SR-W45: "The Story..."

Judy at Patchwork Times has been my inspiration since I found her blog several months ago; you ought to go look at everything she has going on.  She has many things on her site that I wish I could be involved with, the first being the stash reports, a stash-busting effort on behalf of quilters everywhere!  They are already at Week 45 of 2011 and so I plan to follow along from this point onward and hopefully be  a part of the Stash-busting circle starting in the new year.  So this is to be my first Stash Report Monday; it has taken me literally months to sort, iron, organize, and count my fabric!  The funniest part of the whole process has been that they do not even state total amount of fabric they start out with in the Stash Quilt Group.  So if I had been paying better attention I could have started sooner, but better late than never I like to say.  I am hoping this keeps me accountable to be using the resources at hand as much as possible!

Busted this Week:                    2.0
Busted from 10/01/2011:        142.5 (137.25 Yards given away this past week)
Stashed this Week:                   1.75
Stashed from 10/01/2011:          8.5

Net Busted for 2011(from 10/01/2011):  134.00

I also am really hoping to be a part of the UFO 2012, but I am unsure how that might work with the new baby in February and the apartment move in May/June.  I may need to hold off signing up for that this year, but I am sure I will definitely have UFO projects for 2013!

As I am working on my WIP from last Wednesday still, I feel so happy to have finished 8 projects by this past Friday for Finish It Up Friday, however FIF took a break it seems.  Randomly, from my planned 1-hour of clicking, I got connected with another encouraging group called TGIFF which stands for "Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday."  I have already met some lovely people from the links, I hope you will click on the button on my sidebar and take a look at it!  Hopefully I will be able to conquer my project lists, bust some of my fabric piles, collections, possible fabric-hoarding issues, and be inspired all the while!

Don't forget to check out our new round for the baby name contest on my husband's blog:  http://toshav-sojourner.blogspot.com

Below is a one of my favorite songs, one that truly inspires me and reminds me that each of our stories are unique.  See you tomorrow for Basting Day!

FIF2/TGIFF 1: "Arms Wide Open..."

I was up early, very early, about 3:30am to be more descriptive.  Listening to the sounds of traffic through an open window, I am feeling homesick.  Even after 3 years I just can't get used to the view, the weather, the culture change, and the lack of not only air but room to breathe in that fresh air.  It is hard to imagine that our little girl-to-come will most likely never know what the difference is in locations. Oh she will see the pretty pictures and hear the stories, but to her this will be her home, her normal.

Juneau, Alaska (Home)

On a positive note, I got a few projects done!  In the semi-quiet morning (we are talking downtown Dallas here, quiet is relative), I went to work on quite a few more baby gifts that I have had in the works and most are overdue to be honest, but hopefully that will be forgiven when they are received.  Three sets of bibs and burp cloths finally completed for Natalia, Hannah, and Elliott; now they just need to be delivered or mailed this next week!  I am hoping to start some projects before my friends have their next batch of babies, especially since I know of 7 friends who are due within 3 weeks of me!  I think I just might be a little busy to start anything if I wait until after they are all born.

 Having been sick this week I also dug up a project I started a while back that I could do on the couch while watching a movie.  I finished it up just yesterday and added the initial and word art yesterday afternoon, and finally got it delivered last night to the two month old little Luke.  I had a wonderful time chatting with with my friends about their transition to parenthood and some of their own advice for my husband and I to consider.  (Further note on 11/04/11:  Blanket is knitted from all cotton yarn usually used in making dish clothes)

And finally a project that I am simply amazed got completed.  I started this bib about 5 years or so ago when my sister-in-law was pregnant with her first child.  Waiting to find out the gender of the child, one bib was made for a boy, this one was started, and then stopped when we were told she was having a man-cub.  When digging through my scrap/project bin I saw this yesterday and thought it would be perfect for my own little girl to use and all I needed to do was add the binding to make it complete!  As you be able to tell by now I did not complete my Projects from this week's WIP Wednesday post, but I don't think I did too bad overall.  The fall mini-quilt will definitely be done for next week though!

New projects (since last FIF)- 3

In progress - 21 (Yes I am tempted to start more)

Finishes (Since last FIF)- 8

I'm usually linking with Crazy Quilt Mom for FIF (Finish It Up Fridays), but she is taking time off.
So, linking with Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday (TGIFF) being hosted this week at Quokka Quilts!

WIP: "Time Is Ticking Away..."

