Manic Monday

This morning started out with me walking into a sauna, um, I mean work. Apparently there was a power outage during the weekend and the HVAC was out....and it was 87 degrees in the building. Ick.

We also found out that the company I work for has finally been sold. Now we'll wait and see when (as it's evitable when merging with another company) the layoffs will happen. Hopefully they'll be few and far between.

On a quilty note, all but one border is on Snow Wonderland. Maybe I can get that sewn on tomorrow.

I'm thinking of signing up for my online quilting group's August UFO challenge. The person who has the most finishes will win prizes donated by participants in the challenge. God knows I have enough flimsies that need to be quilted. I really had hoped to have more of my older flimsies quilted by now, so it may be a good push for me to get some done.

Sunday Stash Report - 7/27

Geez, another week has flown by. I didn't make much sewing progress during the week. I had an outpatient procedure on Wednesday which I had to do prep stuff on Tuesday so two days were filled with that. (Everything turned out alright, except I got sick from the anesthesia...another life lesson learned - do not try to eat shortly after they release you.)

Anywho, yesterday I had the day to myself and I pieced all of the Snow Wonderland stars, sewed the blocks into rows, and started piecing the borders. This morning sewed the rows into one piece and worked on the borders. If I were more motivated today, I could get the borders on, but I'm lacking ambition today. We've been having problems with our internet connection so since it was working today, I've been sidetracked with catching up on emails and reading blogs. Later I'll watch the (currently 1st place!!!) Brewers game and maybe after that I'll finish the borders.

Now, on to the stash report which is pretty easy. Nothing in (thank goodness) and nothing out. Once I get the Snow Wonderland top finished, I can get back to using up my stash. I was about to purchase a layer cake and pattern earlier, but after reading Vicky's (LA Quilter) stash report today, I chose to cancel the order. Thanks Vicky!

My numbers this week:

• Fabric Added This Week - 0 yards
• Fabric Added as of Apr. '08 - 161 yards
• Fabric Used This Week - 0 yards
• Fabric Used Year to Date - 34-3/4 yards

Goals for this Coming Week:

• Finish Snow Wonderland top and load on frame
• Cut fabric for the QA QOV Mystery

Snow Wonderland Progress

I wanted to post a quick update on Snow Wonderland. I finished squaring up the HSTs last night. Next I need to work on the flying geese. After those are done, I can put the star blocks together. I'm slowly but surely getting there.

I probably won't get into the sewing room again until Thursday. I'm having an outpatient procedure done tomorrow, and I will be busy with the prep work tonight so if all goes well I'll be working on those flying geese on Thursday. In between the flying geese, I will be working on cutting fabric for the online QOV mystery that I was suppose to have done over the weekend. ;0( Better late than never!!!

Sunday Stash Report - 7/20

First the good news. I have another finish. I just completed Quilting Gone Wild!!! (Sonny had to check it out.) I'm thinking of giving it to my (quilting) aunt. They're having Christmas in July next week since she was going through chemo treatments during actual Christmas last year. I also have all HSTs made for the stars on Snow Wonderland, but they still need to be squared up.

The bad news....I gained 38-1/2 yards. Two bolts (15 yds each) and some yardage of Moda Prairie Paisley fabric. All of this was backordered from a couple weeks ago.

My numbers this week:

• Fabric Added This Week - 38-1/2 yards


• Fabric Added as of Apr. '08 - 161 yards


• Fabric Used This Week - 0.5 yards


• Fabric Used Year to Date - 34-3/4 yards

Goals for this Coming Week:

• Finish squaring up HSTs (Snow Wonderland)


• Start flying geese (Snow Wonderland)


• Choose next top to load on quilt frame


• Continue cutting fabric for the QA QOV Mystery

I don't know how much time I'll get in the sewing room this week. Mid-week is going to be pretty busy but DH works next weekend so should get lots of sewing time then!!!

Friday Gratitudes

Some things I'm thankful for this week (not in any particular order):

1. TGIF - It's Friday!!!! (It's been a challenging week.)
2. We didn't have any damage from the storm that came through on Wednesday.
3. I lost 2 lbs!!!
4. I have half of the binding done on Quilting Gone Wild.
5. Our friend's surgery went well. We hope he'll get to come home soon!!!

