Happy November! It's time to reflect on what I worked on in the month of October and check in with my crafty goals and stash tracking. See past monthly reports here.


I did a ton of sewing this month! It felt good to finish a bunch of things and I felt motivated to sew more often. I managed to finish my vintage sheet bear paw baby quilt and pillow. Now I just need to photograph them and the large throw version I made too! I love how they all turned out. It was even more satisfying to finish since it was a long-term project.


I also started and finished a baby quilt for a friend. I dug back into some designs I did for Quilty Box a few years ago and adapted one for this quilt. I'll be sharing it at some point as a free tutorial.


Whoops, I made more Halloween bags! This everything size lined drawstring bag was made with scraps from my Halloween Nine-Patch Quilt. I've been holding onto the scraps for five years, so it feels good to make something with them! And who doesn't love a patchwork bag? I think it turned out pretty cute.


One more I made right before Halloween with this adorable ghost fabric from Bring Your Own Boos* by Cotton and Steel! This is another everything size lined drawstring bag.


I finally had to retire the key fob that a friend made me years ago as I had completely worn it out! I managed to salvage the hardware and made myself a new one with this scrap of Liberty quilting cotton. It was tough to choose a fabric for this since it's something I use/see every single day!


I finished my first crochet project!! My scrap yarn basket is done! This thing used up 2100 yards of yarn, which is incredible. I held 5 strands at a time. It was made completely of scraps and partial skeins of dk, worsted, and aran weight yarns. Now I want to make another (albeit smaller) with sock weight yarns, because I have a lot of leftovers there too. Feels so good to clear out the scraps! I used this tutorial from My Poppet to make my basket.


I told you I was busy this month! I also finished a woven scarf! I need to get some better photos of it, but it's nice bright pink.

To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in October:

October Fabric
Used up: 13.75 yard
Brought in: 7 yards
Net: -6.75 yards
Year to date: -52.75 yards

October Yarn
Used up: 2494 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -2494 yards
Year to date: -3494 yards

I bought fabric, again! I picked these up from Stash Fabrics and Hawthorne Supply Co. I wanted a few specific things for the sew along later in November, but I also realized that I've maybe restricted my buying a little too much. It's fun to bring in new fabrics to spark inspiration so I'm going to try to find a better balance. We'll see! Still managed to stay in the negative with all my finishes this month. And a lot of yardage used up on the yarn side too, woo hoo!

Let's check in my with 2022 crafty goals. This month I:
- Finished up the rest of the vintage bear paw quilt projects (long term WIP).
- Finished a weaving project.


On the DIY front, I finally painted our main bathroom this month. It needed it so badly and I had been putting it off since we moved in. It's a small room and our only bathroom with a shower, so a bit tough to paint! I'm very glad it's done and it looks so much better. Just a fresh coat of white.


Dusty kitty all snuggled up on my Keep Turning Quilt. :)

Have a Great Month!

October Monthly Report

It's time for the October monthly report. See past reports here.

This was one of my best months for finishing things! I bound up my Kaleidoscope Quilt early in the month. Just need to get photos of it!


I also finished my indigo courthouse steps quilt! I picked this one back up in June (read more about it here). It's been in progress for a long time, so I was really happy to finish two long-term quilt projects in October.


The bulk of the other sewing I did was some Lined Drawstring Bags! I chatting in depth about this one in this post: Halloween Treat Bag & My Spooky Village


I also made six additional tiny sized Lined Drawstring Bags to make a little Halloween countdown. You can ready more about that in this post: Last Minute Halloween Countdown Project.


Not only did I finish two quilts, but I picked up my yarn-related projects for the first time in months! I finished this Astra hat (pattern* by Ambah O'Brien) for Michael that I started in the Spring. You can read more about it on my Ravelry page here: Astra Hat II.


I also finished weaving the scarf that I had on my loom! I had a little trouble with this yarn, so I made it a little shorter than I originally intended. Still turned out nice though! Looking forward to making time for more weaving this winter.


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in October:

October Fabric
Used up: 27 yard
Brought in: 5 yards
Net: -27 yards
Year to date: -59.25 yards

October Yarn
Used up: 496 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -496 yards
Year to date: -2319 yards

Bought some fabric this month! I picked up a bunch of holiday fabrics from Stash Fabrics. I have slowly used up most of my Christmas/winter fabrics so it was time to add to it a bit. Thankfully my intake was greatly offset by the fabrics I used up. This was my most productive month of 2021!


Picked up this cool vintage Singer Pinker from Ecoworks. I'm excited to display it alongside my miniature sewing machine collection.


Not a lot of baking this month, but I did roast some pumpkin seeds. One of my favorite snacks!


We said goodbye to the garden this month. It's always a sad few days for sure. It was my very best year for growing dahlias, I already can't wait for next year.

Have a Great Month!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

May Monthly Report

It's time for the May monthly report. See past reports here.


This month's report is going to be brief. I didn't do a whole lot of sewing in the month of May. It was busy, but just no sewing-wise. We got our second shots of the COVID vaccine, and celebrated our newly vaccinated reality by seeing my parents for the first time in a year and a half! I took basically no photos while they were here, but it was great. I also spent lots of time getting the garden planted and arranged for the season. I'll probably share a dedicated post on that soon. Nothing too complicated, just want to document it a few times this season.

One of the few things I did sew was a new set of grow bags. I'm using cotton this time around. For more on what I used last year/how I made them/my choice for this year, see this post: DIY Fabric Grow Bags


I finally figured out a good storage system for the wooden beads I carry in my shop! I bought this plastic organizer at a thrift store earily 10+ years ago. It's held so many different things over the year, but it's working great for the beads. Glad I held onto it.


