Fabric Fast - April update

My fabric fast is going ok...ish.  In my original post, I listed these goals:

GOALS:

- To use the stash I already have (to make quilts and other things)
Update:  I have made a wallet, half an Alligator quilt, a Shaggy Edge plaid quilt, used a tonne of 5" charms to make the Cherry Charm quilt top, made a Triangle quilt top, used my scraps to make more pincushions and used several metres of backing fabric - all from stash.  Here is the Triangle top:

- Aim to finish UFOs and PHDs BEFORE starting something new
Update:  hmmm... this is debatable but I HAVE crossed several things off the list.  However - I may have added more to that (original) list which means the list is in no way no smaller than before!

- Stop buying the latest and greatest fabric and save money!!

Update:  In April I purchased some Kona Solids for which I have no purpose - YET!  Oh and a mini charm pack for my Scrap Vomit quilt.  Oh and some fabrics for the New York Beauty Dear Stella/Timeless Treasures Challenge.  See next point below to explain why!!

- Only buy what I need in order to complete specific projects/commissions
Update:  I purchased some Dear Stella Dots and some Timeless Treasures Rain and Sketch to complete my #DSTTChallenge so I am allowed that!  I am also allowed the mini charm pack for my Scrap Vomit quilt!

- De-stash the fabrics that I realise I am never going to use
Update:  I have de-stashed, swapped and given away, to-date in 2014, 27 fat quarters.  Yes, 27 fat quarters have left the building folks!

- Make a list of all projects that have been started and work through them!

Update:  I have made a HUGE list and keep adding to it.  Several things have been crossed off so I am a happy camper!

In summary: 

I have been using my stash.  I have used quite a bit of it, given some away, swapped a bit and sold a few pieces.  The amount of fabric that has come IN to the house is still LESS than what has gone out or been used = I am a *good girl!

Linking to:

*in my experience, an addict can always find a way to justify their actions.  Yes, I am an addict!

Modern Traditional #DSTTchallenge

Hello - I am finally sharing my Dear Stella / Timeless Treasures "Modern Traditional" mini quilt with you!

I adore this mini quilt.  Definitely one of my all-time favourites!  I love 'low volume', text and strong, saturated colours.  Throw in some paper piecing and a few curves and presto - my interpretation of the theme for a "Modern Traditional" mini quilt!  I followed the rules:  my mini is 20" square; I used no solids; and I used at least 2 prints from each company.  Oh how I love rules - they make you work harder I think and the creative results reflect that.

I did some straight(ish) line quilting using invisible thread on the front and Aurifil on the back.  I love the texture of dense quilting - and in this case INVISIBLE!  Hanging corners were added too. 

The New York Beauty blocks are from Ulas Quiltseite and are each 8" unfinished so I added a border to make the mini 20 inches square. In the picture below you can see some of the straight lines better in the bottom NYB block (pre-washing).

My new favourite go-to binding is now Timeless Treasures Sketch in White/Black.

Well there you have it - my "Modern Traditional" mini quilt using Dear Stella and Timeless Treasures fabrics. 
#DSTTchallenge  @dearstellafab  @sewtimeless

Linking to crazy mom quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Pay it Forward confession

In 2013 I signed up for a couple of Pay It Forwards.  One of them was a Flickr Pay it Forward that we each promised to send a hand-made surprise sometime in 2013. 

Tonight I was having a little tidy-up and I found the list of names that I need to send a surprise to [and also the person that should have sent me something but didn't]!  I am such a bad person - I missed the 2013 deadline by almost 5 months.  Eeeek - I am so sorry!   

This was the image on Flickr:

So I am now busy sewing and will make and send some 'Pay it Forward hand-made surprises' to my lovely and very patient pals.  I hope what I send will make up for the extra long wait!  Also, I will need to get current snail mail addresses from Teri/craktpot, Adriana/PatchworkDailyDesire and Amelie/Amelie Whirlygiggles please. 

I hope to hear from you soon ladies - I am looking forward to sewing for you!

Amy x

Busy as a ...bunny

I have been as busy as a bunny these past few days.  Oh how I wish EVERY weekend was four days long!!!  All day Friday and most of Saturday I worked on this:

Today I ironed my Citrus triangle quilt and am working up the courage to baste it so I can quilt it....  I wonder if this quilt top will join the other five flimsy tops I have waiting for me to tackle?

And guess what?  I am now on Instagram.  My name is @amyscraftyshenanigans.  I have no clue what I am doing and since I have no phone to do it on it makes it rather hard to actually 'instagram' stuff!  So far I have used Mr Crafty Shenanigans' phone to take and post two pictures and the rest has been done using the computer.  I may be trading my Blackberry in for a Samsung sooooooooon :)

I've been pattern testing an alligator too!  So far so good.  However, I wish I had picked a darker 'dark' and a different 'light' but hey - you learn as you go right?  A full reveal will happen soon.  Here is a sneak peek:

And one last thing to show you - I completed the name badge for my (not secret) partner for the #NYlon 2014 Meet on 17th May.  I tried to stalk her the best I could....  this is what I came up with:

This name badge was SO MUCH FUN to make.  I just HAD to make a tiny swinging handbag to go with the lady in red.  Hope Joanne will like wearing it!

