Stash Report - Week 26

Holly's Quilt Cabin, Centennial, Colorado, a  suburb of Denver.  Four years ago we went to visit my cousin and his wife who lived in this town and found this quilt store.  I couldn't remember the name, but I thought this was the one and I was right!  It is a great store and had loads of fabric ... I had fun chatting with the ladies and even my hubby came in and chit chatted ... I love quilt stores that make husbands feel special!  Very smart ... We always do that at the Country Loft too.  We appreciate them coming in.

7 fat quarters and this awesome 1/2 yard of a red diagonal check which will be used in a border, somewhere!  The charm pack is from last fall ... I got some of the fabric, but never got a charm pack and meant to.

Ok, this is where I lost it ... I was just getting ready to hand my credit card over and the lady asked me if I had seen the new line of Ghastlies.  Not something I have ever been interested in, but I know someone who would love it!  She is a special friend and feels like a daughter to me.  She went to school with my son and about a year ago I hired her to help with my mom ... Run errands, doctor appointments.  She had made my life so much easier!  I told her a couple years ago that I would make her a quilt when she graduated from college.  Well she has and we were supposed to go pick fabric out.  I think she will love this ... It is funky and fun and I also think the colors are very soothing.

It's cute, huh?  Gulp ... 5 1/3 yard = 8 1/3

I was excited to stop in Santa Fe because I love that town.  The quilt store I went to was Santa Fe Quilting and it was not in the historical section, so I missed seeing the city.  But this was our longest drive, 10 hours, ugh, so we wouldn't have had time to stop anyway.  This store was very cute and again like all the quilt stores I went to on our vacation, packed a load of fabric into a small space.  I had a great time and showed pretty good restraint ... I only bought 2 fat quarters and (4) 1/4 yards.  I was very tempted to buy a jelly roll of the Sphere fabric that I bought while I was In Virginia .... I really love the blue, aqua and yellow combination, but I decided I DID NOT need to spend another $43!  = 1 1/2 yds

Last stop was Quilter's Store Sedona.  I got a cute mini charm pack of Ducks in a Row by American Jane and (4) 1/4 yard cuts that go along with it.  I can see a super cute table topper.  I bought 1/2 yard of a cute sock monkey fabric and (3) 1/3 yd cuts ... I already have a cute pattern in mind for a quilt for Kylee.  And just to round it out .. 9 fat quarters!  Haha ... Total yardage at this store was 5 yards.  I also found a great patten from Moda called Dottie.  Looks like it goes along with a line of fabric, but I bought it because it uses all 2 1/2" strips and the pattern was only $1.  They also had a great pattern for a bag with pockets all along the outside, great to take to class, but I decided not to spend the money.  How fast can I sew so that when I publish this stash report on Monday I also show fabric used!  Haha ... I am writing this as I go so I don't lose track of the amount of fabric. = 5 yds

Now I am happy to counter some of this buying ... I sent 6 1/2 yards of fabric to one of my blogging friends, Amy.  She blogs at A Quilting Sheep.  I read in her blog that she loved Simplicity fabric by 3 Sisters.  I knew I had a lot of 3 Sisters that a friend had given me and I have had it for some time.  I was happy to send it Amy's way.  Then upon looking I realized it was a couple of different 3 Sisters lines, not Simplicity.  But Amy said she would like it, so off it went.  She thought she needed to do something for me, but I said no way ... I get to take this yardage off my stash report.  That is good enough!

Used this Week: 6.5 yards
Used year to Date: 57.5 yards
Added this Week: 11 1/3 yards
Added Year to Date: 49.5 yards
Net Used for 2014: 8 yards

Longarm progress

Here is more longarm quilting I did before I left.  The first quilt was a redo of quilting ... My customer had a quilt that had been quilted and she never liked the design nor the thread.  She ripped all the quilting out and gave the quilt to me.  The only thing I had to do was sew a top and bottom leader onto her quilt so I had something to pin onto my frame.

You'll see the fabric I used was an old Halloween print!  Haha ... I simply outlined the stars and just did a swirl over the entire quilt.  I could have sewn on side leaders, but I just chose to hold onto the side of the quilt to stabilize when I was along the very edge.

I think many longarm quilters would shy away from this project because the quilt has been previously sandwiched together.  I don't mind it at all ... In fact it cut out a step or two for me because I didn't have to pin the separated quilt top to the top leader.  The quilt rolled up great on my Innova.  I have done several quilts that have already been spray basted and just pinned them on and quilted as usual.  No problems with any puckering or gumming up my needle from the spray.

I used an Omni thread in top and bobbin.  

