my bags are packed . . .

Yes, my bags are packed and I am ready to go! I made lasagna this morning so we can stay in one evening instead of leaving to eat out (besides, I'd rather spend my money on fabric than food). About all I have left to do is raid the refrigerator after everyone goes to bed!

The Quilting Condo we will be staying in features all the amenities of home, refrigerator, microwave, washer, dryer, PLUS, basic supplies for the Quilter, like cutting mats, irons and ironing boards, secretarial chairs, individual tables on which to place your machine, individual Ott Lights, and much more. All this located in Berlin, Ohio within walking distance to 3 quilt shops! (I am having heart palpitations as I type this)

Stash Report Week 4

This week I busted 9½ yards by cutting out a table topper, a lap quilt and 4 dinner napkins in preparation for the Quilting Retreat I will be attending Thursday through Sunday down in Amish country!

Fabric added this week: 0 yards
Fabric added Year to Date: 4.5 yards

Fabric used this week: 9.5 yards
Fabric used Year to Date: 20.125 yards

Net Used to Date: 15.625 yards

I got flowers today!

Remember that memory quilt I posted yesterday? I got flowers, Pepsi and ice cream from my friend, Vaughn that I quilted it for! What a lovely surprise! Thanks Vaughn!

Finished another customer quilt!

Well, I have been working on a king size memory quilt for a friend! The quilt is backed with a really heavy flannel - the whole quilt is very heavy, it will surely keep the young man warm! She has had the top done for some time now, but was unable to quilt it on her domestic machine because of the size! I had to add the leaf to my new Studio Frame and extend all of the poles - man, both the table and the quilt are huge! We no longer have access to the dining room from the living room as the table is blocking the double doors, but that's OK because we don't use the dining room that much anyways, as a matter of fact, I have always dreamt of moving my sewing room into that room because of all the windows and natural light . . . I can only dream about it though as my family will never go for it!

A Budding Quilter . . .

Haley came to visit me in my Quilt Room today, so I gave her a stack of nickels and she proceeded to get her step stool and place them on the design wall! I love it, she's only 2 1/2!

Stash Report Week 3

Well, I was able to make it through the week without visiting a Quilt Shop, well, not quite, I did go, but I purchased backing for a customer quilt, so that doesn't count as part of my stash!

I did make two kitchen towels, I bound the Memory Quilt for Morgan and cut out a small quilt to be assembled at a Retreat at the end of the month!

• Fabric added this week: 0 yards - This is a first, mark it on the calendar!
• Fabric added Year to Date: 4.5 yards
  
• Fabric used this week: 4 5/8 yards
• Fabric used Year to Date: 10 5/8 yards
  
• Net Used to Date: 12 1/8 yards

I'm preparing for a Retreat . . .

Today, I am thinking about what to take on a retreat at the end of the month! I have some bundles of fat quarters that I might use, but I guess I need to find a pattern or something I'd like to make from them first! I plan to get all the pieces cut out of whatever I decide upon so all I have to do is sew while I am there. We will leave Thursday afternoon, Jan. 29 and return late Sunday, Feb 1st! It will be down in Amish country around Berlin, Ohio. I am so looking forward to busting some stash and getting something else accomplished. Well, I am off to peruse my books + magazines for ideas . . .

They're home . . .

It was too cold to send the girls to daycare today, so they stayed home with me - oh joy! But despite having them here with me, I still managed to get a small quilted loaded and quilted! Of course this necessitated drugging putting all the cherubs down for a nap at the same time, which worked for awhile. I had to wait until the reinforcements came home though to get back to work sewing the binding on!

Another top quilted!

Just finished quilting another top moments ago! This is the Beep. Beep top of Linda S and it's for a Baby Boy Shower this weekend. Now all I have left to do is apply the binding. I still have to apply the binding to the Memory Quilt too, but the Beep, Beep is needed first.

We have been having a lot of snow here for almost a week now. Monday night when I went to deliver my husband his supper at his office, I fell down the icy stairs when leaving. I landed on my back on the stairs and my right side is killing me. This morning when I coughed, I thought I'd go through the roof . . .

It's quilted!

It's quilted, and not a moment too soon as I have another quilt waiting in the wings that needs to be quilted and bound by Friday evening as it's a Baby Shower gift! I ended up stitching over the edges of the photos as my sister purchased a quilt like this at an auction and edges of the photos have all curled up and I think that the same person made this one, so I erred on the side of precaution. Well, I'm off to load the Beep, Beep quilt on the frame and then work on the binding of the Memory Quilt!

Emma's having a bad hair day

Princess Emma is having a bad hair day today . . .

Haley and Madison are making puzzles under the watchful eyes of Sophia!

