Sunday Stash Report--Week 1 2014

I'm so excited to be joining in with the Stash Report again. For my sanity I decided to take a blogging break, but I'm ready to get back into it lately. I've really missed reporting on my stash and keeping up with what everyone else has been doing. I'll admit that in the past I haven't been so good about using my stash, but I'm optimistic that this is the year. My husband and I are planning to move in 2014, so it's more important than ever to save my pennies and use the stash. I don't even want to think about having to box it all up and move it! My goal this year is to use way, way, way more than I buy and to finish up my WIPs.

Without further adieu, I'm starting the year off on the right foot. While it has been so hard to ignore the end of the year sales in my emails, I've been able to resist temptation. I'm making a quilt for my mother-in-law for her birthday, so that should help my numbers for next week. Looking back through my blog posts recently, I saw that I purchased the fabric for this quilt in April 2011. I'm so glad I'm finally using it. It is such a shame it has taken me so long because it is lovely! Right now it isn't much to look at, but I hope to have pictures of it soon. I'm using this tutorial from Moda Bakeshop. It is really beautiful and so easy!

The numbers:

Used this week: 0 yards
Used YTD: 0 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Added YTD: 0 yards
Net Used for 2014: 0 yards

If you are looking for inspiration to use your stash, join us over at Patchwork Times today and every Sunday for the rest of the year.

January: Lovely Year of Finishes

I'm so excited to participate in this fun linky party this year! I admired everyone's work from the sidelines last year, but this year I decided to join in. Like so many other quilters, I have way too many projects and stashed fabrics. While I try every year to finish what I start and use my stash, I've never quite made a dent. This year has to be different! We want/need to move out of our tiny house this year and who wants to pack and move all of this fabric and half finished projects? Not I.

Anyway, I digress. The one project I want to finish this month is for my mother-in-law. Her birthday is in mid-January, so I probably won't have it completely finished by then, but I'd like to be close. By the end of the month though I want it complete: pieced top, quilted and bound. Let's see how I do!

I am using this awesome tutorial from the Moda Bakeshop by the wonderful Kaye Prince. I think it is going to be so pretty. I hope my mother-in-law will love it!

Not much to see for now, but I can't wait to show it to you once these triangles are sewn into blocks!

I can't wait to see what everyone else accomplishes!

Fabric Fast 2014

The end of the year is fast approaching and again I'm noticing that I have enough fabric and future projects planned to keep me busy for a long time. I've said that in the past, but I've always fallen off the wagon. This year I really need to stick to my decision. I have absolutely no more room in my storage space for fabric. It is too crowded for me to enjoy it. I have such beautiful fabrics and projects planned it really is ridiculous for me to spend anymore money on fabric or spend anymore time planning new projects. I recently stumbled onto Fabriholics Anonymous and the goals seem to mirror mine, so I've decided to go for it. No fabric purchases from January 1 to July 1 2014. I actually would like to do a fabric fast for the entirety of 2014, but we'll see how the first six months go before I make that pledge! 

GOALS:

- To use the Stash I already have!

- Finish UFOs without distraction by shifting to other new beautiful fabric.

- Stop the insanity of constantly buying the latest and greatest fabric.

- Save the $$ I spend on stashing. (This is an important one for me. No starting a new hobby with the money not spent on fabric. SAVE IT!)

- Destash the fabrics that I realize I am never going to use. (I really need to get rid of some of my old fabric.)

FABRIC FAST RULES:

1) No fabric purchases for 6 months beginning January 1, 2014.   

2) At 6 months reevaluate status and decide whether to keep going for full year.  Evaluation July 1, 2014.

3) Create a UFO list and complete them!

4) Exceptions

• Backing: purchasing a backing to finish a quilt top is permissible.  However, attempting to use fabric in your possession for a backing is preferable. (I will allow myself fabric for backings, bindings, and sashing. However, I MUST try to use what I have first)
• Books and Magazine purchases are allowed as they are not fabric.  Notions acceptable too. (I have plenty of these, so I'm going to cut this out too)
• Swap Mama Fabric: if hosting a swap you are permitted to by fabric to execute swap duties, but you may not join a swap simply for the sake of being able to buy fabric! (No swaps for me!)
• Quilts for Publication: if you are making a quilt for a publication and need certain fabric to execute it correctly then that is a major exception - who can blame you?

