Monday, May 22, 2017

State of the Stash

So, some things are happening in the Anachronism household.
And that means boxing up EVERYTHING because shiny new jobs and big opportunities are on the horizon.  Our new house will mean a  bit of a different sewing room/studio configuration, and that's something to get excited about, but it's also something I have to be more intentional about.
My sewing space will be taking over half of our den- I think having the machine out where I can get to it and sew while enjoying family time is going to make a difference in my productivity.

It means I am re-doing my catalog, and streamlining.  
Stash totals are being completely re-counted, some UFOs are being abandoned.  Fabric isn't making it into the new system or into a box if it's not something I can see myself using.  A lot of polyester from days gone by is going away.

Now, I did the UFO list in the Spring, but I'm a little terrified about this update the fabric catalog, because that would be revealing how much fabric I bought(gulp) or forgot about(sheesh) in 2015/16 when I was working on the catalog to begin with.
But then I bought more fabric last week, and I remembered how much fabric I actually have used, and I decided maybe I should bite the bullet and maybe even give myself a little bit of encouragement- and an accurate place to begin from as I put my hands on every piece of fabric to put them in boxes and move them.

We've got 3 weeks till the truck comes, and I have projects to finish between now and then, and a good amount of house to pack up.  Wish me luck!

Friday, January 6, 2017

UFOs... A Complete List

So flipping through Instagram I've seen several things about finishing UFOs, and even a challenge to make it happen. Then over on the Stashbusting Sewalong  folks started LISTING all of their UFOs, and making goals about finishing them??!
What is this madness- no more half-done projects lying about and sucking all of our creative juices?

Well, actually, that sounds pretty good...

I'll join in.  Listed, by category, from oldest to youngest:

Apparel:
1: Made by Rae Washi Dress, ca. Spring 2013 At this point, I think it would be safe to call this a wearable muslin... In retrospect, the colors aren't great and I'm not sure I'm quite the same size!

2: Colette Juniper Pants, ca. Fall 2013(I think?)Started in a butter-soft peachy twill, I'm hoping they'll fit.  I love the idea of these pants for Spring!

3: Sewaholic Thurlow Trousers, ca. Fall 2013(I think) Started in a hunter green twill, they'll go with a lot, and I really want to wear these! Hopefully soon!

4: Raspberry circle skirt/dress refashion, ca Summer 2013 I made a backless dress out of this lovely, drapey stuff in 2010.  And then turned it into an infinity dress in 2011.  And I ripped that apart in 2013.  It's all set to become a skirt with the awesome yoga waistband that could be a strapless dress in a pinch, because that's a lot closer to what my life needs right now.

5:  Turquoise shot cotton TNT shirt, ca 2015 I ran out of thread and it all went downhill.  Back to the machine soon with this one!

6: Seamwork Moji Pants, ca Summer 2016 They really don't have far to go... I want to try something a little different in the waistband, and I have to cut another piece.

7: Red mini, ca Summer 2016 This one was self-drafted, and may be a wadder, but I should sew the button on and find out for real, don't you think?

Accessories(sewn and knit):
8/9: Self-drafted weekenders for me and for the husband: Simple box shape, a couple pockets in the lining, and a big pocket along the front.  Zipper closure.  Kraft-tex accents(sews like paper, looks like leather... Very cool stuff!)

10: bag for a good friend: Another self-drafted thing.  Block-fused, cut out, and ready to go!

11: checkerboard scarf: This one is knitting.  It's an infinity scarf, and it's a way to get used to alternating between knitting and purling, and it's been so fun to carry around and work on!

For the Home/Office:
12/13: Re-cover the wingbacks:  It'll get 12 yards and about twice that in piping out of the stash.  Plus, the 'before' on these is too crazy to live with for much longer.  It's a good thing they're comfy.

14: Slipcover the chair-and-a-half at work: It's silly that I haven't already finished this.  Only one arm, the skirt and the cushion to go.

15: Chunky knit blanket: This is my car-knitting.  SO bulky and warm, and much more pleasant to work on since I got circulars to use on it.

16: Curtains at work!: Sheers that will add character more than anything else, but that I look forward to having, nonetheless.

Quilting:
17:  Sampler Quilt for our bed, using (some) blocks from the Farmer's Wife Quilt: Really, this one has become the best kind of hodgepodge.  Lots of blocks from the book, with extras from blocks I've taught or wanted to recreate from Pinterest.

18: Star Sampler couch quilt: Born of the cool assortment of star blocks I've come across, and designed to hone some skill-sets.  I am excited to get these in my living room.

19: Oxford Comma Quilt: Charm squares and lots of prayers in this one.  No real pattern.

20: Quarter-log-cabin Baby Quilt: For a cool little one of a good good friend, whose children I used to take care of.  It's back from the long-armer, and just needs binding.

21: Scrappy Trip for a Baby Cowboy: A sweet little chunk of a boy needs some handmade love too.  Working on big-stitch quilting this one off-and-on.

22:  Scrappy potholder palate cleansers: So close on these! Just need to back and bind them, and they're little so they should go quick.

23: Christmas Scrappy Trip: 2/12 blocks done, and another 4/12 begun.  All the fabric is cut.  This will be good mindless sewing, if nothing else...


I think that's all of them.  I HOPE that's all of them.  Here's hoping they get finished off in 2017!



Tuesday, January 3, 2017

The Studio

I love the word studio... It is more inspiring to me than "sewing room" and generally makes my heart pretty ding-dang happy.

Our house is a parsonage, which means it has to be big enough to house a family of 4 or 5, but there are only 2 of us, and we have 4 bedrooms... Which means we each took a bedroom to be used for workspace.  Jon's functions as an office/library, and mine functions as a studio/guest room.  Over the year and a half we've lived in this space, I've had... oh... 3 different configurations with existing furniture that we already had?  And none of them were really working, so I didn't use the space.  For Christmas this year, my big gift was a studio refresh.
Ikea legs went onto custom-cut MDF, painted white and sealed, for a sewing table, and another long, beautiful surface was set up on top of bookshelves(expedit, again, thanks to IKEA) to be counter/cutting height.  Perfect for quilty endeavors, and for folding stash.

I have 2 closets, one holding WIPs, odds and ends, and Christmas decor; and the other holding quilting cottons, upholstery supplies, and notions- and both are getting overhauled and evaluated.

Built-in drawers still hold thread, batting, the notions that don't fit in my cute card catalog, and scrapbook/painting/craft supplies- which I do use on occasion.  And above, a bookshelf we made with scrap wood covers up a boxy mirror and holds all of my big cuts(above a yard) of woven fabrics- everything from quilty backings to apparel fabric.  Once upon a time, it was all sorted by weight, but as I am pushing the boundaries of that poor bookshelf, it's more by color.
Do y'all see why I need to sew my stash off this year?!

Another bookshelf holds knit fabric, office supplies, old photos in their boxes, and WIPs in the Clementine boxes.  There's a serger that needs some mechanical help sitting there too- it was a hand-me-down and I've got to find someone to help me get it up and running this year.
 The goal, by the end of the year, is that the only WIPs will be in the Clementine boxes- and to eliminate the big bin of them in the closet...  We shall see!

It's funny how spaces have the potential to get creative juices flowing in all kinds of different ways.  Hopefully this iteration of the studio will be good to me!