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 - 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

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? It's The Little Things....

 

Hi, all!

Friday has shown its beautiful face once again, and we all know what that means - - - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  I hope you're ready, because I sure am!  Let's go!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

I've got a lot of little things I'm whooping about this week, and since we have to start somewhere, I'll start with the one that was the least fun, but the most gratifying!  These two very messy spots in my studio....

...had been bothering me for the longest time - they were catch-alls and just totally cluttered!  But because they weren't in an area I work in frequently, I just ignored them and worked on other things.  Well, I decided that I was going to start working on cleaning up some of these neglected areas, and now it looks like this!

Isn't it amazing how much better that looks?  I honestly don't know why I let it get as bad as it did, but there's always something more pressing to work on, I guess.  

After I finished the cleaning, I decided to reward myself by doing a little fabric pull for a fall quilt for my king size bed.  Aren't those colors gorgeous?  I had thought I might do a teal or dark blue background, but then someone on Instagram suggested a purple background.....

...and after some heavy-duty cutting on Thursday, now I have a "quilt-in-waiting"!  I can't wait to start putting these blocks together!

Now, this is probably a strange thing to be whooping over, but this week I ran out of 1.5"x2" post-it notes, which are a staple in my studio.  I use them to mark all kinds of things - the sizes of flimsies, the size of pieces cut for quilt tops (an absolute necessity for some of the quilts I make!), and the lengths of my binding scraps, among other things.  None of my local haunts had them in stock, so I looked on Amazon and found a pack of 50!!!  I may not run out for years, and I feel absolutely decadent having this many on hand.  Those of you who also have office supply fetishes can feel me, I'm sure!

And last, but definitely not least, check out the awesome hoodie my husband gave me for my birthday!  And yes, that is Bree right on the front.  He found a company that takes your photo of your pet, converts it to a line drawing, and embroiders it on a shirt.  I've even got her name embroidered on one of the sleeves!  Now everyone knows just who I belong to!!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight. 

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - It's Been A Good Week!

 

Hi, all!

It's Monday once again, and I can honestly say I had a very productive week last week!!  Here's how everything went...

1.  Start assembling Nathanael's quilt.

No only start, but FINISH!!  Isn't this cute?

2.  Continue making Lilli's strip sets.

The strip sets are completed...

...and also cross-cut!

And if I needed a sign that this will be a good quilt, I got it!  I made this from a stack of fat quarters that I had been holding on to forever, and I'm not even sure how many were in it exactly.  I cut them all into strips and sewed them into sets of five, and only had one strip left over.  Then I counted the number of strip sets I had (35) and how many cross-cut units I could get out of each (7).  A little quilt math...

...and it turned out I have exactly the number of strips I need to make forty-nine 10" blocks, for a 70x70 quilt!  Now, I call that a sign!!

3.  Choose fabrics for Emmy's quilt and start cutting.

I think I have all the fabrics together, but haven't started cutting. (Oops, just noticed I don't have any reds in this! Back to the scrap bins to see what I can find....)

4.  Move fabric from 15 cubbies in my Kallax shelf

into new storage bins.

Done, thanks to my wonderful oldest granddaughter!  

Didn't Lilli do a fabulous job?

And to top it all off...

Whew!  What a week!  And here's my PSA for the week - if early voting has begun in your area, take time out to vote now!  It's a lot easier to fit it in early than rely on being able to fit it in on Election Day.  

And here's what I hope to work on this week...

1.  Find red fabrics for Emmy's quilt.

2.  Make the center medallion for Emmy's quilt.

3.  Start making the 25-patch blocks for Lilli's quilt.

4.  Make a back for Nathanael's quilt.

5.  Set up the front porch for Halloween!

An ambitious list, but I feel like I'm on a roll, so let's make hay while the sun shines!!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Here There Be Dragons!

 

Hi, all!

Wow!  It's Friday again, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!!  I hope you've had a good week, with plenty of time to do whoop-worthy things you can share!  Let's get started!

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Last week I reported that I had cut out all the little pieces for Nathanael's annual quilt, Dragon Dreams.  Wednesday, while Lilli was over doing some work for me, I started sewing those pieces together.  I had a bit of a hiccup when Lilli looked at the fabric I had chosen for the background, and informed me that it was "totally NOT Nathanael"!  So she helped me pick out something more "appropriate" and I cut all those background pieces out one more time.  Then sewing commenced!

The end of the afternoon saw this cute little face emerge!  I'm totally in love with this little guy....

Then Thursday afternoon I sat down to work on the dragon a little more.  While listening to my Audible book, a Preston and Childs called The Cabinet of Curiosities, I knocked out the second section of this drowsy dragon!

It turned out that I had a little more time to sew before I had to go assemble a lasagna, so I hunkered down at the machine and knocked out the third section too!  Isn't this the cutest???  I can't wait to get more of him done tomorrow....

And what, pray tell, was Lilli doing at my house on a weekday?  Her school had a teacher in-service day, so she was at loose ends, and as she texted me, she was poor, so could she come work for me?  Of course!  Nana always has things that she doesn't want to do herself!  And here's what she did for me....

