2012 NewFO - Number 3

What's a NewFO?  According to Barbara over at Cat Patches it's a way to ensure you have UFOs for 2013 in case you've run out (as she did).  When you run out, you can't participate in any of the fun UFO challenges out there.   I'm down to 4 UFOs, so the idea of starting new projects to avoid reaching zero really appealed to me.   NewFOs were started in January and February, but nothing new has been started since then.  My goal was 6 NewFOs this year, so to stay on track a new project really needed to be started soon.   However what I started wasn't on my original list (posted here). 

Judy over at Patchwork Times posted a quilt along for quilt called Sweet Treats.  That project just appealed to me.  I really had no intention of starting it (yeah right, I went to bed two nights in a row contemplating stash fabrics that might work).  But I resisted for a few more days.  Then one evening while organizing the stash (a never ending project it seems), I spied a stack of left over1930 reproduction fat quarters which had been used in another project.

What was I going to do with those left overs?  Wouldn't they be just perfect for the Sweet Treats quilt?  Resistance was futile.  Within about 15 minutes I was on the computer printing out the first set of instructions, cutting fabrics and had started my first block.  I've been making the blocks as a leaders and enders project while finishing up Fat Quarter Stars.  I'm really liking these blocks.  There are 14 up on the design wall now, which is almost half what's needed. 

Sweet Treats Designed by Judy Laquidara
(pattern available here)

There are 4 yards of a tone on tone white in the stash that will work for the sashing and there are a couple of other pieces that might work for the final border.  Hopefully this project will use all stash fabrics, which would be really nice for the stash report. 

To see what else is new in design wall decor, check out the links over at Cat Patches. 

Wordless Wednesday - Colors of Summer

15 Minute Challenge - May 29th

Only two more days left in May!  How did that happen?  Does the end of the month sneak up on you?  I'm acutally not in too bad a shape.  May has been a good month for progress on my quilt projects.  Hopefully that will continue into June.  I know many people sew less in the summer, I sew more (I think it's the black thumb, gardening just doesn't pay off when you have one of those).  The end of June signals mid-year.  I've been looking over my quilting goals for this year and have a lot of work to do if I want to be on track.  If I'll be diligent about keeping to my 15 minutes a day of sewing time, I shouldn't be in too bad a shape by time the end of June rolls around.

This week was really good, I managed 6 out of 7 days where some type of action occurred in the sewing room.

How about you?  Did you find some time to sew over the holiday weekend?  How are you doing on your sewing goals, on track or way off track?  

1. Amanda 2. Barb H 3. libbyQ

4. PJ - off Avondale Rd 5. Thea 6. Shay

7. Kate 8. June @ QuiltQuest

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Design Wall Monday - May 28th

As much as I enjoy holidays off, it always seems strange to be home on a day I would normally go to work.  I'm planning to sew all day today and have great plans to make lots of progress on the May UFO and the Scrappy Coffee Cup quilt as I'm behind on both.  I need to do some sewing room clean up as well. 

I did sneak in some significant sewing this week.  The Fat Quarter Stars Quilt top is finished. 


Fat Quarter Stars by Konda
of Moose on the Porch Quilts

I had to play with the setting a bit as I didn't have enough background fabric to make the setting that Konda showed.  I like how it came out.  This will not be my last red, white and black quilt.  I really like the color combination. 

I was able to watch most of the NASCAR race last night.  While I was doing that, I worked on the C for the Coffee Cup Quilt. 

Coffee cup block patterns from Karen F. Srebro and Janet McCarroll
published in Block Magic and Block Magic Too by
Nancy Johnson-Srebro

The O is almost finished.  By the end of today, I hope to have finished it, plus the two F's and 2 yellow cups. 

I've been working on the Sweet Treat quilt as a leaders and enders project.  Another 6 blocks were finished this week, so I'm a third of the way through with the blocks. 

Sweet Treats Designed by Judy Laquidara
(pattern available here)

The blocks look a bit busy right up against one another, but the white tone on tone with which they are going be set with should calm them down a bit. 

I'm off to see what mischief awaits in my sewing room.  Check out all the other design walls over at Patchwork Times. 

