Catching Up, But Slowly

Summer is here. It's hot and humid and I'm moving slowly. Everything feels damp. The cats sleep all the time.

Summer is good for cross-stitching. Sitting in front of the fan, coffee in the morning, lemonade in the afternoon. I'm finishing up my Winterwoods sampler that I started three years ago. I am not a very diligent stitcher. I really only want to do it when I'm stressed or on hot, lazy, summer afternoons. It just so happens that early summer is our busy time at work and I have been stressed out! It's a nice escape, this cross-stitch. Just x after x, filling in the spaces. No decisions, no schedule, no deadline...just x after tiny x.

Also, when I feel stressed, I like to finish up projects, get rid of things, organize my sewing room. I like that little bit of control, that accomplishment, however small. And so, I went through my last two scrap bins (green and pink/orange) and cut more 4.5" squares for my great grandma quilt. Cutting these squares makes lots of strips which I have been using in various ways. Strips smaller than 1.5" wide go in one bin, the larger strips go in another.

I also went through my fabric stash and pulled out every single fabric that isn't really "me" anymore. I still like them all, in one way or another...but they are the ones that just never seem to get used. So, I used them and it felt really good!

Most were fat quarters and I cut a 13" square out of each to use as backing for my quilt as you go log cabin blocks. The leftover strips went into their respective bins. Selvedges went into the selvedge bin.

Half yard cuts were turned into drawstring bags for gifts. Most of these were wintery fabrics that I'll use for holiday gifts this year.

Full yard cuts...well, I never got around to cutting these up because I just didn't know what to do with them. Market bags? Pillowcases? Quilt backs? Binding? I've set these aside for now.

One last bit of organization: I bought another project bag from Knottygnome Crafts because I need one of these bags for every knitting project I'm working on. They are THE perfect bags! Sara's next shop update is Monday, July 6 @9am EDT. I'm hoping for a Heather Ross strawberry print bag. I need one!