I ordered those see-through bins in the lower three rows of cubbies from Amazon last week, and I'm pleased to say they are a perfect fit for my Kallax (from IKEA) shelf units!  They are also perfect for keeping Bree out of my fabric - and I love them so much I ordered enough to use on the upper two rows!  Lilli took all the stuff in the lower cubbies and put them in the bins and replaced them on the shelves. She also put my big messy pile of patterns into clear plastic sleeves in notebooks, AND sorted my huge messy pile of scraps by color and put them in the correct scrap bins.  See?  Lots of stuff Nana didn't want to do herself, but was happy to pay a poor teenager for!

And is this not the cutest thing ever?  I found this Wednesday night when I went into my bedroom - my cleaning ladies did this after vacuuming and dusting in our bedroom.  I never would have thought of doing that with a quilt, but it sure is cute!  Totally made my day!

And while Bree is a total wild child much of the time, occasionally she just collapses, like this.  Wednesday she went to doggy day care and played for most of the day with her doggy friends.  She came home and after a few minutes of manic running around in the back yard, collapsed for the rest of the evening.  I'm glad she loves playing with the other dogs so much!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop???

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Turtle Not Rabbit!

 

Hi, all!

Well, this week I was more of a turtle than a rabbit - I'm not sure why, I've got plenty of energy, but I didn't do a whole lot on my weekly to-do list.  I think it's because I'm not back in the habit of going to my studio every day and doing work work work!  I'll get there again, but I'll have to re-train myself, just like in doing these blog posts.  Here's how last week went....

1.  Finish cutting out Nathanael's quilt.

Done!  So. Many. Pieces.  But I love making these pieced picture quilts, so the construction will be fun!

2.  Choose final fabrics for Emmy's quilt.

I didn't get to this one yet. (Hangs head...)

3.  Start assembling the strip sets for Lilli's quilt.

Done!  I've made 21 strip sets so far (although there's still a lot of strips to put together...)

4.  Put borders on the hexie quilt.

I didn't get to this one, and won't until I've made more significant progress on the annual quilts!

5.  Choose a back for the hexie quilt.

Done!  I have a beautiful piece of linen left over from a Pottery Barn duvet cover that I bought (on sale) just for the fabric in it.  I think it will be perfect!

So the week wasn't a total washout, but I didn't get to everything I thought I might.  Oh well, it's better to have grand plans than none at all, right?  So here's my grand plans for this week!

1.  Start assembling Nathanael's quilt.

2.  Continue making Lilli's strip sets.

3.  Choose fabrics for Emmy's quilt and start cutting.

4.  Move fabric from 15 cubbies in my Kallax shelf

into new storage bins (see below!)

I'm going to stop at that - and then maybe I can get all of this done!  So here's the story about the Kallax shelving. Remember that I had to do this to it to prevent Bree from stealing folded fabric off the shelves?

Well, that worked great for keeping Bree out of the fabric, but it kept me out of it too, which just wasn't working for me!  So I did some searching (Amazon is my friend!) and found these....

These should be just the right size for my shelf cubbies, AND they have a clear window on the front so I can see what's in them!  Lilli texted me asking if she could come work for me on Wednesday, because in her words "I am poor and I need money"!  So this will be the perfect job for her - she loves to organize!!

Oh, and my week wasn't a total waste - remember those special sales that Amazon had this week?  Well, I lost my mind and bought myself an electric pressure washer, and had the best time cleaning my back patio and the front steps!  

Those are both "half-done" pictures so you can see how badly both areas needed to be cleaned!  It took the better part of two days to do that, and I paid the price in sore muscles, but it feels so good to have them nice and clean!

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

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Refreshed Space....

 

Hi, all!

Friday has rolled around once again, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!!  Let's go!

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

For the past few weeks, I've been working on adjusting my main sewing area so that it's more functional.   After a bit over a year in the space, I have a better idea of what works and what doesn't, so I decided to make some changes.

I started by moving my old sewing table back against the sloped wall...

...with the shorter kids' crafting table next to it.  This gives me seating for 2-4 people (depending on how friendly they are), or I can continue to use the taller table as my cutting table.  Those kitchen base cabinets that hold it up make it the perfect height for me!  The shorter table sits on a pair of IKEA Kallax shelving units.  Each of the tables has another Kallax unit underneath it for additional storage of things I don't use frequently.

And this is my new sewing table!  It's an adjustable-height table, which is really nice, and right now I have it facing out the window. That may change, but for now I like being able to look out when I sew.  When I'm piecing, I can set my ironing board up right next to the machine so I don't have to get up to press as I go.

Here's the quilt frame, which sits next to the wall opposite the two long tables.  I didn't do much here, but Lilli did clean up the scrap tubs underneath - hooray!  I really like the curtain rods on the wall behind the frame - they are a great place to hang up quilt tops that are ready to be quilted.

And this is the newest addition - a nice big TV that is a lot easier to see from across the room!  (It used to be downstairs in our den until my husband convinced me he needed a bigger TV there.) I lost the bookcases that were in this corner (moved into one of the bedrooms, along with most of what was on them) but I did find these old IKEA shelves that used to hang in my old studio.  My husband installed them after hanging the TV and they are a convenient place to put a few things.

And just to keep it real, this is the messy corner that I still haven't had time to clean up yet.  I'm not sure I've ever had a completely finished, completely neat studio all at one time, and since I'm not sure that's attainable, I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  Just remember when you see pictures of beautiful studios, what's behind the camera is probably a higgledy-piggledy mess!

I still need to move my mini-quilts and art pieces so they are more visible, but at least the furniture is functional now!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah