Quarterly Review

Here we are on April 1st (and nope, no April Fool's jokes here) and it seems like a good time to do a business style review of my progress this quarter. Based on my New Year's goals and projections -- let's see how my work has been progressing (or not -- which is much more to the point here).


Skills:


Hand quilting -- actually, I've been working on this one. I still have a bit more to do on my second mini-wholecloth but not bad. I figured it would take much longer to get to this one.


Applique -- still a total and complete wimp.


Embroidery -- I have at least two projects in progress and one that I've finished the embroidery part but I can't show yet (and need to finish the other part and get it in the mail -- eeek!). I also finished the embroidery on my Winter Four Season's Swap. So -- not too bad here. It would be better if I FINISHED a few more things -- but, I'm working on it. And just to prove that I am -- a hint about some of the work on my current Four Season's piece.



Knitting -- well, actually there is more to report here than anywhere else. I've made three and 1/2 pairs of mitts over the past three months, finished a scarf, started another scarf, almost finished a sweater for my daughter, almost finished a princess/fairy dress for my daughter, made three washcloths, a couple of bath scrubbies, and a really long piece of lace and some flowers for embellishments. Whew. That actually is a lot. If you would like to see photos of most of these -- you can check out my Flickr page. I'm still enjoying knitting so it's likely to continue -- though, I have an experiment that I tried over the weekend that is getting frogged when I have enough heart to do it. UGH. As for not adding to the stash -- um, yeah, we just aren't going to go there.


Projects (this is the category that is going to just KILL my stock values here):


PIBS -- (projects in bins) Yeah, haven't touched them. They're still there. They're still waiting for me. See above for some reasons why they haven't been touched.


UFOs -- still there. Still UFO's. Though -- I did finally buy a backing for one UFO (though if I'm kind I'll call it a WISP -- Work in Slow Progress though I haven't touched it since -- let's see -- um, LAST March) that needs to be a FO by June 1st for my daughter's birthday.


Bags -- not going there. Have plans for three or four, have two I need to make pronto. Yep. Not going there.


Stash:


Um, haven't been sewing much, haven't been using up what I have. Though, I will say -- I did find a use for this piece from my stash while Mom was here visiting. Yep -- another new project. There's a surprise.


And if I keep on giving in to lovely new fabrics that I just want to play with -- how I'm ever going to get to use what I have is beyond me. But, really, these? Can you blame me???


And well -- when kind friends decide they want to send you bits and bobs to help you have MORE fabric -- can you REALLY say no? And, let's be honest -- do you really WANT to say no? Especially when you have a little one with a shoe fetish? No -- I didn't think so. (but I will say thank you so much KATE!!!)

As for hoarding fabrics (a nasty little tendency) -- um, is it really hoarding if you haven't been using much fabric AT ALL?!?
Christmas:

It sounded like a good idea, get Christmas presents done throughout the year so that my November/December isn't totally crazy. Started well -- hasn't been working out all that great. The one present I had managed to make has already been given away. NEED to get on top of this one if I don't want a repeat of last year's sweat shop.

Life:

Trying. Best I can do some days.


So -- overall report. Um, yeah, not so great. I have a ton of projects started, in the works, plots and plans and not much action. Not to mention I've been neglecting my blog. I won't even mention the number of posts I have plotted out in my head and haven't gotten to yet. Not to mention how far behind I am in my blog reading (yeah -- when bloglines tells you there are over 1000 posts you haven't read -- time to do some serious reading and/or editing of your lists -- so I apologize if I haven't been commenting much lately).


As for my giveaway -- I've had a terrible work stoppage problem here at my house (Tink and Mr. Cornfields have been sick). The drawing that was supposed to happen while my Mom was here didn't -- so I will be drawing names TONIGHT and posting winners tomorrow. My helper is feeling better so -- time to get her back to work!

Wips, gifts, and other assorted stuff

First -- thanks so much to everyone who has been cheering me on in the "mommy vs. toddler" nighttime wars. (we won't even mention the potty wars) It helps knowing I'm not alone in this one -- and that it will end. Eventually. In the meantime -- sleep, ah yes, I remember it fondly :0).


