Two Weeks Worth of Updates

Wow it has been a busy 2 weeks.  I really don't know where the time went. Work has been crazy busy for me and I haven't gotten home before 7:00pm any night this week and it was basically the same about every night the week before.  We are short handed and need to get people trained.  It is putting a strain on everyone. But I am managing my stress and rising to the challenge thanks to my morning routine.

I have been able to keep up my 30 minutes of quilting/decluttering every morning. (As well as listening to spiritually up lifting messages) It has been a life saver for me. I find I am much less stressed at work if I follow my morning routine. I am in a much better mood and things don't get to me as easily.

I started listening to a new Podcast. Just Wanna Quilt.  The host always ends it with "I hope you find time to quilt today."  I am glad that I have found time to quilt everyday.

Let's see, what have I gotten done these past two week working 30 minutes in the morning.  I have finished the Great Outdoors quilt top.  I have finished fussy cutting the blocks for the two Winnie the Pooh baby quilts. I have done about 15 hexies.  That is just the morning.

In the evening, I have finished binding one quilt and am 3/4 the way done binding the second quilt.  I have also done a few hexies in the evening. 

The reason I have been doing Hexies in the morning is that my sewing machine has been acting up.  I am convinced that it's the tension discs are not holding.  I suspect the spring that adjusts the discs has loss it's spring.  I would be sewing along and the top thread would start looping on the bottom.  I would adjust the tension again and after awhile it would start looping again.  It was very frustrating to say the least. I ended up taking it in to be serviced. I have had it for 13 years and never had to take it in.  I also took in my mother's old singer 301A. It has basically been in storage for the last 40 years. I learned to sew on it and I want to get it running again. Anyway for the last few days I've not had a machine to sew on.

Yesterday, I pulled out my very first machine. It's an old Kenmore that is almost 33 years old. My parents bought it for me as an early birthday present the summer after I got married. It has made many Halloween costumes and little girl dresses. My daughter, Christina's first sewing experience was on it. Then my daughter, Arianna, learned to sew on it. In fact Arianna still claims it.

It has been a good machine but I started having problems with it when I used it for a 4-H sewing club. Syd Viot, friend of my mother, once stated that sewing machines are intimate pieces of equipment and should only be used by one person. After my experiences with the 4-H girls using my machine, I started to understand where she was coming from. My daughters understood the mechanics of sewing so much more than the other girls, Largely because I sewed.

At one point I ended up replacing the Kenmore with a Singer Prelude. It was while the Kenmore was in the shop for the umpteenth time. Anyway yesterday, I cleaned the Kenmore up, dusted it out and threaded it.  With a little tension adjustment, it's stitching beautifully. The only problem is that I don't have a 1/4 inch foot for it.  I am going to try taking a snap on adapter off another machine to use until the foot that I ordered comes in.  Hopefully I can be stitching again in the next day or two. Oh and the Prelude is still here. I passed it onto one of my daughters.

In the meantime, there are strips to cut to size for the Winnie the Pooh quilts and several bins of fabric to sort and fold. Plus I need to cut up (fussy cut) the scraps from the Winnie the Pooh fabric. I suspect I will find more scraps in the bins. So Mt Scrapmore is growing again. I am sure I have enough to keep me busy one way or another. Not to mention all of the backs I need to make for several quilts.  

This week's goals:

1. Make backings for 2 quilts
2. Put one quilt on the machine and quilt it this coming weekend 
3. Finish binding the second Church Ladies Apron quilt
4. Cut the strips for the Winnie the Pooh quilts
5. Start on the ribbon dance quilt for Izora.
6. Make inner borders for 2 quilts.
7. Find fabric for outer borders for two quilts

What are your goals this week?

How are you doing at finding time to sew? 

Do you have a routine set that lets you sew?

Progress on Various Projects

 It has been a very hectic yet rather productive couple of weeks.  I'm still doing my morning ritual and I am making progress on lots of projects. The morning routine has become almost a necessity for me as work is getting crazy busy and very stressful.

