Stash Stuff for Week 39 and 2017 Ambitions Update

October marks the beginning of fourth quarter. The count down to the end of the year begins in earnest now, or at least it seems that way to me.  Back in December of last year, I posted a list of quilting ambitions to Jetgirl's 2017 Planning Party.  With the count down to the end of the year kicking into high gear it's time to check on where I'm at on those ambitions for this year.  Since this is normally just the weekly stash report, I'll start with that so you can stop reading if you've hopped over here from Quiltpaintcreate for the weekly stash report. 

Quilt Ambition #3 Manage the Stash/Organize the Sewing Room

Used last week: 0.94 yards
Used year to date: 48.44 yards
Added year to date: 335 yards
Net added year to date: 287 yards

Stitching time was at a premium during third quarter.  I switched positions at work to one with more responsibility, which means a lot more working from home in the evening.  That's really cut into my stitching time. Add in vacation and getting the Scientist in Training ready for college, it was a really busy quarter.  The goal is to use at least 70 yards for the year.  That means using 21 yards between now and the end of the year.  Probably not happening based on what my fourth quarter typically looks like.  On other end of the stash management plan, I pretty much shattered any possibility of using more than I buy this year.  After two years of very limited buying, I had no will power for another year like that.  A fabric diet is definitely in the cards for fourth quarter.  That's it for the stash report, the rest of the post covers all my other stitching ambitions for 2017.  

The big organization project for this year has been to whip the stash closet into shape.  This is what it looked like back in July:

This is what it looks like now:

I'm almost finished with the second shelf.  All that will be left after that is to tackle that top shelf.  So I've made good progress on that front this year.  

Quilting Ambition #1:  Finish a Few Quilts  

While the stash management hasn't been the greatest, I have done really well on this ambition.  There have been six finishes so far. 

Poinsettias, Bejeweled, Geometry, The First Amendment Quilt, Meadow Mist Mystery Quilt plus Blooms and Butterflies are all finished.  When I was putting this together last year, there were three quilts I had to finish for graduation in May.  That was pretty much my goal, finish those three.  To have six finished is a smash success in my book.  My record is seven in one year.  I should at least tie that this year.  There are three quilts I'd like to finish before Christmas, that would put me at 9 for the year.  Check back in January to see how well that went.  

Quilting Ambition #3:  Participate in Challenges and Quilt Alongs

Quilt alongs and challenges are such fun.  Since I don't belong to a guild (the one here only meets during the week while I'm at work), these projects keep me engaged with the blogging community of quilters.  The Rainbow Scrap Challenge has been a long running favorite.  I've been working on those blocks since January.  

The Magnolia Mystery kicked off last month over at Meadow Mist Designs.  I've kept up, so far anyway.  I'm hoping to finish September's clue before Cheryl posts the next clue on Thursday. 

I've got 50 of the HSTs finished.  Just 22 left and I'll be caught up. 

The other planned quilt along is Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery.  If she's doing one this year, the fabric planning posts should be going up sometime this month.  I need to finish off last year's mystery quilt before then. 

Quilting Ambition #4:  Make Time to Sew

I've been doing really well on that front this year.  I've managed to stitch for 15 minutes 245 out of the the last 273 days.  So 89.7% of the time, I meet my goal.  That's an "A" if you round up.  Definitely the best year I've ever had on finding time to stitch.  Lately it really has been only 15 minutes a day, but that is better than nothing.  

Quilting Ambition #5:  Work on My Blogging Skills

There were several parts to this goal.  The first was to blog at least three times per week.  On average, I managed three posts per week this last quarter.  Most weeks I get in three, but there are few with just two. So I'm doing OK on this goal.  

Another goal was to write four tutorials this year.  I've managed two.  So to meet this goal, I'll have to come up with two for this quarter.  I'll have to put some thought into that.  

Another goal was to improve my photography.  I didn't put any metrics with that goal, so I'm not sure what I was thinking.  I've been trying to pay more attention to the lighting when I take photos. I've been less than happy with some of my finished quilt shots, so that's definitely an area I need to make more improvements in.  

The final part of the fifth ambition was to write a post each quarter summarizing where I was.  First quarter's post is here, second quarter's is here. And this concludes the third quarter post. 

