On October 31, while at our Big Cypress Quilters meeting, I had the opportunity to bring home free fabric, on our monthly-offered "I don't want it; you can have it" table. A 1½-yard piece of quilting fabric received my serious consideration as part of a quilt backing. But I didn't take it. With difficulty, I'm sticking to my self-imposed requirement to use stash.
I did pretty good in October, in spite of winning 1½ yards of fabric in an Instagram giveaway.
Most of the yardage used is in the 52" X 61½" top and 58½" X 66" backing of my 30 Days of Improv Quilt. Total: 6.08 yards. For big stitch hand quilting, I've selected this size 8 perle cotton, and some new-to-me Sashiko thread (bought at QuiltCon 2023) that I unwound from a skein and rolled into a ball.
Over the past several months, I've also filled a 21" X 30" bag with scraps, to make a pet bed to donate. Based on the weight of one yard of Painter's Palette solid, which is .63 (Thank you Peggy, for bringing your kitchen scale to Big Cypress Quilters!) I determined that 8.83 yards of scraps are in the pet bed.
Along with making four FPP blocks for my Satisfaction quilt, as well as a couple of Christmas gifts (You bet I'm planning ahead!) I use 15.69 yards of fabric this month! Hoorah!
Book Recommendation
Lucy's special friend, Cheri, goes missing. For more than a year, there's speculation that she's run away. When Cheri's body is discovered, mangled and caught in a tree along the river, speculation reignites.
While cleaning out an old mobile home, Lucy comes across Cheri's necklace, one that Lucy gave her. Questions arise that Lucy wants answers for. With help from her new friend Daniel, Lucy begins to find answers, and is surprised to learn more about her mother, Lila, too. Since her dad and uncle won't talk about Lila, Lucy is in disbelief as she begins to piece together the truth.
Oddly enough, Lucy's mother (Lila) is from Waverley, Iowa, and Lila's parents met when they both attended the University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls. All are parts of Iowa I'm very familiar with!
I liked this story because the author made me feel the essence, beliefs, and close-mindedness of a rural community.
Linda's score: 3.9/5.0
In October, I listened to ten audio books. In order, these are the top six that I gave a score of 4.0 or better.
- My Antonia, Willa Cather, 4.2
- Gone Tonight, Sarah Pekkanen, 4.2
- The Soulmate, Sally Hepworth, 4.1
- Thereby Hangs a Tail #2, Spencer Quinn, 4.1
- To Fetch a Thief #3, Spencer Quinn, 4.0
- The Pearl, John Steinbeck, 4.0
Another SpaceX rocket was launched this week, on October 30. According to the website, there have been 277 SpaceX launches! We can see most of them if we take time to look. This was at 7:20 pm Monday.
Yay for your impressive fabric usage stats! AND for your resistance of taking the free fabric - been there, done that. ;-)
ReplyDeleteDo you feel you have too much fabric? I do and it’s hard when I see new patterns and colors I love. 😔 I still have a hard time resisting scraps about to be thrown away by someone. I need your willpower! 😻
ReplyDeleteHi Pamela! Well, I can honestly say I do NOT have too much fabric. In fact, I have just the right amount of solids (two shelves worth in a cabinet), and I have too little of every print in my stash. You'd find it difficult to come up with any print piece that's larger than a fat quarter, and I have very few of those. I'm truly getting down to the "bottom of my stash," and am very concerned about how much longer I can keep cobbling pieces together to complete a large quilt. But I keep trying! And yes, I have a hard time resisting scraps. I AM resisting though. Best wishes to you in that regard!
DeleteHappy hand quilting. I'm curious how the sashiko thread goes as big stitch thread.
ReplyDeleteYour photo comparison of the #8 perle cotton and the Sashiko thread is very helpful. The purple color is lovely. I had no idea Sashiko thread was that heavy. Oh my, the free table. It's like a magnet. I'm leaving shortly for a guild meeting with several things to share on the free table. Here's hoping I don't see something there that comes home with me!
ReplyDeleteWell according to your weight of .63 per yard of fabric, I donated 60 pounds of fabric to others the last time I cleaned out my stash. This 60# would equal 37.8 yards. If I estimate $5 a yard (it was older fabric) that would be $189 worth. I should have added that to my tax donations? At least I know others enjoyed and used the fabric.
ReplyDeleteFree fabric is always a bonus when making donation quilts. Especially pieces big enough for the backing.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of funny how much we take rocket launches for granted now! I'm glad you went outside to look!
ReplyDelete