Stash Report 010922 - Kid Masks

Nothing in again this week. Woo hoo!

I am working on another round of masks for Teacher E's kindergarteners so that was quite a bit out.  She is a first year teacher in a Title 1 school in Georgia where masks are required at school.  We made masks for her class when she interned and kept making for her own class this year.  When she realized that the siblings of her students were also using the masks she gave them and that the other kindergarten classes had just as much need we just kept making.  

I think these went to her internship class.

Her class got fun masks in Aug/Sept.  All the kindergarteners got fall themed masks in October.  All the kindergarteners and many teachers got Christmas masks in December.  I got smart and had Valentine masks ready for when I saw her at Christmas so I wouldn't have to ship them.  Now I am working on spring masks.   

Fun masks for Aug/Sept.

For kid masks I use a variation of The Midnight Baker 3D mask.  I actually worked out 4 different sizes depending on the grade level I am making for.  The students have said that these are the most comfortable and fit the best of any they have tried.

We made over 500 kids masks for the Blessings in a Backpack program.

When we got the request for masks for Blessings in a Backpack, we started an assembly line process and that helps me a lot.  I cut and sew the first round.  One sister flips, pokes out the corners, and makes the elastic pieces with matching beads so that they are adjustable.  My other sister irons them.  Then they come back to me for the final stitching and adding the elastic.   

Made for my class last year after we read Love That Dog.

More students are coming back to school, so the numbers keep going up.   For fall we needed 75, but at Christmas 80 was not enough.  For Valentines I made 127 since they are expecting even more to come back for the next semester.  For spring I'm just going to make as much as the supplies allow.   I tend to use more of my personal stash for her masks since I have more fun fabrics than are in the general mask project stash.  I am running out of fun boy fabric though.

Still to be sewn.

I cut a good amount of small kid masks early this week, but didn't sew them.  I figured I would do that when my energy and focus was low after school started back up.  That worked well.  We went back to school on Thursday and I was exhausted.  So I sewed the first round on some of these Thursday and Friday evening.  I timed myself and it take just under 1 minute to sew one.  2.4 yards of my stash out

Fabric In This Week: 0 yards

Fabric In YTD: 0 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 2.4 yards

Fabric Out YTD: 2.51 yards

Stash Movement: 2.51 yards out

And .....  I sewed or made forward progress on a sewing project 7/7 days this week!  

Any ideas what to do with thousands of corners?  Most are 1.5 inches on the short sides.  Some are 1.75 inches.  Half of them are flannel.  I have tried making HST, but it is too fiddly and too small for me. There are at least 2 gallon ziploc bags full.  I rarely throw anything away, but I'm ready to get rid of these.   I need a good idea or I'd happily send to anyone who can use them.

Linking up to Kate at Life in Pieces to share progress.

Tasty Tuesday - Overnight Breakfast Casserole

My school does a breakfast potluck the last full week of school before the winter break.  Every day a different grade level or area brings food for the building.  We are divided into K-2 in one building and 3-6 in the other, so it isn't for hundreds of people - just 50 or so!  

I remembered a crockpot breakfast casserole recipe that a coworker had given me years ago when I was expecting overnight company.  We liked it, but I had not made it since.  I also did not have the recipe on hand anymore.  So, I searched and found a similar one that looked perfect since I didn't want to get up early and put it all together and then have to wait for it to cook and I had loaned my crockpot to my sister and didn't have it back yet.  https://momspark.net/overnight-cheesy-sausage-and-hashbrown-breakfast-casserole-recipe/

Overnight Cheesy Sausage and Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

2 c shredded mild cheddar cheese

1 30 oz bag frozen shredded hash browns

2 lb breakfast sausage (spicy if desired)

2 c milk

8 medium eggs

1/4 t onion powder

1/4 t garlic powder

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

Preheat oven to 350F (if making the casserole the day of).

In a large frying pan, cook sausage until brown.  Drain and set aside.

In same frying pan, lightly brown hash browns.  Then place hash browns in greased 13x9 casserole.

Top with sausage and cheese.

In medium bowl whisk eggs, milk, and all spices until combined.  Pour over casserole mixture.

Cover casserole dish with foil and place in refrigerator overnight.

Bake uncovered at 350F for 40 minutes or until cheese starts to bubble and brown at top.

Notes: I allowed more than 40 minutes since it was starting from cold, but I didn't need to.  

It was a hit at school and someone asked for the recipe even.  That rarely happens when I cook.  Little S asked for some, but there were no leftovers, so I made it again for us.  Yummmy.  I made it again after Christmas, but did not allow it to sit overnight and it was just as good.

Stash Report 010222 - Bowl Cozy

This is an easy one.

Nothing in since I didn't leave the house on Saturday!  My sister and I usually go to our local thrift store on Saturday morning, but we skipped it this weekend.  Two round trips to North Carolina in one week was enough driving for me for quite a while.

I made a bowl cozy for Little S.  She had been using Teacher E's cozies since she had forgotten to take them when she moved in July.  At Christmas she wanted them back.  Little S uses them all the time, so there was an immediate need for a new one.  I use this tutorial The Crafty Gemini Bowl Cozy that is easy peasy. 

New Bowl Cozy - Very Pink!

Fabric In This Week: 0 yards

Fabric Out This Week: 0.11 yards

Stash Movement: 0.11 yards out

Linking up to Kate at Life in Pieces to share progress.

 

Sewing Goals for 2022

Nothing too complicated.

1) I want to keep moving forward on my drawer of bits & pieces. 

Drawer of bits & pieces

2) Since I made huge progress with my flimsies that needed quilting last year and I now have no big projects in the works, I thought maybe I'd start a big something new. But so far nothing has struck me that I really, really want to commit to. 

3) Over Thanksgiving I got out my travel stitching for the drive from Florida to North Carolina. I usually work on the birth announcement cross-stitch for Little S. She is 15 years old, so it is time to be finished. But I only work on it when traveling, and I don't watch TV, so it hasn't moved forward much lately. I also worked on it over Christmas (also in North Carolina) and made enough progress that I think with a little bit of effort I could finish it this year. 

Little S's Cross-Stitch

4) Dear Jane also came out at Thanksgiving. That is another project that usually only comes out when I need hand stitching - road trips and hunkering down for hurricanes. We have not had any hurricanes lately - thank goodness for that. When I looked over my progress I realized that most of what is left can be done by machine or at least started on the machine. I made several blocks over Thanksgiving - by hand and machine - and figured if I do a few each month that is forward progress. 

Dear Jane rows A-J

5) Keep working with the stash on hand. The last two years I have made a dent in the stash - by numbers, not by visible change in the piles! I will try to stick with not buying any new fabric unless absolutely necessary. I have one project from the drawer that I don't see how to finish with what is on hand, but maybe I just need to look harder. 

Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy

6) I'd like to get back to blogging. I like the creative outlet and I need to not let teaching take every bit of my time.  I now have a personal computer again, so that will help.  I was hesitant to use my work computer for much personal stuff and I know that is part of why I wasn't writing and posting.

 I think all of that is pretty reasonable. 

 Wish me luck!

2021 in Review

Another year of no posts, but plenty of sewing.  The year was filled with teaching (our state continues to operate as normal although distance learning was an option for the previous academic year and I was a DL teacher); helping Little S get through 9th grade virtually and now 10th grade in person; College E graduating, getting a teaching job, and then getting married (6 months earlier than planned, but easier this way since we were on summer break); and making masks.   

In 2021 my sisters and I made and gave away 3,663 masks.  Up a bit from 2020, but this year we made masks all 12 months.  I still keep the mask fabric separate from my fabric stash.  Most of the fabric for the masks was from fabric donations or bought with monetary donations towards the mask project.  However, I still used 21.78 yards of my personal fabric.  I think the actual number might be higher, since I remember masks that were not in the notes but we'll go with this.

Dog masks for Grown Up R's coworkers

In 2021 I stuck with my decision to quilt by check.  Best decision I ever made.  I was able to work through my closet of flimsies very efficiently.  Each time I picked one up, I dropped another off.  Some of the backings were from mask fabric (with permission) and some were from my stash. 44.51 yards out for various sashings, backings, bindings, blocks from my stash.  I'll try to blog about each of those finishes to get myself started off in 2022.

Square Lake Curtain Quilt - quilted by check!!

After the wedding I got all the bindings completed up to that point and then then kept up through the fall.  There is currently only one binding pending for a quilt I picked up in early December.  All of the flimsies are finished and now I am working through the drawer of blocks & pieces.  That's going a little slower, but still moving forward.

There were a few random projects - paint aprons and doll blankets for "Teacher" E's new kindergarten classroom.  I also made little flannel individual white board erasers for her class and mine.  That kept a lot of flannel mask scraps from ending up in my stash.  I just sewed strips of fabric together, then cut in 4" squares for her and 6" squares for me.  Next I matched up 2 squares wrong sides together, sewed around the perimeter and then an X across the middle.  Done.  On long weekends the kids turn them in and I wash them and they are good to go for another few weeks or months.  5.4 yards out

Rail Fence Doll Quilt

The student that I tutor changed schools and I made him a pillowcase with eagles since that is his new mascot.  I have been working with him for over 5 years and occasionally make him things.  The main fabric was from the mask stash but didn't work for masks because of the size of the image.  0.32 yards out for the accent stripe and the border.

I sent fabric home with Grown Up R and Teacher E and donated other fabric that I knew I would not use to the thrift store.  29.64 yards out

The annual Carnival Auction Quilt did get made.  This was the 10th quilt I have made for the Spring Carnival.  I wasn't sure how that would go with a distance learning class and an in-person class, but I was able to get all of their signatures in one quilt.  I used a jelly roll that the thrift store gave us in exchange from masks for them to give away, some of my own yardage, and a backing from the mask yardage (with permission).  I made a rail fence design and just had the kids sign rather than design their own block that I have done in previous years.  For the DL kids, I had them drop off an index card with their signature and I traced it for them.  The quilt made about $200, so that was a success.  1.96 yards out of my stash

2021 Carnival Quilt Winner

I little bit of fabric got added that was not designated for masks, but not much.  Whites from the thrift store for the Dear Jane quilt and a border that got removed from the X Marks the Spot quilt and added back to the stash.  2.92 yards in  Spent $1.00 total.

84.75 yards out YTD

2.92 yards in YTD

81.83 yards out of the stash in 2021

So it was another good year of de-stashing.  I'll take it.

Here's hoping that 2022 will bring more fun finishes and less mask-making! 

  

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!

 

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.