March NewFO

I can't believe it's already the end of March.  Though I am ready to see the end of the winter cold and the beginning of the spring blooms.  However, once it warms up, my sewing time is going to take a hit because we've got some around the house stuff that needs to get done once we get temperatures warm enough that we can work outside.  But we are not there yet, so I can still focus on ongoing projects, all of which have deadlines.  Even so, I took a 3 day break from all the ongoing stuff to play with a new project.  On my NewFO list for 2013 is a Scrappy Butterfly quilt.  I've seen this butterfly block in a couple of spots before and it turns out that EQ has it in it's library.  

The patterns that I've seen which use this block are all based on template piecing, not one of my strongest skills.  So I used EQs founding piecing option to print the block out so it could be paper pieced.  I also printed out the template version of the block, so I could use those to cut out the fabric pieces pretty close to the the right size for paper piecing.  This is a whole new approach for me, so it seemed wise to test out this process on a trial block and make all the mistakes on something I wasn't compelled to fix if it didn't work out.  

Having managed to get the first section pieced, I was feeling pretty good about the process.  I did have to unsew a few pieces as they didn't line up properly, but I got a good handle on how to position the pieces.  After an additional bit of fiddling here and there, I finished the test block. 

Not bad for a first effort.  I'm glad I did the test block, it helped me work out the process.  I felt confident enough to cut into the background fabric chosen for the project and make the first butterfly for the quilt.  There was only one bit of unsewing due to poor alignment. In short order the first butterfly for the quilt was finished. 

Not bad for a second try and definitely easier then using the templates alone.  The back ground fabric is a very pale blue with a lot of white, it looks a bit like clouds, just the look I wanted for the butterflies.  The antennae will be added via embroidery before the blocks are assembled into a quilt.  The final layout of this quilt is still on the drawing board, so the number of blocks needed is still up in the air.  I've tried a straight row layout and that looks too static.  Something will eventually work out.  Till then, I'm planning on making at least 12 blocks, one for each monthly color chosen for Soscrappy's Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Now I'm only 2 months behind.  

Check out more NewFOs and add one yourself to be eligable for the giveway over at Cat Patches.  This month's prize is definitely the cat's meow!  

Stash Report - Week 13

We are heading off to church in a bit.  Drama Teen had a visit from the Easter Bunny via special request.  I asked if her if she was too old for the Easter Bunny. Her response, "Mom it's the only day of the year I get to eat candy for breakfast, I'm not giving that up without a fight".  So she still enough of a kid to enjoy those small pleasures.

Moving on to the stash report.  No backs this week, but there was still enough sewing going on to result in a small amount of outgoing stash.  

Used last week: 1.44 yards

Added last week:  0 yards

Used for 2013: 22.74 yards

Added for 2013:  49.25 yards

Net stashed for 2013:  26.51 yards

Since this is the end of the first quarter, I took a look at my stash management stats.  I quadrupled my fabric usage between this year and last year at this time.  I've been tracking my stash usage since 2010 and the year to date numbers for this year are double what I used in 2010 and 2011.  So in terms of using stash, 2013 has started off as a record year.  

Though I'm in the red, the stash enhancement number isn't as red as it has been in previous years.  For 2013, the incoming year to date number is half what it was in 2012.  So less in, more out for this year compared to last year.  That's at least a step in the right direction.  

For more stash reports, check out the links over at Patchwork Times.   

15 Minute Challenge - March Wrap Up

It's the last Tuesday in March, the end of the 1st quarter of 2013.  At work, the end of the quarter is time to reassess progress (or the lack of) on this year's goals.  I didn't have any specific goals for the 15 Minute Challenge this year, other than to just keep trying to work in 15 minutes of sewing each day.  Looking back at my weekly reports,   there have been 74 days out of the last 84 days that I've found some time to sew.  That's better than the 69 days I managed last year for the same time period. 

