Stash Report #16 of 2013

Nothing can be counted as used this past week despite sewing for 5 out of the seven days.    I was able to work on some of my April's Get 'er Done List like the lil' Miss Shabby block,  Cut out another Jacket to sew and planned the Pom pom project.  Think I'll be playing with that lattermost this afternoon.  Need to get that one done! 

This week's numbers are:

Stash In: 0 Yards

Stash Out: 0 Yards

YTD In: 47.75 Yards

YTD Used/Out the Door: 31.5 yards

That's a stash gain of 16.25 yards for this year. 

 

By month's end I plan to get this number close to 10 yards.    I am so ready to start showing more used and going out of stash than coming in, though I do have to admit I've been browsing and adding yardage to an online cart, but then just as quickly, closing out of the online shop with out buying.   

Phew!   Talk about some close calls!  

{Stay Strong Janie- "subliminal message to self"} 

If interested  to see how other quilter's are fairing, stop by Judy Laquidera's blog and check out those links.

Another area of interest is getting my home in order.  Am still trying to clean up bits around here when I can and participating in the Flylady 's techniques to accomplish more with smaller efforts.    Some days are good and others not so.  I really think my sewing studio is overwhelming me during my attempts to sew, causing mental and physical distractions and using too much of my energy just walking into that room. 
This past week, 1 week after coming home from the quilt retreat in fact, I found myself setting up my portable sewing machine on the dining room table like I used to sew when my children were younger and lived here.  Ahhhh, heaven!  No other projects making me  falter and  stretching me  into so many different directions. 
One project out and getting done to the next step.  

so  SIMPLE and sew SWEET!

• Perhaps I have way too much stuff around my sewing area to be my most productive self. 
• Perhaps I'll pack up various kits, pigs and projects and tote them downstairs so I have open space.  I want to be like Thelma of Cupcakes and Daisies Blog, and have a neat area to work my craft.  My Mom also rocks in this department though she'll have 5 projects all going on simultaneously.   Is that me saying I want to grow up to be like my Mom?!!!  Yes in this area, definitely YES!  She is an amazing woman, quilter and organizer besides having a zest for life with a can do anything attitude. 

Since I showed you many of my UFO's last week with the Parade of UFOs, should I share this room of mine as it is?    If you want to see it, I'll share otherwise it'll be another focus of mine to declutter and organize better.  Would you believe I have to move piles of stuff to open the doors of my fabric cabinets?  Talk about wasting energy that could  have been used  to sew instead.    Perhaps I'll use the fly lady technique of 15 minutes to start working on that while still keeping all my "other balls" juggled, hopefully without dropping any.   My exercise and food intake is doing better than I was so I want to continue succeeding in that area while also working on some other not so great areas that need improvement.    Wish me luck! 

Jane

 

November 2nd already!

Where does the time go? It's hard to believe that there are only 2 months left of the year. We just got all the Halloween decor put away and started retreiving the Thanksgiving items. Here's a wallhanging I hang over the back, kitchen door at this time of the year. It was made several years ago and I used scraps and stash that I had on hand. Notice the brick orange painted walls on the side of it. We had to hire someone to paint for us. Between DH's and mine health, these simple do it your self jobs are just too much for us now. Sometimes it's really difficult to swallow, but when it's necessary, you do what you have to do. Oh well, I digress.

It's always enjoyable to view but I do love it even more with the color of my kitchen as the background. NICE!

Being a member of Stashbusters, a recent topic made me chuckle. At different days, a member will give a shout out to Vacuum the floor of your sewing room, or clean up your sewing table... etc. Well today's shout out was to gather all your sewing machine feet and perhaps get a tackle box, or matchbox car case to store them in and put them away.

Yippee! That is one part of my sewing area that is organized and has been for years. Now why can't I get the rest of it together? Here is a photo of how I store my machine's feet. The container is a bead storage box that has 32 compartments. Some of the spaces are used to hold a couple of feet. I do use a numerical system to store or find which ever foot I need. How did I get so many? I guess fabric buying was not the only thing I overdid, but most feet (with the exception of some of the specialty feet) were purchased at quilt shows when most vendors offered a 25% discount. I'd bring in my handy chart of which feet I had and which new feet I'd like to get and would purchase 1 or 2 per show. Thank goodness that Bernina also puts out the volumes 1-3 of FEETURES, a very handy reference manual that I also acquired at 25% off to use as a guide and reference. Most feet have been used at least once if not more, so the expense and effort has been worth it. :~)

The feet and attachments that won't fit in that case or the base slip-off unit of my bernina go into this plastic shoe box.

This last picture illustrates how they look together on the shelf, with the exception of the cover that I removed for the photo. Nice and handy and I don't have to check all over the place. The only thing I need to do is to remember to grab whichever foot(feet) I'll need when I take a class or have a get together with friends.


Enjoy your day,
Jane