Memorial Day Give-Away WINNER!

Thank you all for leaving your Memorial Day thoughts about what that day means to you. You made me cry and smile and remember a lot.

Without further delaying this, all the names were shaken up, and the name drawn out to win the Once Upon a Prairie tower is ....

Sue H of Featherstone Quiltworks who said, "Memorial Day is a time of reflection to me of all the men and women who have served our country in the military, but most specifically members of my own family, including my cousin Ernie who died in Viet Nam, and my brother Bill who accompanied his body home; such a difficult time, and such an ultimate sacrifice."

Sue, I'm going to leave a comment on your blog, but please email me at krz4kwlts@yahoo.com so I can get your mailing address!

Thank you all again for helping me stash bust! God Bless America!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Memorial Day ... let's have a give-away! This is a tower of "Once Upon a Prairie" by Moda. It may be the first tower I ever purchased, or one of the first. This was probably late 2001 or early 2002. I remember doing this road trip and picking it up. I was brand spanking new to quilting, and the tower concept blew me away. Still does, for that matter! Just take a stroll around my stash room if you don't believe me! :)

I'd like to make this a fairly short give-away. So leave a comment here stating what Memorial Day means to you. The drawing will be random, but you must have a Memorial Day thought in your post to be entered. The drawing will be held on Thursday 6/3/10 when I get home from work, which may be later than usual. I'd say around 9:00 pm. Remember that I must have a way to reach you if you're the winner, so please leave a workable link to your blog or your email address.

My heartfelt thanks to all who have served our country, whether they be in uniform, or just one of the many everyday people who spent a tender moment with me when I was growing up, showed an act of kindness to a complete stranger, or volunteered their time and talent to help others in the community. Sometimes it's the small things that a young person will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Pennsylvania Dutch BOM Block 7 Winner

Thank you all for continuing to make your Pennsylvania Dutch BOM blocks for the $25 gift certificate drawing from the Fat Quarter Shop! Having the drawing has certainly spurred me on to do my block each month when it comes in!

The winner of the 7th month drawing is ERIKA of http://quiltsnstuff.blogspot.com

Congratulations, Erika! I'll be sending your gift certificate to you in just a bit. Can't wait to see what you buy!

Five more months, five more drawings! Remember that you can hop on board at any time if you have signed up for this BOM.

Kimberly and Kevin at the Fat Quarter Shop -- THANK YOU! You two are so sweet and so generous!

Stash Report 2010 - Week 22

I have a bust! Hooray! Between what is being sent to friends and cutting Brenda Riddle's "A New Day" kit, I busted 22.5 yards! Hey, I'll take it any way I can get it.

The four yards I ordered for the kit came in. Net yardage for the week is 18.5 yards. Again, I'll take it!

I'll be in the sewing room until Monday night if anyone needs me! :)



Penny just wants what she smelled in that crock pot all day yesterday!

Year-to-Date Totals:

Busted: 126.625 yards
Purchased: 208.50 yards
Net YTD: (81.875) yards busted :(

A Mighty Fine Day

I feel so good because I got a bunch of errands run today. Now I can stay home and sew for two more days! A dip and clip for me (haircut and color) - the vet with Penny for a mani/pedi and a booster shot - and a run to the market! That's usually three trips out for me.

Came home, got a roast in the crock pot for shredded beef, and commenced to cutting out a new quilt.



This kit is called 'A New Day' out of Brenda Riddle's Celebration fabric for Lecien. It's going to be so pretty. I plan on getting it all done this weekend. Don't laugh, I really am! :) It feels good to be standing at the cutting table!

Off to start stitching. At some point this weekend I'm going to put together another give-away. That means I'll actually have to go into the stash room. Yikes! If I don't report back in in a couple of days, send out search and rescue!

Stash Report 2010 - Week 21

Nothing out - not surprising. Nothing in - can you believe that?

I'm moving fabric around today. That, more than anything else, will reinforce that I need to get rid of stuff or sew it up. I'm still 100.375 yards down. I'll bust about eight to ten yards next weekend finishing up a couple of things. And then I need to look around for another give-away. Give-aways serve two purposes. It drops my numbers and it gets things out of here. I'll ponder that this week and will get a post up soon.

Have you all been following Market up updates at Jolly Jabber? They did an awesome job this year showing the upcoming fabrics and patterns. Already signed up for Paris in the Fall BOM out of Maison de Garance by French General for Moda. Here's my plan on Maison de Garance: the kit and backing is all I'm getting. Remind me of that when the yardage hits the FQS! I way over-buy fabric if I don't have a pattern in mind. I have shelves and shelves of Rouenneries, Rural Jardin and Lumiere to prove that statement. What is it about French General that tugs at my heartstrings? Wait, don't answer that!



(It's raining again! I LOVE the rain!)

I saw a lot of quilts hanging in pictures of booths that were awesome patterns. I'm sure Kimberly ordered up a bunch of them. Saw quite a few that might work well from the stash. But then there's Bunny Hill's new line, Lily and Will; Fig Tree's new line, Fresh Cottons; Brenda Riddle's new line, Durham Anew, by Lecien .... I'm just saying.

