June OMG Goal Completed!

I feel like I finished by the skin of my teeth. I knew this month was going to be crazy and it turned out even crazier than I anticipated. We had one weekend at home, then went to my dad's to build a deck, Mikaela and I went with my Aunt Jane to Denver on a shopping trip, came home and repacked and went camping at Center Lake, then last weekend we were at a Pfeifer Family Reunion. This weekend we hoped and prayed to get a same day camping spot and we found one, so we'll be leaving to go camping again tonight.
Tuesday night was my only night home sewing this week, so I finished up the Good Night Irene quilt top. It's going to be a sample, but is made from all of my scraps.

My co-worker Steve was in Oregon a few weeks ago and bought me this bag at the quilt shop. His niece works there. It's so cool that he knew I would love it.

I'm working on the Dangerous BOM with Gudrun Erla's facebook group and these are my first two blocks. The next one comes out on Tuesday. I love how these use up so much of my stash/ scraps but are cut small at 1.5" pieces, so I can use some of the smaller scraps.

Last week in the hustle to get ready for the family reunion, I realized I hadn't made the baby blankets for the two new cousins. Louella and Sloane both got new baby minkee blankets.

The decking is slowly progressing, but at least we can walk on it and run/play.

On our trip to CO, I got to have supper with my good friend/former co-worker Pat in Loveland. We had such a nice quick visit, but it was oh so good to see her.

We've had so many fun adventures this month and they will continue next month, so not much sewing will be happening; however, camping vacation is coming and I plan to sew at least a little bit each day. Mikaela even got a couple of pieces to sew while we are on vacation too.

June OMG Goal

June is going to go by so quickly. I think my sewing machine is starting to feel lonely! My goal is to finish my Good Night Irene quilt top.
While I was traveling in May for work I took along Mikaela's machine and pieced 16 patches and X blocks. I think I've got all the X blocks done and just a few of the 16 patches ready to sew together. They are currently in 4 patches. I started this quilt as a leader/ender project using the Briar Rose pattern, just making 4 patches of 2.5" squares.

Then we were challenged at work to create scrap quilts and pre-cut quilts using the same pattern from a book, so I started looking and there are a lot of versions of this quilt.

I decided to do the Missouri Star Quilt Co. pattern Good Night Irene. These three photos show my blocks so far. This month my goal is to get these into a quilt top.

Here's a picture from our recent family trip to MO. We had lots of fun!

Stash Report May 2016

This month got away from me and I knew it would! I traveled to Omaha, NE for a Regional NACADA conference for work. I was so lucky that Colleen could meet me for supper and visiting one night while I was there. We had an awesome time catching up and it was like spending time with an old friend, although it was the first time we met in person. We've been blogging friends for over 10 years.



I put the blocks together for my mini granny square quilt and was able to get it quilted and bound and ready to go into the quilt show this weekend.

Mathew and I went to the quilt shop one day and he "needed" this fabric, so I made him a small bag to take to grandpa and grandma's house. I used the Buzz & Woody fabric on the inside, so it is reversible.

While I was traveling I was able to sew a few more blocks for my Goodnight Irene quilt (which started out as Briar Rose). It's been a leader/ender quilt for years, but I've started working on it while I travel so I can get it closer to completion.

These are the blocks I made when I was in Brookings later in the month for a work retreat.

I'm slowly, but surely getting closer to having enough blocks. I've been making a few at a time, so it's moving forward.

I was able to finish up my gingham block for the FGV quilt along I am doing, but I got 2 blocks behind at the end of the month. Time to get caught back up.

We spent Memorial Day weekend in MO visiting my husband's family and went to Bass Pro Shops.




Needless to say... I didn't get much sewing done and only 2 finishes, so not much to show for it. I did get to a few quilt shops, but kept my fabric purchases at bay, so I did pretty good.

Fabric bought this month: 5.75 yards
Fabric bought this year: 48.75 yards
Fabric used this month: 3.75 yards
Fabric used this year: 139 yards
Net Fabric used this year: 90.25 yards!

May 2016 OMG Goal Finished!

My May OMG goal was a big challenge for me. I just didn't have much sewing time to work on it and I really felt rushed to complete it. I decided to forego the sashing and just sew the blocks together. I'm glad I did because I would have run out of room for the backing piece I had left. This was made entirely of my Frolic scraps. It turned out super cute and now I want to make an even tinier one with the rest of my scraps.

