For the First Day of Shutdown....

Welcome to the 12 Days of Shutdown!  I have ambitious goals for these 12 days, which include busting a total of 56.07 yards.  I am a woman on a mission.

Shutdown is when the university my DH works closes down for 7 days during the holiday season.  I mean everything shuts down.  Everything.  My initial goal was to have that entire time off and be home with my family, but this project I am on at work will not permit that.  I will have to work some time here and there, some of it in the office and some of it at home.  But my 12 Days of Shutdown plans are not deterred!

For the first day of shutdown, my true love gave to me….

A finished 30s Barn Raising quilt.  Pattern is by Michelle at http://mychellem.blogspot.com/ and the pattern is at the http://www.modabakeshop.com/.  This measures 60 inches square and busted 5.42 yards of fabric.  This quilt will go into inventory; it has not yet revealed its owner to me. 

Here’s the story behind this quilt.  A few years ago, my sister asked me about old timey fabrics so that a friend of hers could repair a family quilt.  She and I went on to the Fat Quarter Shop website and looked at styles of fabrics.  My sister Kim determined that her friend needed 30s fabrics for the repairs and that nickels would be fine.  So we ordered 2 packets of Aunt Grace nickels and some 20s nickels as well.  I had them shipped to Kim; Kim gave them to the friend and we both thought that was that.

Fast forward 5 years and Kim comes to my house and hands me her stash.  It was overwhelming her, which means, by stashbuster definitions, it needs to be managed.  She chose to manage it by giving it to me.  It was one garbage bag.  (Comparatively, I have a room or more.)  In there were the nickels, with only 2 used.  I asked Kim about it and she said the friend just gave them back. 

So I chose to make this quilt with these nickels.  The white also came from Kim’s stash.  I only needed to buy the back and the binding.  I don’t have an affinity for 30s fabrics and thus I don’t have any stash of them, so it was a necessary buy.  Nearly every nickel was used; I have a few 2.5” blocks left and those will go into a project that needs a lot of those.

So after the orthodontist today (she’s getting them put on), I hope to continue cutting and preparing for my Boxing Day quilt and some other things.  I left work early yesterday to beat the weather and I made it with 15 minutes to spare before the horribleness set in.  So Renee and I watched a lot of Harry Potter.  She made bead necklaces for a craft fair at school today while I went through an enormous bag of Christmas scraps.  I have plans for the Boxing Day quilt using the scraps, so I was cutting lots of 2 inch strips.  Whatever scraps are left are being put into a littler bag for Christmas crumbs.  I cannot wait to be done with Christmas fabrics!  I cannot believe they have stretched this far; 2 bed sized quilt tops have already been made with them, and Boxing Day will be lap sized and Christmas crumbs will be whatever it turns out to be.