Stash Report - May 27th

Other than attempting to work through the mountain of laundry that accrued due to last weekend's swim meet, it's been a pretty relaxing weekend so far.  Not much sewing going on as we've been running a few errands to get My Guy and the Drama Teen ready for their trip next week.  But tomorrow the plan is for an all day quilt retreat.  I hope to make some progress on the Rainbow Challenge blocks and my May UFO.  I finished adding the borders to the Fat Quarters Stars quilt last night.  Now I need to wash the backing fabric and get that pieced and another quilt will be ready for quilting.  Most of what went out this week was for the borders for the FQS.

Used last week:  1.48 yards
Added last week:  5 yards

Used for 2012:  17.86 yards
Added for 2012:  161 yards

Net stashed for 2012:  143.14 yards

Not a great week, but not a bad one for me.  The 5 yards in will be used to make the backing for the FQS quilt.  So it won't stay in the stash for long.  My goal for stash busting this year was to use at least 75 yards of fabric.  Obviously, I need to get busy in order to make that happen.

I'm linking up with all the other stash reports over at Judy's Patchwork Times. 

Foto Finish - Gardening

I slept in this morning.  If felt really good to not be in a rush to get out the door, get to the laundry etc.  Drama Teen and I went out for a leisurely breakfast, something we very rarely do.  We enjoyed the slow pace this morning, lingering over breakfast just talking about nothing in particular.  She's going on a trip to Colorado sponsored by the school's science teacher, so I won't have her company for about a week.  It was nice to have some quiet time before we gear up for all the prep and packing she'll need to do before she leaves on Monday. 

The suggested topic this week for Foto Finish is "Gardening".   With my black thumb, gardening is just something that doesn't happen much around here.  Maybe because I'm so bad at the garden thing, I love visiting gardens when we go on vacation.  A number of years ago, we spent a week in Oregon.  One of the places I wanted to visit was the Portland Rose Garden.  I was new to SLR digital photography, my Canon 20D was only about 2 weeks old when we made the trip, so I was still trying to figure out all the settings, so a number of my photos from that visit can be classed as "learning the camera shots".  But I did get a couple of decent shots, including this one. 

I have no idea what kind of flower this is.  We don't have anything like it here in Oklahoma.  I like the colors.  The flower reminds me of a ballerina, it has such graceful lines. 

This is the last Foto Finish until Barbara gets back from her quilty travel adventure next month.  So wonder over to Cat Patches this week and get your Foto fix for the next 30 days. 

Favorite Things Friday - A Special Treat

It's a Friday in front of a three day weekend.  Work will be really relaxed as most everyone has taken the day off.  A productive day of  work then three days off, one of which will be a personal quilting retreat in my sewing room.  That's good enough to be a favorite thing, but I actually picked something else for this week.  But that's definitely a thought for next week.

Drama Teen had been struggling with algebra the last quarter and had been getting up early in the mornings to get to school so she could work with the teacher.  A true sacrifice for a teen who clings to every second of "in bed" time she can every morning.  Plus she's been asking for help from Mom and Dad. The "and Dad" is significant as she absolutely hates having to get his help on anything, but specifically when it's math.  As she puts it, "Dad has a math degree, I don't." Final grades arrived in yesterday's mail.  DT cringed when I showed her the envelope.   It wasn't so bad, in fact her algebra grade exceeded even her expectations.  She asked if the grades were worthy of a trip to Jareds'. 

In my book there's not much that's not worthy of a trip to Jareds'.  After dinner and My Guy's bike ride, we piled in the car and drove over.  I got my favorite,

a carmel concrete (carmel mixed with soft serve ice cream).  My Guy got his favorite,

A berry concrete.  What about the Drama Teen? 

She had half of hers eaten before I could get my camera out. 

So soft serve from Jareds' and having a teen who will put forth the extra effort when needed are my favorite things this week.  To be honest, DT is pretty much always a favorite thing, well at least until I look in her bedroom. 

Check out all the other favorite things over at Quilting in my Pyjamas. 

Wordless Wednesday - Spring in Texas

15 Minute Challenge - May 22nd

I always think life will slow down once the Drama Teen is done with the school year.  However, logistics of the shift from DT being in school all day to being either home or volunteering at summer camp always escapes my thoughts until faced with the actuality.  During the school year, she can walk to swim practice or walk to the library where I'll pick her up and we hit Subway for dinner before her twice a week late practice sessions.  When she's out of school, a drive all the way across town is required, which takes a bit longer than it does when she's already downtown.  Things will settle down a bit once we get into our "summer schedule". 