It's been a pretty good year on a lot of fronts.  I know some think it's a bit extreme to have goals for your hobby.  It's so easy for me to get caught up in the "I've worked all day, I'm too tired to go sew."  I usually perk up once I get to my sewing room.  These ambitions have helped me get up those stairs most days. 

WIPS: A Timely Finish

It's graduation week for Drama Teen, so it's been a bit busy here.  Sunday was Senior Sunday at church.  Monday night DT and I ran a few errands to get ready for the last end of school celebration and sleep over.  On Sunday, DT decided that we really needed another label for the The First Amendment quilt, one that had been signed by all the newspaper staff.  So that left me scrambling Monday night to get the second label sewn to the quilt.  The plan was to present the quilt during the end of the year journalism party yesterday.  That stitching was done and the quilt was wrapped up ready to go before I went to bed Monday night.  So now I can claim that all the graduation quilts are done!  Talk about just in time finishes.  

Here's the finished First Amendment Quilt. 

The First Amendment Quilt, pattern self designed

The First Amendment is printed in the center panel.

The panel was printed using the largest size printable fabric sheet I could find.  This quilt was for Drama Teen's journalism teacher, so that seemed to be the most appropriate theme.  The background fabric is a fake newsprint, which also seemed appropriate.  Trudy Lindemann did a wonderful job on the quilting as always.

A chain of stars in the borders.  

And loops in the star center.  

The quilt was gifted yesterday during the end of the year journalism party.  According to DT, Miss T loved the quilt.  I got a very nice hug when I got home.  Doesn't get much better than that in terms of being thanked.  

The First Amendment quilt is my forth finish this year.  Considering that I only finished 4 quilts in all of 2016 (the same for all of 2015) and it's not even June yet, this is looking to be one of my better years for finishes.  I'd like to have a shorter WIP/UFO list for 2018.  The First Amendment quilt was on my Second Quarter 2017 Finish Along list.  It was number two on my list, so I'm halfway to my goal for the quarter.  That's a good feeling too!  

Linking up with:
Let's Bee Social
Needle and Thread Thursday
Can I get a Whoop, Whoop
Second Quarter 2017 Finish Along

Weekend Stitching: What Next?

We didn't get the severe weather that occurred to the south and north of us, but it was certainly a wet weekend.  It was a very good thing that I managed to get home on Friday.  Air travel would have been less than fun on Saturday, especially since I flew home through Denver.  Drama Teen is waiting to see if they'll have school today. The river is up and the parking lot at the high school is flooded.  It's been a long time since we've gotten that much rain.  

It was nice to be back in the sewing room after being gone for a week.  There were a few minutes of "So where was I?", when I first walked in.  The most pressing project was to get The First Amendment quilt prepped for packing so it can go to Trudy for quilting as that was my April One Monthly Goal.  I wrote about that yesterday but didn't realize until reviewing at my last few posts that I never posted the finished First Amendment flimsy.  

The First Amendment Quilt - self designed

Replacing the corner stars with the neutral backgrounds with the red was definitely worthwhile.  I like this layout much better.  The erroneous stars got used on the back. 

Backing for the First Amendment Quilt

I like how the backing came out.  Now both the top and the back have been checked for loose threads, pressed and packaged ready to go to the post office today.  

The First Amendment quilt was also my UFO-2017 project for April.  It's not done yet, but it definitely got moved along.  It will get finished this month as it's going to be gifted at graduation.  This is the last of the graduation quilts.  I'm still stitching the binding to the back of the third graduation quilt, but I'm getting close to being done with those projects.  What will I do then?  Hmmm.  

Linking up with

Love Laugh Quilt for Monday Making
Patchwork Times for Design Wall Monday
Cooking up Quilts for Main Crush Tuesday
Patchwork Times for UFO-2017

Getting Back in the Swing of Things: April OMG and Other Sewing Stuff

It's been a crazy two weeks since Easter.  I really had planned on blogging more, but it just didn't happen.  Hopefully now that my 4 cities in 4 days business trip is over, I can get caught up on all the emails and blog reading.  Laundry and prom prep were yesterday's agenda.  Drama Teen's senior prom was last night, so the afternoon was spent fixing a hook on her dress, along with doing nails, hair and make-up.

She looked so pretty.  Unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs most of the evening.  She didn't get in till really late, so I haven't heard how her evening went.  

