Monday, January 13, 2014

What I did in 2013

New year is usually the time for taking stock. What did we do last year, and what do we hope to do this year? Looking back through my IG feed (I'm still not quite back on track sorting photos on my computer) 2013 seems to have been the year of pouches and purses, and there were quite a few - 20 in fact! No wonder I didn't get around to finishing all those quilts... I did finish 8 UFOs, though, and I started 23 new projects. At the beginning of 2014 I have 7 quilts in the works. A couple of them are oldies that haven't been worked on for years, but some are definitely works in progress. The last quarter of 2013 was spent packing, moving and unpacking - I haven't sewn a single stitch since October in fact, and I have really no idea where my thread and needles are!

The good news is that I have finally finished unpacking the kitchen and living room so I'm ready to unpack the boxes in the sewing room, so I expect I'll locate the essentials and get reacquainted with my sewing machine later this week.
 
I don't really do new year resolutions, so I'll just make one: I promise to have fun sewing in 2014!

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Back on track

This, or variations of this, has been my view for quite some weeks now. I bought a new flat in the end of October, got packing, moved at the end of November and started unpacking, trying to have everything ready by Christmas. Phew, what a job! I had invited my family for Christmas dinner, so I just had to keep at it. Friends and family were only too happy to help, so that made the job much easier, but I kid you not: this was hard work. I have been quite irritated (putting it mildly) by my internet provider not being able to get the new connection sorted until now, and I'm terribly behind in keeping up with blogland, but at least it hasn't distracted me from the job at hand!
Despite good weather forecast, the actual moving day was the most gray and drizzly day you could think of, and the last look at my famous view was anything but cheerful. Boy, was I glad I didn't have to do the actual moving myself.
Luckily the first snow didn't arrive until a few days later and I had a chance to enjoy my new view on a peaceful Sunday afternoon. Lovely, isn't it? What the photo doesn't tell you is that the road you can see there is the main road into town, so there is the constant sound of traffic, but you get used to it.
And this more than weighs up for it - yes, I finally get a sewing room, or shal we be so bold that we call it a studio? I daresay I'll be pursuing other crafts in there as well, so why not. The room has been painted aqua and is for now full of boxes, but I'm getting there - this has been my "carrot on a stick" while working on the rest of the place - as soon as the rest is in order, I'll get this room sorted. I can't wait!
Now I didn't get all my boxes unpacked before Christmas, but the living room and kitchen were tidy enough and there was plenty of room for my Christmas tree. We had a lovely family Christmas and my shoulders and arms got a well deserved rest for a week or so.
I didn't let the remaining boxes bug me either - as you can see from the picture below, I piled them all in a corner and covered them with Christmas quilts! Interesting decorating feature, wouldn't you say?
I even managed  to get a bit of baking done, some holiday brownies with ginger and cinnamon. With ice cream and fruit that was quite enough really. I can get back to "proper" holiday baking next time around.
Before I started packing I sorted out a pattern and a quilt kit for myself to have something to get me started. I know it's in one of those boxes and I have finally come to the stage where I can start sorting out the studio and get back to sewing again. Back to work!