It seems like I just wrote last week about my progress in the sewing room during April, May, and June and now it is time to report on July, August, and September. I think that means that I should start shopping for Christmas because December will be here before I know it. But first a little reflection on the last three months. We welcomed a new grandson into the family and have spent quite a bit of time giving him lots of snuggles and watching him grow. We gave our kitchen and dining room area a complete overhaul by tearing down walls and installing all new cabinets and appliances. We were part of the massive crowd at Volleyball Day in Nebraska and then cheered on the Husker football team in Minneapolis the next day. And we squeezed in a two-day Passport trip to the northeast part of the state.
Even with all of that I was able to accomplish a few things in the sewing room. I checked one project off of my to-do list, made progress on four others, and added a couple of quick projects to the list that I finished. I also stitched thirteen customer quilts and eight Quilts of Valor.
The project that I finished was our new grandson’s counted cross stitch Christmas stocking. After stitching the outlines and embellishments I was just waiting for his birth so that I could add his name. He was born on July 3rd - the sixth generation in Tom’s family born on that day - so I added “Finley” to the stocking, stitched the backing to it, and it is ready for Santa to fill it with goodies for our baby Finn.
One of the four projects that I made progress on was the English Paper-Piecing Trip Around the World quilt. Since the Christmas stocking is finished I finally have a chance to work in the evenings on this quilt. I completed one row and started another so I now have eight total rows done. That doesn’t sound like much but it did involve 53 hand-stitched hexagons. It is a good thing that I don’t have a deadline on this quilt. It may very well take several years to complete.
I was hoping to accomplish more on the Swoon quilt that I am making for Ruby but was only able to complete one more block. The blocks are fun to construct but they take some time as there are several steps as well as some matching that has to be done if the block is going to look nice. One more block finished makes a total of five done with 15 left to go.
Another project that I made good progress on was the Scrap quilt. I needed a no-mind project to work on amidst my customer quilts and this one fit the bill nicely. I was able to finish all of the blocks and lay them out so that I could organize them into rows. I did find one block that needs to be redone as I flipped one of the background pieces so that the back is showing instead of the front. Oops!
The final project that I made progress on was purchasing an advent calendar for Finn. I have been searching high and low since the beginning of the year for a calendar quilt kit to make for him since I had already made one for Ruby and one for Henry. Since time is running out I opted to buy the same one that I made for Henry as it was the only one that I could find. As soon as I purchase some black felt I can get started on this project with the goal of finishing it by the first of December.
I added two projects to my list - as usually happens as the year goes along - one of which I’ll share at a later date as I’m planning to use them for Christmas gifts later this year. The second project was curtains for Ruby’s reading nook. Sara cleaned out the space under the stairs in their basement and added bookshelves, lights, and a chair so that Ruby has a cute little space in which to read her books. Adorable!
I still have two projects on my to-do list that I haven’t accomplished anything on yet this year. Will that change in the next three months? Stay tuned for another update at the end of the year.
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