(I just had an idea for the give-away!)

I need to go move more fabric around. I ordered four yards of Brenda Riddle's Celebration line from Lecien this week for a backing - then saw last night that I already had that. Time to do some inventory. (sigh)

Year-to-Date Totals:

Busted: 104.125 yards
Purchased: 204.50 yards
Net YTD: (100.375) yards busted :(

Pennsylvania Dutch BOM Block 7

Pennsylvania Dutch BOM Block 7 is done. Finally. It went together easily, but I wasn't real careful with the the bias edges. I need to starch the bejeebers out of it now. I was too busy keeping an eye on the TV while I was sewing. "Same Time Next Year" -- I cry every single time I see it!

The drawing for the winner of a $25 gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop will be held on Sunday 5/30/10 at somewhere around 7:00 pm California time. I don't know what my plans are for next weekend, except sewing a ton, but I'll definitely get a name drawn on that night.

To be entered in the drawing, just post a picture of your block on your blog and leave a comment here so we can all go take a look. If you don't have a blog, please leave a comment here saying you've emailed me a picture to be entered in the drawing. That will remind me to check my emails!

If you've already won a monthly drawing, please keep participating because you can win again. We start over each month. If you haven't started your BOM yet or you're behind, just skip ahead to the seventh block and get it done! You never know! You could be a winner!

Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop is donating these monthly gift certificates to our participants. Please take a moment to drop her an email to thank her such generosity.

Good luck!!

Rabbits Prefer Embroidery

I went to two different Joanne's to get this color of floss - but 41 cents later, I was able to finish the embroidery. Well, I still have to do running stitches around three of the blocks, but must figure out how to do that first. What a learning experience this has been. I now know how to do it all better. Practice, practice, practice.

Now to figure out how to do the appliqued scallops. When I get that figured out, I can finish up another of Bunny Hill's patterns, All Things Christmas. Anne, you're making me learn all sorts of new things here!!



I've been glued to the computer this morning watching Market updates on Jolly Jabber! It seems like every few minutes they have new pictures up on Twitter and Facebook! Kimberly, thank you! Makes me feel like I'm there. Okay, well, that was a lie. I feel like the red-haired stepchild being left out of all the fun! (sigh) :) :) :)

Pennsylvania Dutch participants, I'm heading in there right now to do my block and get the post up for the drawing. I just didn't get to it yet. That will be the only sewing I get done this weekend. MUST declutter and clean the Quilting Condo. MUST! I want to be stress-free over the long Memorial Day weekend!

Stash Report 2010 - Week 20

I left a comment this morning on someone's blog, and my word verification was "precut." Guess where this report is going.

Precuts - what can I say except that it really is all Moda's fault!

Anyway, these came home to roost this week.



That's two jelly rolls, three layer cakes and six charm packs. Wow, it sure adds up - one teeny little box ... of precuts ... 17.75 yards.

I also received the most adorable Flutter By Me kit as a winning from Jere'e and Miss Gidget at Quilted Quickies. I'm going to say it's a yard total. Thank you, Jere'e. I've left it out on my cutting table to do soon! Jere'e designs the cutest patterns!

The hole has been dug so deeply that I won't climb my way out of it this year. I guess I'll still keep reporting because who knows. It may happen yet.

Head on over to Judy's blog to see the successes others are having. There surely aren't any here!

Year-to-Date Totals:

Busted: 104.125 yards
Purchased: 204.50 yards
Net YTD: (100.375) yards busted :(

UPDATE: Well, so much for finishing up Rabbits Prefer Embroidery today. I ran out of red floss, and I cut one block too small so will have to do that one over. Ugh!!

UPDATE X2: Okay, so I was able to salvage the tulip block by sewing a slightly smaller seam. But still can't finish the last block until I get more of that color floss.

A Year Ago This Week

My emotions are in a turmoil this week. It's no wonder.

The anniversary of my dad's death is this week. It's been so many years, 37, but seems like yesterday. Daisy died this week last year. Her birthday would have been this week.

And Penny came home to live with me this week last year.

We've been bonding here lately. I feed her, take care of her, and she helps me do embroidery. A fair trade, I think.



And her new thing - she absolutely refuses to look at me when I have the camera in my hands! Yep, terrible twos!

Rabbits Progess

Three more embroidery blocks left to go, and then the (gulp!) scalloped borders. Might be able to finish this one up by next weekend - well, scallops excluded.

Stash Report 2010 - Week 19

I'm 81.625 yards in the hole for the year. Woke up this morning thinking about that. Honestly, I'm going to end the year in the hole because I keep poking buttons and I'm only stitching on needle projects now. Also, I've been spending a lot of quality quilting time sorting out the stash room. The guilt gets to me, but then I think about retirement looming in a few short years and I just go ahead and poke. It's a sad state of affairs at the LA Quilter house, I tell you; a sad state.

