Stash Report for Week 45 - 11-11-12

I'm sitting here typing my blog and looking out the window at the Veteran's Day Parade going by on a nearby street (leaves that would be in the way are gone, raked up and bagged). And once again I'm reminded of my QOVs which are now in my WIPs - not as many as some folks have - but most certainly more than I've gotten done - of QOVs that is.
I'm not sure what all to do re scheduling these in - but I think I'm going to HAVE to set a time limit for each to be done.  Easiest thing, of course is to say one a month - which really if I STUCK TO IT - wouldn't be that hard.  And therein lies the key - if I STUCK TO IT!!!!!

Around here, though the QOVs are limited to Red, white and blue ONLY - no other colors - and although I have a LOT of blues -  I don't have a lot of Reds - or whites!  Still thinking on this - and still thinking on committing myself to doing this on a regular basis.

MOST of this week I've been sick - and enough so that I didn't want to do ANYTHING!  I DID straighten my house, DID make my bed, DID clean myself up and put on clean clothes - but I really could have cared less!  It is just that those things enable me to lie to myself about how really awful I feel!

At any rate - I didn't get a lot of much done quilting-wise.

Until yesterday - and I worked on the walking foot, did a lot of different patterns on that one - and worked on my walking foot sampler until I grew sick of it! 

It is times like that that I REALLY miss not having 2 working machines! (I freecycled 2 machines, then freecycled an additional one that I truly did not like - so now am back to the one I use!  KNEW this would come back to bite me!  And here it is!)  Still have 8 blocks to work on - but now I know what patterns I would like to use on my Threadhead quilt as well as my Fancy Flowers Placemats (gift for a friend).

So with the half yard added AFTER I published my stash report last week......

11-11-12
Used This Week: 0 yards
Used This Month: 0 yards for November
Used Year to Date: 113.945 yards
Added This Week: 3.5 yards
Added This Month: 3.5 yards for November
Added Year to Date: 51.98 yards
Net Used for 2012: 61.965yards

And of course, NOW that I've typed this in and will publish it - I am starting to feel that overwhelming urge to go to the fabric shop (I will resist! I will resist! I will resist! ) And now I find myself manufacturing excuses..... - uh, reasons to go (I need thread to do quilting......)

November Projects - 2012



Uh - this is a big Bunch!  Think I will get any of it done?

 

MACHINE QUILTING

Walking Foot

 

Baby Blanket #1

Baby Blanket #2

Fancy Flowers Placemat

Threadhead Friendship Sampler - Mini Quilt

Free Motion Quilting

 

1. Free Motion Quilt Sampler (Stippling)

2. Threadhead Sampler - the borders

3. Baby Quilt 2 - finish the borders

4. Baby Quilt 3 - Stippling

5. Nicole's Couch Quilt

6. Apple Cider

7. Sweet Treats

 

 

PIECING

 

November UFO

 



Charm Around - a swap

November Color Palette

November CP - probably a Thanksgiving Table Topper

 

Leader-Ender

Lilacs in Bloom
 

 Classwork

Twister
 

 Other

Halloween possibilities (to be ready for NEXT Halloween - see this week's design wall!)

 



Christmas Town Sampler

Sampler blocks (this is only a - uh - Sample)

SEWING

Design Wall for November 5, 2012

This week I'm planning on spending MOST (not all by any means!) my time on final quilting some of the quilt flimsies I have.  That isn't to say I'm great at it - definitely not to say that - BUT I'm learning!  AND I have a LOT of flimsies (the bin is FULL and therefore it is now time to empty it so I can start again! LOL)

WALKING FOOT

Walking Foot Sampler (the "pretty" one!)



Threadhead Friendship Mini Sampler

Baby Blanket 2 - MOSTLY quilted

Baby Blanket 1

Fancy Flowers Placemats



 SEWING AND APPLIQUE

Halloween change purse (for NEXT year!)

Halloween hanging #1

Halloween Grab Bag - to dole out candy

Halloween Apron

 

Halloween Hanging #2

 

 Leader Ender Project - Lilacs in Bloom

Twister - a class project 



It is Sunday, isn't it?

Today has been a bit of mix and mash!

Garden Purchased 14 bags dehydrated cow manure.  Still need more - maybe twice as much.  Unloaded them from the car (TG for wheelbarrows - last year was groaning all the way!) and put next to the place where I'll be using them.

