Weekly Progress - Christmas is Done!

...but it's only done because I decided not to make doll dresses.

...because the one I did make turned out a bit short.

...Vivian would not be allowed at school in this dress!

I decided it was better to clean the house and prep sangria make cookies rather than continuing to fight with dresses that I'm just not very good at. 

Maybe next year I'll start sooner. Maybe next year I'll get to take the class on it. Maybe. But next year!

So, that puts me at done for Christmas sewing and nearly done shopping! Woo!

So, other than fight with doll dresses, last week, I...

Worked on the Celtic Solstice Mystery quilt, including figuring out to how make 32 HST at one time. 

I also finally picked my neutral fabric, so I need to catch up on a few block pieces. {And tucked the first choice into the project bag with my Bonnie and Camille stash. It fit in quite nicely there.}

Bound Nine Patch Snowballs.

And took a big piece of muslin and quilted every pillow cover, wall hanging, and table runner I could find.

That leaves me with plenty to bind over Christmas, when/if I get a chance. My only other goal is to stay somewhat caught up to the mystery quilt. That way I can trim HSTs when I get the chance, and keep the sewing room relatively clean throughout the break.

Wait, keep implies it already is clean, doesn't it?

Linked:

Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces
Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times
BOMs Away Monday @ What A Hoot
WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced
Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story
Rainbow Scrap Challenge @ SoScrappy

Scrap Basket Sunday @ Kim's Big Quilting Adventure

Celtic Solstice @ Quiltville

Monthly Goals - December

It's Christmas sewing crunch time! Woo! Deadlines!

I did pretty well on my November goal list - Rainbow Boats and the Gobble Gobble wall hanging were finished and mailed off. The Squadron T-Shirt is pieced to borders. 

St. Paul's Cross...uh...okay, so my friend said she's graduating in May, so...new goal!

For December, obviously Christmas stuff needs to be done ASAP.

1) Bind the Loopy Ewe - and for the first time ever, make bias binding.

2) Finish the Squadron T-Shirt Quilt - scheduled for quilting this week, so it should be out the door by the end of the week.

3) Doll dresses - I have four nieces. Enough said.

4) Road to OK/WA Quilt - I have really missed watching a quilt develop from piecing blocks. This is a gift for my son's Korean foster mother, so it's about time to get it started. {Yay!}

Linked:

Getting It Done @ Patchwork Times
A Year of Finishes

Weekly Progress - Doll Dresses

Quilter's Corner, a Connecticut quilt shop, is collecting pillowcases for the surviving children at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton. The tube method is super easy and I know I'll be making a couple.

As for sewing this week, it's been doll dresses, all day, every day. {Next year, I swear, I'm making one a month! Seriously! Okay, not really.}

This is my new model, Vivienne.

Two Cinderella dresses. Lamé is lame. These still need their velcro so they will fit better, and headband.

 Purple party dress.

Pink party dress. I need to find my scraps and make a fabric flower from the pink to cover the seam in the bow.

I still have a blue dress cut out that I need to sew, and a cowboy skirt and vest to make, and a leotard and tutu. Hopefully will get all that done today so I can mail off Christmas tomorrow!

Finished!

{Design Wall} No change, no new blocks.

Still insanely slacking on the UFO Challenge and Fifteen Minute Challenge. I've been doing a quick five minute clean-up every day before I start sewing, just to keep the cutting table semi-free of clutter, but that's it. 

Linked:
Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces
UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project 
Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times 
BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot 
Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story 
WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Weekly Progress - Wall Hangings

Giveaway Day post up next!

{Binding} Just about all my sewing this week has been on three Christmas wall hangings - one for my mother, one for my husband, and one for my squadron spouse social.

{Design Wall} Tree #2

{Finished} pillowcases for the husband and a friend

{In Progress} pretty little party dress

{UFO Busting} Finished the quilting on Blue Bowties and prepped the binding.

