Almost Caught Up!

This quilt is going to be really gorgeous, Charleston Harbor. It's been labor intensive each month, but I'm glad I stuck with it. The remainder of the BOM will be the blocks surrounding the center section here. I'm only behind one more month - two blocks to make. Might get those done today so as not to get behind again.

If I ever get these many BOMs going at one time again, I will NOT get behind a month! LOL

UPDATE: I'm caught up!!

Stash Report Week 17

I was being so good this week. I really was.

Then at 7:30 one night this week, the familiar UPS rap on the door. I spotted the box from The Fat Quarter Shop, and wondered what buttons I had poked in the middle of the night!

Inside was a beautifully gift-wrapped package! I've sent tons of gift-wrapped packages from The Fat Quarter Shop, but I've never received one in all these years! (FYI, for a very nomimal charge, Kimberly will wrap your gift in gorgeous paper and ribbons and mail them for you!)

When I opened the card, I burst out in tears. A very very very dear online friend sent this to me!



It's the Chloe's Christmas Quilt Kit! Oh, how I love this quilt. I had it in my cart last weekend but never finalized the sale! I love the traditional reds and greens of this quilt, and that's what kept pulling me back to it.

So I had to order the backing right away! :) And while I was ordering that, I went ahead and ordered two yards of other fabric for my basket blocks. I know, I know ... you don't have to say it!

Anyway, the kit contains 6.625 yards and 3.5 yards for the backing, plus extra two yards = 12.125 yards this week.

Thank you so much, my dear sweet friend! I was so surprised and am absolutely delighted! I love you!!!

What occurred to me yesterday afternoon while I was working on yet another BOM block is that I am sewing away but reporting nothing busted. I made a decision a long time ago to only count the BOMs fabric in and out when I have finished the top. I need to put those aside and finish up other projects just to get a bust!

So ...

Year-to-Date Totals:

Busted: 119.50 yards
Purchased: 292.00 yards
Net YTD: <172.50> yards

Simply Sophisticated Month 7 Winner!

I'm so sorry, ladies. I took a "nap" and woke up at 4:00 this morning. Then had to take another nap.

The winner of the Simply Sophisticated BOM $25 gift certificate from The Fat Quarter Shop is .......

Susan in Florida!

Congratulations, Susan! I will email your gift certificate to you in a few minutes.

Again, thank you to Kimberly and Kevin at The Fat Quarter Shop for their generous contribution of the monthly gift certificate. You guys are awesome!

There are tons of new things at The Fat Quarter Shop. Be sure to stop by often to see all the new items. Don't forget to check out the Sale Fabrics section. A ton of precuts are on sale right now!!!!

Susan, can't wait to hear about what you get! Congratulations!!

Simply Sophisticated Block 7

Moving this back to the top ....



Ladies, it's time to get your Simply Sophisticated Block 7 from The Fat Quarter Shop done and posted to your blog! I'm late late late this month getting this blog post up. My life is upside down, sideways, spinning on its ear and every other thing you can imagine right now. But I got up and sewed these blocks together first thing this morning, and it didn't take long at all. All that procrastination and worrying about them was for naught!! So get in there and get those blocks made!!

If you've done your blocks for the month, please leave a comment here linking back to your blog so we can go ooh and ahh over your blocks and get your name in the hat for the drawing! If you don't have a blog, please email me your picture to be entered in the monthly drawing! I've already gotten emails from a few folks that their blocks are done - and they sure lit a fire under me to get mine done also!

Kimberly and Kevin at The Fat Quarter Shop have so generously donated a $25 gift certificate to the winner of the monthly drawings. Please go visit the shop and send them a thank-you for making this BOM so much fun for us!

If you haven't signed up for the BOM yet, it's not too late. You can link to the BOM by clicking on the picture in my sidebar, or you can just click here to get enrolled. This is going to be an awesome quilt!!

If you're behind in making your blocks, just skip ahead to this month and get them made! That $25 gift certificate surely would be nice to have while you're drooling all over your screen looking at the gorgeous stuff Kimberly has up on her site!

We've had six winners so far: Perry, Beth, Julia, Lisa D, Nat in France and Carol! Wouldn't you like to add your name to the winner's list?!!

The drawing winner will be announced next Saturday evening, 4/25, about 6:00 or so Pacific time. If you've already won a gift certificate, you're still eligible to win again. If you haven't won yet, there's this month and five more after that! And I might cook something up for finished top completions! "Cook" - something I haven't done much of this month! LOL. So stay tuned all the way to the end!

Thank you, Kimberly, for your generosity! Kisses to Miss Emma and those TWO buns in the oven!!!

BOM Quiltathon

2008 Designer Mystery, Thimbleberries 3's Company, Heartland Heritage, Sweet Treasures, Simply Sophisticated ..... caught up.

Two months of Charleston Harbor are cut and on my sewing table.

Whew!

Like Britney ...

Oops!...I did it again!



Don't laugh. This is the second time today I've done this! Good thing Kimberly is very generous with the fabric in the BOMs!

Stash Report Weeks 15 & 16

I missed last week's report because my computer was in the shop, so this is a two-fer.

