FQ Pop-up finish

Oops, a project inserted itself into December: the Fat-quarter Pop-up, by Fat Quarter Gypsy.  Like that was in my plans for this month...

Thank goodness it's a quick make.  Plus, I had the added advantage of having already made a couple t-shirt pop-ups--Minecraft, Minions, and hummingbirds (oops, 2 of 3 not blogged)--using the same spring mechanism, so I was well aware of how things went together in general.

Supposed to only use ONE fat quarter for this.  But I just can't resist mixing fabrics--it's what I love most about quilting.  So, maybe a second fabric came into play.  Just for the base, mind you.  Oh, and a peek of contrast on the inside.  Can't help myself.

Done.

Do you whip up some quick projects in December, too?  Were they on your list, or did they just POP into being?  (see what I did there?)



Quick finish deserves a linky party, don'cha think?  Linking up with Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday, being hosted this week by Alycia Quilts.  Go show some love!

How to turn a Quilted Wallhanging into an Advent Calendar

For years, Sweetie has been on the hunt for a crafty/DIY Advent Calendar.  And been thwarted every time.  But not this year!

Charlotte, the long-needled Southern pine (flocked, for modesty)

This year, as we took out the holiday decorations, and put up our gaudy Christmas tree (aka Charlotte), she happened to mention an "advent calendar" that I apparently had put away last year.

I was perplexed.  I had no such advent calendar.

Ah, but I did have a neglected small holiday wallhanging.  Made from scrap fabrics, it was inspired by a project Barbara shared over on her Cat Patches blog.  In 2015 this was a class at the shop, teaching all the different techniques I know for making half-square triangles.  (How many techniques do you know?)  But it had languished in our house since then, not even getting a hanging sleeve put on.

 

So, how does one turn a quilted wallhanging into an Advent calendar?  I quickly rejected the idea of creating pockets, since the wallhanging was quilted and bound and finished.  I settled on buttons.  Twenty-five buttons, nicely spaced, that would hold small "somethings".  (What exactly was to be hung from the buttons was not mine to decide.  Sweetie is excellent at internet research.)

 In addition to a robust fabric stash, I have a surprisingly large button stash as well.  I found 16 identical green buttons, and filled in with red and silver/metal buttons, all from stash.  In order to be able to hang things from the buttons, they needed to be shank style.  Unfortunately, only the metal buttons came with shanks.  So I sewed each red and green button on over an object in order to make a thread shank after the fact.  Do you recognize said object?

It's a bobbin-holder.  I have used a toothpick for this task in the past, but I wanted to raise these buttons pretty far off the surface of the wallhanging.  This gave me uniformity from button to button, and worked like a charm.

Other note: my thread here was YLI Jeans Stitch, a high-quality 30-weight polyester thread that is strong and remarkably lovely to stitch with.  Its heavier weight meant that the shank built up nicely with fewer individual stitches.

Button with thread shank: a thing of beauty

And what, you may ask, is adorning this Advent Calendar?

Umm, would you believe Lego ornaments?  Sweetie managed to find a kit to construct Lego Friends countdown calendar ornaments--make one each day, then hang it on the tree.  And, because Sweetie is secretly still 8 years old (falling easily in the 6-12 age range suggested on the Lego package), this seemed like the perfect thing to make 25 little "somethings" to hang from the buttons.


My favorite ornament so far?  The microscope.  This is in honor of my parents, who were both scientists.  And my brothers, who are both engineers.

I can tell you're jealous.

And thus, after several years of longing, we have our crafty/DIY Advent Calendar.  Turns out, it was (almost) here all along.

Anything you would do differently?  I welcome helpful comments and suggestions.

December progress & Charity Pillowcases

More than halfway through December, time for a quick check-in on

• 31 days of blogging
• December's monthly goals

Hey, only 4 blog posts under my belt in 15 days, so I'm far away from the stated blog-post-a-day challenge.  But, I'm patting myself on the back for not giving up--11 days in a row passed by but I came back!  (Recall: a measly 6 blog posts for the previous 11 months.  I have a lot of bad habits to overcome here.)

Funny story on the December goals...I clearly recall listing FOUR sewing goals for December, and choosing one of these to be my main focus.  Someone was not listening to herself declaring these to be the only December goals.  Alas, dear reader, I have strayed.

There has been some progress on the Xmas stockings.

And then, I went and made a couple pillowcases.

To my credit, these were for my Guild's annual charity donation, and have already left my hands.  Also, they were made from stashed fabrics, so no new purchases.  Finally, the cuffs were both scraps leftover from 2016-17 Circles BOM--even better than stashbusting is finishing off scraps!

Alrighty then: a finish(!) + some progress + more sewing needing to take place.  Sounds about right for a mid-December progress report.

Perfectionism quote of the week

Thanks to my therapist for introducing me to this one:

The perfect is the enemy of the good.

Mmm-hmm

And, in true I-can-complexify-anything fashion, I turned this simple quote into essentially a meme using my new technology best friend, Canva. Is there any irony in this?