The first month in a while that I didn't finish a weaving! I did start a new one though and I'm enjoying it. Just didn't get super far on it!


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in May:

May Fabric
Used up: 3.125 yards
Brought in: 6 yards
Net: 2.875 yards
Year to date: -18.75 yards

May Yarn
Used up: 0 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: 0 yards
Year to date: -1823 yards

Had a good mix of fabric in and out this month. Used up fabric for the grow bags and for my Dad's Father's Day present (which I obviously can't share right now!). I did buy yardage to back my kaleidoscope quilt.



The big non-sewing project that I worked on in May was making an outdoor sofa! I wanted to make one last year but it was tough to get out and source materials. So this Spring I was really determined to make one. We needed somewhere comfy to hang out during the warmer months. We get pretty much full shade all day on our deck, so it's a great spot for a couch. I used these plans from Ana White, and bought the cushions, covers and stain from ikea. The stain matches our other outdoor furniture from ikea, and I think it looks super similar. Very pleased with how it turned out. It stretched my skills nicely but never felt overwhelming which is nice. We've already used it a bunch!

A little taste of the garden this year. Always growing marigolds.

Have a Great Month!

April Monthly Report

It's time for the April monthly report. See past reports here.


My big accomplishment this month was finally finishing my kaleidoscope quilt top! I am so happy that it's put together and done. Now I just need to get a backing for it and I can send it away for quilting. I can't wait for it to be done. See more of this project here: Work in Progress: Kaleidoscope Quilt


I also finished my first quilt of 2021! And it's a long-term work in progress too, which is great. I'll be sharing more of this quilt soon, but it's made with one of my old fabric collections, Dreamin' Vintage.


My scrap project for this month was this tiny lined drawstring bag. I have had this canvas animal scrap for many years, just waiting to become something. I realized I needed a scrap project still for April so I grabbed it first and pulled a few things around it. The top edge of blue is actually the lining peeking out. It's a variation that can be found in the expansion pattern. I didn't have a scrap big enough for the lining that matched the focal print very well, so I used the wrong side of the fabric as the right side! I used 3/8" cotton twill and 3/4" beads to finish it.

You can find the patterns, twill, and beads all in my shop here:
- Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
- Lined Drawstring Bag Expansion Pattern
- Cotton Twill Tape
- Round Wooden Beads


Managed to finish another weaving. This one used a very special skein of wool/mohair blend yarn that I've been hanging on to for a while. More details for this project are on my ravelry, here.


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in April:

April Fabric
Used up: 12.25 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -12.25 yards
Year to date: -21.625 yards

April Yarn
Used up: 423 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -423 yards
Year to date: -1823 yards

Feeling good about my totals for this month! Used up a good amount of fabric yardage, I have a few other projects I made this month that I still need to photograph. Keeping up with the weaving projects means my yarn yardage is looking good too. I love how much yardage it uses up!


Didn't try any new baking recipes this month, but did whip up a batch of marshmallows. The recipe I use is for mint chocolate chip marshmallows from the Joy the Baker Cookbook*. I just adjust the flavorings. This time I did simple vanilla, with vanilla bean paste. They turned out so fluffy and tasty.


Spring is really coming on now, my lily of the valley is starting to bloom. I am getting excited to start planting! After feeling super cooped up this winter, I am looking forward to being able to spend more time outside.

Have a Great Month!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

March Monthly Report

It's time for the March monthly report. See past reports here.


I worked on a random assortment of small projects this month. I share this scrappy pincushion I made in a blog post here. It's the Sit 'N Sew Pincushion Pattern by Shannon Fraser. It was my scrap project for the month of March and also my new-to-me pattern to make in quarter one of 2021.


Made a new lined drawstring bag to share my new wooden beads. I held onto this print by Creative Thursday for many years. It feels good to finally use it up! This is the everything size bag. Pattern, twill tape and beads can be found in my online shop.


This set of coasters was a very long standing WIP. I had a completed set of four and then six more in various stages of completion. I taped a segment for a tv show 5 or 6 years ago and you had to have step-outs of the projects. It felt good to get all of them finished, even if they're mostly the same coaster. I'll never be short on coasters again!


I made two blocks for my vintage sheet bear paw quilt this month. This quilt is definitely taking a while to make, but I'm hoping to pick up steam on it this spring. It's going to be a good one.


Still weaving away! I finished another scarf, this one used up almost two full skeins of yarn. I have so much yarn, I love how much weaving uses. It's been fun.


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in March:

March Fabric
Used up: 4.5 yards
Brought in: 3 yards
Net: -1.5 yards
Year to date: -9.375 yards

March Yarn
Used up: 365 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -365 yards
Year to date: -1400 yards

I made my first fabric purchase of 2021! I bought a couple yards of black canvas to make more grow bags this this season. Pretty exciting! I passed a little fabric on to a friend too.


On my second birthday during the pandemic (whoa), we decided to sneak out and make a trip to a local nursery. It was only for about 15 minutes, but it was nice to go on an adventure instead of just being cooped up at home. They had tons of bulbs and pansies, so there was a lot to see. It was a nice day.


Speaking of plants, I've been busy starting all kinds of seeds. So far I have started dahlia, strawflower, portulaca, rudbeckia, tomoato and zinnia seeds. I've also been doing small batches of microgreens, which has been fun.


Leaving you with a little egg rainbow. I love to dye eggs, but don't really like hard boiled eggs much. So I carefully dye raw eggs. Now we can enjoy them for the next few weeks!

Have a great month!