I’m now sewing my 3″ spools into 9-patches.  My original intent was to use a solid orange/cheddar for the sashing with purple cornerstones. But since I’d like to finish this top sooner than later (can I get it done by the 19th?) what ever I use has to come from my stash.

Several years ago I bought 3 yards of this fabric because I liked it, but I had no idea what I was going to do with it.  It was some of the last “speculative” fabric I bought. The fabric is Fancy Cat Leaves by Makower UK.

The print is small enough it won’t look weird when I cut my 1″ (finished) sashings.  So although it’s not a solid, the orange is strong enough the print won’t compete to badly with the mishmash of prints in the spools.  That just leaves the cornerstones.

I  have a length of purple, but because it is a hand spray the cornerstones will vary widely in color since only a 1″ square will show.  But I found a dark green tone-on-tone which works nicely with the leaves. Since it’s a piece I have used for other projects I may have one or two spools make with it, If I do, I’ll just have to make sure those spools are not in a corner of the 9-patch.

First up is this week’s block from Quilting Gallery’s Aiming for Accuracy Quilt-Along. I love the center fabric. I bought it years ago when I was living in Texas – probably early to mid-1990. The selvage doesn’t list a date. It just says © CRANSTON PRINT WORKS – SCHWARTZ LIEBMAN TEX. – U.S.A. I know I bought it with the intention to make a dress, but never got around to it.  After we moved to Kansas City, I finally made a nightgown only to then discover quilting and thinking the fabric would make a great Stack-N-Whack quilt.  Oh, well.

Next up is this month’s block from Dorothy Young’s alphabet block-of-the-month. It is Hayes Corner.

If you wish to quilt along, join the group by clicking on the “Join Now!” button.

Click to join apocketfullofmysteries.

It’s not too late to join either the block-of-the-month or the block-of-the-week.

Last week (as if I didn’t have enough going on) I started the quilt-a-long sponsored by Quilting Gallery. The 7th block was released over the weekend.

Click on the icon above to read more about the QAL and join the fun. While you are debating if you should join a QAL, head over to Patchwork Times for more inspiration.

This past week I made 6 blocks for the Aiming For Accuracy Quilt-a-long. I finished all of the spool blocks that I think I need and have started sewing them into 9-patches. I also made 5 table runners for my nieces wedding and two slip covers to cover mis-matched milk crates for a piano to sit on. Too bad I only count the fabric when the top/project is finished and it’s from my own stash.

That is to say the only fabric I get to count is the fabric I used for the slip covers.

No fabric was purchased this week.

So here are the numbers:

Fabric Added Since Last Report: 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 122.087 yards

Fabric Used Since Last Report:  3.1 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 72.662 yards

Net Used for the year -49.425 yards

See how others are doing with their stash over at Patchwork Times.

I recycled the curtains I made for one of my husband’s former classrooms to make the slip covers.

Five table runners for my niece’s wedding.

Now it’s time to start assembling them into 9-patches.

Syd’s quilt for her mom is complete. I quilted it with flowers and hearts. I basically gave Syd free rein in my stash.  The back is a length of peacock fabric that didn’t quite reach far enough.

As for what on my design wall, would you believe I started a new quilt?

These are the first 3 blocks/lessons from the Aiming for Accuracy Quilt-Along. It’s a 12 week QAL and it’s halfway through – but it seems to be easy enough to catch up.  I have most of the 4th block on my ironing board.

Click on the icon above to read more about the QAL and join the fun. While you are debating if you should join a QAL, head over to Patchwork Times for more inspiration.

WooHoo!  Yardage used!  Syd finished her quilt, I quilted it and the binding is attached to the quilt so it all gets counted.  Not to mention the fabric I used to finish up Out of the Blue.

Fabric Added Since Last Report: 0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 122.087 yards

Fabric Used Since Last Report:  8.188 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 69.562 yards

Net Used for the year -52.525 yards

See h ow others are doing with their stash over at Patchwork Times.

The border wars are over and we have a winner — Out of the Blue. The quilt top is approximately 47″ x 61″.  All of the blocks came from my orphan block box — which incidentally I can now get closed  – although that’s probably due to neatly stacking rather than removing these blocks from the box.

Here’s a bit about the blocks.  The large black and bright 4-patches came from a swap I did when I first started quilting.  Only having 9 there really weren’t enough to do anything with, so into the box they went.

The hearts were supposed to be cornerstones on my Dancing Flowers wall  hanging, but I didn’t like the red with the flower blocks and I didn’t think they would go well in the Black and Bright swap quilt.

Speaking of the Black and Bright swap quilt, the turquoise, lime and black strip was made from leftover border and the pink and turquoise Flying Dutchman was a block I made for the swap which was returned to me when someone dropped out.

The two Dresden Plates are extras from my  Dresden Plate quilt Metamorphosis. I have no idea why I didn’t make the quilt one more column wider. I just needed another 3 blocks and two more are in the orphan box waiting to be turned and appliqued down.

That just leaves the small green 4-patches.  Most of them were given to me in a bag of “scraps” from T. In fact now that I think about it, some of them were from her Black and Bright swap block. Also in the scraps were some 2-patches which I sewed together.  But I came up short 1 4-patch — so I cut down one of the large green 4-patches to complete the row.  I ended up adding 3 4-patches to the orphan box as a result.

My husband came up with the name while we were brain storming names.  Out of the Blue was chosen for multiple reasons – The border was not one in the running earlier in the week, it came Out of the Blue. The border came Out of the Blue box of stash fabric. The entire quilt came Out of the Blue with no planning when I opened my orphan block box.