Stories from the Sewing Room

I have gotten so much done this week.  Lots of gardening, lots of planning, lots of spending money, and a little quilting.

I worked on two more quilts. This first one belongs to Ann. I think it has a lot of digital prints.  Have you worked with digital prints?  What do you think about them?  Quilting design is Soho.

I cleaned up more of my sewing room.  I am still trying to figure out how I want to label and store my Kona charm squares so that they are easy to use, yet organized and out of the dust.  Or, so they don't give off more dust/lint.  Why do charm squares have to be so messy?  Anyway, I found some unopened IKEA storage containers in my big cabinet, so assembled them to see if they were the right size.  They are not, but I organized the end of my cutting table and grouped projects inside the boxes.  

After doing that, I decided that some of the stuff that was in the end of the cabinet should move into containers in the closet since I'm not planning to work on them in the foreseeable future.  That led to looking through some of the project bins in the closet and moving some fabric and other stuff around. 

Wait, why is this project in with the fabrics I'd pulled as potential Quilts for Kids tops?  Do I have everything I need to make it?  It's only one block; it won't take long to make. I don't like the color of the fabric I bought for the ears and chest.  I wonder if I have scraps big enough?  *Looks through scraps, looks up pictures of koalas, finds perfect colors and sizes of scraps, reluctantly sets aside.*

Back to the closet to finish moving stuff. I should really make another Quilts for Kids.  I wonder if this panel is big enough.  Oh, good, this other piece is the perfect size for the backing. I should iron all this fabric. I'd really like to work on this, but I have other things I need to get done first and I won't even be able to quilt it until I finish the work I have scheduled.  *Irons fabric.* Side note (yes, I am so easily distracted all the time, especially when I don't want to work on something that I should be working on)--isn't this fabric weird?  I've had it for around 20 years.

Then I looked at this pile of knits I've had for several years.  I really need to get these made into shirts.  I definitely could use some new shirts since I haven't been clothes shopping in more than a year and many of my shirts are so old and in poor condition that they need to be replaced. 

I need to trim these quilts and attach the binding too.  But I need my cutting table cleared off for that.

Over to the cutting table.  I really need to get this swap project done before I start working on anything else. *Dutifully cuts 208 1.5" squares from scraps and arranges them and even starts sewing them.*  No photo other than this for another month.

Hmm...I really need to work on this other project, but the colors aren't quite right.  Maybe I should look through the Kona chips and see if I can match some I like to the charm squares to compare to my fabrics.  Then I could order all the fabric I need for all the projects all at once.  *Spends a few hours rearranging colors.*

I really, really should be sewing together all these Grassy Creek blocks since that's my OMG.  They aren't really doing much for me.  I wonder what it will look like with the next round.  *Adds next pieces to the wall to see how it looks.* Still blah.  Everything is cut and partially sewn, so this really does need to be done before I do all that other stuff.  But still, I'm not really looking forward to this one.

So.  This is how my week has gone.  I have chased every squirrel. Did my stream of consciousness wear you out? Even with all the rummaging and ruminating, I've still gotten a lot done, especially when you see the garden.

You may recall I was whining about the stupid spearmint last week and we'd started weeding it.  We spent much of the weekend removing the vast majority of it. It's so invasive I'm sure we'll be pulling out more strands for years, but for now it looks pretty good.  I just need to remain vigilant about it.

I also had my husband pull out a shrub I didn't like (it kept sending out runners and spreading and I surely don't need yet another invasive thing in that garden) and we shopped for a replacement.  I also ordered a reblooming lilac online since the local place didn't get their expected shipment.  Funny side note--I didn't really pay attention to the address of the garden place I ordered it from until they sent an email that my order would be delayed.  Turns out it's around the corner from one of my old houses.

My daughter and I planted all of the vegetable garden last Thursday.  I do need to replace my tomato plant since I broke the stem during planting.  I thought maybe it would survive, but it wilted right away. It's been too cold the last few nights to plant the replacement, but I do have it ready to go.

We have bluebirds in the nesting box attached to the garden.  Here they are.  Can you see all five?

I'll leave you with a few of our blooming flowers. This first one is one of the Siberian irises. I don't know its name.  

This is a newly planted columbine.  Isn't it pretty?

Have a great week.  Hopefully I'll be able to continue my productivity into next week. 😊

Linking with My Quilt Infatuation and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.