mundane monday

i am honestly struggling to remember what i got done all last week, so you can look at this doofus cat instead.
i can say that last week was weird.  it rained a few days if i remember correctly.  which was weird, but nice.  by friday, the impending heatwave started to rear it's head.
we're looking at 108 on wednesday this week... ACK.
monday... what happened on monday...
oh!  i finished up the final mask for the first round of pajamarama for my aunt and loaded up my car to drop them off that evening.  after that, i went and got chando's tacos from the taco truck nearby, because i just couldn't bring myself to have another cheeseburger.  (i had like... 3 last week it seems, simply because it was the most convenient on the way to longarm.  oops!)
also, erika revealed the gender of her upcoming little one... and it is officially girls across the board!  well, with the exception of my cousin's wife due in july.
tuesday i battled the exhaustion that i felt the last two tuesdays and GOT STUFF DONE.
well, only one thing.  i phoned in an order for binding and picked it up.  on my way home, i got a call from the dentist asking if i wanted to take an appointment that opened up that evening.  so i did round one of attaching the binding to my village quilt, went to the dentist, and then finished it up in the evening. 
wednesday i went to my parents after work so that mom and i could do a masked joann's trip for some flannel and yarn.  found nothing that i "needed" but i did find some stupidly cute ballerina kitty flannel.  grabbed a few more battings, just to be on the safe side, and then made our way out.  photographed THREE quilts as well, so now they can be edited, delivered and eventually blogged.
thursday i worked a long day, and i can't really remember what i did after work.
i'm PRETTY sure i came home and watched the masked singer.  but i know i wasn't any more productive than that.
friday was a struggle.  spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to eat for lunch (landed on mr. pickles) before coming home to veg out.  i was easily ready to go to bed at 7pm... and yet, i decided to make chocolate chip muffins at 9:30pm.
saturday i attended a virtual tea party, played a round of "ice t or mr. t" and "spilled the tea" on some confessions.  granted, they were pretty low key like "who still has their beanie baby collection" and "who is the biggest disney fan" so its not like they were MAJOR gossip points.
mixed up some cookie dough, ate some nachos and then made a "normal" grocery store trip... meaning i went in and walked the aisles and didn't have someone do it for me.  i can tell that shelves are starting to restock, since i was actually able to see bags of flour on the shelf and buy one.
sunday i got a smidgen of things done.
cut out 3 pairs of pajama pants for my aunt's staff as well as the coordinating masks for the remaining pairs.  i would have cut out all the pants, but i'm current missing a few sets of measurements and that doesn't bode well when things aren't one size fits all.  luckily, they aren't needed until the later half of the year, so it isn't a true crunch time... yet.
and now, monday is today.
i'm off work and probably going to make a joann's attempt.  my aunt filled in the final fabric for this pajamarama fiasco, and since it is on sale, might as well make the attempt.
this week is supposed to be a hot one, and i am so not looking forward to it!

50 finishes in 2020 check in

i realized i mentioned at the start of the year (at least i think i did) that my goal was to complete 50 projects in 2020.
whether i mentioned it here or not, i realized that i never posted my list here in addition to the lettuce craft website.
so now that we're over halfway through may, here's the list as well as a few things to note in regards to items on the list.  this currently consists of quilts and cross stitched items:

planned or started
top finished
quilted
completed

wonky stars
juniper berry quilt 
disney i spy - 1 
disney i spy - 2
disney i spy - 3
london themed quilt
festive fir quilt 
music quilt 1
fast lane quilt
free wheeling single girl
herringbone craftster block
music quilt 2
good place cross stitch
red, white & blue katie's quilt 
village sew along
fussy cut sampler
brooklyn 99 cross stitch 
universal timeline cross stitch
jelly roll race (orange)
jelly roll race (purple, teal & gray)
baby boy quilt (pooh bear) 
baby girl quilt (teal cats)
baby girl quilt (muppets)
bff baby quilt
baby girl quilt
madeline mini quilt
mom's cat quilt (quilting and binding only)

total pairs pajamas sewn: 6
total masks sewn: i don't even care to count anymore

looking at it currently and the phases most things are in makes me feel good.
i might not get to 50 with the "big" projects, but that's where the pajama pants will come in as a buffer.
i'm sure i'm well over 50 with the masks alone, since i've made 12 just in this last week alone!

