Sewing Thoughts

Yesterday was another lovely day of sunshine. The high got to 5C. The low got to -3C during the night. We are to have another day with sunshine but more clouds. 

Lifestyle

I cleaned our bedroom yesterday. Quite a deep clean with the floors being vacuumed twice and washed once. Dusting was done and all is fresh in there. I could feel my allergy to the dust raising it's ugly head. While cleaning, I did 5 loads of laundry. 

Sewing

It was the start of three days of Christmas sewing. I worked on the tree skirt for our 4 ft tree. I stopped when I pinned on the lace and was 3" short. 

I had a lot of fun making this skirt. I did a rolled hem on the ruffle. The ties are red gros grain ribbon. The lace is something from the stash that I thought was long enough. I'll look for something today. 
I have a new doll's pattern to test so it is being slotted in the list to start on Jan. 26. There is embroidery so I am excited to start this project. Fabric will be from the stash. 

My Sewing Thoughts

As it is almost the end of the month and I've been working on a new plan, I've decided to do a small review. I know that I am not the norm when it comes to the stash of fabric. I'm actually quite the opposite. But, for those who have and love a stash, I understand your need for it as much as I understand my need to not have it. 
My Stash is not huge by any stretch of the imagination. I call it medium in size with maybe 250 yards of fabric on the shelving unit. I do feel stressed with my stash. It is time to sew it up into useful items. It is how I feel. I'm not stressed over sewing it up/down as I'm enjoying the journey each month. I'm more stressed that it is sitting idle on the shelves. I've really thought a lot about it this month.
Progress has been made and a plan has evolved over how many years. I'm thrilled with my current plan as I am focusing on the stash rather than feeling I'm failing and soothing my ego with buying more fabric. I've moved towards using SMART goals and having a to-do list of items I want to make. Nothing on the list is a must do but a want to do. I smile each time I tackle an item and have something to show at the end of a day or two of sewing. 
SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. I've worked them into my goal this year. I've gone from very broad goals (exploring) to having more specific goals. This year, they are quite specific and achievable, especially in sewing. 
Though a lot of people may not like goals, I need them. They are a part of who I am. I make to-do lists all the time. When I did my first sewing to-do list last summer, it was wonderful. I was more focused than I had ever been. I look back at it and it was a list of items I wanted to sew and was a great starting point. When building my sewing goals for this year I did a lot of talking with a lady and used this format to get what I wanted to do done. 
My goal To sew up/down the stash - 50 to 100 meters a year until it is gone.
Why am I doing this?- To be able to buy and sew new fabrics. The fabrics I own are getting old and need to be sewn into their planned projects. The orphans will become projects as I do research. 
How will I do it?- I keep saying 1 meter at a time. But it is thinking about what I want to sew. I make a to-do list. It pretty much started out as a long list of items I wanted to make. This year, I added categories and I can slot them into days of the month if I choose to. I keep focused on the stash and the list. I think about the next month towards the end of the current month. I start making a list of what I could sew from the stash. From there I finalize it before posting it. 
What will I do/sew?- I chose to sew up/down the quilting cottons first. I have 30 meters of Christmas fabric, 10 meters of Halloween fabric and I don't know how much of other. I really wanted to sew up most of the Christmas and Halloween fabrics this year. After a good discussion with another lady, I got a plan. Christmas sewing 3 days per month (23-25), Halloween 2 days on the months that have 31 days. I also decided I wanted else to sew; doll outfits, piping, reading pillows, and reusable grocery bags over the year. All help to sew up/down the stash. And they all make me happy. I look forward to designing and creating every day. 
I'm not depriving myself from buying fabrics but I have to have a place to slot them into. Yes, sew them up fast. I can also buy what I need to finish a project. This has kept me a happy sewer. At the moment, I feel like I'm in a win-win situation. 

Knitting

I started a messy bun hat for daughter-in-law. The yarn is a cotton/polyester blend. It is quite nice to work with and the multi colors are looking great. I've almost done the ribbing. This is relaxing knitting project and am using up yarn daughter gave me for Christmas. 

Today

I'm off to the city to shop. I'll start in Bedford and may end up in Dartmouth. I want to be home by 1 p.m. to Christmas sew for a couple of hours. 
Until the next time..................................