This Week of Stashbusting!

Well I had a very good week this week. I have made it though the month of November without buying a single piece of fabric (not even a legal buy of backround or borders or backing or binding). Here's what I've accomplished this past week:

• Finished stitching out 16 nametags on the embroidery machine. The fabric that I used for the background is some leftover muslin from some quilt backs. In years past I would have run out and bought a nice solid fabric for this project, but it was really satisfying to use something that would have gone into the scrap box(es).


• Finished my contribution to a round robin using fabrics from the stash instead of going out and buying something else.


• Picked out a pretty FQ pack from the stash to send as part of a secret sister gift instead of going out and buying a FQ pack to put in the package.


• Avoided buying any fabric

Here are my Stashbusting goals for the coming week:

• Finish the nametags. I have already pulled a great fabric for the backing/binding of the nametags. I even have leftover batting for the center.
• Finish Row Robin Row and send back to the owner. All of the fabric that I'm using is coming from stash.
• Avoid buying any fabric to add to the stash.

Wish me luck!!

Pay it Forward!

I've decided to Pay it Forward again! I joined Suzanne's challenge a while back and kept forgetting to add it to my blog!! Here's my pledge:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

So if you'd like to receive a handmade gift from moi, please leave a comment on my blog and make sure that I can get in touch with you via email :)

A Fun Mail Day

I'm in the Secret Quilter program on the MQResource Forum and today I received my December gift from my secret quilter!! What a fun package!!! I got a fabric pack, a marking pen, some Tintzl, a pretty holiday box of Kleenex (how did she know that I just ran out of tissues this week?) and some wonderful new Hershey's Kisses (cherry cordial, mint truffle and hot chocolate).

I just love this package and now I need to find a good pattern for my fun new fabrics!!!

November Accomplishments & December Goals

Well a challenge has been issued on Stashbuster to list our November Accomplishments and our goals for December. Even though I have not "finished" many projects completely, I have managed to make alot of progress toward my stashbusting goals. Here are my November accomplishments:

• Made quilt top usuing the fairy blocks I started embroidering on my new embroidery machine in January. The top used the Turning Twenty Again pattern and busted 12 FQs (or 3 yards of fabric) from my stash.
• Made quilt top using a jelly roll and 6 charm packs. The pattern was Butter Charm and Jelly.
• Made quilt top using a jelly roll and 2 yards of fabric (all from the stash). The pattern is Weed Whacker from Quiltville and I adapted it in order to use the 2.5" strips from the jelly roll.
• Made tote bag using a pack of charm squares and 1 yard of lining fabric from the stash. The pattern is Charm Party Tote and this project is actually completed.
• Made my starter block for a new round robin project
• Made 112 1.5"x3" flying geese units and used them to make 28 6" finished sawtooth stars. The stars are complete but still need to be sewn together and attached to the round robin I am working on. This used 1.25 yards of fabric from my stash.
• Machine embroidered 10 of 16 nametags for my mother's red hat group. The background fabric that I'm using is leftover muslin scraps from quilt backings.
• Quilted a queen size quilt for a customer and delivered it.
• Did not purchase any fabric at all!!!!!

Most of thse projects were highlighted in my blog over the last month and you can see pictures of these projects in those posts (I won't bore you with reposting the same pictures in this post). I also posted my 100th blog post in November. In November I learned that I need to find and implement a good time management system that I can follow. That is one of my weaknesses, I am not a good time manager.

My December goals are as follows:

• Finish Red Hat nametags and deliver to the group
• Quilt 2 customer quilts
• Finish MIL's 30's repro UFO for Christmas
• Finish daughter's Japanese quilt for Christmas
• Embroider 4 fleece throws for Christmas gifts
• Embroider hand towels for Christmas gifts
• Finish current swap and round robin commitments
• Avoid adding to the fabric stash

These goals are pretty agressive but I work best under pressure. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress!

What are you all working on in December?

This Week's Foray into Stashbusting!

Well I haven't had much of a chance to actually sew this week since I was busy preparing for Thanksgiving at my house. But I have made a few steps toward not adding to my stash.

Today I finished up the online FabShopHop (Yes I found all the bunnies!!) and I did not buy a single piece of fabric, nor did I add any of the new shops to my favorites list!!!

I also read and deleted all of the emails I received from many of the local quilt shops trying to tempt me in with $1.25 fat quarters. I just stayed in my house and went thru the DTs knowing that my current stash would thank me for not adding to it :)

During next week I will be shopping the stash for fabric to make embroidered/quilted name tags for my mother's red hatter group. I am determined that I will make these 100% from my stash!

I'll keep you all posted!!


And a gratuitous kitty picture. Here are 3 of my kitties all huddled together this morning asleep

Contest Winner!

Well I assigned numbers to all of the comments left on my 100th Post contest and had hubby pick a number between 1-29 and the winner is.......... Kim!!!! Congrats Kim!! Please email me your mailing address and I'll get a gifty out to you soon!!!

Serious About Stashbusting!

Well I'm going to take this stash reduction seriously and really make a concerted effort to use up my beautiful stash. I have done pretty well lately shopping my stash and not buying any fabric at all. I truly want to continue this endeavor. I have been a quilter/fabric collector for 15 years and have never really been bothered by my fabric purchases until recently when I was in a shop an was buying a roll of pretty FQs and the gal said to me "You keep buying these rolls, you need to bring them in for us to see." I chuckled and responded "Why would I do that, they are all in a drawer and still wrapped up nice and pretty like when I took them home."