whelp. its still may.

hello!
we're here at another monday!
hm... that might be a bit too peppy.  i should probably tone it down a bit, just to be on the safe side.
how did last week go?
well, the weather was all over the place, so that should have been a sign.
actually, it wasn't too bad overall.
i'm still employed, so that's a plus.

i set up my week for another 2 long arm days.
monday was the first of those two after work, and i got 2 lap sized quilts done.
once i got home, they joined the "to be bound" stack, which seems to be ever growing.
tuesday... i can't remember much of what i did.
OH.  this was the day i started working on the pajama pants stack for my aunt's next round of staff gifts.  i got 4 of them to the point of having their waistband casings ready to be finished on wednesday.  which happened after i stood in line to get in to joann's for an HOUR only to walk straight to the flannel section and find the 10 yards they kept cancelling my 2 yard order from.  UGH. but i also impulse bought some stupidly cute kitty ice cream cone flannel... so at least my hour long stand was worth it... ish.
thursday i hit up walmart super quick, and then hunkered down to finish up the final things i would need for long arming on friday.
did i put any laundry away or bind any quilts?  no.  but all pj pants for may & the start of june are complete, and i had to cut out coordinating masks and another mask order as well... so those need to be finished this weekend and mailed out.  i also watched this interesting documentary about the only female autistic savant twins while doing so, and it was fascinating.
friday was long arm day!
i got 3 quilts of varying sizes quilted, varying from wall hanging to jelly roll race size.  i'm pretty stoked about how the jelly roll race one quilted up, so i cannot wait to show that off!  didn't get very productive the rest of friday night, though.
OH!
check out what came in the mail on friday.
i feel super fancy right about now.
i think i'll start wearing it every day.
though the fact it says "scram!" on it might not draw people closer.
saturday we had our monthly guild "meeting"
it is so weird we are on month three of having our meetings virtually.
after our meeting ended, i ran out to a quilt shop to pick up binding for one of my baby quilts, drove thru carls jr (which has been my weirdest quarantine craving... and ALWAYS followed by regret) and headed to my parent's.
trimmed up friday's 3 quilts, prewashed binding, and finished this pile of masks.
i was planning to bind my mom's quilt while there, but that didn't happen, so it came back with me.
as of saturday night, here's my stack of things to bind.  whaaaaat.
you're looking at 7 quilts, since i left the wall hanging at my parent's (had to order fabric for that one) and the patriotic picnic quilt was already done and bound.
my next problem is figuring out how much binding i can pull from my stash, and how much i'm going to end up buying.
sunday was spent asleep.
all. day. long.
ha. if only.  the very rainy morning made it hard to feel energized and ready for action.  not that i'm complaining.  i love rainy weather.  instead, it was spent ignoring laundry and getting ready for this week.  being cautious about cross contamination and having multiple clothing changes a day is really making my wardrobe get shuffled though more regularly.
the masks are packaged and ready to mail, while the pj pants are folded and ready to deliver along with the most recent installment of deconstructed photo albums (can't remember if i mentioned this, but it was something my aunt offered to hire me for when unemployment was on the horizon.  i'm currently reliving the 90s at the moment)
and now, today is monday.
let's see how this week is going to go, shall we??

