I gave myself a stern talking to; this week. I am spending the day cleaning up my studio and doing some paperwork for the business. It has been ages/months maybe even years since I last sat down and really worked in here. I have been gifted with a bunch of fabric from friends and family. Some I will use or did use in the 100 items in 100 days Challenge but some I won’t use, ever!
Isn’t it awful!
I am making progress. I can see the top of the cutting table. I have decided to give the yards of felt in strange colors, like lime green and black to charity. I have no idea what I would use it for as I am not that fond of working with felt. I could make thousands of brooches and Christmas ornaments with the huge amount of felt that I am not giving keeping. I am getting rid of items that I made five years ago that didn’t sell. Like these pincushions. I have 10+ pincushions and if you know of someone that needs or wants one. I will ship it to them for the cost of the shipping! Just send me a message or leave a comment and I will get in touch with you.
Hubs is getting some organizing items for me from Wal-mart. I am super excited.
I had an overwhelming feeling this past weekend that I needed to buy more yarn. I have, after all, crocheted a huge amount of items. I haven’t really ordered any yarn since January when I started the 100 items in 100 days challenge. I did buy two destash orders from friends on Etsy last month but that doesn’t really count! Â Here is the yarn I bought from my friend Rose who knits wonderful blankets, scarves, and shawls.Â
IÂ am combining it with the rest of the wool yarn that I had leftover and it is in the process of being turned into a wonderful one of a kind art blanket. It is full of lovely texture and Autumn colors, but it is wool and it is HOT to sit under right now. Here is the undoctored photo of my foot in the boot. This is the other reason it is hot. This boot is heavy and like wearing an insulated blanket.
I don’t know about you but sitting around is exceedingly boring. I have run through many Netflix marathons in the afternoons and evenings. This is also the reason I have completed so many different baby items. So, I was thinking that I needed to buy more yarn and decided that I would first see what I have on hand.
Lovely blues, greens, white, red and navy
A nice assortment of colors from pink to bright orange back to purples, and grey.
Another tub full of neutral yarns. So, I am not ordering any yarn. I have ENOUGH yarn to keep me busy for a little while! These are all full skeins, we aren’t going to look at all the partial sets of yarn.
Actually, I did buy yarn but it isn’t for me. I am having it shipped to my cousin in Keller, Texas because she sitting a lot right now as well.
I have been feeling overwhelmed lately. There just seems to be too much on my plate and not enough time. I remembered this email that my husband had forwarded to me and decided to take a look. It is from Michael Hyatt. He has experience and common sense. This year I decided that I needed to streamline my business and then I plunged into the 100 items in 100 days Challenge. I have been blogging and stressing about things to do ever since.
Here is Michael’s article:Â http://michaelhyatt.com/086-what-to-do-when-you-feel-overwhelmed-podcast.html
1. Decide that you need to make a change!
I do need to change some things. My schedule needs to be flexible and work with the ebb and flow of this retail business and my family life. I tend to get into ruts and many times say “No” when it should be “yes”. I have some natural built in things that keep me honest about energy and time usage. I need to say “Yes” to change!
What can I cut out of my business or home life? What can I do to change up what I am doing? I am working on some new spins on old items in my shop and some new things altogether. Can I organize things within our family that will allow me to be better organized overall?
3. Automate
I need to automate some parts of my business so that I don’t have to make decisions about little time consuming details. I need to blog and create weeks or months in advance and then decide when I am going to release different  articles.
4. Delegate
I need to plan meals, cleaning and other activities that take me out of the house and away from studio productivity. My family helps all the time so delegating more to them is not possible.
5. Three high payoff activities
These three things save me the most time or pay me the most money for my time ; creating new items, writing crochet patterns, blogs and tutorials, planning everything from grocery lists and menus, to vacation days and business ideas.
6. Productivity Sinkholes
I know that these eat my productivity; leaving the house and studio disorganized, spending too much time on the internet or watching tv, not following through on a task, starting more than I can finish in one sitting when sewing, being afraid of success or failure.
