Anniversary posting

It's been a year of blogging and I have managed to keep all my goals I set forward with and for that I am appreciative to my readers. I hope in the next year blogging (and blog reading) will continue to drive me forward in my creative endeavors and maintain my goals as another year is winding down. My next post will be post 90 --- (actual postings not including traveling stash postings) and that is much further than I though I would reach in this last short year.

As I enter this 2nd year of blogging I hope to accomplish a few more things .....

1. post more regularly --- at least 2 or 3 times per week
2. complete 25 projects this year
3. purge a great deal of the stash
4. try more items from Pinterest
5. continue to promote the art of quilting and get involved with more events

I am sure that there are plenty more but for now I will just thank you all again for sticking with me this year.

Twas 2 days before Christmas

and the sewing room is a mess --- I know you all can relate. 

I've been working on some UFO's and am happy to announce that the star wars quilt is all quilted and waiting for trimming and binding. 

I wanted to do a full quilt shot but it's been pouring rain this weekend but Christmas day is supposed to be nice. 

I also got all my Block of the month blocks completed and up on the design wall -- awaiting sashing and boarders. 

Here are the 3 blocks I completed this weekend 

The state has given us 3 days off for Christmas and my hubby has to work all but Christmas day so you all know what that means -- more sewing days. Tomorrow I'm hoping to finish these 2 up and even baste the Lazy Sunday quilt and another one for charity. If I finish up these projects in the next week I will enter 2014 with 1 started UFO -- the block of the week project and 2 pending swap projects -- DQ14 and Shirts. 

I am also wanting to get things straightened out so that I can share the new room revel on my anniversary posting this Saturday. 

my refuge and my fortress

I like word play and a paraphrase of Psalm 91.2 sums up quilting for me -- befitting my 91st post. 

The busy holiday season has meant lots of time working on goals and reading the fun blogs of others but limited blogging on my part. I have been doing really well on my goals and even got the 3 from last week completed. 

custom Mug Rugs completed 

Ornament Swap items sent out 

Little fish is completed and bound. 

This week the goals have been -- ignored, for lack of a better word. I went to the sew in last weekend and couldn't find motivation to work on my projects and with holiday preparation for this weekend the sewing machine has sat quietly waiting for me to return. I'm hoping since the plans for this weekend have changed that means time at the machine and not facing the crowds of last minute shoppers -- so here's my lofty goals what I want to finish up by New Years. 

1. finish star wars quilt (12/25)
2. Apron Kit (12/25) --maybe
3. block of month quilt for 2013 (1/6)
4. Doll Quilt 14 (1/13)
5. Unwind Charity Quilt (1/28)
6. Shirts Swap Items (2/25)
7. ironing board cover (ASAP)
8. Lazy Sunday (ASAP)
9. BOW blocks (ASAP) 

OK, so that may be unreasonable considering there's only 12 days left in this year but putting a dent in that list will feel great as the FA challenge starts up. I cleaned up my room a bit recently and got most of the fabric refiled and picked up a few solids for filler next year (still need to get white) -- so hows about a little eye candy as inspiration?

These and plenty others just waiting for me to become that list of projects  -- oh and to make things more fun Hubby picked up this Go Baby accutter for me. I've got my eye on a few other dies and maybe they will be under my tree for Christmas. 

Happy Holidays and happy quilting everyone. 

Fabriholics Anonymous check in #1

One of the big goals that is a part of the challenge is to complete projects that we have been thinking about for a while and use the fabric on hand so here's the first link up party where we list out the projects that we want to make as a part of the challenge. So ya'll may remember my Fabrainbow from earlier this year and of course I have plenty of ideas floating out there on Pinterest -- here's a brief list.

1. Make a quilt for my bed -- not sure what pattern, this has been the hold up for the last 3 years
2. gypsy wife -- with the guild gals
3. Scrappy Trip Along
4. Wonky Stars 
5. x + quilt
6. Scout quilt with Teri (here) 
7. churn dash quilt -- or large churn dash (here or here)
8. work on Project Lotus
9. Triangles quilt -- for Allison due in 2015 (here) 
10. Clam Shells (here) 
11. giant star quilt -- so many options
12. Giant chevron
13. medallion Quilt
14. New York Beauty
15. Elven Garden Sampler (here)
16. Swoon Quilt
17. Steam Punk Quilt
18. Pluses Quilt
19. Taffy Quilt with Lee (here)
20. Blooming Nine Patch or Split nine Patch

 In non quilt items I would like to fit in

1. Tripple Zip Pouch
2. Duffle Bag (here) 
3. Open Wide Pouch
4. Stuffed Animals
5. Pillowcases
6. Noodle Head Bag
7. Scrappy Table Runners 
8. Cross Body Bag
9. Throw Pillows
10. More Mug Rugs

Ongoing projects in 2014

1. Shirts Swap (here) 
2. finish Large Lazy Sunday
3. string blocks 
4. charity quilts 
5. custom orders 

So I think 35 goals are good enough with the other ongoing projects that I will be finishing in the new year. 

