Fabric Tuesday 8/2/11

Yeah, one of my goals for the week is done - I finished the rag quilt top for St. Ann's.  My job was to piece it.  I then take it to the meeting and someone else clips it and washes it to transforms it into a rag quilt. This makes the 4th one made. It will go to a nursing home, I think.  A friend gave me all these flannel rectangles, so here is the first batch made into a quilt. Thanks, Deanna!

And now, as promised, I'll show you the placemats the girls made as they learned to use a sewing machine.  We decided to use scraps for them.  The girls learned to sew seams, measure, sandwich, quilt and bind.  I'm so proud of them. 



Megan's Placemat





Lauren's Placemat



The only thing I did for them was straighten edges so they could sew the subsequent straight seam.  I was a little bit hesitant for them to use a rotary cutter.  Maybe next year if we do it again.  Here are the backs: 



Lauren did some free motion quilting.



Megan did a sitd variaion for her quilting.



The girls put them to use for lunch that day.

They later informed me that they were going to use them as doll quilts as they matched the quilts they made earlier - LOL.

Design Wall Monday 8/1/11

I'm noticing a pattern here. I've posted new things I'm working on several mondays now and not much has been finished. It stops today - LOL - well sort of because one of the projects in the photo is new.  Clockwise, I'm working on a new rag quilt for St. Ann's.  I hand stitched a leaf and a center last week; want to do the rest before Thursday.  Keep working on Em's quilt and get it out the door.

Is that so much to do?

Check out what others have on their design wall by going over to Judy's Patchwork Times on the left sidebar.

Stash Report 7/31/11 & New Curtain

My husband and I have had a running feud about our kitchen window and its covering.  First a little background.  The window faces west so gets LOTS of sun.  One can't sit at the kitchen table in the afternoon without feeling like we're sitting outside in the broiling sun.  There wasn't a problem before because we had a huge Canary Island palm that grew outside and shaded the room for most of the afternoon.  But after 40 some years it grew so big that the city crew came and cut off the top so it wouldn't go in the electrical wires.  Many of you know when you dehead a palm it's dead as that is its growing tip and doesn't branch.  Well, the city then came out and took out the tree and we now have this sun patio that is way too hot for me.  My husband wants a curtain and we did have one but was a bit too narrow and he's been after me to make one that fit.  Says if I can make quilts, I can make a curtain.  I did have a landscape I wanted to make for it, but darn if I can't find the big piece I need for it.  So today, in desperation, I found another piece given to me and says on the selvage 1988 that is big enough.  It is a preprinted cloth (I don't call them cheaters).  I hemmed the sides and made a plackett and hung it up.  Done.  The sun is so bright the camera made the room way darker than it really is.  I guess I should have back lighted with flash - but I'm not much of a photographer.

One good thing is I used a piece 2 1/4 yards so that is good for my stash report.  I used a yard to cut pieces for a 4 block block piece for the BOM program and the girls used about a 1/2 yard to make their placemats, so yes!, I have broken 40 yards.  Here are the numbers:

Used this week: 3.75 yards
Used/Donated Yr to date: 53.21 yards
Added this wk: 0.0 yards
Total Yr to date Added: -11.0 yards
-----------------------------------------
Total Yr to date Use: 42.21 yards

Be sure to go over to Judy's Patchwork Times button on my left sidebar and see what others are doing as far as destashing.