sewing nook

Besides having a place for my quilt tops for easy access, Having my binding sewing machine out of my dining room was my top priority. I am taking over my son's room and this was his desk. We have repainted the room and floor and added a large area rug so it is time to move in. Happy day

I have a wonderful piecing machine with some speed, a featherweight for portable sewing and my trusty old bernina that I use for binding since I can move the needle for the top stitching. It is a small space, so I am hoping putting a table to my left will help with bigger quilts. My next goal is to move my big ironing board into the room -oh and a design wall.

I am linking:

wednesday wait loss

midweek makers 

My quilt infatuation

oh scrap

cleaning and more

Our youngest son has moved to his own place and we are cleaning and painting his room. I started with the closet. I knew I wanted it for my backings. In a pile, they had become annoying. Digging through them all to find one the right size and temperament was exhausting. I measured and hung all I could and even at least today have them in size order largest to smallest. I have the measured size on a piece of paper on each one. I have the 3 yard 108 wide backings folded on the shelf. It does make me happy.

Now, that I have sugar grove blocks prepared to sew, I am not making monkey wrench as leaders and enders as often. I am using the sugar grove instead. But, I miss them. I sewed a few this week to stay in touch with them. I didn't want them to feel unloved. a happy block is a happy quilt.

I am linking:

design wall monday 

oh scrap

sew and tell

monday musings

ironing board organized

While cleaning other parts of the room, the ironing board became a staging area for more sorting and organizing, until, it was a disaster again.

With a little perseverance and determination, and a few naps, I have my ironing board to use again. I made progress on the room, but, it is not finished. It will be there for another goal.

I  am linking to:

midweek makers 

 

wednesday wait loss

My quilt infatuation

oh scrap

room cleaning

I am still working on the room next to my sewing room.  I have unearthed more mess, and, I can see some progress. I do the cleaning dance - go through messes on the floor and sort them onto a bed or ironing board, then, go through those messes, and put them back on the floor, and repeat. Eventually, the messes finally shrink and the spot is empty.

bed

ironing board

These were built in 2019 and, now, I can reach them again.

ta da

I  am linking to:

midweek makers 

 

wednesday wait loss

My quilt infatuation

oh scrap

may goal - clean fabric room

This is supposed to be a guest room. But, since, I don't have guests, I have stuffed everything, I don't know where to put, in there. I have an ironing board set up for ironing bigger pieces and quilts. To the right, is a thigh high pile of fabric and projects going back about 3 feet. I have 3 billy bookcases( ikea) of fabric that I can't open the doors. which means I can't put fabric away,  either, which has contributed to the pile.

from the door

When I trim a quilt on the ironing board, a pile grows of the batting and excess backing. I can tell there are at least 10 different quilt trimmings in that pile. There is a container there, somewhere. I dislike cutting off the batting and cutting the large pieces into something useable. Obviously, it is time to bribe myself into conquering this job.

quilt cut offs

I made this room my May cleaning project from the, enough is enough, category.

I am linking:

design wall monday 

oh scrap

sew and tell

monday musings

to do tuesday

wednesday wait loss

a cleaning finish

My April goal was to clean the sewing room floor which took until middle May to finish. A by product of that cleaning, was to clean the cutting table, too. This is a Friday finish with great benefit. 

It went from this....

embarrassing

to this...

tada

By cleaning this, my scrap management just improved. And, I am working diligently on my ironing room in May ( and probably June) When I run into a stack of mess, I have this lovely table to sort and cut. yipee. I have been very careful to clean it every night, to keep it that way.

I  have all the sashings  finished for Saturday soire

which way?

I am linking to:

TGIFF different   

creations

peacock party

from bolt to beauty

whoop whoop

floor finish

I can't believe it, but my sewing room floor is clean and as tidy as it is going to get.  It went from this

embarrassing

to this. 

I spent 6 weeks sorting through procrastinated messes and organizing better. I tried to remove as much as possible by donating or gifting. There is still too much packed into the room. I also tried to locate often used items closer to me.

These were all over the room wherever I could lean them

scrap bins

I can walk straight to my machine

 still more to go

cutting table

I decided my may project was to do the same thing to my fabric and ironing board room for May. oh, and my cutting table.

I am linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different   

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creations

peacock party

from bolt to beauty

whoop whoop

oh scrap sunday

wednesday wait loss

floor mess

My strip bins overfloweth. The big problem is the floor around them is collecting strips as well. I don't like the mess of sorting into colors, so, I wait until the situation is urgent. I am trying to clean the floor in my sewing room. It has to be done.

1 1/2 inch strip bin

This is the 1 1/2 inch strip drawer unleashed. Hard to believe all this was in one drawer. 

The big pile of neutrals was a mess on the floor which prompted my attention. I sat on the floor making piles of color.

What to do with them?

 Their permanent home will not hold any more. I have tried to keep them in a smaller bin - it didn't fit

nope

I found this plastic container, and, I could get most of them here.

But, there were still a lot of neutrals with no home. I had an extra waste basket that I repurposed for them. It will be easier to dig through them, this way, than, an organized stack. I think it will work.  

Time to make 4 patches. 

or 9 patches ...or both

I  am linking to:

midweek makers 

 

wednesday wait loss

My quilt infatuation

Oh scrap

floor disaster

This was my view from the door into my sewing room. I had to step over things to get to my sewing table. It was embarrassing and dangerous. I was focused on getting parts done, so, I would just set aside the maintenance, until, my projects were done. which is never.  I just couldn't take it anymore. Enough is enough. I decided, for April, I was going to take back my sewing room floor.

