A Couple More Finishes!

Today I have two more finishes to share. 

First up is a project with blocks made by the FCQ Equilters -- years ago! Yes, I still have several different block sets that should be made into quilt/s. This project used 16 patches made with 2" (unfinished) squares in red, white and blue.  I added 6" x 3" flying geese to make stars.

I used FanFare quilting design by My Creative Stitches.  It looks like I used red So Fine thread. From what I can tell I finished this quilt in March of '24.  I will probably give this to the local guild to donate to a veteran. 

Are you a fan of Cheryl and Meadow Mist blog? I decided to do her mystery quilt in 2022 for the first time. My friend Sharon and I got together with FaceTime once a month to sew the mystery together. I finally quilted it in July of 24.  I think part of the reason I postponed quilting this one is I was undecided on the quilting design. 

I decided to "store" it on the guest bedroom -- there's another quilt under this one. 

Here's a closeup of the quilting pattern. It is Sunshine, by Melonie Caldwell and sold at Urban Elementz.  Can't tell which thread I used but it was definitely a white or cream. 

It's always fun when I can use fabric from my stash. For this quilt I already had this green with bright colored polka dots and possibly the dark green. I did buy the purply-pink and possibly the background fabric. 

I'm linking up with these Linky Parties: 

Wednesday Wait Loss 

Beauties Pageant 

Put Your Foot Down

Finished or Not Friday

Off the Wall Friday

They have lots of wonderful blogs listed for you (and me) to visit.  I've been reading a lot this week and playing computer games rather than spending a lot of time in my studio.  So, it seems like visiting some of these blog posts will be very entertaining this weekend. I hope you do some blog hopping too. 

Every year I drop my finished spools in a basket to see how many I use during the year.  Here's the photo from this year's spool usage. 

I've been keeping track of my spool usage since 2012.  My highest spool usage was 30 and it happened in 2014 and 2017. (My guess is I was embroidering a lot and used a lot of spools of embroidery thread!) I'm happy with the 20 spools for this year. My lowest number was 7 in 2016. I don't know what happened that year. Maybe I started buying cones for my domestic machine along with the long arm. 

That's it for me tonight. We've got more snow coming in over night but hopefully it won't be more than 2" or so.  The temperatures have been staying near or below  freezing since the snowstorm on Monday.  Hopefully we'll see some temps above freezing so the snow will begin to melt.  I'll be spending the weekend in the studio in hopes of making all my goals this week.

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie

Monday Meanderings 1 - 10 - 2022

Are you staying safe these days?  We still mask up when we go out and are in the process of upgrading our mask type.  We have chosen not to go out as much but we still go a few places.  On the other hand I won't be attending quilt guild this month.  Our local hospitals are filling up and even though I'm fully vaccinated I sure don't want to add to their load. On the other hand staying home gives me a lot of time to quilt and read, two of my favorite things.   Now, on to my goals.

Last week:

1/3/2022

✅Work on January's UFO -- Here's what I've got so far. I need to finish 4 snowball blocks, seam the light houses, and trim some of the excess fabric off.  Then I'll decide where the lighthouses will be -- top or bottom. And what will go with them. 

✅Make more ombre blocks -- I made a few but have quite a few more to make. It's going to be a queen size quilt rather than the lap quilt I had originally planned. 

Start first round of SAHRR — oops doesn’t start until 1/10 but I have picked out my center block. 

✅Cut out Looking Glass quilt -- Done! And ready to sew 

✅Update Accuquilt Go Items online  Making progress, have the list need to add it online. 

This week:

1/10/2022

Start first round of SAHRR 

Work on Sail boat quilt (January UFO)

Make RSC blocks and mystery block 

Make backing for Happy Blocks

Make more ombre blocks

Add Go dies to online list 

It's a longer list than I usually come up with.  Hopefully I'll get all of them either done or move the projects ahead. 

Here are a couple of things I finished that weren't on my To Do List. 

These blocks were hanging around with some other sizes of Happy Blocks I have. All I did was sew them into rows and then sewed the rows together.  The most happy part of these blocks is I think I have a hunk of red fabric that I can use as a backing. Making the backing has been added to this week's list. Then I see some quilting in the coming weeks. 

These blocks go to Joan, a member of FCQ E-quilters.  She only asked for a few... I added a few more than she asked but I didn't go wild. 

Take a look at this picture -- it shows all the spools and cones I used up this year -- 21. The big purple cones are Mettler Silk Finish Cotton -- 2000 yard cones. I've done a lot of piecing in 2021! Which explains why there aren't as many smaller spools pictured. 

Here are the year's thread usage since I first started keeping track of my spools.  

   

Year	Spools Used Up
2021	21
2020	16
2019	21
2018	12
2017	30
2016	7
2015	27
2014	30
2013	17
2012	22

That's it for today. Take a look at these linky parties -- there are all sorts of blogs you can look at and get inspiration! 