Stash Report Week 2

Well, I finally have a positive number for stash busted this week! The 33 blocks I needed for the backing, additional borders to compensate for the larger size of the quilt, two nickel swaps and the beginnings of a postage stamp swap all added up to 4 yards! And even more exciting than that, I have 2 UFO's almost completed! My goal this week is to NOT purchase any fabric! Now the dilemma is which UFO to work on next . . .

Fabric added this week: 2 yards
Fabric added Year to Date: 4.5 yards

Fabric used this week: 4 yards
Fabric used Year to Date: 6 yards

Net Used to Date: 1½ yards

It's loaded . . .

I've loaded the Memory Quilt on the longarm and it's ready to go, but I'll have to wait until the girls go down for a nap tomorrow as the machine is in my living room and my family would not be able to hear the TV if I were to start stitching tonight! So I will just retreat to my cave for the rest of the evening and work on another UFO that I have waiting in the wings! As soon as I decide which one (this is so sad because I have so many to choose from) I will post it!

On another note, we got a lot of snow last night and today and when my husband came home for lunch + to shovel us out, he took the girls outside with him. They were out there for a little over an hour and they still cried when it was time to come in for lunch!

Another top is done!

Well, I got the top finished that I am going to use as the backing on the Memory Quilt! I am so stoked! I hope to load it on the longarm tomorrow when the girls go down for a nap.

progress is slow . . .

Progress on the memory quilt backing is slow as the girls (twins) have an intestinal thing going on and they are not allowed at daycare until they've been symptom free for 24 hours, so they've been home with me. It's extremely difficult to get anything done with them here! The good news is I only have 1 1/2 borders left. The end is in sight!

Monday was a wash . . .

Wasn't able to get anything done on the Memory Quilt yesterday as I had to work in the morning at the LQS and I had all 4 girls afterward as my daughter was working the night shift . . . it was an exciting day that was full of drama as you can well imagine with 4 little girls! We went to pick up some board games that I came across on the local Yahoo Freecycle group - that was the highlight of the day for me! Apparently this woman's daughter had outgrown them and they are in pristine condition, one of them was still in the wrapper! I can hardly wait for some quiet time with Madison to play!

Well, that's it for now, I have got to get busy on this quilt . . . I have to press and starch all of the borders I ripped off before I can add some length to them before reattachment! I am so close to getting this beastie on the longarm!

Memory Quilt Progress

Well, last night (early this morning) I finished the additional 33 blocks that I needed to add to the center of the quilt to make it big enough to use as a backing. The rest of today and this evening, I spent ripping the borders off so I can add pieces to them! I am going to change the borders a bit - currently, there are 4 borders, but the patchwork border is lost, so I am thinking that I am going to add a narrow strip of that dark pink to either side of the pieced border to set it off - if you look closely at the border on the left, I laid some of that pink on either side of the patchwork . . . what do you think?

Stash Report - Week 1

Well, depression is setting in! I was so excited to start this Stashbusting Challenge until I put it down on paper this morning... I am going the wrong way - I bought more than what I used - what the heck?#*! Well, on another note, I am working on a UFO (the Memory Quilt), so that is a good thing, and I have decided to back it with another UFO (this is beginning to snowball now...) and that UFO will have to have more blocks and borders added to it which will use more stash! So, all is not lost, and if I can stay out of the LQS this week, the numbers will look better next week!

Fabric added this week: 2.5 yards

Fabric added Year to Date: 2.5 yards

Fabric used this week: 2 yards

Fabric used Year to Date: 2 yards

Net Used to Date: <.5 yard>

This is a picture of the quilt I am going to use as a backing for the Memory Quilt

The Memory Quilt top is almost complete...

Well, I worked on the rest of the blocks today and got them finished just before supper. I have sewn the rows together vertically, but I still have to sew those rows together horizontally. I'm pretty pleased with it - I hope that Morgan is too!

Working on a Memory Quilt

Well, it's the first day of the New Year and I am keeping my resolution of trying to finish UFO's. I have had this Memory Quilt that belongs to my sisters, friends, daughter for well over a year now . . . I started work on it today! It already was a quilt, but it was pretty poorly constructed ... none of the blocks were the same size, so I measured all of them and came up with the common denominator of 11 inch squares . . . below is a picture of all that I had to trim from the blocks to make them consistent

with the exception of the block below, it was the smallest, so I had to border it with the purple to bring it up to 11 inches!

The original quilt had Bob the Builder fabric as a backing and navy blue gabardine as the sashing. So I tore it all apart and I'm starting from scratch and making it appropriate for a girly girl!I hope to have more pictures/progress to report tomorrow as there are only 10 more blocks that need to be sashed!