Happy Quilting Everyone -- let's bust some stash. 

So long, George. See you in the funny pages.

So it's been 3 weeks since a real blog posting and for my dedicated readers I am sorry to have been missing but things around here have been difficult and busy. December starts with my birthday and with it falling right after Thanksgiving this year that meant a long weekend and on the way home hubs and I stopped at 5 shops in Raleigh as one of my gifts.
I have also been finding solace in quilting but as usual am lacking focus -- but I do have a few finishes to share. 

My mini Lazy Sunday -- it's 24 by 29 and adorable 

Scrappy Swoon is finished

November Block of the Month blocks are completed -- 3 more to complete them all (by 1/7)

4 more bible studies blocks -- 7 or 8 to go and they will all be done and ready for assembly. 

The UFO list is quite lengthy and some deadlines are quickly approaching but I am sure to work diligently and strive to complete those and more to enter 2014 on a cleaner slate (lower side of the single digit range), I have only 13 things on my list -- most are on deadlines so that helps right. 

My first deadline is this Friday -- ornament swap items need to go in the mail (started and ready for embellishment) 

and a custom Mug Rug order -- tops are ready for embroidery and then quilting and binding 

I want to put binding on a baby quilt this week as well -- I've been putting it off over a week now.

Next deadline is 12/21 --- finish star wars quilt (like for real this time), make a new cover for my ironing board and put together an apron for my MIL. I am also responsible for planning the Christmas meal to be eaten on 12/22 -- Pinterest here I come. 

We are off 3 days for Christmas and because the family is coming in the weekend before there could be a lot of quilting happen during this time. My first thing to tackle at that time will be the 3 block of the month blocks left they meet again on 1/7 to start the new one but I would like to get these finished by then and maybe assembled (that may be aiming a little to high). 

Next up would be the Doll Quilt swap item that I have designed and pulled fabric for but not started yet due in mid January. I am finding some frustration in the fact that my swap partner is showing a limited amount of participation in the group and didn't provide much info during sign up other than she dislikes orange. 

I am also working on a charity quilt and want it finished in time for the Jan meeting. (notice how exhausting quilting is for kitty helpers).

If I am able to get all this completed and not start anything new that would have me entering Jan or at least finishing Jan with only 3 UFO's and one ongoing project -- and that friends would be awesome. 

January also starts the fabric fast for Fabriholics Anonymous and we shall see how that goes but I tell you I am actually looking forward to it and have a few classes that I am looking into to start on my journey of destashing.

Hope everyone is having a great December and lots of quilting is happening, I know it will be at my house. I'm hoping to post more frequently and hopefully with more finishes as I push on to stay on track with these UFO's and deadlines. 

Happy Quilting Everyone. 

sorry for the silence

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving -- mine was great. It was celebrated 2 days late because my hubby's company does not close on the Friday after so we travel to see family that following weekend. Incidentally this year my birthday is also shortly after so we are celebrating that this weekend as well. Hubby and I are making a trip back on Monday and stopping at many of the great shops in Raleigh that I visited during Quilt Carolina and that should be a lot of fun -- many pictures coming soon.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still here and plan on posting a blog update very soon about the things I have been making progress on but other things are going on right now in my life that have derailed my blogging but more on that at a later time.

Happy Quilting Everyone.

SO I'm not a salesman -- perhaps that is the problem

I love making things with my hands -- I'm not a sales person, perhaps this is my downfall in being successful when it comes to vendoring. This weekend I attended 2 events, one in Colfax  -- hosted by the Girl Scouts 

and the other in Clemons at River Ridge Taphouse 

They both had slow turn out and very limited sales, I think I will come out at least covering my table fees once the custom orders are paid in full but it's still a disappointment. I have some opportunities that I am weighing out for this upcoming weekend as well as for some of the weeks in December but right now I'm kinda disheartened with the experience -- esp when it cuts into creative time. So here's to some happy quilting this week and maybe things will look better at events closer to Christmas. 

I came home Sunday and did what any good crafter does I spent time with my machine and worked on finishing up some quilt tops that I have in the works and playing in the fabric. 

Scrappy Swoon 

Lazy Sunday 

(best pictures I could get the wind is blowing strong up here in the mountain today -- see below) 

Happy Quilting Everyone -- Turkey Day is only 10 days away and it's the final 6 weeks to Christmas. 

Fabriholics Anonymous

Everyone that knows me (or even reads this blog frequently) knows I love fabric and may have a purchasing problem when it comes to fabric. It's so lovely and soft and less fattening than chocolate -- and there is always an excuse to want more. Now my stash isn't huge (compared to others) but there are things in there that frequently get overlooked and moved around because newer stuff is there are ideas are all around. 

