State of the Stash

Last year I didn't finish a single top or quilt, so there was nothing in the fabric used column.  I did do a bit of buying as compensation, or consolation, (both apply).  Luckily I didn't keep track of it last year, because I think I'd be horrified it I did total it all up.  I have a lot of fabric to find homes for in the overcrowded stash drawers.

Time to sort through all this....

Doesn't look any better from this angle either.

I'm keeping track of the Stash this year, because I like to know what I've used, and I think I"m going to be adding quite a few finishes to the tally if I can just stay focused.  But I need to track the purchases as well, so I've made up a Google spreadsheet, and I've entered the totals of the three shopping trips I've made this year.  The running total is 31.3m so far, about 4m a week :) which seems a lot.  I've bought even more than that, but I shared some pieces with Mereth so they don't count.  She has several colours that she just seems drawn to, so when I see rich, rusty, mahogany colours, or that antique pale green, I pick them up for her.  No complaints from her!

Nearly all the fabric I buy is reduced in price, so I don't feel guilty.  My batik stash is growing nicely, I think I need to move them into their own stash drawers instead of the baskets they now occupy.  And I snap up cheap yardage for backings, I scored one from Spotlight that was $2 a metre.  I love having a backing stash on hand.  Alas, it's been absorbed into the sewing room, and I can't even find it right now. 

A couple of years ago I went through my yardage stash and cut FQs from the longer pieces.  Most of them have been on the shelf for 10 years, and in that time I could have incorporated them into quilts but I was 'Saving' them.  It's been good to have them in the FQ stash, so I can get an idea of how the colours behave when mixed with others, and if it's a nice fabric to work with or just thin and nasty.  I'm going to go through the yardage again, and take out more.  A 3 metre piece can easily lose a half metre and still be useable.  I figure this will give me a whole 'new' set of fabrics for piecing and keep me entertained for no extra cost.

I recently found a FQ of a nice green from at least 10 years ago, and it had faded beyond redemption, and it wasn't stored in the light anyway.  All the fold lines had turned a dirty yellow, I don't even know if I want to put it on the back of a quilt if it's so unstable.  It's a very old piece, so hopefully the more modern fabric won't lose colour like that.  And I would show you a photo of the FQ except, the sewing room ate it and I haven't seen it since.

I have GOT to clean up, but I'm off to Seonaid's  today for an extended stay, so all I can do is turn out the light and I'll be back when I can.  Sob.....

I made an extra couple of blocks in between my computer work (taxes, blech) and now I have 6 blocks on the wall and about 5 more complete nine-patches.

I'm loving this, and if I have time I'll organize a tub of parts to take with me, but I also have to take the machine and the iron and the pressing board, because Seonaid doesn't own an iron. I know I"ll be so grateful to have those things to help keep me sane, but I have a ton of work to do before I leave and I don't know if I have time to sort through stuff.  Life doesn't slow down, when there's grandchildren involved :) .

Nine-patch scrap

I don't want to take the Hunter's Star off the design wall just yet, I'm enjoying seeing it there.  I can't work on my other projects until the design wall is empty, so..... nine-patches it is.  

I have heaps and heaps of 1.5" pieces in boxes and baskets all around the sewing room, so I collected what I could easily find and put them in the project box for Tumelo Trail.  These four-patches will be built into nine-patches leader-ender style, I have boxes of 1.5" squares as well.

I like the completely scrappy nine-patches, but I'm going to use these ones in two fabrics just to get them out of the orphan pile.  They are left over from my Double Nine-patch quilt, and it's time they found a home.

Lots of white prints in the strip drawer, so I don't need to cut any just yet.

And I'll be using up lots of little ends of strips to get the variety I need.  I don't have a colour scheme, I just want to get things used up, so anything goes.  It doesn't take long for the finished blocks to build up, but I need 200 more, so there's a fair bit of sewing ahead of me.  I like knowing I have everything set for a few hours of sewing happiness.

I picked up another sewing machine in Adelaide; I've wanted a Pfaff for 15 years, but never found one at a price I was happy with, or that was close enough to pick up.  This one came from a lovely quilter who upgraded, and I was so delighted to have her old machine.  I'm going to name her Pauline, after Pauline Rogers of Quilter's World in Toowoomba.  I taught quilting workshops there for many years, and Pauline always loaned me a Pfaff to demonstrate on.  I fell in love with them, but in those days I couldn't justify the expense of a new machine when my old one worked perfectly.

I'm going to get Pauline Pfaff set up with her new 1/4" foot, and stitch my nine-patches on her, fine-tuning the seam allowances and getting used to her Pfaffy ways.  In future, when I say I'm just faffing around, I might just mean sewing.

Shirts, shirts, shirts

Bonnie Hunter's workshop slideshows often include quilts in the Tumelo Trail pattern, and the more I see of them, the more I want to make my own. It's in the Scraps & Shirttails II book, and it's on special! 

