Hi everyone!  I’m finishing up my final semester and I’m ending on a really busy note.  Each of my classes has a paper due typically each week.  These can range from 4 to 20 pages each for 3 separate classes and then there are discussion boards and responses which account for another 2 + pages for each class.  And of course, quizzes and tests! I can see the end of the tunnel but it’s too soon to wave the checkered flag.  In the meantime, I’ve been able to get small amounts of sewing done. My sister gave me the moose print for my birthday. Our quilting bee had its regularly scheduled meeting last week so I quickly quilted it up and put a facing on the back – and stitched it down during the meeting!

I also made her a travel bag which is large enough to easily hold enough clothes, etc. for a weekend trip and if you pack like me – lightly – then it could actually hold an entire week’s worth. It’s hard to get the impact of its size in this photo but it’s designed to fit underneath an airplane seat.  I put pockets on both ends so she would have an easy place to store a phone at the last minute for takeoff.  There are magnetic snaps on each of those as well as a large interior pocket and I lined it inside so it would look as pretty as the outside. It has regular handles as well as a strap.  The quilting was kept to a minimum so that it wouldn’t interfere with the striped design; it’s basically piano keys throughout.  She liked it so that was good!

In the meantime, our daughter is taking 2 summer classes, one each session, so she had some free time on her hands.  I put her to work and she completely organized my sewing room! The first thing she did was spend a lot of time wrapping all my fabric scraps, fat quarters, jelly rolls and some actual yardage in a few cases onto cardboard.  Most of them are are the comic book boards which I’ve seen several people do.  I was surprised to get some of the sturdier boards as a present so the ones that are half-width are perfect for smaller pieces and the jelly rolls in particular.

She pulled out all of the bins of fabric I had in several boxes underneath my main table and one by one, she determined if the fabric was large enough to save.  I had told her that, other than 5″ and 10″ squares, if it wouldn’t wrap around at least once on the skinny boards then it was okay to toss because in most instances these were tiny scraps.  I was never going to get the room truly clean if I’d kept all of those.  I’m sure there are a few people out there that are aghast right now to know that I actually threw out some fabric that was 2″ by 1″ – but I did! Wow did I ever end up with a lot of extra legroom underneath the table when she finished with that.  What isn’t in the photo are all of my AccuQuilt dies; those are in rolling upright bins to the right of this.

My last two rolling carts are underneath the table that we added earlier this year to permanently house my cutter. This is where I keep my current projects as well as odds and ends that I have such as Bosal and fusible interfacing.  Those big sheets are the hardest to figure out where to put them.

And….she’s also been sewing!  That’s been a lot of fun to watch.  Most of her friends are pretty crafty; one likes to make quilts (at 20 years old, which I love to hear), and another crochets animals, purses, and everything in between. She’s pretty precise with her 1/4″ and I have to say it is soooo much easier to give a few lessons here and there to a young adult than when I started at 5.  Oh sure, I had the fun of making outfits for all my Barbie dolls that she missed out on by not sewing at that age, but there’s also a short learning curve. It’s pretty fun to see the fruits of her labor!