Typically I have more time to sew in the summer than during the school year.  The last week was good, but I did have a dinner meeting that kept me out late one night and 8th grade graduation kept me out another.  But other than those two evenings, a bit of stitching happened the other 5. 

So not a bad week overall.  With the holiday weekend coming up, I am hoping to get some significant stitching in at least one day.  I'd really like to get the Fat Quarter Stars top finished.  I've worked out plan C for the borders and hope that the third time is the charm for this quilt (plan B didn't work out). 

So did you find some time to stitch last week?  Either way, link up and share how it went. 

1. libbyQ 2. Barbara 3. Jay

4. Thea 5. Kate 6. June @ QuiltQuest

7. PJ - off Avondale Rd

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Design Wall Monday - May 21st

Is it really Monday?  Drama Teen had a swim meet this weekend so we weren't home much.  She did well, taking time off in 7 of her 8 events.  She was a tired teen when we got home last night.   No school for her today, so she's begged to be allowed to sleep in this morning.  Wish I could follow suit, but no such luck.  It's back to work for me this morning.  It's nice to think that next weekend we'll have 3 days off since we have Memorial day coming up.  I'm pretty sure one day of the weekend will be dedicated to sewing. 

Even with all the end of school activities this week, sewing happened. Unfortunately, the first pass at borders for the Fat Quarter Stars Quilt was a bust, so I'm working on plan B.  No progress to show on it yet.  Only 2 more Sweet Treat blocks made it to the design wall. 

Sweet Treats designed by Judy Laquidara

One of the problems with working on blocks as a leaders and enders project is that it can be slow going.  I like how the blocks are coming out.  There were 3 yards of a tone on tone white in the stash that can be used for the sashing, so that will help a bit with moving me more towards stash busting, rather than stash enhancement.  Looks like this project will be constructed of strictly stash fabric. 

No work on May's UFO other than to cut some fabric and reaquaint myself with the pattern.  It's the same deal with the Rainbow Scrap challenge coffee cup blocks.  I've worked out how to piece the first letter block, but haven't actually cut any fabric.  Hopefully, I'll get back to both projects after the borders are sewn onto the FQS quilt.  Maybe this weekend? 

I'm linking up with Patchwork Times this morning.  But I'll have to wait till tonight to check out all the inspiration posted there. 

Stash Report - May 20th

Is really Sunday already?  It's been a busy weekend, Drama Teen had a swim meet and a dance.  Some sewing got done yesterday, just not much.  I've been sewing all week, but most of that involved sewing the rows together for the Fat Quarter Stars Quilt and I've already counted all that fabric.  So this week's numbers are a bit anemic:

Used last week:  0.34 yards
Added last week:  0 yards

Used for 2012: 16.38 yards
Added for 2012: 156 yards

Net stashed for 2012: 139.62 yards

Nothing in, a little out is a good week for me.  Unfortunately, I've been pressing buttons again.  I had planned to piece the back for the FQS quilt from the left over yardage.  There is not much left over, so I ended up ordering some fabric for the back.  I did get lucky there, Connecting Threads still had one of the fabrics left from the collection (the name of the fabric collection escapes me at the moment).  Even better it was on sale.  That yardage should go out of the stash almost as soon as it comes in.  

The final borders on the FQS are wide, so next week's numbers should be better.  Have a great Sunday.  I'm linking up with Judy over at Patchwork Times this week as usual. 

Foto Finish - Pets

Yesterday was the last day of school for the Drama Teen.  I took the day off so I could attend the awards ceremony in the morning, then be back early in the afternoon to pick her and a friend up to celebrate at Cherry Berry.  The school gives various academic awards, the DT brought home a couple of those.  But the most fun are the awards the teachers give for some of the elective classes.  Drama Teen snagged the "Best Actress" award from her Theatre class (her bloggy nick name is a very apt one indeed).  We had girls night out afterward with a bit of shopping and then dinner.  DT is a bit overwhelmed at the idea of being an 8th grader next year.  To be honest, Mom's a bit wigged out too!

