SR-W50: "Occupy Sewing Room" Challenge

I cannot believe how completely tickled I am by my progress through the "Occupy Your Sewing Room" Challenge!  Neither my WIP list nor my Stash Report ever looked so good!  I did end up having to spread out my time a little bit because of my pregnancy I get quite tired these days.  My husband helped me rearrange my sewing room a little bit to make it easier to put a big comfy chair in there.

Things Finished:

1 secret project (I will show in a few weeks along with a tutorial) and...

11 burp cloths completed, 2 hour-glass pot holders (experiment w/ loop placement)

"Melting Rainbows" Wall Hanging

Christmas Colors- Wonky block pot holder

Quilt tops finished, but projects not completed:

2 quilt tops in yellow/grey/white/black should measure about 50'X 55"

Quilt top with a modern try at the pinwheel twist Should measure about 60"X 60"

So here's the much, much happier verdict this week:

Busted this Week:                  08.75 yards (not counting the quilt tops yet)

Busted from 08/01/2011:       215.50 yards
Stashed this Week:                00.00 yards
Stashed from 08/01/2011:       95.5 yards

Net Busted for 2011 (from 08/01/2011):  120.00

A jar, a haircut, a Challenge and a Last minute potholder...

So with everything I have put on my plate, I threw together a last minute item!  One of my friends, sent me a thank you card thanking me for the "potholder."  I was suddenly terrified that she meant the mug rug I gave her for Christmas, I texted her the next day.  Turned out she did not have any official pot-holders, so I thought I could make one up in a couple hours.

Now, I tried to think back if I have ever actually made one; certainly those yarn weaving ones when I was a child, but not a quilted one.  I used 1 layer backing, 1 layer of cotton batting, 1 layer of pant material, 1 more layer of cotton batting, and then the top.  It was randomly quilted across in straight lines angling just like I did with the Mug rugs.  Made a wonky block for one and two others in an hourglass block (I wasn't sure which way I wanted to go).  It was finished off with some green binding I already had left over from another project. [I procured a new jar for my ever increasing pile of left-over bindings yesterday!]

The one below was completed before I ran off to get my haircut, so I slipped it into my purse for a quick delivery afterward.  Then I had a fun treat; a friend came by and spent the rest of the day with me.  We talked and talked forever; in fact I may be losing my voice today!  Another friend is coming for a visit today, bringing her mother who is visiting her from back home (Alaska).  So I am off to do a little vanity cleaning, we shall see if I get anything else completed for TGIFF tomorrow hosted at M-R's Quilt Matters.  Stop by her place/blog, even if you don't hear a peep out of me until Saturday!

I plan to participate in the "occupy your sewing room" challenge.  You spend one full day in your craft room finishing up projects (click on the button here or the button on my sidebar for more information).  We are moving a comfy chair in there later tonight to ready the room for me to do crafty all day tomorrow!

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: "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!

WIP: "The Colors of The Wind..."

 I simply love color!  As I am constantly talking about on this blog, I have quite a bit of fabric.  It's a lifetime time of birthday presents, Christmas presents, monthly budgeting, allowances, and babysitting money.  Someone suggested that I should simply give some of it away if I could not use or organize it.  Now that is a challenge!  

It has been my struggle to get started on a stash report and give myself challenges to use the fabric I own without purchasing a lot more of it (I am allowing others to give/gift me fabric because it's always a smart gift option, lol.)  But the first challenge has been to get it organized.  I have been simply delighted over getting these beauties ironed in in their right place.  Sometimes I linger over a particular cut, remembering a story that might go with it or why I might have purchased it.  I wish I could say that I am done, organized and ready to blaze on ahead to my project challenges, however, I am finding more fabric every day hidden in boxes, bags, in my closet, trunks, and storage tubs.  It is sad to say that there is still a pile on my craft room floor waiting to be ironed and put on bolts!  I have made a decision that those cuts will be set aside for my sewing classes, and to be given away before we move next year.

As I am starting to feel symptoms for the first time during this pregnancy (besides the obvious tummy bulge and energetic little kicking that is), I am finding that I am slowing down to the speed of State Government.  It is my sincere wish to get my 4 commission projects done and mailed off in the next 3 weeks.  I am having trouble with one of the projects because I do not have the right fabric for the sashing; every time I have picked the right one online, it has sold out before I can purchase it, and this has already happened 4 times!  I am going to get started on the middle portion and travel to a fabric shop near my husband's work in a couple weeks; I will find the fabric I need!  I have almost completed the two prizes for my little contest a few weeks back.  I should have the binding hand stitched on tonight or tomorrow morning, the first to be delivered tomorrow, and the second one will be received by next week!  You will see the start of one (or more) of the commission projects by the end of the week.  Thanks again to all of you for your encouragement.

And in this corner: A challenge!

My dear fabric friends! It has been a month since i have posted on my blog. It was my intention to have quite the list of finish projects as well as posts to this site. however, I have been recovering from Viral Meningitis, which has left me quite weak. When I last left you in March I had 4 finish quilt tops pieced but waiting to be quilted, several pairs of half finished baby shoes, blocks assembled but not put into a finished quilt top, pieces cut for making new blocks, various random projects I am finding half-finished through my crafty years, and items I started for our own children when I was pregnant with our twins.

Recently I came across a blogging site (http://rubyslipperz106.blogspot.com) with a challenge I longed to be a part of: Finish as many projects as you can in two weeks and each item you finish will be a ticket for a drawing for a prize of a $30 shopping spree from one of my favorite online Quilt fabric stores. Well at the time I was so weak I was not even sitting up yet, but recently I find that she has extended the challenge until the end of MAY!

So as I am working on my recovery, I am taking up the challenge! I will post here on my blog every time I am able to complete a project. You should consider taking up the challenge too! For more details, just check out this link: http://rubyslipperz106.blogspot.com/2011/04/ticket-to-winyes-sir-eee.html