Sit n Sew Day

Fun Fun FUN!!!!!!  That's what a Sit n Sew day is!!!

There were 6 of us and we had a blast. Before I show you what some of us worked on, here's a snapshot of last week when I was trying to get ready for the sew days. I'm not sure how I'm going to make this happen, but NOTHING is to go into the stash room or the storage room unless it's sorted and organized and obviously has a home. I look at the pile of boxes that remain to be unpacked and wonder how it's all going to fit!!!  But it will or it goes. That's said with so much bravado!!!  Wait until the day when I run out of space. I will be STRONG!!!

I'll openly admit that I'm my parent's daughter. Both of them have issues with hoarding (mostly my Mom) and both are obsessive. Both like to be busy and have "stuff" to tinker with. I'm just like them in that respect. They also like to collect things - mostly my Mom. So I like to collect stuff as well. I like to collect fabric. Oh just shoot me. Not only fabric but certain types of fabric.

So I unearthed this basket a while back.

Basket of fabric

Hmm - I must fess up. That isn't just a basket of fabric - it's a fabric of CYCLING fabric. Yep - all the prints have something to do with cycling. Pictures of bikes mostly. I know - how much cycling fabric does one person need???  That laundry basket is so impractical. You can't stack anything on top of it and it takes up loads of space.

After I got rid of all the Christmas wrapping paper, I had these two empty boxes. So I put the cycling fabric in them. Ooops - one huge piece of flannel that won't fit.

Two big tubs of cycling fabric

But wait - there's MORE!!!!!  As I was digging somewhere else, I found MORE cycling fabric. So that got added to the top of the boxes. 

More cycling fabric

BUT I found more. Yep - just poke me in the eye now!!!  This was all that I found and I think that's all there is. I found a cardboard box and put all that extra cycling fabric in the box. It's labeled and stored nicely in the storage room. Believe it or not, I do have a plan for that fabric. OK - granted, I don't need that much fabric, but I know how it can be used up. Don't ask for any - it's not up for grabs. 

The last of the cycling fabric

I also found this which I know I won't use so all this is up for grabs for free. There's a ton of crochet cotton. It's various weights, but mostly 8 with some 20. The 20 is good for tatting and any of it would be great to do bobbin work in your sewing machine. I did hold back a couple of balls for me. But I don't need all this. If you're interested, let me know.

Crochet cotton

Crochet cotton

And even more crochet cotton!!!!

OK - so what happened at Sit n Sew????  Pat was working on this quilt that she had hand embroidered. She stayed late and got the outer border on, but I didn't get a picture of it completely finished. It's very cute and the dark brown border helps to pull out the brown bunnies in the embroidery.

Hand embroidered quilt

Claudette got put in the corner so she could work on her rug. The set up wasn't perfect, but it worked. She did an amazing job on the rug - it's perfectly flat!!!!!  I love the colors which I think she said came from some scrappy strips rather than a jelly roll.

Claudette's rug

 Diane got these two community projects finished from Thursday so they joined the "to be quilted" list. Then she worked on her own project. I was so focused I don't even know what she was doing!!!

Two more community project quilts

Lynn spent some time finishing up her community project quilt from Thursday. She still has the backing to do and then that will add one more to the pile. Yikes!!!!  Then she focused on her own stuff for the rest of the day and Sharon is still working on her Border Creek Mystery.

I was super productive. I had cut the squares/rectangles that were needed for this quilt the day before. I still had to cut all the curves and then sew the pieces together. I never thought I would get this far, but the top is DONE!!!!!!  And it's super cute!!!

Posh Santa wall hanging

Granted, it's not huge (28" by 38") but all those curves had to be sewn, pressed and then trimmed. It's really a fast wall hanging. It's from Sew Kind of Wonderful called Posh Santa. It uses the Mini Quick Curve Ruler and even better - it's going to be a class at The Hobby Horse in September. September 21 to be exact. Call the store to sign up - if you're not comfortable with curved seams, you will be by the end of the class. I hope to get it quilted this week.

I went through the backings in the stash room and found one that's perfect for it. You do NOT know how much of a relief it is to have easy access to my stash. I walk in that room and I'm still in shock. It's not done, but major progress has been made!!!!  I'm so thrilled to have space to work in.

After everyone left, I fired up the long arm and got this customer quilt done. It's all trimmed - yes - even those funky edges and ready for pickup.

Customer quilt - DONE

Remember how I said that I'm going to need duplicates of some things for the two Studios? Well, guess what I found on the ruler peg board???  Yep - a brand new 6" by 12" ruler which is one of my MUST HAVE rulers. So it's going to Studio U, along with the brand new cutting mat. That leaves just an 8 ½" by 24" ruler and I should have duplicates of my favorite things in both places. A sewing machine set up in both Studios and all the essential tools. I do need to find my extra measuring tapes. I have one near the long arm and one upstirs, but I really need one in the main part of Studio B. I have them - it's just a question of where.

A duplicate ruler - no need to buy a new one

OH -- I did unearth the box of irons yesterday so no longer will I have to shuffle the one I was using up and down the stairs.

I also found two bags of plastic bags. All the biodegradable ones have been removed and this is going to be donated to the local Sally Ann. I think they use recycled plastic bags in their store.

Two bags of bags

I unpacked more boxes of books. I have a plan and I hope to have another area cleaned up by the end of this week. Actually, I'd like all the books on the shelf by the end of the week. It's just a question of which boxes have books in them.

On that note, it's time to get ready for Monday sewing. This is the last "fun" day of the week. I've got some paperwork to do and serious quilting/sewing so that's going to be the focus for the rest of the week.

Oh - I should say that the next quilt is loaded on the long arm and ready to go. That's my goal - one comes off and the next one goes right on. No excuses! One quilt a day. Even with customer quilts in the queue, I could do some serious damage to the pile if I could manage one quilt a day. Goal setting!!! 

Before I closed down the Studio last night, it was cleaned up from the day. Everything was put away, the stuff for the next day was organized. Oh yes - I'm on a roll. I just need to remember this feeling of the spaciousness and keep it that way!!!

And it's my week to blog on QUILTsocial. Check it out. There are some great time-saving tips for sewing.


Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!!