On the plus side, I have had a few spare moments to work on some projects. Mostly handwork since, well, by the time I get all the machine stuff set up -- someone is daring me to come up and tell her to go to bed -- again. But, hey, couch time is good :0). I've been able to work a bit on my hand quilting.


And weave in the (seemingly) bazillion ends for this sweater. There weren't really a bazillion -- but, more than I really wanted to deal with anyway. I still need to sew in the sleeves and the side seams and knit a little bit of trim (more ends, yippee!).


Oh, and work on some little tiny flowers. These are part of my solution for this quilt top.


And so is this. Speaking of which, I need to do some blocking tonight so I can get an accurate read on the length of it. More will be revealed in time :0).



And I did get the bunny houses done as well. Here's the front of the finished Victorian number -- may I say that glitter and small children is a BAD idea? Yeah -- thought I could :0). I think I'll save pictures of the other house for Sunday. Yeah, um, Easter and all.


I also got some great mail this week. A beautiful whole cloth quilt that I just CAN NOT get a good picture of. I won it in a blog drawing a few months ago from Suzanne over at Art, Quilts and Other Adventures. And since I, of course, chose the option of a mini-whole cloth rather than the faster, and easier, fabric -- yes, it's my fault, and not Suzanne's. I WISH I could have gotten a better picture. The machine quilting on this is just sooooo incredible. Maybe, someday, if I work really, really hard -- um, yeah, I can be something like 1/10 as good. Thank you Suzanne -- this one is getting hung in my office. Mostly so I can walk past it and pet it every day :0).


I also got a lovely goodie package from Sharon over at Red Geranium Cottage. When I posted about some of the mitts I've been knitting, she commented (once, or maybe twice) about really liking them but that she can't knit. Soooo -- I proposed a trade. Mitts for some fabric. :0). I think I came out waaaaay ahead in this deal. Thank you so much Sharon!!! I love, love, love these Japanese fabrics she sent as well as the little koala -- um, I think it's for making muffins or something? Help?!?! (if I'm not careful Miss Tink's gonna take it over for her play doh!) I can't wait to play with these -- and the hedgehogs?!? oh yeah I NEED to get some projects out of the way!


Ok, well, that's it for now (more than enough don't you think?). A lot of things in the works -- not a whole lot done. Kind of like my cleaning, but hey, Mom won't be here for another 12 hours or so...


Ooops -- almost forgot. Again. Geesh, my mind is full of swiss cheese. See -- last weekend wasn't just my hubby's birthday (he got some lovely sushi delivered to him as a special lunch/dinner together -- I wasn't quite THAT forgetful). It also wan't just National Quilting Day. Seems it was also my one year blogaversary as well (take THAT Ides of March). Oh, and I passed the whole 100 posts celebration thing sometime last January too. Sooooo -- I should probably do something about that shouldn't I?!? Yeah -- I think so. Post a comment to this post to be entered into a drawing. What, exactly the prize is I'm not sure. It may be fabric. It may be a hand made goodie from me. It may be a combination of the two :0). I'll keep the comment/blog drawing open until Midnight, Easter Sunday (sounds like a good enough time to me) and announce the winner next week :0). Thanks for sticking around and listening to my angst and my quilting/knitting/crafting babble for the past year. When I started this blog I had NO idea how much I would come to enjoy it and/or how many great friends I would make on the net. Just goes to show -- quilters (and other crafters) are some of the best kinds of people!

Thank you Mr. Postman

Yep, some of the best things show up in the mail. And today's delivery was a doozy! I have a really tiny mailbox, so packages get left on the front step along with the doorbell ringing. And no, he doesn't ring twice (matter of fact, sometimes he doesn't ring at all -- ugh). Luckily this time, he did ring. I figured it was a birthday package of some sort. (hey, a girl can hope right?) I was wrong -- but oooh, I so don't mind!


Instead of birthday goodies, I got my Four Seasons Quilt Swap package from Janey at SewStylish. Already! (oh man do I need to finish mine this weekend) Just look at the beautiful quilt she sent. I LOVE the pattern and the fabrics. The picture doesn't show it but the white snowflakes and binding have a "sequin" shimmer in them that really looks like snow falling. I just love it! (so does Ms. Tinkerbell -- she decided it was for her and has been trying to cuddle up under it all night. The kid's got taste, but we need to have a talk about MOMMY'S stuff versus her stuff.)