So now I am determined to turn these lovely fabrics that I fell in love with into quilts.

I went to retreat at the beginning of this month and made 3 quilt tops all from stash. It was such a great feeling that I want to keep it going! Adn the tops that I made sure look better as quilt tops than they did sitting in the drawers. LOL

Oh and the picture in this post is just some of my yardage. Not pictured are the additional rolling carts that I have added for my FQ bundles, charm packs and jelly rolls. I need some serious help!

Starter Block for RRBloggers

Well I'm finally getting around to posting my starter block for the RRBloggers project. This is a 4" finished Shoofly Block. I love this block and am looking forward to seeing what these talented ladies do with it!

112 + 100 = 1

OK, allow me to translate that title...... 112 (flying geese units) + 100 (Posts) = 1 Very Happy Blogger!!!

Today I managed to finish the 112 flying geese that I have been working on for this round robin border. These flying geese units will become the star points in 28 6" sawtooth star blocks. Each of these units finish at 1.5" x 3" and I used the Fons and Porter Flying Geese Ruler. This was definately a worthwhile investment!!

This also happens to be my 100th blog post!! YAY!!! And it only took me 11 1/2 months to get here....LOL So in keeping with Blogland tradition I am offering a giveaway to celebrate this milestone! Please leave me a comment on this post and I'll put you in a drawing for a little gifty! O do need to be able to get in touch with you, so if you do not have your email enabled on your blogger account please leave your email addy in your comment.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of you that have left me comments this year! I have really appreciated everything that everyone has had to say! And thank you all for visiting my blog. I really enjoy blogging and hope to keep this going for quite some time to come!

Weekend Stashbuster Retreat

Well this weekend is the stay at home retreat on the Stashbuster yahoo group! And I have big plans for busting a little more stash!

I plan to finish 2 round robins as well as an aplique block for a swap I'm in. All the projects will come from stash!

I also plan to put my Black and White Churn Dash swap blocks together into a top. If you look at my UFO list, most of the UFOs are blocks from past block swaps. I just got these churn dash blocks back yesterday and had already pieced my setting blocks so all I have to do it put the top together. And the best part, all of the fabrics that I used for the swap as well as this top came from my stash! What a wonderfully freeing feeling to be able to put blocks and tops together and not have to run to the LQS!!

And speaking of the LQS, this weekend is the annual Quilter's Quest in the Maryland/Northern Virginia area. Well I decided that since I joined the No Buy Challenge at the beginning of this month that I would not lead myself into temptation by going on the shop hop. I really want to sew down some of my stash this year and am hoping that this challenge helps me to curb my impulse fabric purchases. It's not easy with all of the new pretty Moda fabric lines that are "Coming Soon" but I am strong and will resist for as long as I can hehehe.

I'll be sure to post some pictures of my progress this weekend :)

More Retreat Fun!

Before leaving for retreat I finished up a quilt for a customer/friend and delivered it to her at retreat. She was tickled pink! I did an all over feather meander ala Suzanne Earley's Meandering Magic and I think it looks great! Here's some pictures of Fran showing her quilt at show and tell on Saturday night

Also this fall we had a new retreater, Carla. She is such a sweetie and she often hosts our Sundae Quilters at her home. We have dubbed her back sun room the "Club House". Carla was working on her gorgeous embroidered blocks for her quilt. During show and tell she gave a hysterical monologue about her trials and tribulations with these blocks. I cannot wait to see the "Quilt from HE**" when it's finished. And hopefully she will continue to quilt even though this first quilt is giving her major fits.

Home Again, Home Again......

.....all in one weekend....LOL

I am home from retreat and apparently I was in a very Pink mood. All except one of my projects that I worked on this weekend was predominantly Pink.

As always I had a ball! Spent the weekend laughing and sewing with my BFF Nancy as well as our other Sundae Quilter Buds!

I spent alot of time leading up to retreat getting projects together and that really helped my productivity. I had my projects pre-cut and just sewed along for 2 1/2 days. Here is what I finished:

*Butter Charm & Jelly Quilt Top using Moda's A Little Romance Jelly Roll & Charm Packs

*Weed Whacker Quilt Top using Moda's Quilt Pink II Jelly Roll & Lime green yardage (this pattern was adapted from Bonnie's site in order to use the 2 1/2" strips that make up the Jelly Rolls

*Turning Twenty Around the Block using 12 FQs & the fairy blocks I embroidered earlier this year

*Charm Party Tote using Moda's Stash Management charm pack and lined with a Loralie Ladies tomato pincushions on black print

Everything that I worked on this weekend came directly from my stash. I shopped my stash instead of the LQS and it felt great!!!

This weekend I also turned over my charms for the No Buy Challenge on Stashbuster. So I am going to try to curb my impulse fabric purchases. It won'ebe easy with all of the new lovelies that are coming out from the manufacturers (especially Moda), but I have lots and lots of lovelies to use already.

I also managed to exercise self control and only spent money on a massage at retreat. Despite the fact that the LQS set up a mini shop at the retreat center and tempted me with lovely yarage of luscious fairy frosts among other things. I also stayed clear of the bolts of fabric that another gal brought to sell to retreaters (at the last retreat I spent way too much on her Robyn Pandolph fabrics). So I managed to get over the first hurdle of my year of not buying! Yay!