Sunday, January 31, 2016

The Kick In the Butt I Need In Winter

Does winter make you lazy?  It's supposed to be the hot summer days that makes us laze around, but for me, when the cold weather comes, I sometimes find myself frozen in place.  I'll  be comfortable and warm and the thought of going somewhere and getting cold again just doesn't appeal to me.

Don't get me wrong,  I don't hang around inside all winter, but I want to lay on the couch and loll around much more than I do when it's warm.

When it's warm I like to loll in my hammock!

The other thing I don't have any motivation to do in the winter is go to my sewing room.  It's upstairs and we only heat upstairs enough to keep the pipes from freezing but because it's not well insulated, we don't spend time up there.

But then I want to sew and sometimes, I actually need to sew, so I have to bite the bullet and get on it.  If I wait until afternoon, the sun is in my sewing room and it's not usually as cold as I think it's going to be.  Plus, I can turn on the heat if I want, but I hesitate to throw money out the walls like that.  Usually, a pair of socks, slippers and a vest are all I need and I'm plenty warm.

Berry Barn Designs

Last year, I ran into the 4x7 Sewing Challenge from www.berrybarndesigns.  The plan is very simple:

1.  sew a little bit every day for the month of February.  (that's the 4x7.  She's a math girl.   It took me a while to figure out the significance of those numbers.  And since there are 29 days in February this year, it's actually 4x7+1.  I figured that out all on my own :)
2.  once a week, go to her linkup and show what you've been working on.
3.  possibly win a prize each week.

Something hanging over my head to make me do some of that sewing I always want to do but never get around to?  Possibly win a prize?  Yes please!!

I discovered that I really cannot possibly sew every single day, but I doubled up some days and had to skip others.  In the end, my biggest achievement was my Queen of Hearts quilt because I had always planned to make one but never got around to it.  You can see everything I posted here, here, here and here.

I actually won a prize one week which was really cool because I love to win but also  because it was the one prize I wanted to win the most:  a rainbow of fabric!

So, this year, as we headed toward February, I started thinking about the 4x7 Sewing Challenge and lo and behold, she's doing it again!  I'm excited because I have a LOT of plans.  I know the goal is to sew for yourself, but I don't really want to sew for myself as much as I want to get things in my brain out in material to see if they will work and how they will look.  And to get them out of my brain so I can think about other things!!

And really, that is sewing for myself so I can stop driving myself crazy with these ideas and actually see if they will work instead!

1.  A rainbow quilt.  Or two.   Like the Queen of Hearts quilt ,  I've always thought about making a rainbow quilt in strips, out of nothing but scraps, but I never get around to it.  I have finally have big plans for the rainbow I've put together here!

2.  Repairing barn tack and blankets.  I've fixed a few things here and there with my machine, but horses are filthy and I hesitate to use Lady Bernina to sew through dirty blankets.  She'll get all dirty and grungy herself.  I recent reacquired an old clunker of a machine that might be just the right thing.  If I can make it work, I can fix things for myself but possibly make a little extra fixing them for other people too!

3.  LEGGINGS.  I have a pattern ready to go, but I'm convinced I will just blow through the seams the first time I wear them, so I have to get on it and try my first pair.  I'm told that I will love them!

I also have some plans to rearrange my sewing room but I can't put the details into writing yet because it's unlikely that I will really do it this month and I hate to write out a plan that I probably won't even attempt.

What about you?  Do you have sewing projects floating around in your brain that you never get a chance to sit down and do?  Do you need motivation to get your butt in gear and make things?  Do you suffer from the winter doldrums that leave you surfing pinterest but never leaving the couch?

DO IT!  Join in the 4x7 Sewing Challenge and see what happens!

Linking here:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2016/01/clever-chicks-blog-hop-176-featuring.html 
http://www.julieslifestyle.blogspot.com/2016/02/cooking-and-crafting-with-j-j-36-and.html
http://www.sewcando.com/2016/01/februarys-first-craftastic-monday-link.html
http://www.skiptomylou.org/made-by-you-monday-274/
http://olives-n-okra.com/merry-monday-89/

6 comments:

  1. A rainbow quilt!!!! Yes! Love your goals - thanks for joining in again this year!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not sure I could fit in sewing every day but I love the idea. The rainbow quilt is just beautiful, enjoy your month of stitches!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My daughter and I just started making her a crazy scrap 9 patch quilt. I wondered what I was going to do with all the leftover colors. I think I rainbow baby quilt would be a great way to use these.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow your rainbow quilt will be gorgeous.
    Thanks for sharing this with us at Cooking and Crafting with J & J.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds like you'll be busy! :)

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The heart quilt is beautiful, and I can't wait to see the rainbow one! Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday. :)

    ReplyDelete

I love comments almost as much as I love summer. I reply to all comments except those ridiculous anonymous comments offering me dirty deeds and real estate. When you leave your comment, please make sure your own settings will allow me to reply to you. Nothing makes me sadder than replying to your comments and then realizing it’s going to the no-reply@blogger address!