We are having warm days with a high yesterday of 32C or 90F. We are expecting this for the next week. Summer is here.
Bullet Journal
I started filling in my bullet journal. I am focusing mainly on sewing and blogging and may include more knitting as time goes on.
This page has remained the same. I will highlight the rest of the week the family is here when I know how long. Thankful thoughts will be done during the month.
I started filling in this page in pencil. I have to add more to the to do list for the month. I did a list of what I need to buy for July's sewing projects and added a ball of yarn so I can start knitting again. All these items will be bought at the fabric store.
For blogging, I have put down what I need to have for general blogging posts. These are ideas and I will add more as I start blogging. I may end up post-it noting this section so I can move it from month to month.
My sewing list looks long for July with family visiting. I have to remember that I can migrate them to August if necessary. If this is my two month sewing list, I will be okay with it. They are not done in order of sewing preference but in random order. The doll dress is last but I am doing it first.
As I move to the next page, I have started to think about the blogs I want to write. As I sew each item, I will take pictures of the process. The doll's dress I will do a review on it in two locations. More on that later. I have written down what I need to buy at the local yarn shop for some knitting projects for the dolls. I will also track the patterns I am knitting for them. I do have a notebook I keep track of my knitting process in so I can refer back to it when I make the same item again.
I added a piece of Washi tape to this page and will be for jotting notes on. I may put in how many meters I have sewn for each project. I am leaving it up to what ever hits me at that time.
The next page is blank and I may end up using it for a grocery list of items to buy for when family is visiting. I am now ready to set up the next week which will be a Dutch door.
Until the next time.....................
We had a cooler day yesterday with the temperature at 24C or 85F. Overnight was cool with a 6 a.m. temperature of 13C or 55F. We slept with windows wide open.
Bullet Journal
I got July 1-2 page done. I work those days so not much will done at home. The bottom part will be some ideas to do when family is here. The page beside it will either be a prep for family coming/shopping list/meal ideas.
Sewing
I cut the doll's ball gown pattern out, taped it together, and have it on the fabric ready to pin down. I will be serging all the seams and the serger is ready -- black thread on it and set up to use three threads.
I have been doing a lot of internet searches for a wallet and have some ideas book marked. Time will tell what I do but I want to do it while I am in bag making mode.
I will be watching Joan Hind's Craftsy course on bag making and doing a set of her bags first. Then it will be the bag for me with an insert and then..............down the deep hole of google searches. And I need to make more doll outfits. With what I have piled on the cutting table, I will be busy for a while.
The reversible bullet bag got great reviews at the store. I am pleased with it; it is easy to pack and looks good.
Blogging
I am thinking of revamping the look of my blog and am going to be busy looking at ideas in the evening. Not sure what I want to do but it is time for a change.
Today
After successfully finishing tagging/coding/condensing all the garment fabrics, we did some clean up around the store. Today, I start counting the notion's overstock. We are doing well at being ready for inventory day.
Until the next time...........................
The reversible bucket bag is done and I do like it. I still am upset with the pattern.
The bag is made out of quilting cotton that is a family grouping. The outer bag fabric has a woven fusible medium weight interfacing (Pellon SF 101) fused to it. The inner cotton has a black fusible fleece (Pellon) fused to it. Counting the interfacing and fleece, there is 2.5 meters of fabric in this bag.
The bag comes from the book "The Bag Making Bible" by Lisa Liam. The full size pattern in the back of the book is an asset and it was marked as Chapter 2 which gave the tutorial on the bag.
The bag was probably meant as an easy sew and the instructions seem to assume a person knew what they were doing. If not, they were poorly written. Though the pictures were well taken, they didn't add to the instructions. When making the bias binding, you had to go to the back of the book for instructions. Cutting a 4" wide piece of fabric to put through a bias tape maker of the largest size to make a 1" binding was impossible. I made the binding using the method of folding it in half, pressing, unfolding and bringing the raw edges to the middle and pressing.
