Spoils...

So, I'm coming clean with my reverse stash-bust here. *looks sheepish* I got some more goodies in the mail today...


FOUR charm packs, three by Moda and one from RJR. They came care of EverythingQuilts.com and FabricShack.com. There are some great deals to be had online, folks. And these charm packs are DELICIOUS!

The spoils do not end there, I'm afraid. There was *gulp* yardage involved...

Fabric Shack had some amazing deals, so I picked up a half-yard each of the Scott Jarrard whale print and stripes (they were on super mark-down, and SCREAM to be made into a sweet baby quilt), as well as the wonky plaid from Windham and the tiny geometric print from Play Date (both also on super sale, a yard and 2 yards, respectively). I foresee the plaid becoming binding, and the geometric becoming the backing for the current Project Linus quilt top.

Speaking of which... I came home from work today, and after dinner, just flopped on the couch and vegged in front of the TV. I started thinking about heading for bed, but looked at the clock and realized it was only about 8 o'clock. Well! That's way too early to head for bed, in my humble opinion. Sure I have to be at work at 8:30 tomorrow morning (yes, I work Saturdays), but still. So I decided to go ahead and spend a little time at the sewing machine, and here is what I wound up with:


I put the borders on the second panel for my Project Linus quilt. They're here auditioning with my one non-brick red fabric, which will be the final round of borders. At this point, I'm really fairly pleased. This means that if I can hack it, I will be finishing this top on Sunday, and pair it with its backing, reading to go to the longarmer. AND, it means I will likely start another quilt top. I have this itchy little need for a lavender and green and white 9-patch. No idea what will come of it, but I'm ready all the same!

However, I also have a 4-day weekend coming up over the 4th of July weekend. And since I am a guild-less quilter with no plans for four days, and a spouse who works retail and will be gone the majority of the time, I decided to join some of the ladies over at the Stashbuster Yahoo Group for an on-line quilting retreat. My plan originally was to finish the Project Linus top and then work on piecing some more pinwheels for the pinwheel chain quilt. Since it looks like the PL top will be done THIS weekend instead, I'll likely split time between a machine project and the handpieced pinwheels--the last time I tried to hand-piece for a whole day, I spent the evening with my hand in a bowl of ice, and the next day I finally dragged out my machine. I'd like to think I've learned from that experience...

Still coming soon: stash pictures!

Oh, and since I might as well start sharing these, here's a photo of one of the Christmas stars for my sampler:


--Meg

So much inspiration!

Every new quilt blog or site I go to, every Yahoo Group digest I get in my email, it all seems to give me more and more new ideas. I know I need to clean and organize my office/sewing room, and all the talk over on the Stashbusters group is spurring me on. I just need time, and a day that my back isn't killing me, to move some things around, and hopefully unearth my sewing machine. I tend to be a handpiecer, but a lot of that is simply from necessity. I have located a local repair shop, and god knows the poor machine, if not actually broken, is in sore need of a tune-up--it's a 1970's Singer, originally my mom's. If I can get it up and running, it could make some of my projects move along a bit faster. Though I will continue to handpiece things like the stars for the Xmas sampler, because I am a bit obsessive about my points. :D

I also found a pattern, in sorting through photos posted by other Stashbusters group members, of jar-shaped blocks. Hers was done with bug and frog prints, and it immediately made me think of a friend and former roommate, who was a biology major in college. She actually flagged me down on-campus one spring afternoon our sophmore year to warn me not to open the shared mini-fridge in our dorm room, as she had stored some enormous bug in there. Blagh!! Twelve years later, it still gives me the creeps!! But I have some fabrics with frogs, lizards, fish and butterflies, and thought perhaps those might work well in a jar quilt. :) Looks like a quick project, at least, I hope so! Add it to my list of WHIMMs...

--Meg

Uglies

So, one of the things I've done is join the stashbuster.com Yahoo group. There's a TON of activity over there, and the listmoms keep everyone up on the weekly and monthly challenges. Some of the cool things going on over there are:

Fling It Fridays: Those books, fabrics, patterns and tools that you are hanging onto even though you know you will never wind up using them? Pay it forward. Sell it on Ebay or Craigslist. Bring it to your next quilt guild meeting and swap with other people. End result? Get it OUT of your house, your sewing room, your stash!

Also, Uglies. You know you have them. I know I have a ton of them. Those fabrics that you either bought SO much of that you've used it in every scrap quilt you've made, you've backed a half dozen quilts with it, and you STILL have more, OR those that you look at now and go "What the hell was I thinking to have paid money for this??" I'm not currently participating, because a) they're 6 months ahead of me and b) I'm not allowed to have any more WIPs until I complete at least a flimsie (top). BUT. They are running a "Not so Ugly" block a month group, and I have to say, some of the pictures are hilarious. Some of the fabrics are truly awful, but get them in a few blocks next to one another with some accent fabrics and they're really not so bad after all. Some of them will turn out to be stunning samplers at the end. :) It's something I'm keeping in mind for when they start it up again next year. I could get rid of quite a bit of my stash that way AND make some cute baby quilts with all of my novelty fabric. (I swear, it must have been all I bought for a solid year, judging by the entire BOX of it in my stash.)

Also on the agenda for this weekend? Finding my digital camera so that I can share some of my WIPs with y'all!

--Meg