Hello and happy Saturday! I hope your weekend is off to a terrific beginning! Yesterday I made some great progress on my weekend goals, and I’m hoping to finish up some things and do a little reading and puttering around the house today. I hope you’ll enjoy this Saturday Seven Inspiration for Quilters 67 post with some fun things I’ve found from around the web this week.
First…I just had to share the photo above of my Moda Block Heads 2 quilt which is home now. I’m hoping to get the binding started this weekend. I’ll be binding it with a fabric from our upcoming Harper’s Garden collection that we’ll be sharing soon. That way this quilt will have at least one fabric from each of our eight fabric collections). I’m pretty excited about this quilt!
Saturday Seven Inspiration for Quilters 67
1. Fabric Yardage Tracking
Quilter and designer Jenni Baker has been tracking her fabric use over the past few years. I’ve never been brave enough to track mine, but I’ve really enjoyed following along and reading her tracking posts. This week she wrote a post sharing what she’s learned from this. It’s so, so interesting. And she also links to her “how-to” post if you’re interested in trying this yourself. Read her post here.
2. A Nifty Notion
Last weekend while sewing with friends I was introduced to a new sewing notion that I absolutely loved. In fact, I noticed such a difference that I ordered one the day after I arrived home. When you need to press seams open, you can’t beat a wool pressing bar. Simply use your iron to press the seam open on the bar, and you’ll be amazed at how flat the seam becomes. It’s almost as if the fabrics melt into each other. These bars are available in two different lengths here ( I used the 12″ bar at the retreat but ordered the larger one for home so I could press block seams open in larger blocks).
3. Good Eats
More rainy weather this week had me thinking about soup (and we have more rain on the way soon…yay!). This Broccoli Cheddar soup is on my menu for next week, and I’m also going to try these Mini Hasselback Potatoes with steaks one night. I also couldn’t resist adding this Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi to the menu for this week.
4. Time Management
Yesterday I wrote in my Sew Your Stash series about the “Just 3 Things” method. This article shares another way to make good use of our time. Read “Time Management, Habits, and Repeated Chunks of Time” here.
5. Decluttering
Time management and calendar expert Emily Ley is hosting a “Ruthless Declutter Challenge.” Download her free 15-page booklet with tips and ideas from this page (click on number 4, “Ruthless Declutter Challenge”). It’s really a terrific guide with ideas for keeping up with the challenge goals weekly or in a month’s time.
6. On My Bookshelf
I started reading this book last night, and as soon as I’m finished I’m going to read this new release. And I pre-ordered this one a few months ago…it will be arriving in just over a week!
7. Home Décor & Organization
My daughter just picked up this basket the other day, and now I need a couple for the sewing room (and maybe a couple of others for other rooms). It’s a terrific size to store favorite fabrics (or anything else). Find it here. Finally, in an effort to store more in the freezer to make meal prep easier, I’ve ordered these storage containers after a recommendation from a friend. See them here.
Thanks so much for stopping by to read the Saturday Seven Inspiration for Quilters 67 post…you can find all of my previous Saturday Seven Inspiration posts here. Happy quilting…
Ms Sam Nicholson says
Thank you so much for your “seven” articles. I have now cleaned every scrap bin, cut pieces to size, ironed and bagged everything. I cleaned out quilt books I really haven’t used, and organized my ufo’s!! This week I actually finished some too!! I feel so much better being organized!! Books were brought to fellow quilters along with fabric I would never use.
Mary B says
Sherry posted the “Just 3 things” method on a previous blog. I have to admit that I read it and rolled my eyes. I was already accomplishing a lot, so I didn’t think “Just 3 things” would apply to me. Then I stopped to think about what I was accomplishing. It wasn’t any of the things I actually needed to do. So, I decided to try it. Wow!!!! Did it ever work for me!! In my case, it makes me more organized. I get my 3 things accomplished and then go on to accomplish a whole lot more. The way I do it, is to list 3 things every evening before bedtime that I need to accomplish the next day. Then, I don’t waste time thinking about it in the morning. I get up, I know what’s on my list & I get started. When they’re done, my day is free for all the other things that take my time.
Thanks Sherry!!!!!!
sherri McConnell says
Thank you! I know it really works for me!
Dotti Lewis says
Is you sewing table a custom job or did you purchase it? If so, where?
Thank you,
Dotti Lewis
sherri McConnell says
The table my machine is on is from Janome. My cutting table information can be found on my About page (link at the top). Just look under the picture of the table in that post for the information.
Donna Strawn says
Hi Sherry, can you tell me the brand of sewing table (the one your sewing machine sits on) is? Thank you!
Donna
sherri McConnell says
It’s a Janome table…happy quilting!Sherri
Kerry H says
Sheri, I’ve been following you for several months now and love all of the great tips you share. Any chance March’s BOM will post soon? I am really enjoying following along! Thanks and Have a great weekend
sherri McConnell says
It will post Monday, March 11!
Pauline says
Last year I started using the #STASHSHRINKER spreadsheet from SewJourners https://sewjourners.net/2018/01/02/stash-shrinker/
It’s a little more detailed than Jenni Baker’s, but it’s colorful and cute, so it’s almost fun to use. I haven’t shrunk my stash, but after I choked on realizing how much I was buying, I’ve slowed down a lot. If there weren’t so many beautiful fabric collections coming out all the time (Sherri), it would be a lot easier! 😉
Dawn says
Hello Sherri, Thank you for forwarding this information, I have been finishing up my ufo’s. It sure feels good. In the evening I make a list of quilts , handbags, different items I want to make . Your sewing room looks great!
Thanks, it’s very inspiring ?
Hildy says
Thanks so much for this post and I love the name of your new collection! Little Miss Harper can be so proud to have a collection named fter her:-)
Rebecca says
I like the look of that wool pressing bar. I was wondering though that if you had a wool pressing mat, maybe you wouldn’t need the pressing bar. What do you think? Do you have a pressing mat too?