September Goal Report and Setting October Monthly Goals

We are still 5 days out from the end of the month but things are going to get very hectic between now and then. We leave to go on a 5 week break on Thursday, Boyo (our youngest son) is home from a university in Brisbane for the week and we have a few things on so I thought I might grab a bit of time right now to finish September off and be ready for October.

I was late putting my September goals up  (they went up on the 6th) and I was pretty ambitious with what I planned to do but I am delighted to be able to say that I can count each one as successfully completed. Oops - no there is one that isn't fully completed Sigh -its half done which is pretty good though.

My goals are high lighted in red.

• Update stash spreadsheet with fabric purchased at Gold Coast (done) and put the fabric away (not done as I have been pulling fabric from it to cut projects for whilst we are away. Also I am slack)
• Keep Blog up to date - I have blogged a  Sunday Stash report each week and a Wip Wednesday too all month and have also had a few extras . I haven't done a Fitness Friday for a long time... mostly cause they would have to be un Fitness Friday. I have been trying to get my 10 000 steps each day now for a couple of weeks so perhaps I should start updating that. My weight has crept up again and I have been trying to hammer that down so maybe restarting Fitness Friday will help.
• Prep projects for travel. I have a pile of hanging towels prepped and packed. I have also cut out things for some zipper bags and pot holders but I want to do a pile more so better keep going with that. I have also started to cut the fabric for 25 zipper pouches that have been ordered for HWL 
• Finish Repeat Wall Hanging. This is done and hanging on the wall of our Patchwork room.
• Work on Birds of the Air Twilter quilt. This is completed.
• Jenni's baby quilt - Bessie's Stars - Done
• Catch up on club mystery quilt. All the blocks are made and I am currently working on my own design for putting the pieces together
• Make items for Handmade With Love* - I completed 2 zipper purses and all the projects that I have prepped to take with me are for HWL. I also helped one of our sewing ladies make a little round zipper pouch.
• Quilt Peyton's baby quilt - Done
• Quilt "My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes" Done.

So that is a pretty good go I reckon. I was thrilled to get 4 quilts, a wall hanging and 2 zipper bags completed this month. That is pretty good going!

Now to work out what I am going to do this next month. We will be travelling for the whole time - well at least away from home. We hope to do some free camping and that means no power for my sewing machine so I am going to need some hand projects. I am still working on that. Maybe an applique project and some crochet.

The other things I have bubbling away which I want to at least dabble in  

• Work on Doily quilt. I need to put the pieces I have cut up on the design wall and decide on the sashing and corner stones and get these cut.

• Work on String Quilt. I have the foundation fabric cut. I need to decide on the background fabric and also string pieces.
• Work out the design for club Mystery quilt and start to piece. Make extra blocks requred

• Decide on a design for Suzu's quilt.(She is the daughter of our 2004 host son from Japan. I get to claim her as a grandchild since he calls me Mum).I am tossing up between a pattern I have bought or an applique quilt with Australian animals. The applique one would give me a hand project whilst we travel..... 
• work on projects for HML. I have a neat pile of things cut and ready to take away with me. I might get to add to it before we go.
• work on hand projects. Crochet towels or perhaps applique
• Work on the 4 Christmas Stockings I have been commissioned to make for HWL (they are for my sister but the money is going to Handmade With Love)
• make 25 simple zipper pouches - a commission for HWL

That will well and truly keep me busy for October. Have you chosen some projects to work on for this coming month?

*Handmade With Love or HWL is a sewing group that I am part of. We sew things to sell to raise money for Our Rainbow House, (ORH) a school in Chainda, Zambia for the poorest children in a settlement. The charity was started by a local woman from my hometown and is run from here. My husband, Fixit Guy, helps with the financial side of things 

WIP Wednesday

Its been another busy week for me working on different projects. I finished off the two quilts that I had been working on last week - Twilter Birds in the Air quilt and my niece's baby's quilt, which I wrote about in this week's Stash Report . I also worked on my Repeat quilt and got it finished off as well. 

Speaking of birds... walking in the botanical gardens Monday I saw two kookaburras that allowed me to get quite close so I could get these photos on my phone.

I have been prepping projects to take away with us next month - well in 8 days time actually. I was given some heat and bond to use and have prepped a couple of zipper purses with it... not sure how it is going to go but I got the stuff ironed on without wrecking my iron, ironing board of the fabric so that is a plus. I have never worked with it before.

Yesterday I worked on a Christmas stocking for my great niece and then today I worked on a 2nd one. My sister asked me to make it for her new granddaughter.  She has stockings for all her immediate family at her place each year and she usually buys commercial ones but decided to ask me to make one for her newest grandchild, with the money to go to Handmade With Love. My biggest hassle is going to be the embroidered name. She wants it done in the same style as the other stockings and I am not sure I can manage that. I was going to get a friend to do it on her embroidery machine but both my friends who have such machines are now away and don't get back till after I go away... so maybe I will have to get it done commercially. I have the front of the two stockings completed now, apart from the name. The backs will be plain. I've made 2 so the baby can have one at home as well.

I saw a gorgeous string block quilt on a blog on my wanderings through blogland last week. It was made to one of Bonnie Hunter's patterns. I fell in love with it and have decided to make it. 

I have cut the 48 bases for the string piecing and will take it away with me to work on. I am not sure who or what it is going to be for but I love it. I have 2 containers with strips already cut that I can use.

There is another project that came up on my Pinterest feed that has also got me excited. It uses doilies hankies. There was no indication as to whose work it was and there was no pattern but it seems simple enough. 

I have a container of doilies and embroideries that I have inherited from a variety of sources including my mum, mother in law and aunty. It will be great to put them to use.  

Today at Patchwork I started to cut up the doilies. I went through the box and sorted out all the ones that were stained or torn or were mass produced ones. I feel easier about cutting up the damaged ones. Not real sure about cutting up the ones that are still "good" even though I have no use for them. (I already have a pile upstairs that are in use)  I trimmed them - to 6.5" square where possible but smaller if necessary. These ones I will mount on some backing fabric to make them big enough.

I like the scrappy sashings in the picture. Once I lay the cut pieces on the design board I will decide on what colours I will use for the sashing and the cornerstones. I do like the scrappy look but will want to keep them to a "family" of colours.

Neither of these projects were on my goals list for this month... but guess that is okay as I have basically accomplished all the goals already.

I am going to have to concentrate this coming week on prepping of projects to take away and tidying up my sewing room. We leave next Thursday for 4.5 weeks. Its going to be fabulous. I won't have electricity to the van the whole time (we plan on free camping a good bit) but when we do I shall be sewing up a storm I know. I had better make sure I have some hand projects to do as well. However my husband knows that I am going to have to have regular access to my sewing machine to keep me happy and sane.

What have you been sewing this week.