A new beginning

All I can say is Depression Sucks. I've spent the last 3 months working, or vegging on the couch playing stupid computer games. Enough of that!

Yesterday, I finally did a recon in my sewing room and made a mental commitment to spend at least 15 minutes a day in there cleaning, and then if I can manage it, another 15 sewing.  First thing I did was to take "before" pictures:

From the door (looking south):

Better view of the south-east corner:

East wall (not really my happy place right now:

North wall (beside door):

West wall:

My room is on the small side - about 11.5' x 12', with an 8' x 2' closet with a 6' opening. Currently it has carpet but I eventually want to put in vinyl planking for ease of cleanup.

My goal is to have it completely cleaned and reorganized with a month. This also involves new shelving in the closet.

I spent about 2 hours in here on Saturday, about 1/2 hour making enough room on my ironing/cutting board:

I do the majority of my cutting on this table, as I mostly make scrappy quilts or cut from fat quarters. If I need more space, I use my dining room table. 

Once I did that, I cleared my sewing machines - I have two that I use, a 1947 Singer Featherweight 221 for piecing and straight stitching, and a Kenmore for zigzag and quilting. Now I can do my 15 minutes of sewing after 15 minutes of cleaning! I actually managed about 1 1/2 hours today!

First thing I sewed was a T-shirt dress for my oldest granddaughter, Zoey! She is turning 7 tomorrow.

I make these from youth-sized t-shirts by cutting the sleeves off, finishing the edge with a simple turnover of the hem, cutting about 4-6 inches off the t-shirt, and adding a cotton skirt of about 21". She lives in these all summer long.  This one has dinosaur footprints for my dinosaur-loving girl!  I had to leave before she got to open my gift, but apparently she was absolutely giddy when she saw it.

Check in tomorrow to see how I did on Sunday, and later in the week for a recap of Quilt Canada 2018!

Branching out

I've tried something new this year - sewing with knits! I found a great sewing pattern website, Love Notions, which offered a couple of free patterns for the kids.  I've now purchased a few, picked up some knits and started playing.

This is the Trendy Tunic, Size 5 and Size 7, for Mya and Zoey.  The patterns are a .pdf download, and I love that I can easily just print one size at a time, without having to sort through multiple lines.

Zoey loves to wear patterns! Sometimes she's head-to-toe cheetah print!  Mya was in twirly mood that day, so wouldn't wear hers.

I've always been intimidated by knits before, I'm not sure why now! They were so easy to make, and I even learned how to use the twin needle on my machine. My sister has now given me mom's old serger, so I can learn something else!

I got hit with that terrible flu just after my last post, so I haven't been sewing much. I hope now that I have fully recovered, I can get my mojo back.

18 things in 2018

I find that if I have accountability check in times, I'm more likely to get something done.

In the spirit of 2018, here are 18 things I want to do this year, not all quilting related:

#1 - Focus on my health. I need to lose about 60 lbs, and tone up, as well as deal better with my depression issues. As I approach the dreaded 60, I realize that now is the time to get in shape so I can have a healthy retirement.

#2 - Declutter. A couple of years ago, I split my house into a quasi-up-and-down duplex, and lost 1000 sq. ft of storage (but gained my daughter, son-in-law and grandson in the suite!). I'm still eliminating what I don't need and trying to find suitable storage for what is left. This year I want to get it done. 

#3 - Finish 12 quilting projects. I have so many UFOS, I declare 2018 the year of the finish. I've already packaged up several quilts to go the long-arm quilter. 

#4 - Say no more often. I pledge not to join any new QAL, BOM, or challenges this coming year and instead finish the ones I've started. 

#5 - Empty the overflowing scrap bin. I use Bonnie Hunter's Scrap-User's system but need to get cracking on the stack of fabric that didn't get done this year.

#6 - Learn something new. This year I'm going to learn how to quilt with rulers. I bought a starter kit last year, but never got around to using it. This is the year!

#7 - Use my planner. Last year I discovered the Passion Planner, and it works well for me (when I remember to use it). This year, I hope to manage to use it more regularly.

#8 - Come up with a Word of the Year. In the past I have chosen Joy, Nuture, Focus. I need something that combines all of those!

#9 - Stay current with my scrapbooking - starting with yesterday's walk!

#10 - Do more scrapbooking of my backlog of pictures (use up all my pre-designed pages).

#11 - Complete one Christmas project every month. 

#12 - Plan a trip to somewhere warm.

#13 - Spend more time with family (sometimes I have a habit of cocooning myself).

#14 - Rekindle some old friendships.

#15 - Pay off all non-mortgage debt.

#16 - Deal with the paper dragon. I struggle with organizing paper - this year I have to come up with a better solution (research digitizing and organizing)

#17 - Start researching new vehicles. It's time to retire the Bug after almost 15 years of ownership.

#18 - Complete the decorating of the main living area (after the big declutter).

Head space

2017 was a tough year for me mentally, but outside of that all was well. My finances are finally in order, I have a retirement plan, my kids and grandkids are close and doing well, and overall I shouldn't have any problems.  Inside, my head has been playing games with me again, particularly in the last couple of months due to the Harvey Weinstein fallout hitting a little too close to home and bringing up issues that I thought were long dealt with.  Right now, all I can say is #metoo.

Although I know my sewing room is my happy place, I'm having a hard time getting in there. I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks trying to get my focus and make a fresh start in 2018.

Day 2, 31 days of blogging

New record - 2 days in a row! Made a run to Hamels today to pick up some "melon" fabrics, and also got some chocolates for my version of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt. Also found my Christmas decorations in the storage unit, after the kids said they weren't there. Think they were looking with blinders on!

24 Days until Christmas!

Yikes, and I've barely started my Christmas sewing.  My list includes 3 Baby Bionic Gear bags for the grands, some snap bags, and the usual Christmas pyjamas.

The Baby Bionic Gear bag is a miniature version of this one! I'll post more about it in another post.

In the middle of the sewing for Christmas, I will be cutting and sewing for Bonnie Hunter's newest mystery quilt, On Ringo Lake. I will probably stick with her colours this year; chocolate, peachy-corals, aqua/turquoise and (creamy) neutrals. The only fabric I will probably have to add would be some of the corals, but I could trend to pink as well.

Don't you just love her inspiration colours?

And hopefully, I'll be able to squeeze enough time to make some headway on this quilt kit I bought last year! 

A little bit of scrapbooking!

I've been so busy the last couple of months, I have had barely time to breathe, let alone blog.  But we are now seeing the end of a full kitchen renovation, and I can sneak in a bit of time for fun!

Last night, I went to Kim's house, who is kindly storing all my scrapbooking supplies and created a fun page about watching a movie being filmed in my town.

Snuck some time to scrapbook! Thanks, Kim Rodger. Still have to write the story about watching the filming of Monster Trucks (imdb.com/title/tt3095734) in downtown Chilliwack, made to look like an American town. The movie came out two years after we watch this scene being filmed. By that time, Alex had forgotten about. So glad I took pictures.

Now that I have unpacked the kitchen again, I can try to find my sewing room again!