As I was mulling over this week's theme of "Pets" for Foto Finish, there were also thoughts of DT's school years wandering in and out as well.  That brought to mind a picture that might work for today's post.  But alas, I couldn't find it.  It's possible that it's one of My Guy's shots.  I did find another photo with a similar theme from the same year. 

Unfortunately, I'm extremely allergic to animal dander, so it's difficult for us to have a dog or cat.  DT made up for that by collecting the stuffed variety of critters.  Her preferred "pets" were tigers (she dreamed big even back then).  Somewhere in the second grade, she developed a strong affection for Scooby Doo as well.  This picture was taken just after Christmas.  The tiger to the right is Simba who was a new addition to her tiger family that Santa left under the tree at Grandma's.  He was her sleeping buddy for years after. 

That's it for Foto Finish this week.  Check out all the other pet tails over at Cat Patches.   

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Spring 2012

It's that time again.  The spring version of the Bloggers' Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side.  What a great way to see a quilt show and never leave your recliner. 

This is my 4th time to join in the festival.  It gets harder every time to pick just one quilt to showcase,   I've loved the creative process with each project and to date haven't made a quilt where "What was I thinking?" has been the first thought that came to mind when it was completed.  The subject of this post was a long time in the planning stages, but the end result was worth the wait. 

Have you ever come across a piece of fabric that just speaks to you?  You see it and know it's just the perfect focus piece for a project for someone special.  About 5 years ago, I spied just such a special fabric when I was innocently pursuing fabrics on line. 

The rich colors of the Geisha caught my eye.  My brother's daughter loves the Asian culture.  This was just the right piece for a quilt for her.  Once it arrived, the thought processes went into high gear, picking the coordinating fabrics and trying to find just the right quilt pattern to showcase this piece.  The Geisha is about 20 inches tall, so the first thought was to use it as a central panel.  Everything I came up with was way to dark and heavy.  I wanted to use a dark blue and gold in the setting fabrics.  I'd come back to the design board every few months, but still couldn't come up with a setting that worked.  After about 4 years of playing around with the the formal medallion set, the idea to offset the panel and make it more scrappy came to mind.  That was the right path.  So about 5 years after I bought the fabric, the Geisha quilt was finished. 

Trudy Lindemann did the quilting. A beautiful all over fan design,

mainly in dark blue thread.  But spread out over the quilt is an occasional gold fan.  In the Geisha panel the quilting is a combination of outline and ripples that make the blue background look like water. 

I had hoped to give the completed quilt to my niece for Christmas last year, but I only managed to finish the top.  So she got the top with a note that I'd finish it for her after the new year.  Now it's all bound and labeled, just waiting till we make the trip back home so I can give her the completed quilt. 

Thanks for letting me share one of my favorite projects.  Check out all the other gorgeous eye candy posted on the Bloggers' Quilt Festival. 

Favorite Things Friday

It's been a busy week, I'm certainly glad to see Friday get here.  I'm actually off work today.  Today is Drama Teen's last day of the school, so I'll be attending the awards ceremony and then playing chauffeur later in the day for her and several friends as they head to the local Cherry Berrys for what as become their traditional last day of school frozen yogurt feast. 

It's been a long time since I've been in school (though I went long enough, 21 years).  The last day of school was always a looked forward to event.  That hasn't changed with DT's entry into the academic realms.  My Guy and I begin to look forward to the last day of school almost as much as she does by the time we get to April.  Summer means, no school sports thus no weekend games.  It means no algebra coaching sessions in the evenings, no science fair experiments spread all over the kitchen table.  It ends the 9 PM run to the grocery store because she forgot that it's her turn to bring the treat the next day. 

Summer is just a lot more relaxed, even though we still go to work each day.  It's amazing how much simpler life is without the need to be sure there are clean uniforms hanging in the laundry room each day and no need to check if her lunch box has to be stocked before I run out the door in the morning (which I invariable forget to do until she asks if I've done so).  So the last day of school is my favorite thing this week. 

For more favorite things, check in with Shay over at Quilting in My Pyjamas. 

