#RDOSD: Random Day Off Sew Day

Or, perhaps more accurately, “Sew for a couple of hours.”

I took today (Tuesday) off because it was the only day this week I didn’t have any meetings scheduled and I’m working straight through this coming weekend. “Day off” is a bit loosely defined as I did work for a little bit on some critical things, but not for all that long, and I felt more relaxed once they were taken care of, so it’s all the name of reducing stress.

I started out my day off with a serious reading session. I finished the novel I’ve been working on, The Girl with the Louding Voice, a debut work by author Abi Daré. It was my Book of the Month Club pick from a couple of months ago. It was very good, although I felt like there were some inconsistencies here and there. Still, especially for a first novel, I don’t have too much to quibble with. Excellent sense of character, location, and time. I do recommend it, if you’re looking for a good read.

As soon as I finished that, I picked up the next novel on my stack (this time from a library so I’ve got a time limit!), Children of Virtue and Vengeance, by Tomi Adeyemi. I didn’t realize I’d entered a bit of an African novelist phase but there it is. This is the second book in her Legacy of Orisha series, and since it was just released in 2019, I expect I’ll be left on a cliff-hanger until the third book comes out. I’ve read enough fantasy in my life to know they usually come in threes. The only difficulty is that I read the first book probably a year ago, so it took me a few chapters to remember all the whos and whats. I highly recommend these books, as I do the Binti series by Nnedi Okorafor. They’re both young adult fantasy series but oh, so good!

After lunch, I granted myself a nap. With the drastic weather changes we’ve had the last few days my sinuses have been making their presence known, so I’m not sleeping well. Fortunately, Auggie is also worn out today after my son took him on a long walk with friends yesterday, so there was no mid-nap barking at squirrels to wake me up.

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Then I was ready for sewing. Or, rather, cutting. I now have all the pieces cut for the baby quilt. I had just enough scrap fabric left to do a small handful of 2 1/2” strips—I may do some coordinating piece of some sort, depending on when I get the main quilt done.

I got the blocks out to do another of my BOTM projects from 2018 (pictured in a previous post), but my headache came back. So it’s laid out in case I get a second wind today or have unexpected time some other day this week.

Auggie enjoying the open window in my sewing room.

Auggie enjoying the open window in my sewing room.

Time for more reading and a cup of tea. It’s nice that it’s rainy out—keeps me from feeling too bad about not taking advantage of the 50-degree-weather by trying to be outside.


December Sew Sampler Box

I’ve taken today, the day after Christmas, as a vacation day and, although my plan was to spend most of the day in my sewing room, a new novel beckoned this morning (from December’s BOTM: The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay. Loving it so far!). That, along with a certain level of weariness after yesterday’s family festivities, meant I spent most of the morning with coffee curled up in an armchair near the fireplace. Not a bad way to kick off a vacation day at all.

After lunch, I ventured into my sewing space. Oops, yes, there was some cleaning to be done first, as it was also gift-wrapping central. 15 minutes later I then realized I had the December Sew Sampler box that I had done little more than glance at when it arrived. So here’s my Sew Sampler box report. By now, I know anyone who has subscribed has already gotten theirs and knows what’s in it so I’m not ruining any reveals here!

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The theme, as you can see here, is “Winter with You.” That being said, the box had a much more spring feeling to me. Not sure how they decided this was a winter box.

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This cute little pair of Cherry Gingham Heart Snips from Quiling in the Rain by Jera Brandvig definitely make me think of summer picnics with the red gingham. With their short blades, I think I might be able to get these on a plane, as I’m really working my brain into gear for taking my embroidery with me on all the trips I have lined up this spring. (I’ll mostly be doing carry-on luggage so the scissor blade length is critical.) I’ll be spending a fair number of evenings by myself in hotel rooms so there’s really NO REASON not to have it with me…or so I’m reminding myself now so I don’t get a fit of the lazies when I’m packing and decide to leave it behind.

