It's Back to School this week for my household. My son went back Monday and my daughter returns tomorrow. This is why, as you may have realized, that it's nearly Thursday... though technically still Wednesday here. Today kind of snuck up on me. I'm hoping that with the kids back in school I can get into a better routine where I can keep track of what day of the week it is, among other things. :-)
As I pulled together all of what I've been working on in the past week I realized that this Back to School week has been very kid-centric in my sewing as well!
Cloth Napkins for School
I send cloth napkins in my kids' lunches. We have a couple dozen 10" solid napkins that I use for that. This year in first grade my son is required to bring a 12" cloth napkin each day as well, to use as a placemat. I had him choose five fabrics from his fabric stash so I could make these placemat napkins and followed this tutorial for Mitered Corner Napkins by Erin at Sewbon. I cut mine 14 1/2" square to finish at 12". True to procrastinator form, I've been sewing one each evening since Sunday. I keep meaning to finish the others the next day, but well... I haven't even done today's yet and it's 10pm. Here's the first one I finished. I just love his tiger fabric and wonder what he'll use the rest of it for.
My Son's Twin Sized Quilt
My son is working on his fourth quilt, a twin sized bed quilt for his sister. He's two seams away from the quilt top being finished and I think we've decided that I will be quilting it for him. Here's a glimpse of his project. We had to scramble a bit to add an additional row and column, since it ended up smaller than twin. He pulled all his fabrics from my stash. I just had to order a bit more of the solid greens.
My Daughter's First Quilt
And while I'm on this subject of helping my kids with their projects, my daughter finished her first quilt this week. More on her big finish soon, but she's already sleeping under it.
To Do Cards
With two quilt finishes in a week (I count my daughter's since I'm a full time assistant), it's time to regroup and figure out what my sewing priorities are. Unless you're new here, you probably know that I'm a "lots of WIPs" kind of gal. I'm pretty organized, but I'm still overwhelmed sometimes. Right now I'm looking at a couple upcoming swap deadlines, plus some challenge quilts. I decided that I needed a system to be able to see what my priorities are. My planner is great, but it's just not in my face enough. So, I decided to use index cards for each project. I'll be adding the deadlines (self-imposed or non) for the ones that are time sensitive, and that will help me focus my time on the "right" project. The advantage of the cards is that I'll be able to pin them up on my design wall, so there's no forgetting what I should be working on. I'll let you know how it goes. So far I've listed out all the projects.
Secret Sewing
Back to the kid related sewing, I've got a secret project in the works, here's a peak at just one of my fabrics. Everything is cut out on this one as of this evening.
Race Car Quilt
I'm also getting to work on this race car quilt. I've had to rework my design a bit since my backing fabric is a bit smaller than I need it to be. I added the yellow fabric tonight and my cutting list is all ready to go so I hope to get this one cut out tomorrow.
Upcoming Blog Hop
The last thing on my mind at the moment is the upcoming New Block Blog Hop. I'm not sure yet if I'll use one of the designs in my sketchbook or if I'll come up with something new... but it's getting close to crunch time. I love the colors and can't wait to see what people come up with.
Thanks for visiting!
I'm linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday.
Peri
You and your kids are amazing quilters! I am so impressed!
sarah
Post authorThank you, Peri. I'll pass along your message.
Roberta Pabst
Oh, she goes to bed with a doll, a stuffed animal and a quilt! That is beyond adorable!! And speaking of adorable, she really was adorable at the Monday night meeting. Tell her we loved her and her quilt!
sarah
Post authorShe was very excited to share about her quilt, I think she's a little less outgoing in a big group than my son, but she ate up all the attention. I will pass on your message. Thanks for visiting, Roberta.
Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
How awesome that the kids had such a productive summer quilting with you! I agree that having a system to see my WIP list helps me a lot. I hope the index cards work well for you.
sarah
Post authorIt was great that they made such great progress during the summer. She's already talking about her next project, but with school and other interests and activities there is less time for sewing during the school year. I think she's planning a mini quilt for her next project. She'll probably stick with the rainbow theme. :-) Thanks for visiting!!
Karin
Fun list! I'm feeling a little overwhelmed myself by all the QALs I started, so I had to consciously decide to shelf some and just focus on what makes me happy instead. And right now, I just want finishes! So I'm just going to focus on stuff that is almost done (or has a deadline) for the next two weeks or so and then go from there. My kids don't go back to school until after Labor Day and I can't wait!
sarah
Post authorThanks for visiting, Karin. I'm only doing two QALs at the moment and had to resist more. I'm drooling over the Tula 100 blocks in 100 days QAL on IG. So many people I follow are participating in that one. And such fun blocks! Good job focusing on what makes you happy. It's important to me to keep sewing fun. Too much deadline sewing makes me stressed out and grumpy. I have a pretty healthy pile of quilt tops, so I really need to get some more finishes as well... but there are probably some more urgent projects to finish before some of these tops. I thought about sending some out to a long armer, but they either aren't special or big enough for me to justify that or I just want to quilt them myself! Too many projects, too little time!
Jess @ Quilty Habit
Aw! I can't wait to see your daughter's full quilt! The napkins are a great idea. I've been thinking about making those as gifts this year for Christmas for all the adults (good idea, bad idea? I don't know which ones will use them...). I'm feeling the same way about the new block - I need to work on that desperately.
sarah
Post authorI kind of feel like cloth napkins would be the best gifts for people that are already in the habit of using cloth. I'm not sure that a gift would convert anyone, unless they have expressed and interested in switching to cloth. I'm thinking I might make them for teacher gifts this year. The kids could help sew and I'm sure they'd get used. Good luck with your block design! :-)
Jen
I just love those colors in that racecar quilt. That is sure to turn out beautifully!
Those index cards are a great idea. I have an ongoing list in front of my table, but this would be a great way to make notes of progress, deadlines, and all that right with the project. I might just have to steal that idea from you. :)
sarah
Post authorThanks, Jen. I just cut all my fabric for the race car quilt. I'm so excited about it! I love bold color. Steal away on the index card idea. I'll try to post about it once I get it fully in place. Let me know how it works for you.
Bo
Love the tiger place mat. So cute that your daughter is all snuggled under her new quilt she made...Good luck on your new angle of organization. Do let us know if it works or is working. I would think it could only help. :-)
sarah
Post authorThanks, Bo. She basically doesn't think she needs a twin-sized quilt now because "she has a bed quilt." ;-) I had to explain that it fit her now, but that she would grow. :-) As with any organizational system. It'll only work if I use it. I still have some setup work before I can fully put it in place. All in good time.
Cathy
I love the race car fabric. I will need to go outside and check out the new place mats! Your daughter talked quite a bit about her quilt this morning as she was writing you a letter.
I consider forgetting which day of the week it is to be one of the joys of summer!
sarah
Post authorShark napkin today. ;-) And she is SO excited to bring the quilt tomorrow for sharing. You make a fine point about summer. I agree. :-)