A Finish - Kayla's Quilt

I know it has been forever since I've posted and unfortunately I've not been very productive this year, but that changed recently. At the end of last year we found out that my nephew and his wife are expecting, and in March we found out that they will be having a girl. So of course a quilt needed to be made. They are doing the nursery in pink and grey and so I worked up a couple of options and Jessica picked a chevron pattern.  I bought the fabric and got started.

In my head I had until mid July to finish, not thinking that the baby shower was Memorial Day weekend. When I realized that, the push was on, and I luckily got it finished. Fat Quarter Shop had Triangles on a Roll on sale so I bought a pack to see if it helped make HST faster. I do think it did make the process faster. Thanks to them and to the fact that the quilt is smaller I was able to finish it start to finish in just under a month. I didn't post it last week, because I wanted the finished product to be a surprise for them.  I did tease them a little with this photo on Facebook.

Saturday morning came and I hadn't photographed the quilt, so Sharla and I hurried outside to try and get a couple of decent shots. We didn't want to put it on the ground, so that mean't me holding it while she took the picture. Let's just say it was HOT outside even early that morning. It took us a couple of tries to get an alright shot.

Now what Trey and Jessica didn't know is that I added a little something special to the back. So I made sure it was folded so the back wasn't seen until it was unfolded.  I told them as they opened it to make sure they looked at the back. Jessica thought I wanted them to see the label, but no I was wanted them to see.

The back was facing the guests and everyone went ooohhh at the same time and so they quickly flipped it and they were thrilled. Which of course just made me happy. I didn't get a shot with both of them in it, Trey kept holding so you didn't see him behind it.

Over all I'm very happy with it and in some ways I like the back even better than the front. It was just big hunks of left over fabric, but I really love how it finished. My brother and sister-in-law gave them a handmade cradle, so I'm going to make a mini version that they can use in the cradle and then Kalya can use it as a doll quilt when she is older. Of course Trey said Jess would be stealing the quilt to use on the couch, so maybe I need to make her one as well.

I was happy to be sewing and quilting again, and I've even started two new projects, the cradle quilt and I'm joining the #scrappytrip2018 and creating a scrappy trip quilt using some Evergreen jelly rolls I had. Hopefully I will be able to show ya'll some progress on that soon. But for now I'm going to link up with Can I Get A Whoop Whoop @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation, Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts, and Finished or Not Friday Linky Party at Busy Hands Quilts.

Goodbye 2017...Hello 2018

I know ya'll have probably been wondering what the heck happened. I just dropped off the blogging world without any notice. Well let's just say 2017 was not my favorite year ever, ok it wasn't the worst year of my life but it also wasn't the best.  Lots and lots of things broke around my house last year...frig, dryer, hot water heater, garage door, computer, TV, kitchen faucet and car, which meant I had little money to buy my favorite thing fabric. But even worse I just lost my mojo.

I think the real problem was I was comparing myself to all the wonderful bloggers I follow. Seeing how much they were accomplishing and me getting little done and I let it get to me. And then I joined the 100 Days of Tula Pink challenge and it really kicked my butt. I loved it, don't get me wrong, but having to post something every day for 100 days was just pressure that I didn't need.  I found myself not wanting to write my blog, read other blogs or even sew.

Now I've not been to a doctor, but in my opinion I think I was just depressed, in a blue mood, funked out...I could call it a hundred other names but it all is the same. I found I didn't want to do anything, I was late on bee blocks for the first time, because I just couldn't get the "umph" to do them. And that made it worse, because I felt I was letting people down.

I decided I needed a little break, and I really only planned to stop for about a month. I thought that would give me time to refresh my batteries and get going again. But it has been over 6 months. I have thought many times about writing, but to be honest I wasn't sure what to say.

So I didn't write. I just stayed in my funk. The really funny thing is I missed writing. I just didn't miss the pressure to write. So over the holidays I did some thinking and I had to make a decision. Do I want to continue to blog? And I decided yes. But I'm not going to pressure myself to have a certain number of posts a week, I'm not going to pressure myself to finish X amount of projects this year. I'm just going to have fun with it.

So in that vein I picked a word for 2018...ok I actually picked 3. I read a cool blog post about selecting the word of the year and the author actually selects three words. Which I thought was a good idea, because it allows you to focus on more than one thing and for my crazy brain, that sometimes helps. I'm sure you are curious about the words I chose.

Move - I have to move more, plain and simple. My knees are giving me lots of grief, but I can't let that stop me from moving. I drive 100 miles 5 days a week, and work at a computer for 8 hours a day, so that means I sit a lot. I have to find ways to work in moving more. I'm not just saying this like it is magically going to happen, we have already bought an exercise bike and now I just have to make myself use it daily.

Stash - This word has double meaning for me this year. The first is after the expensive year we had last year, I want to stash away cash...build my savings. I want to re-exam my budget and find ways to save money. This leads to the second meaning to the word. I have enough fabric to sew for years and not buy any, so that is what I want to do. I want to use more of what I have and not buy new. I did not sign up for any bee's this year, so I shouldn't have to buy for others. There is one exception I'm giving myself and that is there will be a new baby in my family this year, and if I have to buy fabric to make a quilt for him/her then that is ok. Other than that I'm ignoring sales (as much as I can), and trying to use what I have.

Grace - I recently saw a video on facebook where women were talking about the mean things they say to themselves. Things they would never say to anyone else, but they say to themselves on a regular basis. And I realized that I do that to myself all the time. I am never good enough, and if I do something good and someone says so, in my head I stay they don't know about all the times I suck. So this year my goal is to be kinder to myself, and also to be kinder to others. I need to cut myself and others some slack. I know this one is going to be hard for me, but in the long run, it will probably have the best results.

Ok so I'm starting off 2018 with three words to focus on and hopefully master by the end of the year. I don't know where 2018 is going to lead me, but I'm hoping somewhere fun. I've already been working on grace for myself and I've decided that I'm not going to push myself to complete specific project, I'm going to let things flow more naturally. So I'm not sure I will be posting every week, but I hope to post more often than once every six months.

And since I hate blog posts without photos, here is a photo of the last project I did. It is much further along now, but I will save that for later (because I don't have pictures of it yet.

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.