I did finally make it to the sewing room once Drama Teen headed out for dinner with friends.  My April One Monthly Goal didn't get finished before the business trip, so it was definitely time to see if progress could be made on that front. 

The plan was to get The First Amendment to the finished flimsy stage, make the backing, prep both for quilting, box it all up and get it into the mail to Trudy for quilting.  The quilt is now ready to be shipped out for quilting. 

So four out of five is not bad.  This will go to the post office tomorrow.  So I'm claiming victory on April's One Monthly Goal, all the hard stuff is done.  

There was a lot of stitching going on the week after Easter, but there was none last week as my time was spent driving to the airport, finding my hotel, being in meetings and then back to driving to the airport again.  So here's the stash report for the last two weeks.

Used last two weeks:  3.36 yards
Used year to date:  27.36 yards
Added year to date:  150.3 yards
Net added:  122.94

I've definitely added more than I planned, but it's all been blenders.  Which are still in short supply in some color families.  

It was hard to resist these less than $3 a yard sale fabrics over at Connecting Threads.  

Or these Botanical prints that were on sale at Craftsy.  Since I've completely blown the incoming goal, I'm going to concentrate on doing better on the outgoing goal for the rest of the year. 

I was doing really well on finding 15 minutes a day to stitch till the business trip happened.  At least 15 minutes were spent stitching from January 1st through April 22nd.  That's definitely a record!  Picking back up again on Friday when I got home was pretty easy.  As of now I've managed 114 out of 119 days.  That's a 96% success rate, so I'm still making an A for the effort this year.  

Linking up with:
Elm Street Quilts for the April One Monthly Goal Finish
Patchwork Times for the weekly Stash Report.  

Weekend Stitching: Back on Track

Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend.  We spent time with family and really enjoyed it.  We got a walk in Saturday morning before the rain hit.  It was nice to be out and about. 

Consequently, there wasn't much time in the sewing room over the weekend.  I did manage to get the cornerstone blocks remade, correctly this time. 

The top border is even attached.  I hope to get the bottom border sewn on and the last border added today.  Then it will time to piece the back and get this one prepped for quilting.  

I had meant to add this to last week's post, but forgot in the rush to get the post out before leaving for work.  I was lucky enough to win 2 quilt patterns from Quilting JetGirl as part of the Meadow Mist Mystery Parade of Quilts.  

I had a hard time picking just two, but these are now in my pattern library waiting for me to finish off the graduation quilts so I can play with something else.  Thank you to Cheryl for a fun mystery and to Yvonne for being a sponsor.   Cheryl's next mystery starts in July.  You should definitely check it out.  


Linking up with:
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times
Main Crush Monday on Tuesday at Cooking up Quilts

WIPS: Uh Oh, A Whoops

The weather here has been beautiful the last couple of days. Warm, sunny and not too windy.  It's hard to stay in and sew when it's that nice, so I took a walk last night and was rewarded with this beauty as company. 

A Tiger Swallowtail butterfly

Even with the walk there was some time to make a bit more  progress on The First Amendment Quilt.  

The side borders are sewn on.  The top and bottom borders are ready to sew to the stars.  It wasn't till I was editing this photo that my "whoops" became clear.  The corner squares of the stars were supposed to be red, not the newsprint fabric.  

So I'll have to remake the 4 corner square blocks.  The "whoops" stars will probably get used on the back.  At least I caught it before the stars were attached to the top and bottom borders.  It won't take long to get back on track.  

Linking up with:
Lets Bee Social hosted by Sew Fresh Quilts
Sew, Stitch, Snap, Share hosted by Kokaquilts
Needle and Thread Thursday hosted by My Quilt Infatuation

Weekend Stitching: Too Much of a Good Thing?

The sewing room was pretty busy this weekend.  I took Friday off as a much needed sanity day, so managed three pretty solid days in the sewing room.  By yesterday evening, I will admit to being just about sewn out.  But it was a very productive weekend.  The binding got sewn to the front of Geometry.

A few stitches got taken on the back side as well.  So this graduation quilt is just about done.  There was lots of progress on the last graduation quilt as well. 

