March Wrap up -- for the link ups

So this month I had a grand total of 4 finishes

How Mack Unwinds

Sunday in the Park

PGB scrappy 

Star Light Star Bright QAL 

I also made 20 blocks for Kevin the Quilter's Valor block drive, meaning that I used a total of 15 yards of fabrics from the stash this month -- this brings my yearly total to 55+ yards. 

On the fabric non buying front I am not doing great and have bought small bits throughout the month mostly for projects but a few items were because I wanted them. I did use my gift certificate earlier this month on some splurge fabric but I already have a plan and many friends to go with it so I am hoping to move this into the WIP pile soon.

Now here's some other things I've been working on for the variety of other link ups that I am doing.

Gypsy Wife QAL
I have made amazing strides in making blocks and have a few more extra blocks to go and then assembly. I will probably remake my Perishing block using the paper piecing method because I'm not super happy with it. Here are the blocs sorted by section

and here are the blocks for this month.

Library Challenge
scout quilt -- needs quilting and binding 

Sound Garden -- needs quilting and binding


New Stuff
Clam shell Mini -- This one is for a very special person.

Triangle QAL -- a triangle quilt has been on the list for a while now so I decided why not?

Day at the Beach -- scrap Bin quilt

So what are the goals for April?
- finish scout
- finish sound garden
- finish Clam Shell mini
- make progress on triangles quilt
- baste and complete Day at the beach
- assemble the Gypsy Wife (or at least part of it)
- make some string blocks or purge the strings
- start working on rock N romance Swoon
- purge more fabric from my stash

Did you hear wedding bells? or gypsy bells?

I am finding that I am blogging a little less lately -- perhaps this is because I passed off the traveling stash boxes but more likely is that my new job is in full swing now and I'm not getting down time to update during breaks. Either way I am still here and I am still sewing and I am sneaking time in to read blogs some. 

This past weekend -- national quilting day was spent mostly at the wedding of by beautiful niece Brittney and new nephew Cass. It was so lovely and they are a great couple -- wishing them many years of happiness. 

But about the quilting --- My biggest project right now is the Gypsy Wife Quilt. I was intending to make this a year long project with the quilt along group and just work through it. However, I've kind of become obsessed with it and in  seeing how the little things come together when I can work in short spurts, and that is all I have worked on in the last week and a half. I am one focus block away from finishing all the components of the quilt. 

I am needing to finish a few things this week and weekend and hopefully I will be able to step away from the Gypsy Wife in order to do them. 

• Make a few more valor blocks and send them off to Kevin 
• mail off my Kate Spain Charms -- they are cut and in the envelope I seriously don't know what my hold up is
• select a winner and mail off the Traveling Stash box that ends tomorrow -- still time to enter 
• Make a gift item for our guild speaker this month (Due 3/25) 
• finish up my star along top and work on getting it completed (due 4/2) 
• write postings for my link ups coming next week -- guess who's not doing well on the fabric fast? 
• make the last block for the gypsy wife

Seriously where is March going? In another 2 weeks it will be April and so far I only have 2 finishes this month. 

Hope this post finds everyone well and there is lots of happy quilting going on.

NO more Ice please

March brought in another round of the wintry weather -- this time it was ICE. There were wide spread power outages -- luckily at my house this only happened over night and I was able to spend most of my Friday quilting. I couldn't keep focus on any one project so I have lots of little progress

star along block corners

star along block -- all the components are ready to be sewn 

put border on sound garden and made backing

Quilted Sunday in the Park

quilting on sunday in the park

made valor blocks

worked on the Gypsy Wife

I've also decided to put the block of the week project to the side right now -- I have lost momentum for it so rather than rush it and not have heart in it . I know this isn't a great practice to have but for now this is where I am with this one -- at 14 blocks to go (4 new and 10 to remake).

I am headed to Charlotte Saturday to a quilt show and found lots of goodies that will sparked my interest. I know this could meant bad things for my fabric diet but I had my limits set -- only purchase for projects on hand and up to 5 yards additional. (I've decided to allow myself to get one half yard for stashing for every project I have completed.) 

Now most of this was payment for something I picked up for a friend (back row except foxes and the granny prints in the front row) and the right half of the front row are for the Gypsy Wife so really I only bought the foxes and the brown texty print for stashing so 1 yard bought this month so far. -- don't you love my math? 

Sunday I finished up binding on the Sunday in the Park project making it my 2nd finish in March and I worked on a few more of the Gypsy Wife blocks. 

14/23 for the 3 inch blocks -- 9 to go YAY!!

half done with the larger square in square blocks 

This week I want to get out in the 70 degree temps and take photos of some of the projects I am working on and document the 2 march finishes. I also want to finish up these square in square blocks and make a few of the larger Gypsy Wife blocks. 2 quilts need to be basted and i have a project to make for the guild speaker coming later this month -- Lots to do for sure. 

Happy Quilting everyone -- also a big thank you to those that stopped by my blog over the weekend and left love for the memorial post to my mother, I pushed through and spent some time with good friends and that helped so much. 

Time Marches on, like tears

Warning to my readers -- this is not a quilting post.

March is a difficult month for me and I suppose it always will be -- for me this is a month of loss and today (3/8/2014) marks 13 years since my mother left this earth. 

She was a wonderful, loving, supportive, funny and playful person.

She wasn't a crafty person herself -- and would tell anyone that she couldn't draw a stick figure, but she loved watching and nurturing my creative endeavors. I know she would be so proud of the things that I have created in the last few years with quilting. The one and only quilt she ever created was my baby quilt, in all it's polyester glory. 

As I was looking for photos to share here I was reminded of all the times I still she her -- in myself, my sister and my nieces. 

Born 11/6/1949 

around 3rd or 4th grade

her first day of high school 

this is the only picture I have my mother and my father together

my mother and step father 

the last time we went to the beach 

the last time getting together with her siblings 

(mom, grandpa and my uncle all were being treated for cancer at this time and all have since passed)

In the family they believed that the after life was like a big family gathering filled with laughter, food and loved ones that had past before you but everyone was in the prime of their lives. I hope they were right and one day I will get to see them all again -- because sometimes life is so difficult when part of your heart is gone. 

Quilts of Valor

An awesome opportunity to do good.

Kevin the Quilter has announced a fun challenge -- making blocks for quilts that will be made into Quilts of Valor projects and they are simple, quick and you can even win prizes. Hows about $100 to Mossouri Quilt Company -- pretty good prize right. All the details are on Kevin's blog.

Pull out those RED, White, Blues and golds and whip up some blocks. Here's my fabric pull from my stash to start whipping some up. (Apparently my stash is sorely lacking in the red department)

Some of these might not be quite right and I'm going to review them more closely before I get started -- with a personal challenge of 15 blocks. 

Who all's with me?