2016 in Review

My goals for 2016

1.  Replace the horrible sofa (nope)
2. Commit to walking daily (nope)
3. finish my red gingham quilt (nope)
4. rip out and reknit Tig's Woodsy assn muffatees (yes!)
5. finish Biblical School (year 4!) (yes!)

2016 was a tough year.  I stopped sewing in August due to home problems.  I made two quilts for scout auctions and did some wooly work.  Quite a bit of knitting too. Here are a few photos of things I made.  I also made a Honey Cowl for Magpie and various dishcloths as beach knitting.

sixteen!

Well, block sixteen is finished.  I did  a quick layout to see how it would cover my bed.  I'm planning on white sashing with lime green cornerstones.  I am torn about adding a border.  Part of me wants the quilt to be a big larger but the other part of me says just get it done!  I think I should do the sashing and the decide.

Herbology Shawl

I made this shawl for Camp Loopy for June.  The yarn is Fresh from the Cauldron Schoodic Sock yarn in the Solve the Mystery colorway.

fourteen, fifteen. . .

Stitched up blocks fourteen and fifteen last night.  I left number sixteen up on the design wall because I was determined to go to bed at ten.  Then stayed up well past eleven reading the Fellowship of the Ring to the boyos!

two more Cool Yule blocks

Only THREE more blocks to go!

some vacation sewing

I spent some time sewing on my vacation.  I first made two shark pin cushions (I gave one to my sister) to celebrate the new Sharknado movie.

The largest pincushion is a Buttermilk Basin pattern.  I had liked this pattern since last summer but didn't order a kit until this month.  It was really fun to make.

Two of the RWB pincushions are Schnibbles Liberty Tuffet patterns.

The churn dash is from a block exchange so I just turned it into a pincushion.

The little spool is a hand-pieced block I made and turned into a pincushion.

Fabric report

I finished four pairs of pjs this week (one was a pair for my brother from last summer that only needed hemming).  I am so close to being positive on my usage for the year but I succumbed to 3.5 yards of camping themed flannel at JoAnns.  DH just suggested a few things I could make for him that would bring me over into the black. LOL

Fabric Used this Week: 7 yards used 

Fabric Used year to Date: 47.75 yards

Fabric Added this Week: 5 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date: 52.25 yards

Net Fabric for 2016: -4.5 yards used (so close!!!!! negative means I need to use more fabric!)

feeling knitty. . .

I bought this Wildfoote yarn ages ago when I first learned to knit.  I really wanted to make my sister the Girly Girl socks from the Spin-Off Socks publication.  And by a long time ago, I mean seventeen or eighteen years ago.  For some reason this spring I kept thinking about this yarn and this pattern.  Finally I said "self, you've been knitting for eighteen or nineteen years.  Don't you think you have enough experience to try this pattern?"  So in May I decided to try it out.  It turned out pretty well but I put it aside for beach knitting on Memorial Day.  Girly Girl is now my car knitting.

I succumbed to the Mason Dixon Knitting ball band dishcloth over Memorial Day-and have since bought more dishcloth yarn! 

Then on June 1st it was time for Camp Loopy.  I'm making the Herbology Shawlette using the yarn shown here.  This is my main knitting for June.  I'm currently on the ruffle side of the shawlette.  After I finish the ruffle I need to go back to the short-row side and redo the bind off.  It's really tight and there is no way I will be able to block this out properly.

nothing in, nothing out

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards used 

Fabric Used year to Date: 40.75 yards

Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date: 47.25 yards

Net Fabric for 2016: -6.5 yards used (so close!!!!! negative means I need to use more fabric!)

I hope to make a few pairs of pajama pants this week-I think that would put me into the positive category.  I just got my serger back from a repair job so hopefully . . .

need to update my fabric report!!!

I've kinda gotten off track on my fabric reports.  My sister is very interested in my progress and I keep telling her I'm not sure.  I can definitely say there have been unreported fabric acquisitions however!

Fabric Used this Week: 32.25 yards used since spring break

Fabric Used year to Date: 40.75 yards

Fabric Added this Week: 3 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date: 47.25 yards

Net Fabric for 2016: -6.5 yards used (so close!!!!! negative means I need to use more fabric!)

I keep checking my math but  I think this is correct.  I should probably look at my fb posts to make sure I haven't left anyone out.

Time out quilt

Last night, in a Sudafed/Benadryl haze, I finished the quilt I had put in timeout. I had a lot of trouble making the sashing line up properly-in fact I decided not to add the additional strip of the grey geo print the pattern calls for-why make myself completely crazy?  I made a ton of binding and then collapsed in bed.  This morning I ran by Joann's to get batting and my goal tonight is to make the backing, cut it and the batting to size and pack it up for mailing to the quilter.  Then I am free to sew anything I want!!!  I am hoping to make pajamas for the boyos this weekend.

