Stash Report--Week???

I am so behind. I have no idea what week it is.

In June I added 16 fat quarters, so that's 4 yards.

Last week I got a box from Mighty Mom (post pending about this) with a bunch of fabric in it, and on Monday I went back to the relocating local quilt shop and bought 5 yards of fabric and 22 more fat quarters. This makes 10 1/2 yards plus.

Then I got a package from Lori at Dakota City quilter (ditto on the pending post) with a fat quarter and some noodles. So now we're up to 10 3/4 yards and lots of pieces.

Totals:
Added Year to Date: 27.25 yards+

Used/Gifted Year to Date: 7.5 yards.

19.75+ yards in the hole.

But no, I am not hanging my head in shame, Judy.
I do have works in progress, but I also have a swap this week. And some of MMs fabric will be used for quilting and some won't. Eh. It'll all work out, and if it doesn't, at least I am more aware of what goes in and out of my stash and I am okay with my purchases.

Stash Buster Report Week 20

I need to find a better system for keeping up!

So as far as I can remember, since my last report (week 17) I've added 4.5 yards of fabric, mostly in fat quarter lengths, gifted 1/2 yard of fish fabric to Mary at Quilt Hollow, and used approximately 1 1/2 yds fabric making my table topper and it's accompanying table runner, finished last night:


(Oh, yeah, I need to count this in Jacquie's Spring to Finish challenge.)

There has to be a better system!

Totals:

Added past 3 weeks: 4.5 yds
Added year to date: 16.5 yards


Used/gifted past 3 weeks: 2 yards
Used/gifted year to date: 7.5 yds.

Net total: 9 yards in the red.

Besides Crazymomquilts's 9-patch one-a-day quilt-along, I have signed up again for the 4 Seasons Quilt Swap. Have you seen the project this time? Check it out! This should use up more stash in a hurry, especially if one does 2 batches of 20 blocks each. If you like the colorblock we're doing this time, there are about 20 spaces left, so feel free to sign up!

Sleep tight, all!

Stashbuster Report Week #17

Well, I caved this week. Not badly, but still...

Every Friday is Fat Quarter Friday at one of our local quilt shops, and all fat quarters are 30% off. While I was running errands Friday, I "just happened to be in the neighborhood", and decided to go in and renew my 20/20 card. (For $20.00/year, we can get 20% off all non-discounted purchases.) Just to let you know how long it's been since I was there--my card expired January 11. See? I really HAVE been on a fabric diet.

Anyway, I needed to replenish my yellows, and found two stripes I just couldn't live without. Also, at the back of the store, they have ends of bolts (fabric bundles) which are always 30% off. I was running low on pinks, and only had one piece of orange larger than a fat quarter in my stash.



I'm thinking of using one of the stripes for a little iPod pouch, as I can never find that little Nano when I'm looking for it--it's just so small--plus it's beginning to get scratched up in my purse. There are several cute tutorials on the web I can try.

SO: Fabric in this week: 4 yds
Fabric in this year: 12 yds

Fabric used this week: 0 yds
Fabric used this year: 6 yds

Net amount: +6 yds

I will be home most of the week so I hope to finish up a couple of projects and change those numbers.

Stashbuster Report Week #14

I did do a little sewing this week, but since I haven't finished, I won't count any fabric used yet.

However, I did give fabric away this week--does that count? One of my patients this week is a lady who, with about 4 friends, makes blankets for the Project Linus. Her income level is so low, they don't have to file taxes each year, yet she scours yard sales for fabric to make these blankets for needy children.

I had several yards of kids' fabrics that for one reason or another, have not been used, and some bright colors that could complement them, or could be combined with other fabrics to liven them up a bit. When I took them in Fri. night, she was delighted, as she said they don't have any "children's fabrics" right now. I was delighted to lessen my guilt feelings a little. Those fabrics have just been sitting on the shelves and staring at me for too long!

I also had some Harry Potter fabric I bought, thinking I'd make some banners for hubby's after school kids' group, but that was 6 years ago. As those kids now range from 11-16 years of age and no doubt are no longer in the program, and we live 1400 miles away, I believe I can let that project go, don't ya think? So I sent that to a sewing friend who is a MAJOR fan of HP. Let HER think of something to do with it! lol

So, if I'm allowed to count them (because, even if I didn't use the fabrics, they will get used somehow) I will estimate the yardage, because I forgot to measure them.

Fabric in this week: 0 yards
Fabric in this year: 8 yards

Fabric out this week: 6 yards
Fabric out this year: 0 yards

Net amount: -2 yards busted

If I get the tax prep work finished quickly, I'll be able to sew a little more this week and maybe the numbers will change by Sunday.

Stashbuster Report Week #11

Well, I didn't fall off the wagon this week--I jumped off with both feet! Fabric Shack had a major online sale going on and I surrendered to temptation big time.