If you look carefully, you’ll see the bit of plastic tubing they included in the package to put over the blade tip. Nice touch.

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In the same “handy tool” theme, this box also included 4.5” swiss style tweezers, by Tula Pink Hardware. According to the package, you can use it for pulling threads, of course, but also as a stilletto or to get a hold of embellishments and such. I’m trying to decide where it’s best for me to store this tool—would I use it more in my embroidery life, and therefore it should be in my embroidery case? Or would I use it more at my sewing machine, therefore warranting a space in my tool holder next to my machine? Pondering. In either case, it looks like it’ll be a nice tool and, although I already have tweezers in several places in my sewing collection, these have a nice angled point that sets them apart.

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Ah, Aurifil. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways! (Which we’ll be able to do with my next blog post as well.) I suppose you could think of this color as a wintery blue but, again, it definitely feels spring to me. Still, it’s a gorgeous color. (MK50-2805 if you want to look it up.)

The color is selected to match the fabric…

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This box includes the Woodland Rose Mini-Origami Squares (two packages) and a finishing kit for the totebag pattern below.

I messed up the nice packaging to show both fabrics in the photo. It’s a very nice collection, although not entirely my style. I went through a Shabby Chic phase many years ago but haven’t been there in awhile. Still, I certainly know people who might appreciate it as a gift.

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The fabrics and thread are all intended for this pattern, The Avondale Tote Bag Pattern, a Fat Quarter Shop Exclusive.

It’s a nice pattern but, as a tote bag, it’s just not quite my bag. Ar ar ar. Nope, couldn’t resist, especially as overtired as I am today.

I prefer to use totebags that have some sort of closure at the top. However, there is certainly use for open totebags—think “packing for a quilt retreat,” although I haven’t been on a quilt retreat in quite some time and, with all my upcoming work travel, don’t see myself getting to another one any time soon. If I am looking for a relatively straight-forward project at some point, though, this might eventually fit the bill. We’ll see.

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Last is the usual Barn Block Recipe, and we’re up to #9. I’m keeping all of these although I’m not sure, again, if I’ll ever use them. But I can’t predict the future and they don’t take up much space in my sewing room, so it’s not a problem to hang onto them just in case.

So that’s it—my December Sew Sampler box opened, examined, and blogged about, and I even managed to get it done before getting my January Sew Sampler box!

And now I’ve gotten my first "#BDSI* project done—cleaning off my cutting table and dealing with the first past-due blog post.

On to blog post #2…

*Boxing Day Sew-In, if you’re not in the loop.

Post-4SI Weekend Accomplishments

On the spur of the moment, we U.S. #Twilters declared this past weekend #4SI--in other words, the 4th of July Sew In. Most people were out and about with friends and family for the weekend so there wasn't a ton of activity online, but it was still, as always, fun to keep up with one another. 

So here's what I got done with some mammoth (for me) sewing sessions on Saturday and Sunday:

Catch-All Caddy--done! I'll post a separate blog entry about this one. It was a thing. Although it wasn't as much a thing as the Everything in Its Place Bag or the Cosmetics Bag. But still. A thing.

 

Designs stabilized and traced for Postcard Cuties Halloween embroidery BOM for months one and two--done! Just in time, too, as we got the email today that month three is on its way. (Yeah, I know, you can't see much in the pictures, but really--they're all done!)

 

Design traced for Nouveau Witch--partly done. I've got the linen background cut, pressed (which took some doing--it is linen, after all), and stabilized. I haven't gotten the tracing done yet. See above. By the time I got all that done my neck needed a break from looking down so I put off tracing the witch for another day. No pics yet since it's just, well, a piece of linen. 

And gravy: I did get the second snowman embroidered. Just need to get him fitted with his hat, sewn together, and stuffed. I'll post a pic of him when he's totally done. Not that he looks much different from the other guy.

