Sunday Stash - 07/30/17

So another boring week around here. Nothing in and nothing out, but progress is being made, just very very slowly. I've got all the blocks sewn for my Paisley Please quilt and I have then organized into rows, I just need to sew the rows.  I have also been trying to finish up my #100days100blocks2017 blocks. If all goes well I will finish cutting and sewing the all of the blocks this week.  But I will only be able to sew on Monday, Tuesday we get a new roof, so I'm pretty sure I will be holding Marley and trying to keep him calm. I'm taking Hollywood to doggie day care, so he won't be bothered at all, but Marley would be more terrified of being left there than the noise at our house.

Now Sharla and I did post every day last week for our #100days project and we posted blocks 78-84, and I have to say these are some of my favorites so far. Ok maybe they are all my favorites. Here are my blocks, and my favorite this week is #79 (middle, top row).

Here are Sharla's blocks, and I love her block #79 as well. We will hopefully be laying all of the blocks out soon so we can get idea's for the final layout. I am pretty sure I know what I want to do, but Sharla is still deciding on how she wants to arrange hers.

Since no fabric came in or went out the numbers are the same, boring but the same. I hope to have something new to report next week. I still have to get my bee block made and in the mail. I'm not sure what happened to July, but it went by so fast I don't even remember it. I will be linking up with Quilt Paint Create today, and if you want to see what others are doing check out her blog.

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yard
Fabric Used year to Date: 122 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 86 1/4 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: 35 3/4 yards used

I hope you have a great week and if you're in Texas, try and stay cool.

Sunday Stash - 07/23/17

Well there has been no movement on the stash front. Nothing in and nothing out. Sharla and I are both working on projects, but none were finished this week. We did continue to work on our #100Days100Blocks2017 pieces, and we are getting close to the end of that project. I love it, but at the same time I'm ready for it to be done. Doing anything for 100 days in a row is hard for me.

Here are my blocks from last week, we went through block 77, so that means on 23 more to go.

And here is Sharla's for last week. I think she is ready to finish because she much prefers when she can chain piece and most of the blocks now don't have a lot of chain piecing in them.

But although we are ready for it to end, both of us are loving the blocks we've made so far. I think if I did this in the future I would try and do all the blocks over a couple of weeks, and not drag it out. We've always stayed ahead, but we have consistently worked on it over the entire time as well. Now since there was nothing in or out this week my numbers stay the same. I'm hoping to get more done on my Paisley Please quilt and Sharla is getting close on her Bristo, so maybe the numbers will change next week. I am linking up with Quilt Paint Create.

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yard
Fabric Used year to Date: 122 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 86 1/4 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: 35 3/4 yards used

I hope each of you has a wonderful week!!.

Piggy Bank Challenge 2017-2018

This will the 5th year of the Piggy Bank challenge @ Val's Quilting Studio, but only the 4th year for Sharla and I. We have done well each year and so we will continue and do it again this year. We used real banks the first year which were a monkey and a duck(McGee and DiNozzo...yes we are NCIS fans), and while I still love these banks they were difficult to use.

The last two years with have used a boxes I found at JoAnn's and they worked much better. Well I think Sharla used a cup to collect most of her change, but that is because she couldn't remember to take the box off of her desk.

I realize the boxes are boring, but they work and I can set mine on my desk, so when we do our monthly money/budget stuff I can drop a $20 in it. Since we gather much less change these days, I try to put a $20 in it every month (approx. $5 per week). If there is leftover money at the end of the month I might drop a little more into it. I can also still toss my change into it as well. But I may make a pouch this year to toss my change into, because it beats up the inside of the box a lot.

I would say we are going to buy more fabric with the money we save, but who knows what the year will bring. We serviced our sewing machines this year with part of the money so it would be nice to do that again next year. Maybe will take a class or buy some new cool tool. But it really doesn't matter what we buy, the important part is that I save more than Sharla (just kidding...well sort of...ok not kidding).  If you want to join the challenge simply check out Val's page. It really up to you if you save a little or a lot.

Sunday Stash - 07/16/17

I wish I had a good excuse for not reporting the last couple of weeks, but I don't. On the 7/2 I was off work and just didn't want to sit down at the computer and last weekend I was very busy, so I just skipped it. But I'm back on track today. And let me just say it has been a busy couple of weeks. We've been keeping up with the #100days100blocks2017, so that means I need to show three weeks of blocks for both of us. And we've received the goodies we purchased with our piggy bank money.