The next quilt I did was the one for my daughter's bed ... I think I finished piecing this in feb or March and decided it needed to get quilted and on her bed before it was time for her to leave again for school!  Since she had to move rooms, I'm trying to redo her room and make it super cute.  Here's what I have so far

You can see the quilt on her bed.  The only thing I have left to do is make her some pillow shams.  I ordered the fabric and it is waiting for me at home.

So excited to get it done!  Oh and the frame and headboard need to be painted as the lime green no longer goes.

Here's the quilt I quilted 

I love using a stipple ... It is such a simple pattern, doesn't interfere with a busy quilt, and i can crank it out quickly.  I used an Omni thread on top and a Magna Glide prewound in the bobbin.  Am really loving that combination.

And before I leave you, here is a picture from last night's thunder storm ... We were staying outside of Denver, and it was really quite fantastic.  Especially for us Southern California folk that don't see storms very often.

Stash Report - Week 25

A stash report with explanation!  Haha ... First stop on my fabric hop across country .. Superior Threads in St George, Utah

6 fat quarters and 1 charm pack, plus some needles for my longarm

Scrap apple Quilts, St George, Utah

2 mini charm packs (one I showed you the other day used in the hexies called Mixed Bag) ... The other one shown here is called Simply Style; plus 4 fat quarters

Sweet Lavender in Roy, Utah (near Provo)

Disclaimer:  we were chatting and the lady thought I wanted 1/3's of everything, so I got a little more than I wanted ... 1 2/3 yd plus 1/4 yd

Quilt Gallery in Kalispell, Montana near Glacier Nat Park

3 fat quarters

That was it for last week's report.  There will be more on next week's ... I did some major damage today ... Ouch!!!!!  Ha, ha

Here's the damage ...

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 51 yards
Added this Week: 6.25 yards
Added Year to Date: 38.25 yards
Net Used for 2014: 12.75 yards

Oh I am definitely going in the wrong direction but having so much fun doing it!  I have been hand sewing and will definitely get busy when I return so I can start changing the numbers around!

On another note, for those of you familiar with Superior Threads, I had originally gone to their store to see all their thread. I would say their thread is the best made and I love using it mostly in my longarm.  The warehouse where the threads, patterns and notions were was just gigantic but here is a picture to give you an idea

They just let you wander the aisles ... It was amazing!  My husband thought I had forgotten him ... You come in upstairs in the fabric area and then take the elevator down to the warehouse 

This was the start of my trip and I knew good things were coming!

Traveling tales

Today we drove from Yellowstone to Casper, Wyoming.  There is not much in between, and a four hour drive seemed like forever!  Especially because I was trying to use my phone to look up a hotel for the evening and I had no service for at least half of that time.  I was just bored and tired of sitting.  I really was a little embarrassed about how ticked I was I couldn't use my phone.

We actually saw a grizzly bear today .. As we were leaving the park the lake was on our right and a small meadow on the left ... There was a brown mound of something laying in the back of the meadow.  I saw a few people standing around and then saw a park ranger, I figured it probably was something more dangerous than a bison.

See that brown mound in the back?  I was hoping he would get up and move around ... But we only saw him stretch and roll over.  The ranger said he had swam across the lake, and been laying there for a couple hours.  He said there must be something there that he liked.  The lake is huge, I'm just figuring he was pooped!  Note to self:  if I ever am running from a bear, don't go into the water to escape ... He can probably swim faster than me!

There are bison everywhere in the park.  Yesterday a herd crossed in front of us ... They had come across the river and were crossing the main drag ... Really cool because there were tons of babies too. 

There are signs everywhere that tell you that wildlife is dangerous ... You should stay 25 feet back from bison

I think this is an older sign but you get the idea.  I cannot believe the amount of people that get out of their cars with their big huge cameras and get close to get that perfect shot.  It's bad enough when it's an adult, but can I tell you how many people I've seen doing it with a kid?  Ugh ... Makes me crazy .... I kind of wish I could see a bison charge someone and watch their camera go flying as they ran to get out of his way ... Seriously these animals weigh like 2,000 pounds and they are huge!  No thank you ... I'll keep my distance and stay in my car.

This was a fox we saw yesterday ... Can you believe how big he is?  Probably about 25 pounds ... The size of a medium dog.

This was a picture of a waterfall from Glacier Nat Park ... It just does not do it justice.

Some hand sewing

What else do you do when you're sitting in a car for hours every day driving, driving, driving ...

You start off taking beautiful pictures, and then you start taking selfies ...

With hubby

With Sophie

She loves riding up on my shoulders

Charlie's favorite spot ... Head out the window smelling that Glacier national park fresh air!

You know I've been supporting local quilt shops along the way.  I bought a couple of mini charm packs the other day and then at another store bought the English paper pieces ...

I put my cell phone down and did some hand sewing ...

Aren't these cute!  What a great way to buy the entire line of fabric for just a few dollars .. $4 ... Think it is about 5/8 of a yard of fabric.