The next to last set of borders are ready to go on.  The strips for the top and bottom borders are cut, but not sewn together yet.  So the First Amendment Quilt is getting close to being a finished flimsy. I always forget how long it takes to add on borders.  All the measuring and cutting involved takes up a lot of time.  Hopefully this one will be a finished top sometime this week.  

I will be glad to see the last of the graduation quilts go off to Trudy for quilting.  Thankfully the end is in sight. 

Linking up with:
Monday Making over at Love Laugh Quilt
Design Wall Monday over at Patchwork Times
Main Crush Monday on Tuesday over at Cooking Up Quilts

A Sanity Day

It's been a zoo at work.  Two big projects are in the works, one of which wasn't planned for at the beginning of the year.  I'm pretty much caught up on both of them at the moment (well one is as far as it can go till we get final approval to go forward).  Since it's been so crazy and looks to be even more so over the next couple of weeks, I decided a sanity break was a must.  My boss graciously approved a day of vacation at the last minute so I'm taking today off.  My Guy is going to work and Drama Teen has school, so I'll have the house to myself today.  My therapy of choice for all this insanity is a big dose of sewing room time. 

Another reason for feeling slightly insane is the fact that I've got lot going on this month and there are two graduation quilts still on the to be finished list.  The plan for today is work on both of those projects.  The binding is all made for Geometry, so it just needs the label made.  Drama Teen approved the final version, so I'll print that on fabric today, get it soaked and rinsed.

This is the label without DT's message to her buddy.  It will also need to be framed with black fabric before it's attached to the back. It probably won't be dry enough to work with today, but if I get it done today, it will be ready to go tomorrow. 

The other work in progress that needs attention is the First Amendment Quilt.  

It needs three more friendship star blocks to complete the third border.  I'm hoping to get at those done and a good start on borders 4 and 5 today.  

Hopefully by the end of the today I'll feel much more relaxed and pleasant.  I know my family would appreciate an improvement in my mood. 

Plotting and Planning for the Second Quarter 2017 Finish Along

The count for the first quarter of the 2017 Finish Along was 2 out of 3.  That was my first venture into the finish along.  Since that worked out so well I'm signing up for the second quarter.

There are two quilts that have to be finished by Drama Teen's high school graduation in May.  The first is Geometry. 

 Geometry, self designed

This one was on my first quarter list.  All it needs is binding. I started trimming the quilt last week.  The binding and label need to be made.  That shouldn't be too hard to get done in the next couple of weeks. 

The last remaining graduation quilt is The First Amendment Quilt. 

The First Amendment Quilt, self designed

It's in pieces up on the design wall.  Once the friendship star border is done, the last two borders are just strips.  It should go fast once I get to that point. The plan is to have this one ready to go to Trudy for quilting by April 15th. We'll see if I make that or not.  

Once the graduation quilts are done, I'm pretty free to work on whatever.  There are two quilts that just need borders and backings before they can be sent out for quilting.  Those two would be easy pickings for this quarter.  The first of those is the Meadow Mist Mystery Quilt. 

 Meadow Mist Designs Mystery
By Cheryl Brickey of the Meadow Mist Designs Blog

I'd like to have this one done before the next mystery starts this summer.  

The last quilt on my second quarter finish list is from a quilt along over over at Podunk Pretties. 

Blooms and Butterflies
Bloom block by Lea Brummett, setting by Kate

It just needs the last couple of borders and it will be ready for it's backing and quilting.  

That's four quilts by the end of June.  That seems doable. Even if all I manage are the first two, I'll be happy with my efforts for second quarter.

Linking up with the 2nd Quarter of the 2017 Finish Along.  

One Monthly Goal: Into the Final Stretch on the Graduation Quilts

Happy April 1st.  Hopefully you've avoided being the object of any nasty April Fools jokes.  Thankfully neither Drama Teen nor My Guy is into that kind of thing.  It's a new month, so it's time to figure out where I'm going in the sewing room the next few weeks.  I have a business trip the last week of the month, so anything that gets done needs to happen early in the month.  So April's One Monthly Goal can't be too lofty.  

Another consideration is that all 4 graduation quilts need to be completed by May.  Two of the four are completely done.  The third just needs to be bound and the fourth is still in pieces on the design wall.  

