As I attempt to clean up the sewing areas the right way, by actually finishing some things, I am starting to realize how long this is going to take! It's simultaneously making me discouraged and determined. Having some elves around to help me would be great!
Right now I'm all about finishing quilt tops. That's what will make the biggest difference in my messy sewing areas.
This was an easy win. It was already in rows, and I didn't plan on adding borders, so there's one quilt top done.
Here's my Chilhowie Mystery Quilt top! This was a both a bit of chore to assemble and easy at the same time. Yes, I had to add sashings and two pieced borders, BUT, since I only used four fabrics there was no need to put it on the design wall. I didn't need to make sure the colors were distributed evenly, or not have two of the same fabric together like in a scrappy quilt. It just went together!
I've got the memory quilts I'm making ready for borders, which I plan on sewing today. I've got another quilt center done, but it needs two borders, and then I'm working on getting things ready to assemble the next few quilts in the assembly queue.
My design wall is kind of a mess right now. I'm trying to alternate assembling some easier quilts with some tougher ones. The Ruby Tuesday Mystery from Quiltmaker magazine last year has different sized blocks so needs to be assembled in a different kind of way. You make chunks and sew the chunks together. I still need to cut the spacer pieces for this. I finished one chunk and it's not on the wall. I have a couple others that haven't made it to the wall at all yet. Not all the chunks are the same size, so I'm trying to keep them pretty separate. All of this quilt is men's shirts. I'm going to have to piece borders for this, but for now I just want the quilt center together. I don't think I'm going to use exactly the borders used in the pattern. I'm thinking string pieced borders.
Once those memory quilts are tops, I really need to get them basted, and while I'm at it, I should baste several quilts. My back appreciates basting on the cutting table the best, since it's the correct height, but I think I'm going to put up the basting tables in the living room next week. I found a different style of bed risers that might work with the oddly shaped legs of my folding tables, and hopefully I'll be more comfortable this basting spree. By using the folding tables for basting, my cutting table stays free so I can cut backings and borders or anything I need without any issues. The other plus to basting in the living room is I'm more motivated to get the basting done so I can have my living room back!
I got the January blocks done for my 2023 Murder Mystery Quilt. It may just be three blocks, but it took me much longer than I expected to sew them. Those squares on point in the side blocks finish at 3/4"! There were some TINY pieces in these blocks. The middle block was easy, and I could have just made three of those, as that was the easier option. I liked Option 2 better, and although there was much muttering in my sewing room while I was making those square in a square units, I'm happy I made Option 2. I don't mind making square in a square units, I was just struggling to keep such tiny ones lined up correctly while sewing them.
I was going to start looking for a time to make DH new scrub tops, but he's both hoping for a work from home job, and talking to a financial advisor about retirement. Today I took all the fabrics I had put aside for scrub tops and put them in an EMPTY bin. (the bin with 3.5" strips is now empty!!!) If retirement is still years away, and the work from home job doesn't pan out, I'll still have all the fabrics together, and I'll make the scrub tops. If he can retire earlier than we anticipated and/or gets the work from home job, I'll incorporate the fabrics into stash. There's no point in doing anything with them without more information, but I'm sick of looking at that fabric stacked up! The bin fits under the stairs just fine, readily available if I need it, but not in my vision anymore.
My temperature quilt? I needn't have worried about using the darkest purple which represents below freezing! We've been below freezing every day this week! Our highs are above freezing, but our lows have been pretty low for Tucson. We even had some snow flurries this week! Nothing stuck, but it was still fun to watch the snow fall.
I'm pretty happy with my progress so far this week, and I'm hoping the next couple weeks are just as productive!
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