Today also ends this month's Fostering Creativity theme of "Talk about your quilting".  Most quilting bloggers do this pretty routinely. We share our projects, our problems, look for advice on everything from sticky piecing problems to asking for naming ideas for our quilts.  Overall we are a pretty commutative group, there's even a scholarly article out there that suggests that the quilting blog community is a great model for building an learning on-line environment for other areas.  

Most of this month's creativity discussion centered on how to ask for and how to give criticism.  The biggest take home messages for me for the month were:

• Know what kind of input you want and ask for that specifically
• It's OK to want your ego stroked. 
• Remember that you are the most important critic
• Feedback should only be given when asked for
• Feedback should address something that can be changed
• Feedback works best when it's specific and descriptive

The last seven days went pretty well as far as stitching goes. 

I did manage to get in 15 minutes of sewing/embroidery time each day out of the last seven days.  It was hard over the weekend to find some time to stitch since we were doing family stuff, but the embroidery was something I could pull out and work on for a few minutes while everyone was getting ready to go.  I didn't actually start the Butterfly quilt, but did finish the test block last night (sorry no photo, I forgot to take one).  I'm glad I did a test block, I had to make a few adjustments to the stitching order and I learned a lot about fabric placement.  I'm not sure I'll ever do a lot of foundation piecing, but it is nice to know how to do it should I feel the need again.  

How did you do this week?  This month?  This quarter?  Are you finding time to stitch or are there other distractions keeping you from getting to the sewing room.  

1. Lesley A 2. Marti

3. Susanne 4. Amanda

5. Kate @katiemaequilts

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Design Wall Monday - March 25th

Drama Teen heads back to school today and I head back to work, Spring Break is over.  We took a long weekend, did some driving  and hanging out in places we usually don't.  It was a relaxing weekend.   Not a lot of sewing in it, though I did get some hand stitching done on the panel for the Medallion quilt while we were just hanging out.  

The Sofa Quilt went out for quilting on Tuesday, which left me with two projects up on the design wall.  Both need to be done by the end of May.  I picked the easiest one to finish first and made some good progress on both the blocks and getting the sashing done.  

OSU Quilt
Pattern is A Day at the Spa
Designed by Carolyn S. Vagts
found in the February 2013 issue of Quilter's World

Just 7 more blocks to make and the borders before this one will be ready for the back and quilting.  The blocks I can probably finish this week, but not the borders.  Those always take longer to add than I anticipate.  

April kicks off next Monday and I've not yet started my new project for March.  I was going to start on Vienna Stars, then decided I didn't like the pattern all that much.  I'm working on a new design that uses the fabrics I purchased for it, but I'm still fine turning that project.  So I bumped up another project that is on my list, the scrappy butterfly quilt.  The original pattern uses templates, which I usually don't have a lot of luck with, my blocks usually end up wonky.  So I'm going to use the templates to help cut the pieces to the right sizes, but paper piece the block.  

So I studied a few references, watched a couple of tutorials, grabbed a few scraps and started on a test block to work out the kinks.  So far, so good.  I did have to unpick the second seam, I didn't get the third piece aligned properly, so it didn't look right when it was pressed back. Part one of the block is done, just 3 more sections to piece and then it will be time to see if it all works together.  

That's it for my design space this week.  Linking up with Patchwork Times, hop over to her blog to see other design spaces.  

Slow Sunday Stitching - Slow Going

It's been awhile since I've linked up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday.  Checking back, the last post was in January.  If I compare photos, there really hasn't been a whole lot of progress.  

January 2013

March 2013

One upper wing is almost finished.  I love how the finished wing looks, but it's slow going doing the embroidery because there are so many thread changes to get that beautiful definition.  To make more regular progress, I'd need to schedule some time in the week to work on it.  Right now it's my "car riding, no sewing machine" project, so it's not getting a lot of routine attention.  I have 3 quilts with a May deadline, but once those are done, maybe one evening a week can be dedicated to hand stitching.