2020 Non-Planning Quilting Goals

Non-Planning? Is there such a thing as planning to not have a plan? I think so.

2019 was an especially odd year in a string of odd years. For years, I happily collected fabrics and patterns, planning someday to get it all done. But as my eyes continued to deteriorate last year, I started to realize that I will NEVER use all the fabric I have, and quite possibly never finish all the quilts I have started. It doesn't help that we are still working on the house and most of my sewing room stuff is in the attic, still boxed up somewhere. I thought I had all my fabric unpacked when I came across two more boxes yesterday, and there is probably more.

My goal for the remainder of 2019 is to clear out a workable sewing space in the attic.

My goals for 2020 are:

1. Have a stay-at-home quilting weekend just for me. Hubby takes his hunting trips, so this is my equivalent and I have some catching up to do. I am going to start New Year's Day and the following day. No cooking, no cleaning, no running errands, no helping Hubby with whatever project he has going. Just me, my sewing, and a full fridge.

2. Finish UFO's as I find them, and work on them until they are finished. My quilting weekends should help with that.

3. Do something every day that moves a project forward, whether it takes 5 minutes or 30 minutes, and whether it is actual sewing, or buying batting, or oiling the sewing machine so it can keep sewing.

Even though these aren't specific goals like most quilter's make when they plan the upcoming year, I am going to link to Quilting Jet Girl's 2020 Planning Party.

Another Sunday Stitching Report Slides By

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

I didn't post any reports last Sunday. It was a bad week for me, both mentally and physically and I could barely function for three days, and then the weekend was a bust, so I only sewed two days. This week was better, but still very busy with appointments and working on the house. The good news is that almost all my latest test results are within normal range. Just barely, but I'll take it. I should be feeling terrific but I'm not quite there yet.

My stash report has changed, not because I have used or bought any fabric, but because I opened a box and found that I had padded something with a few yards of fabric. Instead of adding it in as an addition this week, I added it to the beginning stash total, so I can keep track of actual new fabric added this year.

I worked on my cross-stitch project for a few days and managed to get in 15 minutes each time, but as slow as that is, there isn't much to show for it. Still, it helps keep me motivated.

We have a break from the rain today and tomorrow and then it is supposed to start again Tuesday, so Tuesday might be a good day for some marathon sewing.

As usual, I am linking to:
15 Minutes to Stitch at Life in Pieces
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreat

Sunday Stitching Report Time

I'm glad I didn't set my sights on a 90% success rate with my stitching this year. My weekends are just not meant for sewing, at least not yet. Friday afternoon Hubby installed another door and trim, and I continued filling nail holes, painting and staining. Blech! Yesterday, we made two trips to our last storage unit and brought home our refrigerator, freezer, two cabinets, loveseat, three mattresses, and five chairs. It nearly killed me and I didn't even do any of the really heavy lifting.

When I was fifty and our youngest daughter moved to college and our oldest to her first apartment, we schlepped furniture, appliances, and umpteen boxes up multiple flights of stairs, down long halls, and around tight corners, and I declared it was the last time I would ever do any moving. Then, oldest moved to another apartment, and we did it all over again, and again, and again. And each time, I said it was the last time I was ever going to be part of a moving crew.

When we sold our house, we hired movers and it was wonderful. They moved stuff to storage and the rest into our rented duplex. But for a reason that neither of us can remember now, they didn't move everything, one being the loveseat. The double recliner loveseat. It weighs like a million pounds and most of the weight is on whichever end I pick up. We had minimal furniture at the duplex, and no appliances, so it was pretty easy to move it all here ourselves. But when we started talking about getting the stuff out of storage, I told Hubby that I wasn't going to do it. Not. Going. To. Do. It. Let's find a couple of all brawn, some brain, YOUNG!, guys to move this stuff because I am just too old to be moving furniture. Do you know how hard it is to find anyone who is willing to move things? Boy, you say move a freezer, and click, you are talking to a dead air. I would welcome some brawn, no brain, and arthritic, as long as I didn't have to do it, but as you know from reading above, it was me.

While we were loading the freezer into the pickup, another pickup pulling a U-Haul trailer drove past us on the way to their storage unit, and the young man driving paused to ask if Hubby wanted help. Hubby thanked them, but said no, we could get it; while behind his back, I was nodding yes, yes, yes! But with the help of a dolly, Hubby loaded the refrigerator and freezer, with guidance from me and then it was time for the loveseat which wouldn't fit on a dolly. Just about that time, the truck and U-Haul came back by and this time Hubby asked if they would help him move the loveseat. Not one, but two, strong, young men and a young woman hopped out of the truck to help. One of them helped Hubby and they easily picked up the loveseat and put it on our trailer.

