August NewFO

The last day of the month seems to come faster and faster the later in the year it gets.  As hard as it is to believe, this is the last day of August.  That means it's time to link up with Cat Patches for the August version of the NewFO Challenge. 

I wasn't sure there would be a NewFO this month.  I've already started 7 new projects this year, but balanced out some of those by finishing 5 projects.  So my "to be completed" pile has grown by only 2.  But some of the projects started this year have only one block completed, so I didn't get very far on several of them.  I had definitely decided not to start anything in August.  Then Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times started her Back to Brenham quilt along.  I just loved the pattern and couldn't help checking my stash to see if there were any cuts that had enough yardage to work in this pattern (it calls for almost 6 yards of the focus fabric).  Once I found a couple of cuts that might work, I couldn't resist playing around in EQ and came up with this:

Now I wanted to make it.  So in spite of my good intentions to finish up a couple of other projects before starting this one, I pressed the fabrics and cut the strips for the first set of half square triangles last weekend.  I haven't made much progress, just 8 HSTs completed so far. 

 I love the red with the black.  Not sure how much progress I'll make with this one, there is no way I'll keep up with the quilt along. It will get done when it gets done.  The one consolation is that it will use up quite a bit of stash.  

Check out all the other NewFOs over at Cat Patches.  

15 Minute Challenge - Beauty Sleep

Is it really Tuesday again?  The weeks seem to go faster now that school is back in session.  Maybe it's just because there is so much going on.  Well, I do know that school being in session has impacted my ability some evenings to find 15 minutes to stitch.  With parents night on Monday and a home volleyball game on Tuesday, not a lot of stitching got done those two nights, but I didn't do too badly the rest of the week.  

Four nights of stitching isn't doing too bad for a busy week. Since we have a holiday weekend coming up, I'm hopeful that lots of stitching will go on this weekend.  

In addition to finding time to stitch, I'm supposed to be fostering my creativity each week.  For August, the focus has been on getting a good night's sleep, so I feel like being creative rather than cranky.  It's definitely an area that I need to do a better job in for both myself and for Drama Teen.  It's amazing how your kids pick up your bad habits if you aren't careful.  So though I've not done enough to improve my sleep habits, at least I've been more aware of them.  Last week's post included a list of 10 sleep hygiene tips.  If you scan the "sleep" sites on the web, most of those are included as good sleep habits to form.  

One tip that is not on that list is regulating your melatonin levels.  Melatonin is the hormone that helps regulate your sleep/wake cycle.  It's production is very sensitive to light, exposure to light reduces the amount in your brain, staving off sleepiness.  The problem is that many modern evening entertainments can retard the production of melatonin, such as TV, computer screens and e-readers.  So if you spend your evenings with any of those devices, melatonin production is reduced and you don't feel as sleepy as you should.  Most authorities recommend turning off all such stimulation about 30 minutes prior to bedtime to allow your melatonin levels to rise.  

So how did you do on stitching this last week?  Did you do a lot or were you too tired?  Link up and share your creative activities for the last week.  

1. Julie in GA 2. Pat

3. Thea 4. Kate @katiemaequilts

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

Monday Design Wall - August 26th

It was a quiet weekend.  I managed to get a good jump on my report that's due by the end of the week.  Most of the laundry got washed.  My reward for all that productivity was to spend a couple of hours in the sewing room.  

This month, I've pretty much limited my focus to just 3 projects, Mon Ami, Back to Square One, and Neutral Gems.  Mon Ami just needs one more border and it will be a finished flimsy.  It's up on design wall number one, but it doesn't look that much different than it did last week.  Neutral Gems is moving slowly since it's my current leaders and enders project, so there isn't much to see different on it.  All the Economy blocks in step 4 of the Back to Square One instructions are done.  I've been working on the Economy blocks in Step 5 and finished enough yesterday to have one border completed.  

Back to Square One
by Judy Laquidara (pattern available here)

Just a few days till Judy posts step 9, so I'm still way behind on this project.  Once Mon Ami is on the way to the quilters, this project will move up to be my number one project.  

Yesterday, I finally gave in and started my version of Road to Brenham, another of Judy Laquidara's quilt alongs.  She's up to step 7 and I only managed to get fabric 1 cut for step 1.  Hopefully, I'll get enough done to have something worthwhile to show for Cat Patches NewFO post on Sunday.  

That's it for my design wall.  I'm linking up with Patchwork Times for her weekly linky party.  

Stash Report - Week 34

It's been a busy week with not a lot of sewing going on.  School activities and volleyball took up a couple of evenings.  I didn't feel well on Friday and Saturday, so I just sat in the recliner and read a book.  Today I have to work on a report that's due next Friday. I'll probably get to sew some this evening, but I won't get my usual Sunday afternoon sewing session in this week.  Some weeks are just that way.  

At least there is no new fabric coming in this week and just a bit going out.  

Used last week:  0.6 yards
Added last week:  0 yards

Used for 2013:  51.24 yards
Added for 2013:  148.83 yards

Net stashed for 2013:  97.59 yards

My revised stash busting goal for 2013 is to keep the net stashed below 100 yards.  I didn't notice last week, but the outgoing column has crossed the 50 yards out mark.  The most I've ever used in a year is 60 yards.  I'm on track to exceed that mark this year.  So though I've blown the goal of using more than I buy, I can definitely do better in fabric usage then I have in previous years.  

That's it for my stash report this week.  I'm linking up with Patchwork Times this week as usual.  You can check out the state of the stash there.  

Wordless Wednesday - Sunshine