a patriotic picnic quilt

things have happened!
back at the end of march, you saw that i finished four quilt tops.
after march... those four just sat.
and sat and sat and sat.
during the life and time of unemployment, i scheduled a time to long arm when california was supposed to potentially be "open" again.  even though that has since changed, it didn't affect my long arming days (as you've read in previous posts...) and it helped me get a whole heck of a lot done.  including this cute little patriotic quilt!
at some point last year, i decided to just chop up a few quilts from my stash when i wanted to sew but didn't feel like cutting anything.  and when you're in the mood to cut, you should really take advantage of it!
this pattern happened to catch my eye on the free table at one of our guild meetings, so i had to pick it up and add it to my collection to see what happened.  it called for charm packs, but instead i just went ahead and chopped up the equivalent from my stash of reds, blues and whites.  the sample on the cover was also shown in the same color way, and i just couldn't unsee it after looking at my stash.  it was a slow start to piecing it together.  i think i started it in the beginning of january, and then it sat for a long while before i picked it back up again in march.
everything pieced together so easily, and i'm just loving the scrappy vibe.  this pattern has multiple sizes for this quilt, and this one is the "picnic" size.  after everything was pieced, i used some of the same fabrics for the backing and then quilted it on the long arm using a meander type stitch.  i felt like this quilt had a more traditional vibe to it, so using a more simple stitch would allow the pattern to remain in the forefront without being overly quilted.
oh hey... you can actually watch me quilt it too!
what's funny is that filming this i was in a tank top and shorts because it hit 95 degrees that day... and then just a few days later it was a high of 60 something and raining.  california is acting super weird, guys!
after quilting it, i used more of the red scraps remaining and bound it quick and easy on my machine and it was good and ready to go!  after a quick photo shoot at my parent's house, it was left with them to be donated to their church's humanitarian efforts.
if i find myself needing to cut down some of my stash in to 5" squares, this would absolutely be a pattern to consider again.  the 16 patch was WAY easier to make than it looks, and so much less chaotic than using a jelly roll and sewing super long strips together.  i looked up the pattern online to link below, and seeing the bright and colorful scrappy version on the website makes me already start to have some ideas for how different the next one could be.  guess i better start setting aside some 5" square pieces to get prepared for it!
pattern: katie's quilt
quilt count: 132

monday fun-day?

so last week was a whirlwind.
went back to one job, another job put on pause, and a third job still MIA.
weird world we live in right now, that's for sure.
also involved in that roller coaster is my productivity levels.

last monday, i finished the 2nd quadrant of my wonky stars quilt
tuesday, i was dead to the world after work.
no seriously.  i came home, ate lunch, and actually laid down and rested my eyes for about an hour.  then i just sat and had a binge fest of my newest show "shitt's creek"

wednesday had me quilting 2 quilts, to follow in to thursday, where i trimmed them up at my parent's because there is no way that my apartment floor could handle them right now (if at all).  one was my village quilt, and the other was the jelly roll race you got a peek at last friday.
friday was also another long arm rental day, where i quilted 2 smaller size quilts bringing the total up to 4 needing binding and 4 tops remaining to be quilted.  the two christmas ones aren't high on my priority list right now, so they might wait until the summer.

saturday i was more productive than i anticipated being.  the double dose of caffeine may have helped that.
i managed to battle the heat to get 2 quilt backs done, 1 ispy top finished AND a quilt bound.  all before 11pm, which is quite a feat!
if all goes well, there will be a finished quilt post later this week!

sunday left me to piece some batting... oy.
i had to construct a 75" x 85" piece and a 55x60 piece.
but the more big scraps i can clear out, the better i feel about purchasing more batting in the future.
anybody else frankenstein their batting together for some projects?

today, i'll be working until noon and then heading out to long arm 2 more quilts.
one for my mom and then a second stashbust quilt that i anticipated being a mess when combining the fabrics, but actually turned out pretty cool.  the rest of the week i anticipate putting a few more quilt backs and battings together to get ready for long arming again on friday.  hopefully i'm not knocked out on tuesday like i was last week... because THAT was not any help.

in the meantime, and since i've posted this everywhere else because i love it SO MUCH...
here's a peek at my village quilt.
ok. so it is less a village quilt sneak peek and more of a silly spud cat...
but it is necessary!

stashbust jelly roll race - long arm quilting

so since we're all still dealing with this virus taking over our lives, i decided to continue to document the life and times of the 2020 jelly roll race.
last we saw, it was pieced and ready to go.
well, due to a series of events... i had the time to quilt on wednesday and after doing some intense piecing of batting, this quilt was ready to rock and roll!
i might have pushed my luck and apparently miscalculated batting width, but i BARELY made it.
well, you'll see...
the more i work on this quilt, the more i like it a whole lot more than just a random, semi coordinated jelly roll stashbust.  i know i said it in my video, but i honestly think this is a great quilt for a teen or young adult.  and the flowers turned out so cute, i'm going to quilt them again next week on something for my mom.  could have been today, but i forgot to piece the back in time.  whoops.
the next time you see this jelly roll quilt, it will be in the binding/final stages of life before i figure out where to sent it for it to have a new owner.
happy friday!

