I May Have A Scrap Problem... November in Review, and December Goals

Hi, all!

Hard to believe it, but the end of November is here!  We're coming in on the end of the year, and the holiday season - a busy time of year, but hopefully not too busy to get in some scrap-busting.  I'm hoping to make some gifts, but we'll talk more about that later!

So - - - my goal for November was a simple one - finish Lilli's annual quilt!  And I did it!

Here's a shot of the whole quilt...

...and a close-up so you can see the cute pictures, too!  I'm loving the way this turned out, and it really ate up some scraps!

I also made some of these great folded fabric stars...

...and a pretty set of kitchen towels!  I'll probably be making more of both to give as gifts for Christmas - they're fun and easy and use up scraps, too!  The best of both worlds....

So while I didn't get a whole lot done with my scraps in November, at least I reached and surpassed my goals, at least by a little bit!

I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do with my scraps in December - I'll be finishing up the kids' annual quilts and then working on three commission t-shirt quilts - but I definitely want to use some of my Christmas fabric scraps up in ornaments and maybe some pillow tops.  Maybe even another Christmas quilt if time allows!  I've got my eye on that charm quilt with the white stars....

I think I could work one of these up pretty quickly, if I cut my scraps into 5" squares, and I've already got some white on hand, so it could be a Sew My Stash 2016 project, too!

The last week of December is usually a clean-up week for me, too - I work on straightening up the studio so it's all organized for the beginning of a new year.  It's a good time to work on organizing scraps, too!  I'm sure I'll be doing some of that, too.  Wish me luck!

Feel free to link up below and share your scrappy goodness from November and your plans for December!!

Our little scrap monster has decorated himself up for Christmas - I tell you, he's becoming more and more domesticated every day!!  

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Getting In the Christmas Spirit!

Hi, all!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend!  It's finally starting to feel a little bit more like fall here, which helps get everyone in the mood for the holidays - hooray!!  And we're finally getting some rain, which was sorely overdue - it has not rained here since September!  And of course, rainy days are excellent for sewing....

It was a busy week last week, with lots of sewing around here.  Let's see how the list went!

1.  Finish Lilli's annual quilt.

Done!  Hooray!!!

You can see more of this quilt on last Friday's post...

2.  Piece Nathanael's annual quilt.

In progress!  I had to backtrack (oh happy frog stitching!) on some of the piecing I originally did, because I wasn't happy with how it looked.  I like it now!

3.  Quilt Emmy's annual quilt.

Done!  It's so nice to have the second annual quilt done - just one more to go!!  Here's a teaser shot - more on this one on Friday!

4.  Quilt the tree skirt.

Done!  I really love this - I finally have a quilted tree skirt that I didn't buy at the store!!  (About time...)

5.  Clean and decorate the house for the quilt ministry's annual Dirty Santa gift swap (Saturday morning).

Done!  We had a great time!

And lots of food!!  We're Baptist - we eat!!

6.  Come up with a great Dirty Santa gift for the swap!

Done - and of course, I forgot to take a picture!  It was a one-hour basket with a mug, two kitchen towels, a pin, and a graph paper journal, and it was very popular - it was stolen a LOT!

7.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

Thankfully, last week was a very quiet week - no requests for quilts - so we've had a chance to replenish the stash!

OK - it took a good bit of work today, and I didn't get as far on Nathanael's quilt as I wanted to, but I'm happy with my progress for the week!  Here's what's on tap for this week...

1.  Finish Nathanael's quilt.

2.  Bind nine quilts for the quilt ministry.

3.  Order fabric for a special project.

4.  Start working on three t-shirt commission quilts.

5.  Clean up my studio a little bit!

6.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

 I feel like there's something else that I'm forgetting, but this is certainly enough to keep me busy - and if I finish the list, I'm sure there's lots more I can find to play with!

So now the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Annual Quilt #1 Finished!

Hi, all!

Wow!  Friday is here already - are you still in a turkey coma from yesterday's festivities?  It's time to get our whoop-whoop on!! I hope you'll take a few minutes this weekend to share your own whoop whoops - try to fit it in amidst all the bargain hunting and leftover-eating!  Let's get started!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

I was so excited to get the binding on Lilli's annual quilt Thursday morning before we headed out for Thanksgiving feasting!

This year I told her, since she was going to be nine, that she could pick out her own fabric and pattern for her annual quilt if she wanted.  She answered that all she wanted was a photo quilt (she really liked the one I made for her mom's birthday) because she wanted to remember what she was like "when she was a little girl"!

Half the fun of making this quilt was going through my old photographs and picking out my absolute favorites...

...like that bottom pic where she was my photography assistant...

...remembering special fun times we've had together...

Look at how much she's grown!

That picture on the right cracks me up - she wouldn't go outside that spring without her raincoat and rainboots on, and she carried around that metal lizard everywhere - because it matched her raincoat!

And this picture just makes me smile - 

It captures her personality perfectly!

Now, I know many of you are wondering what an annual quilt is.  When Lilli turned two, I had just started quilting, and decided to make her a quilt.  She was really into tracing her hand that year, so I traced her hand onto felt and used it as a label.  The next year, I decided to continue the tradition and made her another quilt that reflected what she was like in the year she was three.  It's become a tradition, and one that's grown to the other two grandchildren, too!  It definitely keeps me on my toes, but it's a lot of fun... The labels on each year's quilt tell a little bit about what each child was like and what they liked to do.  I love to think of their own children looking at them someday and trying to imagine their parents at that age!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you dance a little happy dance?

Share - we want to dance right along with you - 

And it's always more fun to celebrate with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight -

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

I May Have a Scrap Problem... but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hi, all!