It turned out that one of the young men and the young woman were married and had just sold their house. They were moving everything into storage while they built their barndominium. The young man wanted to get a ham radio, so he and Hubby talked radio for awhile, and they will probably come out to visit us soon. Isn't it funny how things work out sometimes?

I thought I must have remembered the weight of the loveseat incorrectly, so was prepared to pick up my end of the loveseat when we got home. But the young man must have reinserted the lead weights into the end after he set it down, because I couldn't budge it. We got the moving straps out, and I still couldn't lift it, and of course Hubby thought it was because I wasn't lifting right. It wouldn't have mattered if I had lifted right, left, or upside down; I couldn't lift it. Hubby finally slid it off the trailer into the garage, and we used sliders to get it into the house. By the way, those moving straps are the best things EVER for moving heavy things that aren't too wide.

We have to get the last few things out of storage today, and then we can end that expense. And word to the wise, for the length of time we have had all this stuff in storage, we could have bought all new appliances and furniture. But we thought it wouldn't only be for a few months. Seems like I've said that before. So no sewing today unless one of us throws out a back or drops a cabinet on a foot.

My reports don't show it, but I finally made some progress on the Depression Block Quilt. This is such a busy quilt that I think I am going to do simple straight line quilting on it. Now I have to decide whether to finish it for the RV or the house. If it is for the RV, I have to cut the corners. Decisions, decisions.

I'm joining the usual Sunday linkups:
15 Minutes to Stitch at Life in Pieces
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Sewing Reports on a Lovely Easter

Happy Easter everyone! I hope your day is beautiful and filled with joy. My girls are far away but my brother-in-law and his wife are coming for an unexpected visit. After I post this, I need to get busy. I had hoped for an afternoon of sewing, but yesterday's glorious weather found us working outside, so today we need to catch up on our house project. Yesterday, I was going to mark some flowers for collecting seed, but people were parked on the street waiting for me to leave so they could take pictures of their kids in our flowers, so I held off because there will probably be more people stopping by today. The bluebonnets are really past their peak, but they still look okay. So far, it's a little hazy outside, but it's supposed to clear and be a sunny, if windy, day.

This has not been a good sewing week, I'm afraid. Weekends are for physical labor, and even though Hubby was supposed to be on holiday Friday, he spent half the day catching up on paperwork, and so did I. A couple of our doctors' offices have been bought by a major hospital chain and the new bills are severely lacking in detail. It's really hard to match them to the right explanation of benefits from the insurance company. I found a mistake, my mistake, that will get us a nice refund; I just hope it isn't a huge hassle getting it back.

I'm joining the usual Sunday linky parties:
15 Minutes to Stitch at Life in Pieces
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Weekly Sewing Reports for Week 15 of 2019

In the past week, we have had some crazy weather. Last weekend and again this weekend, it rained. One local friend said her gauge read three inches. Monday was a beautiful day with clear blue sky, very little wind, and a comfortable temperature in the upper 70's. I wanted nothing more than to be outside, walking among the flowers, but I had a doctor's appointment right in the middle of the day. The next two days bordered on hot, with highs near 90. Then, it began cooling again, and last night was downright nippy. It reminds me of my parent's house when mom went through menopause. When dad was out, the house was freezing, but when he came home, he turned off the air conditioner and then the house warmed up and then became hot and stuffy. But when mom noticed the air conditioner was off, she turned it back on and dialed it down again. Spring is a lot like Mother Nature going through menopause, right down to the howling mood swings.

I bought a set of sheets to use for backing and pillowcases, and decided to count that as fabric for my stash, just like I would have if I had bought it as cut fabric. Not only did it break my no-buying streak, but it made my stash percentage go up. Hopefully, I can use those sheets this week and get that number back down.

I didn't have a 100% stitching week, but not bad. After moving rocks and mowing Friday evening, I was too achy and itchy to do anything except take a Benedryl and conk out. I don't know which plant it was that got to me, but I hope I'm not becoming sensitive to poison ivy. But I got a lot of stitching in last night, so the day off didn't stop my momentum.

I'm joining the usual Sunday linky parties:
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate
15 Minutes to Stitch at Life in Pieces