Cleaning the sewing room can unearth from great finds. Maybe it’s that lost fabric or a project that you have stuffed away. Well, while I was cleaning my sewing room in February I found some gems.
My tall table housed a number of projects I had forgotten. I took the discarded half square triangles from this project and threw them into a baggy. Apparently I had pulled out the yellow, orange, green, and aqua ones for a quilt that did not happen. Well, I decided to change that.
I decided to make 16 patch blocks with the left over half square triangles. Within the blocks I didn’t want a repeat of color in the row or column. Each block was laid out before piecing to ensure I could do it. The blocks were tiny once finished.
What do to next?
It needed something more to become a quilt. There were enough blocks to put four of the blocks together to be one larger block. The effort was made to not have same prints or colors side by side. There’s one it’s not right, but it’s not an issue. Design element right?
I took these blocks to the quilt retreat, not sure the entire layout or design. I grabbed some Kona Capri solid I had in the back room just in case I could use it. It’s bright and could add an interesting color to this quilt. Why not?
Check back later this week to see the rest of the process. I’m curious to know your answer to the question below.
What have you found while cleaning out your sewing space?
On Instagram I started noticing the #the100dayproject floating around. It got me thinking about what I could do for 100 days straight. I don’t need a prompt to sew or add anything else creative.
Rather than post 100 days on Instagram, I want to write about grace and positivity. Over the next 100 days I’m going to keep a journal/log on my blog. There is grace and positive actions happening everyday around us. I want to share my experiences.
Day 1 – April 3rd, 2018
Tonight at boxing, the teacher noted I was punching hard. Me? Punch hard? I’ve gained strength and technique, so yeah, my punches have gotten harder. It felt great to hear since I love this class. Plus, this picture is pretty amazing. This is before class while the lights were still out and the room was empty. The ball was just sitting there perfectly.
Day 2 – April 4th, 2018
While scrolling through Instagram today I stumbled upon this post. My immediate reaction is we need more of this. Cheering on my friends and those that I may not know only helps. Being a negative Nancy and trying to tear them down does not. So root for someone today, I will be rooting for you!
Today I started something new that I have been contemplating for some time. I got serious about my yoga practice. 8:30 a.m. was my first class in a studio that wasn’t an event, etc. While the class was challenging, it was refreshing too. Trust me I fell more than I want to admit in class. I’m challenging myself to go as much as possible.
We got free tickets to opening day of the Indianapolis Indians. Someone is a swap group I’m in posted last minute. We had been on the fence about going because of the weather. Free made it more enticing. During the game it was like sitting in snowglobe. The snow was just sprinkling around us. It was cold and beautiful at the same time.
Also, whoever let Elsa loose in Indiana can come collect her at any time. It’s cold and snowy here. It should be in the 40’s-50’s with sun. Oh Anna, please save us.
Day 5 – April 7th, 2018
Celebrating a friend’s birthday. Dinner, laughing, and finally cake! Well not only cake but a whole dessert spread. You guys, that cake was amazingly rich. However those macaroons were delish and some came home with me.
I wish we could celebrate everyday like birthdays. Instead let’s treasure those little moments.
Stay tuned for upcoming days. While I was going to do this in bigger chunks of days I think it’s better to share in smaller bits. Maybe it will inspire something positive in your day.
When I started planning for 2018, I knew immediately what I wanted my word to be. Confidence, the one area I was really struggling with personally and professionally.
However, writing out my other goals for 2018 haven’t been as easy. March seems like a good time to share what I’ve been pondering over the last few months. What could I do this year that would really challenge me and encourage some stash management?
I had been aiming for one baby quilt per week during 2018. Then life hit and I realized that goal wasn’t realistic. Funny, I found this post below right about the time I was rethinking the goal.
My new goal is 40 baby quilts in 2018. Allows some flexibility with life, but more importantly challenges me to use what I have. Bring on the scraps and stash to make this goal happen.