And just look at the quilting in it -- the meandering in the mitten blocks includes, well, mittens. How freaking cute is that? This just proves that I have GOT to practice machine quilting. I wanna be able to do this. Heck, I'd be happy if I could do a decent meander -- but this? Way too cute!



And, as if the super cute quilt wasn't enough -- I also got spoiled with some other goodies. Two adorable fat quarters (I am seriously getting ideas about those fish -- especially since the bubble fabric that came with it would make really cool "fish bubbles" -- hmmn), a knitted bag, a set of quilt hangers, and some yummy looking chocolate and coffee candies. I may need to hide the candy from my husband though -- he does love coffee. Ah well, I've been spoiled enough that I can share. I guess. :0)


Thank you so much Janey -- I absolutely love everything you sent. And my quilt (once I can wrest it from the hands of my little one) will be going up on the wall as soon as possible! Wooo Hooo -- this is turning out to be a GREAT birthday week!


Now, it's off to bed for me. I've got my own quilt to finish as well as a couple of other projects in the works -- if I'm going to get anything done I had better get some rest!

Goodies in my Mailbox

After a nice, boring, and relaxing weekend, things at casa de cornfields are getting back to normal. Or, well, as normal as they can be if I'm living here that is. So, time for some catch-up on all the things I haven't been doing while I've been producing cute aprons. You know, laundry, cleaning, finishing up quilting projects I should have finished by now -- that stuff.

One task I have needed to do is give a big thanks to some folks who sent lovely packages in the mail over the past few weeks. Look at it all -- makes me giddy just looking at it!!! Hehehehehe.

First up is a lovely ATC sent to me by Helen over at Quilts and ATCs. I won this lovely piece in a drawing on her blog and it's even more lovely in person. the colors are soft and lovely and the use of the washers is fantastic. Thanks so much Helen!

I also won these fabulous note cards from Karyn over at Trail Mix Designs. She's been busy with her new Gocco printer and been making some lovely cards and gift tags (and some are even available in her etsy store as well -- really, they are fantastic).

And as if sending the cards wasn't enough, she attached a lovely little button pendant to the bow she wrapped the cards with. Hehehehe -- I've been admiring these! I just need to find a chain! Isn't that button just fantastic?

And, if you were ready to hate me for my winning streak with these two -- hold on, 'cause there's one more. Teresa over at Fabric Alchemy did a drawing for a piece of her lovely hand dyed fabrics -- and well, I won a piece! And really, this blue is just absolutely luscious! I'm not sure what it will be used for, but -- oh yes, I will find something!

And the final piece of goodness in the mail is something purchased -- so no huge surprise that it was coming (darned those buttons to push). But really -- that Heather Ross fabric I was playing with for my daughter's dress was just too nummy to pass up. These are destined for a Christmas gift -- I'll show more as I get to the project! A special nod here to the folks at Z and S Fabrics -- they were great about getting the package out quickly even when there was a computer glitch in getting the order processed.

So, the mail's all caught up -- and now to tackle the laundry and the quilting!

Mail Call

I mentioned in my last post that while I was internet impaired a few goodies showed up in my mailbox. Since these goodies are quilting related, I thought I would share the postal offerings.

My first squishy package (ok, so this one wasn't technically a squishy -- it came in a box, but hey -- the contents are squishy) was from my Mom. No, this is not one of my quilts. Don't I wish I could do applique like the work in this one as well as the foundation piecing it represents. Nope, this one is a genuine article 1930's feedsack (and probably some dressmaking and other assorted cottons) top. I love the colors in this one -- bits and pieces from all sorts of prints. There are some cheddars, some bright pinks, lots of blues, lavenders -- a true scrap quilt all the way around.

So why did my Mom send it to me? Well, my dad's sister gave it to me sometime in the early 90's -- long before I had begun to quilt myself. The top was pieced by one of my great grandmothers (which one? I have no clue -- my instinct says it was my grandfather's mother, who was a farmer's wife. But it could have been my German immigrant great grandmother as well -- though not as likely. I know -- bad me for not asking when it was given to me. I may have been told, but I now don't remember. Why not just ask my aunt? She has since passed away so -- no one left who could tell me). When my grandmother died in 1990, my aunt found the blocks for this quilt among her things (again, this could still mean it was made by either of my great grandmothers). She put together the blocks and backed the quilt as a summer spread and gave it to me. At the time I was living in the dorms so it ended up at my parents' house.

