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Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Make-A-List Tuesday - Because, Holidays!

 

Hi, all!

Am I the only person that gets really off schedule during the holidays? But now that they are mostly over, I have the urge (probably fleeting) to clean up my studio!  So this week will be dedicated to making a little more sense of the mess that is currently my studio.

I do have some "before" shots to share!  

First off, here's what started the cleaning binge - the new Echo Show that my husband gave me for Christmas!  It's small enough to put on my sewing table (if I clear off some other stuff) and keeps my lists, connects my devices, and allows me to stream stuff where I can see it, instead of on the tv behind me!  I have to say I'm getting spoiled being able to just tell Alexa to add something to my shopping list!  

To get the Echo on my table, I had to clear off a bunch of stuff, which I moved onto the carts to the left of my sewing table.  But - they were covered with offcuts of leftover batting, which then moved to....

...my comfy Poang chair!  Well, at least that means I can't sit down for a while and waste time!  But more about that in a bit.  Here's the rest of the studio...

Not too bad, but the piles on the floor and some of the clutter need to go!

This workstation is a disaster and MUST  be cleaned up before the end of the week!

And under the quilt frame, which isn't too bad a mess but could do with a good vacuum and some dusting.

And today I made a start on that pile of batting, which I added to by pulling all the bits out of the cubby by the quilting frame.  Lilli came over to help....

...and her face looks like I feel about making frankenbatting!  Actually, I caught her just before a sneeze, but it is funny looking!  But by the end of the morning, we had sorted out all the pieces that were of similar length in both white and natural, brought a few pieces to the desired length by "frankenbatting" them, and here's the result!



The next step will be to cut the long edges straight and join them together into one long piece of batting.  I'm thinking about rolling it up on the batting roller on my long arm, which has remained unused up to this point.  I'm aiming for 64" wide, which is the perfect size for most of the quilts I make, so when I have a 60" quilt, I can just pull up the batting off the roller and go.  And Lilli made me promise never, EVER, to let it get this out of hand!

And because I am impatient and hate using a slow machine for zigzag, I bought a lot of lightweight fusible interfacing that I'm cutting into 2" wide strips.  Once my batting edges are straight, I butt them up against each other, lay the interfacing over them, and press it down.  Inexpensive batting tape hack, and it works great!

So that's what I'll be working on for the rest of the week - frankenbatting and cleaning up the studio.  Hopefully I'll make some serious headway before my cleaning mojo goes away!

And now, I really need to know - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

5 comments:

  1. Mu Son came and moved some boxes so I could get the sewing machine up and it is running so well, (Knock on wood.) after 3 months in a suitcase. Sew I have been working on a couple of strips of wild geese - orange and pink! (More boxes to move before I can get at all of the stash, and a different variety of colors.) Still can't figure out my new computer to put pictures on my blog... Son is coming again tomorrow - bringing the two youngest (9 and 11) grands. Lots of fun.

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  2. I always make my Frankenbatts during the week between Christmas and New Year’s so that I start the year with prepped batts (for kid-sized donation quilts) and no batting scraps. Well, I do reserve some pieces for possible zip pouches. And I label the sizes so that I’m good to go!

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  3. It will feel so good to start the new year with a freshened studio!!!!!

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  4. You've inspired me to get to work to reorganize my sewing room, at least a little! I'm gearing up for my year of "sewing slowly," using only vintage and antique sewing machines, as well as finishing up at least one hand quilting project.

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  5. Lilli's face is so expressive, and Bree looks very concerned. I'm glad you have such good helpers. Mine will be here tomorrow. I wonder if he'd like to vacuum.

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