{Fifteen Minute Challenge - Organization} I very dedicatedly did my 15 minutes this week, and most of the flat surfaces are cleaned up. And just in time to start the full-on Christmas decorating! I need to remember to keep up with the 15 minutes! I'm so much more organized when I'm...organized. Shocking.

Linked:
Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces
UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot

Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Weekly Progress - Thankful

I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend! 

We drove 16 hours to see some friends for Thanksgiving - totally worth it for the fried turkey and raiding her fabric scraps.

Since I was out of town, I didn't get as much done this week, but I did manage to check off a couple things.

Cut out another doll dress just so I could use the scraps in...

{Design Wall} - a Christmas tree wall hanging for my mother.

 {Finished} - the blocks of the Chunky Log Cabin. Next up, the border. And I'm not going to stop and let this thing sit again, especially since I have everything I need to finish it.

{UFO Busting} - Sunday, I actually sat down and worked on a real UFO! Basted the Blue Bowtie and quilted it up. I'm trying to decide if I want to go for a third line of echoing.

{Fifteen Minute Challenge} - not only did I do NO organizing this week - I made it worse by moving a sewing machine and piling everything on the floor there to make room for all this...

So I'm going to have to really dedicate myself to the Fifteen Minute Challenge this week to get everything put away properly so I can share my work space with Santa.

Linked:
Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces

UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot

Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Weekly Progress - With Bling!

Oh, my shiny. I love you so.

I was aiming for a 2:30:00 finish, and I actually did a good job making it up all the hills in the first five miles without stopping. Then around mile 8, my IT band was all, "Remember those hills? I hate you."

Close - and there are so many more squats and lunges in my future.

Ahem. Sewing. Yes, that's what I do. 

So Friday, I couldn't run, couldn't do strength, and had a lot of pent up energy. I scrubbed the house. I wrapped Christmas presents. I shredded an entire box of paper in the office.

Finally took that energy to the sewing room. I'm awaiting my next set of t-shirts, so I was free to do anything. I should have basted and quilted something. Or at least put borders on the few quilts that need them. Or made some doll dresses or prepped binding or...

Yeah. You know what I did.

New project!

It's a Schnibble, which is typically done with a layer cake, but I used up some Olivia yardage and fat quarters.

Oh, list of to-be-quilted tops... You're never going down.

Design Wall/UFO Busting - Chunky Log Cabin

I think the layout is going to come down to this one {Streak of Lightning} or the Furrows from two weeks ago. And I swear, I'm making a decision and putting them together before next week!

Also, my cat is a jerk.

Finished!

Running T-Shirt Quilt #2

Other sewing

First of several doll dresses. I really need a model.

Saturday Sampler 2011 is back from the longarm. Time to prep some binding!

Made the Dude a pillowcase for his sleepover while I was in Tulsa.

Fifteen Minute Challenge - Organization
3 out of 7 - I wrapped ribbon, picked up the sewing room floor, and refolded and organized my flannel scraps after making the pillowcase.
 
Linked: 
Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces

UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project

Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times

BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot

Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story

WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Weekly Progress - Not So Much

This week was kind of a wash - I lost a day going to OKC to celebrate being the wife of a veteran by getting 20% off at Joann's. With that plus the 60% off coupon, I scored some Kona for about $2.50 a yard. Woo! That's way more awesome than having my veteran home with me!

I also dealt with a stomach bug and a really cruddy long run last week. Luckily I'm feeling better and the forecast is pretty darn near perfect for Sunday - no wind!

So my sewing progress was less than stellar last week, but I'm already catching up.

UFO Busting/Design Wall

Same blocks, different layout. The Dude likes this one a lot. I'm not completely in love. {Does it count as UFO busting if I'm just moving the same blocks around a wall?}

Fifteen Minute Challenge - Organization

Pinterest project! I haven't managed to do it for 15 minutes every day, but it's a start. It'll take a lot of 15 minutes to get through my ribbon drawer. {Why do I have so much ribbon?? And ric rac?? And lace??}

Finished quilting the second running t-shirt quilt. Should have the binding on and deliver it by Wednesday!