Welcome to another month and another Wednesday!  Halloween is over, but the season of Fall is just starting to hit Texas.  I have been tossing around ideas on what to use my Grand Finale fat quarters that I have been hoarding.  The first project that I have been tempted to use them on is this cute little mini quilt. In addition I used some fabric from two other lines by Sandy Gervais,  Tranquility and Awesome, to cut out pieces.  I have been inspired by a recent quilting magazine to adapt one of their patterns into a leafy table runner, but we will see how much ambition can be mustered up.  I still have not yet completed the purple, green and white table runner.  My husband plans  to help me (or better said I am planning on him to help) spray baste it this weekend or at least in the next week so I might get it quilted, bound, and mailed off before the end of the month!

So my WIP this week is:

New projects -2

In progress - 29 (Yes I have a problem)

Finishes - 2

I'm linking with Freshly Pieced for WIP

On another note, I was not able to post on Monday my final count for my first official "Stash Report" because I got the flu over the weekend and that pretty much wiped me out!  If you look at the pictures below you will see how far my unruly pile of fabric has come over the past month and a half.

Sept 13, 2011- This is just the beginning

October 17, 2011- Things are looking colorful

November 1, 2011- About as full as these bins can get!

I was able to run by JoAnn Fabric's to pick up some empty cardboard to put some of my large yardage fabrics on; they give them away at no cost at our local store.  I have about 1 rubbermaid tote full of fabrics needing cardboard transfers still.  So including the 10 little totes, the 11 card-boarded fabrics, one shelf in my hallway, and the rubbermaid tote I am running at about 700 yards of fabric so far, even with having given away about 97 yards of fabric on Friday (there's another 40 yards in a bag waiting for pick up)!  The last remaining number to put a figure on is the back corner of my closet where about 20 rolls of decorating fabric is hiding out.  I am hoping to make a decision on what to keep by the end of the month.  Hopefully I will be back on Friday to post on my finished projects!

Finish It Up Fridays: My First Week!

A few months ago I ran into a contest challenging us to finish up our works in progress.  It was quite an incentive for me to work on my projects, not so much for the winning a prize, but rather it felt like I had an obligation to finish something even if it was only a couple projects a month.  I've gotten out of the habit of following blogs (I actually had put it in my schedule for an hour, 2 times a week), which has led to my being less reliable in my own blog postings.  My reasons for blogging was to have a way to express myself (this was especially important this past spring when I was home-bound) and connect to the outside world, even if its the small world of quilting and crafting.  

This past week as I attempted to get back on schedule I read a post from a site I recently started to follow called, Crazy Mom Quilts.  She recently started an encouragement for readers to work on finishing projects.  So each Friday I will post what I have finished for the week and upload my link to her website.  You should stop by there and see all the other projects linked by others.  Some I am simply amazed by what I am seeing and it puts a fire within me to get moving on something each week.  My first "finish" for this week is a set I made for my friend's Baby shower of a bib and a burp cloth for her coming little boy.  It is true that I have been making a lot of baby shower gifts lately, and the trend will continue in the foreseeable future as everyone I know seems to be procreating these days!  My second "finish" would be the table runner I wrote about on my Tuesday blog post this past week; it's a belated birthday gift for my MIL.

My goal for Saturday is to get my fabric stash finished being ironed, organized, and yardage counted!  On Monday I hope to post my very first official Stash Report, and share with you my ideas for how I plan to start using these wonderful gems!  See you Monday!

WIP: "When the Leaves Come Falling Down..."

Somewhere (else) the leaves are falling and the air is cooling down in anticipation for a coming winter (in other places besides Texas).  In our household we have the apple cider simmering on the stove in my efforts to foster the scents of the season (as well as a spice candle burning).  I've also broken into my Sandy Gervais stash of fabrics to get in a little fall sewing.  The Fat Quarter collection shown in the picture is from her Grand Finale line of fabric, I also have a scrap bag from her fall line from last year (I will have to look up the name when I start posting the projects), and two layer cakes from her Tranquility line.  All these are such beautiful fabrics, it is hard to choose exactly what to do with them to do them justice.  I have plans for wall hangings, wall hangings, and perhaps a quilt as well.

In my second picture is the start of a table topper that is a request for a friend.  The pieces are extremely small compared to other projects I have attempted in the past; in the end they should look like stars.  Have you noticed another theme in my pictures today?  Nugette has been jumping into most of my pictures lately.  It's something I did not anticipate for picture taking while I am pregnant.

I look forward to posting some cute projects on Friday that I have finished this week.  Monday, I hoping to have a rough number for a stash report!  If you have time, take a look at our baby-name contest on another post or my husband's blog.

More news from Babyland & Baby Name Contest Round 1 begins!