Also, if you’re drowning in scraps I will gladly take them. Hint hint.
Gorgeous Grannies made for #5 out of 40. I have a few more in the works.
Welcome back readers. Thank you for your kind words on the quilt top post. These Granny Squares are just GORGEOUS! Am I right? Blanche Devereaux, well this version, is ready for her introduction to the world.
Let me tell you a little about finishing this quilt. I rushed to quilt this one and paid the price. TWICE! I started quilting the first time and my tension was off. It appears little hands may have turned a knob on my machine and I didn’t realize it. I turned my tension down and then down some more. Then when I thought I had it right, I ripped out all the stitching to start fresh.
Then the tension still wasn’t right. A second pass a quilting and it was off. After getting pissed off, I walked away from this project for a couple of days. I put it in time out.
I came back and the quilting went smoothly. Thank goodness as I really didn’t want to straight line quilt this one. This quilt gave me a bit of sass, much like Blanche.
Have you seen this fun quiz on Buzzfeed? Take it and tell me in the comments which character you got. I will tell you mine below.
Backing
I bought around five yards of this Art Gallery print a few months ago. I knew I had some girl quilts coming up that it could be perfect for. Plus, it’s Art Gallery so it’s buttery soft.
This quilt is ready for it’s new home and can be found here on Etsy. By the way I’m a Dorothy Zbornak.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a small compensation. All opinions are my own.
This is my first time using Boundless Fabric by Craftsy. I bought a layer cake from someone having a destash and got right to work. Over the last few months, I had been wanting to remake theAll The Way Up quilt and I thought this may be a good palette to try the design with. I cut the layer cake into 5″ charms and separated out the fabric.
The colors are a mix of bold and muted, creating a wonderful contrast. For the random look I like to go for, I make 4 stacks of the squares, and then started pairing them up. Do you ever gravitate towards having some colors together more than others? I found myself going towards the same pairings and had to rethink a few. I kept telling myself to keep the pairings random.
Piecing all of the squares took no time. Cutting them into half square triangles was easy. Porter helped me press them and loved it. Then, I went to layout the quilt as I envisioned and it wasn’t right. Rather than move forward, I picked up the squares and put them away for a couple of nights. P and I designed his quilt and that gave me time to rethink the layout.
Rather than recreate the quilt, let’s use it for inspiration. I started laying out the blocks with the triangles all going the same way. It was growing on me. Since I had let go of the urge for everything to be perfect with Porter’s quilt, I decided to just create this top and run with it. It was hard because I wasn’t absolutely in love with it and I wanted to do more. However, keeping it simple can work out too.
Once the top was finished I starched the hell out of it and got everything flat. One thing that had not changed from my original vision was using a black and white print with these fabrics. I decided it needed to be the backing and dug around in stash. A simple Lotta Jansdotter print to the rescue.
For quilting I opted for straight lines to accentuate the triangles. It felt good to do straight line quilting again. Once I washed the quilt, it was just the way I wanted it.
There was just enough of the binding print to finish off the quilt. It pulls many of the colors from the quilt, but doesn’t take away from it.
Overall I’m happy with the way the quilt turned out. I’m proud that I didn’t let a layer cake just sit around and put it right to use. That was weird for me.
Looking back on 2017 has given me some great insight and I can see personal growth. I’m looking forward to 2018 by putting things in motion to make it a wonderful year. The next few paragraphs are raw and unfortunately true.
Let’s go back to December 2016. I wasn’t happy in my current job and had been looking for some time. The jobs I really wanted wouldn’t interview me because I was missing things they really wanted to see. My opportunities for growth within my company were limited. Then something happened that was a defining moment. A co-worker touched me inappropriately at our Holiday Party. I was mortified at what happened and it basically changed how I felt about myself. Yes, I did report it to HR and he still works at the company. No, I won’t name him publicly. He can live with his own shame.