Wordless Wednesday - Red Sky at Night

15 Minute Challenge - May 15th

Finding time to sew is challenging, but some weeks finding the energy is even more so.  Then there are the weeks where the schedule is so packed it just seems like too much trouble to walk upstairs for just 15 minutes.  It seems that early 2012 suffered from all of those things.  However, the last three weeks or so, I've set a mental timer and at 8:00 PM, I climb the stairs up to the sewing room.  I do usually spend about an hour sewing, but a few nights it has been just 15 minutes due to other obligations.  I am beginning to see the  payoff in those relatively small investments in time.  The Fat Quarter Stars just needs borders and I started a new project.  So small increments do make a difference.  

I had a mini relapse last week.  Wednesday and Thursday evening were spent pretty much in the recliner.  A bit of insomnia made me too tired to sew those two nights.  But I was back at it on Friday.  So overall, not a bad week.  

I haven't done much with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks or my May UFO.  I'd like to finish up the Fat Quarter Stars top then  work on those two projects.  I need to come up with a back for the FQS.  Not sure there will be enough left overs to piece a back.  That had been my original plan, but looking at what's left, I may have to buy something.

So are you finding 15 minutes or more a day to indulge your creativity, play with fabric, or maybe even actually sew a few seams.  Link up and share your challenges or successes for the week.

1. Jay 2. June @ QuiltQuest 3. libbyQ

4. Amanda 5. Thea 6. Kate

7. PJ - off Avondale Rd

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Design Wall Monday - May 14th

It was a nice weekend.  Mother's Day was uneventful, but good.  My family treated me to an unintruppted afternoon of sewing, dinner and then ice cream. 

So after an afternoon of sewing, what's up on the design wall?  Nothing new, but progress has been made on the Fat Quarter Stars.

Fat Quarter Stars by Konda
of Moose on the Porch Quilts

The blocks are all framed, sewn into rows, and I've started sewing the rows together.  The center seam needs to sewn and then I'll be able to add the borders. 

Two more blocks of the Sweet Treats  project have made it to the design wall (There is supposed to be 30 at this point, I'm behind). 

Sweet Treats by
Judy Laquidera at Patchwork Times

I've been making these blocks as a leader and enders project while I work on Fat Quarter Stars.  I've missed having a leaders and enders project.  This one works out nicely. 

That's it for my design wall.  Check out more fun stuff over at Judy's Patchwork Times. 

Stash Report-5/13/2012

Happy Mother's Day!  My Guy made my favorite breakfast for me this morning - scones.  I'm being given the day to sew if that's what I want.  Not sure what the plan is for dinner, though I do know that ice cream at our favorite place here in town is on the agenda for after dinner. 

I pushed some buttons on the computer key board the week before last and a whole set of batiks showed up on Tuesday.  Most were on sale, which was just to hard to resist.  Yardage was ordered for only 2 of them, the others were all just half yard cuts.  

I ordered a wide selection of colors.  Some of these may end up in the quilt Drama Teen wants, but I mainly wanted to build up my selection of batiks for some inspired moment down the road.  These batiks remind me of jewels, I love the bright colors.   

The stash report did take a pretty good hit on the negative side.  But I'm so far into the red, it's just doesn't matter. 

Used last week: 1.13 yards
Added last week: 14 yards

Used for 2012: 16.04 yards
Added for 2012: 156 yards

Net stashed for 2012:  139.96 yards

The Sweet Treats blocks and setting the Fat Quarter Stars were responsible for the little that went out this week.  Not big bunches out, but for me anything over a yard is a pretty good week.  

I'm linking up with Judy over at Patchwork Times.  Jump over there at take a peak at all the other reports.   

Foto Finish - Stripes

No road trips this weekend.  This is the second weekend in a row where we get to stay home all weekend.  I honestly can't remember the last time we had two weekends back to back where we didn't have to be on the road headed somewhere.  It's nice.  Hopefully over the summer we'll get a few more of these before volleyball season starts up.  Does anyone know when archery season is?  Drama Teen's school offered archery this year and hopes to have an archery team next year.  Any guesses as to who has already signed up? 

Cat Patches has suggested "stripes" as this week's Foto Finish optional theme.  Not much in my photo files that fits with this theme.  I did find a couple.  One that would really be a stretch to consider as stripes and the other was an experiment that I'm not sure worked. 

I liked the way the light leaked through the blinds, like it was trying to eat away the wood so it could break through and shine in unimpeded. 