Also flattened out the HUGE mounds of dirt left after I dug potatoes (such as they were!).  Raspberries will be going there! - in rows 4 - 5 foot apart, T posts for stringing electric wire for training - and hopefully containing -  the berry bushes (new canes to grow between wires, old canes to grow on outside of wires because those will get cut back to the ground!)  Will be layering in leaves, manure, more leaves, more manure, even more leaves and some topsoil - and planting 4 - 5 bushes per row!  Hopefully!  I KNOW I have more bushes than that - oy vey do I have more - HOWEVER those I intende to oust from the garden - mostly because they are just plain not only taking up space, but reach out and grab me as I walk by - and that's without bearing a whole lot of fruit in the bargain!  Will probably get this year's lettuce and greens and coles bed (next year's green pea and bean bed) completely done as well.  Which means that NEXT year's Sweet corn, squash, melon and the tomato/pepper/eggplant rows will still need to be done!  Same with next year's greens and coles as well as the potato beds!

Stash Report for Week 44 - 11-04-12

10-28-12 Layer Cake (10 inch squares) which I had forgotten about!!!!! which has 42 10x10 swatches = egads I hate figuring this out! 1 yard fabric is approximately 44" wide x 36" long. Ugh I'm lousy at math! approximately 3.5 squares x 4 per yard (I did say approximately!) = 14 squares/yard. 42/14 = 3.0 yards total for this quilt. I won't use 6 squares - but WILL add borders (later). - 6 squares means that I will use 8 squares out of that last yard. I do NOT like math - at least word problems and this one is REALLY a problem! which means I WILL use 36/14 yards or 2 4/7 yards. that is - before I add the borders!
...............................................

Used This Week:  0 yards (according to the directions! AFTER adjustments for unused fabric was made!)
Used This Month: 0 yards for November
Used Year to Date: 113.945 yards
Added This Week: 3.0 yards
Added This Month: 3.0 yards for November
Added Year to Date: 51.93 yards
Net Used for 2012: 62.015yards

Saturday's plans

Freecycling
Machine to quilting lady, maybe some fabric
Fabric to Sue
Late afternoon - list Freecycle rest of stuff!

Garden
Dig last 2 of the 5 beds - providing, of course! (1 done! )
Beans and peas - If possible - shell and dry for 1-2 hours in dehydrator.( )
Butter pea plants - If possible - shell and dry for 1-2 hours in dehydrator.
Prepare beds for leaf dumping by myself and the neighbours (they bring the leaves and dump - until 6" deep in each bed, I cover with cow manure, repeat total of 3 - 4 times then cover with leaves then top soil which kills the odor! Beds - 7 x 28 x 4.
The remaining bed has cabbages in it - which I may harvest today - or tomorrow.  Most certainly any "ready" veggies will get harvested!
Rake leaves and dump in pre-prepared beds

Food preservation (Otherwise known as trying to make my kitchen into HARVEST DONE kitchen)
Wash, chop, Blanch then Dehydrate - all greens - including chard, etc.
Wash, chop, Blanch then Dehydrate beet greens. Beets - cook for this weekend!
Wash, chop, Blanch then Dehydrate turnip greens. Turnips - cook for tonight. If more than - then just Wash, slice, then Dehydrate turnip slices
Wash, slice, then Dehydrate Radish slices (for salads)
Make Black radish preserves only use what I have (meat condiment)
Wash, slice, then Dehydrate sweet potatoes

Other cookingMake Challah (didn't get done last night!)
Make Sweet potato pie from small sweet potatoes (YUM!)

Today: Breakfast Fried apples, milk, coffee.
Lunch: Tossed salad, Hungarian Goulash (a la my mom's style), Dessert - baked apples
Dinner: tuna salad, new potatoes, creamed peas, apple something
Snack: popcorn with cheese seasoning

House:
Zone 1: side porch, Entrance (finish up), Dining Room
Straighten Kitchen up AGAIN!

Sew:(I'm thinking of collapsing here!!)(I'm kidding!!!!)
1. Halloween stuff (for NEXT year! So maybe it will be done?????)
2. WALKING FOOT (Yeehaw!) - Threadhead!
3. WALKING FOOT (Yeehaw!) - Fancy Flowers Placemats (the flower part)

Today's plans - Maybe......

Part of this I've already done - the rest is what I intend to do - providing, of course, my back holds up!  My back is always a good question - and is why I generally get no more than one 4x4 section of the garden dug up at a time - and then spend the next few days recuperating!

today though, I hope I'm thinking smart.  I got one of those heat/pain patches.  Gotta love those things!  And most certainly would love to build a statue to the person who created them!

