Fight To The Salvage Edge

I have a confession to make:  I don't like salvages.  They bother me, I don't know why they do, they just do!  The first thing I do when I get fabric is iron it up nicely and cut off the salvages and then I would throw them out.  More recently though I have been collecting them for a blogging friend I have never met in person.  Once I started saving them I realized just how much time one takes to prepare one's fabric before the start of a project.  Once I had a gallon Ziplock bag full of these pesky little pieces I went off to mail them.  I found out it was going to cost less to wait and mail the package off when I had more than twice as much to send her.  I really wanted to get the package off to her by the end of the year, thus began my quest to find all the salvages in my house to get that package filled!  I am a couple weeks behind as you can see.

Z's Christmas Dress Fabric

I know some of you are distressed that I might lose the information that the salvage gives me, but I have solved that by taking pictures of my more recent fabric purchases.  I also keep my old copies of Hancock of Paducah's Fabric Porn Swatch catalogs as well as the Catalogs that Connecting Threads sends me.  A couple weeks ago I was trying out a class/group at The Old Craft Store called Moda U (they talk all about Moda fabrics, precuts, patterns as well as they complete a quilt top together using Moda Fabric).  Another visiting new lady won a Charm pack of lovely Pinks, Creams and Black Fabric.  From my ogling my past swatch catalogs I recognized it as a Moda line from a 18 months ago!  But I digress...

As I was getting ready to finally mail the package off I decided to show you all the pesky lovely pieces I was mailing off.  Next week I will share will you the Project Kits I was able to get prepared in my quest to clean up the salvages!  I am going to get this place organized as we prepare for Ziona's first Birthday party!  Can you tell I am excited?

This is what is in the first bag in the box, there certainly is a variety!

2nd Bag of Salvages, perhaps a little more mute in colors.

I am already working on filling another bag with salvages as I trim, prep and organize!  See you for a finish tomorrow!

*Shanna

InSPired...

Hello Little pretties!  I love how crisp they look and how good they smell as they are freshly ironed with a little extra starch.  A finished Quilt top and tutorial coming soon!  You can see the full UFO/WIP List with pictures HERE.  This also the list I am going off of for the Finish-along group!

*Shanna
Are you thinking of going scrappy this year?  If you have time, link up your posts each month with your own personal challenges.  Check out January post:  HERE

11 months...

We have started the countdown to Ziona's First Birthday, but first let us take a look back at this past month!

The Case of the Napping Z.

Z and the Great Christmas Dress Caper

Z and the Mystery of the Cuddly Bear

Z and the Delight of the Scrunched up nose....She loved the wrapping paper

And so Next Month we will be watching our little miracle turn 1 year old!  Oh I am sure there will be pictures so don't ya worry you will get to see more scrunched up noses I am sure!

BOM's Away: Rainbows Brighter & Better

Rainbow Blocks

So I am giving myself my own BOM so to speak.  Its not a part of any specific group, but rather stems from my small collect of rainbow blocks.  I am going to make a new rainbowish block each month and eventually make a quilt from them.  I have the pieces for a couple more of the rainbow Star blocks so I might see if I can make it a 4 block set to put one in each corner.  This is what I have so far, but I am willing to consider any block out there that you might suggest!

Finish Along 2013-First Quarter (UFO/WIP 3)

I MADE IT!!  I missed every single link up for last years finish along so I am so excited to be able to catch it on the first quarter! <insert a picture of me jumping up and down here, lol>  Now I am putting every WIP/UFO I have started or have prepped.  Nothing is counted unless it is completely finished though so I better get working!!

Stash Report

Opinion Please!