Those first two collections are unlike anything I have in my stash--all new style for me--and I couldn't pass it up. The confetti print was just too cute and had so many colors in it that would be apppropriate for a child's quilt, I had to have it.

So here's the breakdown:

Yards in this week: 8
Yards in this year: 8

Yards used this week: 0
Yards used this year: 0

Net amount: -8 yds.

I still haven't finished in the sewing room. Tuesday, the last of my stretch off, I had a doctor's appointment and some errands that had to be done, so I had to give up working on the room. There's more in the guest room closet than I remembered, so more reorganizing is in order before I can move the medicine cart in there.

This week is pretty full, with scattered offdays, another doctor's appointment, quilt bee and guild meetings and at some point, I have to get the tax stuff done. Maybe by the end of the week I can get the room in order and ready to sew again. (Keeping my fingers crossed.)

I had planned to do a selvage quilt for our guild's National Quilt Day Challenge, but didn't get through with the room in time to do any sewing. However, I've continued to cut selvages from the fabrics as I rearranged and stored them, and in so doing, was surprised to see just how many children's fabrics I have. (I should have done this BEFORE ordering that confetti from Fabric Shack.) Also surprising was the amount of yardage I have available for quilt backs; once I got them all together, it was very educational! I re-discovered my oriental fabrics, and fell in love with them all over again. I don't know what I'm going to make with them, but those Kona Bay fabrics have such a nice hand to them that whatever I make needs to be really special.

So that's it. I'm a disgrace to the whole Stashbusting movement this week. Thank goodness it's still pretty early in the year.

Stashbuster Report Week #5

Zero in.
Zero out.


Boring, huh.

But I'm finally painting the sewing room!!!

It's really blue. Good thing I plan to live here until I'm carted off to either the cemetery or the nursing home.

Pictures later!

Stashbuster report Week #4

Same song, 4th verse. Zero in, Zero out.

I did get the paint this week, though, and hope to get it all done on my dribs and drabs of offdays. Seems there's always an appointment or errands or housework that takes up my one full day off.

I have been sewing a little, since I moved the Bernina and table into a corner of the master bedroom when the family was here. I've been trying to sew that binding on DD's flannel quilt, but the thread breaks about every 6 inches. I changed the needle and found a burr on it, and thought that would stop the breaking, but it hasn't. I've fiddled with the tension, but that didn't help, either. As the master bedroom has pretty dim lighting, it's driving me nuts re-threading that needle every 6 inches! I finally found one of those little aluminum threaders, and that has helped some, but nothing else does.

The thread is Sulky variegated, and is no more than 3 years old, and the bobbin thread is not breaking, so I don't know what else to do. Suggestions, anyone?

Stashbuster/Thrift Report #2

Let's get the Stashbuster Report for Week #3 out of the way first:

Zero in
Zero out

Yep, I'm on a roll here.


Now for the thrifting part.
I worked on half my goals: I got the flyer from my grocery store, and planned my menu, but then I didn't go to the store. I know, but it was the day it was so cold and the heater wasn't working properly and I couldn't get warm for the longest time, so I wasn't going out in the freezing weather when I was already cold.

That said, I got a new flyer for this week, and went shopping today. Today the weather was no better--it was about 21 degrees, but the winds were gusting up to 28mph so the wind chill factor was 6. It felt like 6 below! By the time I got all the grocery bags strung on bungee cords in my pickup, I couldn't feel my fingers, even with the gloves on. It took both hands to insert my key in the ignition and I had to sit with the motor on for 5 minutes before turning the heat on to thaw my fingers. Dang it, people, this is NORTH CAROLINA! NOT CANADA! Sheesh! Don't make me move to Florida!

Sorry. I had a passionate moment there.
Back to being thrifty.

One of the things I really wanted to check into was what to do with empty plastic jugs. The respiratory therapist who educated me on my C-PAP said to use only distilled water in it, not tap water. It only costs 79 cents/gallon, and lasts 2-3 weeks, so the cost isn't the problem--it's those empty containers I kept throwing away because I didn't know what to do with them.

So I googled it, and found lots of uses for them, but two really stood out for me. One is to cut the bottoms off and use them under my plants. Duh. Last summer it irked me to purchase those flimsy plastic saucers from Lowe's, and the solution was right in front of me all the time.

Another thing, and this is roundabout, is that freezers function better when they are full--something about diffusing the air around them--and one site suggested if your freezer is too empty, to put plain old cardboard boxes, such as cereal boxes, in them. How much better to almost fill one of my jugs with water and put them in there instead? As an added benefit, should the power go out, they will help keep the food cold that much longer.


Other things I did this week:
1. This week is triple coupon week at my grocery store, and though there are restrictions, I saved $50.00 today. I still spent a lot, but I know that the real savings won't show up for a while, when I'm able to start delaying buying some items until they go on sale again because I have enough from the last sale, or triple coupon week.