Today.....

Garden 
Dig 3 out of the 5 beds - providing, of course! (three now dug! - and I'm done!!!!!)
Harvest the last of the green's 28' x 4' bed (done!) Excepting teeny tiny carrots which will just have to overwinter!)(Marigolds set on porch to dry for seed)
Harvest the last of the beans and peas beds - hang bean vines to finish drying.  (Done) If possible - shell and dry for 1-2 hours in dehydrator.
Butter pea plants - those that haven't already shelled themselves out - lay out to finish drying. (Done) If possible - shell and dry for 1-2 hours in dehydrator.
Prepare beds for leaf dumping by myself and the neighbours (they bring the leaves and dump - until 6" deep in each bed, I cover with cow manure, repeat total of 3 - 4 times then cover with leaves then top soil which kills the odor! Beds - 7 x 28 x 4.  The remaining bed has cabbages in it.

Food preservation (Egads - my kitchen is a HARVEST kitchen all over again!)
Wash, chop, Blanch then Dehydrate - all greens - including chard, etc.
Wash, chop, Blanch then Dehydrate beet greens.  Beets - cook for this weekend!
Wash, chop, Blanch then Dehydrate turnip greens.  Turnips - cook for tonight.  If more than - then just Wash, slice, then Dehydrate turnip slices
Wash, slice, then Dehydrate Radish slices (for salads)
Make Black radish preserves only use what I have (meat condiment)
Wash, slice, then Dehydrate sweet potatoes

Other cooking
Make Challah
Make Sweet potato pie from small sweet potatoes (YUM!)

Dinner: Challah, Mashed turnips with butter, salt, pepper, Greens, Poached salmon, Sweet potato pie

Tomorrow: Breakfast Fried apples, milk, coffee.
Lunch tomorrow: Tossed salad, Hungarian Goulash (a la my mom's style), Dessert - baked apples
Dinner tomorrow: tuna salad, new potatoes, creamed peas, apple something
Snack: popcorn with cheese seasoning

House:
Zone 1: Front porch  (Done), Back steps  (Done), side porch (do tomorrow), Entrance (HALF done) Dining Room (do tomorrow
Straighten Kitchen up (DONE)

Sew:(I'm thinking of collapsing here!!)(I'm kidding!!!!)
1. Halloween stuff (for NEXT year! So maybe it will be done?????)
2. WALKING FOOT (Yeehaw!) - Threadhead!
3. WALKING FOOT (Yeehaw!) - Fancy Flowers Placemats (the flower part)

November CP

My Color Palette (almost) for November!!!!

Almost because (as per usual!) I REALLY REALLY need a red to go with this!  And not just any red - but one that will match or approximately so the red in Judy L.'s color Palette Challenge!  And - wouldn't you know - I USED to have one - but I used it so nicely!

Sigh - guess that means...shudder shudder (heheheeheeeee) a trip to ..... THE QUILT SHOP!  :D  Guess I will just have to be (LOL) brave!  And - of course - I'm NOT allowing myself to BUY any other fabric (uh huh - and my nose is getting longer again!).

Anyway - here's MY take on Judy L's (and/or Vicki W's) Color Palette Challenge for November (sans the red in question!)

Hmmm - what to make?  I'm thinking of a table centerpiece - something to go with the turkey FQ that I have for the darkest pumpkin yellow!  Maybe continue the pattern that that is faked around the turkey????  Hmmm - sounds interesting!

Hurray!!!!

Judy L. drew for NOVEMBER UFO already! 

For me that means the Charm Around - which means a whole bunch of blocks of various materials (sadly not all are cotton) will be used to make Square in a Square (adding some of my own - Scrappy Style) and displaying the blocks that are signed!  I've had these charms since 1999 - it's about time I get them used, doncha think?  Plus it will have a lot of positive memories attached to it!  A lap quilt, I think!, maybe a throw - who knows!

Sandy - still Pre-Hurricane - but it's windy out there!

You can't see anything?  That's because it isn't THERE anymore!  I was at the computer and saw my greenhouse (plastic - easy to put together/easy to move) go sailing past my window - end over end..... - and dashed outside. 