Lily of the Valley

I have discovered that some tasks are more suitable for the 30 minute morning sessions. Morning sessions are really good for chain piecing, making bindings, folding fabric, even cutting fabric.  But any thing that is going to take some finesse or engineering should wait until the evening or the weekends.

So what did I get accomplished? The Lily of the Valley quilt blocks are assembled. Also the strips for the inner border and the binding have been cut. 

Bindings attached

Two of my mornings were spent sewing together the binding strips for the  Church Ladies Aprons quilts.  But I didn't get the bindings on the quilts until this past weekend. Attaching the bindings was too much to do in the 30 minutes I have each morning. This is especially true since these bindings were wider than I usual use and took some finagling.  Note to self, the binding tool only works for bindings made from 2 1/2 inch strips.

 In addition to the above, I've assembled 5 rows of a simple patch work quilt that I am making from 4 charm packs. (I am calling this one the Great Outdoors quilt.) It is turning out really nice and very masculine. 

Fussy cuts

I also started cutting the fabric for 2 baby quilts. Both are using fussy cuts and that is something new for me. They will be simple quilts, a 6 1/2 in fussy cut square bordered by 2 1/2 inch strips. I got the 2 1/2 in width of fabric (WOF) strips cut and about half of the squares cut.  In doing, so I emptied 4 bolts. I simply folded that remaining yardage from the strip fabric and added that to a tote.  When I get around to making the backings for a couple of UFOs, I will empty two more bolts.

During this week's morning sessions, I plan on finishing the top for the Great Outdoors quilt. Then sew the inner borders together for the Lily of the Valley quilt. Finish fussy cutting the squares for the baby quilts and cut down the WOF strips into the sizes for the blocks.  Then maybe start assembling those blocks. I also hope to make the backing for a couple of quilts so I can get them quilted next weekend.

That's lots of work for 30 minute sessions and I know that one morning I won't be able to do my session in the morning.  I will have to take my husband to the airport on Tuesday morning. But Progress is still progress and those little 30 minute sessions are adding up.  

How is routine? Are you getting in your creative time?

Morning Ritual Continues

 Well, I kept up the ritual for another week.  I went to work much more relaxed and felt much less stressed even though things didn't run smoothly.  Plus I made some progress.  I didn't get as much done as I would've liked but any progress is better than no progress. Part of the problem is that I basically only worked in the morning. I worked until after 6:00pm 4 out of the 5 days. A couple days it was after 7:00pm. That makes for a long day and a tired body. But I did work in the studio every morning and that is better than what I was doing 2 weeks ago.

So this week I went through 4 small totes of fabric.  I pulled out the small stuff and folded the yardage. My scrap bin, that was almost empty, was full again. I spent some time cutting up scraps. It still has some in it. But I did cut the larger pieces into strips. One fairly large piece was backing that had been trimmed off a quilt.  It had all irregular edges. I squared it up and cut it into 5 inch strips.  There might be enough to make borders for a small quilt. The rest of the larger pieces I cut into more manageable sizes that I can cut down later. Some I cut into 2 1/2 inch strips that can be used for binding. There were some long strips of muslin that I am going to cut into 3 inch squares for the lattice quilt. I also cut some 3 1/4 inch squares and 2 1/2 inch squares. 

Working in the mornings I managed to start sewing the Lily of the Valley quilt blocks into rows.  I have all 12 rows completed and 4 of the 12 rows are sewn together. I am really loving how this is coming together. I will get the rest done this coming week.

I did trim up the blue church ladies apron quilt.  I didn't get the binding made yet, let alone attached to the quilt. I did get the strips marked. I pinned each set together and have them hanging on the wire rack. Hopefully I will get both bindings made this week. I am needing some slow stitching in the evenings. Stitching bindings down will be perfect.