The First Amendment Quilt still needs a number of friendship star blocks to finish out the third border.  Then there are still two other borders that have to be added.  This quilt doesn't have to be finished this month, but it does need to be sent out for quilting before I leave on my business trip.  So that's the goal for April.  Finish all the piecing, make the backing, prep it for quilting and get it mailed to Trudy to be quilted. 

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts for the April OMG.

One Monthly Goal - March Wrap Up

Just a few days left in March. It's been a busy month, work is absolutely crazy.  Thankfully the sewing room has been a nice refuge in the evenings.  I've made good progress on March's One Monthly Goal. 

The plan for March was to start piecing the last of the graduation quilts.  There was a laundry list of things that needed to be done to make that happen.

Wash and press all the fabric ✔
Print the center panel on fabric ✔
Rinse, dry and cut the center panel to size✔
Print pattern from EQ, write cutting and pressing instructions ✔
Cut fabrics and start sewing✔

I count a quilt as "started" once the fabrics are cut.  That happened on March 11th.  Since then, the first two borders have been added and I've got a good start on the Friendship Stars that make up the third border. 

 The First Amendment Quilt
self designed

The left star border has already been sewn together and attached to the center panel.  The star blocks for the right side are still being assembled.  I wasn't sure how well that news print fabric would work, but I'm liking the effect.  Thankfully Drama Teen fully approves.   So I'm three for three on my 2017 OMGs.  I really do like this link up, it's been a great motivator each month. 

I've also been working really hard to get my Meadow Mist Mystery Quilt into finished flimsy form to show off in April.  I've been assembling the last set of blocks. 

 Meadow Mist Designs Mystery
By Cheryl Brickey of the Meadow Mist Designs Blog

The quilt has 8 of these blocks.  That's number 6 and 7 up on the design wall still under construction.  So just 3 blocks left to assemble and I can start sewing the blocks together.  Drama Teen and My Guy are going to a concert tonight, so I'll have the house to myself.  I'm contemplating putting this project front and center for one night to see if I can get it together before Friday.  I'd like to be able to submit a finished flimsy for the quilt parade.  

It's been a good month in the sewing room.  Wish I could say the same about work!  

Linking up with:
Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
March Finish Up - One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts
UFO-2017 at Patchwork Times

Weekend Stitching: Bits and Pieces

It was a beautiful weekend, highs in the 70s and 80s.  We spent the time in Eureka Springs, Arkansas since Drama Teen was on spring break.  We shopped a lot, ate a lot and walked a lot.  Which made for a tiring but fun weekend.  We had a wonderful rental there, but I was happy to get home yesterday afternoon.  The luggage is unpacked and all the purchases in their new homes. After that was all done, I got to sew just a little bit.  

The first order of business was to finish off the label for Bejeweled.  

This is the label, minus the personal message.  Drama Teen asked me to remove that before posting.  DT also renamed the quilt.  The new moniker is a take off on the recipient's name.  I think it fits the quilt.  The label has been printed, soaked and rinsed.  It will be dry by the time I get home tonight.  The binding is all made, so that should get attached this evening.  Hopefully that means another finish before the end of the month.

Once the label was finished off, I got back to work on the last graduation quilt.  

I've got a good start on the friendship stars that make up the third border.  Only one of the stars is completely sewn together, the remaining four are in various stages of assembly.  I like how it's coming together.  More importantly, so does Drama Teen.  

That's it for this week.  Linking up with:

Monday Making
Main Crush Monday
Monday Design Wall

WIPS: A New Start

I'm taking a few days off to spend with Drama Teen as she's on spring break this week.  However, since the washer is out of commission (parts are on order) the day isn't going to be what we'd originally planned.  I'm heading off to the laundromat this morning, while DT is going ice skating with friends.  We were going to go prom dress shopping, but DT's friends came up with an alternate plan.  So I'll get to sew this afternoon then DT and I will have a girls night out this evening. At least that was the plan when we went to bed last night. 

Geometry came off the design wall last week and has been sent out for quilting.  That left the big design wall completely empty. Time to pull out the fabrics for the last graduation quilt and get started.  

I've gotten the first two borders on the center panel.  The next set of borders will be friendship star blocks.  The pieces are cut, but none of them are sewn together yet.  I'm hoping this project goes together pretty quickly.  This quilt is for DT's journalism teacher, so the use of the newsprint fabric was deliberate.  I wasn't sure how well that was going to work, but I like the effect.  The center panel was designed using My Memory Suite and printed onto fabric using the tools available in Photoshop Elements. It turned out much better than I thought it would.  DT loves how it's coming together.  

Progress has also been made on getting the Meadow Mist Mystery quilt into a finished flimsy.  The 4 patches needed to assemble the last block are all made. 

I'm hoping to get some of these made into blocks this afternoon.  Slowly but surely these WIPs are moving along.  That should mean some finishes later this year.  

Linking up with Let's Bee Social and Needle and Thread Thursday.

March One Monthly Goal: Trudging Along With the Graduation Quilts

It's been a busy week.  I've not managed much stitching time, pretty much just 15 minutes each evening.  I should have some time to sew this weekend and I'm really looking forward to that. Before I get back to the sewing room a new One Monthly Goal needs to be chosen so I can arrange my priorities.  

There are three graduation quilts that still need to be finished.  Bejeweled needs binding, Geometry needs a backing and to be sent out for quilting, The First Amendment quilt needs to be started.  I don't mind doing the bindings, plus those are good projects to work on when I don't have much time to sew.  So I think that one will get done at some point this month.  Since Geometry has such dark fabrics in it, it shouldn't be too bad to prep for quilting, so that should get done too.  That leaves the First Amendment quilt, which at the moment exists only as a file in my Electric Quilt folder.

The First Amendment Quilt - self designed

The fabrics are all purchased, but none of them are washed and pressed for use. The center panel needs to be printed on fabric.  I've done some dry runs on large sheets of paper to work out the process, but haven't done that final transfer to fabric.  This quilt isn't going to get done this month, I just don't work that fast.  But it has to be started before it can be finished.  So that's the OMG for March, to get the First Amendment Quilt (FAQ) started.  The day I start cutting fabric for a quilt is what I consider the start date for a project.  I've got a bit to do before I get to that point.

The FAQ will also be my UFO-2017 Challenge project for the month.  I know it's not really a UFO, but there's just not enough sewing hours in a month for me to split efforts.

Linking up with the March One Monthly Goal over at Elm Street Quilts.  

Stash Report - Week 4 of 2017

It's been a busy weekend around here.  Friday was a day off, unfortunately My Guy wasn't feeling too great.  I spent most of the afternoon in the sewing room.  Friday night was the kick off of the "great birthday weekend".  Drama Teen and her three best friends have birthdays within a month of each other.  One is right before Christmas and the last two were this week.  The last 4 years, they've gotten together one weekend in January to exchange gifts and then do something fun.  The sleep over was Friday night.  Then yesterday was the trek to Tulsa to do an escape room mystery, followed by lunch.  They must have had a great time, all 4 slept the whole way home!  

While the girls were unraveling their mystery, I wandered down the road a bit to the quilt shop.  I don't go very often these days due to the fabric diet.  But I'm in need of some fabrics for the last graduation quilt.  I've got lots and lots of blue in the stash, but have almost no red.  The last quilt is for DT's journalism teacher.  DT has had some wonderful high school teachers, but Ms. T is the only one she's had all 4 years.  DT requested a First Amendment quilt that could be hung in the journalism room.  Here's the mock up from EQ. 

The First Amendment Quilt by Kate

I'm going to print the first amendment on fabric and then use a newsprint for the background fabric.  I have the background, but needed a red for the stars and borders.  Here's what came home yesterday.

The two reds for the amendment quilt.  The white with the flowers and bees is perfect for a quilt that's in the planning stages.  The skulls was just for fun.  I have a niece that would love something made from that fabric.  Here's the damage for the week.

Used year to date:  9.98 yards
Added year to date:  54.3 yards
Net stashed:  54.30 yards

I'm going to need to get busy on finishing up some quilts if I want to get back in the black.  Most of what went out this week is from the backing for Bejeweled.  I need to prep the top today.  Once that's done, the project will be ready to ship out for quilting.  That's my OMG for January.  Hopefully that will get done today.  

On the stitching front, I've managed to sew for at least 15 minutes every day of 2017.  So I'm on par with where I was last year at this time. It was February that I started slipping up on sewing time.  Hopefully I can avoid that this year.  

Linking up with Patchwork Times for the weekly stash report.