I'm on overload right now with work, so very little sewing done in two weeks - just a couple of BOMs blocks yesterday. I'm trying to catch up on those, and will continue working on them today.

The only purchase in two weeks (gasp!) is the Cinnamon & Spice bundle by Jo Morton. 4.25 yards. These are all going into my basket blocks. I have 17 blocks done.

I have backings stacked up to piece, but I don't feel like fooling with them this weekend. The backings will bring my busted total down significantly. Jane and I need to plan another cutting weekend. That always motivates me to sew - and bust!

Year-to-Date Totals:

Busted: 119.50 yards
Purchased: 279.875 yards
Net YTD: <160.375> yards

It's About Time!

My computer has been in the shop since last Tuesday. It had a rip-roaring case of the cooties, but it's been all cleaned up now. I hope! I hate those darn viruses. You never know where they come from and they're hard to get rid of. After fighting it for a couple of days, I decided just to unplug the tower and bring it to the company that does our computer stuff at work. Bill brought it back to me today at work and said this and that had been updated. Whatever! I just wanted to get back online!

So I figured out how to plug all those cords back in (I had drawn myself a diagram as I unplugged them), and it came right back up like it was supposed to! But my keyboard was dead. It took me forever to figure out there were batteries in it! Who knew!

No, I didn't do a lick of sewing while it was down. But I started cleaning out the garage, and I started organizing stash. Both tasks will take a while, but that's okay. I want to go through all those unpacked boxes in the garage and throw away a bunch of ... well, a bunch of crap. I made great headway this weekend.

Jane and her sweet DH came over on Sunday for dinner, and while her DH fixed a couple of things for me, Jane broke down all those boxes that I had emptied. What was I doing? I don't know, but I think - gasp! - cooking was involved! LOL. Thank you so much, you two! It was really a nice day! And you're right, Jane. It's not about the food; it's about the company!

I need to get cracking on BOMs, especially Simply Sophisticated. I'll have a post up real soon on this month's block and the monthly drawing.

Ahhhh, it's good to be home!

Stash Report Week 14

It's that time of the year. Heavy work time. No sewing. I come home and just want to sleep. My dog doesn't know who I am any more. My house is a disaster zone. My Bernina thinks I've abandoned her.

So what do I do to get some excitement in my life? I poke buttons.

I went back to my stash report book for 2008. Weeks 14 and 15 were heavy purchase weeks with no busts. It's shaping up to be the same this year.

To explain a bit my downfall this week - I love birds. I love everything about them. (Except when they poop on the head of my St. Francis of Assisi fountain on the patio.) I even have a Richard Sloan print of his Scissor Tailed Flycatcher above my bed. Excuse the very bad picture.



So where is this leading? Aviary. Anything named Aviary is a sure bet to hit my stash, and the kit arrived this week. Of course, backing was in order, so that was ordered, too.



Then the first month's BOM, finishing kit and backing arrived for Heartland Heritage. A few other minor things came also, but just the kit and the BOM package were enough to assure me that I'm trending exactly as I did last year during April.

So there you have it. 36.25 yards of fabric. I didn't even open the boxes until this morning. No busts, but I did make a couple of basket blocks in odd moments when my hands were idle and my brain needed soothing. It seems to need that a lot these days.

Oh, and about that nap yesterday? It lasted almost all day.

Year-to-Date Totals:

Busted: 119.50 yards
Purchased: 275.625 yards
Net YTD: <156.125> yards

Saturday Morning

It's 9:30 and I've already been to the dealership to get my oil changed, appliqued a basket block while I was waiting for it, downloaded another book on Kindle, ate at McDonald's, and now I'm home. Hope no one is expecting an exciting blog post here.

I have a nail in my tire. It's way up on the sidewall and should pose no immediate danger of going flat - or so they told me. So let's just put a new tire on. Well, they were out of that model of tire and it would have to be ordered. Well, how much is the tire? Just the tire is $240 something. Just? Well, with installation and all, it would be $280 something. That seems awfully expensive to me but what do I know. Now I want specifics. How much time do I have before it goes flat? Well, it's probably been in there a while. Will it hold until I get to work on Monday to have the mechanic look at it (i.e., tell me what to do)? Sure. Will you put that in writing? He laughed. I kinda wish they hadn't told me this but I guess it's better than being stranded on the side of the freeway with my normally dead cell phone. But in the meantime, if anyone sees a silver QuiltMobile with a flat on the right rear tire, please stop!

Let's see. What else? Yesterday was the 3rd of April, and because I'm pushing really hard at work, I finished almost all of my April stuff. And I'm really tired. Which is why I didn't want to deal with the tire thing today.

I have guests coming over for Easter dinner. All that quilting stuff I put on the dining room table? It has to be off of there by next weekend. I'm "fixing" to get busy on that pile.

My list today includes quilting, bathing Daisy and working on the garage. Or taking a nap.

The Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber has a contest going on. Head on over there. And be sure to tell Miss Emma happy birthday. Two years old. It doesn't seem possible. She's just the cutest thing in the whole wide world.

Okay. I'm going to get busy here. Or take a nap.

I really really REALLY need a bust today. Or conveniently forget about the stash report tomorrow. I also really really need to take some pictures of something, anything, because a blog without pictures is boring. Really.