On a completely unrelated note.  I entered a quilt in this week's Quilting Gallery "Quilts for Mom" contest.  It's called June's Tulips, a quilt I made for my mother-in-law.  I would appreciate your vote if you could take a few minutes to check out the contest (click here) and vote before Monday.     

If you have a few more minutes, check out all the other stripes over at Cat Patches. 

Wordless Wednesday - Need an Extra?

15 Minute Challenge - May 8th

Finding 15 minutes to sew every day can be a challenge.  Back in February 2011 my goal was to finish more than one or two quilt tops a year.  I had all these ideas in my head, not to mention a pretty extensive stash that was just sitting there.  The problem then was just getting comfortable in the recliner with the computer and convincing myself I was too tired to sew.  That tendency hasn't gone away, but comes and goes.  The "to tired" syndrome struck again for most of the first 4 months this year.   Was it the weather, stress, or just needing to take a break and let the quilting rest for a bit?  Probably all of the above.  A few others have noted lulls in their creativity.  Maybe it's just a natural cycle.  Just as you can't be deliriously happy all the time, maybe you can't intensively creative all the time either?   

Getting into the sewing room each evening has been much easier the last couple of weeks.  Maybe it's the longer days and the warmer weather.  Even two rounds of the sinus crud haven't kept me out of the sewing room much.  I only missed one day this week and that was due to Drama Teen's School Activity Banquet last Wednesday.  We just got home too late to make the detour to the sewing room.  

   
So not a bad week at all. 

How was your week?  Have the longer days given you reason to sew?  Or are you in a part of the world where the colder days are making you more willing to while away a few minutes here and there with your machine?  Either way, link up and share how your creative life is going these days. 

1. Amanda 2. libbyQ

3. PJ - off Avondale Rd 4. Kate

5. June @ QuiltQuest

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Design Wall Monday - May 7th

In spite of having round 2 of the sinus crud, I did manage to spend a little time in the sewing room over the weekend.  Thankfully the fever broke last night and I'm feeling much better this morning.  Just in time to go back to work. 

Actually, the all of last week was a good one in terms of sewing.  Fabric was cut to make more blocks for the May UFO, but as yet there is nothing to show on the design wall for that one.  The cutting and piecing requirements for the "C" letter block in the Scrappy Coffee Cup quilt was worked out, but no actual work has been done on it.  So again, nothing new on the design wall.  There was progress on the Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along project. 

Fat Quarter Stars Quilt Along pattern
from Moose on the Porch Quilts

I've started framing the blocks.  I don't have enough fabric to set the quilt exactly according to the Moose on the Porch Quilts published pattern, but I've used the pattern as a guideline.

Also up on the design wall are the first 2 blocks of the Sweet Treats Quilt Along that Judy has going at Patchwork Times.

Sweet Treats by
Judy Laquidara

I didn't really intend to start anything new, but Judy's pattern for her May color palette quilt just stuck in my head.  I went to bed Friday night thinking about what fabrics there might be in the stash to make this quilt, but not really consciously thinking I'd start a version.  Then Saturday I was in the stash closet putting up some fabric that had just been ironed and folded when I spied the pile of 1920's red and blue fat quarters that had been used in another project.  The 1920 reproduction fabrics aren't usually my style, but one of the quilt alongs at the local quilt shop used blocks published in the Kansas City Star back in the 1920's and so I bought a few fat quarters to make this quilt.

1920's Red, White and Blue
Block patterns published in the Kansas City Star in the 1920's
Finished in 2009

This quilt turned out to be one of my favorites and had pride of place on our bed for about a year.  Unfortunately, My Guy is not a fan of sampler quilts and asked me to make something else for the bed.  Still this quilt is one of my favorites.  The Sweet Treats quilt will help use up what's left of those 1920's fabrics. 

That's it for me this week.  Check out all the other eye candy over at Judy's Patchwork Times. 

Stash Report - May 6th

The sinus crud returned with a vengeance Friday night.  I woke up Saturday to a low grade fever and no voice beyond a whisper.  So the bulk of Saturday was spent in bed reading or sleeping.  The fever is gone this morning, but I still have no voice.  I did get a bit of sewing done late in the evening and inched up the "out" numbers just a bit.  This week isn't as stellar as last week, but the numbers are better than they have been. 

