Tag: Quilting

2025 goal check-in

November 5, 2025

Back in January, I created the following list of sewing goals for 2025. It’s good practice to measure what matters, so let’s see where I am in the 4th quarter:

  • Continued detashing of fabric, supplies and books.
  • Rehome all kid craft materials leftover from teaching.
  • Finish assembling all partially done quilt tops.
  • Select 3 tops I want to submit for entry into an upcoming juried quilt show and get them completed, including the label, by year end. I will do the quilting myself.
  • Get current on BOM and QAL blocks.
  • Complete EQ online classes 2 & 3.

Successes (identified by strike-through text):
1. Rehomed ALL of the kid’s craft materials.
2. Sorted through every bin, drawer, closet, storage container and hidey-hole to assess things after two major purges and six months of dedicated sewing from the stash and intentional limited spending on new items.
3. Identified quilt tops to complete for show entry. Have secured backing and binding fabrics, plus batting for each one.

In-Progress (identified by yellow highlighted text):
1. Destashing is an ongoing process.
2. Some WIPs have been completed, but more were found.

Not happening this year:
1. Instead of EQ, I went down the Adobe Indesign and Illustrator rabbit hole learning how to convert my own patterns & tutorials into a more professional format.

My goal to divest my teaching & kid craft materials was the catalyst for major purging of our home office and my sewing space. Teacher friends and neighborhood kids were the beneficiaries of my no-longer-needed stuff. Bonus? I recovered things that had been randomly stuck places to accommodate interior painting and HVAC replacement.

Truth is, stash management is an ongoing process.

Step 1 – limit what comes in your sewing room. Evaluate any subscription box memberships. Use the Libby app to read magazines and borrow books from your library. Have a plan for how you’re going to use a piece of fabric – even if comes from the free table.

Step 2 – use what you already have. Make it a point to shop your stash first. Keep said stash organized so you can find things when you need them. I won’t need to purchase piecing thread, sewing machine needles or 60 mm rotary blades for at least five years.

Step 3 – be intentional with your purchases. You are no longer a card carrying member of the Stash Acquisition Team. By all means, allocate some fun money to spend during shop hops and at retreats! That said, everything else should be purchased for a specific reason or need (a class you’re taking, to finish a special project, to replace a consumable supply or something that broke & can’t be fixed). Your bank account will thank you!

Step 4 – use the item or let it go. As a scrappy quilter, it makes me happy to keep a well-curated collection of fabrics available to pull from as needed – usually FQ or 1/3 yard cuts. If a fabric has languished uncut for an extended period of time, it gets moved to the charity quilt or giveaway piles.

During this last round of decluttering, I also decided to offload the remaining extra sewing supplies I used when teaching kid’s classes. Nowadays, group class participants are generally expected to bring their own sewing machines and supplies to class. The SQTM provides machines and sewing supplies for any kid’s classes taught at the museum. i(Of course, I kept a couple sets of basics for my private students and CraftLAB participants.) The recipients were a group of inner-city teens who meet at the local public library with community volunteers.

Something’s going around on many fronts

October 31, 2025

An upper respiratory ick is currently making the rounds through our local school systems. I caught it. Not surprising, considering I’ve been in contact with many different kids between therapy dog visits and private sewing lessons over the past two weeks. I’ll hazard a guess that I’ve been suffering from a nasty cold virus (and I can trace it back to the source). I’ve been congested and tired, but have experienced none of the extreme exhaustion that typically accompanies the flu or COVID. Today was the first day I felt more like myself – I even put on makeup before leaving to early vote and grocery shop.

Being sick this week definitely wan’t in my plans. Finishing up 3 charity quilts to turn in at this week’s guild meeting were on my agenda, as this is the final opportunity to turn in charity projects for 2025. That didn’t happen. I’m just grateful that I had enough energy to reorganize parts of my sewing space that were really bothering me.

Next week, our bathroom construction project begins, so I’ll be spending 7-10 days at home while the contractor and his crew work their magic This will provide plenty of opportunity to quilt and cross-stitch!

