I ran across this quote in a bible study I'm doing.  It's from the book, "Having a Mary Spirit" by Joanna Weaver.

Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

It just struck me as incredibly perceptive.  It feels like everything I've been reading or hearing lately keeps coming back to the same conclusion.  Gratitude is the healthiest emotion you can have.  It has all kinds of beneficial health effects including boosting your immune system.  On the other hand, ingratitude or unforgiveness are very negative emotions and actually hurt you both physically and emotionally.

So if you have someone in your life that you need to forgive - do it today!  It will benefit you and also your relationship with God.

Color Association...

Do you associate colors with certain things?  I know it's a random question, but I've been thinking about it lately.  I'm working on the Camelot Snowman monthly stitcheries and I need to decide what color to use on each one.  I suppose I could have done traditional redwork or bluework, but it didn't occur to me when I started.  The first few months were easy: January is blue, February is red, and March is green (to me anyway). 

(To be honest, I think of January as more of a white, but then the stitching wouldn't show up at all - so blue was a good second choice.)

But what about the rest of the months?

• April - Pink?
• May - Red
• June -
• July -
• August - Red or Orange
  
• September -
• October - Black or Orange
• November - Rust or Brown
  
• December - Blue

Hmmm.  Any suggestions?  What colors are these months to you?  I suppose I could look for a fabric that I think represents that month (or holiday) and pull colors from it, but I'm hoping to use my stash as much as possible.

Here's the stitching I finished for March...

I still need to turn it into it's own little wallhanging, but I've got some time.

Until later...

One UFO down...

Yay!  I can cross my first UFO off my list.  That brings my total down to 43+.

Would you like to see the quilt made with these blocks?  I'm sorry.  I can't actually show it to you because I didn't make one.  There are 9 12.5" blocks in this pile all in the same colors.  They were a BOM that I got last year.  I enjoyed making them, but they're not really my colors.  So I offered them up to anyone who wanted them in my bee.  Hils pretty quickly jumped on them and I'm sure she'll make something beautiful.  Whenever she finishes it, I'll have to take a picture and share it.

But it still comes off my UFO list because I no longer own the blocks.  So as I said, one down...

Until next time...

Stash Report Week #1

January 1-7, 2010

I've seen this on other blogs and thought it was a great way to keep track of how much fabric goes in and out of your sewing room in a year.  I tried to keep track some last year, but gave up after all the trips I took (think Paducah...)  However, if I manage it week by week, I hope I'll be better about it.

I was lying in bed last night thinking about my fabric purchases for this week and I at first I thought I hadn't made any.  I gave myself a nice little pat on the back.  But on closer examination, I remembered the trip I made to Jo-Anns on Tuesday.  Although I used a gift card, it still counts.

I bought 4 yards of the black scroll to use as the backing for my Crayola Challenge quilt.  (So it should show up in my used total in the next few weeks.)  And I bought 3 yards of the batik on the right because I really liked it, it was on sale and I had a gift card!

Mr. QuiltingBug and I want to make some changes to the curtains in our living room so I also bought 1/2 yard cuts of the above fabrics to see how we liked them.  The top one - the sheer - will become sheers behind our existing curtains.  And I think we've decided on the middle one to use for the curtain addition.  I bought these 3 pieces just as samples, but now that I've got them, what can I do with them?  Any suggestions?

So that brings my total intake to 8.5 yards.

Now for what I've used.  I gave 3 FQs for Bee birthdays, 15 FQs to my mom and used 2 more for the calendar blocks - for a grand total of 5 yards.

So...  for week #1:
            Bought : 8.5 yards
               Used : 5   yards
         Net Total : 3.5 yards

Until next time...

January's Package

Now that my mom has received and opened her package, I can post some pictures of what I included. 

(In case you didn't know, I'm planning to send my mom a quilting package each month of the year.  It's sort of like the secret sister swap I was in in 2009, but obviously not a secret.  I want her to know how much I love her - and to enjoy quilting as much as I do!)

First, I sent her two calendar wall-hangings featuring her favorite - Snowmen!  These stitcheries are part of the Camelot Snowman series.  Here are January and February.  I made each one to hang individually and bought the small snowflake hanger to display them.