Used last week: 1.57 yards
Added last week: 0 yards

Used for 2012: 14.91 yards
Added for 2012: 142 yards

Net stashed for 2012:  127.09 yards

Unfortunately, I pressed a few buttons this week and ordered some sale batiks from Hancocks.  So those will likely have to go on next week's report.  I may have to do another fabric diet next year, but for now I'll just enjoy playing with all the new stuff. 

That's it for this week.  I'm linking up with Judy over at Patchwork Times as usual. 

Foto Finish - Red

It's Saturday, but we have no place to go.  Not that we don't have plenty to get done, but at least packing up the car and heading out to somewhere isn't on the to do list this weekend.  Some sewing may actually get done too. 

The suggested theme for today's post is "red".  As I was waiting for the computer to boot, I tried to think where to look for red.  For the life of me I couldn't think of anything red that had recently been the subject of a photograph.  It came down to two choices, a red barn or this:

Flowers are my most favorite thing to photograph, so of course the tulip won out.  This shot is another one from the Spring Break trip to Eureka Springs, AR.  I had the umbrella to keep my head and the camera dry while stalking through the hotel garden snapping photographs, but the rest of me got pretty soaked.   Still it was an enjoyable challenge to attempt to take good shots in the rain.  

So do you have something red to share?  If so, you should link up over at Cat Patches.  Have a wonderful weekend.   

Favorite Things Friday - No Homework

It's only Thursday evening where I am, but since it's already Friday for Shay in the land of Oz, we'll call it good it enough.   I'm looking forward to the weekend.  No volleyball, no swimming, no anything we have to leave the house for (other than church).  That's not a bad favorite thing to start with. 

I've worked a job for more years than I care to count.  My day is often spent reading, taking notes, creating spreadsheets, punching numbers into a calculator, writing emails or even worse writing reports.  All in a day's work, at least I get paid for it.  But I remember having homework, the kind you don't get paid for.  Drama Teen usually has her homework all done by the time I pick her up from the library after work.  However, yesterday she was struggling to understand a science assignment on estimating and calculating ratios.  You remember ratios right?  For example, three blocks are sewn perfectly, but there are 35 blocks that you have to unsew.  So whats the ratio of perfect blocks to imperfect blocks?   (Remind me, why do we need to know that?)

Tonight's homework crises was long division of algebraic equations.  

Poor DT was struggling to get the same answer as what was listed in the back of the book.  Most of the help she needed was correcting her transcription errors between the book and her paper.  She's a quick study thankfully.  I'm equally thankful that I no longer have to spend an hour writing meaningless equations on a piece of paper and solving them. 

So my favorite thing this week is that I no longer have homework.  Wonder when I'll be able to claim my favorite thing is not having any housework?  Probably never, but it's a nice dream isn't it? 

Check out all the other favorite things over at Quilting in My Pyjamas. 

Wordless Wednesday - May 2nd

15 Minute Challenge - May 1st

I've come to really enjoy the first of the month.  There is so much to look forward to.  So Scrappy has posted yellow as the scrap color for May.  So it's time to find 2 or 3 yellow scraps to make a few more coffee cup blocks.  Judy over at Patchwork Times has drawn the #2 as this month's UFO project.  That UFO hasn't been touched since I took the class where it was started in 2005.  Only one block ever got finished, so it will be almost like starting a whole new quilt.  Come to think of it, I've not started anything new since February.  To link up with Cat Patches' NewFO Challenge this month a new project is needed.  Maybe Drama Teen's Jigsaw quilt or the Angel quilt will manage to make it out of the planning stage to the construction stage this month. 

I've been doing much better the last couple of weeks in finding some time to sew.  Last week I managed 7 days, this week only 6 days. 

Still 6 days is pretty good.  I didn't feel like sewing on Wednesday, the fever associated with the sinus crud I had last week pretty much kept me in bed that day.  I'm feeling much better this week. Unfortunately, it may be challenging to get in sewing every night this week.  Drama Teen has a couple of events that may run late.  We'll just have to see if I can still work in my 15 minutes on those  two nights.

How did you do last week?  Were you driven to finish some things up since it was the end of the month or did you just give up and are hoping that May will be better?  Which ever it is, write up a post and link up. 

1. Shay 2. libbyQ

3. Pat 4. Kate

5. June @ QuiltQuest 6. PJ - off Avondale Rd

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