What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

No change in the numbers. I’m likely to finish the year with these stats, which is the best I’ve done in a long time.

I’m still plodding through Traffic Jam blocks and working on Fairy Tales Live on Roofs.

There’s a lot more stitching in this kit than I thought, and the fairy girl is confetti heavy. There’s also a lot of backstiching, partial stitches and french knots. I’ll be working on this one for a while.

Fabric In: 16.5 yards

Fabric Out: 27.875 yards

Net Fabric Used: 11.375 yards

How ...

No change in the numbers.

How can that date be right? This month is flying by.

I continue to work on Traffic Jam blocks.

I finished one more after I took the picture, leaving three to go. I would love to finish the top this year, but I’m not sure it’s doable. I don’t sew much during the week.

Fabric In: 16.5 yards

Fabric out: 27.875 yards

Net Fabric Used: 11.375 yards

How did you do this week?

The tree is up.  

The boys are back.  (The big one never went away....)  

My mother started our nutcracker collection in the mid-1980's with one of the twins on the mantel (#2 or #10) and later with #5, #6, and #8. The others came from estate/garage sales and TJMaxx.   They're all German. 

 I try not to acquire more Christmas decorations, but if I come across German nutcrackers at good prices I will indulge.

The November stash report shows that I didn't indulge much compared to earlier this year.    Fabric IN:   60-1/4 yards, $80, average $1 ...

Another month snuck up on me. It just doesn’t feel like the holidays. It’s been cold the past few days, but unseasonably warm before that. It hasn’t been cold long enough to be thinking about Christmas.

No change in the numbers. The recent projects are too small to count.

I finished the postcard for the woman who gifted the group a bunch of art quilt supplies.

I didn’t use her supplies in the piece, couldn’t make them work. The background is leftover from a prior project. I stamped the stems/leaves and added twisted cord ...

No change in the numbers.

For the Art Quilt Group meeting this week, everyone is making an artist’s trading card (ATC) to try the technique. ATCs/fabric books was the program last month. I finished that task Saturday.

I used the inchie and dyed cheese cloth I picked from the member’s destash. It was fun and fast, but not really my thing.

We have another assignment for the meeting, which I will start but may not finish for the Tuesday meeting. I don’t have a clear idea for that one – yet.

Fabric In: 16.5 yards

Fabric ...

No fabric in this week. There were opportunities but no interest.

The binding is sewn to Remember Me, but I need to stitch it down. The label is in process. I’m counting the fabric for this project out. I didn’t make most of the blocks and never counted them as fabric in, making the usage lower.

The socks are also very close to finished, with just the heel and the top edge left.

I expect to wrap up both projects this week. I can’t wait to have something different to talk about, like this project.

I may ...

No change in the numbers.

I finished quilting and trimming Remember Me.

Next week I’ll count the fabric out. I may not have all the binding stitched down, but it should be attached.

I made a lot of progress on the second sock this week too. Looks like I’ll finish multiple projects at once. How does that happen all the time?

Fabric In: 16.5 yards

Fabric out: 22.125 yards

Net Fabric Used: 5.625 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.

I finished crocheting the first sock this week. It still needs blocked.

Overall I’m happy with it. I might make some minor changes in the second sock, especially in the heel. Otherwise, the fit is good.

Fabric In: 16.5 yards

Fabric out: 22.125 yards

Net Fabric Used: 5.625 yards

How did you do this week?

Welcome to November. As I write the sun is shining and it's about 20 degrees cooler than earlier in the week.   

It was windy as I walked in  Lyons Woods (Wednesday) and  Capt. Daniel Wright Woods (Thursday)  

Fall fungus.    

Golden catalpa in a clearing in the woods.  

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Fabric in:  86-1/2 yards, $186.50. average $2.15 per yard. Most of that was from Barb M's estate sale.   Fabric out:  a paltry 33-1/4 yards.  

YTD fabric in: 1446-1/2 yards, $2959.50, average $2.04 per yard.

YTD fabric out:  778-2/4 ...

No change in the numbers.

I had quilt group this week, and one of the members was downsizing. She sent two boxes of odds and ends to pass around. I only took a few bits, too little to count.

