Scrap Quilt Progress update

 

OK -- so it was FANTASTIC to get back to the gym! 

No - I didn't get to enjoy the steam room. While it had been turned back on, it wasn't quite ready. While I was standing there, contemplating the situation, another lady said that she had come ONLY to go to the steam room, which would have been a disappointment. 

Despite all the walking, cycling is a bit different exercise, and I struggled a little bit but still managed to crank out my 30 KM in 62 minutes. I'm good with that. 

In January, we could only get to the spin class TWICE. Once right at the beginning and yesterday. But despite that, I spent a LOT of time walking, and I almost don't want to show you my totals for the month. But I will because we need to celebrate ALL our small victories.  

This is my total cardio distance for the month. Cardio KM combines my walking and my cycling/spin class. 

Total cardio KM for January

WOW -- take away 61 KM that I did on the spin bike, and that leaves a whole LOT of walking. All that walking allows me to eat my snacks guilt-free, which works for my brain. 

You have to understand that everyone is motivated by different things. I realize how influential that is as M revealed that several bad things that I predicted for her are one reason why she will never let them happen. The apple didn't fall far from the tree! I vowed that I would never be overweight like my mom. And so, while I'm not obsessed with my weight, I'm always conscious of it. If I eat (and I LOVE to eat), I need to compensate. And I have my mother to thank for that! 

Anyway -- enough about that! 

So we had our Monday sewing group and loads of fun, although I didn't host it yesterday as I had to pop out for a meeting. The group carried along just fine, including our show and tell. Thanks, Jane, for being a great host!

I spent part of the day working on that darn scrap quilt again. Good grief -- it's time-consuming, but I find it very satisfying at the end of the day. Creating something from nothing. 

I have other things to do today, but I hope to eke out some time to finish it by tonight. 

I decided to take out this grouping of flannels. The coloring is slightly different, and there might be enough to make another small quilt. 

A different coloring of flannels

I managed to use up most of the small bits before going to bed last night. This is all that remained, but I managed to sew most of those together into one block this morning. Well, the pieces on the blue board. 

Bits and pieces to make more blocks

I had pulled all the binding bits and decided it was time to sew them together to see if I had enough binding. The bits are sewn together, and now I need to measure it to see if it's long enough. I have a specific size in mind for the quilt, so I'll aim for that much binding. And if I'm short, I still have some long pieces that I can cut the rest of the binding from. 

The binding

These are the tiny cutoffs from joining the binding. I have a new rule -- I will keep these for cotton, but NOT for flannel. Too small. They are in the scrap box. That's the SCRAP SCRAP box, not to be saved for anything. 

Corner cutoffs - gone.

This is what's left to make more blocks. There's still quite a bit of fabric there and I hope to make another fourteen blocks. I think there are more than 14 blocks there, but my goal is fourteen. That would make a quilt that is 64" by 64". I'll see how it goes.  

The leftovers to make 14 more blocks

I currently have FIFTY blocks made from that bag of scraps. Some are scrappier than others, and that's OK. They still need to be trimmed, but I'll save that for another day. 

Fifty blocks so far

So making actual scrap quilts is a very satisfying thing to do. I think it's excellent for developing your creativity. How to assemble bits to make something that fits another piece. And it's satisfying to know that the bag of fabric bits is dealt with. I'm slowly working my way through all that stuff, but I must move on after today! Next Virtual Retreat, I'll grab another bag of bits. 

I think this is an excellent exercise for ANYONE who likes to sew but is running out of fabric or doesn't want to create a new quilt. These scrap quilts are super creative, help you to think outside the box, and take up a lot of time. Even better? They don't cost a thing to make since you probably already have the scraps in your house!!! 

I have to share this with you! Here are the girls (in tandem), but why are they sitting at the barricaded window? 

The girls saying goodbye!

DH left for a trip yesterday. They knew it was more than a trip to the grocery store (MOM!! -- Dad's got a suitcase and a backpack!), and they were "sad" to see him go. I swear, they sat there watching him get in the car and stayed at the window until the car turned the corner. Then they said, "Dad's gone! Let's play!" It was all for show! M, Little Bear, and I watched them, and it was hilarious. 

The other day we were chatting about our pets and how much they need to be fed. Have you ever looked at the recommended food requirements on the bag/can and said, "wow -- that's a lot of food?" Well, it is. The recommended food requirements are set by the MANUFACTURER of the food, and of course, their goal is to sell more food. 

I feed the girls twice a day, and they get HALF of the recommended requirements on the bag. Are my dogs underfed? Nope -- every time we go to the vet, they always remark that their weight is SPOT ON. Even with the high energy from both of them, they are NOT working dogs, and they don't run all day. They do NOT need more than they are getting. 

So if your pet is overweight and you don't know why - check those requirements and cut it down significantly. Don't worry that you are starving your pet because you are NOT. If the pet is overweight, cutting back the food is not starving them, it's called saving their life! An overweight pet has more strain on their joints, they can't move as readily as they could, and you are just stuffing the pockets of the pet food manufacturer. Don't trust me? Ask your vet!

It's incredible how quickly the paperwork piles up if I don't tackle it daily, and I've ignored it for the last couple of days. Time to get back to it today, but I really want that pile of scraps cleaned up as well, and I really want to hit the long arm. Never a lack of something to do around this house. I guess the decluttering will have to wait a while. 

Speaking of decluttering, what's the status of your cutting table, ironing station, and sewing station? All three of mine are in pretty good shape, with just a few things on the cutting table that need to be dealt with, but for the most part, everything is clear. 

Tackle a little bit every day, but you MUST find homes for all that excess stuff. You'll be so much happier. 

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!