Binding on Jacob's Ladder--not done yet. By the time I got done working on that caddy every day my shoulders, neck, and hands were whining at me so I didn't push it. I'm working on it this week, though. Although I got the BOM embroidery designs traced I'm not letting myself start embroidering them until I get that binding finished, dang it.

Basically--woo for me--I got everything done I wanted to get done! 

I don't have much going on this coming weekend, either, so I am already starting to think through what I might focus on accomplishing. I think I'm hearing Annie Unrein call my name again...

(Craftsy links help support my podcast and blog--thank you!)

Just a little embroidery fun

My guild had a sew day today and although I didn't feel like I could be gone an entire day, I put together a quick embroidery project I've wanted to get at for awhile and stopped by for about an hour or so. It was long enough to get my social fix with my quilty peeps and it was good motivation to finally get these little puppies underway.

I have two identical little kits that I picked up at one of my LQS a few months back. It's from Lynette Anderson's Sweet Christmas Ornaments patterns. There are 12 designs in all and you can choose to make a wallhanging out of them or use them individually as ornaments. I think I bought these right after Christmas and they only had a few of this one design displayed. It's possible they'd started out with the whole set but sold out of most of them before Christmas. I didn't mind picking up two of the same: I thought they'd make nice last-minute gifts and/or I'll keep one/give one, or something. Undecided. The kit came with the design, fabric strips and squares to trim to size, and a wooden hat button. I'm using my own floss. 

I got both of them sewn together and traced before heading to the sew day, then I got partway through the embroidery on one of them while I was there. It's been so long since I've touched my embroidery that I had to re-start my stem stitch three times because I totally blanked on how to get myself going. Once I worked that out, though, it was a relaxing hour just hanging out with my friends and doing some simple stitching. 

 

#BDSI wrap-up and looking ahead to #NYSI

Hey, everyone--thanks so much for joining in the Boxing Day Sew-In (#BDSI)! Lots of people got lots of stuff done and those who weren't able to actually be at their sewing machines had fun checking out everyone else's pictures. Thanks to those of you who played along with my giveaway! I drew the four winners randomly and the names are posted on the Rafflecopter widget on the original page, plus I've already emailed those four winners. So--if you see your name and aren't sure if that's you, check your email. If you don't have an email from me, it's probably not you. Sorry!

As for my #BDSI, I spent quite a bit of my day doing embroidery (with beads--woo!) as I was too fried to trust myself at a machine with sharp pointy things going a mile a minute. As it was, I jabbed myself a couple of times with my embroidery needle but for the most part, the day was blood-free. I count any blood-free day as a good day. 

My #BDSI is continuing as I'm on vacation this week. Today (Monday) I did some more class reading (finished book 2 for my January class--woo!) and then did a much-needed cleaning of my sewing room/home office. Now everything is all ready for me to get back to work on my sewing--which is my after-lunch plan. However, as the question has been posed on Twitter...at what point does #BDSI become #NYSI (aka New Year's Sew-In)? 

I won't be doing a giveaway on #NYSI and I'm not even positive how much I'll be at my sewing machine as the day hasn't become clear to me yet. But I'm pretty sure I'll at least get some embroidery time in. Meanwhile, I know lots of other folks are already gearing up for #NYSI so if you're on Facebook or Twitter/Instagram, be sure to post pics of your progress or check out what other people are doing!

January 2015 Craftsy Class Update

I had this done before January 31 but was out of the house yesterday and forgot to post it. Oops. 

As I'd said at the end of 2014, although my Craftsy classes are no longer part of my quilty resolutions for 2015, I do want to keep making progress. I've learned so much from them! Therefore, I'm going to keep posting my monthly updates here. I've found, however, that a couple of the classes I'm now working on are definitely long-term classes so you'll be seeing them listed in the "in progress" section for some time to come.

By the way, one of my podcast listeners wrote in with her own Craftsy count, and she's got me seriously beat in terms of quantity! (You know who you are!) So I'm not the only one out there...

New Completions

(+1)

 (Does finishing the January block of the Craftsy BOM count? I could count that as a new completion every month!)