Caught it before it went up and over the side fence and to the street!!  And took it apart!  I was lucky - only a dab of cool and rainy breeze while the trees sounded like a major rushing torrent!  It wsa amazing how little time it actually took and how easy it was to take the whole thing apart.  Plastic part off first - and carted to the house - currently dripping water inside on the back steps! - tenants have been warned!  I'll pack it away in a bit and clean off those steps!  Then wing nuts off - and hopefully all saved along with the bolts, - had a jacket with pockets by then!) and framework taken apart in sections and tossed down the bulkhead in back (that's another job for shortly - to get that stuff inside and re-stacked decently). 

Was aggravated though by the tenants who believe in leaving bulkhead doors wide open to snakes, inclement weather and what all - but then that's what they try to do to the front door as well.

Design Wall for October 29, 2012

First of all, I had class yesterday - had forgotten that there was a layer cake (10" squares) waiting for me!  So this will go on stash report for next week (and yes, it was HARD but I DID resist getting matching fabric for borders - so far!)  There were 42 blocks - but I'm only using 36! (so I have a 6 block GAIN?!!!!????)

This is for a new quilt - called Twister - which is VERY easy to do! (TG that I don't have to count new templates!!!!)

Actually - with one hour of intensive sewing - I'm ready to slice and dice - and then it is putting it all back together again and sewing everything up!  And I'm trying HARD to leave the rest of this for NEXT time - but already know that won't happen - which is why I'm featuring it on my blog for THIS week!

Before then I need to finish up THESE doo-dads!  A little zig zag on the coin purse, and straight sewing on the grab bag and the apron and that's that!  Something for today during Sandy weather (and hope I keep my power!)

This one will take longer - hopefully not TOO much longer!  However batting and backing mean quilting - and I'm thinking swirly pattern here maybe in black????  to simulate the wind? (COULD put Hurricane Sandy in letters across the bottom????)

 

 

This is getting temporarily tabled - mostly because I'm royally mad at it - has to do with the blocks falling apart AFTER I sew together the sashing!  Ugh!  However - when I do put it together - I'll do the embroidery on it first!  NOT last like I was planning!

 

CP for this month - also tabled - found what I want - drool drool -  And I REALLY want to make this quilt!  Would be nice if I had the applique skills!  So - guess what - I'm going to see if I can locate the pattern - and put that together with my "someday" list! (And THIS time I"m putting an END date on it!)

 

What I DO plan on doing this week (last part of Halloween and first part of November) is sewing up those outfits! Hopefully!

 

AND (ta ta ta DAH! - horns blaring here)

 

MACHINE QUILTING!!!!!!

 

Walking foot:

 

 

And there ya have it!

 

(Guarantees this will happen dependent on electricity, Sandy, Exhaustion, and just plain whether I decide to do this or not!)

 

Hurricane Sandy - the pre-Sandy part

 

Yesterday I was in a quilting class - it's the 4th quarter of the class and therefore starting another new quilt - and definitely a favorite! By now I know most of the people and we banter back and forth as we supposedly quilt - but in reality do a LITTLE quilting and gossip, trade funny and not so funny stories back and forth. It's also a time of show and tell and I showed off my 2 newest "flimsys" (quilts that are pieced or appliqued but don't have the batting or backing as of yet).

Have been getting in a bit of trouble recently - have joined up for a lecture series - missed the first one (one I wanted the MOST to see!) - and have joined with a writer's workshop for writers/poets (aren't poets writers also???) that meets weekly! Had to be interviewed before I was allowed to join - to see if I was "serious" enough! Hmmmm!

Back home, saw Nathan (son) who was zipping between here and his home in Sturbridge, MA - about 30 miles away. Talked to Wendy (in Drummond, New Brunswick, Canada) and counted my candles. 

 Friend Peggy called late last night - and again this AM and was quite worried about Sandy. As far as that goes - I'm not overjoyed about Sandy either - however - I DO have candles. And as of maybe a half hour ago, I have charcoal briquets. I have one of those round tower things to pile charcoal in, etc. - and LOTS of cast-iron fry pans - including one deep one I plan on using for holding the burning charcoal. Cast iron doesn't burn. and I can set a round grill on top and use my skillets and cooking pot (all cast iron) to cook with. IF we lose power here. Hopefully we won't because I haven't quite figured out heat alternative yet - because although the charcoal cooking would put out heat - it also puts out a LOT of carbon monoxide and smoke. So - cooking REALLY needs to be done outside - which I am NOT thrilled about - particularly if it gets cold - however the other alternative is to go visit McDonald's - they have a generator - and open 24/7 - LOL - was told - and don't believe it - just bring sleeping bag - and probably money! LOL Last emergency outage they provided free coffee to anyone who wanted/needed it. They were the ONLY place in town with that. One of the groceries was open - with VERY limited (canned) foods!

