Stashbusting 2014 - Week 5

Over the past two weeks, I've been able to use up a bit of stash and finish two flimsies!  :c)

The first is a small wool kit that I purchased last year and have been slowly working on.  It isn't quilted or bound yet, but all the hand applique and embroidery is done for the top of the wall hanging.

The second finish actual does come from fabric stash and I'm glad to say that the top is completely pieced!  Yesterday while the hubster was out snowboard, I was up early and in the sewing room to get all the borders cut and sewn onto this puppy.

I have to say...I'm completely enthralled with this one.  It looks similar to what my EQ drawing looked like, but so much better! :c)  A few of the points in the center section aren't as good as I would have liked, but its pretty hard to tell they are off and it was difficult to get that much fabric together in the middle of the quilt.  From other designs I've seen, some folks finish it off with an appliqued circle in the center to hide seams that don't quite line up.  I didn't want to do that, so I tried my best to get them to line up and they're pretty darn close.

So here are my stash numbers:

Added This Week:       0 yards
Added Year to Date:    0 yards
Used This Week:          1.75 yards
Used Year to Date:       3.33 yards
Net Year to Date:         3.33 yards

Go on over to Judy's blog to see how others are doing.

 Happy Crafting!
 ~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stashbusting 2014 - Week 1

Its another new year for stash busting!  I ended 2013 in fairly decent shape and starting out 2014 in the black.  :c)

Most of my stash used this week is for the Mariner's Compass wall hanging.  I was able to get the large setting triangles cut, pressed and sewn onto the center section.  In order to make the triangles, I had to cut two squares at 26.25" and then cut that along the diagonal.  Its not an easy task to cut something that is larger than your ruler!



The other part of my used stash is actually for a BOM that I recently found on Morning Glory Designs.  Its a free BOM, but you have to download each block during the month that it is up.  If you miss a month, you'll have to purchase it from the site.  This is what the BOM will look like per the pattern.  Looks pretty fun!

I prepped the first block and glue basted the pieces in place.  We'll see if I can keep up at doing a block a month. :c)


So here are my stash numbers:

Added This Week:       0 yards
Added Year to Date:    0 yards
Used This Week:          1.58 yards
Used Year to Date:       1.58 yards
Net Year to Date:         1.58 yards

Go on over to Judy's blog to see how others are doing.


Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stashbusting 2013 - Week 53

I'm a day late in posting for Judy's final Stashbusting post for the year, but I wanted to make sure I had a summary of 2013.

I actually did alright in 2013 and most of my fabric purchases were for specific projects, which I just haven't finished yet.  I did purchase and finish the Lone Star Wall hanging this year.  As usual, I purchased more fabric than I needed, but I wasn't going to risk running out.  The same goes with the Mariner's Compass wall hanging I'm doing now.

Here's the latest progress on the quilt.  I took the photo on the angle since that center section will be on-point in the final quilt...for now its just easier to put it up square on my design wall.



So here are my stash numbers for the end of 2013.

Added This Week:       0 yards
Added Year to Date:    47.65 yards
Used This Week:          4.79 yards
Used Year to Date:       25.64 yards
Net Year to Date:         22.01 yards
 
I ended up with more fabric purchased than used this year, but the 22 yards extra actually go mostly to the Mariner's Compass quilt.  I hope to at least finish the top in early 2014.  The quilting will take a while as I will need to think about how I want to quilt the open spaces in the design.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Wildflower Fields Completed!

Two years ago, Bonnie Hunter over at Quiltville had a mystery quilt that I participated in.  The pattern is called Orca Bay and Bonnie's colors were blue, red, black and neutrals.

I chose to use fabrics completely from my stash and opted for greens, purples, yellows/pinks and neutrals.


There were an amazing number of pieces to this quilt, as is typical with Bonnie Hunter quilts.  I don't think I would recommend one of her patterns to a beginner or to someone who solely does hand-piecing.


It was actually hard at times to make sure that I had all the right pieces because there were so many.  I think it was something like 300-400 little purple triangles.


The center blocks finally started coming together as Ohio Star blocks.  Both light and dark versions of them.




And finally some blocks up on the design wall to see the overall pattern.


