Fabric Basket

I decided to go ahead and make a small project - in between putting the quilt top together. I made the fabric basket. The directions are in Pink Penguin's post. It was really fun and easy to make, and it helped keep making progress on my SITP. I added a yellow fabric for the liner to keep it from looking like a SITP leftover. I pieced the lining, because the yellow fabric is a fourth-yard cut, and I needed 9 and 1/4 inch fabric. I figured I should add a bigger piece of fabric on each side, so looks like I did it on purpose. I think it adds a nice touch.


Kristin has made a nice pattern for a drawstring bag. It just might be next on my list of projects.

This is just to show what I was trying to explain yesterday - the rows have to be added before the corner can be added, because the nonpieced triangle is already sewed on. I only have two rows left! Of course they are the longest rows, but still.

New Projects

I am still putting together my SITP. What, you thought that using words like quiltathon and sweatshop would have motivated me to finish in one weekend. LOL Quilt Pixie knew better. I have proper excuses for its slow progress. Because of the way I premade the setting triangles, I have to put together two rows, press, then add the setting triangle, add another row, press again, add setting triangle. Having to press between each step is taking a lot of time, especially since it provides a good stopping point to check out blogs.

And as I have been checking other blogs, I have come across several projects I want to make. Not my usual, add this to a project I want to make someday, but how about I drop everything and make it NOW. The projects are wonderful, to be sure, but they are ones I have seen before, and didn't feel that kind of time pressure. I think it's wanting to procrastinate making this quilt. I am still enjoying making it, but I've worked on it all year, and am ready for something else.

I am not going to quilt it this year. I figure if I work on finishing something else, anything else, or work on some other small project, that might give me the break I need to get excited about finishing this one again.

Quiltathon Update

I sewed all the blocks together in rows, and some of the rows have been sewn to each other. I hit a minor snag when I realized that I had the wrong colors for some of my corner stars. The pattern calls for two dark corners and two light corners. I remember being disappointed that they weren't the same, but went with it. It must have been my subconscious which remembered seeing all four corners being similar in the pictures I saw of other quilts made with this pattern. When converting this quilt from twin size to queen size, the extra row does indeed cause the corners to change to the same color.

It is a minor issue - I just have to change two dark blocks into corners, and two light corners into setting triangles. Then progress can resume as normal.



Kate is having a giveaway of blocks on her blog. You just have to pay the postage.

Quiltathon

Here in the SWEATSHOP, a QUILTATHON weekend has been going on. Quilters from around the world are quilting this weekend. You can click on the link to see what everybody else is up to. Do you think if I keep using words like Sweatshop and Quiltathon, I will get more accomplished?



Yesterday, the snow was blanketing the city outside the SWEATSHOP. The photo shows the beginning. There is more out there now, as it pretty much snowed all day. Inside the SWEATSHOP, the blanket was a fabric kind. The blocks have been laid out - sort of, the living room isn't big enough, and I didn't want to put any under the couch, but I've got the general idea.

I had to keep taking breaks to eat - the turkey smell was making me hungry. I ate lots of fruit. Then I had to package most of it for the freezer - some of it did wind up in the refrigerator, and some of it was dinner. It is delicious. I highly recommend the maple syrup / orange juice recipe. Okay, I combined a couple of recipes. I didn't a lot of water - only enough to rinse out the bowls, and used maple syrup instead of sugar. When I made this a couple of years ago, I enjoyed it so much that I kept defrosting the turkey from the freezer and ate it over and over again until it was gone, instead of getting tired of it and eating other things for variety.

Today, a little bit less than half the rows are put together. They are the ones farthest away from the camera and one row is in the sewing machine, so I can understand if you don't see the difference between the two photos. I am hoping to have the whole top done by the end of the day.

Grocery $$

How much money to you spend on food?

It all started when Judy asked how much money we spent on food. I was feeling pretty smug, as I generally shop for sales, and figure out what to eat from what I have bought on sale. That, plus I have fewer people to feed.

Then last month, I discovered an experiment made by people in a particular state, Illinois, I think. Apparently people there get $25 dollars a week in food stamps. So other people were trying to see if they could limit themselves to that dollar amount. I think I can do that - it is hard because I generally buy other things besides food when I go to the grocery store. And generally my savings on these other things help me be able to afford the food (if I get the toilet paper for free, the price of the toilet paper should be allowed to go to food), so I can't just take them out.

So when turkey was on sale (38 or 48 cents a pound), I decided I would buy one. I have done this the last two years as well. I make the turkey, and freeze it in 1-3 serving size containers. This gives me a convenient, customized-to-my-tastes tv-dinner that is also less expensive.

It's cooking now, and it smells great. The problem with crock pot and long-time meals is that you have to smell the food all day and it tends to make me feel hungry all day.

Then as I was going through my blog list, I discovered the One Dollar Diet Project. This is another experiment where this couple ate for a whole month, spending only $1 a day. Yes per day, not per meal. They talked about being hungry a lot, so I'm definitely not going to try that!

Yesterday, my sister invited me to go to Trader Joe's with her. I bought the kind of stuff I can't get at my local grocery store, cashew nuts covered with sesame seeds, chocolate covered ginger, and all sorts of other junk food like that. I've already passed my $30 allotment in one day!

But I do wonder - is it possible for me to spend $30 this month and groceries? I would have much more food than the experiment couple, because I would allow myself to use all the food that is already available in the house. It's not a good time for me to try this, because I like to stock up in winter for that eventual snow storm, and if we get a storm right at the end of the month, then I won't be prepared anymore. Plus I like to buy things when they are on sale, and at the beginning of next month, I'll have to start stocking up again, and may run out of stuff before it goes on sale.

But knowing that it is possible to eat on $1 a day, I may be able to tweak my grocery budget a bit more than I originally thought.

Sweatshop

I've been thinking about how certain quilters make so much more progress than I do. I decided to be inspired by them, and rename my sewing room to Sweatshop, copying from Kim. I think that with sweatshop rules, shorter meal breaks, fewer breaks in general, that maybe more progress will be made.

Unfortunately the boss was away, so I was able to take a long leisurely meal break, and sneak off to do some housecleaning, but I did manage to finish all of the setting triangles for the SITP. The SITP blocks have enjoyed their position as the only project in the sewing room, and have been slowly taking over the room to mark their territory.

Today, they will take up even more space as I try to lay out the blocks on my tiny floor and to sew them together. Of course once the top is pieced, I will be able to fold it and it will take much less room.

Quilting News

The sewing room having been put away for the Thanksgiving / birthday celebrations, it is now time to resurrect it. I am trying to think of which quilt will have the honor of coming downstairs first - I do try to limit what I work on and the amount of mess it creates. It doesn't last long, but my intentions are good. I decided this morning that the SITP is first priority - I am afraid that all those little blocks could get lost if I don't put them together into a top. And I promised Dot I would finish it by the end of this year.

Even though my plan has been to finish WIPs, I have joined the Four Season Quilt swap - link is also on my sidebar. It is such a fun thing to do - although this year, I will try to make two of whatever I make, so that I get to keep one too. This year will be a monochromatic theme. I have still been thinking of that orange crazy quilt - I hope my partner likes orange!

Judy Martin is selling her books for $6 apiece, although it is a surprise which one of her books you will receive when you order it. I haven't ever ordered from her, but I am making one of her quilts. I don't think her directions are for beginning quilters, but she has fabulous designs.

And a whole bunch of bloggers are having giveaways today. The giveaway is hosted by Sew Mama Sew. I don't have anything to give away right now, but you never know, I may in the future.