I'm still trying to get back into my "normal" life of sewing each day. Was out of that for a long time with the move, then the vision, now it seems to be attention span...

My current project is what I call planned -- that is not scrap. It is the fabric I admitted to buying earlier in the thread so it is indeed being used. I can get a lot done on the project in an hour -- but getting me to keep to task for an hour has been super hard! Maybe takes me 6 hours to get that 1 hour of seat time. Is getting close to being done now, maybe I can sit myself down and do it!! My sewing group days are Tuesdays and I like to have something to show or do at group.

This week I'm going through another purge/sort and have some specific things I will be sending on or putting in the shop my stash tote.

And I think I have a pretty good idea of what I'll be doing with that chevron quilt for a good use of scrap and sewing time. I've figured out yardage and primary color, but am still considering the background. Need to look at what I have available for that. Background is half the quilt so that will probably require a purchase unless I can figure out a suitable scrap variation. I probably have enough white on whites or cream on creams to do that. Nice thing is I can ponder as I sort.

Iceblossom, you’ve dealt with a lot of life’s challenges the past year so give yourself a pat on the back for all you have accomplished. I find setting a timer for 30 minutes, or less if that works better for you, gives me a focus. I am often amazed at what I can get done in that small time allotment. I often reset the timer for another 30 minutes but sometimes find I’m ready mentally to move into something else. Your brain is still actively connected to fiber through the sorting of your fabrics and you may find that after while that sparks a renewed interest to engage in sewing for a while longer. Take a deep breath and just let yourself “Be”. Best wishes to you.

Thanks for the support and encouragement! I do have a new rule and that is I have to iron something (if there is something to be ironed) when I go downstairs to let the dogs out. Sometimes, especially if the weather is bad they are back in fast and I am still working on whatever. Other times, it is about right and we both get done what we want :)

30 minutes or a sitcom on tv is a good timer. I usually try for an hour and play music, one CD is about an hour. I do have the TV set up downstairs (and oops! realized I found another service that I want to watch yesterday but isn't set up yet -- I have the hubby do those things) but I need some more good things to watch. I do have DVDs but need to unpack them. I like to have people talking in nice voices doing interesting things, I like being able to keep track but I don't want anything so riveting that I get completely distracted.

We've been mostly what I call "camping out" at the new house, learning how the house works with us. Turns out that even though we brought very little furniture with us and it worked well in the old house, not so good in the current. It's time to get unpacked and fully moved in. Today's task that will keep me from sewing is I bought a small oak hutch for $20 at a local church garage sale. It isn't the same maker as my Brandt stuff but it will fit right in, I'm thinking 50s as opposed to 60s. I've been saying that I either need to get rid of dishes, or I need a hutch. At the old house I had a large hutch and all the dishes were in it, now we are using them and about half is still unpacked. Things like cake stands and deviled egg dishes, and on and on... The hutch is solid oak with veneer pieces and there is some water damage. I need to power dust and clean the whole thing, and then just a squirt of glue under the veneer and roll the glue and then clamp it down. It isn't perfect, but it will look just fine with the other similar aged oak which is all going into the guest bedroom.

Iceblossom I’m tired just from reading your post LOL. No wonder you can’t get back into a sewing groove! The short 30 minute bursts seem to work better for me than an hour. An hour gives me too much time to wander off project and I usually do wander off into something entire different than what I started doing. I have the attention span of a gnat apparently. Love that yiu are recycling furniture to make your new home your own.

While I was sorting/purging, I came across a piece of fabric that has changed my concept some of the green chevron scrap project. I have about 4 yards of it, and it will be enough for a twin sized project. It is a buttery shade reading light yellow with lightly drawn daisies (about quarter size) with a bit of color in stems. I will still be using greens out of the stash and have started calling this the "Grass" quilt in my head. One of the things I liked about the inspiration quilt was the color shift in it, and I think I will add in a couple rows of golden yellows at the top -- will either remind one of corn (I do live in Illinois now) or grass seeds.

