Stash Report: Week 46 of 2016

Week 46?  Oh wow, the year is winding down so fast. It just doesn't seem like it's time for the holidays.  Maybe that's because we've had such a warm autumn. My Guy mowed our still green and growing yard yesterday.  That's definitely not typical.  

This week's stash report isn't typical either.  I've been pretty good about limiting stash additions, but not this week.  Three of the additions were needed for ongoing projects, so I didn't add without reason.  I purchased some more of the tone on tone white used for the background in the Vintage Dress blocks.  There's not enough left to make the block frames and sash the quilt.  So I ordered more while Connecting Threads still had it.  I also ordered a few more fabrics from their Mosaic Blooms line for  Bejeweled.  What I had on hand wasn't working for one of the blocks.  I also ordered one additional tone on tone white for the stash.  It was on sale and it seems I never have enough neutrals for backgrounds.  No pictures of any of that.  Since I needed most of it immediately, it went straight to the washer once it arrived.  The other purchase was extra wide fabric to back Poinsettias.  That I did remember to take a photo of before it got washed. 

It's not a Christmas print, but I think it goes nicely with the fabrics used in the flimsy.  After all those additions, the stash numbers don't look so hot. 

Used last week:  0.77 yards
Used year to date:  52.18 yards
Added year to date:  69.02 yards
Net added year to date:  16.84 yards

Most of what was added will go right back out in a few months, but it's likely not all of it will be used before the end of the year.  So I'll probably end up slightly in the red for 2016, but that's OK.  

One of my strategies to use more fabric this year was to spend more time in the sewing room, at least 15 minutes a day.  I've done pretty well at that this week, managing to get there 6 out of 7 days.  That brings my total to 249 days for the year.  That's more than I managed last year, which was my unofficial goal for this year. 

Linking up with Patchwork Times.  You'll find more stash reports there.   

Rainbow Scrap Challenge - Is Magenta the Same as Red-Violet?

It's amazing how fast the weeks seem to fly this time of year.  Thanksgiving is not quite 2 weeks away.  Thankfully My Guy and Drama Teen are responsible for that dinner menu, I'm just responsible for reminding them that it's time to decide on the grocery list and pick up the bigger items.  

My Guy has been off at a conference, so it's been just Drama Teen and I this week.  Sewing time was easy to come by.  So much so that 2 of the 5 remaining Vintage Dresses needed for this year's Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt were finished up this wee.  The first is from the dark end of the red-violet spectrum.

Not sure where you'd wear this one, but I love the dragon flies on the insert.  The second dress is definitely on the lighter side. 

It would have been better had those lighter flowers ended up in the middle rather than off to one side.  I didn't realize that this fabric probably needed to be fussy cut.  But I"ll claim this was  deliberate design element and not worry about it going forward. 

Here are both dresses together. 

 Vintage Dresses by Charise Randell

The actual color of both dresses is best represented by this photo.  They are fun additions to the project. Now to pick the fabrics for the 2 black dresses.   

Just 3 dresses left to make before I can start on the assembly.  This project isn't likely to get done this year, but hopefully it will get finished up sometime early in 2017.  I've been doing pretty well at finishing up the projects I've started the last couple of years, but my UFO list hasn't gone down much.  

Linking up with Soscrappy for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and with Quilting is More Fun than Housework for Oh Scrap when those posts are up.

Weekend Stitching: Butterfly Stitching

It's been a log time since I've had the chance to just spend the day in my pjs.  Didn't have to go anywhere and with My Guy out of the house for the day, my schedule was pretty much my own.  So of course I spent the day in the sewing room.  Not all of it was stitching, it was time for some significant dust removal efforts, vacuuming and straightening up.  Once that was accomplished, I got going on the fun stuff.  

All the blocks for the pieced border on Blooms and Butterflies were finished last weekend.  After playing around with arrangements, this is the layout. 

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

Since this picture was taken, the blocks on the left have been removed and are over at the sewing machine.  Just one more seam and that border will be ready to attach. 