So I am doing better this week, especially after getting the two Crib Quilts completed and handed off to the person who asked me to make them.  I hope her two nieces are very happy with their special presents!  I feel fantastic I have made it 2 weeks into the year without purchasing fabric, however I need to purchase some solid grey, solid cream and the fabric for the sashing on Z's Birthday dress.  I have already scoped these fabrics out at Connecting threads.  I tried to see if there might be coordinating fabric in the Moda line, but it all seems to actually be random heart prints.  I am a little ify on the sashing fabric, so let me hear an opinion on which one you would choose:

Finishes 2

Maple Skies Fabric Line

Well I will just say it again, Connecting Threads makes some fantastic fabrics.  They are fast becoming my source for most of my fabric with a few bits from my local Quilt Shop which we call "the Grandma Store" for Ziona.  She likes to go in with me and bat her eyelashes at the Grandmas that work there.  The ladies are used to me coming in, but I had to laugh last Saturday when I stopped in to pick up my BOM materials.  The ladies couldn't help baby talking my darling as we passed by and we got a couple glares from those getting their fabrics cut!  I was a little surprised because we hardly ever get that response (well except when Ziona decides to talk over Bishop during Church, but even then most people understand she thinks she is supposed to be responding, well most.).
And I digress...hmmm what was I talking about...

I don't Want to...Really Random Thursday

When My Darling Daughter doesn't want to do something all she has to do is close her eyes and I don't exist in her world.  Friday Morning is Movie time each week and it comes along with cheesy crackers.  Ziona has taken to closing her eyes when I pull the phone out to take a picture...all I am asking for is one little smile....

We are moving furniture this weekend so I am frantically ironing fabric to get it organized and out from under foot while we set up a new crafting space...Maybe Next week I will have new pan-o-rams to share of the new space...maybe.

It's A Scrapful Life

So I am working on turning a new leaf after a mini-melt-down on Saturday (Look below).   I am also working steadily to complete the crib quilts.  The top stitching is complete and we are onto the binding portion of the program!  I had thought about machine stitching the binding down to the front, but ti just isn't going to work for these quilts so we just might have to watch Brave every day until the hand-stitching is done!  I am so in-LOVE with this little polka-dot print from Connecting Threads as a part of their Basics line.  I bought a little extra for myself when I purchased these fabrics a couple months ago (don't worry it has been counted) to make a shirt or dress for Ziona.  I am starting on Size 3 Clothes for her for this year since she definitely has 24 months/2T covered!  I don't know when she will fit at this point since she is getting so lean, oh but I digress..."Oh LOOK, something Shiny" gets me everytime.

Some Scrapful thoughts:

I have some of that fabric left over from a binge on Moda Scrap Bags from a couple of years ago so I need to do something with them. I have decided to start a challenge to myself and to those out there in Blog land.  I am not going to have prizes or a giveaway because I think that just might compound the problem.  Although in truth it would help me to de-clutter I just don't want to add to your own clutter or fabric obsession.  So out of curiosity and support I think I will have a Linky party.  I don't know how to make a button if you want one, but I will form a flickr group so we can show off our finished project pictures.  Flickr Group can be found HERE.

For January:

3 or 4 different lines of Moda including Hope, Charity and some others

I am late coming out of the gate, but I am going to try to use these fabrics to complete Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Mystery Quilt.  I have been downloading the instructions each week, but I am waiting to read them until I am ready to start.  So this will be my challenge to myself this month, what will yours be?  Just post a picture on your blog or on flickr, even if it is a Fat Quarter and share what you challenge yourself to do with it this month.  I will be back at the end of the month with the same challenge for February.

*Shanna

Meh...NOT so Easy Street...

On my Computer game when someone replies with the phrase "Meh" it usually indicates a shrug or unwillingness to commit to an answer or response.

Very Neutral so I could take my time in deciding other colors

 That is how I am feeling about ironing the 4-patch blocks in the Easy Street Mystery Quilt...I can just hear you all chucking out there because I haven't hit the flying Geese...

I so need to purchase an actual ironing board instead of ironing on towels...soon

This is definitely going to eat into my fabric reserves and I can already tell this project is going to take longer than I think!   I have heard a few commits concerning the Flying Geese I have coming up next.  For now, "Just keep Sewing, Sewing, Sewing.."

*Shanna