Piecing done!!


Quilting done!!


And finally....

Completely bound and ready for use!




The photo above has the overhead light on while the photo below is just the natural light coming through the windows.  The day was overcast so I decided to do both pictures.



It was a fun quilt to make and despite it being a bit "crazy colored" in the beginning, the quilt turned out really well at the end.  My husband even likes it and initially he called it the "ugly quilt".

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stashbusting 2013 - Week 43

I've been pretty busy lately so I haven't posted for Stashbusting in a few weeks.  However, I did get a quilt finished up on my quilting frame, so its time to count the backing as busted!  :-)

Here's the quilting all finished up on Three-B's (batik bento box):




Close-up of one of the blocks:


So here are my stash numbers:

Added This Week:       0 yards
Added Year to Date:    47.65 yards
Used This Week:          5.05 yards
Used Year to Date:       21.48 yards
Net Year to Date:         26.17 yards

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stash Busting 2013 - Week 38

Progress has been made!!  :-)

The last week or two I've been slowly making progress on some Winding Ways blocks.  Here's where I was 2 weeks ago:



And now...  All 12 blocks are made.  Nine will stay as a small wall-hanging type quilt.  The other three (at the top) are destined to become a table runner.


From just those blocks, I was able to use just over 1.5 yards of fabric.

The downside over the past two weeks....I bought fabric... and lots of it.  To my defense, Connecting Threads had a sale and I had a gift certificate to the store AND I bought fabric for the next large wall hanging (a mariner's compass style quilt).  I also bought backing material for my Bento Box quilt top that is waiting to be quilted.

Here's the connecting threads fabric (pre-washing):


Here's the backing fabric...and a cameo by the kitty. :-)


And here's the fabric for the Mariner's compass quilt.  Its a lot of paper-piecing so I bought more than I needed, but what's a little stash building here and there. ;-)


I also spent some time yesterday organizing my fabric and bookshelf.  Looks nice and pretty all organized...I wonder how long it will stay that way.


So here are my stash numbers:

Added This Week:       41.80 yards
Added Year to Date:    47.65 yards
Used This Week:          1.59 yards
Used Year to Date:       16.44 yards
Net Year to Date:         31.22 yards

I'm definitely back in the red now with the backing and extra fabrics that I bought.  I doubt I'll hit neutral again by the end of the year, but maybe I will get lucky.

Go on over to Judy's blog to see how others are doing.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stash Busting 2013 - Week 35

Last week was a good quilting week.  I mostly stayed inside, despite the nice weather, due to the poison ivy rash I had.  Sunblock made the skin feel like it was burning, so I had to stay in or risk getting sunburn on top of the poison ivy rash. Yuck!

But because I stayed in, I was able to finish quilting Wildflower Fields (the pattern is Orca Bay by Bonnie Hunter).  I even made the binding and have it all machine-sewn on.  I sew the back of the binding by hand, so it will stay in the partially attached category until the weather gets cooler and I want a quilt to cover up with.  :-)  There's no way I'm sitting with a heavy quilt on me when its 85-degrees out!



The next two photos show the quilting detail a little bit more.  I used wool batting on this one, so its a bit puffier than standard cotton batting.




We also finally hung the Lone Star quilt in the foyer.  I did not block this quilt at all, just machine washed and dried it and it hangs perfectly straight!  Yay!  It really fills the space on the wall really well and we love how it looks up there.  You can easily see all the texture that the quilting created on it... even when you're 15 feet away from it.


It is a bit difficult to get a picture of it on the wall as I'm either off to the side and at the some level (i.e. standing upstairs) or I'm under it taking a picture from below.  Either way... it looks really great hanging on the wall.  Since it wasn't terribly difficult to hang (had to use two ladders and one of the ladders was on the stairs), I may enter this one in a quilt show during the up-coming year.  We'll see if I find anything that I want to enter it into....

So in terms of stash busting, I was able to count a lot of fabric this week because of the backing on Wildflower Fields.  I also counted the binding since there's only the hand-sewing left to do.

