I Spy Pi

Today was Labor Day! Most of the day was spent helping Momcat clean out and organize her closet. She was grumbling about how her business casual clothes seem to shrink after a summer of her running around in shorts and t-shirts. I've heard her make the same noises when she pulls her winter clothes out of the cedar chest.  She left the house for awhile to go to Labor Day sales.

The closet looks great now, with some things to give away and what's left all sorted by item and color. Work outfits for the week have already been grouped together.

Finally we made it to the sewing room. We finished all 80 blocks of the Go Fish! charity quilt. Since we used stash there are 24 different solids used as "frames" around the novelty blocks. Putting the rows together should be a cinch since the most we have of any one solid is 5 blocks.  Not much danger of putting one right next to another when there's this much variety.

I'll just keep everything safe until we can get that done next weekend.

Happy creating!

Piwacket

Stash Report Sunday - September 5, 2010

Are you sitting down? I'm going to let Momcat herself explain why she brought home 33 yards of fabric this week. I'm not kidding. 33 yards!!!


I know. I know. I'm shocked myself. I have been so good about busting what I have, especially since money is very tight. So here's what happened.

A local yarn and fabric store decided to close out their quilting side and concentrate solely on the yarn/knitting section. The close-out price on their quilt-quality fabric was 80% off. Yep, I paid only $1.80 per yard for lovely quilting fabrics.

Here's a picture of what I brought home. I'm really happy about the fat quarters that read as solids. I'll be able to get a lot of use out of them.

I didn't do any sewing this week. I'm now working 14 hour days plus 1.5 hours in the car. That means saving my hobby time for the weekend. Today is my cleaning day, particularly since my son is having guests over tonight for a Fantasy Football draft. Tomorrow is a blessed day off and a full day of sewing. Yippee!

Used this Week:               0 yards 
Used year to Date:          134.75 yards
Added this Week:               33 yards
Added Year to Date:         81.25  yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     53.5 yards

You can see how everyone is doing by visiting Judy's blog here.



Happiness is.....

...a talented daughter-in-law.  Niki is an actress and artist. She and my son, Darren, live in Los Angeles. I received a surprise package from Niki that included this lovely hand-painted bookmark she made for me. I'm an avid reader and often am working through several books at a time. I so appreciate anyone who shares their talents with others. 

Now it's time to get out the Swiffer. Pi, you're just going to have to wait until tomorrow for me to play with all that new fabric. I'm glad you're keeping watch over it until then.

 

Love and hugs,
Momcat/Linda

Blog Hop

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Stash Report Sunday, August 29, 2010

We're at the end of August already. Where did those eight months go?

Our stash report this week looks really good since I get to add everything together for the last three weeks. Now that Momcat doesn't have to get ready for work on Sundays I'm hoping we can be more consistent in our reporting.

The purchase of 3.5 yards was made for Cattywampus. We used other fabrics from our stash to complete the top.

From the stash I used 3 yards for the Chips 'n Dip Table Runner, 8 yards for the Go Fish twin top I'm working on, and 4.75 yards for Cattywampus. That makes almost 16 yards since the last report on August 8th!

Used this Week:               15.75 yards 
Used year to Date:          134.75 yards
Added this Week:                3.5 yards
Added Year to Date:         51.25  yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     83.5 yards

Our fearless leader, Judy Laquidara, has used almost 300 yards so far. Holy cow!!  Take a look for yourself and cheer us on.

Purring along,
Piwacket

Chips N Dip Table Runner

Momcat and I just finished this table runner top. If she doesn't pick up a subbing assignment tomorrow then we'll get it quilted, too.

It's another great pattern from the Dealer's Choice book by Atkinson Designs. That's the same book that we used for the Go Fish quilt.

There's a lot on the plate (but not in my food dish. Hhrrumph!). Momcat heads to court for the last time this Monday. The final hearing on the divorce is scheduled for 9 a.m.  From what I understand, she'll walk out of that proceeding officially, legally single for the first time in 31 years. That evening she also starts her new job at the customer service call center.

Sadly, she decided to leave her job at the quilt shop. Momcat is going to miss her friends at the shop and especially going to the shows. However, if I've learned anything from my Momcat at all, it's that she believes in moving forward to the next chapter.



KAREN MONTGOMERY

Karen Montgomery of The Quilt Company was a recent guest at The River City Quilt Guild, to which Momcat belongs.  Karen's lecture on the process of getting fabric from the imagination of the designer to your local quilt shop was fascinating. 


She also brought along a wonderful trunk show. Sit back and enjoy, and if you ever get a chance to have Karen come to your guild, please do so.  She's an interesting, multi-tasking lady.

 

 

I hope you each take 15 minutes daily to create.

Hugs and purrs,
Piwacket and Momcat

Cattywampus

The Cattywampus top is finished, just in time for Momcat to take it to class tomorrow!

After looking at the red tone-on-tone I convinced Momcat to use the light gray pawprint as the skinny inner border. Every now and again she actually listens to me.

Maggie's looking into the Picam wondering, "What just happened? I thought I was top dog."

Have you created for 15 minutes today?

Piwacket

Kitties Night In

Momcat is teaching a class tomorrow at the quilt shop. The pattern is Kids Night In by Christine Porter and features her dinosaur fabric line. Sarah from the shop made a really cute quilt from it.

Momcat hadn't made one though, and didn't feel comfortable teaching something that she herself hadn't made. And THAT's why you saw Trouble and me working hard to help her with cat blocks last week.

Our quilt features Where's the Cat? fabrics by Exclusively Quilters, plus some pieces added in from Metro Mirage.  Momcat played with the layout on her bed and then used blue painter's tape to mark her blocks.

Earlier today we finished sewing the sashing strips and corner stones. Trouble completes the inspection.

Momcat is using a red tone on tone for the skinny inside border. And you're going to love the wide outside border fabric......

We're keeping this quilt. Momcat promised. It will become our new living room sofa quilt. It's about time she made one to keep us happy!

Momcat's going to call this one Cattywampus.


JOB UPDATE

Momcat accepted a seasonal part-time position with a major retailer's call center. The job begins on August 30 and goes through mid-January. The hours are 6 p.m. until midnight. She'll still sub during the day and work weekends at the quilt shop. She might not have time to give me scritches, do much sewing or blogging for awhile, but at least I'll get my kibble.

There's a chance that the employer will choose to keep her on after the seasonal period is complete. In that case, she'd go full-time and be eligible for benefits. Thank you to all of you for wishing her luck on the hunt.

Purrs,
Piwacket

A Thousand Words Thursday

Stash Report Sunday - August 8, 2010

Very little crafting going on here as Momcat focuses on job-hunting. The spousal support she's due to receive covers only 1/3 of our monthly expenses. If she starts skimping on my kibble I'm going to be VERY hard to live with.

Although she works two jobs, as a substitute teacher and weekends at the quilt shop, those occupations don't pay as much as we need to live on, plus they don't have any benefits. I keep trying to convince her to put Maggie up on ebay, but she just scoffs at me.

Anyway, boring stash report. Nothing in, nothing out.

Used this Week:               0 yards 
Used year to Date:      119  yards
Added this Week:             0 yards
Added Year to Date:    47.75   yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     71.25 yards

Judy's putting us all to shame as usual. Take a look for yourself by clicking here.

Momcat belongs to the River City Quilt Guild which will be hosting Karen Montgomery, of The Quilt Company. Karen will be presenting a talk on how fabric gets from the imagination of the designer onto the shelf at your local quilt shop. Pictures to follow!

Happy creating!

Piwacket

Stash Report Sunday - August 1, 2010

It's a new month!  August is usually pretty busy around here. That's when Momcat realizes that it's back to the classroom soon and all those projects around the house that we were going to get done over a long summer are still on the "to do" list.

This summer was a bit unusual since we had to wait for the magistrate's decision regarding the property trial between Momcat and CatDaddy. Just about a week ago we found out that we get to keep the house. That means Momcat and Philip will do some cleaning up and get the family photographs out of boxes. I for one am glad that I don't have to get used to a new location. You know how we cats enjoy our ownership of a space.

Now for the stash report. I helped Momcat cut up some more novelty fabrics to make a twin-size version of "Go Fish," the I Spy quilt in the previous post. There's a group at church called Kate's Cupboard, a non-profit charity to help young mothers in need. A fund-raiser is coming up in October and we think a quilt is just the thing to donate to the auction!

Used this Week:               1.5 yards yards
Used year to Date:      119  yards
Added this Week:             0 yards
Added Year to Date:    47.75   yards
 

Net Used for 2010:     71.25 yards

Patchwork Times by Judy Laquidara is the place to keep up with all of us brave enough to track our stash and report on it. How are you doing with yours?

Hope you find at least 15 minutes to create today. Poet Henry Van Dyke wrote  "Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."

Piwacket