So to get started let me show you my three weeks of blocks. As of yesterday we were posting block 70, so that means only 30 left to go.  I'm still enjoying it, but I will say there are some blocks I like more than others. And sorry there are lots of pictures this week.

Now here are Sharla's blocks for the same time period.

We have both picked out the fabric we want to use for the sashing on our tops, but haven't ordered it as of yet. But we did count our piggy bank money and order some fabric. We both have been looking for a while knowing the piggy bank challenge would be over soon, but neither of us was finding things we just loved. We even talked about just saving the money. In fact we used part of the money to service our sewing machines. Then Sharla found Kaffe Fassett Collective Spicy bundle and we both really liked it. So we decided to buy the bundle (30 FQs) and split it. During May is for Makers I purchased a pattern called Craftsman by Amy Smart and it uses 15 FQ, so we decide we would each make it. We have purchased the outer border and backing fabric as well. But we still have to buy the sashing fabric.

Here are the fat quarters I picked.

And these are Sharla's pick.

And this is the backing/border fabric we have chosen. Mind is on the left and Sharla's in on the right. She really loves the fish fabric. We may buy a different fabric for her border, but we won't know for sure until we start assembling it.

So now it is time to talk numbers and they definitely went the wrong direction this week, but I think we restrained ourselves quite successfully. We still have money to spend, but won't be doing that until we buy the sashing for the #100day and Craftsman's tops. This weeks numbers are

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yard
Fabric Used year to Date: 122 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 14 1/2 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 86 1/4 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: 35 3/4 yards used

Now I've have been progressing with my Paisley Please flimsy and Sharla has been working on her Bristro, so I'm hoping to be able to up the Used number very soon. But overall I'm not unhappy with our progress, at least it is still going in the right direction. Today I'm linking up with Quilt Paint Create, and if you want to see what others are doing, check out her blog.

4th Annual Piggy Banks Savings Reveal

Sorry for so many posts today, but this will be last one, at least I think it will be. Today we are to reveal how much we saved in out piggy banks this year. We started saving last July and it has really added up this year. And all totaled, Sharla and I did really well. Since we changed how we do things, neither of us get as much change as we did in the past, so we both started tucking $5 per week or $20 per month in our banks then more as we had left over in the monthly budget.

So who saved more....me, but really only by a tiny bit and only because I found a stash of garage sale change left from a couple of years ago and threw it into my bank. I saved $423.89 and Sharla saved $410.85, so a total of  $844.74 (OH BOY). And we've already used  a nice chunk of that to have our sewing machines serviced.  Since we've been trying keep out fabric purchases to a minimum, that seemed like a good way to spend at least part of the money. And it was time for them to be serviced. It was a nice way to cover that cost without having to  adjust anything else in the budget. Now does that mean we won't be buying any fabric, NO.

We have already ordered a fat quarter bundle of Kaffe Fassett Collective Spicy. It has 30 fat quarters in it and we are splitting them so we each get 15. We have also already ordered the backing fabric to go with the bundle. We have the patterned picked out, but still need to order the sashing fabric. Here is the bundle

I picked the Red Rolled Paper as my backing fabric.

Sharla picked the Tomato Shoal (or as she calls it red fishies).

After we buy the sashing fabric for these quilts and our Tula pink quilts we will still have some left over, but we've not decided what to buy with that as of yet. To be honest we both really looked and couldn't find anything that just jumped out at us, so it may just sit until something does.

We did really well this year by consistently adding money each month. If we counted only the change, I had about $90 and Sharla had about $20. We are big time budget people (yeah Dave Ramsey), so any money tossed into the piggy bank was out of our fun money. So we weren't robbing Peter to pay Paul. We are both excited about our Spicy quilts, and I'm sure they will get onto our to do list very soon. In the mean time, I am just happy that we didn't turn all into fabric. The remaining money may also go to buy some other supplies like thread, batting, etc.

I am linking up with Val's Quilting Studio for the Piggy Bank reveal. If you want to see how others did go check out her page.