Market is also looming, and who knows what will strike my fancy after that. I already know I'm going to get Minick & Simpson's new line, Clermont Farms, and whatever new BOM Anne Sutton at Bunny Hill Designs will be showing, as well as some of Brenda Riddle's new line, Durham Anew from Lecien.

I decided the best way to deal with any other new fabrics that I fall in love with is to just get a kit. I tend to way overbuy if I don't know what I'm going to make out of them. Take Rouenneries, for example. I have no clue how much of that I bought but I'd wager it's over 50 yards, probably way over. Guess French General must be added to the list above. (sigh) Fig Tree always seems to follow me home, even when I vow that I have enough of it to last a lifetime. (more sighs)

It must be Moda's fault!



Meanwhile, 17 yards came to roost this week - four layer cakes, six charm packs, and two additional yards. I'm going to try to finish up Rabbits Prefer Embroidery this week so I can start cutting some of this stuff up.

Year-to-Date Totals:

Busted: 104.125 yards
Purchased: 185.75 yards
Net YTD: (81.625) yards busted :(

Moda Precuts

Those things are addictive, aren't they?

Anyway, I tried to figure out how much fabric is in one of those precut packages but I don't know if I'm right. If I'm wrong, I've been reporting incorrectly on my stash report. Maybe someone better at math than I am can help me figure this out. I'll be happy to stand corrected.

Here's what I'm now using:

Jelly roll = 2.75 yards
Charm pack = .625 yards
Layer cake = 1.125 yards
Dessert roll = 1.33 yards
Honey bun = .625 yards
Turnover = ?

So have I have been under-reporting or over-reporting?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, my new numbers are below. I'm not going to go back and amend my reports this year, but will do them correctly going forward!

Jelly roll - 2.75 yards
Charm pack - .66 yard
Layer cake - 2.75 yards
Dessert roll - 1.375 yards
Honey bun - 1.75 yards
Turnover - 1 yard

Stash Report 2010 - Week 18

I thought I was being so good this week, but I guess not ...

While I was being all smug about not poking any buttons, the Circle Around quilt kit arrived that I had forgotten about, with backing, and that was 11.625 yards. Then another box arrived with the backing for the Vintage Memories BOM, another 7.25 yards. Heck, I can't even be good while I'm trying.

Nothing busted, so what's new about that. I realized this week, though, that I'm tired of working on UFOs and need to move on to something new to keep my motivation up. The Rabbits Prefer Embroidery has been fun, and I'm ready to keep going on new things. So far this year I have gotten a bunch of quilts finished and have a stack more to go to the quilter, so massive progress was made on UFOs. It's just time to move on. They aren't going anywhere. I can do another tackle on them later in the year.

Also I'm trying to figure out the best way to sell a lot of yardage that I have tubbed up, kits, and other quilty things. I wish I lived in an area where yard sales were allowed. That would be fun. I'll figure something out. I just know I need to reduce the amount of bulk in the quilting condo.

Which reminds me -- the Fat Quarter Shop is having their 7th Anniversary Sale. I'm just saying.

Oh, oh, I keep forgetting things. Jere'e at Quilted Quickies is having a kit giveaway! She designs the most adorable quilts! Be sure to head over there and enter to win!

Head over to Judy's blog to see how "real quilters" are doing on this stash busting thing. :)

Year-to-Date Totals:

Busted: 104.125 yards
Purchased: 168.25 yards
Net YTD: (64.625) yards busted :(

May 1st Shenanigans

Penny is having a ball today. She's hauled in leaves and sticks, and seems so happy when I ooh and ahh over each of them. Doesn't take much to make this puppy happy! It's hard to believe she's almost 15 months old. Wasn't it just yesterday that I got her? My Daisy has been gone almost a year now and I still miss her every single day. Having Penny just filling my heart to overflowing has helped so much. And she makes me laugh!



I finished up a Rabbits Prefer Embroidery block this morning and pieced half of the quilt together. I really like the way it's looking. Now to get going on the second half. Wait, there are appliqued scallops on the border, so maybe I'm only a third of the way through this quilt. No, I'd rather think I'm halfway through. Oh, heck, just ignore me. I'm babbling here.

Just spent a happy hour going through the sale section at the Fat Quarter Shop. It's their 7th Anniversary sale, and I found a couple of yards of Aster Manor silky cotton for bindings and another (gasp!) Wiscasset layer cake. I really could have done some serious damage, but decided to wait and look through it again tomorrow. Since I'm not ordering so much stuff any more, it'll be more fun to get two boxes than one, don't you think?

A couple of weeks ago I ordered some Aurifil thread from the Fat Quarter Shop, the Mark Lipinski collection. What a deal on this thread! That's more than a dollar a spool less than I can get it in this area. I started using Aurifil about four years ago, and I love it. It takes forever to use up a spool and my bobbins hold so much more. Another thing I like is that my Bernina is not so filled with lint as it was with the *other* brand I was using. This is a nice collection of neutrals, plus black. Everything I'll need to piece for a very long time.

I was thinking about going to a sew-in today at Ginger's, but I get so much more done when I'm alone at home. I can't laugh and sew at the same time apparently. :()