Other uses for Stash

We are having our house painted.
It's mostly brick - just like this fireplace - but there is still stuff that needs painted.
What color?
No paint swatches.
Husband suggested dark brown.
I prefer the color is already is, a very light creme.
We need to decide but neither of us wants to go to the paint store to get swatches.

AAHHAA!! I have LOTS of fabric, solids, in many many shades.

Instant color swatches for paint!

Gas and time saved going to store - who knows but
Brilliance - priceless.

Is your stash out of control?

Gee, a great Sunday, my plan was to stay in, not get out, stay in jammas and do what I wanted to do ( nap, sew, watch some of the new tv shows I recorded ) - husband is outside powerwashing the house so the painters can come repair and paint.. ( on a sidebar, maybe it's just my DH but if HE is doing something he always needs help, but when I am doing something he is not able/capable/absent - why is that? ) so I'm waiting on the 'YOU GOT A MINUTE?' and I'm watching Hoarders ( on Netflix, no I didn't record this ). I watch this show in the same way you poke at a hole in your tooth -- it bothers you but you just can't help yourself.

See, I have a big fear that someone will come in and point their finger at me and say HOARDER when they get a look at my sewing room! The fabric, the magazines, the bookcase, the STUFF! Forget the fabric, I've already discussed this several times ( I'm currently on a buying freeze ) but
Let's talk BOOKS! This is my bookcase - two shelves and the top - there are two more shelves and the floor in front. I will never NEVER use all these books! Some of them are old, very old, but when I first started quilting I bought stuff because it had QUILT on the cover ( have you done that?) I need to find new homes for some of these cause the bookcase is leaning a weird way and I'm sure that if it fell over, it would not be a pretty sight.

How about MAGAZINES? What do you do with your old magazines? There are some great patterns in there, isn't there? I don't have subscriptions to ALL the quilting magazines, but I have enough ( nope not gonna renew them, either - well... maybe McCalls and American Patchwork those two are my favorites ) so what do you do with the patterns that you MIGHT make someday?
I started several years ago tearing them out and putting them into the clear sleeves then into 3-ring binders. I told myself that 'someday' I'll get around to them
these are some I put in a new binder - #4 - today while watching that show. Will I ever make these? Who knows?

What I have discovered is that my tastes have changed from when I first started quilting, heck, they changed from last year! Everytime a new technique comes out, or a new style, I have to try it. That's good! It's good to try new, different stuff.
But, then I have the old stuff left.

And I'm not even getting into printed patterns! I have a drawer full of those! And I know that I have some I didn't even like when I got them!

So, tell me - where do you take your old quilt books? What do you do with your old magazines? Guess my friends are going to pick thru these books and the guild will get the leftovers. Hmm. wonder if the library wants them? Maybe a woman's shelter?

I am NOT going to be on that TV show, I don't want anyone pointing a finger at me -- but I'll keep watching it. Heck, it got me to clean up this room a little bit.

I'm WAAYY outta the Box - and not sure I like it!

I had a pattern called "Rustic Cabins" by Little Miss Sloppy that I've been thinking of making for a long time. I don't know where I got it - can't imagine that I bought it new ( I get a lot of things from friends and sales for cheap ) but it looked interesting and we all need to try "interesting" every once in a while, right?
This is the pattern and you can get it here http://www.quilterswarehouse.com/P-4062-rustic-cabins-by-little-miss-sloppy.aspx ( I'm sure there is lots of other places too ).

It took about 19 different fabrics - that was fun digging thru my stash for that many! You should have seen my sewing room OH MY GOODNESS the mess that it was in! And of course I didn't like the first ones that I pulled so back in I went. Fun fun fun! A great way to use up fabrics that I only had a bit of. And I wanted this quilt to be WILD - Bright - BIg Fun!

This pattern is something that you don't cut precisely, yes, it starts out with a specific size of square or rectangle, but then it's all up to you -- the widths and angles, big or narrow,, all up to me -- I'm not used to that. Even on my paper pieceing I have specific sizes cut to use -- but as you see, the blocks are all wonky. Slash here, slash there -- just like this see how the top and sides are all slanted. It was really kind of fun, when I just let loose. I did learn not to cut to short, too narrow cause after you sew the blocks together,, then you trim!

this rectangle gets trimmed from 8 x 14, I think, back to 6-1/2 x 12-1/2

See all the strings! Every block got trimmed back. a few of them I didn't leave enough sides and the points are going to be gone ( like the picture on the left ) -- ah well,, "out of the box" right? No rules, right? Square blocks are over rated, right!

I did get into the groove and it became fun! I also found that it was easy to strip piece if I kept everthing going the right way ( because you had to match what you cut with what you cut it off of )

I finally all the blocks together today and laid it out so I could see it. I flipped and moved blocks

around until I came up with this. Lots of brights, some novelties, stripes and solids ( gotta give a rest). I like the brightness, the wonkiness of it all.

geez,, so not me!

Yee-Haw! Another Finish

I call this one Paisley's Purse, only because of the fabric that I've had for years! Well, maybe not YEARS, like centuries, but I've had it for a long time and never could figure out what to do with it. Drove me nuts - I'd see it sitting on the shelf and wanted to use it, wanted to get rid of it, wanted to quit seeing it - you know what i mean!

I found this pattern online at www.andoverfabrics.com - here is the pattern address itself http://www.andoverfabrics.com/QuiltDesigns/Home%20To%20Roost.pdf. They call their pattern "Home to Roost". Of course I had to make it my own - so I did some changes.

I was not thrilled with how they did the second border - the jagged border. The pattern calls for cutting triangles,, ICK! So I used my Triangulations CD ( no, I have nothing involved with this, but it's a great tool to have ) and printed out pages to make the HST,, so much easier! and I didn't have to worry about bias edges. I cut 9x9 fabric, one of the pink and and of the pink. Put them RST and then put the paper I printed on top and sew on the sewing lines. Then cut on the cutting lines and VOILA! I had 8 HST, all done, right size. Cool.

The pattern wanted the brick background and the first border to be the same fabric. I didn't have enough to do that, so I used a darker print for the border. I think it worked out well! The solid maroon helps the bricks to be defined and the darker border sets the quilt. I also cut the outer border bigger than called for - I could have gone bigger, I guess, I had the fabric.

I like how it came out and I'm sure that when it is quilted it will be just great. I have so much! of the maroon paisly left that I'm going to use it for the backing and if by chance I need to add more, I'll just use up the scraps of all that is left.

Binding,, hhmm,, no solid maroon left - LOL wonder what lime green would look like??

I'll play Scarlett and worry about that tomorrow.