When I sewed the bag, my biggest mistake (my problem not the books) was to sew the base in incorrectly. I did it to both the outer and lining bag bodies. I took them out and got them back in neatly again. I did not like how she stated to make pleats if the base didn't fit. My thought - make the base to fit the bag when you drafted it.
I put the strip of bias on the seam allowance when I put the base in wrong. When I fixed the base, I left the trim on and really like it.
The button loop wasn't life threatening; probably because the instructions made sense. I got the bias trim on the back and front doing it my way. Sew, turn, pin, hand stitch down and then top stitch. The handles were another story. I could not find the instructions for them. As there were two pieces, I put them on separately and it was wrong. I looked and thought and said a few unkind words before I sewed those two pieces together with a 3/8" seam. Those seam allowances matched up at the side seams. I sewed the binding to the top of the purse, turned them, hand sewed them down and then top stitched all the way around. Once at the bottom of the binding and once at the top.
The bag is roomy and holds everything with space left over. It is fun and practical at the same time.
If I decide to make this bag again, I will have to remember all the pitfalls of this pattern. I would not recommend it to a beginner unless it was done in a class setting one step at a time.
On a more positive note, I cut out and made three 40" square scarves (called Cowboy Rags) for Daughter. The cutting out was the hardest part. Once I got the serger set up and sewing a nice rolled hem, I zinged through those scarves.
The top two fabrics are a satiny polyester and weren't too hard to cut out. The flower fabric was a lighter weight, more slippery and harder to cut out in a square. I did succeed. They are ready to put into the Christmas gift box. That was a total of 3 meters used up in the course of 2 hours. I have enough of the flower fabric left to make an infinity scarf. I will need a piece of black crepe and some lace to make it for me.
Today was sweet success.
We had a cloudy and very warm day yesterday. Even with the cloud coverage, it got to 36C or 97F. The a/c was running at 4 a.m. this morning as it is still warm outside. The a/c is off but will be on again soon.
Lifestyle
We got the boards up for the door track and it is held up with 6 screws. It got too hot to do any more than that. Today is a no go as it is too warm to be out there even if it is cloudy.
It will be another inside day and maybe tomorrow, the Spousal Unit can finish up the door track and I can help him Wednesday morning I can help with the metal track prior to going to work.
Sewing
The reversible bucket bag that I am making from the Bag Making Bible got the handles put on and then ripped off and put on again my way. I read and reread the instructions and they are missing the handles (straps). I did a search and found that someone else made the same comment. And, I found the pattern free.
In the end, I sewed the two long strips together with a 3/8" seam, pressed it back into a 1" bias strip. The seams I pinned at the side seams and sewed them to the bag stopping where the bag ended. I have the edges turned to the wrong side ready to hand stitch, then top stitch so the handles are sewn closed. By the time I got ready to hand stitch I was upset and decided the book can go to the thrift shop.
I have calmed down some this morning but am not happy with the book. I moved on and will talk about the bag after I finish it. I decided that I needed to find a bag pattern big enough for me to carry when we head to Nova Scotia in the fall. My journey began with a Google search on the book I am using. I looked at about 30 patterns and then I somehow scored on this bag in Pintrest.
I found the free pattern advertising here and then the full tutorial here. I had to read all the comments and that lead me to a person who customized the bag. I was on a roll. And really excited when I read her blog post.
Part One
Part Two
The fabric is on the table and ready to go. Then, I read this wonderful blogger did a bag organizer. You can pick up the pdf on Craftsy. I can see this carrying both our iPads and other items from my purse.
I would love to start this towards the end of July and migrate it to August. I will add it to the bottom of my project sheet. I do have to get some black piping, a black zipper, some grommets or ?, and a bag latch.
Bullet Journal
I have to work on July 1/2 and the following week. I am struggling with July 1/2 as it is only two days and I work both of them. Maybe I need to find some stickers and fill up the page with that.
Today
I am off work and need to shop, do a load of laundry, wash some floors and finish the bag.
Until the next time................................
