class I took with Darlene Zimmerman, and I haven't worked on it since!  It was #1 on my UFO list, but now, I'll get to do something else when #1 comes up on Judy's UFO challenge...Woo Hoo!

Make sure and check out Judy's blog to see how everyone else did this week!

Have a quilty day!  I gotta get busy!

Off to Retreat

Well, I'm off to my first retreat this morning! I don't know what to expect, but I know I'll have fun...I'm Sanguine, so I have fun pretty much where ever I go, lol.

I don't know if I'll have internet access, but if I do, I will be checking in with you. If not, I'll try and remember each fun detail and I'll write all about it next week.

Have a great week end. I know that there are going to be storms all over this week end, so stay safe if you're in a storm area.

I guess we have a chance at a storm, too. Maybe I'll get snowed in...that would be HORRIBLE! he he he

Have a quilty day...and a quilty week end!

Quilter's Accountability Report - 2/16/11

Not much to report this week...again!

Here's my list from last week, and I did work on the Monochromatic quilt a little bit.  I also got two of the borders on my Shangri-La quilt.  I have decided to put a third, larger border on and call it finished.

I also had a giveaway this week in which I cleaned out a bunch of fabric that I no longer wanted to work with and it's winging its way to three houses as we speak!

So, here's the list...again...with a few things added for good measure, lol.

1. Baste the quilts that I have finished
2. Finish block for Block Swap Adventure
3. Finish blocks for A Dozen Quilters
4. Work on UFO challenge and Monochromatic quilt
5. Finish last border for Shangri-La quilt.
6. Block 8 and 9 for Layer Cake Quilt Along

I'm going to a quilt retreat this week end.  I haven't decided what to take to work on.

I've never been to a quilt retreat, so this should be fun.

Make sure you check out Bari's blog to see how everyone else did this week!

Design Wall Monday - 2/14/11 and Giveaway Winners!

Good morning, Ladies!

On my design wall this morning is my Shangri-La quilt...still.

I was hoping to get the borders on, but I just didn't feel like sewing this weekend...GRRR!

Anyway, hopefully today.  I'm going with the blue border.  Thanks everyone for all your help.  My girls still think I should use the red, but I've decided I'm looking for less of a statement, lol.

And now, to the giveaway winners!

So far, I have three boxes stuffed with fabric, so I drew three winners on Random.org.  I know this is supposed to be random, but geesh!  The winners were 38, 39, and 32.  That was weird.

The first winner is my mom!  YEAH, MOM!  How funny is that?  She entered last night.  My mom just started quilting, so this will be a stash builder for her and I'm SO excited.

gracie said...38

Hello, your mother again. I would like to enter just to see how my luck goes. I would love having a box of fabric to sew up. Love ya Mom

Sunday, February 13, 2011 6:57:00 PM 

The second winner is Chris from Chris the Quilter.

christhequilter said...39

ohh....FABRIC!!

some for me, and some for the guild charity quilts!!

please add me to the draw

....and don't forget to subtract the yardage in your stash report!! :)

Sunday, February 13, 2011 8:51:00 PM 

The third winner is Kris from Farm Girl Transplanted.  I've just recently discovered her blog and I LOVE it!

krisgray said...32

Great idea to destash. I would love to pay it forward. I have mags and patterns that I would like to pass on, too.

Sunday, February 13, 2011 8:16:00 AM 

Congratulations to everyone.  I'll be sending you an email directly.

I may very well have another giveaway when I get through the rest of my fabric...and Chris...this will be going on my stash report next week, lol.

Thanks everyone for playing!

Make sure you check out everyone else's design wall at Judy's blog.  There's always some tasty eye candy.

And, Happy Valentine's Day!

Stash Report - Week 7

Well, this week is about a wash.  I did do a little quilting and used up a little over two and a half yards, but I also got some fabric in...naughty, naughty, lol.

I worked a little on my Monochromatic quilt and I also worked a little on my UFO Challenge quilt.  I'm still debating about the last border of the UFO Challenge quilt, so maybe you can make a visit here and give your opinion.

Also, I'm having a giveaway for free fabric...a whole priority mail box FULL!  You can either pay it forward, or keep it all!

So, here's my numbers for the week:

Fabric in: 2.5 yards
Fabric out: 2.69 yards
Total fabric in: 25 yards
Total fabric out: 64.45 yards
Net: 39.45
Goal: 150 net yards out (at 26% of my goal)

This number is going to go up dramatically next week because I already have two boxes of fabric ready to go out for my giveaway, and I'm planning on getting another box ready.  I'll have the post mistress weigh them before I send them to the winners and then that fabric will be winging its way into someone else's stash.  Woo Hoo!