A peek inside 1 of 4 drawers 

some of what won't fit in the drawers 

my scrap bins are tightly packed for sure (this does not include fabric strings)

It's starting to take over and becoming unmanageable -- I decided that I really need to purge some of this down. It became even more real the day I decided to straighten my bookshelf up and discovered the large number of patterns and books that hadn't ever been used or really looked at -- and we all know how expensive books can be. 

The boxes contain purchased patterns and the magazine holder is full of online printed patterns. This is only part of the books I have -- the weight was bowing the shelf slightly. 

So I decided that I needed to pledge to use as much stash as possible and cut down on collecting -- I bought all this with a purpose (probably to go with some of the unused patterns) and needed to make it happen and reclaim the space I love to be able to use it in a more useful manner. 

This ties neatly into something I stumbled upon today during my catch up reading, when I came across a link up that is dedicated to those of us that have this affliction --- Fabriholics Anonymous. It's being hosted by Rebecca @ making rebecca lynne and Jess @ the elven garden. I did a fabric diet back before the shop hop and that went well so I decided why not at least give it a try. 

It's a 6 month challenge with a few basic goals ----

• using stash we already have 
• Finishing UFO's (and pending UFO's)
• not buying simply because something is new
• Save money for other goals -- for me this is paying off my sewing machine earlier and getting closer to a new car 
• Destash fabrics that probably are never going to get used.

There are a few more fabric rules --

• NO fabric purchases for 6 months starting Jan 1, 2014
• reevaluate at 6 months to determine whether to go for a year (7/1/2013)
• Create a UFO list -- and complete them!!
• A few exceptions -- 
• Backing purchased to finish a UFO -- if stash is not available
• Swap Mama fabrics 
• quilts for publication 
• non fabric items (books, patterns, notions, etc)

I think I'm up for it -- sooooo if you think your up for it pop over and see Rebecca or Jess and take the challenge with me and we can support one another and make beautiful stuff. 

Happy Quilting Everyone!! 

50 Days till Christmas

Well now that I have your attention -- I thought it was a great opportunity to reveal my WIPs and goals for the month. 

The next event that I have scheduled is coming up in 2 weeks and so far this is the last one of the year for me -- I've been kinda slack about finding more shows esp after the poor results of the last few. I'm hoping for at least a few sales at this next one -- its' being hosted by the girl scouts in Colfax, NC. 

As with the approaching deadline it's time to see what I can put together in a short amount of time and still meet all my other obligations. So onto the goals --- 

• Finish up all in progress crochet critters 
• finish up at least the tops of some WIP quilts -- thinking about showing some unfinished projects that could be customized 
• make up some pouches or drawstring bags (maybe 10)
• make some ornaments 
• Make more user friendly price tags 

So what does the WIP list look like right now? 

5 Quilts, a gift item, blocks in progress and an Ornament for the guild holiday meeting (that I forgot to add). 

• Star Wars and Little fish only need quilting and binding.
• Unwind is a completed top but needs to be finished by the guild meeting 10/26
• Swoon is a nearly completed top and only needs one part cut before being ready for boarders 
• Lazy Sunday is still a pile of blocks (a few need to be finished) and then it will quickly become an unfinished top
• Block of the week is winding down but I am 4 behind and block of the month is meeting tonight so I will be getting 1 or 2 blocks due 12/03

There is much quilting to be done and luckily I am off work Monday so that's hopefully going to be a productive one for me. Happy quilting everyone. 

TMQG Retreat Insomniac

OMG!! I may finally be recovered from the amazingness that was the retreat this weekend. We ate to much, laughed a lot, drank a little, shopped and of course quilted. I defiantly feel closer to these ladies than before the trip and eagerly look forward to the next time Lee says lets go up home -- cause I am so in. 

All packed and ready to go -- yes quilting stuff and projects is in the larger one. 

Teri and I (along with her husband as chauffeur) headed west Friday morning and hit up some quilt shops along the way -- here is some of the fabric goodness that I proquired along the way. 

This set is going to be a wonky stars quilt -- adorable right.

After much debate and planning and a blog post last week I decided to take most of the projects I posted about. And it's a good thing because my pal insomnia showed up so there was a great deal of progress made and some seam ripping involved. 

bible blocks caught up (again) 

3 charity quilts bound

Unwind quilt top completed 

and promptly claimed by Mack

scrappy swoon (mostly) put together -- I forgot the fabric for the center at home. (the source of much of the seam ripping) 

backing for little fish quilt

and basted -- ready to quilt ASAP. 

started name tags for a guild member and her daughter 

started cutting blocks for Lazy Sunday. 

Such a fun time and now many more UFO's to add to the pile but at least many are close to being finished.