Finish-A-Long Q3 Goals

I sucked last quarter and only got one of my goals done. I am hoping to get a few more done this quarter. I would really like to get all of them done, but that really isn't possible. I keep the list big so that I have choices. So let's start. Most of these are from last quarter, but I did add a couple of new ones.

1. Sharla's City Street Quilt. 

2. My City Streets Quilt.

3. Sharla's Monkey Quilt. 

4. Sharla's Big & Tall aka Hollywood's Big Blue Flowers.

5. Sharla's Strip Box Quilt. 

6. My Big and Bold quilt.

7., 8., 9., 10. Angela, Ariella, Samuel and Tina's Memory quilts. Progress has been made, not enough, but progress.

11. Hollywood's Zombie Quilt.

12. Sharla's Summerfest Quilt.

13. Sharla's True Colors Quilt

14. Sharla's #100days100blocks2017 quilt...we won't finish the blocks until mid-August, but I know she wants this one done.

15. Shauna's #100days100blocks2017 quilt. Same as above.

I know that is way more than I can do, but it gives me choices once my knees are better. So I will just leave it there. I will be linking up with the 2017 Finish-A-Long Quarter 2 Goals at Felicity Quilts.

One Monthly Goal - July Goal

Ok get ready because I am going to be a posting beast today. I think I have three to do. First up is my One Monthly Goal. I finished my goal for last month, but alas Sharla didn't. So I am 6 out of 6 and Sharla is 4 out of 6. But she is hoping finish her last month's goal this month.

My goal is my Paisley Please quilt. It is a bundle I purchased a couple of years ago on the Flash Sale at Fat Quarter Shop (I love those). Sharla spotted it and called me because it if full of purple fabrics which I love. I decided to use the pattern Easy as ABC & 123, and here is a mock up of it. I struggled to find photos of the fabrics to use, so some of them aren't wonderful, but at least you get the idea. The fabric is cut and matched into blocks, but I've not started sewing yet.

Sharla is going to keep working on her Bistro flimsy with the hopes of finishing it this month. I think the #100Days100blocks2017 has slowed her down, but she is having fun with it. So that is what counts.

We were both hoping to get ahead over the 4th of July weekend, but the shots I got in my knees before the weekend really knocked me for a loop. So I spent a big part of the weekend with my knees up and iced. My knees are getting better each day, so I'm hoping to get a lot done this weekend. I am linking up of with Elm Street Quilts for July's One Monthly Goal.  If you want to see what others are doing then check out the linky party.

Sunday Stash - 06/25/17

I'm sorry to say the numbers aren't changing much this week. Sharla is making progress on her Bistro quilt, but she will be hard pressed to finish it this week. Mainly because our sewing machines are going to the spa this week. It is time for them to get serviced and we want to make sure we have them back before next weekend because that is a 4 day weekend for us.

We are both still staying current...a little ahead of the #100days100blocks2017 challenge. Today's block will be #50, so we will be 1/2 way done. This week is week 7 and has blocks 43-49. We are still in the midst of the triangles, which I love, Sharla not so much. I think my favorite this week is #44 (top middle).

Sharla isn't having as much fun with the triangles, but she is pushing through. I love her #44 as well, but I think her favorite is #47 (2nd row middle).  She is hoping to get a little more ahead next weekend, because all she has worked on this weekend is her Bistro flimsy.

Now I do get to count a very small amount as used this week, because I had forgotten to count my bee block which has been sent and already received. I didn't actually count how much fabric I used but since it is a 16 1/2 inch square I'm guessing I used at least a fat quarter on it.

Now it is time to show numbers, which are not vastly different from last week, but I need to count everything possible. We open our piggy banks next week and we already know what we're going to buy. So the number will most likely go in the wrong direction soon.

Fabric Used this Week: 1/4 yard
Fabric Used year to Date: 122 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 68 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: 54 yards used

I have already gotten the fabric starched for my July project and will try and starch Sharla's this week. I hope to get mine cut and maybe even both of ours cut this week. I may have to cut more of Sharla's 100 days project first. I am linking up with Quilt Paint Create, and you can too or just check out the linky party to see what everyone else is doing.

Sunday Stash - 06/18/17

Happy Father's Day to everyone. My wonderful father is in heaven today, hopefully smiling down on us. I still miss him. But he would want me to be happy not sad, so let's talk about things that make me happy...and you guessed it quilting.