Saturday Sampler 2012 - slight miscut required a fabric substitution in the last one - Twister / Martha Washington Star / Air Castle

Donation blocks for My Patchwork Life - they're really not as bright as they look

Started cutting out American Girl dresses. Both nieces have/are getting a doll, so I will be providing wardrobes for the next few Christmases.

Linked: 
Fifteen Minute Challenge @ Life In Pieces  
UFO Sunday @ the Free Motion Quilting Project 
Design Wall Monday @ Patchwork Times 
BOMs Away Mondays @ What A Hoot 
Fabric Tuesday @ Quilt Story 
WiP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced

Sunday Stash Report - Week 51

Thanks to the Friday Night Sew-In, I got everything for Christmas just about finished up!

Finished two dresses and two nightgowns for an American Girl - like last week, one from stash, one purchased.  

I used two patterns for the A-line dresses - Simplicity 3929 for the top and Simplicity 2458 for the bottom.

The white nightgown is McCall's 3627 and the purple is Simplicity 3929 with sleeves from some other pattern. I don't recommend the second pattern with flannel - it's perfect for a cotton dress, but a little too thick for the neck with flannel.

I finished quilting the Grinch, despite a small hiccup with the walking foot.

The guide snap-in broke. Thank goodness for painter's tape!

Rudolph is also quilted, but I don't count them out until the binding is on, so...next week! Which is Christmas - but other than the binding, I just have to whip together a ballet slipper bag, so I am way ahead of schedule.

I also gave away two panels for Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day. They're all packed up and ready to go in the mail tomorrow.

Used this Week: 2.33

Used Year to Date: 126.24

Added this Week: 0.5

Added Year to Date: 165.95

Net Used for 2011: (39.71) yards

Check out how everyone else is doing on Patchwork Times!

Sunday Stash Report - Week 50

Let's see... I finished the top for Christmas Stars. Not sure if I'm going to quilt it before Christmas or just tack it to the wall as is.

Two more American Girl dresses - one from stash, one from purchased fabric. They just need minor trimming and velcro in the back.

And I picked up the last block for my LQS's Saturday Sampler.

And the pattern for next year! I'm very excited about this one - simple, classic blocks in solids with a black background. I was happy with the original reproduction fabrics, but I think it's going to be even cooler in solids.

Used this Week: 3

Used Year to Date: 123.91

Added this Week: 0.75

Added Year to Date: 165.45

Net Used for 2011: (41.54) yards

Check out how everyone else is doing on Patchwork Times!

Sunday Stash Report - Week 47

This week's finishes are all pink! I'm so thankful for a niece and friends with daughters.

Ballet slipper bags, with tutus

Pink burp rags

 Doll dress, modeled by my Cabbage Patch doll, Dorothy Kathryn. It's actually for an American Girl and not quite finished - I need to gather the waist a little more and hem it. But DK won't fit in it once the waist is gathered. Her poor arms barely fit as is.

 

Used this Week: 1.21

Used Year to Date: 118.66

Added this Week: 0.5

Added Year to Date: 156.45

Net Used for 2011: (37.79) yards

Check out how everyone else is doing on Patchwork Times!

Doll Quilts - Finished!

Three pink doll quilts made from pink scraps of Bad Romance!

These were gifted to my friend's daughters - the oldest has been one of the Dude's friends since birth. They were both born in Washington and went to baby swim classes together, and then they moved to Oklahoma. We followed 18 months later. Now they're off to a Guard unit and we'll stay active duty, so we probably won't follow them this time. :(

After cutting all the strips for Bad Romance, I had teeny scraps of stuff leftover, so I sewed them together. There wasn't enough left for anything, really, but I decided to throw wide borders on them and make them doll quilts for the girls. So they're the same, but different.

I quilted them in three different diamond patterns and backed them with dotted pink fat quarters.

Each is about 16x22."

I hope the girls remember the Dude when they wrap their "babies" in these!