I have not been happy with the tension of the stitches on my sewing machine.  I have been having trouble with it for a while. Today I got it figured out.  My stitching looks much better.  It took a couple of hours but it was worth the time spent.  I should have done it sooner. It made a big difference when I had put a different color of green in the bobbin. I was able to see the issue much better when the thread didn't match. I knew this but honestly, I was being lazy instead of smart last time I worked on it.

I met with my friend Elizbeth and we talked about everything.  I enjoyed going out and meeting for coffee even though I drank a smoothie. It is nice to develop a friendship with someone new. I am hoping we can do this at least every other week. Maybe even every week.

I did get the floor in front of the Long arm cleared and the anti fatigue mat down.  It is so nice to stand on. I actually will just go stand on it from time to time. I am going to need one at my cutting station next year.  I even told my husband that he could get me another one next Christmas. If I don't break down and buy it myself.

Still have lots of fabric to go through.  I need to find a place for the bolts to stand.  I am hoping to have all the loose fabric in the studio done by this weekend. I really need to start on the big bins in the closet.  I need to find some green in my stash that I can use for borders on the Lily of the Valley quilt.  Lots and lots to go through yet.  I am waiting to do notions, since they are not in my studio. I am hoping to sew up some small projects, like bags and pouches. But eventually, I will have to face my limited space and pare down.  I really should have all of my stuff in one area and not scattered through out the house.  But that will be a long term project and I am going to take things one room at a time.

How is your crafting/quilting routine going?  

Are you decluttering? 

How are you organizing your space?

Is your space big enough?

Morning Ritual

It has been an awfully busy week for me. We had some people down from corporate at work. They were installing new equipment. Then of course we had to run trials of new product.  I put in 42 hours just Monday through Thursday. Fortunately, Friday was a much slower day and I could leave early.  

Interestingly enough, despite all of that, I found the week to be much less stressful than it has been lately.  I am putting it down to my new morning ritual.  I have been carefully feeding my soul this week before going to work.

I get up at 5:30am. I go out to the kitchen, start the kettle, prep the French press with cacao and pack lunches. When the kettle is ready, I start the cacao steeping and head off to get dressed.  Once dressed I start playing general conference talks on my phone, pour myself a cup of cacao, and eat my breakfast. I am usually done eating by 6:30am. That leaves me a full 30 minutes to work in the studio. This routine feeds my spiritual and my creative side.  I go to work, relaxed and things run more smoothly. I really need to keep this up.

This week, I've mostly been folding fabric and putting it in totes. There is something very Zen about folding fabric.  It energizes me and yet relaxes me at the same time. I've gotten several bags and boxes of fabric into clear totes. I am not sure where I am going to put them yet. I need to do some decluttering in the dining room still. Then I will start with putting things on the shelves in there.  The important thing is I can see the fabric now and I can draw creative energy from it.

My first goal in the studio right now is to clear the area in front of the Long Arm.  I want to get my anti-fatigue mat down. My husband gave me the mat for Christmas. I am about half way to having it cleared. Once the mat is in place I will be less likely to pile stuff in front of the long arm.  More incentive to put things away, right away.  Plus I will have more incentive to use the long arm.  I tend to run around the house barefoot and the mat will make standing in front of the long arm much easier.

In my organizing, I came across some partial quilt blocks from 13 years ago. I had started them in a block of the month club with a very small local quilt shop. I never finished most of the blocks.  I was way too busy with work and the club was not what I needed.  We didn't sit and sew the block there, which is not all that unusual.  What was unusual was the $25 a month fee to get the next pattern. It would have been cheaper to buy the book (if it were still in print). The quilt shop owners were a little too mercenary and charged for everything.  Their reasoning was they had utility bills to pay. I loved the women, but they didn't understand the need to build a clientele with quilters. Instead they alienated them.  The shop closed a few years later.  As for the quilt blocks, they have been sitting in a bin since.  Last year, I sorted some of them out but couldn't bring myself to get rid of these.  This year I've kept the ones that were mostly completed and turned the rest into scraps.   I may make some pillows or little zipper pouches out of the three I've kept. The more I think about it I like the idea of pouches.