Other sorts of things going around…is it just me, or does there seem to be a palpable sense of unease due to fallout from the federal government shut-down? Forget all the usual doomscrolling on social media. Local food pantries and charity groups have been posting all over the place about where to get food once EBT cards are deactivated. My local Publix and Aldi stores were packed for an early Thursday afternoon. Could part of this be explained by those wanting to use up any remaining EBT funds before the end of October? Or possibly by those doing their weekly grocery shopping a little early due to reports of potential mischief being planned for this weekend to protest the the loss of certain government benefits? Who knows?

Regardless of your political views, the first rule legislators should understand is you don’t mess with kids or paychecks. 1) Many recipients of SNAP benefits are kids and no child deserves to go hungry. Most of my 22 years as a school librarian were spent working spent in high poverty schools. I kept extra snacks and drinks in the library just for the kids who came in late to library class and missed breakfast. 2) People should not be expected to work and not get paid (military and essential employees). Perhaps our legislators should be required to forfeit their paychecks and benefits while the government is shut down?

How can you help? Donate to your local food pantry. Give grocery store gift cards anonymously to those who’ve been impacted by the loss of benefits or a paycheck. Reach out to elderly friends and relatives with modest SS benefits and no other sources of income. They may receive SNAP benefits and are usually too proud to ask for help.

Finally, contact your House and Senate representatives. Implore them to act like grown-ups and do the job they were sent to Washington to do.

An unexpected return to garment sewing

October 23, 2025

Although I’ve been quilting for several years, I learned to sew by making garments. A serger, French curve ruler and stash of specialty garment sewing notions are evidence of my past. My friend, Ruby, has inspired me to tiptoe back into garment making. We’ve chosen a simple top pattern and plan a shopping excursion to Gail K Fabrics soon.

Meanwhile, I’ve taught sewing lessons for ‘tweens and teens over many years. Our foray into garment sewing is usually limited to items such as pajama pants, elastic waist skirts and adding bling to RTW items. Back in 2017, I mentored a high school student through her senior project portfolio and later with designing/making her own prom dress. Almost a decade later, I’m mentoring another senior with the three sewn garments required as part of her portfolio application to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

With Joann now closed, sewists no longer have the ability to go flip through all the pattern books looking for inspiration. To select her portfolio projects, my mentee perused my limited selection of printed garment patterns and garment sewing books, print issues of Burda Style, websites of indie pattern designers and any newer garment sewing books we could find at the public libraries around us. She also spent time on social media gathering project ideas and portfolio prep advice.

Today, she took home her first completed garment for the portfolio – a ponte knit skirt. The skirt pattern – modified to add a front slit detail – came from the book Stretch by Tilly and the Buttons, which title is part of my personal sewing book collection. I have to say I’m impressed with the pattern, instructions and overall finished result. So much nicer than my experiences with the Big 4 pattern companies.

Our local library had a copy of Sustainable Style, sponsored by the Great British Sewing Bee. Published in 2020, the book is still available for sale in print and electronic formats, in case your library doesn’t offer it. In the book, my mentee found blouse and trouser patterns she wanted to make for her portfolio. The patterns that go along with the book can be found here. Technically, the patterns are free, but you have to print and tape the pages together or send the A0 pattern images out to a specialty printer who can print them at the correct size. My local printshop said it could print blueprint size pages; however, staff could not scale the image to print at the correct size, despite repeated attempts to do so.

Solution? I sent the master pattern image files to PDFPlotting in North Carolina. Keith returned the printed pattern sheets within two days. The patterns were printed correctly to scale, with crisp images and delivered wrinkle free. Two complete patterns for less than $25.00. Very reasonable in terms of cost and time saved not having to print and tape 60+ letter size sheets together!

Will I continue to quilt? Of course! Mentoring my student with her portfolio prep has merely whetted my appetite to try new things – a top and skirt, knit pjs, rope bowls, jelly roll rugs and sashiko stitching to name a few.

Here’s to learning new things and happy stitching!