Well, last week's post sharing some scrappy gift ideas was so popular, I thought it might be fun to share some scrappy Christmas decorating ideas this week (plus it makes for a fairly quick post that I can populate with images I found while surfing Pinterest while my hair color processed this morning!)  So let these put you in the Christmas mood, and maybe help you diminish that "stash of shame" - the Christmas fabrics you hide away during the year, that chant "use me, use me" every time you look at the beautiful new fabrics that come out each July.....  😊

Let's start with some wall hangings!  Simple to make, small in size, these are the perfect accessory to take a room from everyday to "Christmas cheery"!

Consider making a mini the same size as a picture on the wall - that way you can hang it right on top of the picture frame and undecorating is a breeze after Christmas!

I love the circles that make up the tree in this - and if you have a GO! Cutter and the circle die, it makes this one super simple!

Don't have a die cutter?  Then how about these ornaments made with snowball blocks?  

Remember the "Stack-o-Gifts" you could once order for Christmas gifts?  That's what this mini reminds me of.  I bet you could make this one up in an afternoon!

Now personally, I think everyone should have a Christmas quilt to put out at this time of year.  It instantly transforms a room with warmth and begs to be snuggled with!  Here are some great options that look simple and like they would be great scrap busters!

Aren't these Christmas trees adorable?  And so modern...

Got lots of strips?  This would be an awesome way to whip up a quick little Christmas tree quilt!

This one is a bit more complicated, but isn't it gorgeous?

I've always loved this quilt, and plan to make one of my own some day!  Those blue accents just sparkle...

And speaking of sparkle, I know this quilt isn't shown in Christmas fabrics - but wouldn't it look great made up in them?  Maybe even use a silver or silver on white for the stars.  I've made this quilt before and it is so simple and fun - simple 9-patch blocks!

And just to round out the theme, here's some cute little Christmas tree ornaments...

And some great towels for the kitchen or bathroom!

Feeling inspired yet?

Go whip those scraps into submission!!

Hugs!

Sarah

Once again, you can find the original links for all these pictures and more on my Pinterest board, Oh Scrap!

Make-A-List Monday - Have Handbasket, Will Travel!

Good morning, all!

I say good morning, because we anticipated the holiday and ate turkey last night for supper - and tryptophan got the better of me!  Ten minutes after I sat down on the sofa to write my blogpost, I was sound asleep... turkey is my enemy!  So now I'm writing my Monday list on Tuesday - already a day behind.... oh well..... It's all good!

So first of all, let's see how last week's list went.  Maybe then you'll understand the title of my post better!

1.  Finalize the pattern for Nathanael's annual quilt.

Done, thanks to the kindness of friends!

2.  Make placemats to go to shut-ins for Christmas.

Done, and our cup runneth over - we needed 21, and at last count we had 28, with a few more still coming in!

3.  Make folded fabric ornaments.

Done!  I want to make more, though...

4.  Quilt the gift quilt.

Done!  So happy to have this one ready to go...

5.  Cut out Nathanael's quilt when all the fabrics have arrived.

Done, although no pics yet.

6.  If customer decides to go ahead with memory quilts, meet with her to choose and order fabrics.

Still no word from her...

7.  Quilt Lilli's annual quilt.

Lilli's quilt is only about 2/3 quilted - I'll explain why in a minute!

8.  If there's time, quilt Emmy's annual quilt.

9.  And if by some miracle, there's any more time, quilt the tree skirt I pieced earlier this fall!

Nope!  Life conspired against me on these two!

10.  Keep up with any ministry needs that come up.

Done - and it was a busy week!  It all started out with a family whose house burned down - we sent a quilt for the parents...

...and quilts for each of their six children, in hopes of providing a little comfort in a difficult time.

This quilt went to an elderly gentleman in the hospital...

...and this one went to another elderly gentleman in a nursing home, recovering from a broken hip and dealing with dementia.

These two quilts went to a local counseling center that counsels kids in abusive situations.

This quilt went to a gentleman just diagnosed with colon cancer who is starting chemo this week.  

And we gave away one other quilt, but I didn't get a picture.  It went to a man who recently had double knee replacements.

 So that was how the list went.  Here's why I didn't get as much done as I wanted to!  Thursday morning I was zipping along quilting a quilt while listening to an audiobook, then decided I should recharge one of my portable chargers.  Went to plug it in to the USB port on my computer, and ZAP! my computer died.  DIED!  Oh my gosh, the mourning!  

Well, my husband got tired of listening to me moan about it and we went to get a new one.  So I'm back up and running, thankfully. 

Then Saturday morning we decided it was time to get the man cave finished, so I started laying flooring...

I stopped about halfway through because we had the grandkids Saturday evening for a "date night" - mainly so their parents could go see Dr. Strange!  We had a lot of fun, though!  

Saturday afternoon, I went up and started working on this...

...but work came to an abrupt halt when I broke a needle - loudly and badly - and couldn't get poor Jolene to sound or sew normally after that.  Fortunately, my repair man was able to come yesterday afternoon and fixed her all up! 

Here's what Jolene looks like just prior to getting a lube job!  Man, is my studio a mess right now.... but that's just the normal state of affairs in November/December.  

So anyway, that's why I didn't make as much headway as I would like to have on last week's list.  Here's hoping that this week is a little less eventful and a little more productive!  So here's what I'd like to get to this week...

1.  Finish Lilli's annual quilt.

2.  Piece Nathanael's annual quilt.

3.  Quilt Emmy's annual quilt.

4.  Quilt the tree skirt.

5.  Clean and decorate the house for the quilt ministry's annual Dirty Santa gift swap (Saturday morning).

6.  Come up with a great Dirty Santa gift for the swap!

7.  Keep up with any quilt ministry needs that come up.

That should be enough to keep me out of trouble, especially with Thanksgiving in the middle of the week!  

So now the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah