January Goals

As mentioned in my previous post, I have a few items I am planning (hoping) to work on in January. 

First, there's the "Arnie" quilt. I started this quilt in 2009. I checked with my parents, and that was when my StepDad had his shoulder surgery. I would work on appliqueing the Cats when I took him to his physical therapy. So it's been sitting patiently in it's box, waiting for me to get back around to it. Speaking of boxes, I am a nut for boxes and bags. It comes from being a pack rat, born of a line of pack rats. Not to worry, we don't reach the hoarding stage, but we can cram a lot of stuff in what space we have.

 Anyway, I was saying how much I love boxes. I really like these super satchel cases, for organizing and storing some of my sewing projects. They stack nicely and come in pretty colors and you can see through them to see what's in there. I also started labeling mine, just to make it easier.

 

I have a very small space for sewing, so stacking these up is a great way for me to keep some of my WIPs a little more oorganized. 

#1 Back to the Arnie Quilt. It is a Bunny Hill Designs pattern. When it's finished, it should look something like this.

 I have all of the cats appliqued

 

 And the mice appliqued on all the sashing pieces.

Thankfully, I left everything pretty well labeled, so I would know what is what. 

What's left:

          Applique -  cat feet, flower centers 

          Finish embroidery - mouse eyes & tails, cat nails

          Assemble top

          Buy backing and batting

          Sandwich

          Quilt

          Add eyes and embellishments to cats 

 #2 Mom's Pot Cover - this should be fairly simple. It's just a padded bag with a drawstring closure. I already have the material picked out of my stash, just have to sit myself down, plan it out and sew it!

#3 Dog Vests

These are for Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay. I've been a volunteer for 10 years. Sometimes I make things and donate them for the rescue to auction off. I also make vests for the adoptable dogs to wear at events. Here's one I made in the past. 

 

 I have 3 purple ones in various stages of progress. I need to get them finished for upcoming events. 

          Finish Painting letters

          Sew on Pockets

          Sew on binding

          Sew on Velcro

#4 Hello Moon 

I have the last four blocks to make for this free BOM. I'm not sure for how long she will keep them up for free, but here's the link to the site. Hello Moon

          Print out patterns

          Pick fabrics

          Fuse pieces

          Stitch edges of applique

This isn't an unreasonable amount of stuff.Of course, a lot depends on work and the kitchen renovations we started in the beginning of December. Guess I should add that to the list. Originally, we were just going to replace our 1970's linoleum with updated, vinyl, adhesive tiles. After removing the molding, Bruce decided we should take down the old paneling too. There was some question as to whether there was drywall behind the paneling or not. Turns out there was, and it was painted, which would have saved us a lot of work, had the installers not glued it as well as nailed it. I'm not complaining, I hated the paneling, which is why I painted over it's ugliness, when I bought the house, but I'm still not sure how we got from "lets recover the floor, it'll be easy, we can do it a day." to "let's rip down the paneling".  We also bought a new, much needed door. The house was built in 1972 and was geared towards snowbirds as seasonal housing, which accounts for the small closets. Also, the building code back then apparently wasn't the greatest. I'll post pictures in a separate post.

#5 Kitchen Renovations

          Install new door

          Repair walls

          Paint walls

          Prepare floor

          Install new floor tiles

So those are my goals for January, not in any specific order.  Hopefully, with my posting this, it will compel me to get them completed. At least that's what they said on the Today show for helping people keep their New Year's resolutions.

Thanks for stopping in! ~Amy