Classes in Progress

(5--ahem. Maybe some more "in progress" than others. But still.)

Classes added this month

(3)

  • 2015 Craftsy Block of the Month with Jinny Beyer (see blog about this here)
  • Cooking the Perfect Steak with Bruce Aidells--I finished all the cooking classes on my list and was really hankering for a new one. I've got a few on my wish list but I figured my husband would prefer me to get this one over Thai or Mediterranean cooking. This one will go fast--I'm sure I'll be using a technique or two quite soon!
  • Crazy Quilts with Allie Aller--this was on my wish list for several months and I knew I'd buy it after finishing an embroidery class or two. When Craftsy had it's big sale over a weekend I was out of town and feeling a bit self-indulgent, I bit. I've watched the first lesson or two and I'm really looking forward to digging in. She's a good teacher and I'm a huge fan of crazy quilts. But a few other projects need to move along further first.

Classes To Be Completed

Current count:  14 (+2--oops, lost some ground there!)

Completed Classes (all topics)

Current count: 46 (+1)

Retreat Report with Pics!

To listen to my report on last weekend's guild retreat, check out the latest episode of my podcast. Meanwhile, here are a few pics! This isn't the complete photo-report as some projects will be photographed later.

So, for now, here are the blocks I finished on my jelly roll sampler, a project that's been in the works for a few years.

Jelly Roll Sampler block 10

Jelly Roll Sampler block 10

Jelly Roll Sampler block 11

Jelly Roll Sampler block 11

Jelly Roll Sampler block 12

Jelly Roll Sampler block 12

And, ta da, all 12 blocks together. Approximately three years of piecing. (Well, okay, three years of a couple of hours at a time on retreats.) As you can see, it's mostly a low-volume quilt although that dark burgundy fabric really jumps out in these pictures. It's not quite that stark in real life. I'm going to let these blocks brew on my shelf for a bit until I have time to get them to a quilt shop to find the perfect sashing/border fabric. 

Sorry, I really don't remember the name of the jelly roll. By 2011 when I started this it had already been on my shelf for awhile, and I may have inherited from my Mom. So who knows hold old the line is now?

Here's the (in)famous scrap bag/pin cushion retreat project. And yes, true to what I said in my podcast that my friend would be able to finish the second one off right-quick, she's already emailed me that it's done.

 

Here's the electric seam ripper I talked about on my blog--this was my friend's (I took the picture at retreat). I immediately came home and ordered one for myself. I've got it in hand now, although haven't had to rip a seam out with it yet!

And you know what else I figured out? I've been thinking about getting one of those seam rippers that has the big eraser-like knob on the end that helps you get the broken thread pieces out of the seam after you're done ripping it. Well, I discovered on retreat that the end of my Fons & Porter stiletto works the same way!

I just held it like an eraser, rubbed it across the threads in the seam lines, and they brushed right off. O, joy! I just saved myself $7 or whatever that other seam ripper costs. Let's not do the math with what I just spent on the electric seam ripper, though.

And here's a general photo gallery of shots from around the grounds. A couple are panoramic if they work well in this gallery setting. Also, I discovered I could mess with the panoramic feature on the phone, so there are a couple of photos that I've entitled "When Worlds Collide" and "The Edge of the Earth." See if you can figure out which they are.

What's on for the weekend...

I'm writing this blog post on Saturday morning and thinking through what my long weekend will bring. I'm caffeinating and "charging" (as my husband calls it when he sees me sitting in front of my light box), and watching another lesson in one of my current Craftsy classes, "Complete Knife Skills" with Brendan McDermott--a freebie that has quickly become one of my favorite classes I've taken from Craftsy so far. But you'll just have to wait for my full review when I'm done with the class entirely.

Speaking of Craftsy--they're having another sale this weekend, the "Perfect Match Flash Sale" in which you can get two classes paired together, both on sale. I've already glanced at some of the offerings but haven't spent a lot of time on the site yet. I have other things I need to get done today!