While folding fabric I did come across some more scraps tucked in with yardage.  I will start on getting those cut into useable pieces. I also sorted out short yardage and put those pieces in a separate bin.  So I will know up front that the fabric I am choosing will be a yard or more unless I pull it out of the short yardage bin.  Which will come in handy as I shop from my stash first this year.  

I did not get a quilt on the long arm this week.  Instead we canned 21 quarts of cabbage and 11 quarts of chicken. We needed to thin out the chicken flock before chick season starts up. I will be buying chicks this year. Plus the cabbage was starting to split so we needed to pick it.

So if I can figure out how to have energy at the end of the day, I hope to; trim a quilt, make and attach binding to 2 quilts, piece the back for the next quilt going on the long arm, then quilt it.  Plus fold fabric and trim up scraps.  All in 30 minute spurts (morning and night) over the next week.  Lots of plans, and I hope I can find the energy to accomplish it.

How do you include creative time into your busy day?
 

Quilting/Decluttering/Organizing/New Friend

Wow! Three weeks has gone by so fast.  Work has been especially busy and my hours have been erratic. A lot of stress there and some ugliness that will need to be worked out. I am trying to work on being more positive and more focused on the things that make me happy.

I finally quilted the other Church Ladies Apron quilt top last Sunday.  I made several mistakes and that quilt will remain in the house.  However I did  figure out a few things, one of which is how miserable it is to take out a whole row of quilting. This particular pattern was flowers and there were areas where it stitched back on itself. That meant taking out inch long sections of double stitching.  YUCK!!!! 

I also learned a little more about placement. I am learning and hopefully I can improve with each quilt. I am hoping to put a quilt on the long arm each week. Life got in the way this week but next week I will try to have Pretty in Pink on.  

I also managed to get the bindings cut for both the Church Ladies Aprons quilts.  Hopefully this week I will get them sewn and put on. I also started assembling the blocks for the Simply Squares quilt.  I think I am going to call it the Lily of the Valley Quilt. So small progress in a few areas which is good.

I haven't jumped deep into in the declutter challenge. I did go through all of my thread and pitch several spools. I am trying to use up thread on my piecing.  I also removed squatters but another one came in this week and I will need to find a home for it. I am not taking the challenge by days anymore.  I gave up lots of stuff last year and really the thing most out of hand is my fabric stash.

Since, I've decided my biggest problem is my stash storage, that means doing some hard work. Organizing the fabric so I know what I have and having it where I can see it is the biggest hurdle.  I am not going to have an answer for that right away. It will be a few months at least. I am hoping that I can inventory it and remove some stuff that I won't use. 

I listened to a pod cast where the guest was a organizer/studio designer for quilters. She talked about fabric having energy. She says we walk into the fabric store and get all this creative energy. Then we buy all this lovely fabric that has inspired up and when we get home, we put it out of sight.  She says our fabric should be where we can see it and be inspired by it. I am so guilty of this. I have six or eight big bins of fabric sitting in a closet. I have fabric sitting in bags all around the studio. I need to get it out. I need to fold it uniformly. And then for now put it in clear bins. I started that this week. I got six bags of fabric folded. I am going to do the fabric in bags and boxes in the studio first. I am hoping that once I've accomplished that, I can start going through the big bins in the office closet.  I do feel better just handling it.

While doing this Declutter challenge, I discovered that there was another lady who lives near me that was also doing the challenge. In a world wide group challenge, who would have thought that we would both be from the same small town in rural Georgia. She and I met up this past week and just started getting to know each other.  I hope to set up another "coffee date" with her in a week or two. She is just really nice and fun.

All and all it hasn't been too bad month at least on the quilting/home front. How have you been?

Slow Stitching, Loom Knitting and Reading

 Another week has passed and I will be heading home soon.  It is going to be hard leaving these three little sassy pants behind. Okay, the baby isn't a sassy pants, yet. But I see the potential in her little eyes.  The older two are awesome and intelligent. I know I am biased but even when they are being drama queens, they can pull it together and use logic to make their argument.  It's flawed but it is an argument none the less. I love that.