so about last week...

so here's my new pet ladybug.
it came in through my gaping window screen that can't be replaced until the covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
yeah, it's been real fun around here.

so i figure i should at least check in weekly during this weird time of life, just to show i am in fact, alive.  this last week was mostly just go to work, come home from work.
i did get a little crafty on the week days, prepping curved blocks to sew for one of about a half dozen baby quilts that will be sprinkled through the next few months.  after about a week, i think i'm finally adjusting to getting up on time.  now going to bed on time, is another story.  i haven't quite seen midnight much during the week, but i have absolutely seen 11:40pm on the regular.

my car crossed the 200k mile mark on it's odometer.
when lockdown began, i was certain that wasn't going to happen any time soon.
but with a 5 mile commute to work, it has absolutely made my gas tank last a whole lot longer.
it for SURE needs a carwash though.

my aide and i zoom bombed some of our our preschoolers on wednesday, and it was the cutest and most chaotic thing ever.  one of the mom's asked "is this what circle time is like?" as they ran to go get different toys to show off.  one. hundred. percent.
i was really struggling at times to feel the passion i had a few years ago quite a bit during this school year.  i think last year really wiped me out followed with so many littles this year.
i miss it so much.
i tried my hand at cooking something new on thursday, and finally made the meatball recipe erika shared with me forever ago when i was on the quest to cook my own food.
that's one thing that this quarantine has made me do... and i'm pretty sure it has helped save a fair amount of money as well.
oh, and here's that recipe, in case you were curious: baked italian meatballs
friday night i did a baby quilt start to finish.
boo yah!
okay, so my pieces were all cut out earlier in the week... but it's done and ready to quilt!
saturday was equally productive, but in spurts.
i sewed my house for our sacmqg shelter at home project that out guild president has come up with.
the basis was a house that represents that member during the current "shelter in place" period that we are all experiencing separately but together.
well... here's mine ;)
i'm quite pleased with it!
you will absolutely be able to tell where i live on the sacmqg street!

i didn't get any more quilt tops or parts thereof done today, but after a round of laundry, joann's rejection, in n out failure and a mask wielding trek through a walmart grocery store, i was back at it and made 2 quilt backs.  one for the aforementioned baby quilt, and one to go with the jelly roll race quilt top that i made a few weeks ago.
FINISHED PROJECT POSTS MIGHT HAPPEN SOON, GUYS!

after a celebratory pizookie and another load of laundry because the 4 legged roommate sneezed on my fabric, it became time to turn in after a productive saturday.
and for the crime report, here's a mugshot of the sneezer to add to the crime file.
sunday was a day of being a lazy bum.
mostly because i knew today was coming.
so i decided to attack this:
so this laundry basket basically became my catch all the last few weeks for fabric and scraps and other randomness, so it was time to deal with the situation at hand.
fabric was sorted, organized and put back in cabinets and drawers where it should be and the laundry basket was retired to the closet where it belongs.
the rest of the day was essentially spent eating or binging shows on netflix.

and now it is monday.
guess what... i'm back at work!
yes, quilt shop work, but also child care.
today was originally the last date given that we would return to the preschool classroom before the district decided to shut down for the remainder of the year.
i'll be working the essential worker child care that is being held on campus where my classroom was... and will actually be in my classroom.
am i fearful of returning back to work?  no.
i miss being in the teaching realm so much, and i'll be working with kinders with some pretty great coworkers.
i'm mostly curious about how the schedule will run, and getting the feel of the "new normal" that is approaching.
oh... and getting up at 5:30 again... yuck.
i'll be going straight from child care to fabric chopping, so it will be a week of full days in again for me.
i guess my chunk of unemployment was all worth it for this in the end?

fingers crossed for some sewing productivity in the mix after all this!