ALL ABOUT OMG

Stash Report April 2016

Is it May already? It's going to fly by. Last night I had an hour to finish up this mini sew together bag for a store sample. It turned out super cute and I think it will be great to show at the class I am teaching on Wednesday night. I love the Sew Together bag and I've gotten pretty quick at making them. I don't even have to read the directions anymore.


Just two pockets and a narrower bag makes the mini unique and a great portable size. I have mine ready for my hand sewing.



My stash report is looking pretty good so far. I really didn't finish a whole lot, mostly bags, but they were all ones on my to do list. I also finished the minkee jelly roll quilt. I'm hopeful to get a few tops pieced in May, so not a lot of yardage used, but at least the tops will be done.

Fabric bought this month: 3.5 yards
Fabric bought this year: 43 yards
Fabric used this month: 13.25 yards
Fabric used this year: 135.25 yards
Net Fabric used this year: 92.25 yards!

OMG: May 2016 Goal

May is going to be a super crazy busy month for me! I'm traveling to Sioux Falls, Omaha NE, Brookings, Fort Scott KS & Kansas City & Springfield MO areas. It's going to be crazy busy with two work trips and a family vacation to see family. I'm planning to take my machine for one of the trips, but the others I won't have time or space to sew. I've entered my mini scrappy granny square quilt in the quilt show in June, so I need to finish it up. I'm hoping to decide on a layout soon and get it sewn together. I'm still debating whether I want to use a sashing or not. It's going to be my goal for May for OMG.

Design Wall Monday

This week has been busy to say the least. There were lots of things going on, including teaching a class on Tuesday night. I did squeeze in some sewing time to make the block of every other week from the Farm Girl Vintage quilt along I am participating in with a group of friends. This is the Baking Day block. 


I'm in the final stages of making a mini scrappy granny square quilt. The blocks are 4". I just need to decide if I am doing sashing or not and if so how wide to do it. I need to get on this one as I plan to have it in the quilt show in June. It's made with Frolic scraps and a cream background.

OMG April Goal - Success!

My OMG goal for April popped up in an odd way. I was in the store, looking for something else on Tuesday, when my boss asked if I'd make a store sample Sew Together bag, before Saturday. I said sure and got to work. I cut it out on my afternoon break, started sewing that night and by the next morning was putting it together. I had a little boy with an earache, so I stayed home from work with him and it was done by early afternoon.  It turned out pretty cool and I have enough to make a mini one as well, which is cut out already.

Inside of the bag.

I also made myself a mini of the Sew Together bag. I just need to shorten the handles because they are a bit too long.

In other sewing this month, I have been very successful... Maybe not a lot of stash usage, but I've gotten a lot accomplished. I am traveling a lot for work next month and wanted a new bag, so I made an SDSU bag. It's a bit bigger than the Fuji Tote - 2" bigger each way, so my computer will fit and yet it still small enough to be a bag.

I've been using already and I love it.

One of the former students in our program had twin girls, so I whipped up these minkee tag blankets before graduation to give them to her. They are made of 2 fat quarters. Super cute and super quick and fun to make.

I also finished up this minkee/jelly roll quilt for the store. It's a sample and turned out super cute and so snuggly.

I made Mikaela a Dr. jacket and scrub pants to go with it. She's convinced she's going to be a Dr.

My biggest achievement was making my duffle bag from a ByAnnie pattern. I love the look, but not the way they are put together. Too much soft and stable to make it easy to sew. It turned out really well and I know I'll love travelling with it next month. I hope to teach a class on this bag in the fall.

I had lots of the accent fabric, so I bought other fabric to use with it.

Yesterday I finally got 1/4 of my table runner hexie project sewn together. It's turning out cool, but boy it takes a lot of work. I'm hoping this will keep my motivated to work on it. Don't you love the carpet at work... not.

In my quest to make a miniature for the quilt show, I decided to make a scrappy granny square project. It's made from 1.5" squares and the blocks are 4" finished. I have 16 finished and now I am trying to decide to sash or not to sash them.

Mikaela is getting so big and is at such a fun age. Kindergarten screening coming up next week.

Mathew just isn't in to having his picture taken on this morning.