I'm not going to give myself hard and fast rules about what I have to work on. Since I'm not going to allow myself new fabric, I'm not going to focus just on UFOs. If I want to start a new project I will. In my experience if I give myself too many rules, I don't stick with it.

Without further adieu, here is my list of projects for 2014:

1. Make quilt for my Mother-in-Law for her birthday
2. Finish my Going Coastal quilt
3. Finish my Innocent Crush quilt
4. Finish Grinch quilt for my son
5. Finish Nicey Jane quilt for my Aunt
6. Finish baby quilt for cousin
7. Make two baby quilts for my nephews
8. Wonky Star quilt with Constellation fabrics
9.  Finish Cherry Christmas quilt for me
10. Finish Christmas quilt for my BIL and SIL
11. Finish two Quilts of Valor 
12. Organize my scraps and then do a scrappy project.

I know I won't finish all of these and that new shiny projects will come along, but some of these have been on the pile for a long time. I want to finish some of these and use them! I know there are other UFOs I'm not thinking of right now that I might want to finish up too. I will try to update the blog once a month on my progress, but I can't promise anything. Blogging is just not something I do very often, but I'm going to try.

Interested? Please consider joining us! I'm hoping this will really help me meet my goals.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Now I am not someone who shops on Black Friday (don't even talk to me about Black Thanksgiving), but I do craft long before December 1st. Once the boys take their Halloween costumes off, I'm planning for Christmas! Christmas carols have been playing around here since the end of October at least when my husband isn't home. He is passionately against anything Christmas until after Thanksgiving.

My oldest son on the other hand loves to start Christmas planning with me. This year I want to have a lot of handmade ornaments on our tree especially ones the littles help me make. I saw this tutorial to make a Gingerbread man Christmas ornament that teaches children a "safe" way to needle felt. I thought it would be the perfect craft to do with Hurst. He had such a great time and listened to his mother so he wouldn't get poked by the needle. I wish I had taken my own advice and gone a little slower because I did get stuck and boy are those felting needles sharp!

 We made four ornaments so far, but I think his favorite was the gingerbread man. It is pretty cute!

These won't be the only needle felted ornaments we make this year. If you are looking for a fun craft give it a try! I got the Felting board and needle from Michael's and the roving yarn from Purl Soho.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US! I can't wait to see what everyone is making this year for Christmas!

WIP Wednesday

It has been a long time since I've posted to WIP Wednesday, but never fear, I have been sewing. I'm trying to finish up my Going Coastal picnic quilt. In a couple of weeks we are going to Maine for a week and I really want to take it with us! I think it will be the perfect quilt for the beach!

Right now I'm doing one of my least favorite parts of quilting: squaring up the blocks!

I'm so tempted to skip this part, but in the long run it will make the process of sewing the rows together so much easier. It just takes so much time! I'm really loving it though. It is just a simple patchwork quilt that shows off the prints in the line perfectly. I can't wait to take it to the beach and on picnics with the family.

To see what everyone else has been up to this week, head on over to Lee's for WIP Wednesday!

Graham's Stocking--Finished!

I am so thrilled that to have finished the stitching on Graham's stocking! I can't believe that my children will finally have stockings this year. Gorgeous, handmade stockings even (if I do say so myself). I still need to attach the beads and buttons to the stocking and actually sew it together, but the time consuming part is finished.

I absolutely loved stitching these! If only had more children to sew stockings for. I can't wait for Santa to fill them with toys!

I'm going to take a little break from Christmas sewing for a bit. I wanted to make sure these were finished in time for Christmas this year and I'm pretty pleased with myself that they are almost finished and it's still summer. I can't wait to start my next cross stitch project, a Halloween Sampler. It's so cute!

The pattern is Thomas Stocking by Shepherd's Bush. If you'd like to see what Hurst's looks like, click here.

I can't wait for Christmas this year!

July Ornament

I have another small finish to share with you. I'm becoming addicted to these ornaments. I can't wait to decorate the tree this year!

This is French Country Ice Skate from JBW Designs. I think this will be so cute on the tree with the Alphabet Snowman.

I will hopefully be back soon to share some of the projects I've been working on recently. I've made good progress on Graham's Christmas stocking and our picnic quilt, I just haven't gotten around to taking pictures yet. Hopefully this weekend!