In any case, as I'm sitting here getting ready for my day (which begins with a run to the grocery store), I thought it might keep me on track if I listed here my quilty-related goals for the weekend, and then I'll check in again sometime Monday evening and let you know what I actually accomplished. As we know, I'm a list-maker!

1. Post a podcast episode. (Sorry about missing last week; as it turned out, it was a very busy weekend followed by a busy week!)

2. Get my Scrapitude blocks and triangles made. If I can manage it, I'd really like to get the whole Scrapitude top pieced.*

3. Put my dye studio back together. It's still dismantled from when I had to repurpose one of the tables for Thanksgiving dinner. I also still need to haul my old cutting table from my second-floor sewing room to my basement dye studio. This requires my husband's involvement.

4. Put the finishing touches on new cutting table--using my 3M adhesive strips as I mentioned in a previous podcast episode, and heat-setting the edging strip around the top.

Now, here's the thing--some of my weekend schedule is still a bit up on the air. I may be making a nice dinner tonight, which means some of today will be spent in the kitchen, or we might be going out for a nice dinner, which means I'd not have to spend time in the kitchen. I can actually go either way on this one--after being gone for a week of vacation I'm very okay with spending a night in my kitchen. I enjoy cooking when I've actually got time to do it. But I'd also be very okay with having a whole afternoon to spend in my sewing room. So I'm viewing this as a win-win whichever way we end up going. Tomorrow I've got a commitment in the morning which means we may not be home until about 3p, and although I've got Monday off, I've got an appointment in the morning so may not have much sewing time until the afternoon. I still think I'll be able to accomplish all of the above.

So here's to a long weekend, and being home, and getting homey kinds of things done. What are your plans for the weekend? For U.S. readers, do you have Monday off? I believe we've got a #PDSI going on, though it won't be as active as usual since this is a much-less common day off for most people. Indeed, this is the first year that I can remember actually having it off! Yay!

*Whether I get the whole Scrapitude top pieced is less dependent on the amount of time I have this weekend, and more so on how long I can sit at my sewing machine doing the same thing over and over again. This is why I rarely make bed-sized quilts. Even with movies or audiobooks, I just get stir-crazy after awhile, so I may switch up what project I'm working on rather than plowing through one project for the whole weekend.

#MLKSI--join us for another sew-in

As per my previous post about what @knittyAJ can talk me into, just wanted to remind y'all that there's another online sew-in this weekend as [some of us] have Martin Luther King Jr. Day off from work on Monday. I'm actually quite excited--I'm normally traveling for work over this weekend so I'm usually observing the incredible work of Martin Luther King Jr by being crammed in coach class on a plane or waiting for delayed flights. This year, I plan on listening to recordings of his sermons while I'm sewing. Seems much more fitting.

So, join us for our sew-in! As usual, there's a Twitter hashtag: #MLKSI. If you're not on Twitter, you can still play along--you'll just miss some of the fun!

A lot of us are going to have fun together by all sewing one or both or a combo package of the two versions of the Disappearing Pinwheel (DP) in that previous post. I've set up a Flickr group to make it easier for us to look at it in different color ways and settings. Anyone can check it out, even if you're not doing the sew-in or the DP! You'll find it here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/disappearingpinwheel/. People are already posting photos of their fabric choices...it'll be fun watching these develop!

Also, Craftsy is doing a "flash sale" this weekend--January 18-19, over 50 classes will be up to 50% off, so check it out! (Here's a link. Full disclosure, I'm an affiliate so using that link will help support my podcast and blog. So will clicking on the Craftsy banner in the sidebar. Thanks!)

As soon as I'm done with work on Friday, I'll be doing the second part of Step #4 of #Scrapitude so I can get that one posted. Then I'll be choosing fabrics for my DP--and let the #MLKSI fun begin!

What @KnittyAJ can talk me into...

I was caught in a weak moment, apparently.