On a quilty note, it's been slow this week. Too much "drama" going on in "real life" so I haven't really felt like doing much, but yesterday I escaped to the sewing room and started on the Snow Wonderland HSTs for Group A stars. I did more binding while watching TV, so hopefully I'll have a finish soon.

Sunday Stash Report - 7/13

Time to bite the bullet and post my report. Despite my best intentions to work on something quilty today so I could post a "bust", I did not make it into the sewing room. I ended up walking 3 miles, watching the Brewers game, and then going to Elkhart Lake to see Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Gang Charity motorcycle riders come into town. I'm not a real NASCAR fan, but I love what they're doing (and have done) for the children. (NOTE: You can donate quilts or bears for the children. Check it out!!!) Matt Kenseth was also on the ride and we walked past him when we walked through the hotel. He was signing autographs for some kids.

Enough babbling, here are my results. First, I didn't BUY any new fabric this week but some backordered fabric showed up in the mail this week. There is more coming next week (ummm, 2 bolts to be exact...one will be used for backing on the Patchwork Party top and a future QOV top and the other will be great for backgrounds). So with that said, 4-1/2 yards came in for Snow Wonderland and 2 yards for a QOV. (Yikes, the fabric in total is a bit shocking to me. I never would have thought it was that much had I not been keeping track.)

• Fabric Added This Week - 6-1/2 yards
• Fabric Added as of Apr. '08 - 122-1/2 yards
• Fabric Used This Week - 0 yards
• Fabric Used Year to Date - 34-1/4 yards

Goals for this Coming Week:

• Finish snowball block for Snow Wonderland and then start star blocks
• Sew binding on Quilting Gone Wild
• Start cutting fabric for QOV mystery (w/online group)
• Choose next top to load on quilt frame

Voting Coming to an End

Corey Hart is still in the lead for the final vote, but only by a little bit. Please keep on voting. The voting ends at 5 p.m. EST. VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

Quilting this week has been slow since I'm back to work. I starting quilting Quilting Gone Wild on Tuesday and hope to finish it tonight. Then I'll probably work on the binding this weekend and start on the HSTs for Snow Wonderland.

Yesterday I was moving and shaking. I did 20 minutes of Turbo Jam which I received last week. Then walked 2 miles so I'm up and moving again. I'm still working on making better food choices. I'm hoping to meet with a dietician to discuss a good meal plan for me.

That's all for now. I hope to have another finish in the near future!!!

2 More Days to Vote!!!

There are two more days to vote Corey Hart to the All-Star game in New York. He currently has a slight lead over David Wright....so please vote NOW for Corey Hart!!!



Tonight C.C. Sabathia is taking the mound for the first time at Miller Park in front of a sell-out crowd. (No pressure C.C.) Go Brewers go!!!

On a quilty note, I did start quilting on Quilting Gone Wild today. It's almost halfway done. I hope to finish the quilting tomorrow!!!

Some additional goals for this month:

1. No more buying this month, except for necessities.
2. Continue to exercise.
3. Work on decluttering house.
4. Finish two quilts.

All-Star Ryan Braun & Final Vote

The Brewers fans have done it.....Ryan Braun will be a starter at the 2008 All-Star Game. Congrats Ryan Braun - you deserve it! Ben Sheets will also be making his 4th appearance at the All-Star games and possibly start! This will definitely be an All-Star game I won't miss.

Now I need your help to get Corey Hart voted in through the MLB's All-Star Final Vote. I have put a widget at the top of my blog with the link. So please help us out and vote for Corey Hart (NL league). You can vote as many times as you want.

The Brewers also had an awesome game today to SWEEP the Pirates. Way to go J.J. Hardy - 2 home runs, Brauny, Hall, Kendall, etc. It was a great game to watch!

Sunday Stash Report - 7/6

I had forewarned you that this week's stash report would not be good. Two local quilt shops had wonderful sales this past week and I just couldn't resist! Plus I found some items at some online shops. This week I added 26 yards of fabric and there will be more coming next week. :0( (I guess it's a good thing I'm going back to work on Tuesday.)