This week I managed to get a three baby hats made on my knitting looms. I also fought with and revamped a baby bootie pattern. It took three sets of baby booties but I finally got it to look the way I wanted it too. I just need to do a couple in blue/green for the grandbaby due next week.

I've done several more hexies and I am actually getting excited to start putting the flowers together. I am finding that I really do enjoy the slow stitching during quiet times. Who would have guessed that I would enjoy a fiddly, time consuming project like this.  I must be maturing. Actually, I think I am enjoying it because I am not expecting to finish it anytime soon.  It's a pick up now and again type of project.  I don't count it in my UFOs because it is meant to take a while.

Lastly I have read three books.  I really enjoy reading but often picking up a book leads to binge reading.  Not this time.  Three books in just under three weeks is a respectable amount of reading without going overboard.

All in all it has been a good vacation. I am tired from doing something else. I got to see my granddaughters and spend some quality time with them. I also got to enjoy some of my hobbies. I am not sure I am ready to go back to work next week. But ready or not I will be back at my desk on Monday. Hopefully, I will also get to work on the Studio. I have all sorts of notes from the De-Clutter Challenge.

#quiltingwannabee #declutterchallenge2022

Quarantine, Grandbabies, De-Clutter Challenge and UFO Progress

 I am sitting in quarantine at my daughter's house in Nevada.  My 14th grandchild decided she needed to come 3 weeks early. After much shuffling of flights and changing vacations, I made it to Nevada.  But because of the baby's early arrival, the older girls (ages 6 and 3) were exposed to Covid. And it turns out so was I.  The day after I got here, the 3 of us tested positive.  Fortunately for the girls and I, it has been no more than a mild cold. Mom and baby are doing fine. But Dad has had it the worse of all of us. He is a real trooper who is still trying to do everything to support Mom and baby and take care of the house.

My daughter commented that she knows I would rather be quarantined at home with my quilting machine. She isn't wrong, especially since I feel mostly okay. I would be putting a quilt on the long arm everyday until I ran out of flimsies.  I probably would be working on the 3 baby quilts I need to make. (Especially since two of the three babies have made their appearance.) I definitely would be organizing my studio. But I am not there, I am here with them.  That means I am getting some quality time with my grand daughters, which is priceless.  I haven't gotten to spend this much time with them in their environment before.  It is a wonderful time despite being sick.

Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts is doing her De-Clutter Challenge again this year. I did it last year and got a big chunk of my studio organized. But of course, life gets in the way and I have been back sliding a bit. The picture is of my desk right after Christmas. That box contains cookie cutters of all things. So while I am in Nevada, I am following along with the challenge and taking notes in my Quilt Journal. While I can't do the actual decluttering right now, I am thinking about each day's challenge and how to implement it in my studio.  I have made notes of things I will want to do when I get home. I has gotten me thinking about the best way to do things and how I could make things better. 

I encourage you to check out the Declutter Challenge.  Even if your studio is neat as a pin, there are definitely things you may not have thought about.  For example, how many cutting mats do you have? I have two big green ones, one medium blue and a couple of smaller ones. The blue one is pretty scarred up and one of the green ones is cracked and warped. I actually only use one of the green ones and the small ones. How about your rulers? What kind of shape are your rulers in? Are there any cracks, chipped off corners, or faded markings? What about scissors and cutters? Quilters tend to be collectors and it doesn't hurt to pare down a little bit.

Another part of this challenge is spending a little time on a UFO each day.  That one I can actually do.  I've gotten the Simply Squares quilt laid out and in rows ready to assemble. I also have done about 25 hexies. While I am not in any hurry to get my hexies done, it does give me some relaxing stitching time while the girls are coloring or watching videos.

We will be out of quarantine on the 15th. And I will be returning home on the 22nd.  But in the mean time I am keeping busy and enjoying my grandchildren.