 I love the shirt prints in this block, and just lately I've come across a fair few cheap shirts on my op-shop visits.  I guess it was inevitable that I would start this quilt before long.

On my trips to Adelaide I try to pop into a few op-shops, but I was gob-smacked at the prices they are charging. $14.50 for a second hand shirt??  That's insane. Pity the poor guys trying to find a new outfit at that shop.  I did find a few at another place for between $2 and $3, but they were marked down from much higher prices.  I won't be adding to my stash in Adelaide.

The local op-shop is a whole lot more reasonable, so I bought up big when they threw a heap of stuff out for .50c.  That's more like it.  I don't have enough yet for the whole quilt, but it's a start.

I'm hoping to clear out the 1.5" strip drawer making the nine-patches, and use up lots of teeny little strips that are very messy.  They will make great leader-enders while I get busy on those remaining borders that need to be sewn on.

One block made, 41 to go...

Finished!

Well that took most of the day, but the borders are on and this top is finished at last.  

It's heavy, and those last borders were a struggle, trying to support all that weight and guide it through the machine smoothly.  I had to sew a bit and then take a break till my arms and neck relaxed, then I'd go back and do a bit more.  It was very sensible of me, normally I'd grit my teeth and soldier on, and damage myself in the process.

It looks very impressive, completely filling my design wall.  I'd like to leave it there for a while, but I need the space for the next project, which will be the last row and the borders on the Pretty Tumblers.  I don't think I can take any more blue, at least not for a few days, so I will do the borders on the blue squares quilt at a later date.

Last time I went down to Shonny's I was surprised to see this quilt on her bed.

She pinched this as soon as I finished it, and took it back to Emerald with her.  It's been packed away in storage since she came down here. I'd forgotten about it, but there it is on her bed.  She bought a set of blue sheets, and had to have a quilt to match so went digging to find this.

It took a colossal amount of blue scraps to make this, and I had a lot of fun piecing it. I do seem to fixate on blue though, don't I?  Nice to see it being used again, and extra nice that my girl appreciates my quilts.

Hunter's Star progress

Sometimes a little time away from the sewing room can be a good thing.  Before I went away I made a decision about the borders on the Hunter's Star, and I cut out all the pieces I would need.  By the time I'd finished all the cutting I was pretty sick of blue and white, and sick of trying to find the perfect fabrics, and sure it had been a colossal mistake to make the quilt in just two colours.

Now, after I've had some time and space between me and the design wall, I'm really happy with how my two colour quilt is working out. 

I chose to use the big triangles from the die as the border, knowing they would tie in to the actual piecing really well.  It was pretty easy to cut some strips and send them through the cutter till I had enough. I did choose to use one light print throughout the whole border, and the blues were scrappy.

I have a heap of leftover shapes from that, and I'm going to incorporate them into another design that is yet to be decided upon.  I like this pattern enough to make another one, but it will be scrappier and have a lot more colour to it.

So now all I have to do is get busy sewing.....

Playing catch-up

The last post was written more than a week ago, and I forgot to actually hit 'Publish'. Then I went to Adelaide and was very busy there, and only discovered the poor old post languishing unread when I got back.  So I just published it anyway, even though it was all out of date. 

I'm too hot to think anyway.  The temperature this week has ranged between 102 -114º, and I'm ready for a cool change on Sunday.  Just one more stinker of a day to get through.

I had a lovely time in Adelaide, helping Shonny prepare for a family get-together to find out what the next baby will be.  Hayden was away working when she had the scan, so she didn't peek at the screen, and asked the technician to write down the babies sex, and put it in a sealed envelope.  The envelope went to a lady who makes up party balloons, and only she knew what colour balloons and confetti to put in a giant black balloon.  On the day of the reveal, poor Hayden was so nervous, he almost didn't want to break the balloon in case it was pink.  I had my 'It's a girl, how lovely' face ready, but I didn't need it.  BLUE balloons.  I'm going to have a grandson.

There were three toddlers present when the balloon popped, and all the adults yelled in triumph, and the babies cried and cried at the huge noise.  But they got lots of celebratory cuddles, and we were all so overjoyed.  Hayden has had a boy name picked for 8 years, and finally he will get to bestow it on his son; Thomas Charles.  Love it.

Shonny's only half way through this pregnancy, and I'm wishing and praying good thoughts for her, because we don't want the drama of Isla's birth to be repeated.  Here's hoping the arrival of little Thomas is drama free.

So now I can try and get some sewing done, and finish cleaning up the sewing room, and put the house to rights before I set off to Adelaide again.  I'm determined to make some progress on the borders, and to get my handwork project up and running.  I just need this weather to cool off and I"ll be sewing madly.