Make sure that you check out Judy's blog to see how everyone else did this week.

Squishies!

I received all kinds of wonderful squishies in today's mail!

First of all, I was in a swap at The Quilted Table.  You may recall the blocks that I made.

Well, I sent them in, Sharon swapped them out, and look what I got back!

Cindy DeWulf, Powell, OH

Donna Russell, Bonita, CA

Jane McNett, Elmira, NY

Linda Gilli, Bakersfield, CA

I can't wait to get these into a little table topper!

I also got several blocks back from my Let's Bee Together partners.  I decided to get a good start on a quilt called High Cotton that I have wanted to make for a LONG time!

So, after I receive all the blocks, I'll have a great start.  Click here to see the High Cotton blocks that I received today.

Which Border?

Well, I didn't sleep much last night, so I decided to get the borders done on my Shangri-La Disappearing 9-Patch.  This is my UFO challenge quilt and I would like to get it quilted by the end of the month.

I saw this border treatment on Keryn's blog and decided to try it.  I like the way it turned out.

Now, I have to figure out whether I like the red border or the blue border.

I thought about making the bigger border a green floral, but I don't have enough plus, I think there is enough green that I don't need to border it in green.  I like green, but I don't want it to be SO green, lol.

I'm leaning toward the blue because I think the red border will make it look too Christmasy and I don't really want that.

The blue will pull out the blue in the quilt, I think.

What do you guys think?

Make sure you enter my giveaway if you're in the mood for some free fabric!

Giveaways...Yes, More Than One!

Hello all my blog friends!

Those of you who follow my blog know that I've been complaining a lot lately about not feeling good.  Sorry you've had to listen to it, lol.

I'm trying to stop complaining and give myself a kick in the rear to just get going.

So, yesterday I spent quite a bit of time going through my stash.

I'm getting rid of a LOT of fabric.

I'm finding that my tastes are changing and I'm finding that when I look at my fabric, it just doesn't inspire me to quilt anymore.  I find myself feeling guilty thinking that I should be using up old fabric, not buying new.

This is a hobby for me...a passion, yes...but still a hobby.  I want to have fun.  I want my fabric to inspire me, not drag me down.

So, I've decided to pack up some priority flat rate boxes with fabric that doesn't inspire me and send it on to you.

There was someone who packed up a flat rate box and the person who won was supposed to take what they wanted, add some more and send it on.  I could do something like that, or I could just send it to you.

I already have two boxes stuffed full of fabric and I'm not done going through my fabric, so maybe I'll do a couple of "pay it forward" boxes and a couple of "keep it all" boxes.

So, what do you guys think?  Would you like a few more "pay it forward" boxes running around out there, or do you just want "keep it all" boxes?

Addendum:

Looks like several of you are up for some "pay it forward" boxes, so here are the final rules:

1. Leave your comment.  Make sure if you don't have a blog of if you're a "no reply" blogger that you leave your email in the comment.
2. If you win, you may either "keep it all" or "pay it forward" (whatever that means to you).
3. Have fun and good luck, everyone!

I'll cut comments off at 10 pm (central time) on Sunday evening (February 13th) and draw the winners from the comments.  The number of winners will be determined by the number of boxes that I have stuffed.  The more boxes, the more chances that you all have to win.

The boxes will contain mostly fat quarters, but there will be some smaller pieces.  The fabric should all be 100% cotton, but there may be some blends in there.  It is from all sources.  Most of it is quilt shop quality, but there is also some less expensive fabric as well.

If you're a "pay it forward" winner, you may run your giveaway however you like.  My suggestion is to go through the box and keep anything you like, then repack it adding anything from your stash that you wish to pay forward.  If you want to add patterns, notions, or other items, you might consider that as well.  Then, have a giveaway on your blog and keep the box going.  It will be fun to see if we can watch the boxes bounce around blogland, lol.

Good luck, everyone, and I'll be working hard to get through all my stash!

Quilter's Accountability Report - 2/9/11

I got nothing done this week!

I'm still not feeling that good and I'm SO frustrated.  My hubby keeps telling me to give it time, so I'm trying to.

Here's my list from last week and I shall have it again this week as well, lol.

1. Baste the quilts that I have finished
2. Finish block for Block Swap Adventure
3. Finish blocks for A Dozen Quilters
4. Work on UFO challenge and Monochromatic quilt

Make sure you check out how others did this week at Bari's blog.

February Meeting of Stitchin' Sisters

We had our February meeting of Stitchin' Sisters last Wednesday, so I thought I would take a few moments to tell you how it went.

We had a BLAST!

There were nine ladies there in addition to Olivia and I.  It was SO cold and windy, so I'm so happy that everyone was able to make it.  We're tough here in North Dakota!

