SWEEPING AWAY THE SEWING DUST BUNNIES

SWEEPING AWAY THE SEWING DUST BUNNIES

My children are entertaining themselves this week, so I’m having my own stitching retreat at home.

The first day, I finished putting the binding on a table runner that I began about three Halloweens ago. I did some hand embroidery on four quilt blocks that have been in my drawer for about four years now, and I took a field trip to the fabric store to buy interfacing for a T-shirt quilt I’ve had boxed up and tucked away in the basement for at least five years.

These projects were weighing on me, like dust bunnies in a corner that I refused to sweep up.

My closet is full of these unfinished projects, so on day two of my retreat, I got out a notebook and began taking inventory. Each project has its own page.

I’ve listed:

1. What needs to be done to complete the project.
2. What supplies need to be bought at the store.
3. Where to find the pattern.
4. Why I started the project in the first place
5. How long I think it will take to finish

Any endeavors that were beyond completion went into the trash.

The salvaged projects are neatly numbered in coordination with my notebook and put away in boxes with a list of contents taped on the outside of each container.

I plan to list new projects in my notebook, too.

My hope is that the next time I have to stop working on a project because I ran out of blue thread or the pattern requires six buttons or I don’t know how to do a certain technique, the obstacles won’t set me back for several years. I’ll be able to look at my notes and know exactly where I left off and why the sewing is stalled.

When the project is done, I can rip the page out of my notebook with satisfaction.

Today, which is day three of the retreat, I hope to organize my supplies.

That leaves me three full days of sewing before the retreat ends. Hopefully, I’ll be able to rip a few pages out of my new notebook by then.

 

QUESTION: WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM A YEAR OF CRAFTING WITH FAMILY?

LESSON ON WEEK 50: Planning goes a long way.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Which day of the week can be my planning day?

PROGRESS: End of the year inventory complete.

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