I need to plan when to sit down and sew for extended periods of time. Schedule it in on my calendar. I have already scheduled basic household maintenance things like changing the heat pump filters. It is helping me to remember to do the small things that save money.
I’m not really ready for a paid virtual assistant but I can work on using all the tools available on the computer and phone to help me keep track of expenses and mileage.
I hope all this thinking helps out. I have the beginnings of a plan and now I need to implement it one step at a time.
I never thought that I would reach this number quite so quickly. I wondered if I would be able to create even 50 items. Here I am sitting at 60. Here is a quick look at them all.
Christmas stars
scrap potholders
I am glad that I challenged myself to the 100 items in 100 days Challenge. I have used quite a few supplies. I am also a little staggered at how much I still have. While I have run out of a few key elements like the batting I use in the coffee cozies, pot holders, and cup sleeves. I have used up three spools of white thread and quite a few buttons. I have given to a teacher friend my rubber stamps, stamp pads and card stock for use in her classroom. I removed several vintage tea towels to use in my kitchen. I still have an excess of supplies sitting in my studio. I am wondering if I could continue the challenge to use up even more supplies in my shop. I would need to buy the batting I need though, I would NOT need to buy any yarn for quite awhile. I have enough yarn to last until June, August or even October, barring any flights of creativity.
I have been challenged to think outside the box and to use what I already have rather than rush out the store when I am low on creativity. While, I do pin ideas to my Pinterest boards, I try to use those ideas as a spring board for my own creativity. I have three or four several things in the works for the next couple of weeks.
I still need to baste and quilt the quilt top
I have at least two or three crochet blankets in the works
I have three or four crochet patterns that I need to write up and publish
I have the supplies to create another weekender bag and the pattern free from the internet
I can crochet a ton of fingerless gloves, scarves and maybe hats! I am not fond of hats as everyone’s head is a very different size.
I have some small sewing ideas floating around in my head as well.
We will see what happens as I will have a full house next week as it is Spring Break for the college girl and she is bringing her room mates home for the week. The other kids also have Spring break at the same time so it will be a  busy week full of food, fun and laughter. I hope the weather cooperates as a hot dog roast/marshmallow toasting are in the works, along with some trips to museums in the area and of course bargain shopping! May you have a great week! It is icy and snowing here today as I write this, but by the time you read this it should be warm and sunny.
Quilts are a time honored way to use scraps. These quilts were made by the women in my family, Grandmothers and Great- Grandmothers and I think one Great-Great Grandmother.
This sun bonnet sue is one of my favorites.
My Grandma was a member of a quilting group. They would meet once a week or month and quilt the top of a member’s quilt.  It was a social time and also a time to get much needed work done. These quilts were made for use and they kept the family warm on the cold winter nights.  My Aunts can sit down and tell you where each piece of fabric came from. They came from a time when women made their own clothes and skill with a needle and thread was valued. My Mom taught me to sew and I am teaching my girls or at least making sure they learn the basics.  Sewing is expensive  these days unlike my Grandmothers’ days when everyone had to have some skill at sewing.
I have been thinking about sewing some quilts with my scraps. I have sewn one quilt top that is just strips of fabric but the more complicated patterns are calling to me. I need to baste all the layers together but I keep putting it off.
I have several ideas rolling around in my head to sew today. A couple of receiving blankets, pot holders, another coffee press cozy and then some things to finish up. I have a quilt to layout and baste. I have some other wrist warmers I can crochet, grey, yellow and brown and maybe navy. I want to make some place mats for the shop and more potholders. Â There is decidedly too much to do and not enough time to get things done. I am feeling overwhelmed. It seems no matter how much I use up what I have there are still tons of supplies to use. Here are a few photos to prove the point. Yes, it is really a mess but I have been cleaning and these photos were taken a couple of weeks ago.