My first decision was to tackle the table next to my accuquilt. I cut and throw  the scraps into a pile for later. This is part of the floor cleaning, because, it spills onto the floor. My accuquilt is to the right, and, I almost couldn't run it to the left without knocking stuff over to the floor.

I have 3 drawers in my room for 1 1/2 inch, 2 inch, and 2 1/2 inch strips. These are the temporary homes for cut pieces, until, I can sort them into colors families in their real home. I wait until they are practically impossible to close them.  The worst offender at this point is the bottom bin of 1 1/2 inch strips that have actually spilled over into a pile on the floor..... a big pile.

I made progress in April, and, hopefully, will finish in May. I must be careful - It is easy to get distracted by all the cool things I am finding.

I am linking:

design wall monday 

oh scrap

sew and tell

daysfilledwithjoy

monday musings

to do tuesday

wednesday wait loss

shirts recycled

At some point, I started cutting shirts, and, I wanted to organize them. I think it was when I pulled a new UFO project from storage called hand me down. I cut 11 quilt kits - 2 scrappy pinwheels, pineapple blossom, rail fence, 2 ohio star, snails trail, churndash, barnyard split nine, boxed shirts, and take 5. I have a kaliedescope quilt I want to cut.

I cut layer cakes, charm squares, 3 1/2 inch strips, 2 1/2 inch strips, and, I now have a large bag of crumbs and strings. I decided to spend March with my shirt fabrics. I renewed my love for the look and feel. I counted 49 plastic containers - yes 49, and, I wanted to reduce by 10 %. There are less buckets of fabric, but if the quilt kits stay around, the fabrics are still here somewhere LOL

I did cut through 5 plastic containers, and, I have the remaining containers all in one place. It helped me realize, I don't need to be so careful using them. I have plenty if I need them, again. All the cut shirt kits fit in one smaller plastic container.

strings and crumbs

string blocks

3 1/2 in strips 3 lbs 5 oz

2 1/2 inch strips 4 lbs 6 oz

Will I live long enough to make 11 new shirt quilts? probably not. One can dream.

I  am linking to:

midweek makers 

 

wednesday wait loss

My quilt infatuation

Oh scrap

scrap cutting

I blogged about making a cutting hit list here. And, I am surprised at how successful it has become. I was able to add to my projects on the list, and, I had a few leftover scraps to add to the scrap users system that has served me well for many years. I have a tray of 2 1/2, 2, and 1 1/2 inch strips.

I have a tray of 3 1/2 inch strips, 2 1/2 x 4 1/2  and 2 x 3 1/2 inch rectangles. I had a few smaller pieces that became 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 inch squares.

Our apples have been falling from our old apple trees. I tried canning them in syrup with a touch of cinnamon. I am not sure why I lost all the water.  But, I am sure they will be yummy.

I  am linking to:

midweek makers  

wednesday wait loss

stitch and sew

My quilt infatuation

oh scrap sunday

quilt hit list

I am frustrated with the scrap piles again. A little bit here and a little bit there, can really add up over time. I have let a lot of time pass since the last time I have been sitting to cut scraps. I dumped all the bits into a container, and started cutting. This time, I  made a hit list. I have several projects, that I still need pieces cut to finish. When I pick up a scrap, I check to see if I could use the color in any of the projects. If so, I start cutting the sizes I need. If there is anything leftover, I cut the usual sizes, 3 1/2, 2 1/2, 2, 1 1/2 and so on. So far, There isn't much I can't use in the hit list quilts. I enjoyed the process and we will see if it confuses me too much LOL

Most of the time, I just cut biggest scrap saver sizes to smallest, and, then, I have to have to find a home for them. Most of those homes are full. This way, I am actually moving projects along. True, I probably have enough already cut in the scrap saver system, to do each quilt, but, they are already in their home, and happy, and aren't going anywhere, if I need them. I am trying to clean up the new accumulated scraps, not pulling for each quilt.

The inspiration came from a discussion at open sew about taming the scraps. My quilting friend said that she had a pile on her table that she decided was getting cut and made into patches, into a quilt, until it is all gone. I didn't want to cut to just start a new quilt, when I have so many I still want to make or finish. So, I looked through what I had and needed, and am doing the same thing. When the pile is gone, we will see if it worked and they are truly gone.

It is okra time. We tried some purple okra this year and they were yummy.

I am linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different     here  and here

creations

peacock party

from bolt to beauty

put your foot down

oh scrap sunday

patchwork and quilts

my ironing pad

One of my favorite quilting helpers is this little rolling 3 drawer plastic unit. It rolls underneath my table when not in use. I have an ironing pad and a wool pressing mat on top, and, it is to the left of me when I sew. I can turn and iron very easily anything I want to iron. I have had it for years.

The bottom drawer is a small file for patterns and instructions and notes. It needs a good cleaning. I am sure there are things from the dinosaur age still in there.

The second drawer is for thread, but, it became a catch all for all thread and anything else without a home

And the top drawer is where orphan HSTS rest.

I don't think I could sew without it. For, one thing, I keep the top cleaned off. I can't say that about any other flat surface at the moment.

The rose of sharon is blooming again. It had gotten out of hand last year, so, I cut it back almost to the ground. I was afraid it wouldn't recover. The hibiscus flower is a favorite of bees and hummingbirds and makes a great tea. It has anti- inflammatory and antibacterial properties, and helps with cholesterol. It is full of vitamin C. And, obviously, you can't kill it.

I am linking to:

TGIFF

TGIFF different     here  and here

creations

peacock party

from bolt to beauty

put your foot down

oh scrap sunday

patchwork and quilts