Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween my friends!  Here is my house, ready for trick-or-treaters

Hope you have a haunted and fun night!

Glad it is Done!

I have been working on a huge quilt for my friend this last week.  It was on my frame for over a week.

Measured 120 x 120!!  That is a beast; I can tell you I have never made a quilt that big.  Although I have a 12 foot frame, her backing measured 128" wide and it fit my poles from end to end!  Whew!!!!

She used the Primitive Gatherings line of fabric ... Floral Gatherings. I used my favorite Omni thread by Superior in the color Cream.  Although this quilt looks white, it is not a bright white and the cream thread was spectacular on it.

She requested a super tight stitch and  she really likes the loopy loop.  Because the stitch is small and so close together, I was hunched over the machine more than I normally do when I'm stitching.  For this reason I would limit my quilting time to 2 to 3 hours a day.  My back couldn't stand any more.

I usually don't love super close stitchimg, but the weight of this quilt and the texture the quilting gave it is so comforting.  I do not carry 120" wide batting because I rarely get a quilt bigger than 90" wide.  The only  thing they had at JoAnn's in a king size batting that was white, was Warm and White.  A little heavier than the Hobbs 80/20, but the weight feels nice I think .. So comfy.

She and her hubby are going to love snuggling under this beauty!

Some fun facts;

1. A 120" x 120" quilt uses over 9 1/2 yards of fabric ... And that is without counting everything we trim off after we cut our appropriate strips for the blocks.

2.  A 128" x 128" backing requires around 11 yards of fabric.  Let's not do the math on how much 21 1/2 yards of fabric costs!

3.  I used 24 large m size bobbins on this quilt.

4.  It took 14 hours to quilt.

5.  There are 17 pieces per block; there are 100 blocks in this quilt!!!! That means 1,700 pieces in the quilt!  Wow!!!

I will give you a hint here:  when buying fabric for backing, I never want to pay full price.  Even on sale, 11 yards of backing is a lot ... Say you find sale fabric for $6 a yard ... That is still $67 for backing.  You can usually do better finding a wide backing.  They wind up running a little less.  When looking for backing for this quilt, I helped my friend find a high quality quilters muslin that was extra wide ... Instead of spending around $121.00 (11 yards at full price), she paid about $38.00. I was a little worried about how the muslin would quilt up, but it worked great and I had no problems.  It looks really nice.

Stash Report - Weeks 41. 42, 43

Well another joint stash report!  Haha ... I kept forgetting that I needed to add the fabric I purchased while in Virginia a few weeks ago.

 A very pretty line of fabric by Deb Strain with Riley Blake thrown in there ... It looked like it went!

A nice white dot on white to add to the stash ... The lighter blue will play nicely with the above lines, and the dark blue was appealing.  I don't have a lot of blue in my stash, so that seemed like a good addition.  The taupe is to add to my latest obsession ... Taupes and greys.

More taupe and grey and I think that orange makes a good addition to the above grouping.

Used this Week: 6 yards

Used year to Date: 113 yards

Added this Week:  4 2/3 yards
Added Year to Date: 77 3/4 yards in 
Net Used for 2014: 35.25 yards

I did use some leftover scraps and make a couple of pillows.  I also made my sweet Kylee a Halloween quilt and an adorable pillowcase to store it in ... Pictures to follow.

Oh how I long to have that "net used" total really go up by the end of the year.  I need to get busy!!!!  And no more shopping before the end of the year either!  Oh dear ... That could be painful!

... Speaking of Gifts

I whipped this little quilt out last week for a friend of mine.  It was a gift for her neighbor.

She loves the loopy design and prefers it very tight.  I used a creamy yellow thread that complimented all the colors in the fabric.  Omni thread in top and bobbin.  Generally my rule is I use the lightest thread that I think will compliment all the colors.  I would much rather see a light thread on dark colors than a dark thread on light fabric.  I think the dark thread on light colors really muddies the look of the fabrics.  If your quilting is not spot on perfect, it just looks like you scribbled on the fabric!

So darn cute!  My how I love quilting a little quilt!!!

Another Christmas Gift

Several weeks ago I finished a quilt for a customer that is a Christmas gift.  She did a beautiful pieced star design.

I wanted a simple quilting design so fell back on my standard loopy quilting.  The quilt was different gray fabrics;

When I layed my gray thread out on the fabric, it looked too cold.  Instead I used a taupy gray color.  It came out quite well.

Used my favorite Omni thread made by Superior in top and bobbin.

The photos do not at all show how lovely this quilt is and it was a pleasure to quilt!

Inspired by Libby

Hi ... I took this off of Green Fairy Quilts blog today.

Judi Madsen writes:

"Just wanted to make you aware of a wonderful cause that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of. Libby Lehman is a quilt artist and teacher who suffered a stroke last year and is going through a lot with her recovery. The medical bills are adding up and a wonderful community of quilting friends have put together this project of quilts to auction off and all proceeds will go to Libby and her family. You can follow this cause on Facebook here. Watch the video above to see all the wonderful artists with their interpretation of Libby's own quilts with their own projects."

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuMncR_Br_s

A very sweet friend of mine suffered a stroke after a surgery, at a young age.  I did not know her at the time, but I cannot imagine the costs of such an illness on top of the physical and emotional issues that follow.  Not even just your own, but those of your family as well.  One of the beautiful things about quilters is our spirit and giving nature.  Please pass this along if you are so inspired.

Getting on Christmas

I owe a stash report, but I have to add up the yardage I bought on vacation, so I will do that tomorrow.

I quilted a Christmas gift for a friend.  I absolutely love to quilt a quilt that was made from a class I taught.  I love my friend's color scheme and I am so proud of her because she had never done a quilt on point before and she did a wonderful job!  It always feels so good to tackle something you haven't done before, or something you are intimidated by.

She used aged muslin for her snowball blocks.  Don't you love the antique look?

I wanted a simple design because that is what my friend likes.  I used my favorite Omni thread in the color bronco on the bottom, and a cotton Gutterman on top.

Love it as I'm sure the recipient will too!  What does this little girl think?

I was face timing with her a couple of weeks ago and took some pictures.  She was staring at me on the iPad and I love this picture because her daddy used to chew on his sleeve too!

Stash Report - Week 40

I did add a little fabric this week in honor of my birthday!  I actually have an immediate plan for it ... It will be in my Nov/Dec stash project.  And since I'm on vacation this week in Virginia, I can tell you I'll be adding again because I can't go on vacation without a little stash supporting!!

Used this Week: 0 yards

Used year to Date: 107 yards
Added this Week: 2 3/4 yards
Added Year to Date: 73.25 yards
Net Used for 2014: 33.75 yards

Time to get busy sewing ... Well I have to get home first, although I have been trying to convince my stepmom they need a sewing machine!

Stash Report - Week 39

Oh I better get my report in before the next one is due ... The time got away from me.  Nothing bought and nothing seen!

Used this Week: 0 yards

Used year to Date: 107 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 70.50 yards
Net Used for 2014: 36.5 yards