Planning Ahead

I have mentioned before that I sew in a very small room just off our dinning room, I love my space but I have to keep things tidy and organised, well at least I have to try! One area that was out of control was my current WIP's I am very easily distracted :o) and used to flit from one thing to the next on a whim. I bought five of these lovely baskets which fit perfectly on top of my wire stash basket unit, and I have made a self imposed rule that I can't start anything new unless I have an empty basket!
They currently contain the pattern and fabrics for:
Jane Austen Quilt (still collecting)
Grandmother's Choice (plan is to have a completed top by 31st Dec)
Easy Street Mystery (aiming to have a top completed by mid Jan)
Friends of Baltimore (very long term applique project)
Phebe - I am not happy with the way this is progressing so it will hibernate for a while. Which means I now have One Empty Basket!!

When Shelly over at the Applique Your Way Yahoo Group offered to host a QAL for 'Birds of a Feather' I immediately signed up. I have had the book for several years on my shelf.

I especially like the large lap sized quilt that Alma made with it's different backgrounds.

One thing I have been aiming to do this year is to use fabric from my stash as much as possible before buying more! I often buy fabric from America and as I have to pay a fixed rate for postage I try to add some sale fabric to my order to make it worthwhile. I knew I had a 2 yd piece that would work for the border, appropriately enough it is from an old Blackbird Designs range 'Antique Fair'.

I thought I may have some fabrics that would work for the applique, but I was convinced that I had nothing suitable for the background until I found these, the photo looks a bit washed out, they are a bit more golden in real life. The bird fabric is from another old Blackbird range 'Harvest Home'.

I found several FQ's and scraps that will work for the applique and piecing.

I even found some fabric that will be perfect for the back, I bought this years ago and then changed my mind about the project it was intended for! It's been in my stash ever since.

Who knew those wire baskets could hold so much ;o) no-one is more surprised than me that I may actually be able to make this whole quilt from my stash (my husband says he never doubted it!)