May Goals and a Stash Report

Keeping up with goals this year is turning out to be a bigger challenge than I expected it to be.   I normally only set one goal a month so this year with the Scrap Attack challenge and the 6 & 6 in 2018 goals it's been a struggle to keep on track.  Even so, I have completed all eight of the goals I've set so far.  I'm just always scrambling around at the end of the month to get it all done.  What can I say?  Life just keeps getting in the way of my fun.  

The slip I pulled from my Scrap Attack bag for May's goal says to make something from the strings basket.  The basket was pretty full at the beginning of the year, but in January I made a small dent in it by making seventeen blocks for Kat and Cat's Covered in Love block drive.  

In April I had to spend a few days alone in a hotel room so I took my strings basket along and set up a personal sewing space there.  It was like a mini private retreat!

I was only able to sew in the evenings after I got back to my room.  The first night I got all this done .....

..... and the next night a bunch more.  Imagine what I might get done in May in my "real" sewing room!

My 6 & 6 in 2018 goal for May is to make a throw sized quilt from batiks.  I'm using a pattern called "Hypnotic" from Brenda Henning's "Strip Therapy 2."  These two blocks will make an interesting secondary pattern when the rows are put together.

Here's hoping that life will settle down a bit, I'll stay on track with my goals, and May will be productive.  Especially since June is already shaping up to be a real mess!

Fabric Added in April  -   11.0 yards

Fabric Used in April  -    36 yards 

Fabric Added Year to Date  -   19.5 yards

Fabric Used Year to Date  -   72.6 yards

Net Fabric Used in 2018  -  53.1 yards

April Goal Met - Sort Of

My goal for April was to "make something with" the fat quarters my friend, Leigh, had recently given to me.   I didn't realize just how many there were in that deceivingly small gift bag until I set the goal and then counted them.  I knew I couldn't use all 47 in one month, but I knew I could make "something".  I chose the green batiks and started cutting squares for my first Disappearing Nine-Patch.  A search through my stash resulted in some purple that looked good with the print, and I found three different cream prints for a neutral. 

The fabrics played well together, I thought.

To make that nine-patch "disappear" you cut it into four pieces .....

..... and sew them back together in a different configuration.

I felt like a small inner border was needed and found the perfect eggplant that was a close match for the dark lines in the purple print.  Stash to the rescue again!  I hadn't planned to use the purple stripes in the border at all, but I had used every last bit of green so I ended up using it on the corners. 

This is all that was left of the purple!

I may not have used up all the fat quarters, but I did "make something with" a portion of them.  Eight to be precise.  That's something!

It's just a flimsie for now, not a finished quilt, but it will have a home.  How could it not, right?  It's too cute.  

This was my 6 & 6 in 2018 goal for April.  Linking up with pomegranate and chintz.

Another March Finish and a Stash Report

Whew!  I finished my 6 & 6 in 2018 and my Scrap Attack March goals by the skin of my teeth.  Not really, I still have almost five hours left in the month, but I need to rest once in a while.  It did help that I was able to use the same project for both goals, but it's still two finishes this month, and I like it.  A few days ago I told you about the blue Tom and Jerry quilt I finished.  Today I finished the orange quilt.  

I backed it, quilted it, and bound it with yellow.  I thought it looked good with the cheese!

I had fun taking photos of this one, but I think I need a new venue.  It's getting harder to figure out how to get good shots in my courtyard!

Both quilts will be in the mail next week to Little Lambs Foundation for Kids.  You can see details of the quilt drive for Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge here.

And now for my March stash report.  I did okay even though I bought way more fabric than I wanted to.  My goal is at least 10 yards a month so I have a little catching up to do.

Fabric Added in March  -    4.5 yards

Fabric Used in March  -    17.37 yards 

Fabric Added Year to Date  -   8.5 yards

Fabric Used Year to Date  -   36.6 yards

Net Fabric Used in 2018  -  28.1 yards 

Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict,  Pomegranate and Chintz, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and Tish's Adventures in Wonderland.

One Down, One To Go

I'm "this close" to finishing my March Scrap Attack goal. About 10 years ago I cut out pajamas from Tom and Jerry fabric for my grands, and never got around to making them. This is the month I'm supposed to use these fabrics to make two donation quilts for Little Lambs Foundation for Kids.



















The blue quilt top came together well, but the borders not so much.   A lot of problems with quilt tops "quilt out", and things end up just fine so I hoped that would be the case this time.  It was. Whew!

I had the perfect thread in my thread stash.  (Yes, I know.  I may have a stash problem.)
























In no time at all it was quilted and ready to bind.....

..... and now it's finished and ready to donate.

There's hope for the orange quilt being finished before the end of the month, too.  I decided to do a simple snow ball block for the orange quilt.   What could be more simple. Stitching squares onto corners.....

..... trimming.....

..... and pressing.....

..... and done!

Well, not exactly.  It needed borders before it could be basted.

And, now it's basted and ready to quilt.  Fingers crossed the next three days will yield another finish.