Re foods - having lived on a farm - I have this thing about going into winter where you have NO idea what to expect weather wise - and being prepared - probably for a 2 year long winter! LOL At present I have lots of veggies - most are dried, some are frozen and therefore on use first list. Some are canned and the most are dried. Not a lot of fruit - which is a treat anyway. Lots of powdered milk (non-instant and the only kind I ever use), powdered eggs, alternative protein sources (beans, fake chicken and beef), grains -

like oats, wheat, rice - both whole grain and what I've already ground into flour, cereal or whatever. So foods - am fine! And since I also figured on Lynn and Nathan and possibly Wendy and Vince as well as myself - definitely fine. Critters are relatively ok too.

When I was out briefly this AM (picked up my meds I had forgotten about!) I saw several folks putting up hurricane shutters on store windows - which was alarming! Esp since I realize the amount of effort and time those guys were using! I think that when I can I may see about some type of shutter for my windows as well!

(My greenhouse - which I HOPE will still be where it is right now!  I want to move it - but NOT this way!)

Re weather right now - at times a bit breezy - mostly overcase and HUMID!!!!!! Springfield, MA is 57 degrees - but I swear it FEELS like maybe 75 outside. Breeze feels nice - except that the sky is so overcast - and we know what the weather forecast is! Re predict what Sandy is doing/going to do - I swear MA residents are strange! They are an odd combination of major WUSS and "toughing it out" kind of folk. Hard to say. Many think that there won't be much of anything - at least as far inland as I am. Boston area is probably a different story. Same for mid state - where Nathan and Lynn are. However - the BIGGEST thing I can think of is NOT the rain - but flooding that may occur from way upstream - and definitely the wind. All of which will hit our trees - which are super full of leaves and standing on ground that in the past weeks has been saturated with rain. So power outages are a definite possibility. So are trees down/uprooted/causing damage against houses (hopefully not any of mine), electricity, etc. Re that - one of the advantages of living on the street I'm on is the proximity to the fire station - and being on the same power line as the fire station - and probably police station as well. Those will probably be among the first back up and running - although LAST storm we were told it would be several weeks before that happened (however Big Y grocery was back up and running - and as it turned out MY side of the street was almost immediately thereafter - the other side of the street - no! But I didn't know that - and after 2 days of no heat went to Nathan's house and slept on their couch!)

 

(Wind is picking up a bit - very gusty!  Still not as horrendous as what it could be and what I hope it WON'T be!)

(you can see that we are having a dab of rain - not a lot - and not that hard driving rain - but it's there!)

 

I will try to keep you all posted - as things go on here, as long as I have electric - so far just overcast and a bit breezy. They ARE forecasting gusty winds (we have breezes so far) from 25 - 85 mph. And I can see that. However that sTILL sounds like IL during some of the hurricanes that traveled up the old Miss! So we'll see.

Stash Report for Week 43 - 10-28-12

Completed this week: (1) Apple Cider flimsy - 3.75 yards total (was more - blocks vanished - this is what's left), 0.33333 yard brown border, 1.6 yards border (green - this is only 36 inches wide!!!!!!) = 5.683333 yards Used!
(2) Grandma's Scrap Bag - sans 2 rows sashing, and one row - these MIGHT be added later - but not really needed. - 6 yards total plus 4 1/4 yards background = 10 1/4 yards.

Also I purchased double wide batting, 2 yards double wide fabric for backing for Nicole's Couch Quilt (will figure as 4 yards regular wide backing - HOWEVER,, although I am counting this - the entirety will be used as soon as I work up the courage to do some quilting!)  0.5 yards of a pink fabric for sashing that I hope will make my UFO look terrific -
...............................................

Used This Week:  15.93 yards (according to the directions! AFTER adjustments for unused fabric was made!)
Used This Month: 15.93 yards for October
Used Year to Date: 113.945 yards
Added This Week: 4.5 yards
Added This Month: 4.5 yards for October
Added Year to Date: 48.93 yards
Net Used for 2012: 65.955 yards

(and this doesn't count what was freecycled! - but then THAT wasn't quilting fabric!)

To see how others are busting their stash, visit Patchwork Times