So here are my stash numbers:

Added This Week:       0.00 yards
Added Year to Date:    5.86 yards
Used This Week:          6.48 yards
Used Year to Date:       14.85 yards
Net Year to Date:         8.99 yards

I'm in the black by almost 9 yards of fabric.  I love using backings!  :-)

Check out how others are doing with their stash over on Judy's blog.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stash Busting 2013 - Week 33

Another week and I'm able to actually bust some stash again.  I had some quick finishes this week as I finished up these placemats that I've been playing around week as a leader-ender project.



All four are done and I have one more item in the works as a sort of center piece.


I was also playing around with a die that I have for my GO! Cutter.  I won't count it as stash used yet since I don't have the pieces sewn into blocks yet.


But all those pieces will eventually end up like this:


The GO! cutter die for the Winding Ways pattern is definitely worth the expense.  It took me about 10-15 minutes total to cut out pieces for 24 blocks.

So here are my stash numbers:

Added This Week:       0.00 yards
Added Year to Date:    5.86 yards
Used This Week:          2.38 yards
Used Year to Date:       8.37 yards
Net Year to Date:         2.51 yards


I'm 2.5 yards in the black this week!  Maybe I can keep it up.  :-)

Check out how everyone else is doing over on Judy's blog.


Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stash Busting 2013 - Week 32

It's been a long time since I last posted for a Stash Report.  However, I have recently gotten a finish done, so I can actually count some fabric!  :-)

I finally finished my Lone Star wall hanging.  It ended up being about 62 x 62.  There was a bit of shrinkage to it due to the heavy amount of quilting in the open spaces.

Here's a close-up of one of the sides showing the quilting I did in the open squares and triangles.


I don't have a better picture of the finished feathers with the binding on it, but here's what it looked like before the binding was put on.  Lots of micro stippling all over the quilt to give the more open areas some dimension.


So now that the Lone Star quilt is done, I was able to count the fabric I used for the binding and hanging sleeves for the back.  The quilt will be hung in our foyer.  I also want to put a quilt on the opposite wall to fill out the space.  Here's the design for the next wall hanging:


I've never done a Mariner's compass before and this one will definitely be a bit of a challenge due to its sheer size.  The center block is 36" square and the entire quilt will be approximately 65" square.  Lots of pieces that all have to line up in the end, so it will be a challenge, but in a good way.  :-)

So here's my stash numbers right now... I definitely wanted to post before I add the 20+ yards I'll need for the mariner's compass quilt. ;-)

Added This Week:       0.00 yards
Added Year to Date:    5.86 yards
Used This Week:          1.09 yards
Used Year to Date:       5.98 yards
Net Year to Date:         0.13 yards

Yay!  I'm back in the black!   I have a few smaller projects (placemats) that will be counted towards the stash busting, but nothing huge in the works right now.  I do have a quilt on the frame, too and that will use up about 3 yards of fabric just for the backing.  Once its done being quilted, I'll be able to count that, too.

Check out Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stashbusting 2013 - Week 18

Wow!  Two weeks in a row that I'm posting for stashbusting... maybe I can keep it up. ;-)

I used a bit more fabric this week for my Bento Box quilt.  I had to cut some more pieces to make the pieced border, and I cut strips of fabric for 4" borders around the entire quilt.



The borders are ready to go on, but today will be spent outside again with the garden and taking care of the property (along with laundry and grocery shopping and paying bills).

Yesterday, I planted 24 new perennials to replace ones that died over the winter and also 4 more broccoli plants.  This is the first year that we're trying to grow some veggies, so we're starting with tomatoes and broccoli.  Next year we'll try some beans and possibly corn, too.


Here are my numbers so far this year:
Added This Week:       0.00 yards
Added Year to Date:    5.86 yards
Used This Week:          0.88 yards
Used Year to Date:       4.89 yards
Net Year to Date:         -0.97 yards

I'm just one yard in the hole and I know I'll be able to bust that out soon.  I will have one quilt ready for quilting and the Bento Box quilt will be ready soon, so that will be some good yardage busted once I get those complete.

Go on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.


Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stashbusting 2013 - Week 17

Wow!  I can't believe its been so long since I last posted for Stashbusting this year.  I looked back and the last time I reported anything was back on week 8.  Yikes!