Listener Kitty had sent me the link to a recent Missouri Star Quilt Company video on the Disappearing Pinwheel. I subscribe to their feed so I'm not sure how I missed this one, but miss it I did. Thanks, Kitty, for pointing it out...I think!

The video shows a twist on the concept of the Disappearing 9-Patch that involves a very simple process for making a pinwheel, and then making that pinwheel "disappear," enabling you to make two different blocks. I thought it was a cute idea so I posted it to Twitter.

And that's when all the trouble started.

Dang, that @KnittyAJ and her enthusiasm! Now, after a series of tweets extending over a couple of hours, several of us are joining in on a Disappearing Pinwheel Quilt-Along. Sort of, anyway. Some of us have Monday, January 20th, off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so we're (as we like to do) spending it sewing and tweeting and tweeting and sewing. So those of us who feel like playing along will be spending at least a portion of our day making a Disappearing Pinwheel. It seems like most of us are leaning towards block version #1, but if you'd like to join in, you can do either variation or any variation you come up with yourself.

For me, this fits in with one of my 2014 Quilty Resolutions to be conscientious about using my stash. This is a fantastic stash project. The project is geared towards layer cakes (packs of 10" squares). I don't have any layer cakes in my stash, but I do have a stack of 10" squares I've cut from scraps over the last couple of years so I'll start there. I may cut some additional squares from my stash as well--I've just got to do some math to figure out how many squares I'll need in the long run, and what kind of variety I've got in my current collection.

So yes, an unexpected new project is now getting shoe-horned into the mix. But I'm looking forward to it--and I'm still making good progress on my other goals so I'm good to go. Isn't that the fun of quilting, after all?

So, check out the videos below and see if maybe you'd like to play along. (If the videos don't appear in your feed, just go to YouTube and search for "Disappearing Pinwheel" and it'll turn up.) There isn't actually a time limit on this quilt-along. My personal deadline is that I'd like to have a top pieced within the next three weeks. Depending on how big a quilt I decide to make, I might send it out for quilting. Could be a donation quilt, could be another dorm/apartment quilt for an offspring, could be something for a guest room bed, or could be something I put on a shelf until I need a gift somewhere down the road....

By the way, @knittyAJ is another podcaster, if you're not familiar with her. You can find her over at The Quilting Pot. Go give her some love--even if I'm gnashing my teeth in her general direction for getting me involved in something new! :-)

http://missouriquiltco.com -- Jenny Doan shows us how to make the stunning Disappearing Pinwheel using Layer Cakes To get the materials needed to make this project, follow the links below. Floral Gatherings Collection (precuts and yardage) - featured in this tutorial http://www.missouriquiltco.com/shop/browse/2840 Bella Solids Natural Layer Cake http://www.missouriquiltco.com/shop/detail/2111/moda-fabrics/moda-fabrics/bella-solids-natural-layer-cake-for-moda-fabrics-sku-9900lc-12 Layer Cakes - Best Selection on the web!

http://missouriquiltco.com -- Jenny Doan shows us how to make another stunning variation of the Disappearing Pinwheel using layer cakes. To get the materials needed to make this project, follow the links below. Muslin Mates Layer Cake by Moda (featured in this video) - While quantities last http://www.missouriquiltco.com/shop/detail/15220/moda-fabrics/-/muslin-mates-layer-cake Layer Cakes - The Best Selection Both East and West of the Mississippi!

#BDSI--Boxing Day Sew-In Giveaway and Linky Party!

December 26th, Boxing Day, is a day to continue holiday festivities in whatever way you choose! For me, I choose a Jammie Day and some sewing. (Although I heard rumor my son is inviting a couple of friends over for our annual Settlers of Catan tournament, so I may have to change out of the jammies at some point.)

And, as I get ready for the new year, I'm doing a little housecleaning--namely, sorting through fabric and choosing some that, lovely as it is, and as much as I loved it and had ideas in my head for it when I bought it, has languished on my shelves for some time.

I'm offering it up to some lucky winners who will be sure to give it loving, far more productive homes!

I'm going with the stripey theme this time.

Four lucky winners will win two yards of fabric each! In one case, that's two yards of a single stripe. In the other three cases, I've found two coordinating fabrics that add up to two yards (or thereabouts).

First, the Un-Fun Disclaimers:

  • I've got two dogs, so although the fabric is clean, I can't guarantee there's no doggie hair on them anywhere. Sorry, anyone with allergies!
  • I don't usually prewash. If you're a prewasher, you're going to want to toss these in the laundry when you get them.

And now, for...

The Boxing Day Sew-In Giveaway

Four winners: winners will receive one of the following (my choice).

Prize #1: 1 1/2 yds stripe, 1/2 yd brown

Prize #1: 1 1/2 yds stripe, 1/2 yd brown

Prize #2: 1 yard stripe, 1 yard check

Prize #2: 1 yard stripe, 1 yard check

Prize #3: 2 yards stripe

Prize #3: 2 yards stripe

Prize 4: 1 yard weave design, 1 yard green

Prize 4: 1 yard weave design, 1 yard green

To enter, just leave a comment on this blog post telling me of a favorite holiday tradition--of any holiday you choose! Then be sure to indicate in the Rafflecopter widget that you've left your blog comment. You'll see on Rafflecopter you have another couple of options of ways to earn extra chances.

This giveaway is open until Friday, December 27th, at midnight my time (Eastern).

 

And now...Check out these other bloggers and podcasters offering their own giveaways for #BDSI!

(Click on the InLinkz logo below to view all links in the party, or to add your own! Linky open until 12/27 at midnight.)

 

Announcing the Boxing Day Sew-In! Woo!

For me, the day after Christmas has always been a Jammie Day. When I was growing up, that was a day set aside for being lazy and reading all the great new books I'd been given, and playing games with my sibs. Occasionally we'd get bundled up and go sledding down the hill on our property--a hill that emptied right into a pond at the bottom so you had to learn exactly when to roll of the sled lest mayhem ensue.

Once I had kids of my own, the day after Christmas was set aside for reading stories to the kids, helping them assemble new toys and get stickers in all the right places, and maybe going for a visit out to Nana and Papa's house to go sledding on the hill with the pond.

Now we no longer have Nana and Papa's house in the family, and I no longer have little kidlings in the house. My son has an apartment of his own and, working retail, will likely be working all day anyway. My college-aged daughter will be curled up in her "nest" on our family room couch, reading or hanging out online. We'll still likely play games, but sledding takes a lot more work to get somewhere with a good hill and, frankly, I notice the bumps and bruises a whole lot more now in middle-age. Plus, given that it's currently raining outside, I don't hold out a lot of hope for decent sledding snow anyway.

So now my favorite way to spend the day after Christmas--known as Boxing Day in some parts of the world, is to sew, or read quilting books or magazines, or watch Craftsy classes. Or a combo package thereof.

I--as always--invite you to join me!

Drum roll please... It's time for the

Boxing Day Sew-In!

Logo courtesy Pam of Hip to Be a Square podcast

Logo courtesy Pam of Hip to Be a Square podcast

Join in on the fun on Thursday, December 26th.

I'll be doing some giveaways that day--you don't have to be home and sewing in order to get in on the fun, as I'll be doing all of mine off my blog. I'll also add a linky for any other podcasters or bloggers who want to offer a giveaway that day too--list your giveaway on my blog and please list mine on yours so people will find all their opportunities to win regardless of who's door they walk in through!

My linky will go live at 9:00 p.m. on December 25th to give everyone the opportunity to join up regardless of your time zone. Each podcaster/blogger will have their own deadlines so be sure to pay attention.

We'll also be having all sorts of fun on Twitter--hijinks will most definitely ensue. So if you're on Twitter, I'm @sandyquiltz. You'll be able to find all sorts of other bloggers and podcasters in my follow/follower list and follow them as well. If you're not on Twitter, you may want to think about it!

