QFAH - Hour 7

Between work and working in the yard, it's been another really busy week. Something had to give, and it was the sewing. I did manage to get another 19 blocks made during the evenings, 6 for the Orange Crush mystery and the rest for a new project I'm working on for Koleen; but the QFAH project fell by the wayside for most of the week. I spent quite a while today catching up, and I've finished Hour 7 and have gotten started on Hour 8, the last hour!!

I wish the picture was a little better, but I lost a lot of space in my sewing room when I brought the long arm in. My design wall is actually 6 feet by 12 feet--an awesome space in which to work--but there are too many things in the way of it now to get a good photograph the way I used to. I may eventually move my longarm into another space, but for now this is it.

The landscaper has been here all week. We asked him to pull out about 6 stumps of lilac bushes that we cut down because they were old and overgrown, and he tilled up most of the yard on the one side of our front walkway, leveled several areas, put down new topsoil, limed, fertilized, and seeded. Our job now is to keep the area moist so the seed will sprout. It is astonishing how much space the lilac bushes and a former garden took up in the yard; and now the yard is so open and looks so much larger. Because the landscaper scraped off the top few inches of dirt, I'm hoping that will solve the problem with the wild violets.

On the other side of the front walkway, however, we have seeded and overseeded some areas, and I've spent hours digging out dandelions and wild violets. They seem to sprout up and spread overnight, but we are on the attack now with some herbicide and just plain hard work digging them out. We WILL get the upper hand!

Sunday Stash Report

Nothing in this week, and I used 1-1/4 yards for Part 5 of the Orange Crush mystery. Bonnie posted the latest part last night, and I cut up the fabrics for it this morning.

Today JudyL asked if we had a goal for stashbusting and if we were approaching the halfway mark since 5 months of the year are nearly gone by. When I first started tracking how much fabric I was buying and using, it never really occurred to me to set a goal; and even if it had, I wouldn't have known what kind of a goal to set. How can you do that if you've no idea how much fabric you actually use in the course of a year or even a month? I certainly haven't been very good at being a stashbuster because I've bought far more fabric this year than I've used; but tracking it has been a real education for me nonetheless. I never would have guessed that I would have used up over 70 yards of fabric in 5 months, or that I would have bought over 125 yards so far this year.

Maybe I'm really a Stash Manager, not a Stashbuster, something that Evelyn has alluded to before. I'm pleased that I've been busy enough to use over 70 yards of fabric this year. And I'm deliriously happy that I've gotten rid of a lot of fabric that I've had for far too long, especially some of the ugly stuff, and replaced it with something more current in my stash. I've already finished 8 quilts and quilt tops this year and expect to have at least 4 more tops done by the end of June. Not as many as some folks, but back in 2006 I only finished 2 quilts, so it's really good for me. Thanks to JudyL, Bonnie Hunter, and my good friend Koleen, I am more motivated, I'm working smarter, accomplishing much more, and having the most wonderful time doing it.

Maybe next year I'll actually set a goal for stashbusting...maybe.

Orange is in the Air

Bonnie posted Part 5 of the Orange Crush mystery last night, and this is the orange I'm using for the next set of blocks we're supposed to make. Pretty bright, isn't it? I wavered when I took it out of the cabinet; but emboldened by VickiW's choice of fabrics for her Quilt for an Hour project, I decided to live on the edge and put it in my quilt. It may be obnoxious, but you can't deny it will be bright and cheerful. And anyway I like it. Besides I've already changed my mind once on the orange, and I'm not buying any more fabric for this project! What do you think, Margo?

Because this is going to be a busy quilt, I decided to use just one blue in the centers, and not a particularly bright one at that. I'll use up a few more blue scraps in the half- and quarter-album blocks.

The mystery deepens... I still have yardage left over from the red, black, blue, and orange fabrics. What do you think? Sashings? Borders?

Saturday Update

This afternoon the bathroom got scrubbed, and I ran to the grocery store for a few things. Then it was back to the sewing room, and I made 9 more blocks for the Orange Crush mystery. Thats a total of 30 blocks I've made today! Tomorrow I'm going to finish the last 9 blocks for Step 4, and I'd like to play on my Tin Lizzie for a while in the afternoon. I've had enough for today though. My shoulders are killing me, so now I'll have a little supper and plant myself in front of the telly for the rest of the evening.

QFAH - Hour 5

Done! I am really on a roll today! I had 9 of these blocks finished by bedtime last night, and I finished the rest of them this morning. And I think I've finished 6 of the Orange Crush blocks today too. That's 21 blocks I've done today--it must be some kind of record! For me, that is.

I was thinking about something when I sat down at the sewing machine this morning. Judy said we should be able to make 12 blocks in one hour, which means it would take 5 minutes to put one block together, which is pretty impressive. When I first started making these blocks the other day, it was taking me 15 minutes to make one; but I was also watching TV, running the washer, chit chatting with my son, and I was up and down from the sewing machine...because... that's what I do.

So I decided to try a little test. I set a timer to see how long it actually took me to make one block with no distractions--no TV, no kids, husband, dog, or cell phones; and no way can I construct a finished block in only 5 minutes. I discovered that I CAN do one in 8 minutes, however, and using a timer certainly kept me focused on what I was doing. So I set that timer off and on all day to keep myself on track.

It also occurred to me that if I used the units from the Orange Crush blocks as leaders and enders, I could also get a few of those blocks made. I really should do that more often. I still have a bunch more Orange Crush blocks to go, so my goal is to finish 9 more today and 9 tomorrow, then I'll be done with Step 4. Woohoo!

I worked out in the yard, annihilating dandelions and wild violets, for an hour or so this morning in between sewing sessions, hoping to give my shoulders a rest. Now they're really hurting, so I'll need to take some Tylenol and several hours away from the machine to rejuvenate. Hope everyone else is getting lots done today!

QFAH Hour 4

I worked on the star points for Hour 3 for quite a while last night, made more of them this morning, and finished up the last four units after supper tonight. Then I started working on constructing blocks for Hour 4. The light green one was my test block that I made last weekend, and I was only able to finish four more of these in an hour tonight. Clearly JudyL sews circles around me, but I will doggedly pursue getting the rest of these blocks made over the weekend.

I am off this weekend and hope to get lots of sewing done. Besides finishing the QFAH blocks, I'd also like to finish the Orange Crush blocks. Bonnie has not yet posted Step 5, and I'd like to get these done before she does.

Another Top Done

You may recall from back in March that I started a new quilt for my good friend Koleen that I was referring to as the Courtney quilt. That title was actually based on the name of the fabric line used in the quilt. The pattern is actually called "Road to Many Friendships", and it is one of three new patterns now available from The Quilted Cardinal. "Gingerbread Jingle" is cute as can be, and I'll have to add that one to my collection!

I have asked Koleen if she will quilt an all-over feather pattern on my quilt, which is probably my favorite quilt design, and which I think will be gorgeous. It will be a while before she is able to get to the quilting, but I can't wait to see it!

Credit where credit is due:

Road to Many Friendships quilt design by Koleen Painchaud, The Quilted Cardinal