Then I sewed some together into groups of 4 ... Oh now just you wait ... July stash buster project is coming your way!  More later ... Off to get some sleep so we can get back to the car tomorrow.  On our way to Yellowstone Nat Park!

Stash Report - Week 24

I did get a small sample done this week, so busted into my stash a little.

Used this Week: 1.75 yards
Used year to Date: 51 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 32 yards
Net Used for 2014: 19 yards

We are traveling this week from San Diego to Glacier Nat Park and Yellowstone.  Excitement to come ... Already added to my stash in St. George, UT, so my stash report is going to reflect some buying next week!

This is where I stopped first thing this am ...

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's, uncles, father figures and special men out there that are so important in our lives.  Sometimes I think in this world where we can have it all and do whatever we want, we forget the importance of dads.  My own father wasn't around a lot when I was young as he was in the military and traveled a lot.  Dad's were different when I was growing up.  Their job was to provide for their families, not be so hands on as they are now.  Then when I was a teen my parents divorced. I didn't know him very well until I was an adult, where we built our relationship and really got to know each other.  I love my dad ... I am so grateful to have had the chance to really get to know him.  He had always been a strong support for me, even when I didn't think he was.  Thank you Dad for being my father ... I love your crazy sense of humor, your embarrassing outbursts in public, your commitment to your family and quite simply, just being my dad.  I love you.

Buzzing along

Well after being on vacation for a week, I had to get back to my longarm!  I did 4 quilts this last week ... Woo Hoo!

One of them was a bedspread for a friend, and I didn't get any pictures, so you'll just have to trust me!  She just used a fabric on top and a fabric on the back, and I quilted it using a simple stipple.

The first quilt I did this week was for my friend Kathy ... Her grandson is graduating from high school ... This was my wonky quilt pattern and it came out so cute!  It is the second one she's made.

It is meant to be used as a bed quilt so I did a simple stipple .... Fast and keeps the quilt together well through those many washings.

She certainly has the hang of the wonky block ...

This one is super wonky ... Love it!  I used my favorite color Omni thread in Bronco in top and bobbin.

Now her grandson will have a big warm hug every time he snuggles under his quilt!  Thanks Kathy for the honor of quilting this for your precious grandson!

The Only Cup that Matters

I know World Cup soccer started yesterday, but in our house the only Cup talk has been about the Stanley Cup ... The Super Bowl/World Series of hockey! And for the second time in three years, the LA Kings are the Stanley Cup champions!  Last night in double (and almost triple!) overtime, the Kings won the best of 7 series with a score of 3-2 .... Cinching the deal with a 4-1 game series!  Woo Hoo!  My heart almost stopped several times, but it was worth it!  GO KINGS!!

Stash Report - Week 23

Well I don't know what happened to last week's stash report, but I just discovered it never published!

Here's my report for last week ..

Used this Week: 8 yards
Used year to Date: 49.25 yards
Added this Week: 1.25 yards
Added Year to Date: 32 yards
Net Used for 2014: 17.25 yards

Well pretty good, but when I look at all the fabric I've bought this year, that doesn't make me very happy!  But I've used more than I've bought, so that is good!  I have been very busy this week, so I'll have more to report!

Stash Report - Week 22

Wow look at me here ... Finally giving you a stash report in a timely fashion!  Now I have added quite a bit this week, but I have plans for all the fabric, I didn't just buy it to buy it!  I think that makes it better, doesn't it?  [wink, wink]

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 41.25 yards
Added this Week: 7.75 yards
Added Year to Date: 30.75 yards
Net Used for 2014: 12 1/2 yards

It does not look like I am going in the right direction, does it?  I promise you I will as soon as I get home!  I have a quilt to quilt for my daughter and the backing is 10 yards from my stash, so that will definitely help!  I can't wait to get home and start sewing ... In fact I've been considering buying a mat, ruler and rotary to get started while I'm here!  Then I'll just leave them for my next visit!  My dad has 7 bedrooms in this new house -- why I don't know --maybe I can turn one of them into a sewing room!  Heh, heh

I have so many plans running through my head of quilts to come!  It seems I have been attracted to patterns lately that use precuts and I also just bought the Missouri Star magazine and everything in there is using precuts. Many ideas for inspiration, of course with my own spin!

And I leave you with this ... Yesterday we drove 2 hours to have lunch with my baby brother (black shirt) and his family.  We decided to take a walk after lunch and do some shopping -- well the girls did at least!  This is the way they looked at the last stop waiting for me!!

Hahaha ... From left to right ... 13 yr old nephew, brother, sister, 16 yr old nephew, stepmom, dad ... You can't see my beautiful sis-in-law ... She is standing behind my dad!