Sunday Stash - I Get Around

Note: This is part two of Sunday Stash. Click here for Part 1.

The Pit Boss and I just returned from an amazing 25th anniversary trip to Boston and Cape Cod, where I ate a crazy amount of seafood and walked a ridiculous amount of steps. Probably not enough steps to offset the food, but still a lot.

I dropped my machine off for service a few days before we left, so no fabric was used this week.

However, since I married the most amazing man ever twenty-five years ago, I did take in quite a bit on our trip. I also managed to fit it all into my suitcase despite fears that I would have to ship it home.

I'll write more about each shop this week, but we visited two quilt shops on our trip, and tried another one that is closed on Mondays. 

First we visited Tumbleweed Quilts in West Barnstable, Massachusetts. This is a shop that looks smallish but keeps going on and on! I got lost in there for about 30 minutes before deciding on these mementos of our trip. This added 4 yards to my stash.

Then, on Friday when the rain came in, The Pit Boss suggested a drive to New Hampshire to visit the Mecca of quilt shops, Keepsake Quilting. Is he the best or what? I picked up about 7 more yards of fabric there.

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 21.5 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 11 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 38.5 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: -17 yards used
Used for Charity Year to Date: 2.5 yards
Percentage Used for Charity: 12%

I'm linking up with QuiltPaintCreate to track my Sunday Stash Reports. Visit the blog and link up so we can keep the link party going!

Sunday Stash - City Square Quilts and The Longarm Network

Note: this was supposed to be last week's Sunday Stash, but I didn't get it done before The Pit Boss and I left on our 25th anniversary trip. This is the first of two parts.

I took Wednesday off to run some errands, and quickly sent my stash numbers deep into the red. Since I had to go get my passport, and since the post offices near me are booked for the foreseeable future, I made an appointment in Winder, Georgia. Of course I did a quick search to find a nearby quilt shop, and luckily found City Square Quilts just about fifteen minutes away in Hoschton. 

This is a nice little shop in a small historic main street area. There's a pizza parlor called Sliced on one side and a yarn store called Yarn Junkees on the other. Unfortunately both were closed while I was there.

It was a beautiful morning and the door was open to let the fresh air and quilters inside. The woman working that day showed me a new ruler and mat collection from Alex Anderson called Quilters Select. I didn't get a good photo, but the rulers have a great nonskid back. The mat is reversible and is a lighter color on one side to make it easier to see when you're cutting dark fabrics. Let me know what you think if you've tried these.

City Square Quilts has some great collections, including the beginning of a gorgeous shelf of batiks. They will get ten new prints every week (month? I can't remember!) until the collection is filled out. I just had to buy that green and purple one! 

After my passport appointment, I headed up the road to Greenville, South Carolina so I could finally swap out the saddle I bought at QuiltCon. I don't if I ever mentioned that, once I got it home, it was too tall for my table. I mean, just barely too tall, but enough that I was not going to be comfortable. I didn't even realize my table was so low.

Luckily, when I called the shop, they told me they would happily swap it out. We promised to keep in touch, and if they were in Atlanta for a show they would call me. I could have shipped it back and paid for shipping the new one, but that seemed like a giant waste since Greenville is just a few hours away. This was my chance!

The Longarm Network was easy to find and not far off I-85. They have a great selection of supplies and classes. I'm thinking of making a day trip up there to take a class. I was so excited to pick this gorgeous blue for my new saddle. 

Even if you don't have a longarm, this is worth a stop. They have the best selection of extra wide backs I think I've ever seen. I love the selection and that they aren't all off white, babyish or too feminine. 

The selection of threads made me laugh thinking of Angela Walters's frequent refrain, "Quilting is my therapy and threads are my meds!" 

I loved seeing some great quilting designs on the wall. I couldn't wait to come home and try some of these!

I made it out of The Longarm Network with just my saddle, but at City Square Quilts I bought 1 1/2 yards of this Choice Fabrics Supreme Solids lavender and a yard of Bella Solids baby yellow for my Strippers Knot quilt, a couple of pretty fat quarters, and the batik just because it really wanted to come home with me. Sadly no fabric used last week, so I'm deep in the red again!

• Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
• Fabric Used year to Date: 21.5 yards
• Fabric Added this Week: 4 yards
• Fabric Added Year to Date: 27.5 yards
• Net Fabric for 2017: -6 yards used
• Used for Charity Year to Date: 2.5 yards
• Percentage Used for Charity: 12%

I'm linking up with QuiltPaintCreate to track my Sunday Stash Reports. Visit the blog and link up so we can keep the link party going!

Sunday Stash - Finally!

I haven't been linking up with Sunday Stash for awhile now because there hasn't been anything to share. I've managed not to take in any new fabric, but I haven't finished anything either.

However, this week I'm thrilled beyond words to tell you that String Spider Web is FINISHED and dropped off at the East Cobb Quilt Show, Georgia Celebrates Quilts!

What I didn't realize until I sat down to write this post is that I didn't take a picture of it all done. The good news is that I'll see it hanging in the show at the preview party on Wednesday night and can take a picture then. 

I can't even begin to imagine how much fabric I used with all the string piecing and the pieced back, but I'm going to put it at 9 yards total. I'm really happy to cross this 4 year old UFO off my list and check that yardage out of my stash.

Additionally, I completely forgot to calculate the yardage I gave away. I didn't measure before I brought a whole box of fabric to guild last month for the "Free to a Good Home" table, but again I'm going to guess at 5 yards. I love that the whole box, plus several hardback books and some patterns, were gone in an hour! I think a lot of it was taken by the charitable service committee, but I'm not sure enough to add it to my "used for charity" column. 

I'm still in the red, but the gap is closing. One more decent sized finish would get me back on the right side of zero.

• Fabric Used this Week: 9 yards
• Fabric Used year to Date: 21.5 yards
• Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
• Fabric Added Year to Date: 23.5 yards
• Net Fabric for 2017: -2 yards used
• Used for Charity Year to Date: 2.5 yards
• Percentage Used for Charity: 33%

See more stash reports at Molli Sparkles!

Sunday Stash - The Haul from QuiltCon

I was too tired when I made it home last Sunday to do a stash report, but there was quite a haul from QuiltCon. Between the giveaways and the prizes, plus what I actually bought, my car was loaded down a lot more on the way back to Atlanta.

First there were the giveaways. So many vendors were giving away fat quarters and charm packs, and paint chips. Trading pins is totally a thing, and I racked up! 

The best, though, was when I picked up my registration and was handed this awesome tote bag filled with goodies just for being one of the first one thousand people to register.

Then there were the games. Several booths had wheels you could spin or hats to draw out of. I think the moment I am most proud of is the puzzle challenge at the Aurifil booth. 

I won my round, and received a large spool of thread. Before you are too impressed, I was almost twice as slow as the best time posted so far - just over three minutes! My biggest prize was the fat quarter bundle of Art Gallery Fabrics.

And then, of course, there was the shopping. I had to buy a t-shirt. Handmade Rebellion has so many cute ones that it was tough to decide, but I finally settled on this one. I panic bought a pair of Kai scissors fifteen minutes before my embroidery class started because I couldn't find mine. Mostly I searched through the bins at Villa Rosa Designs, narrowing my choices down to two fat quarter rolls and two one yard cuts of fabric.

Finally, I made what I believe is the last large purchase needed to complete my studio space. Luckily this doesn't count towards my stash, but will help my back and shoulders. This saddle stool by Oakworks is so comfortable and a major upgrade from my wooden desk chair. 

The folks at this booth (ABM/Innova) were so fun and friendly. I have to give a shout out to Michael, who took customer service to a whole new level by carrying this heavy box to my car for me.

As for usage, the only thing I managed to finish were two pillowcases for Ryan's Case for Smiles to bring to Monday's guild meeting.

