You'll Never Guess....

You'll never guess what I did today? I read! I read for enjoyment! I read without interuption! To some of you this may seem like no big deal but to this homeschooling mom of 6, this is huge!! I'm hardly ever alone and I am the kind of reader who needs complete quiet or I cannot concentrate. Well, when the kids are home, there is no guiet, so I don't read. I think that's why I like sewing and quilting, because I don't have to have complete silence for that. Not that I would mind...but you get the picture.

My four younger kids went to visit my exhusband/their father for the weekend. My oldest daugther stayed with me and we went to get our new library cards, since moving to our new town. I browsed the shelves, not planning on getting anything for myself. I did find and cross stitch pattern book, that I got for some ornament ideas. Then I walked past the Elm Creek Quilts novels and I grabbed the first in the series, The Quilter's Apprentice. I have checked this book out numerous times but never had time to start it. I began reading it last night and I am more than halfway done. I will probably go check out the second one tomorrow. My girls will probably come home early, so I am not sure what kind of progress I will make on #2, but we'll see. I really like this book and it makes me want to get my sewing studio set up so I can quilt. I hope to get it set up this weekend. I will let you know.

Happy Sewing!
Susan

Planning my Christmas Sewing

Hi Friends,
My new hubby, my girls and I are moved into our new home and new town. Are we unpacked yet? No way! Is my new studio set up? Not a chance. However, we are on our way to getting settled. Our original plan had been for me to put my sewing studio in the "glassed in" back porch. When we got moved in, I realized the porch windows were not glass but plastic. I just thought it would be too humid to keep my expensive machines and such out there. I was very panicky for a while, wondering where I would be able to sew or put my stuff. Almost half of the moving truck was sewing or craft related. (Instead of using newspaper to wrap breakables and fill in boxes, we used fabric. It worked great.) I think my husband could sense my concerns and he suggested I turn the formal living room into my studio. We have a family room and a living room, but we only have one set of living furniture, anyway. It took a little while to wrap my mind around the idea, but now agree it is a good idea. Basically, it would have been wasted space because new furiture is not in the budget and then, how often would we really use a formal living room anyway.

I have been working a little at a temporary job and have been really busy. Now, I need to start my Christmas sewing. I need to make pj bottoms for my girls, a few quilts and some purses for the girls also. I hope to have my studio set up and unpacked by the end of the weekend. I will let you know what I plan to sew first. I have missed my blogging friends so much and I am looking forward to getting back in the groove.
Blessings,
Susan

Packing and Purging

Well, moving day is less than two weeks away. We have found a house to rent in Orange Park, Florida. My husband has a job waiting and I have several opportunities to pursue. We just need to get there. The last couple of weeks we have been having yard sales and now we are packing and purging. I have accumulated so much stuff in the last 9 years of living in this house. A lot of this stuff is pretty easy to part with and I am constantly quoting my new mantra, "less is more". However, as a sewer....I have accumulated SEW much stuff and that is not as easy to let go of. I am sure many of you can relate. I look at patterns, notions and fabric and see future projects and works of art. Thankfully, there is a room in the new house that I can use as a studio. I have been very spoiled to have such a large studio in this house and I was just sick at the thought of losing it.

Today, I am going to begin to tackle my studio. I have plastic drawers labeled with notions and sewing tools. I have found boxes and boxes of loose sewing items to put in the drawers. I pray at the end of the day, I will see a lot of progress. The kids are at their dad's for a few days and I am trying to get as much done as I can before they come home.

Back to packing and purging.
Happy Sewing!!
Susan