It has been an interesting week in babyland!  I had some contractions on Sunday, so I called the Doctor on Monday, had an appointment that afternoon whereby he sent me to the hospital for observation.  I was seen by a Grey's Anatomy like resident (tagalong in tow) who informed me that I was mistaken because I was no longer having any signs of contractions and sent me home.

It also happen to be the day my husband forgot his cell phone at home so I had to send him an email at work and hope he got the message.  He comes running in the room towards the end of my stay, out of breath, clearly shaken up.  Two good things to note, a) No restrictions were added to my list, and b) we got to check out what a room is like at the hospital where Nugette will be born!  Timothy and I were quite impressed by the accommodations; they even have a pull out couch for my husband when we come back in about 15-17 more weeks.  On another happy note, we went for an another ultrasound today where we got great news that our Baby is right on target to be born 4 months from today (give or take a week or two, depending on how she is feeling about it). We home to scann and add more pictures soon.

So without further ado, we are ready to announce our baby-naming contest!  We will be holding it on my husband's blog http://toshav-sojourner.blogspot.com/, you can go to his post today for the rules and clues to the contest.  I will be posting some ideas on my blog and you can all tell me which item you think I should make for the prize.  I am super excite and cannot wait to see when you all will guess Nugette's name!

A Belated Birthday Gift.

This little centerpiece/table runner was started in the spring for my favorite Mother-in-law's birthday (yes, yes my only mil) which was in July.  I sent it off to her with some pieces that she requested I make, but I forgot to finish something in the back as well as tagging my work.  One of my favorite bloggers really opened up my eyes to the importance of tagging one's work.  It doesn't take much time before you forget the details of when, where and who made an item.  My husband has a baby quilt that no one in the family made for him, so no one remembers where exactly it came from.  For many years he thought it was from his grandmother, but although a wonderful seamstress in her own right she did not make it, so it still remains a mystery to this day!  Check out Julie at Jaybird Quilts, especially her Tutorial 1 & Tutorial 2 for getting your own labels made for you!

This will be sent off to my MIL with some more requested items and Christmas presents for family.  I only have 3 more Christmas presents to finish for family this year (I started early, had most of the bought items purchased months ago).  I am most excited about my two niece's presents this year, hopefully they like them (& hopefully I get them done)!  Now off to do some laundry; my goal is one load a day for the next 4 days until it is done.  I will post my update on my stash report/project later today after more ironing of fabric!

My Second Quilting Bee

Carin from Margaret's Hope Chest just posted on Tuesday, the finished quilt top for the second quilting bee I joined in this year!  It is so exciting to see a finished project, especially for the purpose these quilts have.  They become birthday gifts for children of incarcerated parents as part of the "Wrapped in Hope" ministry.  If you have quilts you want to donate to the cause, Carin will make sure it goes to someone in need of hope and encouragement.

WIP: "All I Want To Do..."

Today I finally swiped my husband's IPOD, we (Nugette and I) have been listening to some music on my computer, but Nugette starts moving around, especially to the European dance music.  I love the feel of her moving, but yesterday she about drove me batty and triggered the very weird Braxton Hicks Contractions I've heard so much about.  I think I am going to listen to some encouraging music and maybe put on an Audiobook while I get moving on my list of things to do.

I told you that I would post a picture of one of my projects this week.  This is a table runner someone asked me to make for their friend; a few days ago while ironing fabric(yet again) I literally saw the fabrics I should pick right before me!  It was definitely a pick-me-up since I feel I am way too behind in what I want to accomplish before Nugette is born in February-ish.  What do you think of the colors?  The pattern is one I saw in Fall 2011 Quilts and More called Holiday Happenings (plans are underway to use this pattern with traditional holiday colors as well).  What still needs to be done is:  need to add the border & corner blocks, get it sandwiched,  quilted and bound; all of which I am still hoping to do today.  There is a lot of cutting, ironing and sewing taking place here in my craft room this week.  Some of the projects I have been working on I simply forgot to take pictures during the process so you will be getting a few of them towards the end.

WIP: "A Whole Lot of Shaking Going On..."

My little Nugette, has been doing the "happy, happy, joy, joy, dance"  all yesterday afternoon and evening thus I just sat on the couch doing a little hand sewing.  I now have these two little "mug rugs" prizes done, the first I delivered, the second will arrive next week!  For the rest of the week I am going to try to get a few in-progress projects completed as well get a start on a request from a friend.  I found a cute little project I started for my future little girl (started about 5 years ago) for my baby hope chest.  I am trying to hold off touching it for a few weeks, but it's just so cute!

We will be announcing the name-guessing contest, and the rules on Sunday, October 30 by the end of that day.  I am so excited; I wonder kinds of names you will all guess, and if anyone will guess both names, you all have a good chance of doing so!