I'm happy to say I the numbers are going in the right direction because I've shown off my flimsy of Hollywood's zombie quilt. It is a really simply quilt, but since he is a dog, I'm guessing he won't care one way or the other. This way it shows off the cute fabrics. And I did learn something with this quilt...zombie's can't climb trees.  I'm not sure that helps me much because I can't climb them either.

Now Sharla and I also kept up with our #100days100blocks2017 this week. As of yesterday we were through block 42, yes that means we are over 40% done and we are still going strong...well I am. We both picked out the fabric we want to use for the sashing, but won't purchase it until later unless is goes on sale.  Here are my blocks for the week.

Sharla is not enjoying the HST or snowball corners, so last Tuesday, I did all of those pieces for her. I didn't trim the HST or put any of the blocks together. I just sewed the diagonal seams and put them in a baggie for her.  She still doesn't love the blocks, but they aren't driving her as crazy as they were. Here are her blocks from last week.

Sharla still needs to work more on her Bistro quilt, but I know if she puts her mind to it she can get it done. Luckily I can count my finish now that it has been shown. So let's talk numbers.

Fabric Used this Week: 3 1/4 yard
Fabric Used year to Date: 121 3/4 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 68 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: 53 3/4 yards used

Not bad in my books, would I like it to be a bigger number sure, but at least we're in the black. I know we will be buying some fabric in July when we open and count our piggy bank savings. We've already picked out some of what we want. But we are also going to be good and use some of the money to service our sewing machines. I am linking up with Quilt Paint Create, and you can join in too, just check out her linky party.

Friday Finish - 06/16/17

I actually finished this quilt on June 5th, but life has just been busy and I've not gotten it photographed until today. And today's pictures aren't wonderful, but I will take what I can get. The quilt is Hollywood's Zombie quilt, and the story behind it is...Cole calls Hollywood his zombie apocalypse dog. Hollywood is supposed to protect him in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Now I don't do zombies, I don't watch the Walking Dead, really I don't do scary stuff at all. But when I saw a bundle of Riley Blake Zombie Apocalypse fabric on sale at Fat Quarter Shop, I just couldn't resist. I have had the fabric for about 3 years, and it just never worked it ways to the top of my to do list, but it was my June project and so I had to work on it.

I debated about doing something more complicated, but since the real stars of the fabrics were the zombies I wanted to make sure they were really seen. And as much as I'm not into to zombies, these are pretty cute. I went with a simple sashed block pattern that let me get the most out of the 9 fat quarters that were in the bundle.

I love that some of the fabrics gave important zombie facts, like zombies are attracted by loud noises and lights. So I will be hiding in a dark room if there is an apocalypse.

I am very happy to have finished this one early in the month because it gives me time to work on a few projects not on my monthly list. It will be a little bit before it get's quilted, but that is ok, Hollywood is very patient. I am hoping to get injections in my knees later this month which should help so that I can get some quilting done. It isn't a large quilt, only 55 x 55, so it might move up the list of quilts, just because I can get it done easier.

Well that is my finish for today...yeah!!! I am linking up with Can I Get A Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts, TGIFF: Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday @ Cut & Alter and Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts. And since this is my OMG for June, I will be linking up with Elm Street Quilts.

Sunday Stash - 06/11/17

Happy Sunday everyone. Today would have been my parent's 62nd wedding anniversary. I miss them all the time, but on days like today, I really miss them more. I know that if they were still here I most likely wouldn't be quilting, because taking care of them kept me pretty busy, but I'd give up quilting in a heartbeat to have them back.

But enough sadness, it is time to see what got accomplished this week. I did finish Hollywood's zombie flimsy, but due to circumstances around my house this week I didn't get it photographed. I hope to show it next Friday. I will wait to count it in my numbers until I show it, but I did get it done.
I also made some more progress on my #100days100blocks2017 blocks. Last week was week 5, and so it was blocks 29-35. So far keeping up hasn't been hard, because we are doing the blocks ahead. Here are my blocks for last week.

Sharla kept up as well. Neither of us got many blocks done ahead this week, but we still have enough for all of next week. We're hoping this week isn't as hard as last week was and that we make some progress. Here are Sharla's block for last week.

