Make-A-List Monday - Because I Really Need a List!

 

Hi, all!

Well, it's been a while since I posted on a Monday, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working, just that I'm a lazy blogger!  But this week I feel the need to organize my mind and commit publicly, so here I am.

I'm pleased to say that I put in some time with a new skill today - I finally tried four-at-a-time flying geese, and I can't believe I've ignored this fabulous technique for all these years!  I finished these pretty blocks....

...and one of my goals for this week is to finish this quilt, which will be a wedding gift and hence has a time deadline!

I'm also working on another t-shirt quilt for a 2024 graduate, and these are a couple of the blocks I've already got up on the design wall.  I usually try to make the "tough" blocks - the ones that take more thought and effort to create - first, so the rest of the quilt is downhill after that.  But I've still got a lot of blocks to create, and this one is next on my list after the wedding gift.

So those are my goals for this week - finish the wedding quilt, and put in some serious time on the first t-shirt quilt of the season.  

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - 2024 Begins!

 

Hi, all!

Welcome to the first (functional) Monday of 2024!  I don't count last Monday because January 1 is our wedding anniversary - 45 this year! - and I don't generally blog on that day.  

When last we met on a Monday, I had high hopes of doing a thorough clean-up of the studio.  I have a good reason for not accomplishing that (more on that in a minute) but I did make good headway on that mountain of leftover batting....

...and now my shelves look like this....

...and I have a good-sized roll of frankenbatting under my quilt frame!

Isn't that lovely?  I ended up stopping before I had it all glued together because I was afraid it would be too much to fit on that roller, which is why there is some neatly folded in the cubbies.  Once I've used all of this, I'll make more with the content of the cubbies!  But that's enough for about eleven lap quilts, if my quilt math is correct.  

But now for the reason I didn't get the rest of the cleaning done - one of the things I found when I was cleaning up was a 2018 Moda Color Cuts kit that a friend started (one block only) and gave to me.  Well, I started in on it and was hooked!  On Friday I showed you a large group of the blocks completed, but now I can show you the finished top!  

I have a plan for this quilt, which is larger than most that I make at 72"x78", so I want to get it finished.  That being said, today I loaded it up on the newly-cleaned-off quilt frame....

...and it's ready to be quilted tomorrow!  I'm excited to see the end in sight on this one.  It was a lot of fiddly sewing, with more pieces and seams than I'm used to putting in one quilt, but I love the finished result.

And once that's done, I need to start working on the quilts for this year's tutorial series.  As my granddaughter told me, I have TONS of fat quarters, so that will be the theme of this year's series.   But I have a lot of work to do before it starts, so that will be the main focus of my work for this week.  Whew!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

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

Make-A-List Monday - A Little Bit of This and That!

 

Hi, all!

Welcome to another Monday!  After a whirlwind week last week getting the house ready for a round of Christmas parties, I thought this week would be simple, but we shall see! 

The first Christmas party went great - we had all the quilt ministry ladies over Saturday morning for good food, lots of laughs, and a fun gift exchange game.  A good time was had by all, and of course, I forgot to take any pictures!  And then Saturday afternoon, we went to see the incredible Emmalyn in her debut acting role of Snoopy in A Charlie Brown Christmas!

She looked so cute with her little black nose, but apparently it was "very annoying" and she took it off before she came out after the show for pictures!

Some of you may remember the videos of Emmy dancing when she was little - well, she put those skills to good use in her role as Snoopy and had a great time dancing on Schroeder's piano!  

I'm enjoying all the cute decorations in my house, but I have a soft spot in my heart for gnomes, so this is one of my favorites.  It doesn't hurt that he's an advent calendar, too!

But this afternoon when I went up to the studio to do a little sewing - I had an idea I wanted to try out before I forgot it - my beloved Juki decided it was time to stop feeding fabric under the presser foot.  I haven't been able to drop the feed dogs since Bill dropped her on her head (in the case, but it was still traumatic) and apparently something has changed inside.  So I brought out Old Faithful....