Why did I ask for it now? Close to 20 years after I'd received it? Well, I appreciate it more now for one. And two, well, this might be something of a rescue mission. My aunt, lovely woman that she was, was not a quilter per se. Crochet -- oh gods yes. Embroidery, some. Some sewing. But not really a quilter. When she put the backing on this quilt -- she used what was economical and convenient. Namely a sheet. In a, and I'm sorry if anyone out there likes this but blech, a gods awful color somewhere between brown/tan and orange with neither of the good qualities of either of those colors (and I must say -- the color doesn't look that bad in the photo -- but you will have to trust me when I tell you that in person, it is so much worse).

Aside from my aesthetic sensibilities being offended by the backing -- there is also the problem of damage. My aunt used a polyester thread to put on the backing (which is simply folded to the front, not bound on and there is no quilting or tying -- really, a summer spread). Which has, oddly enough, not torn through the feedsack cream backing of the blocks, but the cotton/poly blend sheet. Oh, and notice the polyester batting stuffed in the folded over sheet to make the "binding". So, one of my summer projects is going to be a rescue mission. I'm going to remove the binding, add a new backing of some 30's reproductions (possibly pieced, but also possibly just a solid color) and add a "proper" (yes, I know folding the backing to the front is a perfectly acceptable way to finish a quilt -- I've used it myself, but given what has happened here, I think I want something a bit more stable) binding out of some feed sack reproductions. I am not going to quilt it -- I'm really not sure how well it could handle longarm machine quilting and I don't have the skills (yet) to hand quilt it. At which point it will be ready for generations 4 and 5 (myself and my daughter) to use and love.

I'm going to have to apologize here for the length of this post -- but if I'm ever going to get all the stuff I want to say up and get caught up, this one needs to be long. And maybe the next two or three as well.

My next piece of love from the post office came all the way from Australia!!! A while ago, I had asked Tracey over at ozcountryquiltingmum how she made her chooks she sells at school fairs. I thought they would be a cute little toy for my daughter. Generous soul that she is -- she offered to mail me one. I am continually amazed by the generosity of quilters and crafters the world over. So here is a photo of the package that arrived. Not one, but TWO chooks -- one for dd and one for me! (I still have to re-stuff them, but that is on my list for today!), a bit of the lovely satin she was using for pillows, I'm thinking it would make some lovely sachets for my closet, (not in the photo because I couldn't wrest it away from the two year old who says 'my puse') a lovely little bag (actually, it's in this post -- the white bag with the Winnie the Pooh applique) and a piece of chocolate (also not pictured as it went almost immediately into my stomach -- I suppose I could show you a photo of my cellulite, but, um, that's not fair to the small piece of chocolate, I've had to work a long time for a body this bad). Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Tracey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And finally, for now, (I'm betting there are many people who are celebrating the end of this post) I've had a request from Laurie over at The Wooden Spool for some detail shots of my god daughter's jacket as well as some requests for information (Laurie -- you're "no reply" when you comment -- so I have to do these publicly). So, in order of asking -- Yes, I probably will make another one of these. Probably more than one. My daughter LOVES hers, and when she outgrows it, it will be time for the next size up. She still has two sizes in the pattern before she outgrows it, so I foresee more of them. Also, if you just use the pattern with plain fabric (no quilting) it works up quickly and is still cute -- so it's great for using as baby gifts. Yes, this version is mostly Lakehouse fabrics (last year's version of the DayZ line) with one or two additions from my scrap stash. If you find out that Holly Holderman has a flickr group -- would love to submit the photos! Hope these are the kinds of detail shots you wanted!

That's all for today -- need to run to Target and get a few other things done. I might even get to some quilting time! I still have post office goodies to share (like the two above aren't enough?) and some more of my own work. I also have another photo request or two that I need to get to (need to take the photos first though!). Hope everyone is having a great weekend.