Blank

My mind is totally blank; there’s nothing in there and I just want to sleep. I have been dragging my lazy body and soul to the gym the required 3 times this week though, the Monday Zumba class, a Basic Pilates class and a Makeover class. The Makeover class was one of the most exhausting, painful and fantastic hour I have spent sweating this year, and I’ll definitely be back in spite the fact that I’m sore pretty much everywhere today. If I’m not mistaken I’ll feel even worse tomorrow so I’m really looking forward to that.

I made it through three Make Do Months minus 3 days before I cracked. Why I couldn’t wait for 3 more days I do not know, but I believe it was a massive attack of post-holiday-restlessness or stress (whichever sounds like the best excuse). The first buy was fabric I need for some new class samples, but as soon as I broke that barrier I could not drive fast enough to my favorite thrift shop and get lost in the table cloth/fabric/ linen department. Oh well, almost 3 months of no shopping is worth celebrating with a little shopping, don’t you agree? I’m not done with the Make Do Months though; just taking a little break.

Hope to be back with some more brain/hand activity – soon…

Happy Day

One of the smaller (and so far quite pleasing) bumps this week is that there’s a major public service strike going on here, and thus grandson’s kindergarten is closed, and might stay closed for weeks. They are staying with us for a while, and all of you who have ever shared your life with a little one know that working with one of them around your feet is not always that easy, especially when you really have to focus or use a rotary cutter. It’s also a great excuse to put everything aside and enjoy the day, which I’m happy to do these days, so yesterday grandson and I went for a little surprise trip.

He loves playing fireman, reading books and watching Fireman Sam, so looking at the fire trucks would be fun. To my surprise we were invited into the fire station, and he got to sit in a fire truck,hold the hose and take pictures with a helmet on. The fire fighters were so incredible nice, that I don’t know which one of us enjoyed it the most. Grandson, who’s usually talking up a storm, was speechless, just nodding or shaking his head to their questions, totally overwhelmed. Happy, happy day; I’m still grinning like a crazy person.-)

I also had a wonderful time with my friendly little sewing group on Wednesday night, it cheered me up immensely. We were talking about going to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, UK next year; and I would really love that, it is such a fun group of amazing ladies. I managed to finish the two bags between all the talking and laughing, and both daughter and grandson are happy with the result.

My first Make Do Month ended on Wednesday and I have started on my second without putting much thought into the decision. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything, and it will take me a while (or a decade, whichever comes first) to make a dent in my stash, so it feels right. With a possible quilting festival in sight, the motivation is even higher to avoid shopping sprees.

Have a wonderful weekend!

I’ll be linking this up to Amylou’s Sew & Tell.

Make do update

More that 3 weeks into my first Make do month, I’m doing great. The only thing I had to buy was a piece of tulle for my City quilt, other that that I have been making do with the best of them. Honestly I haven’t even been that tempted, but I am getting my fabric fixes by sorting and playing with my stash – and some unexpected gifts from MIL. This was her dress when husband was little (about 45++ years ago) and later made into a pillow case. Now the seams are ripped and the pieces reside in my stash. I love the colours and pattern and am amazed how modern it looks.

Make Do Month; The pledge

(What was on top of my boxes yesterday)

Enough thinking already; it’s time, so as of today I’m starting my first Make Do Month. I am in dire need of stash control and the obvious solution is to not add more stuff to it (or, as in my case, them). A year of stashbusting won’t work for me, that’s way too long, but I can do a month. When the month is over, I’ll decide if and when I’ll commit to another month. Any number of months will help, and the idea is that this will lead me to the path of a little-less-crazy-hoarder-lady. I’ll let you know how that works out.
The only things that will not be included in this pledge are whatever I might (really, really, really) need to meet deadlines or items I (really, really, really) need for upcoming classes. I’ll be teaching a couple of new classes in the fall and might need stuff for kits and samples; I don’t think this will happen, but, you know, just in case. I usually work from my stash and rarely buy fabric for specific projects anyway, so this will be a piece of cake, right???

Maybe I should think of this as a challenge; I do love challenges you know. How about you; would your stash/sewing space/family/mental health benefit from a no-shopping month?

Wish me luck!