Up on the little design wall are more blocks for Bejeweled.

I really like the purple and teal color combo.  These blocks are going together really fast.  Just 3 more sets of blocks to make then it will be ready for assembly into a flimsy.  I might just get that done before the end of the month.  

The only other excitement this weekend was the 5.0 earthquake that shook Oklahoma last night at about 7:45.  The sewing room is on the second floor and I definitely took note when that rumbled through.  News reports say there is damage in the small Oklahoma town of Cushing, the epicenter of this one.  But thankfully no significant injuries resulted.  So far no reports of any damage to the crude oil terminal that resides there.  For those not aware, the Cushing crude oil terminal is one of the largest storage facilities in the world.  Damage to any of the pipelines leading in or out could impact fuel prices across the US, as well as cause a pretty significant oil spill.      

On that note, it's time to get ready for work.  Have a great week.  Linking up with:

Main Crush Monday
Monday Making
Design Wall Monday

Stash Report for Week 45 of 2016

It's been one of those weeks.  Between the evenings we had something going on and the evenings I went to bed early, not a lot got done in the sewing room.  Some weeks are just that way and it's OK.  I sew to maintain some sanity, it's insane to beat myself up because it's not working for me.  But even though the sewing room only saw me for three days this week, there's still a bit of fabric going out. 

Used last week:  0.79 yards
Used year to date: 51.41 yards
Added year to date:  47.59 yards
Net used in 2016: 3.82 yards

My net used will take a hit next week.  I had to order some fabrics to finish up a few projects and couldn't resist the temptation to add to my background fabric stash.  I'm OK with that too.  Even if the added is more than the used, the incoming to the stash is way down from where it was a couple of years ago.  It's about maintaining balance while still having the right fabrics in the stash closet.    

The weather here has been pretty spectacular.  Unfortunately, the leaves aren't changing much, too warm I guess.  But the sunrises have been pretty. 

And it's been nice walking at sunset.  You can get a different set of back lit images then. 

Have a great week.  You can see more stash reports over at Patchwork Times.  

November One Monthly Goal: Prepping for Finishes

We really only have two months left in 2016.  I've accepted that fact, though I'd really, really like to think it wasn't true.  So just two months left to make progress on this year's quilting plan.  I've started 2 of the 4 graduation quilts, plus the Rainbow Scrap project and the Meadow Mist mystery.  Those were on my "to be started list".  I've got plans worked out for the last 2 graduation quilts and may actually get one more of them started before the end of the year.  Bonnie Hunter doesn't start up till later this month and there's no reason to think I won't manage to get that one started.  I only started one project that wasn't on my list, Blooms and Butterflies.  So as far as starts go, I've pretty much stayed true to the plan.  

Finishes are another story.  The plan was to finish 8 quilts this year.  That was a pretty aggressive plan as the most I've ever finished in one year was 7.  But there have been three finishes this year, Vintage Tea Time, Midnight Tulips and Allietare (you can see all three here).  So in contemplating November's One Monthly Goal I've been trying to decide if there is anything I can do to improve on that finished number.  Zombies in Paris just needs to be bound, so that's one option.  Poinsettias is a finished flimsy, but it needs a back before it can be sent out for quilting.  

Poinsettias
By Judy Blok for the December 2013 issue
of American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine

If I can get Poinsettias sent out and back, it has a good chance of getting bound before the end of the year, as does the Zombies quilt. I have the backing fabric for Poinsettias.  It's just a matter of piecing the back and getting the quilt prepped for Trudy.  I really hate prepping quilts, so maybe it's the better option for the One Monthly Goal because I need some additional incentive to get it out the door for quilting.  So prepping Poinsettias for quilting and getting it mailed to Trudy is the goal for November.  

There's a new host for OMG, Patty who blogs at Elm Street Quilts is taking over for Heidi of Red Letter Quilts.  So I'm linking up with Patti for the November OMG.  Many thanks to Heidi to coming up with the concept of the OMG. It's been a great motivator for me this year and I'm so glad that Patti is going to carry it on into next year.