Even though I did work quite a bit in the sewing room, I have no yardage used this week. I will need to remedy that next week.

This week's numbers (Goal: Use 50 yards by EOY):

• Fabric Added This Week - 26 yards
• Fabric Added as of Apr. '08 - 116 yards
• Fabric Used This Week - 0 yards
• Fabric Used Year to Date - 34-1/4 yards

Goals for this Coming Week:

• Finish snowball blocks for Snow Wonderland (minus the one I'm short fabric)
• Quilt Quilting Gone Wild
• Order (gulp) Snow Wonderland fabric that I'm short on and backing fabric
• Start new project using stash only

Happy 4th of July and more

I hope you have a fun and safe holiday!

*~*~*~*~*

Yesterday I finished the quarters for two Snow Wonderland blocks. Today I finished those blocks plus two more.

*~*~*~*~*

Last, but definitely not least is my Wesley Bear.

Three years ago today he was taken from us, far too early.

One saving grace is that we are very fortunate to have two of his sons.

We'll never, ever forget you.

Miss you buddy.

New Stash Items & More Snow Wonderland Snowballs

Here are the new stash items that I purchased at Patchwork Sampler today. The yardage was 40% off and all but one was bought with plans to use for QOV blocks/quilts. I'm also planning on using the FQs for QOVs (they were 25% off). The Skillbuilder Mastery book (also 25% off) is the best find of the day! I always have difficulty deciding how to quilt my tops, especially individual blocks. This book gives a bunch of ideas!!! There are also pre-printed "panels" for sale where you can practice doing some quilting designs. I haven't bought these though. The Occasions book is by Whimsicals. (They designed the Snow Wonderland and Choco-latte fabric lines which I'm finding I really like...totally opposite of the brights I love to use. But I'm looking at ALL types of fabrics with an open mind. There was a time when I didn't like civil war or 30s and I've made quilts with each of them. So never say never!)

I've made more progress on Snow Wonderland today. I completed 7 snowball blocks. I think I have about 7 more to go and then I'll start on the stars. Neither store I went to today had the tan stripe fabric that I'm short on so I'll most likely have to order it online. I didn't buy the backing with the kit so I'll order it at the same time. So one snowball won't get finished right away.

New Fabric & Snow Wonderland Progress

Yesterday I went to Quilts 'N Silks where they had 30% off all regular priced fabric and had many bolts on sale for $3.00/yd. I had a grand old time drooling over all the fabric. In the end 16 yards and 3 panels came home with me. The three fabric in the back row are from the Garden Inspiration collection. I'm planning on using these to make the Chocolate Covered Cherries pattern which I bought a couple weeks ago. Two of the three panels are from the Emergency (fire truck, police cars) fabric collection which I had purchase a FQ bundle a while ago and the other panel is a wildlife/outdoorsy type panel which I'm hoping to use for a quilt for a friend of ours.


In the first row I got to patriotic fabrics to use in some QOV quilts, some black for a future black, white and red quilt, the purple and cream I'm thinking of using for another Chocolate Covered Cherries quilt and the blue with yellow I'm not sure what pattern I'll use yet. I absolutely love this purple fabric. I was trying to decide what other color to use with the purple and cream and just couldn't decide so I'll look in my stash and see if there is something or maybe take a swatch of it with me when I go to Patchwork Sampler tomorrow or Thursday. (They're going out of business and have been putting fabrics 40% off every week).

I finished cutting fabric for Snow Wonderland. Unfortunately the very last one I was short by a 5" square. So I'll see if Patchwork Sampler or another quilt shop nearby has that fabric. I did start making the snowball blocks and I've gotten these three done so far. I'd really like to be able to get 2-3 blocks done every day. For those of you who are new to my blog, I'm making this for my friend and co-worker. She's gone through a pretty rough time the last month and she's also given me some great advice about diabetes since my test results a couple weeks ago show I'm pre-diabetic. If anyone has any advice on diabetes (especially food choices), I'd love to hear from ya.