This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg of supplies in my studio.There are several laundry baskets of yarn, 6-7 large plastic tubs of fabric. I have received 5-6 large plastic tubs and drawer units of fabric from my MIL’s long term stash of items. It is overwhelming me. The little things that I keep making only seems to be making more scraps that take up more and more room! I need to clean the studio this weekend and make order out of creative chaos! So, that is my plan for the weekend and hopefully I will also get some items cut out and ready to go! The good news is that I do have enough of what is needed to make another weekender bag, maybe two!
talk to you later,
Karen
NOTE: So that you know I am human and weird things happen to us. We now have a water leak that requires repairs. So, I will be cleaning up the mess today and probably tomorrow after the repairs are done.
NOTE: I am cleaning the studio and why oh why must it look worse before it looks better….? But it is improving…slowly but surely. The house is repaired and running properly.
The cleaning is coming along slowly but it is getting done. I am trying to integrate my MIL’s fabric with my fabric so I am not buying things I don’t need. I would rather just sew it all up and get it out of my hair. Cleaning craft supplies drives me crazy.
I had some questions about these pot holders that I made for my daughter.
I am not big on piecing tons of tiny squares so I found this tutorial on Sew Mamma Sew that sent me here:Â http://www.sewmamasew.com/2009/10/elizabeths-fabric-focus-quick-piece-tiny-squares/
Basically you line the squares up on iron on interfacing (sticky side up) and iron them down. Then follow her tutorial for stitching them together.
At the time I thought that I would make some place mats (yes, we do have that many squares). I put them aside (for months) until I was making pot holders this weekend. When I decided to see if they would work better for pot holders. Then I simply cut them into 9″ squares placed them on top of one piece of batting and quilted the front of each pot holder. I cut the backings to fit and placed them over another piece of batting and quilted each back of the pot holder. I added small pieces of ribbon for the hanger loops to each corner and basted them in place. I like basting better than pining. It isn’t as hard on my sewing machine to sew over.
If you need to see the tutorial I used it is here:Â http://www.mygirlthursday.com/2011/05/diy-scrap-busting-pot-holders.html
They worked out quite well! I’m sorry I don’t have any photos but I was on a sewing kick and I needed to get a bunch done! So this isn’t really my tutorial but a combination of several techniques!
Rats… the fabric I thought was 100% cotton muslin isn’t. There just isn’t any other way around it. It isn’t 100% cotton and it won’t wear well as a quilt, if it isn’t. I am not sure about the pedigree of some of the other larger pieces of fabric. The ones that are 100% cotton are patterned pastel florals, strong stripes, super dark polka dots. None that work with what I am trying to do…which is quilt. I almost have the top done but now I need to wait until April! Unless the fabric fairy comes to visit, which is really not likely and totally against the rules I set at the beginning of the 100 items in 100 days Challenge. So bah! Â I might be able to make a baby quilt, or placemats, or pot holders etc… I could make quilt tops but they wouldn’t be finished and that is the key to the whole challenge. I feel a bit lost, and this is a definite monkey wrench in the whole works. I need to regroup and see what else I can do with my scraps. Hmmm, I see some Pinteresting in my future as I pin, unpin repin things!
talk to you later,
Karen
P.S. Almost all of the larger pieces of fabric that I got from my Super organized MIL’s stash was labeled with fabric content and quantity. She was amazing.
The quilt is quietly killing me. Well, not very quietly, I must admit that there is a certain amount of huffing and puffing as I haul that quilt around, between and through the sewing machine. If you add in the fact that my sewing machine isn’t quite happy to be sewing right now, then you can guess what I am going to say next. After fussing about it to myself anyone who will listen, I moved on to crocheting, and modge podging. Something that will actually allow me to complete a project. These photos are just quickie phone photos but they get the job done.
I also decoupaged some tea boxes with fabric as I was needing some drawer organizers.
Here they are drying.
Talk to you later, My FIL just arrived for lunch!
Karen
p.s. I am in deep trouble. My father in law brought four more tubs of fabric from my mother in law’s stash. oh wow. He said I could make 100 more items…!
