Evening in the Garden Quilts

I didn’t buy fabric! I completed the tree skirt, using 4.25 yards, and seven more donation pillowcases.

This week: + 0 yards, – 11.25 yards

This year: + 13 yards, – 11.25 yards

Net destashed added in 2019: 1.75 yards

Also, I put away some fabric and broke up shipping boxes and put them away, so the studio is starting to look better. Yesterday I started the pull out scraps for the Handy Dandy Scrap mystery.

We have about four inches of snow here, so sewing is a good thing to do!

Quilting, like life, is a work in progress, isn’t it?  After enough years the goals and resolutions begin to repeat themselves.  Whether progress has been made or not, there’s always more to do.  And if it’s a worthwhile goal, why not keep it up?

Keep up with my photos.

• I need to clean out my Dropbox every month after my goals post, deleting repetitive photos and filing others in the proper folders.
• I really, really, need to add photos to Flickr every month, so I’m not doing it all at the end of the year.  Besides, it’s more fun to add current photos and interact with friends and groups.

Organize my studio.

This is a repeated one, but it needs it again.

• I need to better store boxes and packing materials.  Boxes need to go in another room.       I may need some new bins for packing storage.
• I want to declutter some of the knick knacks I have on display.
• I should vacuum and put away fabric after each project.

Make things other than quilts.

This is another goal from the past.  These won’t be the elaborate things some people make, but just a change, and practice reading patterns.

• I’m making a tree skirt
• I want to make some more easy tote bags, because I have more uses and ideas.
• I’ll try a new zipper pouch pattern.

Get back into printmaking.

I keep mentioning this and not doing much with it.  Let this be the year!

• Borrow or buy a book or two about printing on fabric.
• Experiment with some easy media like foam or cardboard that will hurt my hands less than carving blocks.
• Turn the results into hangings, etc.

Turn over my stash

• Use 25 -50 net yards of fabric this year.  It’s getting harder, now that I’m down 500 yards from when I started this.
• Add back in colors and prints that I need.  I haven’t found a subscription service that’s just right, so I’m doing my own.  Last year I added greens, this month it was blues.

I’m counting on you to hold me to these!  Good luck on your goals this year!

New fabric for a new year! And I have several projects in the works, but none are yet complete.

As part of destashing this year, I want to add back in colors that are depleted, so this month it’s blue.

I don’t understand my blue fabric. It’s not my favorite color, but somehow I acquired a large drawer full of the stuff. Then I made an effort to make gift and donation quilts from it. For years. And now I search in vain when I need the right shade. So here’s a little bit of new, fresh blue.

This week: + 13 yards, – 0 yards

This year: + 13 yards, – 0 yards

Net destashed added in 2019: 13 yards

Lots of time in front of us to use that stash!

(Still formulating my goals for the year of 2019, but I’m clear on what I want to accomplish this month.)

January Goals:

1. Make tree skirt for our new tree so I won’t be scrambling at the last minute come December.
2. Applique pine cones on guest bathroom towels (same reason).
3. Begin pulling and cutting fabrics for Charlotte’s Handy Dandy Scrap Quilt.
4. Complete Step One of Charlotte’s HDS Quilt.
5. Make donation pillowcases.

That should keep me busy.

I wish you lots of productive sewing time this month!

2018 Goals:

Time on task: Similar to last year, I want to be more disciplined about spending time in my studio. I’m not really going to do much housework anyway, so I may as will quit procrastinating and get to sewing. Especially in these cooler months.
No, I can’t really say I achieved this goal. My husband’s work schedule is erratic. My son was living at home on and off this year (and his sleep schedule is erratic!). The summer made it too hot to work upstairs. I could go on and on. I just have to make time and do it. So this one goes back on the list for next year. For the third year in a row. Hmmm.

Creativity: Let’s not say “art quilt”. Let’s just say I want to experiment with more techniques and incorporate new things into my quilting. I plan to read/reread some books and magazines and choose some to try.
I made some progress on this. I re-read some technique books and bought some magazines. I thought about a lot of artsy techniques and tried a couple that weren’t successful. I looked at a lot of quilting and tried to stretch my quilting. I made my first bags, even if they were pretty easy.
This one goes back on the list, but it should probably always be there, anyway.

Color: My color selection tends to be…bold? bright? saturated? I want to make at least a few where I lower the volume and get a bit more subtle. This will be limited by my current stash and scrap collection, but it’s a goal.

Yes! I really worked at this and made conscious decisions about purchasing and using fabrics. And now I don’t have to anymore! I like most of what I made, and there’s a place for it, but I quilt for the color.

Stash: I’m going for another fifty yards of stash reduction. This is pretty modest. It allows me to buy quite a bit of fabric, turn my stash over a bit, and use the scraps. Some of the new fabric will be low volume.
Yes! I had a net use of 51 yards. So that makes 500 yards I’ve removed from my stash in the last seven years. It still has some pockets of old or odd fabrics, but it’s much fresher and more managable.

Now to work on 2019 goals.

Coming soon:  The photo collage!

2018 is hurtling to its end, isn’t it? I did pretty well on my December goals.

December Goals:

1. Finish Secret Christmas project. Yes! I made two tote bags (the Picnic Tote by SewCanShe).
2. Sew two more Christmas gifts. Yes! I made two sets of bowl cozies as gifts.
3. Make donation blocks for Kat’s Covered in Love. Yes! I think the final count was sixteen blocks! I used four yards of fabric from stash that I’ve had for way too long. And I’ve already mailed them to Kat.
4. Pull fabrics and begin cutting for Charlotte Hawke’s mystery quilt. No. I’ve printed the cutting directions and chosen my background fabric, but I haven’t pulled scraps or done any cutting. I’ll have to do it in January.

Bonus: Made myself a set of bowl cozies, and a pillowcase for donation.

Here are those tote bags. The logos are from recycled t-shirts. I used the Picnic Tote pattern from SewCanShe. This is a very easy and clear pattern with few pieces and it goes together quickly. I really recommend it for beginners (as I was on sewing bags).

It doesn’t have a zipper or any hardware. Of course, I had to make some changes. I used cotton webbing for the straps, which I’m very happy with.

I added a key clip sewn by a ribbon to the inside pocket seam. I added an extra inside pocket and sewed a dividing line down its center. It would also be easy to add an outside pocket, but I decided against it.

I’m working on a post for the whole year which should be up soon. Take care!