A New Year of Sorting and Cleaning

Those that know me, know that I keep a spreadsheet of what I'm working on in my sewing and quilting.   I track stages of where things are, what's completed, what has been donated, UFO's, etc....  Haven't always been so organized tho about how I stored things.

One of the things I did this weekend was to get my completed tops all together in one tote (they were in two big ones).  And to make sure that my spreadsheet was up-to-date, I went through the listing of completed tops and checked off what was in the totes.  6 or so tops are headed off to Sunshine, and I have 4 tops ready to go to American Heroes.  Aiming to get all of those out in the mail this week.

Net result - 12 completed tops that weren't on the list, oops....and 10 or so tops that are on the list that I can't find.....argh.   I'm hoping some of those I had already donated to Sunshine Quilts where they were supposed to have gone in the past couple of  yrs.   If not, I'm wondering what I did with them and when they'll show up....lol.   And yes, not knowing what happened to them is driving me nuts.

Meanwhile, I was left with about 30 or so quilt tops that are finished and just need to be quilted.  Pulled the smallest one out, a table runner, to finish up next because I can manage to pin that one on my cutting station.  Nope, this wasn't on the list of what I wanted to accomplish this year, but it will be nice to have another UFO completed.  =)

Now the question is, should I leave the ones that I couldn't find on my spreadsheet for this year (some were there last year as missing) or just delete them off and re-add them later if they resurface.

All of this reinforces my need to go through the boxes and totes this coming year so that I can downsize some of it and get a handle on the rest of it.  I am slowly working through some of my tote fabrics and making up 1-2 a week.   I've got a 1 or 2 totes plus a box full of them that I still like and I really want to work through the box and empty it.  They only take an hr or two to make, so slow and steady will get me there.

Next up, going through a mangled box from the storage room outside and bring the tote full of cut scrub tops downstairs so that I will actually work on them!

Gratitudes:

1. Warm weather today - in the mid-70's!

2. Move is accomplished at work and I have an office with a window.   =)

More Summertime Fun

At the end of last week I finally was able to get through all of the fabric in the first tote filled with fabric for commissioned garments that I've been working on this summer.   After all the ironing and cutting I ended up with 20 garments cut out  -- the three piles of tops on my cutting table shown to the right.   So far this week I've been able to finish 2 flannel dresses, 2 cotton blouses and 1 flannel top.     Next up is another flannel top from the pile.  =)

To give a perspective of how much fabric I've been trying to work through - the pic to the left shows the tote that I have left with fabrics for more commissioned garments.  Dimensions of the tote are 25" long by 19" tall by 18 " wide.   At this point if what I've recorded in a spreadsheet is correct, there is fabric in it for 28 more garments.  

Now that figure may be adjusted a little downward because there were a couple of pieces that my customer said she wanted two garments made from one piece of fabric, but I'm not sure there is enough fabric for that to actually happen.   And i'm not in the mood to buy fabric to add to it.    If there is something in the stash that will work, then maybe - but I'm not gonna be buying additional fabric.   Once I get to start cutting this fabric out, I should be able to make a dent in the pile fairly quickly because 2/3's of it is flannel.    I'll be happy to see this all used up and out of my hair.    If she sends me more fabric I plan to work on it after all of the 'old' fabric worked up first and everything sent back to her.

In other 'fun' stuff this summer, I'm continuing to go through boxes of stuff here in the house.    I have a lot of boxes that I have not been through for 4 yrs or longer now and it all needs to be gone through and sorted out.    I've also been going through some of my quilting stuff.   Have sorted out a pile of books, magazines, rulers, quilt kits & patterns that I'll be putting up for sale when I'm through with training.     I need to work through the fabric that is stored on one side of the living room yet so that I can reorganize it and pull stuff that I no longer want.   But that has not been started yet.    I do need to have that area cleaned up so that once my niece gets home she can help me put my quilt frame together.   =)

In thinking of projects that I'd like to do in the future, i'm thinking of making a new quilt for my niece who is in basic training for the Army reserve.   The one she has now and uses is showing the signs of being much loved - to pieces that is.  .....lol....  I'm thinking maybe a patriotic quilt for her might be a good possibility.   I also need to make a new quilted cover for a pillow that my granny made many years ago for me out of polyester scraps.    I had made a cover for it yrs ago when I first started quilting (way back in high school) and had used poly-cotton fabrics in it.   This past few months has seen the cover start to disintegrate and it literally is falling apart.   So I need to replace it.   Haven't decided what I want to do tho for it.    And i need to make a new cover for my ironing board as well.    the one that is on there just barely fits onto it.   I'm planning on still using it but covering over with a piece of pre-quilted fabric that I have.   I guess this should really be done before the others.  

Gratitudes -
1. Rainy, summer thunderstorms make for cooler summer weather.
2. Success in getting commissioned garments sewn up.