I've been doing a fair amount of quilting, but not using a whole lot of stash.  I've been working on some custom quilting for myself, which has been taking a long time to do.



I did get some quilting done this past week that used up some stash.  This quilt top is mostly together.  I have two side of the first set of borders on now and I've cut/sewn all the pieces for the pieced border (the little blocks in the picture below).


Slowly, but surely, I'm making progress.  I guess the good thing is that I've only bought one piece of fabric this year and it was backing for a quilt top.

Here are my numbers so far this year:
Added This Week:       0.00 yards
Added Year to Date:    5.86 yards
Used This Week:          0.68 yards
Used Year to Date:       4.01 yards
Net Year to Date:         -1.84 yards

Go on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stashbusting 2013 - Week 8

I was able to get a bit of sewing done this week.  I made some progress on the Bento Box quilt.  While I don't have everything pressed yet, the pieces are all sewn together.  The picture below was from earlier this week before I sewed the last strip to the blocks.

Here are my numbers

Added This Week:       0.00 yards
Added Year to Date:    5.86 yards
Used This Week:          2.22 yards
Used Year to Date:       3.33 yards
Net Year to Date:         -2.52 yards

Go on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing with their stash.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stashbusting 2013 - Week 6

A bit of sewing did take place this week.  I did a bit of work on the Bento Box quilt and I also finished all the straight-line quilting on the Lone Star quilt.  The small amount of work on the Bento Box quilt makes up the ~1/2 yard of fabric used this week; however, I did also have to buy some backing material for a quilt, so that's getting counted towards the stash...in the wrong direction.

Here are the colors for the next blocks in the Bento Box quilt:

And progress on the Lone Star quilting:

I plan on doing a few more posts over the next few days showing the snow we received (about 10 inches) and the progress on a few other "projects".


Here are my numbers

Added This Week:       5.86 yards
Added Year to Date:    5.86 yards
Used This Week:          0.56 yards
Used Year to Date:       1.11 yards
Net Year to Date:         -4.75 yards

Go on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stashbusting 2013 - Week 4

Some sewing has been going on this past week, but not a lot to show in terms of progress.  I used a bit more stash making more blocks for the Bento Box quilt.

I've also been slowly making progress on the Lone Star quilt.  All the corners are now marked and two of them are quilted.  I'd like to be a little further along on this, but my free time (outside work) has been split between quilting and helping to build a coffered ceiling.  I'm hoping to be able to spend some time today quilting since I don't have to do any laundry or grocery shopping and dinner is already in the slow-cooker. :-)

Here are my numbers

Added This Week:       0.00 yards
Added Year to Date:    0.00 yards
Used This Week:          0.42 yards
Used Year to Date:       0.56 yards
Net Year to Date:         0.56 yards

Go on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations

Stashbusting 2013 - Week 2

First stash report of the year for me since I missed last week.  I've been doing a fair amount of quilting, but its detailed quilting on a quilt and not using much fabric.  I did start another project (not that I need another one), but its using fabric completely from the stash...so its good, right?  :-)

Here's what I've been quilting.  This is a close-up on a triangle section.  This same pattern is used in four larger squares, which I'm in the process of quilting right now.  Its a lot of starts and stops, which always increases the amount of time to actually quilt something.

This is the fabric for the new project.  Its a jelly roll I bought last year in green and purple batiks.  The white is a sparkly white fabric that I had in my stash from a little over a year ago.

Before cutting all the strips, I wanted to make sure everything would work out, so I just cut the fabric for a single block.

And the finished product.  I have to fix the seam on the top right block, but I think it came out well.  Now I can start doing the other blocks.

In the meantime, I've been doing some needlepoint during the evening while watching TV.  Its relaxing for me and the end picture is awesome.

Here's a close-up of the section I'm working on now.

So here are my numbers for the first part of 2013...


Added This Week:       0.00 yards
Added Year to Date:    0.00 yards
Used This Week:          0.14 yards
Used Year to Date:       0.14 yards
Net Year to Date:         0.14 yards

Go on over to Judy's blog to see how everyone else is doing.

Happy Crafting!
~Sarah at upstateNYCreations