The pile includes some dyed cheesecloth and batting and a scrap of vinyl. Our homework is to make two things from what we took. The group didn’t decide that until everything was distributed. I’ll definitely have to add from my stash.

Fabric In: 16.5 yards

Fabric out: 22.125 yards

Net Fabric Used: 5.625 yards

How did ...

No change in the numbers.

I finished quilting the main section of Remember Me and started the borders. The end is in sight!

I also framed Peace on Earth.

The frame came from Goodwill. It was a home dec item with a saying painted on the wood inside the frame. I wrapped the stitched piece around foamcore board covered with batting and slid it over the saying. I added a spacer inside to keep the stitching from sliding all the way back, giving less of a shadow box effect. I’m thrilled with the result.

Fabric In: 16.5 yards ...

No change in the numbers.

For something different, I experimented with Sharpies and alcohol. I saw someone on YouTube do this to decorate clothing. That didn’t appeal, but I wanted to try it.

I started with the moth, using blue, magenta and black fine point Sharpies and rubbing alcohol.

Such a hot mess. The blue was out of control. I learned you can take a paintbrush and move the color around when the fabric is wet. Then I tried again with the flower shape (upper right) and the blob (lower right). I used a lot less alcohol on the ...

No change in the numbers.

We had such beautiful weather here yesterday I just had to go out and work in the yard. There is always something that needs done, usually involving sticks or weeds.

I’m still working on the same projects. One of these days I will surprise everyone and post a finish. I knew quilting Remember Me would take some time, but I had no idea it took so long to make socks. I have a whole new respect for all you knitters. The fine yarn combined with the small hook makes for a long term project ...

We've slipped back into our routine with afternoon outings most days.  The weather has been very warm and sunny though severely dry.  

The caregiver took Stevens out last week, too.  Here's a photo from the beach.  

We really like Swiss Gourmet and Winter Banana (mid-season).

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 The Anderson ...

No change in the numbers.

Remember Me is close to the point where I can sew the two halves together. I have a ways to go, but the end is in sight.

I also started a new project this week. With all the craziness at work, it didn’t take long to realize I didn’t have the mental capacity at night to work on Study in Stitches. I needed something more mindless and started a pair of crochet socks.

I bought the book on clearance at Hobby Lobby a few years ago, and the yarn at Goodwill. This is ...

No change in the numbers.

It goes without saying that I’m still quilting Remember Me, although I finished the feather.

On a happy note, I finished stitching Peace on Earth.

I’d like to frame it if I can find the right size frame. It’s a bit of an odd sized square.

Fabric In: 16.5 yards

Fabric out: 22.125 yards

Net Fabric Used: 5.625 yards

How did you do this week?

No change in the numbers.

It’s been a week. Work got busy, not in a good way. I received some unpleasant news, and because those things come in 3s, it happened twice more. All were unrelated.

I know I worked on my projects, but it’s a blur. I made progress on quilting Remember Me. Peace on Earth is close enough to a finish that it’s hard to put down. I’ve enjoyed working on it, but I’m eager to stitch some other projects too.

Here’s the basket with all my quilt kits (3), stitch projects ...

No change in the numbers.

I’m quilting the feather design I drafted last week. So far, so good.

I’m starting to think about what I want to focus on in 2025 beyond the basic goal of “finish things”. Remember Me has turned into a long term project. I have other, even larger, UFOs that I want to finish. Like this one.

I don’t know that I have another large project in me for next year. This decision will drive the rest of what I do next year. After it rolls around my head for a couple months ...

Hike Lake County 2024 is a wrap!  They allow a wild card, meaning a 2-mile hike at any forest preserve not on the list.  On Friday afternoon we went to Van Patten Woods which is close to home. To change things up I went in the opposite direction from usual.  

There were many monarchs and other butterflies flitting about.  One of them stayed still long enough for a photo.  

I had to stop a minute before I typed September in the title. How did that happen? We’ve had a major heat wave this week, and it feels more like July. We’re ready for some fall weather.

No fabric in or out this week. I took the rest of the fabric I bought at my Guild’s fabric sale and threw it in the charity box. I bought so much the other day I figured I’d never get to that runner. I’ll use some of it in Traffic Jam.

I’ve been working on the quilting ...