Getting started

I always enjoy the process of starting a new quilt. Even the housekeeping bits of removing the fluff from in the bobbin area of the machine, putting in a new needle, checking I've got enough thread and filling bobbins make me excited to get started. Choosing fabrics and cutting into them is fun but the process of cutting is also a little tiring on the back. A friend of mine told me she cuts sitting down but if I did that I think I'd lose a finger or at the best have a bad cut. The one bit of preparation I didn't need to do was change the blade in my rotary cutter as I'd done it recently and I've done very little cutting since then.  Trying to slot a sewing session in between finishing work and dinner can be a little bit of a problem as everything has to be cleared away before we can eat but yesterday John was cooking so I just powered on with all the prep needed for the project. I pulled a range of child friendly fabrics from my fat quarter stash, ironed them all and picked the ones I though would work. I needed to cut 38 charm squares. If there was any fabric left on the strip I'd sliced off the FQ, after I'd cut my squares I cut it into 2.5 in squares or strings and put them in the appropriate boxes for the next scrappy quilt I make. These are the charm squares I've cut. 

I may swap in some other fabric when I decide on the colour arrangement. The fabric between the pieced rows will be blue. I'll cut that once I've pieced the charm squares into rows. The rows are made with full and half charm squares so today I need to decide how to lay out the fabric and cut some of the squares in half. Then it will be quick to run them through the machine.

Yesterday evening I pulled out some projects bags I had totally forgotten about since they had got to the back of my sewing cupboard. One of the bags contained the fabric for a dress for Luna Lapin. The pieces are all cut out and ready to be stitched together. This is dressmaking in miniature. I hope to get this sewn together this evening.

I need to restart my project book to keep track of what I've started. I know from other blogs that folks use a range of ways of keeping track of what they're making from lists on a white board in the sewing room, spreadsheets on excel or just working on one project at a time. Working on one project is not an option for me. The excel spreadsheet would be the logical way but since I use the computer so much in my work I like to go a bit old style at home.  That's not entirely true anymore as I have a recipe book on my computer and I use Evernote for clipping recipes and ideas not to mention a wide range of apps to make life easier but sometimes I like to sit in a comfortable arm chair with no computer and make plans. I also have several really pretty notebooks I've been given and I want to use them. This evening I'm going to pick one of the pretty notebooks and restart my project book. I might be so horrified by the vast number of things I'm working on that I'll hide away but I'm feeling like clearing the longer term projects to make way for some new ones.

It's time I started work for the day as I have a meeting at 10 am that I need to prepare for.  Today is a day of meetings but the thought of getting my machine out and sewing this evening will keep me going even if the meetings are the most boring ones I've ever attended. I also have some photos to share with you of our trip to Norfolk that we made in June. I'll post them tomorrow.

Take care

Lyndsey