Welcome to Mountain Top Quilting Studio

Everyone has been making note of what great quilting weather we've been having with all of our wintery blast. Much posting of finished projects and crossing items off the UFO list. But not me ... I've been creating UFO's. Now that's not to say I don't have a list of UFO's longer than I am tall, but who wants to work on the known when I could be creating from scratch. Who knows ... if this weather continues I may even start sewing on some of these new UFO's.

As you can see from my pile of fabrics my studio is filled with scraps, fat quarters, and yardage in the Christmas theme. I started small with my biscornu projects. I even made a few thread holders.

Last Saturday we had our annual Mistletoe Magic event. Our local quilting bee Scrappy Sisters get together at my house the second Saturday of every December (I believe this was our 9th gathering) quilting a mystery quilt I have designed for them and exchanging our secret Santa gifts. Due to the weather, this was the day the storm started, we had our party over the internet with everyone working in their own sewing rooms and following along with the instruction being posted on our closed website posting progress pictures at regular intervals. I used my time to make 10 blocks of the mystery quilt as a surprise for a dear friend of mine. And that kind of started the whole cutting event because our quilt mystery consisted of a variation on a scrappy log cabin block. Juanita and I had pooled all of our Christmas fabrics together to help with the scrappiness of the blocks.

As long as I was cutting logs for Juanita's blocks, I might as well cut the 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" rails I needed for a Christmas sample of Pumpkin Soup. And then I worked out another pattern using simple 4-patches, hourglass blocks, and plain blocks for another quilt ... so I might as well cut those at the same time. Don't forget the Baby Berry Quilt from Thimbleberries that I've always wanted to make, Just as well cut those, too, while I'm at it.

I'd better go down into the basement to the real VERY full stash room and make sure I've not forgotten any Christmas fabrics that should be in these projects.

Oh my! What is this? My Christmas panel I bough at least 5 years ago with all those cute Christmas blocks. There's no time like the present to get that one cut out and ready to go, too.

The bottom line:

Being snowed in is a good thing for busting your way through the stash. When I'm stuck on the hill and no end in sight as to when I might be able to make it down AND back up again, I find the fabrics I need for each project in my private stash.

Being snowed in is why we have a stash! We need never worry about running out of fabric in time of emergencies.

I must admit to times of being tempted to shop for more fabric on line, but it would do me no good. We haven't even had mail since last Thursday! So now my UFO list is 5 quilts longer, my stash is a wee bit smaller, and ... today I sewed!

Comments

• Thanks for the idea for using batting scraps. I also use them for pot holders and if they are large enough, tablerunners. Had a rotary cutter accident so am trying to type with only 9 good fingers. The accident happened Easter Sunday - it is feeling better now - only hurts when I bump it. A real wake-up call to be more careful. Please put my name in the hat.
  by Sally Gillman on 18 April 2009 at 10:57 a.m.

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