Wednesday, August 4, 2010

So far this week I've only found Tuesday for sewing. My quilt buddy, Kerry and I are creating a quilt for the 24th annual Fur Ball which takes place on August 14th that raises funds for the San Diego Humane Society and SPCA. It is a black-tie gala that gathers in the neighborhood of 500 prestigious attendees to support the SDHS and SPCA's mission and values. We've been supporters for many years now to help make the event successful. Each year our donation becomes part of the For Your Home basket that guests bid on. This year's theme is "Casabarka", so in keeping with the theme we've made a quilt that reminds us of Casablanca. The pattern is called The Truth About and Dogs, by Kristy Duncan of Hughenden, Queensland, Australia. We started working on the project in June. It must be finished and delivered to the event coordinators on August 9th...YIKES! We are almost finished with only a few more pieces that need additional quilting and a few more pieces that need more embellishment. It is an applique project where we've used satin and blanket stitching to secure the pieces to the background. It pictures a dog, cat, bee, and butterfly in a garden of flowers. Embellishments include 1" buttons and too many to count French knots. It's all in very bright batiks that include red, blue, yellow, purple, green, raspberry, white, brown (for the dog), and gray (for the cat). I'll be sure to photo it when it's done and post.

Karibbean will have to wait until our "Casabarka" project is finished.

Design Wall Monday, August 2, 2010

Here it is Monday once again. I was lucky to finish what I presented last Monday (Kotton Kandy Kocktail) so my design wall is with a new project. This one is a Timeless Treasures pattern called Blue Moon by Karen Montgomery. The pattern features the Tonga Batiks line in 12 different navys and white for the sashing. The main block which is 12 1/2" is sewn from four 21" x 3 1/2" strips. The sets are then cut into 3 1/2" units and lastly sewn into a 16-patch block. I'll be using my navy batik stash and instead of the white for the sashing I'll be using that light blue batik with the small design that runs above the navy strips. I think the sashing gives this design a lot of movement. It's hard to tell from the pattern picture on the design wall but the second sashing counting from the outside of the quilt uses the 3 1/2" units from the basic block. I like how the design also incorporates the 4-patch blocks. Best of all this 81" x 96" quilt will use a little over 9 yards of fabric for the top alone.

I've got all the strips cut in the various widths. Need to start sewing and sub cut the background strips. This one should go together fairly quickly. I'll get back with you on progress later this week. This project I'll call Karibbean.

Go to Judy's blog at www.patchworktimes.com and see what everyone else is up to this Design Wall Monday.

Sunday Stash Report, August 1, 2010

Not only is it the start of a new week, but the start of another month. August already! We had a beautiful day in San Diego today. The sun was shining and a real nice breeze was coming in off the ocean. Several friends got together to enjoy it and remember the birthdays of two special men, my brother and a close friend recently parted. They both would have enjoyed our celebration at the Green Flash on such a beautiful day just off the beach. Later in the day after the chores were done I headed up to my sewing room to put the finishing touches on Kotton Kandy Kocktail. This project came together nicely this past week. It finished at 55 1/2 by 70 1/2. I also got the back pieced together. I have some leftover strips from the Cotton Candy Hoffman Bali Pop that I used and some from my strips stash to make the binding as well. This project used fabrics from my stash entirely.





Used this week: 8 yards
Used YTD: 18 yards
Purchased this week: 0 yards
Purchased YTD: 0 yards
Net Fabric Used in 2010: 18 yards


My next project is already selected. It will be from the Timeless Treasures pattern called Blue Moon. Mine will be coined Karibbean. I've got batiks to use for this project; several dark navy prints and a light blue that has a small design for the background that will pull all the navy prints together. More on Karibbean tomorrow.