Second quilt

 

I am hoping to make a second one using the same fabrics.  I actually bought two kits because they were such a great deal-and then my DH convinced me to buy another one!  Both of these quilts will go to the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts for their auctions.  I hope they go for a lot!

This is the back for this quilt.  I've been buying three yards for backing but I think I need to go up to four yards. Fortunately, I have a ton of scraps from camping themed quilts.

fabric report

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards

Fabric Used year to Date: 8.5 yards

Fabric Added this Week: 14 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date: 23.25 yards

Net Fabric for 2016: -46.34 yards used

So the fabric for the quilt kits came in this week and there was another trip to JoAnns and to the LQS in Trinity added in there.

The auction quilts will look similar this.  I'm not going to follow the included pattern exactly.

Fabric Report

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards

Fabric Used year to Date: 8.5 yards

Fabric Added this Week: 14 yards

Fabric Added Year to Date: 23.09 yards

Net Fabric for 2016: -21.84 yards used

Boy do I need to get sewing!!!!!!!!!!  I just sold some yarn so I bought a Little House on the Prairie kit that has twelve yards of fabric!  Plus I went to Joann's yesterday to get some shredded foam for DH and bought two yards of Dr Who fabric.  And I fell in love with an American Jane Frivol kit-coming soon-plus I have TWO quilt kits coming from Connecting Threads.  Since those haven't come in yet they aren't in this week's totals so I better get cracking on something!

new socks!

Finished these socks on Wednesday.  And immediately cast on for a new pair for Red.

block block block

 This is number 11, I think.  I'm a little concerned that the squares I cut out of a layer cake are a little smaller than 5 inches.  I think I will need to add some fabric to make sure it is a square!

















This will be number 12 when I'm finished.  I really need to buckle down and get these blocks done!  Last night I didn't have CCE or Cub Scouts but I did spend an hour or so knitting-nearly finished with a pair of socks!  And then I went to stitching.

Fabric Report

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 8.5 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 2.34 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 9.09 yards
Net Fabric for 2016: -7.84 yards used

I bought 2.34 yards of Bella White for the Pow Wow quilt (from Cluck Cluck Sew).  This will be my donation quilt for the Cub Scout auction. I went ahead and bought the fabric because I was at the quilt shop signing up for a class and figured I'd save a trip. I'm planning for Pow Wow  to be my March OMG project.

I didn't stitch any Cool Yule blocks this weekend.  I'm hoping to this week though as I really want to finish this top during February.  If I don't it will go into UFO status and I really don't want that!

triplets!

I finished stitching the three blocks I was working on last night.  I also pinned another three blocks, ready to stitch for this week.  After I finish those I will only need three more blocks to reach the sixteen I need for this quilt!

OMG progress!

So I am making some progress on my Cool Yule quilt. I stitched a ton of HSTs this week.  So today I trimmed and starting sewing blocks.  I'm hoping to finish three blocks today.

Fabric report

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 8.5 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 3.25 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 6.75 yards
Net Fabric for 2016: 1.25 yards used

I bought a fat quarter stack of Little Joys and a fat quarter of  R2D2 fabric this week.  I'm trying really hard not to buy anything else until I finish the Cool Yule top.  I will need to buy more white for the auction quilt that is up next.

One Monthly Goal: February

Red Letter Quilts is hosting a One Monthly Goal Linkup so I decided to join.  Maybe this will help me with finishing some projects.

My goal for February is to get my Cool Yule quilt top finished.

Four blocks are shown here but I have actually finished seven.  I'm currently planning on making sixteen blocks total which will end up as a king sized quilt!  Last night I cut more squares and triangles-tonight I hope to finish cutting and get back to sewing the HSTs.  If anyone is interested in joining, there's a button on my sidebar that leads to the information page at Red Letter Quilts.

nothing in, nothing out

Fabric Used this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 8.5 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 3.5 yards
Net Fabric for 2016: 5 yards used


This past week was in-service at work-heavy on meetings and stress-so I didn't do much.  I did cut up the Kona white I purchased, sewed buttonholes and buttons on my Star Wars scarf.  And I sewed the binding on the Snoopy quilt I just got back from the quilters!  I'm still hand sewing the back of the binding down-I took it to the beach yesterday to work on and was very happy to have a quilt on my lap!  It was nippy down there!

