Week 45 of 2019: Stitching Stuff

It's been a beautiful weekend, lots of warm sunshine. Hard to believe the forecast tomorrow is for cold with snow showers. We took advantage of the good weather to pay the Scientist in Training a visit.  So my 15 minutes of stitching the last few days has been of the hand variety, but that still counts.  

Work has been a bit of a zoo, so I've worked late a few nights the last week. It was a struggle a couple of nights to make the climb to the sewing room, but it happened.  

15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
15 minute days/November = 9/9 days
15 minute days/2019 = 282/313 days
Success rate = 90.10%

After last week, I'm back to meeting my goal of stitching 90% of the time in 2019.  Hopefully I can stay on track with this goal from here on out. 

You can scroll to the bottom of the post to link up. Up next are a few photos to show off what a beautiful fall day it was. 

There were still a few pops of color in all the brown. 

And a few butterflies out and about looking for that last hit of nectar. 

  

So how did your stitchy week go? 

1. Julie in GA 2. karen 3. Meloney

4. Shasta @ High Road Quilter 5. Chrisknits 6. Amanda

7. DawnyK 8. Christina's Handicrafts

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Week 26 of 2019: Stitching and Stashing

Summer is definitely here. It's not quite scorching out yet, but we are definitely getting there.  It was a good week to take refuge in the coolness of the sewing room. That made it easy to get in some good stretches of stitching time this week.  Did you have an easy time finding your way to your sewing room for some stitching time this week?

I didn't have to bring work home this week, which made for a productive week in the sewing room. 

15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
15 minute days/June = 21/29 days
15 minute days/2019 = 157/180 days
Success rate = 87.22%

I'm not doing as well as I'd like with the success rate, but life happens.  There are still 6 months of 2019 left, so I hope to get back on track before the end of the year. 

The stash management isn't going so well either this year.  I gave into temptation last week and added a bit of fabric. It was all on sale is my only defense.  

Fabric out this week = 0.11 yards
Fabric out for 2019 = 27.92 yards
More fabric in than out

There are three quilts that are close to becoming finished flimsies, so hopefully making the backs reverse the tide to more out than in. 

Besides stitching, I have been playing around with the camera just a bit. The late spring wildflowers are starting to fade, but they still drew a number of butterflies this week.  

A Gulf Fritillary getting dinner from a Black Eyed Susan

I'm hoping to get in some good stitching time this week.  How did last week week go for you?  

1. Pack Rat With a Plan 2. karen 3. Chrisknits

4. Julie in GA 5. MaryR @Urban Quilter 6. di

7. DawnyK 8. Amanda 9. Christina's Handicrafts

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Weekend Stitching: Just Bits and Pieces

I'd really like a do over for last week, in just about every possible way. Upsetting things going on at work last week involving some long time and well liked co-workers.  The Scientist in Training received some very unexpected and significantly bad news over the weekend concerning her job. Plus the respiratory crud I caught on my business trip was still making me pretty miserable.  Thankfully I felt much better yesterday and was able to sleep without a dose of Benadryl before bed last night.  Hopefully that means the crud is fading fast. That should make it easier to cope with the ramifications of last week as we navigate this week.  

Consequently there wasn't a lot of stitching going on last week.  I was hoping to finish off the Christmas Mystery quilt, but didn't quite finish stitching down the binding.  That should happen this week. 

The only other visible progress was on the Storm at Sea project. 

A few more of the blue diamond blocks were added to the design wall.  The pattern is starting to show up much better with those additions.  I'm hoping to make a start on the purple blocks this week, as well as make some more progress on the dark blue diamonds.  

The one bright spot this week was the beautiful weather.  We took a stroll in one of the local botanical gardens with the cameras.  It's definitely spring. 

I loved the blue flowers. The moths were also out and about enjoying the floral bounty. 

I've got more floral pretties, but it's time for work so that's it for me this week.  Linking up with the typical Monday show and tells.  

Monday Design Wall
Monday Making

Stash Report: Week 41 of 2016

We had a front come through on Friday which cooled us off nicely.  It actually feels like fall.  Unfortunately the associated rain didn't do much to reduce the pollen levels.  My sinuses have expressed their displeasure in that fact with a steady sinus headache, which required some extensive napping to dissipate.  So not much sewing yesterday.  I'm hopeful today will be better.  

Even with the sinus headaches, I've done well in getting into the sewing room for at least 15 minutes every day this week.

Days with 15 minutes of stitching this week:  7 out of 7 days
Days in October: 8 out of 8 days
Days in 2016:  223 out of 282 days

At the moment I still have a C in sewing time.  My percentage of days in the sewing room is at 79.1%.  Even so, this is the most I've managed in all the years I've been tracking.  So, I'll take the C.  I have to admit to a bit of jealousy.  Julie over at Julie's Quilts and Costumes has an A (90%) in sewing time.  She does a great job of finding time to sew in spite of what is has been a very hectic late summer for her.  

On the stash front, I'm slowly recovering from all my good luck and stash enhancements in September. 

Used last week:  0.80 yards
Used year to date:  48.40 yards
Added year to date:  46.09 yards
Net used in 2016:  2.31 yards

This is my 7th year of stash tracking.  Another half yard of usage will make this my third best year for stash usage.  If I don't add any more this will be my second best year for limiting stash enhancements. So the over all stash number isn't going down a lot, at least it's not going up.  I'd be pretty happy if the stash stays at steady state for the year.  

I did briefly brave the pollen yesterday afternoon to check out this American Beauty butterfly who was absolutely in love with our lone sunflower. 

American Beauties must taste bad. This flower is on the other side of the fence from our neighbors bird feeder (which is why the sunflowers tend to grow in this spot).  None of the birds looked interested in what I would assume would be a tasty morsel.  

Linking up with Patchwork Times for this week's stash report party. 

Stash Report: Week 37 of 2016

It's been a nice weekend.  A relaxing one which is a welcome contrast to our busy week.  Drama Teen and I drove to Tulsa on Thursday to meet with a representative of one of the colleges she's considering attending and then had dinner before heading home.  I'll have to spend some time this afternoon going over her applications so she can get them sent in.  I still hope to get in a bit of stitching time though.  

It was a good week for stash busting.  Finishing the borders on the Poinsettias quilt and making a backing for the Zombie quilt really helped with moving fabric to the out column.  

Used last week:  4.68 yards
Used year to date:  43.70 yards
Added year to date:  33.75 yards
Net used in 2016:  9.95 yards

By the time I finish the backing for the Zombie quilt I should have used more fabric than I did last year.  Which is good because I've added more this year than I did last year. 

The schedule this week meant I missed getting in my 15 minutes of stitching time a couple of nights, but it still wasn't a bad week.

Days with 15 minutes of stitching time this week:  5 out of 7 days
Days in September:  8 out of 10 days
Days in 2016:  201 out of 254 days

I'm doing much better on getting into the sewing room than I did last year.  Maybe that's because I have some hard deadlines for a few quilts next year.  

In addition to spending more time in the sewing room this year, I've been walking a bit more.  This little lovely made my evening last week.  

Linking up with Patchwork Times and then I'm off to take advantage of the cooler temps do yard work for a bit.