Just one more day to sew my heart out then it is back to work.  I have a couple of things I really want to work on tomorrow (bake a carrot cake and plant sweetcorn and beans in the garden) so fingers crossed I can cross a few things off the list.

Happy sewing.

De-stash time!

I am working as fast as I can to use what fabric I already have and turn it all into some 'fabulousness' but I have had an a-ha moment and have realised that I will NEVER be able to use it all.  Plus my tastes have changed!

Therefore I reckon it is time to have my first de-stash!  If you are interested in one or more of the things listed below, please leave a comment with your contact details and we can arrange payment and get it shipped off to you!  I am happy to ship overseas - just let me know where you are and I will calculate how much postage to add.

Joel Dewberry Bungalow fabrics x6 FQ's:  £19.00 (includes UK postage). 

Kaffe Fabrics:  £12.00 (includes UK postage).  Dimensions listed picture caption.

Kaffe Fassett fabrics: Shot cotton FQ, Black with purple dots FQ, Stripes half metre

Orange fabrics:  £9.00 (includes UK postage).  See fabric dimensions in picture caption.  SOLD

Top fabric is 32"x19", middle fabric is a FQ, leafy fabric is 44"x11"

Kathy Davis Enchantment fabric 38.5"x36":  £9.00 (includes UK postage). SOLD

 Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934:  £6.50 (includes UK postage).  Half metre with selvages.

Blue scraps #1:  £7.50 (includes UK postage)

Blue scraps #2:  £6.00 (includes UK postage).

Purple fabrics including Joel Dewberry:  £10.00 (includes UK postage)

Joel Dewberry Empire Weave FQ, middle fabric is 42"x16", bottom fabric is 43"x11"

Long piece of fabric:  £8.00 (includes UK postage)

62"x16"

_______________________________________________________

Well there you have it - my first attempt at a de-stash!  Contact me if you have any questions :) Have a happy Saturday folks! 

Q2 2014 Finish Along GOALS

I listed 8 projects to complete/finish in the first quarter of 2014 and I managed to cross four of them off.  I finally completed my Mod Sampler Quilt, the Jane Market Bag, my X-Factor cushion and the Doll Quilt Swap Round 14 mini quilt.  What a great feeling to have them completed! 

For Quarter 2, my goals are to complete/finish the following:
1.  Farmers Wife/Poinsettia wall hanging

2.  Sew Together Bag for swap

3.  Modern Meadow baby quilt

4.  Shaggy edge plaid quilt 

5.  Draught excluder [secret sewing - no picture]

6.  Alligator quilt

7.  Triangle Quilt Along quilt

8.  Simply Solids Bee quilt

9.  Skirt Bag [no picture]

10.  Arrows quilt

11.  Messenger Bag [no picture]

12.  Cherry Charm quilt

13.  Scrappy Trip Along quilt

14.  HST Centre City quilt

Fourteen things....  That should keep me busy eh?  Linking up to The Littlest Thistle.

Triangle Quilt Along

What am I like?

I started yet another quilt! 

I couldn't resist  though - I've wanted to make a triangle quilt for ages and it always seems more fun when you do it as a group.  Really, it would be rude not to, right?

Here are some progress pictures for you:

 

All fabrics were from my stash so I am "using what I have".  In fact, many of the greens and greys have come from the Stash Club so I am using what I have received - yay!  So far I have two rows sewn together out of twelve.  Each row will have 17 triangles which means I will need to cut a few more fabrics...  oh how I love fabric!  

Check out all the other creations HERE and on Flickr.

Canada eh?

Hello - I am Amy the Canadian from Canadia.  Ok, from Canada really but someone at work called it Canadia over four years ago and it stuck!

Guess what?  I have booked a flight to Canadia!  I will be visiting family and friends in the Ottawa Valley region in late June/early July so if anyone wants to meet up please let me know!  I am so excited! 

ALYOF April goal

I think I am still in shock that I managed to complete my March goal of  f i n a l l y finishing my Amy Butler quilt so what should I focus on completing in April?

I know - the Sew Together Bag.  I actually made mega progress on it in March but HATED the side flaps/panels and the front with the appliqued hexagons on it so all of that has been unstitched and I am just back to the three-pockets-and-lining-sewn-together-stage.  Yup - I even removed the one section of binding that I had done and the zipper so I can now make it how I really want it to look!  Here it is before I ripped it apart!

 So this is my April ALYOF goal.  Wish me luck!

Month of March - in review

March was colourful.  I dug deep in to the scrap baskets again and followed my rules of "use what you already have" and I also worked on some works-in-progress.  Guess what - I finally finished one of those WiP's! 

My favourite project from March has to be the Amy Butler Love quilt.  The pattern I used was called Triple Rail from a pattern booklet called Happy Hour.  I have since washed and dried it and LOVE IT!  Yay - finally a quilt I am happy and proud of!

 
Thank you to MessyJessy for the Granny Square book - it is full of colour and happiness - just what I needed!!  And look what Kelly gave me:

Look at those itty-bitty teenie-tiny flying geese!!!  She sells the pattern on Craftsy now too - so clever!  And she definitely knows that I love birds and look at the back - some yummy Echino birds. 

I am looking forward to a scrappy and productive April.  How about you?