Lenae brought the snacks.  Chocolate and mini muffins and lots of other good stuff!

We had a little demo on cutting...

And more cutting...from beginners.

One of the things that I LOVE about this group is that we have so many beginners.

We also had a demo from Lenae on Disappearing 9-Patch, so one quilter decided to start one that night.

We have another mother/daughter pair (besides me and Liv).

And a pair of sisters...one an experienced quilter and the other just beginning!

And here's my friend that I infected with the Quilt Pox.  She and another lady braved the drifting snow-covered roads to come!

Several of us are doing a sampler quilt, and there were blocks finished by the end of the night.

Liv didn't get pics of those, but we'll have pics next time.

I can't say how excited I am that this group has started off with such a bang.  I can't wait for next month!

It's Bismarck Day today, so I won't get much done, I think.

I'm still not feeling up to par, so I'm trying to be good and rest a lot...but it's frustrating because I just want to quilt.  So, instead of quilting, I'm doing a lot of dreaming about what quilts I want to do this year.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get some quilts basted soon so I can get some finishes under my belt!

Have a quilty day!

Design Wall Monday - 2/7/11

This morning on my design wall is UFO #10, Shangri-La Disappearing 9 Patch.

This is such a fun pattern and as you may remember, Shangri-La is my all-time favorite fabric line.

My goal is to finish this quilt completely this month as it was in a mostly pieced state when I started.  I only added a row to the width.

I'm planning on putting a small brown border and then a larger blue or green floral border to finish it off.  Then this little beauty is going on the couch in the downstairs family room so I don't have to send my kiddos after my quilt on my bed every time I sit down to watch TV and I want a quilt to snuggle under!

I didn't realize how many stripes I used until it was all finished.   This was pieced before I had the benefit of a design wall, but I'm such a scrappy gal, I'm not sure I would have taken the time to put it on the design wall even if I'd had it.

I kind of like just putting a quilt together and seeing how it looks in the end...that's part of the mystery for it for me.  Isn't it funny how we're all different?

Make sure you visit Judy's blog so you can see what everyone else is up to! 

Stash Report - Week 6

I had a few purchases this week as well!  I'm moving in the wrong direction!

But, all the fabric has a purpose, so that's good.

I also was able to find a home for some scraps that I knew I would never get around to using (32 yards worth by weight) and I'm thinking that I may go through some more fabric and find a home for it as well!  I'm going to count it as out of my stash.

I also started work on my UFO challenge project for this month, but I'll post about that tomorrow.  Right now, I need to get things ready for SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!  Go Packs!

Fabric in: 13.5 yards
Fabric out: 35.17 yards
Total fabric in: 22.5 yards
Total fabric out: 61.76 yards
Net: 39.26
Goal: 150 net yards out

Make sure and check out how everyone else did this week at Judy's blog.

Pictures As Promised

I promised pictures of the new baby goats, so here they are.

We hand raise our goats as they are raised to be very tame home milkers, so they're in the house for now.  Hopefully, we'll be able to more them out of doors in a few days as my husband doesn't really find a nursery in the house as fun as we do, lol.

They're so cute, but it's a lot to do for my girlies.  They are already getting tired, lol.

Our Nursery Went From One to Five

Our baby goat nursery went from one to five in one day!

Yesterday, two does kidded.  One had a singleton and the other had triplets.

The singleton was born right before we left for our second meeting of Stichin' Sisters, and the triplets were born while we were gone!  My Sophia stepped in and took care of the triplets, and I'm SO proud of her!

We finally got our blue-eyed goat kid!

This is just a teaser because I don't have pictures yet.  I just thought I would let you all know since my daughter just came in a woke me up complaining that she couldn't get them all to sleep!  They've been up and crying since 2 am, but now we got everyone fed and they're all settled in.

I'll take a few pictures in a couple of hours when they all wake up again...including the two foster mommies, lol.

Quilter's Accountability Report - 2/2/11

Here are my goals from last week.

1. Packages for Let's Bee Together need to go out this week -- Done
2. Catch up on Layer Cake Quilt Along -- Done
3. Finish top and back of Wonky Town -- Done
4. Have that basting party -- Not done...possibly today

I did get several things done this week, so that was nice.  I have a post about what I accomplished in January and that was fun to go back and see what I did despite the time in the hospital and the stow recovery.

I'm really excited to get some quilts basted so that I can start quilting them.

So, here's my goals for this week:

1. Baste the quilts that I have finished
2. Finish block for Block Swap Adventure
3. Finish blocks for A Dozen Quilters
4. Work on UFO challenge and Monochromatic quilt

I think that should be enough, lol.

Make sure you check out Bari's blog to see how everyone did on their goals this week.  Join us if you like!