I always tell my mom when I find tools or notions that make sewing easier.  Two of these indispensable items are glass head silk pins and Aurafil thread.  I love the silk pins because you can iron over them and they won't melt.  Plus they're strong, but slide into fabric easily.  They're also thin so they don't leave holes even in delicate fabrics.

Jan introduced me to the Aurafil thread.  The initial cost (around $9) seems rather expensive until you realize how much thread is actually on it.  I'm still on my first two spools - they seem to last forever.  Plus they produce almost no lint.  Definitely less than any other thread I've tried.  And if you should ever need to tear out some sewing (as if!), it comes out more smoothly.

And finally I found this really cute "Snow Days" fabric line at Connecting Threads that made me think of her.  There are 15 FQ's which are enough to make a nice sized throw.  The fabric came with a free pattern for making small Christmas stockings that she could use as well if she likes.

That concludes her first package.  I'd now better get busy on Februrary's - plus all my UFO's!

Until next time...

Do you have too many...

UFO's if your camera battery dies before you're finished taking pictures of them?  If so, I'm very, very guilty. 

I'm trying to make a list so I don't forget they're laying there waiting for me to finish them.  I was a little relieved that I had to stop with the pictures as I was tired of pulling them out.  I want to make a list and put it on my sidebar, but I don't yet know how to do that.  I'm hoping to run by the bookstore this week and pick up a 'Blogging for Dummies' book. 

In case your wondering, my current count is 44!  Yikes!!!

Mr. QuiltingBug was a sweetheart and held up each quilt top for me to take a snapshot.  And with both of us 'humans' up there (in my sewing room), you know the rest of the family had to check it out.

Hmmm.  That quilt looks suspiciously lumpy.  I wonder why?

I know, what a shocker...

Until next time...

Pride comes before the fall...

I think we can all agree that 2009 was a tough year economically around the world.  A lot of small businesses were forced to close as people tightened up their wallets.  As a result, I noticed a lot more sales at quilt stores around Christmas time as they tried to bring in more revenue.  They were some of the largest sales I've seen since becoming a quilter.

As my husband would tell you, I'm usually a sucker for sales (and coupons).  Especially when it comes to quilting.  I like to buy the good fabric for my quilts, knowing they'll last longer.  But at $9 or $10 a yard, it can quickly add up.  That's why I was so proud of myself when I got all the emails and sales flyers and didn't feel tempted to go.   I even had several coupons for LQSs (local quilt stores) and had no plans to use them before they expired.

Do you sense a 'but' coming here?  You'd be right.  I needed a small amount of one fabric for the background to a Disappearing 9-Patch quilt top I've finished.

It's not a large quilt - only 37" x 37".  So I needed a yard and a half for backing and binding.  I went to Quilts Like Crazy because they were having 35% off the entire store.  Well, I found the perfect fabric I needed and then some.

It's like something comes over me in there and I'm compelled to buy more.  I can always rationalize it too.

Here's the fabric I needed along with another fabric I plan to use as a backing for the mystery quilt my quilt bee is finishing up.  OK, that's not so bad.  I have an intended purpose for both of these.  But what do I plan to do with this?

I bought 3 yards figuring I could use it for either a backing or a background, but I don't have a project in mind.  I also bought a Berry Bliss Bali Pop that I've been eyeing for a while.  Again, no project in mind but I do have a pattern that works well with these.

At this point, I'm not very proud anymore.  I've broken down again, but I console myself with how much I saved on fabric I'm sure I will use.  It was a wise purchase right?  Right???

But can I justify returning to the store the next day to buy more?  I've really fallen low now I think.  I struggle back and forth with how much I'm saving versus how much more I'd save if I didn't buy it.  I also tell myself that I give away most of the quilts I make and so this is really a charitable contribution.  There are all kinds of justifications running through my mind.  (These mental discussions are pretty common for me - how about you?)

In any case, here's the other fabric I bought.  These first two are to make a purse.

And these final two are gorgeous batiks - in my opinion.

I've seen on a lot of blogs where quilters keep track of how much they buy and use in a year.  I'm seriously considering trying to keep track that way.  Of course, all of these purchases I just shared with you wouldn't count because I bought them in 2009!  Or so I tell myself...

Until next time...