Hand Stitching and Cuddles

Yesterday our daughter and I indulged stray kitten Elsa's need for comfort by watching a marathon of "Mad Men" episodes. She moved from lap to lap on a regular basis so when my lap was free I got one side of binding sewn down on my Christmas Fantasy quilt.

I put my needle down though for lots of this! She had a day of rest and vigorous self grooming yesterday - as you can see her fur is now fluffy and soft. So far this morning her playful side is starting to emerge, she and Tucker had their first playtime together exploring an empty box. A few little hisses but nothing to worry about.

Here is a sneak peek showing the beautiful quilting done by Cindy at Tops to Treasures. This is my 2 UFOs for 1 quilt with a rail fence top from an online swap used as backing. It's beautiful every way you look!

Today I predict more of the same with Christmas decorating mixed in with football watching. I'm a little nervous about the tree and a kitten so we will start with no ornaments and go from there. I can't help but laugh at this pic I saw on facebook last week!

I'm linking up to Slow Stitching Sunday@Kathy's Quilts.

Football Playoff Sunday

The days of happily hand sewing binding while watching football are winding down. Both teams I was rooting for won yesterday so let's see what today brings. Actually I only was cheering for Baltimore because I have them in our pool (sorry Peyton Manning!).

I'm hoping to finish up Shabby Heart today. I am so enjoying being draped in this pretty UFO.

This year I've decided to track my stash activity. I'm not overly obsessive about my stash at the moment, as in trying to bust it or trying to build it. I'm happy to have it, quite frankly, with the price of fabric these days! I try to take advantage of online sales when I can since I live in a rural area. My LQS is wonderful for the more traditional fabrics but not so great for newer lines.

I have found that some of my fabric tastes have changed over the 3 years I wasn't quilting. I'm really into black & white prints now to pair up with my brights for Project Linus quilts so have been adding those. The modern fabrics are also calling my name (not the solids so much). I'm crazy about Kate Spain so am trying to add what I can find of her older lines.

I'm really most interested in seeing the movement of fabric in and out as opposed to the end result I guess, but I'm going to commit to a year of tracking and see. A 10 yard bolt of muslin for string blocks and a year end clearance parcel arrived this week to plump up my numbers. I'm not counting fabric used until the project is complete - more motivation to finish!

Used this Week: 5.5 yards
Used year to Date: 13.5 yards
Added this Week: 22 yards
Added Year to Date: 22 yards
Net Used for 2013: -8.5 yards

I'm linking up to Stash Report@Patchwork Times, UFO Sunday@The Free Motion Quilting Project and Slow Stitching Sunday@Kathy's Quilts.