Monday, August 11, 2025

What I Am Working On

After two weeks of extreme activity that did not involve sewing, I am ready to get back into the sewing room.  However, I need to get it back into working order after being a dumping ground.  I was all caught up on active projects before the end of summer travels, so I have to figure out what to do next. 

Only needs binding, so is a good candidate for this week!

School starts Monday, so I have to figure out the new normal and how sewing is going to fit into that as I build my stamina back up for doing both school and sewing.

Needs borders of some sort to enlarge it.  Also has potential.

It was fun to see my last productive week!!  Seems like ages ago.

How did I do July 21-27

  • finish quilting the pink brick quilt  DONE
  • attach binding  DONE
  • clean sewing work space  DONE
  • make liner for Little S's bike basket DONE
  • wash Little S's baby cross-stitch DONE
  • research framing Little S's baby cross-stitch  PROGRESS.  Now that she has finished her summer class, we can devote more energy to this.

This week's list is realistically short:

TO DO LIST FOR AUG 10 - 16

  • clean the sewing room
  • wash fabric from Greenville
  • cut leaders & enders
  • decide on the next big project, which needs to be simple as I get back in the groove
  • confirm number of baby quilts needed for church outreach

Sunday, August 10, 2025

Summer Ends in a Whirlwind

Wow!  The end of summer sure snuck up on me.  I knew it was going to be busy but I didn't anticipate how busy.  

Tile floor in the Library of Congress - lots of potential!
The hectic started when our return flight from DC was postponed to 24 hours later.  Arrgh.  We were able to get a flight that night to Savannah instead, so we crashed at Grown Up E's house and then she drove us home in the morning.  Instead of starting work in my classroom we were hanging out with her, which was infinitely more fun.  Bonus was that she was able to take load of college stuff back to store at her house for Little S!

Another tile section in the Library of Congress.
Then more activities - Grown Up E came back to Jax with her 1 yo godson for a trip to the zoo.  Triple digits temps cut that short so we hung out in the AC at home.  Then a trip to Greenville, SC where I had all three girls together for the afternoon.  That was a real treat.  I highly recommend Recraft Creative Reuse Center if you are anywhere nearby.  They sell donated craft items in every possible genre and very reasonable prices.  We all do different crafts and were all able to find supplies to stock up on.  This was my second visit, so I was very excited, but less overwhelmed!

My haul from Recraft!!

After all the fun was over it was back to school.  I got my room set up in record time with the help of Little S.  She knows just what to do and having her with me makes a huge difference.  Once I was down to the sorting papers stage, she stayed home to finish packing to head back to college.

Yesterday we took Little S back for her second year.  After the freshman year, the dorms are more apartment style.  So even with 4 in the apartment, she needed a lot of kitchen things this year.  She has been very invested in cooking and food shopping this summer, so I think she will be fine.  Having her sister in the same town is a huge plus since she doesn't drive.  There is a walmart and aldi within walking distance, so she has that as well.

Indigo Way in Pink, Purple, and Aqua is her College Quilt

With the traveling and changes to the schedule and getting Little S ready to go back to college and getting me ready to go back to school, there was not much sewing going on at all.  I prepped a little bit of handwork for the Greenville trip and did that but otherwise the sewing room has just been drop off zone!

15 Minutes to Stitch

15 minute days/last two weeks = 3/14
15 minute days/July = 24/31
15 minute days/August = 2/9
15 minute days/2025 = 207/239
Success Rate = 87%
 
The trip to Greenville added to my stash, but most of it is destined for the 12 baby quilts the church outreach requested.  Bundled yardage was $2/yd and loose pieces were 25c each.  All of my loose pieces were at least 1/2 yard!! When I crunched the numbers I ended up paying 68c/yard.  I call that a win!!  Now to use it up!

2025 Stash Totals
Used last week: 0 yards
Used year to date: 86.03 yards
Acquired recently: 15.83 yards 
Acquired year to date: 40.33 yards
Net used in 2025: 45.73 more yards used

Linking up to: 
Kate at Life in Pieces.