Toss Challenge

Stuff, Stuff and more stuff! It seems like my home is being over taken by stuff. Mostly stuff that is not useful, does not make someone happy or is something treasured. So, I am on this kick of tossing items that we don’t need to have in our house. I am challenging myself to toss at least 365 items away. That is one item a day.  I know there will be days that I toss a lot and then there will be days that I don’t toss a single thing because of our schedule and vacations, etc. By saying “toss” I can either throw it away, which is my easiest choice, give it away or sell it. That being said, I am not going to throw something away just to meet my goal. Then on the other end, I could go through a certain crazything’s room and be done in one day with tossing 365 items. She is one of the motivating factors in this challenge. She is a hoarder! She has a hard time throwing even broken items away. The other day, she broke a bucket that we stored toys in and threw a huge fit about throwing it away. She dug it out of the trash and colored a piece of paper green to match the bucket to cover the hole. I can’t take it anymore!

In an attempt to set a good example, I have been trying to clean up my sewing room. It could be in a hoarder fabric stash show. Yikes! I’ve bought several fabric boxes to put my scraps in. I came to the conclusion that I just don’t have time to make fabric scrap boxes. I want to, but I have so many other things I would like to finish first.  I’ve also started using those cheap fabric bags that everyone seems to give out these days for carrying groceries or such, as project holders. I put my WIPs in the bag and hang them up so I have everything together. Then when I want to work on something, usually at sewing club, I can just pick up the bag and go. Everything is in there, from fabric to instructions. I just have to make sure I have the right threads.

 

If anyone else takes up their own Toss Challenge, I’d love to be inspired by your story!

Hometown T-shirt Quilt

Thank you to everyone for all the helpful comments on what I should do with the "extra" t-shirts for this quilt. This quilt is a farewell present from our church's CCD classes for our current priest of 12 years. He will be missed by many. He married my husband and me as well as baptized both of the crazythings.

I'm sure some of you would like to see the finished product. Well, here it is! I'm happy with how the front and back turned out, the quilting not so much, but it will be greatly cherished and provide much warmth for countless napping sessions.

 All t-shirts having to do with our town

"Extra" shirts

We went with Golf balls on black for the backing since he likes to golf. This fabric almost didn't make it in time to be in the quilt because of some shipping issues. It was presented to him at last Sunday's farewell dinner at church. It was great to hear the ohhs and awws when he opened it and held it up. That just about brought tears to my eyes.

I hope that I can do this again in another 12 years for our new priest.

One Lovely Blog award

Hello to all my dear blogging friends! I’ve been sewing, working, spending time with the crazythings and not getting much sleep from the previous three things. SO that leaves even less time to sit down and write a blog post. Plus, with summer the crazythings think that 10 or 10:30 is the new bedtime. Seriously. Today, I had to go into work for a couple of hours. I got up at 5:45am because I missed my fist alarm at 5:15am, seriously I don’t even remember turning it off and had to be out the door by 6:45am. My oldest, who went to bed, not sleeping mind you at 10pm, got up at 6:15am. The youngest wasn’t up yet, but I’m sure she was up by 7:30, at the latest. Did I forget to mention that my husband and I stayed up and watched a movie, American Sniper, not a child friendly movie, after the crazythingss went to bed. So 1am, we go to bed. This is my life. Late to bed, early to rise, makes for one tired Mama. So this is why blogging has slipped to the wayside.

 

Now on to more happy sewing news….

 

One of the first bloggers I followed and have gotten to know and able to call a friend is Nancy over at PugMomQuilts. Her blog is filled with Humor, Sewing adventures and of her adorable Pug pack! I had a Pug for several years, so this is what drew me to her blog in the first place. She nominated me for the One Lovely Blog award, back in May. I feel so Honored, even if I blog like once every month or so….Life happens.

 

I am suppose to tell you seven things you probably don’t know about me. This is the hardest part of this award. So here it goes, cross your fingers I can think in 7 things, in the time I have to write this post. Which, shhh don’t tell, is being drafted while babysitting the phones at work.

 

1      I have basically taught myself to sew. I have taken a few classes here and there with the best one being when I bought my Bernina sewing machine. I refer back to my sewing book frequently to remind myself how to do something and look at the sample we did in class.

 

2     Farming/agriculture is quickly taking over my life! I now work at a Feed mill were we feed hundreds of turkeys, pigs and chicken, Oh my! I love my new job, since January of this year. Plus we have a small grain farm we live on. So its farm talk about 24/7.

 

3      That being said, I am not an outdoorsy type at ALL. I tend to burn easily, get more bug bites than anyone else, pick up the strangest rashes from just walking on the local canal path. Maybe that’s why I like sewing. I gives me a reason to stay indoors. ;)

 

4      I really want to visit all 50 states. I have already visited a big one, Alaska. I would go again in a heartbeat!! I try to find a magnet in the shape of the state when I visit. I write the year and the city we visited.

 

5      I dislike watching most beloved sports. I am willing to go to a baseball game. I would like to go to a pro football game, but if it’s on tv, I really could care less. My husband is the same way. Something I love him dearly for!

 

6      I take my crazythings to children museums all over the place. This is something my parents never did. We went to the Zoo or amusement park, which is fun, but let’s face it, not that much fun after the tenth time or so. And I am not a roller coaster person.

 

7      I have a big fear of heights. Or falling as my husband put its. I have been up on top of the feed mill, which is five stories high, the view was great, the wind not so much. Plus I think it has to do with thinking about the engineering of things, my husband is an engineer and so are half of our friends, and how one small oversite can cause the whole structure to fail.

 

Whoo, I made it. I also just wanted to Thank everyone who stops by and reads my sewing adventures. I really like talking with each and everyone of you! So no promises in the immediate future, but I do hope to post more often.

 

I think everyone I follow has been nominated, so here are the blogs I follow that I think as just wonderful! So in no particular order....

 

Melissa over at Happy Quilting with Melissa

Amy over at 13spools

Kelly over at My Quilt Infatuation

Mari over at Academic Quilter

P.S. these ladies post WAAAAY more then I do! ;)

 

Thanks for reading!

Just a Mom who sews