... and packed up my Juki to go to the shop tomorrow.  Hopefully they can fix her up and repair the pieces that broke at the same time!  

So here's my list for this week....

1.  Take my Juki to the shop.

2.  Make some rustic no knead bread for Wednesday night dinner.

3.  Make labels for the grands' annual quilts and attach them.

4.  Review all the Christmas presents I have stashed and see where I need to fill in any gaps.

5.  Start wrapping presents!   It's looking bare under the tree.

6.  Get the house ready for another party this coming Saturday morning.

I just got some Nana duties for later this week, so I'll have that to do too.  It's a busy time, so I'm just going to take some time to breathe while I'm getting all this done!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Who Has Time to Sew??

 

Hi, all!

Monday has rolled around again, Thanksgiving is in the rear view mirror, and the Christmas season is in full swing!  

We had twenty-four people at our house for Thanksgiving, so I decorated the house for the day and took care of some long-neglected tasks, like....

...fixing the "pinchers"....

...sprucing up the front door welcome mat....

...and making a really pretty centerpiece for my dining room table!

Of course, once Thanksgiving was over, it was time to start decorating for Christmas, because I have two parties at my house over the next two weeks.  We got a new artificial tree for the foyer (after last year's tree fell over, we had PTSD!) and it is set up and, now, decorated!

So my week is going to be filled with lots more decorating - I have another tree to bring down from the attic, along with all of its decorations - and a little bit of baking and cooking.  Thankfully I have several days so I can spread it out, since the kids are in school and not available to help as they have in the past.  I'll share more pictures next week!

And speaking of Christmas, did I tell you that Emmy is in the cast of A Charlie Brown Christmas in her middle school?  She plays Snoopy, and the play is this coming weekend.  I know her mom will be happy when rehearsals are over and life goes a little back to normal, but Emmy is having a ball!

So that's what my week looks like - and I really need to know that someone out there is having fun sewing!  So tell me - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - A Mixed Bag....

 

Hi, all!

Is it just me, or do the weeks seem to go by faster as we near the end of the year?  It doesn't seem like seven days since I last put together a to-do list, but it has been!  So let's see how I did on last week's list....

1.  Keep working on those quilt blocks.

Done!  And not only did I work on the blocks, I finished the top!

2.  Do some more cleaning upstairs.

Nope! I didn't do any upstairs - but I did do some serious cleaning and re-organizing in my kitchen!  

First, the pantry!  I didn't take any before shots (I was too embarrassed!) but I will guarantee you this is a HUGE improvement!

I even cleaned up the racks on the door!

And because I found a bunch of storage containers in the bottom of the pantry, I re-organized the dog's treat cabinet too!  (Can you say spoiled??)

And then, because why not, I cleaned out the spice cabinet!  It's so nice to have it all organized now!

3.  Take care of some Nana duties while my daughter is out of town.

Taken care of!  I do love being close enough to help her when she needs me, and it's great to spend time with the grands!

4.  Work on the scrap bin if all this gets done!

Not even once.....

You all really should be laughing at me, because as I write this, my dog is going ballistic barking at something outside.  My husband put her leash on to take her outside so she didn't stay out there barking all night (we like our neighbors more than that!) and when he went out, we heard some really strange, loud, really inhuman sound.  (Several times!) Let me tell you, he got back inside in a hurry!  Now we're both totally creeped out, closed the blinds, and we're wondering if it's an alien invasion...... 😟

Anyway, let's get going on next week's list...

1.  Finish the fall quilt.

2.  Clean up my patio area.

3.  Make or find tablecloths for all the tables for Thanksgiving.

4.  Finish cleaning upstairs.

As you can tell, I'm moving into Thanksgiving mode - we are having 24 people over to our house for the big day and there are a few things I've been neglecting that need doing!  It's exciting, through, and my husband always loves having company, because that's when all those things get done.  

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Chugging Right Along!

 

Hi, all!