We had it warm yesterday ~ 33.3C or 92F. It is suppose to be warmer today. The humidity dropped to 14% which is nice. Today is suppose to be warmer with a high of 36C or 97F. Not as hot as some areas but warm for us.
Lifestyle
We have almost finished coding all the fabrics. I am hoping I can do the last check on Tuesday and then add density numbers on signs and pink slips to some areas and drop fabrics flat on the tables. We have condensed as much as we can and are busy trying to keep the fabrics in their correct spots. At times we look like we are lost trying to locate where a bolt of fabric goes. We laugh a lot about it.
The Spousal Unit is trying to get the doors replaced on the large shed and today I have to help him with two boards. That has to be done soon due to the heat.
Sewing
My goal is to finish the bag I have been sewing on. To keep life exciting, I did the same mistake to the lining as I did to the outer bag. Both are fixed and the first two pieces of bias trim are on the top. Top stitching and onto the handles.
Once done, I will be sewing up the fabric pile on the cutting table. I am looking forward to doing simple items for a couple of months. Most will be gifts to family. There is a couple of doll's dress planned also.
Bullet Journal
I need to do July 1 and 2 in the bullet journal and then plan out the next week. I have ideas in my head and need to choose one. Once I get started, I will do them up quickly.
Today
I am off work for 2 days and have to do some house work and sewing. Looking forward to having the time off before we head into the final stages of inventory.
Until the next time.............................
Once I watched a couple more videos, I was able to finish most of my monthly log.
I finished the second page of the spread by adding a To Do list and below it, I divided the Sewing into two parts so I can include blogging.
On the calendar of the previous page, I added in some dates and put a strip of Washi tape down the edge so I can find it easily. I also added a tab with July on it.
The next two pages (called a spread) have pages taped on them. I got them from the blog called The Fold Line.
The above page allows you to cover several months of planning but I am going to use it for one month only and maybe add a few ideas for the following month. I don't think I'll plan that far ahead. My goal is to use up my stash and this will allow me to see my progress on my projects. I may even add the total yardage used.
This page allows me to plan my blogging. I can start a blog and put it into a draft or schedule it to show up on my blog down at a later date. Again, it is only for one month with and idea or two added for the next month.
I also added a little graph for weight loss. If I want to add a graph for eating properly at breakfast, lunch and dinner, I can or I do what ever I want, such as sewing ideas for the future (Christmas gifts pop into mind). If nothing happens, I will add stickers to fill the space.
Next is our weekly planner and I have done some research on Dutch doors. I need to think about what I have seen and design what I want. Soon, I will be starting to fill in those pages as July is coming faster than I thought.
With July rapidly approaching, I decided to set up the monthly log. I watched a lot of videos, looked at pintrest. All I can say is wow! what a lot of creativity and ideas. I decided that I would be doing one layout and if it doesn't work, then I can change it for August.
This month's log is fairly simple. The first page is done and I have at least one to two more pages to go before I start the weekly log.
I made July's calendar at the top of the page. I did it in pencil first and have since erased the pencil marks away. This allows me to track my days off, when family visits, birthdays, and anything else I want to see at a glance. I will put both Dave's and my appointments on it.
Below the calendar, I added a strip of Washi tape. It is just to divide the page into two parts and it looks nice. I may do a strip of Washi tape down the side as it is an important page to flip to. I will also add a tab to this page.
Next I added Thankful Thoughts. This allows me to record things we did, projects completed, and anything else I am thankful for.
On the next page I will be having two columns; a To Do List for the month and Sewing Projects/blogging. I am thinking about how they will look -- vertical or horizontal. Then I have to pen out the goals in each area. It has to be realistic and attainable.
On the next two pages, I will have be using two sewing planners (sewing projects and blogging) and a small weight loss chart. That will be the extent of my monthly planner.
I will do these pages on Sunday as I have to write out my to do list, projects and design the next spread. After that I will do the weekly log and I have a design feature I want to try; Dutch doors.