I have some nice golden yellows still left in my stash. Including the french fry fabric (which I bought after my MiL's passing and put in the Bonnie Hunter project) which would be a perfect color but I'm not sure I'll be using it! Is intended for a use stash/keep me busy/donation project. Picture below is the french fry fabric just because :)

Petthefabric, Iceblossom, WMUTeach - great progress stories. Thanks for sharing! Love that french fry fabric - I still can't believe how well it got absorbed into your Bonnie Hunter quilt this past year. :-)

I've asked our guild's community quilts coordinator for a backing for the quilt I last posted about and I should be getting that this week so it will go back as a finished product at the June meeting all going as planned. It will be good to get that done. I did get another UFO layered/basted and quilted in time to turn it in to the PHD challenge table this week. I have a couple of ideas of where this one might end up but nothing confirmed yet so I will just hang on to it but am still going to report it as another 3-4 yards used up and in a shareable form. In my world, that counts. :-)

I buckled down and did a serious sort of all of my "free table" bits one afternoon and discovered that most of my colour boxes are now refusing to keep their lids on. :-P I've been busy with other stuff as well - as WMU guessed, a lot of work has been happening in the garden - but I've also been doing quite a bit of sewing and trying to do what I can to control the fabric chaos that is all over the place right now. I gathered all of my quilting mojo together a couple of weeks ago and started making a floral chandelier quilt I hope to be able to gift this summer. The top is done but as usual I'm a bit stuck on the next step because I just don't enjoy the layering/basting/quilting part as much as I enjoy piecing. It will happen, I'm sure.

Since then, I've gone back to my boxes of scraps and started working on two approaches to fabric use - I've gathered a couple of piles of fabrics that play well together and am hoping to convert them into small kids' or lap quilts. These may be bagged up into kits since they can take a while to get going and I really don't want the fabric migrating back into the boxes. I also did a serious search through a box of orphan blocks and have started making placemats out of some of them. Our guild supports Meals on Wheels and it will be nice to have some ready to go when the call comes. I've enjoyed this process quite a bit although it's certainly not efficient, time-wise. It probably takes me as long to put a placemat together as it takes most of you to whip up a 3-yard quilt, but I've really been having fun (and being challenged) with trying some things I wouldn't want to experiment with on a larger project. Lots of math trying to make things fit, and lots of digging through the boxes of scraps trying to find little bits that I can use up in a one-off mini-project. Everything from stash and I figure there's between 1/3 and 1/2 a yard in each placemat. It's pretty minimal progress but I still feel good about it.

The stars and the purple 9Ps I cannibalized for the borders were all from the free table, and the other bits were from my stash. I was also able to use up a really pretty lavender floral for the backing; it was just a little on the flimsy side but was perfect for these placemats. The other picture is a sample of my colour boxes (after digging - they're usually a little tidier than that, but not much).

Gemm, those placemats are pretty. Good use of leftover blocks and strips. I think my scrap boxes are twice the size and just as full. No matter how many quilts I make they never seem to diminish. But I keep trying!

You ladies are amazing with all you manage to get done!

I'm working on a hugs and kisses quilt for the newest grandbaby in the extended family. It's from one of the 'kits' I put together in the past few years; it was pretty cool to pull out a bag and have the quilt all cut and ready to sew!

Yesterday at sewing group, the Library told us we couldn't meet next week -- it is the start of the summer reading program. Hard to believe June is here and school is out.

I volunteered to have the group meet at my house for snacks and free fabric :) I have my large tote of fabric and a quick Costco run on Monday takes care of snacks. With the number of ladies and the amount of fabric I have, I have some of the dollar store reusable shopping bags and will suggest a full one is reasonable, if they find that much stuff. For the gal who recently bought a fancy new computerized long arm, I have a couple of my donation projects I can part with. Two tops (each with backing, and binding) about large twin/small queen sized. They are among what I call my "taste specific" projects and no harm no foul if she doesn't want. But otherwise, donating for her skill building is good enough for me. If she wants to keep or donate or say it isn't good enough and turn it into a dog bed, again -- all good enough for me.

It also motivates me to do a bit more cleaning up. At least put lids on things and stick them back on the shelf until the next go-round.

Great ways to destash, Iceblossom! Always good to remember that it doesn't have to be as work-intensive as actually making something out of the fabric. :-D