Well, we've come back around to Monday again, and it's November - can you believe it?  And our grandson Nathanael turned twelve today - hard to believe they are all getting so big!  He's excited because he got a new Minecraft game, and exhibited impressive patience while waiting for it to download - better than I ever did, for sure!

Let's see how I did on last week's list....

1.  Keep working on that scrap bin!

I actually didn't even touch the scrap bin this week, except for making new ones.  Bad quilter!

2.  Clean up some long-neglected corners of my studio.

I did do this, and I'm so pleased!  This little corner was a catch-all for everything non-quilty...

The little kitchen area....

And my desk area.  

But now it looks like this!!!  Isn't that a huge improvement?

3.  Cut out a fall quilt for my bed.

Done!  Look at all those pretty colors....

And not only did I get it cut out, but I started making the blocks....

And I've not only got these 25 done, but another 9 - so I'm about halfway through making all the blocks I'll need.  And I think I'll be able to quilt it on the frame at church, which is larger than mine and will take a king size quilt!

4.  Maybe - quilt one of the vintage quilt tops.

Nope - didn't do this.  I got too excited about making those leaf blocks!

 So even though I didn't get to everything on my list, I'm pleased with my progress - and I foresee a beautiful fall quilt in my near future!  But we've got company coming for Thanksgiving, so I'm going to need to temper my sewing desires with some cleaning too.  Here's what I'm looking at for this week...

1.  Keep working on those quilt blocks.

2.  Do some more cleaning upstairs.

3.  Take care of some Nana duties while my daughter is out of town.

4.  Work on the scrap bin if all this gets done!

Enough to keep me out of trouble, for sure!  And now, I really need to know - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-a-List Monday - Fall Fell!

 

Hi, all!

It's Monday again!  But before we jump into regular Monday activities, let me share a little in the tree saga.  Remember last week, it looked like this?

Well, even though yesterday it was nearly 80 degrees, the wind came in overnight and blew in rain and cold weather - we didn't get above 50 today!  And this morning when I looked out at the tree....

...all those beautiful leaves were on the ground!  So if you still have beautiful leaves where you are, enjoy them now - winter is on its way!

And now let's see how last week's list went....

1.  Touch up the paint on the outside door frame where we had some repair work done.

Done!  I do love how nice and fresh new paint looks!

2.  Quilt Nathanael's annual quilt.

Done!  And not just his, but all three!  I'll share more about them closer to Christmas.

3.  Spray baste my hexagon quilt. (I will be straight line quilting this one on my Juki.)

Done! And not just spray basted, but quilted too!  I'll share more about this one on Friday.

4.  Quilt one of the vintage quilt tops.

I didn't get to this, and I think quilting week is over.  I have no quilting responsibilities on my calendar, so I may chase a few squirrels!

5.  Finalize plans for a fall quilt for my bed (king size!).

I have an idea in mind....

I also did a few other things this week, like putting patches behind the holes in my youngest granddaughter's jeans.  It is almost impossible to find cute jeans these days that aren't already hole-y!  This fabric has a little "sparkle" to it that made Emmy's eyes light up....

I also worked on taming my scrap bin - I didn't get a lot done, but anything is a win in my book!  And did you know that this Saturday, 11/4, is International Scrap Sorting Day?  If you join in the fun, share pictures of the before and after on social media with the tag #InternationalScrapSortingDay.  

And tonight I made penne alla vodka from scratch - and it was delicious!! Italy made us really appreciate good pasta in all its varieties...

So all in all, a really good week!  I have high hopes for this week, too, although I have Nana duties three afternoons that will eat into my time a good bit.  But I do have some plans....

1.  Keep working on that scrap bin!

2.  Clean up some long-neglected corners of my studio.

3.  Cut out a fall quilt for my bed.

4.  Maybe - quilt one of the vintage quilt tops.

I'm going to leave it at that for now - I'm really feeling the urge to do some deep cleaning, and if indulged, that can really turn into a project!  

So now, I really want to know - - - what are YOU working on?

Hugs!

Sarah