Sewing Stuff September 29 & 30 (and beyond)

 I almost just lumped these two days onto the fourth week of September summary, but my literal mind just couldn't do it; they weren't part of that week, afterall.  A week is just seven days, not nine.  This is not a rule that was meant to be broken.

So, instead, I decided to do a separate post for those two days.  It just made more sense.  Plus, I could do a wrap-up for the entire month along with reporting on what I did in my sewing area the final two days of National Sewing Month.

September 29, I cut fabric for outer borders into strips.  Then I sewed the strips together to make them longer, and cut the correct length for each border.  After that, the instructions said to sew the cornerstones to the top and bottom outer border pieces.  So I did.  Once that was done, I sewed on two of the inner borders; the left and right sides.

September 30, I sewed on the top and bottom inner borders and one of the side outer borders.

October 1, I sewed on just the other side border. It was a rainy day, so I didn't feel too bad about my growing list of outdoor chores needing to be done.

October 3, I sewed on the top and bottom borders, making this a completed flimsy!

I really, really want to get this finished. But we had good weather, the rest of the days so far in October, and I've been slaving working away on my outdoor chore list instead of doing daily sewing .  I will, though.  One day soon, even if the sky is blue and sunny, I'll take another 15 minutes or so to get the binding strips cut and prepped.  After that, if I can get DH to help me keep all the layers lined up for sandwiching and pin-basting, I could probably get it quilted, bound, a hanging sleeve added to the back, and display it on my mudroom wall by the time firearm deer season arrives (November 15th).  

When I decided, in September, to dive into this quilt kit, that was kind of my goal: to see if I could get the top made in September, then take time in October to do the finishing.  Since I'm not planning on any fancy quilting design to finish it with, the sandwiching (without wrinkles) will probably take me almost as long to do as the actual quilting will.

Stay tuned. . . hopefully I'll be showing you pictures of a finished quilt on my wall in November!

All in all, I'm glad I joined in on National Sewing Month and didn't say "oh, I can't do that, I have no time".  Aiming for just 15 minutes a day was a reasonable goal, and it did add up to quite a bit of progress: 

•  I cleaned up a large portion of both my sewing table and my cutting table, getting fabrics from past projects finally put away in the correct bins as well as moving shit stuff out of the sewing area that had been wrongly dumped on the tables.
• I gave away two boxes of stuff that I had no use for (things 'passed on' to me from either my mom or my mother-in-law whether it was something I wanted or not).
• I discovered some real treasures (to me) in a box of DH's grandmother's quilting things that's been in my house for at least six years, unopened, in with other stuff my mother-in-law sent down to me.
• I got some mending done that had been sitting for at least a few weeks (or a few years) waiting for me to 'have time' to get to it.
• I finished a project that DD2 had started years ago, had problems with, and gave to me in frustration.  Not only did I get that project done and out of my sewing area, it went to DD2's house because when I sent her a picture of it finished she asked if I minded if she took it back.  
• I tackled a quilt kit I'd purchased more than a year before but hadn't gotten around to actually opening and making.  This was something I'd bought as a just for me, not to make for someone else, because I loved the way it looked and wanted to add it to my decor (my non-existent decor, LOL).  To work on it was a joy, and I'm really looking forward to finishing and using it yet this year, not some unknown future date that may or may not ever arrive.