• Fabric Used this Week: 2.5 yards
• Fabric Used year to Date: 7.5 yards
• Fabric Added this Week: 14 yards
• Fabric Added Year to Date: 23.5 yards
• Net Fabric for 2017: -16 yards used
• Used for Charity Year to Date: 2.5 yards
• Percentage Used for Charity: 33%

Sunday Stash - Working My Way Back

It's time for Sunday Stash, and I made some decent progress this week. I'm still not into the black, but positive numbers are in sight. 

I finished the Sweet Hearts quilt, aka the crazy dreams quilt, aka the quilt I made for nobody before I bothered to make one for my husband quilt. Yeah, I'm getting some flak about that one. Before you sympathize with him too much, please bear in mind that I made this quilt for him...and before that, this one.

The Pit Boss had to go out of town for a few days this week and Grace was home sick, so I took advantage of the quiet evenings to bind this quilt and binge on The West Wing. Are you listening to The West Wing Weekly podcast? It's a must for fans and the interviews are fantastic! 

Fabric Used this Week: 2.5 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 5 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 9.5 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: -4.5 yards used

It's unlikely that I'll get to positive numbers this week since I'm headed to QuiltCon on Thursday, but that's okay. I can't wait to see some of you there! 

Sunday Stash - Two Steps Back

I haven't posted another Sunday Stash post since the first one, hoping that I would actually finish something. Unfortunately the only thing that is D for DONE is a mug rug, which counts for approximately 0.06 yards of fabric. 

I guess I really should count the squares I used for my class with Christa. (You know, my new BQF? That's Christa Watson for the rest of you.) I made twelve 12" x 12" -ish quilt sandwiches. Even though they are not completed projects, they are as done as they will ever be. Some have already been stuffed into my scrap bag/dog bed cover, and some I will save for reference. But they're done. I'm going to go ahead and count that as 2.5 yards. Honestly, I need all the help I can get.

The bad news, as far as my stash goes, is that I went to the Tiny Stitches Superbolt Sunday Sale. I mean, how can you not?

Do I get credit for the fact that they had these gorgeous gray and purple flannels and I didn't buy any? I want these so badly, and the only thing that stopped me from buying a whole bunch was the line for the cutting table.

I did buy some fabric for a planned project, as well as a black fat quarter for a swap I'm in. If I did the math right, it comes out to about 9 1/2 yards for that, this fat quarter bundle and layer cake. 

Fabric Used this Week: 2.56 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 2.56 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 9.5 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 9.5 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: -7 yards used

Here's hoping that I can get back to positive numbers by the end of February! How's your stash?

State of the Stash

Happy New Year!

This seems like as good a time as any to reboot the blog and my quilting habits in general.

In 2016 I was thrilled to get a sewing space all to myself, thanks to a couple of kids moving to their college towns. Don't get me wrong; I'd give it up and take them back in a minute, but it is really nice to have all that room. Just the design wall is a game changer!

While moving into this new space, though, I found lots of UFOs, plenty of fabric that is, well, not to my taste anymore (to put it nicely) and some gadgets I'd completely forgotten about. My goal is to get rid of what I definitely won't use and finish up the rest.

I did manage to finish some projects last year. In addition to the quilt for my father-in-law, I also completed a Turning Twenty for My Middle Child's twentieth birthday. I'm not sure I mentioned it, but he transferred from University of Kentucky to University of Georgia this year, and it was so wonderful to be able to drive over to Athens to celebrate his birthday with him.

I also finished my Twilters in the Air quilt, which was made up of the Birds in the Air blocks that we swapped among the #twilters in honor of the release of Frances Dowell's novel, Birds in the Air. It was so fantastic to have so many of the Twilters attend our guild's quilt show to see Frances do a reading and to have Pam and Lynn from The Stitch TV Show tape two episodes in front of our live quilt show audience. This quilt won third place for group quilts.

Alas, those were the only two quilts I finished this year, other than the mug rug above. I hope 2017 is better. To help achieve that goal, I hope to get back to blogging, which gives me some accountability, and to track my stash usage. I'm going to link up with Patchwork Times each Sunday and post my stats.

Let's wipe the slate clean and see how we do:

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 0 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: 0 yards used