More HST Squares for Ocean Waves — but I think I’m done now.   I also am counting the background I cut for the group quilt I’m involved in and the blocks I made from my stash.

Fabric Added Last Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 10.583 yards

Fabric Used Last Week: 1.463 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 20.878 yards

Net Used for 10.295 yards

This is the end of the first quarter of the year and as I look back to last year’s first quarter I see that I had used three times as much fabric.  But the again by this time last year I had finished three quilts, two pillowcases and a pair of pajama pants.  This year, I’ve only completed one quilt — but then my UFO challenge this year has been parts/pieces of a quilt instead of full quilts.

My purchases are within two yards of each other — and had I not started the JT2 quilt, my purchases would be about half of what they were this time last year.  Bottom line.  I’m happy with my usage over all.

Follow the links over at Patchwork Times to see how others are doing with their fabric usage goals.

Last night the only thing I sewed, was the three seams to finish the center of the Ocean Waves quilt.  Then I spent the rest of the evening figuring out how many more pinwheels I needed to make.  This box contains hundreds of HST squares of the right size — the are “bonus” triangles from several quilts I’ve made over the past couple of years.  When I started Ocean Waves I went through these and pulled everything I thought I could use. A few weeks back I went through the box pulling more HST to get more variety in my quilt, as I ended up with way more black HST than I wanted in the quilt.  But last night I came up 42 pinwheels short, so it was back to the box.

I pulled more pink, gold, blue, red, purple and green to add to my mix and still didn’t have enough HST squares to make 42 pinwheels.  So, I will be stitching a few more tonight.   Perhaps tomorrow I’ll have a border for the quilt.

Now I’m off to measure to find out how many more pinwheels I need to make.

Since my usually Friday night plans aren’t happening this week, I’m going to spend the evening working on my Ocean Wave quilt.   Three more seams and then I get to work on the border.  I should be ready to quilt this top in no time.

Then it’s border time!

Do I have to count this as a new start if it’s parts and pieces for a group quilt?  We are using Bonnie Hunter’s Boxy Stars.  I have no repeats in my purples, but I am wondering if that floral is “purple enough”.  I’m not going to sew the blocks together until I see what everyone else comes up with.  We are using a single white fabric from my stash.  We’ll figure out the border after we get the blocks together.

This past week there hasn’t been much time at the sewing machine.  First there was 4 days on the road and then when I got back I wasn’t able to sit at the sewing machine for any length of time, as I twisted my ankle and knee when I went bowling.   Needless to say, I did not haul my sewing machine to the 2nd Friday sew-in and took my red work.  By the end of the  night I had finished the first piece except for the two snowflakes on the right side of the piece.  Then I pulled out the holly leaf piece.  I’ve worked on it on and off all weekend and I am half way finished with it. At this rate I might have a quilt top in a year or so.

When I did sit a the machine I worked on sewing the Ocean Wave blocks into rows.  There a row missing from the wall — it’s on my sewing table.  I have a few half blocks to make and attach, then I can sew the rows together.   — that star hanging out there was from a couple of weeks ago.  It’s still waiting on the Bells block for the UFO challenge.

This box contains the Part 4 of Orca Bay.  I’ve been working on them as leader enders for the past few weeks and finished up the last of them Saturday.  Now I’m sewing pinwheels together for the Ocean Wave border as leader/enders.  I’m going to need a new L/E project before too long.

Hop over to Patchwork Times to see what Judy and others have on their design walls.

Four days on the road didn’t leave much time for machine piecing.  But I did start to piece the current section of Ocean Waves together and in doing so, I finished Step 4 of Ocra Bay.  That means I get to count those 700 HSTs this week. There was also a Dutch Nine Patch Block for a hug quilt.

Fabric Added Last Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 10.583 yards

Fabric Used Last Week: 1.448 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 19.415 yards

Net Used for 8.832 yards

Follow the links over at Patchwork Times to see how others are doing with their fabric usage goals.

With events every night after a day of meetings, there wasn’t much time to stitch.  But I did get this done over the past couple of days.

This month I need to make a Ohio Star — that was done last week.  I also need to make this bell block.  The fabric is and ready for me to work on the block when I get that far.  It might be the end of the month before it happens.

There are two Sylvia’s Bridal Sampler blocks to do as well.  I have the patterns for Mrs. Cleveland’s Choice – B8 and Providence – M6 ready from several months ago, so maybe they will be the blocks I do this month.