Thursday, December 31, 2020

Review of 2020

 Despite the lack of blog posts quite a bit of sewing took place in 2020.

The Carnival Auction Quilts for the D class and the G class got done just in time for the Spring Carnival which was the very last big event at school before the lockdown.  6.6 yards out for borders, backing and bindings

On our last day of school before Spring Break I took the sewing machine one more time (they had done much of the sewing on their signature quilt blocks) and we made scrunchies.  That was a huge hit with the kids.  The principal walked in and I wasn't sure how that would go, but he was impressed!  1 yard out. 

I also made 24 student aprons for grade level science investigations.  That project came before the spring lockdown and distance learning, but I made them anyways over the summer.   I was able to use lots of heavier weight fabric from the stash, so that was a bonus.  12 yards out.  

Cut fleece into strips for a "Snuffle Mat" for Grown Up R's new dog.  Little S put it together when she went for a visit.  Pretty clever.   That used up all the random fleece.  1.63 yards out

We made a Felt Craft Kit for a 9-year-old family friend who had a birthday early on in the lockdown.  She really liked it.   1.05 yards out.  Didn't make a dent in the felt stash!   

Microwave bowl cozies for the older girls.  Clever idea.  8 cozies = about 0.75 yards 

In the summer I decided to start "quilting by check" to get projects finished.  Moving to distance teaching/learning and all that that involved made me realize that I need to stick with what I enjoy - the piecing.  Now that I am gainfully employed and seem to be an essential worker I am going to slowly work my way through getting my tops quilted.  

The first quilt was the curtain quilt, which is made from curtains of the house I grew up in.  It has been ready for years.  It appears as though I never posted about that quilt - or took pictures.  11.75 yards out for everything.  


Next up was the Tropical Hexagon baby quilt.  This went to a cousin's granddaughter born in the summer.  I found the perfect backing when we got a bright sheet for masks.  Backing didn't count, but binding used 0.38 yards from the stash.

Currently waiting for pick up is the quilt I finished at the end of the year 2019.   The borders and backing were from my mother's stash, so this will stay in the family.  4.68 yards out.


The biggest stash outtage was masks!  Like most quilters, I dug into my stash to make masks.  My sisters and I have made and donated over 3,000 masks so far.  They have gone to nursing homes, military, churches, students of all ages, medical workers of all kinds, prison hospital workers, coworkers, neighbors, and random  strangers.  We have made a variety of styles depending on supplies and needs of the recipients.   The evolution of the mask is a good story all by itself. 

One of my early pleated masks with ties when elastic was unavailable and then the Jesse mask, which was a game changer for comfort for me. 

I keep all the donated mask supplies separate so that I can track what actually comes out of my personal stash.     109.14 yards out.

The only fabric that has come in this year has been for masks, so that does not count as my regular stash.  People have donated fabric and/or money for supplies to keep us going and going and going.  One person donated over 100 yards of fabric!  It is so much that she gave approval to use in any way that was useful.  My next quilt backing will come out of that box!  My favorite thrift store gave us fabric for free on several visits and let us pick and choose what we wanted from supplies in the back when things were at the height of high demand, low supplies.  We gave away hundreds of adult masks through them and then hundreds of kids masks for their back to school drive.

My total for 2020 is 148.98 yards out.  Wow.  Usually I am happy to just break even.  

May 2021 bring more fun sewing!


 

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Year In Review - Final Stash Report

Since I have a few more days off I will try to finish out the year with a final accounting of my sewing efforts.  Having a final accounting of the year helps me to focus better on using what I have on hand when I do sew.  And, I really just like working with numbers.

When I went back to school at the end of the summer my job went from associate teacher to lead teacher.  That was very good and very exciting, but also much more time consuming.  I knew from last school year that I just wouldn't have much time to sew and this year, even less with the added work responsibility.  Basically, my sewing time is non-existent now.  So I showed restraint and didn't buy much fabric at all since school started in August.  
Not too bad for 5 months!
Fabric In from my favorite thrift store:
Minions - 1.25 yds  75c
chevron flannel - 0.61 yds  50c
blue bees - 0.31 yds 25c
yellow w/ colored dots - 0.61 yds  50c
Winnie the Pooh blue - 0.67 yds 50c
red w/ stars - 0.4 yds 25c
orange on orange - 1.53 yds 75c
dog flannel - 0.61 yds 50c

Yard Sale Find:
pink butterflies - 2 yds 50c
green butterflies folded inside - 0.86 yds bonus!

Actual Purchase at the Fabric Store:
Univ of Florida fabric - 0.25 yds  $2

As expected I didn't use any of that fabric for my end of the year projects except the UF fabric.  That was bought specifically to make bean bags for one of the themed Corn Hole games my husband made for Christmas gifts.

Fabric (& other random stash stuff) Out:
24 bean bags for 3 Corn Hole games - 1.62 yards + box of poly pellets

6 aprons for daughters & their roommates - 3 yds + 2 pkg bias tape
Destined for Savannah.  The Charlotte aprons got packed before I got a photo.
birthday blues - gift of fabric to Little S's friend - 3 yds
D Carnival Quilt signature blocks - 1 yd
D Carnival Quilt hourglass blocks - 1 yd
G Carnival Quilt signature blocks - 1.2 yds 
G Carnival Quilt sashing strips - 2 yds
donated - 5.62 yds


End of the Year UFO flimsy:
sashing strips - 1 yd
setting stones - 0.10 yds
black border - 0.30 yds
pink border - 1 yd
UFO blocks -  4.2 yds

I had to go back 5 years to make sure I had not already counted out the UFO blocks, and no, I had not.  Woo hoo.  That helped my numbers.

FINAL REPORT for 2019

Fabric Purchased Since Last Report - 9.1 yds
Fabric Purchased YTD - 79.6 yds

Free to Me Since Last Report - 0 yds
Free to Me YTD -  14.37 yds

Fabric Used Since Last Report - 25.04 yds
Fabric Used YTD - 97.06 yds

Fabric Movement -  3.09 yards used !!

Total Spent - $49.75
Price/Yard YTD - $0.53 / yard

I am going to count the year as a win.  More went out than came in.  In this new school year I recognized my limitations and mostly stayed within them.  I would like to find a way to sew more in 2020, but I'm just having too much of a learning curve and with professional development courses thrown in I don't see it happening.  

I do have to finish the Carnival auction quilts by March, so that is something to look forward to.  I had thought to work on them over the vacation, but with the notice that a new student is coming to the D class and the strong possibility that there will be a new student in the G class I figured I better hold off.