NewFO Challenge - Spooky Version

The scariest thing going on here is the prospect of 5 teenage girls watching horror movies into the wee hours.  Drama Teen and her friends are having a sleep over here tonight.  I'm sure it will be a chillin' time, though resting in peace is probably not a likely outcome.  

Another scream worthy happening is that I have a NewFO to report on, the first since last March.   The focus this year has been on getting UFOs off the list since it has grown to include twenty one projects.  But I couldn't resist this one.  Amanda over at Sea Breeze Quilts is teaching a class of new quilters and is sharing the sampler pattern, Chocolate Marshmallows, she's using for the class.  Her suggested colors were brown and pink.  The blocks are available for free download for 30 days after they are posted, after that they are available for purchase them from Amanda's Etsy store.  

I've always wanted to make a brown and pink quilt.  Plus the end of this year is all about using up the stash.  There are a few well aged pinks and browns in the stash, so it just seemed to make sense to make this sampler.  Four blocks have been posted so far, but I've only finished the first two.  

Blocks 3 and 4 are cut out and are in various states of assembly.  I'm off work today, so hopefully there will be some time in the sewing room this afternoon so I can finish those off.  

Have a very happy Halloween. I'm linking up with the cat-alyzing hostess of the NewFO challenge, Cat Patches.  Check out the terrifying beauty of all the new projects posted there.  

Let's Book It Challenge - October Update

Hard to believe it's almost the end of the month already and time to report on the progress with all the fun challenges I took on this year.  Today it's the progress for the Let's Book It Challenge.

With all the quilting books lined up in my bookcase,  this challenge just made sense.  Dust off a book or one of those million quilt magazines stacked on top of the bookcase, find a pattern and make it.  So far there is only one project to show for my participation in this challenge, Poinsettias from the December 2013 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.

This has been my leaders and enders project for 2014.  The blocks and pieced sashing are made from 6 smaller units.  I did finally get enough of the smaller pieces made to at least see how my fabrics work in the block. 

With the end of the year looming it seemed to be a good time to take stock of where things are.  

Sub unit  1
24 done
48 more needed

Sub unit 2
48 done
24 more needed

Sub unit 3
12 done
48 more needed

Sub unit 4
20 done
40 more needed

 Sub unit 5
4 done
9 more needed

Sub unit 6
4 done
8 more needed







Looks like this will be my enders and leaders project for a while longer.  

Wordless Wednesday - Butterfly Games

Design Wall Monday - Chocolate Marshmallows

This morning it feels like another weekend just went "poof".  I'm not really ready for another Monday, but at least I only have a 4 day work week to contend with.  My Guy and I are taking off Friday.  Not sure what we will be doing, other than a bit of grocery shopping for snacks since Drama Teen is hosting a Halloween sleep over party.  Five girls and a pile of scary movies, it should prove interesting.  

It's been slow going in the sewing room.  It feels like there has been more action going on with the rotary cutter than at the machine.  Though I realized last night I've got more block parts cut out than I really have space to work with.  Hopefully that means more stitching this week.  

The back for Scrappy Stars is still up on the main design wall.  Other than getting a few more of the panels sewn together, it looks pretty much the same.  However, I did finally finish block 2 for the Chocolate Marshmallows stitch along over at Sea Breeze Quilts.  

Chocolate Marshmallow
pattern from Amanda of Sea Breeze Quilts

Block 2 took a bit because I really didn't like how my first fabric selections worked out.  So I changed the color placement in my version and cut new pieces.  I'm pretty happy with how it came out the second time.  Blocks 3 and 4 are cut out, ready to be sewn together. 

That's it for my design wall this week.  Check out Patchwork Times to see more of design wall Monday.   

Stash Report - Week 43 of 2014

The calendar says it's fall, but you sure couldn't tell that from the temperatures yesterday.  The high was 88 F, so it fell more like summer than fall.  The majority of the trees are still green, if you look hard you can see a few that have put on their fall colors.  But there is one thing that assures me it really is fall, the change in the morning and afternoon light.  It's softer and more golden, absolutely perfect for photography. 

Which is what I did yesterday rather than spend time in the sewing room.  We made the trek to Tulsa to run a few errands and do some much needed shopping in the morning.  The afternoon was dedicated to walking in the park along the Arkansas River with our cameras.  The light was just gorgeous.  

As I said in yesterday's post, this week has been a bit of a zoo.  I did get in some stitching early in the week, but not much the later half.  Here's this weeks stash reduction report:

Used last week: 1.96 yards
Used in October:  5.14 yards
Used year to date:  25.91

My goal of using at least 1.5 yards per week was met, even with the lack of time in the sewing room.   As sad as it is, the 5 yards out this month is my second best for the year.  I'm going to need to get busy if I want to make my revised goal of at least 40 yards out by the end of December.  

That's it for me this week.  There are more stash stories posted over at Patchwork Times.