Oh Scrap

Monday Making

Design Wall Monday

To Do Tuesday 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie 

Monday Meanderings 1 - 4 - 2021

 2020 Quilting Recap 

My overall impression of 2020 is it was a bummer. I missed seeing family, traveling, quilt retreats and doing what I wanted when I wanted. On the other hand my quilting time was off the charts!  Don't look for my goals today as I have way too much to share on what I accomplished in 2020.  First up is stashbusting statistics. 

2020	Fabric In Month	Fabric In Year	Fabric Out Month	Fabric Out Year	Total In or Out Year
Dec	6.250	95.750	8.75	95.625	0.125

I'm totally amazed that I almost used as much fabric as I acquired.  Yep, that is all of 1/8th of a yard more this year!  Not bad at all.  In fact, I could have listed some blocks I'm sending to one of the FCQ Equilters later this month but decided to include all in January's outgo as I'm still making them.  But over all, I am really pleased. How about a quick peak at what I've done since I first started keeping in coming and out going fabric.  It's been 11 years so far. 

Year	Fabric In	Fabric Out Year	Total In or Out Year
2010	65.000	70.250	13.000
2011	186.500	72.000	114.500
2012	113.545	108.970	4.575
2013	100.710	103.015	2.305
2014	108.250	79.750	28.500
2015	66.205	77.150	10.945
2016	83.375	55.375	28.000
2017	118.625	108.125	10.500
2018	85.375	94.250	8.875
2019	55.830	66.625	10.705
2020	95.750	95.625	0.125

You might notice a huge increase in 2011.  My guild was having an auction of quilty things donated to the guild.  This is a small guild and people weren't bidding so I bid to try to get things going and the next thing I knew I had "purchased" a LOT of fabric.  I don't have records of what it cost but it was dirt cheap. 

It was definitely a good year for finished quilts.  Here are a few of my favorites. (You should be able to click on all the pictures to enlarge them.) 

Table runner was a mystery pattern from my friend Sharon.

I wanted to try this style quilt.  The cute fox fabric was leftover from  grandson Theo's baby quilt. Everything else was from my stash.  

Carousel was probably my favorite quilt from this year.  The bright fabrics were a gift from my daughter at Christmas.  Much of the rest was from stash.  But what really made me love it is the quilting. 

And the wonderful quilting pattern is "Diana" from  My Creative Stitches. 

I really love this quilt but I didn't press the seams correctly so had rather lumpy junctures where too many seams met each other.  It might be time to try another one of these and iron more efficiently. Maybe a clapper would help too. 

Another quilt I just love.  Told the hubby I didn't think I'd give it away.  It might be perfect for a great grandson. (Note, oldest grand is 10 so this isn't happening anytime soon!) Pattern setting from MaryQuilts.com -- Twisted 9 patch.

Diamond Chains pattern from Missouri Star Quilters. 

I make Happy Quilts all the time. Or so it seems.  This is one of maybe 5 I made this year. The original pattern came from MaryQuilts.com. This quilt was one of three I made for triplets.  It was part of the 11 (or was it 12?) quilts I sent to a school district in Washington state to be given to all the students whose families had lost their homes in one of the major fires. 

A quick finish using my Go die cutter and several fabrics in my stash. It's amazing how different a basic sawtooth star looks if you change up the colors a bit.  I used 2 navy blues Then I changed the corner square colors and points.  

Dalmatian fabric started me off.  Pattern available free at ShopMartingale.com.  Go to the bottom of the page and look under Help Center.  You have to sign in before you can access the patterns. Look for Nest. There are a lot of other freebies available. Super easy quilt. I was happy to use a lot of smaller leftover pieces.  (Not that I finished any of them but I do have more interesting scraps!) 

I surprised myself with how many quilts I finished this year: 22.  I made a lot of tops which I didn't include in this count.  Yep, I still have a lot of quilts to finish.  My biggest issue is not having enough backing fabric.  I don't want to buy fabric but I suspect that is what will be happening to finish off more quilts. 

Next up: my thread usage.  I've been keeping up with the number of spools I empty every year since 2012.  Now, you would think I would have used a huge number of spools this year, but, sadly, no, I didn't.  My spool usage number was 16. 

Spools used in 2020. From left: Guttermann, Mettler  Silk Finish,  Presencia.  (The new spools from Mettler are purple -- old ones are white.) 

My highest number of spools used was in 2017 when I used 30. (I have no idea what I was doing unless I finished up a lot of long arm thread and embroidery thread.) My lowest was 7 the year we moved to Northern Virginia.

There is a reason I didn't use as much thread this year as in the past.  The main reason is at the beginning of May I put in a thread order for all three types of thread: regular sewing, long arm, and embroidery.  I purchased 2 2000 yard cones of Mettler Silk Finish thread in white and light grey.  Light grey is my preferred piecing thread color.  I've probably used 2/3rds of the grey.  I'm counting on having it be empty some time this year.  I also have maybe 3 or 4 spools where I can see the plastic spool so if I ever use those colors I'll have a nice start of thread usage. And, on the first quilt on the long arm I used up a cone of thread.  Not a bad start. 

I hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane.  I spent quite a bit of time this weekend looking at UFOs, finished quilts, tops waiting to be quilted and projects I've started recently.  I also gave myself a little list of what I want to get done both unfinished projects and new projects. I'll probably enter them on a list on the computer, print it out on colored card stock, and hang it in a prominent spot in the studio. 

Are you ready for some great linky parties?  Check out these that I link to each Monday. Oh Scrap, Monday Making, and Design Wall Monday.  I'll save To Do Tuesday to post my goals list tomorrow.  

Happy Quilting! Bonnie 

  

Monday Meandering and Thread Report

I'm way behind on some of my year end reports.  Today I'm sharing my Thread Report. Hum, it doesn't look as good as last year. Oh well.

Year	Spools Used Up
2018	12
2017	30
2016	7
2015	27
2014	30
2013	17
2012	22

Not a great year for thread usage but not the worst. Some things to note.  Of the 7 bigger spools only two were long arm thread (the big white one in the center.) The broken one to the right was suppose to be for the long arm; but the cone fell apart. I used it for bobbin thread.  The rest of the top circle were larger spools.  The bottom row was the smaller spools of either cotton thread for piecing or possibly embroidery thread. Evidently I used up quite a few bobbins of Magna Glide too.  Odd that, because I don't use it all that much. 

Here's what I've been working on this week. 

This is the Calendar Challenge for Country Piecemakers guild.  For several years our challenge quilts have been hung at the Mid Atlantic Quilt Show.  I've haven't  participated in the annual challenge for years.  But this year the topic grabbed me and I came up with an idea immediately.  Of course I didn't make it immediately but I am closing in on it. (It's due in 6 days. EEK!) So at the point this picture was taken I had figured out some of the main features and had them made.  The size is 20" x 20".  I am trying some mixed techniques on this.  The tree sections were paper pieced. They will be appliquéd down.  The window was done improv style.  I've got presents in the making that were also being done improv style. Cut sew, cut again as needed.  Some measuring but not all that much.  

I wanted to do this tree as a remembrance of Great Aunt Dora.  She would buy ornament kits and make all the family members beautiful Christmas balls usually with sequins and pins.  But one year I think she went into her costume jewelry and made strands of beads. It amazed me how these colorful beads reflected the light. We still put them on our small tree each year.

 Eventually, I'll have some balls and strands of beads on my tree.  The red sequins will be replaced with gold ones because that was all I could find. I've got my work cut out for me this week. Everything will be appliquéd down.  I may just big stitch around the elements and finish with a regular binding.  I may be finishing the binding at the meeting Saturday morning! 

These wonky star blocks are going to Pam an FCQ Equilter member.  She asked us to also send some extra fabric with the stars.  I made 5, although one is covered up.  It turns out I don't have that much in the way of red, white and blue fabric anymore. I keep using it up. Sigh.  One of these days I'll pick some more up as I use them fairly regularly. 

Northern Virginia has flown out of the ice box of last week.  It should be hitting 68 one day this week.  What a difference from the mid 20's most of this past week.  

On Wednesday, one of the coldest and windiest days, our electricity went out. And, our internet and our gas heater. It started when there was enough light to find the candles both electric and flame.  And, our gas fireplace worked surprisingly well.  We don't really use it but it kept our living room toasty warm. I used a variety of 

candles to give us enough light to see by.  Our dinner that was suppose to be baked became more like a stir fry. We were able to light our gas stove using a lighter.  3 or so hours later, as we were going to bed, the lights came on. YEA!  

Fast forward 4 days and about the same time the electricity went out again.  GOOD GRIEF. It was only out an hour to an hour and a half. Another dinner was in peril but we'd decided on fajitas on the grill so all was pretty easy.  We heard later that the outage was due to vehicle accident.  Enough of this excitement! 

Here's how I did on my goals this week. 

January 28, 2019

Finish sewing challenge project to background√ worked on but not finished 

Finish altering the last log cabin blocks √

Bind the Turtle quilt √

Mail the FCQ Equilter blocks√  blocks done but not mailed 

Quilt and Bind the heart table runner  didn’t even start 

And what I need to do this week.  Everything but the challenge quilt is negotiable!  I really need to have this thing done. 

February 4. 2019

Finish sewing challenge project

Make some Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks

Design labels for Virginia Star 

Work on dog tumbler top 

I'm linking up with these Linky Parties: Oh Scrap, Monday Making, Main Crush Monday and Moving It Forward.  You know the drill some won't be up yet so I'll check back and add the links as needed. Surprise, surprise.  I actually checked back earlier than I normally do and all is linked up now.  Enjoy reading what's going on around the internet. 

Happy Quilting All!  Bonnie