OMG April Goal 2016

April is going to go by so quickly! I've got lots of goals, but nothing that was really pressing... until today. I need to get this Sew Together Bag sample done for the store ASAP as in, possibly by Saturday, so I am making it may April goal for OMG. It's not my style or fabric choices, but with a goal and a plan, I think I can get it done quickly!

Stash Report March 2016

This month was kind of crazy in my sewing room. While March was a good month for finishes, it was also a month where I bought quite a bit! In my defense I bought backing/borders/binding for my SDSU Trip Around the World quilt at 50% off, so I just bought the rest of the bolt ... 11 yards. I also picked up a pretty pink/grey hexie fabric I had been eyeing on clearance for 60% off, 3 yards of that. Mikaela and I picked up a bunch of fat quarters at the Wall Quilt Guild Show. Mine were yellow/blues for my TATW and hers were pretty orange/teal/yellow/pinks with a flower print. I also picked up a purple and pink batik to make a bag. I cut three bags out for us, but didn't get them made because I was working on my scrappy TATW blocks.

I hope to have the top done before our preview party on Saturday. This weekend I worked on a minkee/jellyroll quilt. It's turning out awesome and should be my first finish of April.
My finishes included both mom and grandma's friendship quilts, a Loralie quilt, and Mikaela's Doc jacket and scrub pants.
Saturday we went to SDSM&T for their Dinosaur Extravaganza and the kids loved it! It was a beautiful day, so we walked around campus. My MIL works there now YAH!!, so she showed us around. The kids wanted their pictures taken. If they don't become Jackrabbits, Hardrockers would be a good school mascot for them to have as well!


Fabric bought this month: 25 yards
Fabric bought this year: 39.5 yards
Fabric used this month: 35 yards
Fabric used this year: 122 yards
Net Fabric used this year: 82.5 yards!

Oh Scrap & I May have a Scrap Problem

So... when I started quilting I was NOT going to have a stash and I was NOT going to have scraps... I was firm in my believe that I would make a project, then throw away the scraps. I would not buy more than I needed and I was NOT  going to become my mother. She had two sewing rooms, floor to ceiling full of fabric drawers. It took totes upon totes to get rid of it.
Then I started working at a quilt shop and then another and I started teaching classes and I started accumulating a stash and scraps. I'm still not a big fan of scraps, but I have found a few patterns that make them easier to deal with. I cut my scraps (smaller than a fat quarter) into these sizes - 2.5" x WOF strips, 5" squares, 2.5"x 5" bricks, 2.5" squares and 2" strips if that's all that is left. If I have 2.5"x 1/2 WOF I use those for Trip Around the World, so those are not cut up either.
So here's the pile I have been working from this month. I have a bunch of 2.5"x 18.5" strips that I am using to make a scrappy trip around the world. This one does not have a control fabric, which makes it very scrappy. I'm loving it so far and it's a great use of scraps. It's also super accurate to piece. The seams are nested so they take no pinning and are fast and easy. I sew a bunch of sets of 2 together, then I sew them into sets of 4 and then sets of six, then press and sew into a circle. I take them to work and cut them into 2.5" circles at lunch and then start taking them apart in the order they will go. They are then clipped together with mini binder clips and are brought home to sew together. I usually do about 15 blocks at a time (that's about all the patience I have for strata sets).

My first two blocks

Then i added 3 more. The little one is for a different scrap project.

Then another 4

and another 4... plus I have 15 more setting ready to sew together. It's a slow process, but they go quickly when I work on them. I've made all of these this month.

I started working on mini granny square blocks using up my Frolic strips, but have been side tracked by the TATW blocks. I've made six quilts from this line and this is the last little bit of scraps from it.


I also worked on this pink cowgirl coin quilt that I am using up the last of those scraps. I usually like to keep my fabric lines together until there isn't enough for another quilt. In this case I've made 4 quilts from this line and this is the last one.


I'm also working on another quilt from MO Quilt Company using X & O blocks. It's using up my 2.5" squares and I sew them together at home or at my sewing night with friends and then I take them to work to trim off the corners and press. Then they are ready for me to sew when I get home. This is my leader/ender project, so it's taking quite a while to complete.


I'm linking up with I May have a Scrap Problem and Oh Scrap!