Mending in March...and May... and MO-vember?

Saw the hashtag #marchisformending on the Instagram playground, and determined that I wanted to play along.  The mending pile is really no fun, but not having things hemmed and such means that I can't wear them.  So there:  the push-pull between sewing the shiny, exciting things and fixing the forlorn and cast-aside got a bit of a shove this past spring.

I'm right proud of all that got done.  Did I make it to my goal of

mending ten items?

Read on...

Jumper hem: best selfie I've ever taken

1, 2, 3, 4.  Hemming
The most odious of tasks in the mending pile.  However, I managed to hem two pairs of track pants (one was determined to fight my sewing machine, but I vanquished it with walking foot and parchment paper for stabilizer), a jumper whose hem had actually been stapled up at one point, and the sleeves on an eyelet blouse (turning it from matronly to chic).


5, 6.  Elastic
Replaced sagging elastic in one pair of gym shorts and a silk broomstick-pleated skirt.  So happy that I have a stash of various elastics!


7.  Monofilament invisible topstitching
Attended an Earth Day-related sewing event with trained tailors and clothes alterations people on hand to help you #menditdontendit (I blame my children for any hashtags that enter my speech patterns).  One of them helped me use monofilament to invisibly topstitch an unruly facing in a vintage men's shirt.  Ooh, you should feel this polyester!  They just don't make them like this anymore.

8, 9, 10, 11.  Serger for the win
Bought myself a new serger for my birthday, but hadn't taken it out until May.  What was I waiting for?!?!
     Magical serging put new sleeves on a hoodie (original sleeves were too tight, so I carefully replaced them with ones from a long-sleeved T-shirt that I had cut up to use in a T-shirt quilt.    Have worn this several times already--so comfy.
     Technical serging put a lining into a wrap-front t-shirt (where the skimpy manufacturers had only used one layer of fabric), and added some clear elastic along the side seams for a ruched look.
     Rolled hem serging finally finished a summer party-dress.  Too much trouble to hem that bias-cut polyester crepe any other way (I had tried; and cried).
     And finally, serged rolled hems onto the remaining altar cloths for the campus chapel--just in time for the Class of 2018 to have their Baccalaureate service.

I did it!  Wish I could say that this completes all the mending, but alas.  The mending pile is still bursting and threatening to fall over. 

I will just pause here a moment to tell myself, "Well done!"

December goals

I just saw a new sew-along challenge in my social media feed this morning

#transformTsal

Darn it all!  I need my December goals in writing to keep me from going down the rabbit hole of starting a project that has nothing to do with what I was planning to do with my month, sewing-wise.  (Even though I just loooove doing things with T-shirts...)

For fortification, I just listened to an episode of The Organize 365 Podcast on  "Manifesting your organization" where Lisa Woodruff gives more evidence to support the idea that writing down your goals and envisioning them completed is more likely to lead to your success.

Fingers crossed for success here.  Or at least more clarity & impetus to move forward.



 
1.  Cooking with Kaffe BoM block(s)


Need to make at least January's sample block for the Block of the Month that I teach at the shop.  I agonize too much over every fabric choice and all the block alternatives that are swirling around in my head.

Why "Cooking with Kaffe"?  We are teaching techniques from The Quilt Block Cookbook by Amy Gibson; and using fabrics from the turquoise/purple/green end of any of Kaffe Fasset's lines.



2.  Sew Together Bag
Teaching this class again in January--I could really use a new sample.  Two of my sample bags have gone missing... frowny face.

Drama, anyone?

3.  Three blocks for Drama T-shirt Quilt
I think this would be an awesome Xmas gift for the youngest--not that the quilt would be finished, but that she would know I have not forgotten about her and her needs.  (Intended blocks: Arsenic and Old Lace; Marley and Scrooge; and The Nerd.  Feels better just naming which blocks are up next.)

Vintage quilt in mid-refashion

4.  Xmas stockings for the siblings
Umm, I think this was on my list last December?  So sad that I cast it adrift for almost a year without getting done.




Look at me:  only FOUR items on my December goals list!

I am declaring item #4 -- the Xmas stockings, to be my One Monthly Goal for December.  I have linked up over at Elm Street Quilts, in order to hold myself doubly accountable.

Oh hey, December blog challenge is again live!

Once again, my good blogging habits have collapsed of their own accord.  I arrive at the month of December with a mere 6 blog posts for the entire year. 
So far.
But:

Much like last year at this same time, I have joined Cheryl Sleboda's blog-writing challenge for the month of December.  Already a day late, but optimistic about my ability to resuscitate this ailing blog during a busy month.

I have so many things I want to say!  So many finishes to report!  And some great projects in-the-works that I need to sort out--where else but in BlogLand could any of this take place?

Look at the optimism I'm showing!*

If you want to peek at who is participating, there is a list here; and it's open until December 10th, if you, too, want to join in.  (No pressure.)


*If anyone has a secret to taking decent selfies, I'd love to hear it.  My selfie game needs more help than my blog...