Do you know what my first words to HR were? I dressed conservatively and this happened. Nothing says sexy like a black high neck dress, black cardigan, black tights and black heels. How was this my fault? That’s how I felt at the time and it ruined December. We spoke to attorney, but I didn’t want to put myself and family through that. Instead, I put some feelers out and found a new job quickly. The new job was completely different and way less money. So, maybe I should have pursued things with an attorney, but I don’t know that I would be where I am today.
The impact of that December night and some ass hat’s actions impacted most of my 2017. Not all as bad, which is why I have decided to share. Let’s dig into the bad so you know where I’m going for 2018.
Huge shake to my self confidence. I just haven’t been myself.
Weight gain. Eating my feelings and lacking self confidence helped, right?
Motivation way down.
Generally just pissed off.
It affected all parts of my life. The feminist in me is mad as hell that I didn’t stay and fight. Stand up for myself, press charges, and demand more. Instead, I ran away and quickly found a new job. As 2017 comes to a close I’m more confident in sharing what happened. The #metoo movement was motivating. It’s sad that so many of my friends had that posted, I wanted to hug them all. It was liberating to know I’m not alone. Deep down I knew that. People I didn’t expect posted their own stories too. I have decided that I won’t let this incident define me any longer, his actions will not win. I am so much more than that glimpse in time and event.
Towards the end of 2017, my husband and I really started digging into where we want to go and our goals. I have some big things coming out in 2018, that I can’t share just yet. It fits right into all of this I promise. I took on some virtual assisting work to help expand my skills. Finally, I felt creative again.
Things were getting back on track professionally and creatively, but personally I was still struggling. During my annual exam I had a frank discussion with my doctor about my health. Luckily, she was frank right back. We chatted about my lifestyle habits and what could be causing my weight to creep up or stay the same. The exercise, sleep, and stress management were in place. Then she asked about my diet. As a former health coach, I thought I had it together. I was eating lots of fruits and vegetables and cooking at home. Well, she brought up carbohydrates. Then after some discussion maybe that was the area I needed/should change to see the weight loss I was hoping for.
(Insert HUGE eye roll from me)
I laughed her off and said yeah okay. After the appointment I started looking at what I was eating and was flabbergasted. Rob and I chatted about changing our nutritional habits and what we could maybe do. Since he does most of the cooking, I needed and wanted his help in this. We changed our diet up and ditched lots of carbs. I’m talking chips, crackers, taco shells, etc. Still lots of veggies and now more nuts and fats. It’s been a challenge, but I like how I feel. It took an honest conversation that I didn’t want to hear to encourage me to make a change.
Since I started making changes with my diet, having conversations around other changes have been easier. It’s become apparent that just doing a desk job all day isn’t the best for me. I crave flexibility and being my own boss. Moving into 2018, that is a goal. Make it work so I don’t have to work for others. This is a longer term plan that isn’t feasible right this moment, but something to work towards and focus on.
What does that mean? On the blog you’re going to see some changes. You already know that sewing and quilting is a huge stress reliever for me, but there is so much more to me. I’m going to dig into confidence and ways to make some changes.
My word of the year for 2018 is confidence. As I’m working to boost my own confidence in 2018, I will be sharing things that I find or tips that are helpful. This will not be an easy focus or change. It’s going to be hard work that will have huge benefits in the end.
If you know me personally, you may be surprised just how much confidence I am lacking these days. You may be thinking, “You’re loud, opinionated, and seem to have it together.” Thanks friend, but that’s the case.
Now that you know where I’m coming from and the overall theme, it’s time to dig into how.
Read and expand my knowledge on boosting confidence.
Take some time daily to breathe and reflect.
Keep up my regular exercise for my overall wellness.
Kick ass at something new. Learning something new will help me build a skill and challenge myself.
I hope you stay with me on this journey. Thanks for letting me get that huge secret off my chest. Let’s move ahead and make 2018 a wonderful year.
