Where Have I Been...

 ...and what I have been doing?

I have a lot going on and my attention span seems to be small.  I have a little bit more freedom these days as I have hired help to assist with my parents.  I still visit them on a daily basis but having freedom during the day is awesome.  After 3 1/2 years of having very little time to myself, I am now getting my house caught up and organized.  My husband has done a great job helping but he just does the basics.  

Here is my current list of projects:

1.  Organize sewing room.  Folks this room has not really been cleaned up in 3 or 4 years.  Straightened occasionally so it can be used for other purposes.  It needs a really good clean and re-organized.  The room is overwhelming and I find that about 30 minutes at a time is all I can stand to be in there.  I will get it done.

2.  Slipcovers for loveseat, chair, and ottoman.  I have had the fabric for a couple of years.  Now is as good a time as any to really get this started.  I will start with making the piping.  I realized pretty quickly that I did not purchase enough cording.  For what ever reason, I thought 80 yards would be good for the whole project but when I started measuring one pillow will take about 5 or 6 yards and I have not even thought about determining how much will be needed for the cover.  I will order another roll or two of the piping.  I have made patterns for two of the pillows on the chair.  

3.  I have a finished quilt top that I have decided to finish this year.  I will be taking it to the long-arm quilter next week and I am thrilled.  Hopefully, I can get the binding created while she has the quilt and I will be ready to stitch the binding into place.  I generally finish the binding by hand but it is a king size quilt.  I guess I will make the decision when it comes time to apply the binding. Machine binding is always faster but I really like the look of the hand finished binding.

4.  I do prefer making clothing over all other types of sewing.  I was going to fit a t-shirt pattern but when I starting taking cool weather clothes out of storage I realized that I do not really need any t-shirts but I do need a few skirts/tops and a couple of dresses.  I have also gotten to where I prefer a woven top.  With that said, I will be making two button-down shirts.  I might even take the same pattern and make a dress.  Fabric is all from the stash.  Take about making a hole in the stash shelves.  Between the clothes and the quilt that is somewhere between 12 and 15 yards of fabric gone.  I do want to work on fitting some pant patterns.  

5.  I am working on redecorating some.  My living room/family room has always bothered me in this house.  I can not seem to get it right.  It is an odd room - kinda of open floor plan but not quite.  There are large arches going into the kitchen area, the dining room, and front entry.  Large portions of the furniture must be floating and I am okay with floating furniture. Honestly, it feels like I have too much furniture or maybe it is just not the right kind of furniture.  I know I will get it figured out even if I have to hire someone to help. 

6.  We changed the way we eat a couple of years ago and I have been collecting recipes.  I have finally decided to organize everything so I am not constantly reprinting a recipes to use.  This is kinda like the sewing room - overwhelming.  This task does not get much more than 30 minutes at a time just like the sewing room.  I might work on it more than once a day.  Small bursts seems to make it easier to think about.

Well, that is a little that has been going on.  There is always something new to add to the mix.  I am hoping to get the quilt, the sewing room, the recipes, and maybe some of the slipcovers done by the end of the year.  The redecorating will most likely take more time as I look for furniture to make it feel like home.  I am hoping that some things can be repurposed from other areas rather than just purchasing new/old stuff.

Happy Stitching!