So, be ready for the 26th! Now I need to get off the computer and organize what I want to get done that day...

First day of vacation"Little Dresses"

Today was the first day of my prolonged holiday break--I don't go back to work until January 2nd. You can bet I have a whole lotta sewin' plans going on. I'll be happy if I even get a third done of what's in my head for the week.

I started off today by joining with some folks from church for a sew day of "Little Dresses for Africa," although I think, given the make-up of our congregation, we're planning on sending ours to Myanmar (Burma). But don't quote me on that--I was just there to sew, I'm not actually responsible for anything, a fact which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I warned the woman coordinating it: I'm a quilter, not a garment sewer. Don't expect much. 8th Grade Home-Ec trauma, doncha know. But the pattern was quite simple, and I have done a pocket or two in my life, so once someone explained the process to me, I was good to go.

Here's the irony--I went to sew but never actually did much sewing. There weren't enough machines to go around and it became apparent another young woman really wanted to learn how to sew. So I let her use my machine and she was in the very capable hands of another woman who is a talented garment sewer. I spent the day cutting fabric into dress pieces.

I mean, people--I was actually cutting fabric with scissors. I haven't used scissors to cut fabric in years! Where was my rotary cutter? Where were my rulers? Where was my cutting mat? I was going old school, baby. (We didn't even have "real" patterns--we were using posterboard templates made from tracing around sample dresses. Way old school.)

I was thrilled to donate two lengths of fabric I'd bought while in Hawaii a few years back--modern versions of traditional bark cloth. I had a project for them in my head at the time, but the project didn't come off and at this point, was unlikely ever to. On the other hand, the fabric would make great sundresses, so I was very happy to see them used for this. We cut up one of the two pieces (4 yards worth) while I was there. The other piece (also 4 yards) went back in the bin to get used next time.

I believe, if I were using the same rubric as Pam (for the Sunday Stash report), that would make it a total of 16 yards out of my stash because it counts double when it's donated, right? :-)

Although someone counted about 14 dresses sewn, I didn't sew any of them and ended up bringing one of the ones I'd cut out home to finish. But I'm okay with that. I was glad someone learned how to sew, and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Here's a gallery of pictures from the day. My sewing machine makes an appearance in one of them, as well as my Hawaiian fabric with the template on it ready for me to cut. If the gallery doesn't forward for you, just click on the picture--it should work. (If you're getting this by email, you might have to go to the website to see the gallery. Sorry!)

When I get the dress done, I'll post a picture. Right now it's a pile of fabric cut into odd shapes.

Reminder about Scrapitude Schedule and BFSI

It's Thanksgiving week here in the U.S., so it's time to start looking ahead to our traditional Black Friday Sew-In on Friday. If you've listened to one of my recent episodes you may recall that I'm not entirely sure what my schedule is going to be on Friday due to family being in from out of town, so Pam is going to be doing something for BFSI, as is Daisy. So be sure to check them out! (There are likely others--those are just the two I'm aware of at the moment. If you're also going to be hosting something on BFSI, leave a link to your blog in the comments so people can find you!)

I do know that my schedule will not include any shopping. My hope is that I'll be spending at least some portion of the day having my traditional Jammie Day with my sewing machine. So, mentally, I'm listing the projects I'll be working on.

One of those projects is, of course, Scrapitude. You may remember I get the new clues every month at my guild meetings. I posted November's clue the day after our November guild meeting. Back when Charlotte was setting this all up, our guild asked her to skip giving us a clue in December because everyone felt they'd be too busy with holiday gifts to keep up. So you've now got until January to catch up with Scrapitude! (Or, if you're all caught up, maybe do it in a second colorway! Or, if you're Daisy, a third!)

So, to recap: the next Scrapitude clue will be posted after my guild meeting in January--we meet the second Tuesday, so you can expect it within a day or two of whatever that date is. 

If you haven't checked out the Scrapitude Flickr group yet, be sure you do!