Now Sharla also made progress on her Bristo quilt, she has all the pieces matched up for the blocks and has the first row of blocks pieced. I'm sure she will finish it by the end of the month, but probably not until the last weekend.

As for as stash goes, the numbers didn't change from last week. Since I'm not counting the zombie flimsy until I show it. We haven't purchased any fabric, which is a good thing. I've been so tempted, but I keep thinking, I need to use more of what I have first. I've also been working on my bee block for this month, but haven't finished it yet.

Fabric Used this Week: 7 1/2 yard
Fabric Used year to Date: 118 1/2  yards
Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 68 yards
Net Fabric for 2017: 50 1/2 yards used

I am very happy with where we stand for the year, would I like it to be more, sure. But I think it is a respectable number and as long as we have used more than we've bought I will be very very happy. I am linking up with Quilt Paint Create this week and if you want to see what others are doing, go check out the link up party.

Sunday Stash - 06/04/17

Things are moving along nicely here at Casa T. Sharla finished her True Colors quilt over the long weekend, I've started Hollywood's zombie quilt and we've both been making progress on our #100days100blocks2017 sampler. It is nice when things progress, it makes me very very happy.

First if you didn't see Sharla's quilt on Friday, here is another photo of it. It is very bright and cheerful, which is something she really likes. She has picked out some less bright fabrics in the past, but they are by far in the minority.  She considers this her May finish since she finished it in May, but it wasn't the one she was supposed to be doing. That one is a lot less bright and I think she just couldn't resist this one.

I've started working on Hollywood's quilt, and hope to finish it in the next week or so. And I have worked pretty far ahead on my 100 days sampler. I've completed through block 50 and have 7 or 8 more cut. Last week was blocks 22 to 28, so that means as of last week we are over 25% done with the challenge. I'm having so much fun that if they do this again next year I will probably do it again. Seeing all the different blocks makes me want to do it in all kinds of different fabrics. Here are my blocks from last week.

Here are Sharla's from last week. She definitely has favorite colors and I've had to tell her she needs to use some others in her stash or she will totally run out of her favorites. I think she could make all of them using the solids of dark green, lime green, bright yellow, orange and red...hummm that could look pretty cool.

So now it is number time. We purchase no fabric this week...yeah!!! And we have Sharla's flimsy finish, so we are moving in the right direction...double yeah!!!! In the big scheme of life I know we are doing well, but I always want to do better.

Fabric Used this Week: 7 1/2 yard

Fabric Used year to Date: 118 1/2  yards

Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date: 68 yards

Net Fabric for 2017: 50 1/2 yards used

I am linking up with quiltpaintcreate this week. I hope each of you has a wonderful week full of lots of sewing time and naps, well that is what I'm hoping for this week.

One Monthly Goal - June Goal

So far this year I've completed 5 out of 5 of my one monthly goals, and Sharla has finished 4 out of 5 of hers. That means we are doing pretty good. This month I'm thinking we will be in good shape to finish our goals.

My goal is Hollywood's zombie quilt. I don't like zombies, and normally wouldn't pick out zombie fabrics for a quilt. But Cole calls Hollywood his zombie apocalypse dog, because Hollywood will protect him in the event of a zombie apocalypse. So when I found zombie fabric on sale, I just couldn't resist. It was only a 9 FQ pack, so to maximize the size I'm just doing sashed blocks. Here is a mock up what I'm doing.

I got started on mine over the Memorial Day weekend, I have all the rows pieced together and just have to do the horizontal sashing and the outer border. So I think I will be finished in plenty of time.

Sharla is going to work on Bristro, which is the same goal she had for last month. It is her oldest project and she wants it off the books. I think she would have gotten it done last month, but she couldn't decide on a pattern. She went back and forth on which one to do. Then she got sick a couple of times during the month and tackling a big project was just something she didn't want to do. But she is feeling better and she picked a pattern, so this is the month that Bistro gets cut and pieced. She chose the pattern Cheaper by the Dozen, which I think is a great choice.

Last month we had an additional goal of finishing a second flimsy each, but we didn't get that done. But we did start the #100days100block2017, and are keeping current with that project. Overall I'm happy with what we've accomplished and I'm pretty confident we will finish both of these flimsys this month. I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for One Monthly Goal. If you want to see what others are doing check out her linky party.