It's the last Tuesday in September. Friday will be the last day in the 3rd quarter, leaving just 3 months left in the year. Every year it seems this time of year comes faster and faster. It's time to get really serious about finishing (starting?) quilts intended for Christmas gifts. I have 4 more I'd like to finish. I'm going to have meet my goal of spending at least 15 minutes in the sewing room every day between now and Christmas to get all of those 4 quilts finished. How about you? Have some quilts or other crafty gift ideas you want to finish up for Christmas? Interested in participating in a Count Down to Christmas version of the 15 Minute Challenge? Leave me a comment and let me know.
So how did this week go? I did the same as last week, 5 days where I managed to spend at least 15 minutes in the sewing room.
Vanessa over at the Whirling Butterfly inspired me to try something a bit different this week for my 15 minute challenge report. She has some amazing digital scrapbook pages on her blog.
I got going on the binding for the Buck-a-Block quilt. I'm in the process of hand sewing the binding to the back. It's such a big quilt, that's going to take me a while. I also fussy cut all the 5.5" squares needed for the Geisha quilt and got started on piecing that one. I've made a little progress on the purple and yellow quilt, but not much. I spent the same time in the sewing room this week as last week, but this week feels like it was more productive.
How did you do this week on finding time for your crafty endeavors? Link up and let us know.
It's Monday again. Which like most things that happen every week, it has it's good points and it's bad points. It's back to work for many of us. This Monday is also "The Big Day" at Chili's Restaurants. Today the chain will donate 100% of it's profits to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. A friend's 4 year old daughter has been at St. Jude's for the last several months undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer. She started her last round of chemo yesterday. If you aren't aware, at St. Jude's no child is ever denied medical treatment because of a family's inability to pay. The hospital covers what insurance doesn't. So if you are eating out today, considering feeding both yourself and helping St. Jude's continue the treatment of and research into children's cancer by eating at Chili's. Kiddo and I are headed there this evening after volleyball practice.
Moving on to today's topic, the design wall. I didn't have anything up on the design wall last week. That's not quite true, the purple and yellow quilt is up, but it hasn't changed much since the last time I showed it. I did start on a new project last week. The first step was fussy cutting 29 squares. Yesterday I was finally able to start piecing.
I didn't get very far, but it's a start at least. This project is one of my PIGS (projects in grocery sacks). I've had the focus fabric for this quilt for several years, it has just taken me a while to come up with a pattern that I liked that would showcase it.
That's it for me this week. To see more design walls, check out Patchwork Times.
Our crazy schedule has hijacked my sewing time this month. Kiddo's schedule is lighter this week, but I'm still wrestling with deadlines at work, so it may not help much. I have been sewing just a bit, but I've already counted the yardage as out. So my stash report is not that exciting this week.
Used this week: 0 yards
Added this week: 0 yards
Used year to date: 47.05 yards
Added year to date: 60.25 yards
Net stashed for 2011: 13.2 yards
I have started working on a new project, but I'm still in the fabric cutting stages, so nothing to count yet. September may turn out to be a bit of a bust, but I can hope that October will look better. On the positive side, nothing in. So at least I'm not loosing ground.
Bounce over to Patchwork Times to see who is busting and who is stashing.
I'm kicked back in the recliner this morning, a quilt over my legs (yeah, it's cool enough to need one) and a cup of coffee within reach. Kiddo has a swim thing this morning, but not until 10:00. So Mom has a chance to catch her breath this morning before getting in gear for the day.
Autumn is the theme for this week's Foto Finish. The temps have definitely fallen here over the last couple of weeks, so it feels like fall. But the leaves don't usually start changing until the first or second week in October. It was so dry this summer, it's not likely we'll have a beautiful fall this year. Last year we spent fall break in Missouri at my in-laws. It was beautiful there, the trees were spectacular. So spectacular that sometimes you feel disappointed when you look at your photos because you can't quite capture the grandeur of it all. But this shot came close.
I love the all the golden yellow with just the hint of the blue sky in the background. One of my favorite things about fall is the bright blue skies we often get. Not at all like the washed out pale blue skies the color of old washed denim we get in the summer.
To see more of Autumn, check out the links over at Cat Patches.
TGIF!!!! I am so ready for it to be Friday. Though with deadlines looming, I'm going to have to work some this weekend. Even so, I should be able to make time for some R&R and hopefully a little sewing. In fact, I've already fixed when my sewing time will be this weekend as I do most weekends, during Sunday's NASCAR race.
Why NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)? My Dad didn't watch a lot of TV, but he as a big time motor sports guy. Given the chance, he'd watch Indy car, stock car, motorcycle dirt track, or motorcycle cross country. If it had at least 2 wheels and an engine, he'd watch. Since I was a big time daddy's girl when I was little, I'd sit and watch the races with him. It was our hang out time for about as long as I can remember.
I quit watching once I started working during the high school years, weekend time was money making time. But I discovered when I was in graduate school that a NASCAR race was something I could put on the TV that would allow me to drown out my noisy neighbors but would play in the background so I could still study, well at least until someone crashed. I've watched on and off over the years. When I started quilting, I got interested again. It's something I can turn on the TV, let it hover in the background and sew until something interesting happens.
The NASCAR Sprint cup race has become known in this house as Mom's sewing time. So how can that not be a favorite thing?
For more favorites things, check out whose linked up over at Quilting in My Pyjamas.