2. I still don't have the details worked out for sorting, storing and transporting coupons, so shopping is a very long process right now, but I did use some of the envelopes that come in my bills. J-Man has most of the bills set to pay through our online bank, so we usually toss the return envelopes, but they came in handy today. The ones with plastic windows work really well, because I can place the coupons for items already selected face forward and see which envelope they are in. As I collect more, I'll be able to label the envelopes by category.

3. Still haven't painted the sewing room yet, but had narrowed the choices down to two colors, using Behr paint chips from Home Depot. When I went online to Behr.com, I found I could take a picture of my sewing room with my digital camera, and use their website to "paint" my room and see how it would look. Is that not the coolest thing? Only now, I've added back two more colors because they looked better than I'd thought when viewed online. But when I finally choose a color, I know I will truly love it.

4. I already mentioned baking, burning candles, and running the dishwasher to keep the house warm when the heater was on the fritz.

5. Millstone Coffee has those little vacuum-packed flavored coffee samplers that cost about $1.48 and make maybe 2 pots of coffee.

I'm not a fan of strong coffee, so mixing a teaspoon or two of the package with my regular coffee grounds (I have a 2-mug coffee pot) is enough to flavor my coffee without using the entire package at once.

Goals for this week:
1. Still plan to start going through my quilt magazines and pull out or scan what I want to keep. Although the mini-computer isn't here yet, I did buy a second thumb drive so I can have one all to myself for all my quilting stuff. I figure I can pare down even more if I scan the articles and patterns to the desktop, then download onto the thumb drive in categories. This will take a while, so once I start doing it, I won't mention it again until it's all done, probably months from now, unless the Thrift Muse strikes again.

2. Didn't get those letters written yet--back on the list for this week.

3. Clean out the "linen closet". It occurs to me that since the linen closet is right by the kitchen, if I get rid of and organize it's contents a little, I can use at least one of the shelves to store extra pantry items for when they go on sale--like bulk paper towels or even canned goods. Who says a linen closet has to hold linens?

Are these old hat to you? Anything to share? I'd love to hear, um, read it!

Stashbuster Report Week #2

Another non-productive week at the homestead.

Yards in: 0
Yards out: 0

I'm sure this isn't what Judy had in mind, but at least I'm not adding to the Stash.

On a more positive note, J-Man told me a day or so before Christmas that he'd meant to order me the EQ6 upgrade I wanted, but just hadn't gotten around to it.

Not one to let that kind of gift slip through my fingers, I told him I'd order it and he could just be the moneybags, umm, funding, and I got myself over to Judy L's site and ordered it. Unfortunately, she'd just sent the last one out that day, and wouldn't get any in until after the first of the year. Since the sewing room was emptied for relatives, I knew I wouldn't be able to play with anything for a while anyway.

Well, it came in this week, and last night I got it installed on the computer. The dinosaur computer couldn't handle EQ5, so I never learned about it. Once we got the new 'puter, I've been intending to sit down and mess with it, and now there's double the reason to do so! I will be loading the programs onto the thumb drive, so when the mini-computer comes in, I can sit in the sewing room and play with it, or leave the design up without hogging the desktop.

In the meantime, I've decided to paint the sewing room now that it's about 1/2 empty, so there are paint chips all over the walls and I'm hoping for a bit of sunshine today so I can see which ones I like the best. I've seen them in cloudy light, nighttime incandescent light, and now I just need a bit of sunshine to finalize my choices. Not sure that's going to happen today, as it's looking a little grey out there right now.

So I'm betting there won't be much stash-busting to report next weekend, either, but here's hoping the week after that shows a big jump (I mean reduction) in my numbers.

Stashbuster Report Week #1

Sundays are supposed to be report day for Judy L's group, but as I worked (my hiney off) Sat. and Sun. nights, I'm going to slip this one under the door. It's a small one, anyway.


Zero in,
Zero out.


There. That didn't take long, did it?
As Christmas isn't completely down at our house yet, I haven't refilled the sewing room, either. Not that one really has anything to do with the other, except that I'd feel guilty playing in the sewing room while there were responsible adult things to be done in the rest of the house.

I've toyed with the idea of painting the sewing room while it is half empty, but it's the half that's still in there--3 FULL bookshelves and a desk--that are overriding that decision. I'll just spackle above the windows so I can put up the new curtain rod and save the painting for another day.

Goals for the week?
1. Spackle
2. Finish taking down Christmas and putting the REST of the furniture back in place. Besides, I have to clear out in front of the TV because the repairman comes on Wed, HALLELUJAH!
3. Re-fill the sewing room so I can participate, at least in a small way, in Judy's Quiltathon Weekend.

(Not sure why my signature isn't showing up anymore--guess it needs to be redone).