Sunday Fabric Report

Fabric Used this Week: 6.5 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 8.5 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 3.5 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 3.5 yards
Net Fabric for 2016: 5 yards used

I bought a yard of white bella but shied away from using it in Cool Yule-really want the whites to match.  And found out that my local Hancocks' has Kona white so I stopped by there and bought two yards of Kona White and a half yard of Millennium Falcon flannel.

Finished that coffee!

 

I am so happy that I finished these today!  I will need to make backs and decide if I'm going to send these to the quilter but I'm counting them done.

I made this Star Wars scarf out of some leftover blue fabric and white flannel from Hancocks'.  I really like the Millennium Falcon-it was my favorite from Star Wars growing up.  I'm going to add buttons and buttonholes to make it a convertible infinity scarf.
 I'd like to make a Darth Vader one for my girlfriend I'm hoping to see next month.  Will have to see if that happens!

seventh and a cup of coffee

So here  is my seventh block.  I am out of HSTs so if I want to keep going I'm going to have to spend an evening cutting.

And I started trying to lay out this project last night.  I think I am just going to cut the panel blocks down to match the pieced blocks in size.  I also have some coordinating fabric that I plan to use for the sashing.  We'll see how that goes!

Sixth block

I was trying to decide if I want this to be a nine block lap quilt or a sixteen block bed quilt.  DH strongly suggested the sixteen block.  I pointed out that it will probably fit our king sized bed and he liked that idea.  I wonder if I have it in me to keep making blocks?  I've got number seven ready to go tonight but after that I will need to spend sometime cutting and sewing more HSTs.

let's have another cup of coffee. . .

So I needed a new set of leaders and enders last night while I was working on the sixth Cool Yule block.  And I accidentally ended up finishing these blocks.  I started these using the Disappearing Pinwheel tutorial from Missouri Star Quilting.  I meant to trim each segment but forgot. My plan is to use the four of these on a wall hanging and two for a table runner.  I need to trim all of these blocks and get out the printed panel and trim that as well.  Should be fairly easy to knock out now that I have these blocks finished. Aunt Cindy gave me this fabric ages ago.  I'm hoping to use every bit of it on this project.

a fifth . . .

I snapped this pic on the way out the door this morning.  I did not enjoy getting up in a cold bedroom on the first day back to work after Christmas vacation!!!  I never sleep well before returning to work so I am all groggy and sleepy today.  I would like to stitch some more blocks tonight but I'm so tired I think I will mess them up.

Day 4 of the new year and still haven't bought any fabric!! LOL

and then there were four

I need to get those white five inch squares cut out-only two left.  And, sniff, I have to go back to work tomorrow!  (loud wailing and rending of clothing)  I've really enjoyed these two weeks at home.

New fabric report and finished project

I'm going to try to keep up with this report in 2016!  I did okay in 2015 and then got bogged down and lost track of things.  I think I am going to count fabric as used when I finish a top-it takes me forever to get the backs together and I want to keep feeling like I'm doing something!

Fabric Used this Week: 2 yards
Fabric Used year to Date: 2 yards
Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Fabric for 2016: 2 yards used

I already know I want to get  a FQ bundle of Little Joys before it is unavailable and I definitely am going to need more Kona White to finish my Cool Yule quilt. The grey and pink table runner from yesterday was all from stash!! I love it when I am able to make something just using stash.  I needed this one as I put away all of my Christmas things and pulled out my Grandmama's china to display.  The china is grey and white with a hint of pink.

Last and first

  
 

Last project of 2015: I needed a runner to go on the china hutch-and I was never going to finish those tedious snowball blocks for a quilt-so I started sewing them together.  I stopped after sewing the first two columns together-and I'm glad I did as four blocks would have made this too deep for the hutch!  I needed to make two more tedious blocks and then I just knocked this out!  Very minimal quilting but I'm happy with the result-and extremely happy to be done with those snowball blocks!

This is my first project of 2016. I've wanted to make something with this fabric for years-I think I started collecting it in 2011.  I was making the aforementioned tedious blocks but I realized that I would never ever ever finish that-even to a lap quilt size.  So I was looking around on my pinterest Christmas board and saw a pillow on the Polka Dot Chair using some of these same fabrics.  I loved the star so I pulled out all of this fabric.  The pillow uses 4 1/2 inch squares but I had a ton of 5 inch squares already cut out so  I simply upscaled the size of the blocks.  I've finished these two blocks and have two others ready to sew.  I need to cut out more Kona White 5 inch squares to finish.  I also have a Kona White jelly roll-I may use that for sashing.    I expect I will have a lot of 5 inch squares left over so I will probably make a disappearing nine patch with them. I do think I will buy a Kona White charm pack so I don't have to cut any more!

 

Note to self: be sure to label kona white and kona snow when you buy it!