Sew Quick and Easy Potholders - Day 328 of 365, Tutorial Tuesday

I'm not sure how and why I started these tutorials, but now that I'm many months into them it's getting more difficult to try and come up with something creative every week. And then there are those days I don't feel well enough to talk to anyone and it's difficult to keep the cheeriness in my voice on a video.

I'm not sure if the cheeriness is there today, but something else is - a background noise.

I usually plan on filming the tutorials ahead of time. Every Thursday I tell myself I'll film, and I don't. Then it becomes Friday when I'm sure I'll get it done. Friday usually goes by and when Saturday or Sunday rolls around I start to feel a bit panicky.

But I get it done. Typically it is when laundry is running in the washer and my hubby is downstairs watching TV. I'll call down to him, letting him know I'm filming the tutorial and will be closing the sewing room door. That leaves me alone with no noises but the loud wall clock, ticking away.

Except this time. I tried to raise my voice over the noise. It didn't work. I tried to repeat things more than once, hoping I could bypass the noise coming from right outside the sewing room door, but it was no use.

Looking for something else? Check out some of my other kitchen sewing and crafting projects!

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After some major editing, the little bawl baby (AKA kitty cat) can still be heard about two minutes into the video. You can find the step-by-step how to tutorial for the quick and easy quilted potholder sewing project here:

Day 327 of 365

I spent today trying to figure out what to write. Which then got me wondering about this whole writing thing.

As I look past Day 365, will I continue writing several paragraphs each day? Writing every day, even when things aren't exciting, has been challenging. Do I talk about me? Do I talk about things around me, work, sewing? Or do I complain?  The daily writing has kept my mind active and alive, like exercise of the brain, so some type of writing will probably need to stay.

But it sure would be nice not to have to create something out of thin air. Typically when I sit down to write, the words flow (although sometimes slowly) and somehow, without a clear direction, wind up tying into the picture of the day.

Not today. Random thought about what happens in March don't really tie into today's picture.

I've cut up some of those blocks I filed a couple days back. I combined them with some of my scraps and have sewn them together into different colored blocks. Add some white sashing and borders and I see a colorful kid's quilt in the making.

Day 326 of 365

Six weeks and counting. In six weeks, my take-a-picture-every-day-to-see-that-I-have-lived goal ends. Knowing that the end is near is making me think even more about what the next step will be.

I'm still sure taking a picture every day is a keeper. Getting up every day knowing I had to take a picture is why I'm still around. It's why I'm doing quilts for charity and why I'm back working. It's the thing that has made me look up and see - really see - the world around me. If it wasn't for the picture a day thing, my head would be down and the most exciting thing I would have seen would have been dust on the floor or cracks in the pavement.

One change I'm contemplating is sometimes doing more than one picture a day. Over the past year there have been days where I wanted to take several pictures. So the next year might hold more than one a day every once in  a while.

Actually, today's picture sort of falls into that category. I took a picture of the $3 Target amaryllis when I bought it, and now nine days later there is some obvious growth. I thought the difference was striking enough to post the picture today as well as the picture I took when I first bought it on Day 317.

January 13

January 22

Day 325 of 365

Yes, I did.

If someone were to ask me if I started using those squares that I filed yesterday, that would be the answer. Boy, did I start using them.

My new file folder fabric square system was very efficient. I easily matched up colors and patterns. And I sewed and sewed and sewed. Assembly line style, one after the other, after the other.  My machine got a workout and my Christmas iron got a workout. Lots and lots of blocks sewn together to make several sets of 11" blocks and several sets of 9" blocks. All of them are now waiting patiently, hoping to be part of one of a multitude of quilts.  Oh, the possibilities!

I so enjoy sewing, particularly for others. I might not be able to crochet anymore, cross stitch, or even hand quilt, but I can feed fabric through my sewing machine. Give me lots of pre-cut fabric, my arthritis gloves, a comfy office chair, a working iron, and a south-facing window on a winter's day and I'm a happy camper.

Day 324 of 365

Today's picture should be titled, Stay Away From Mod Podge Part Two.

Yesterday's waste of time, fabric, and Mod Podge on the Crystal Light and beef jerky containers should have been a big enough of a deterrent, but they weren't. Today I got myself in even deeper and wasted much more time, fabric, Mod Podge, and even some scrapbook paper.

I have all these fabric squares that I got on Day 131 and Day 185. They've been sitting in stacks inside an old box. I always forget I have them and when I do remember, it takes me forever to sort through all the stacks to find what I want. So I decided to organize the stacks.

I also have more hanging file folders than I'll ever need in a lifetime leftover from when I was teaching. I got this clever idea to cut the file folders down to fit the box that held the stacks of fabric squares. If the file folders fit, I could "file" the squares and be able to see what I was looking for quickly and easily.

But an ugly old box wasn't going to do. Mod Podge and scrapbook paper to the rescue! (Or so I thought.) I've never Mod Podged anything but fabric and now I know why. For when I used that Mod Podge and scrapbook paper on all sides of the box, the paper buckled. After it dried it was even worse.

After much peeling and scraping, the paper came back off. Next up was covering it with fabric. I went through all my usual steps when working with Mod Podge and fabric. When it was dry there was one small problem. The fabric I used was light-colored and the box had some dark printing and colors on it. Obviously Mod Podge doesn't hide what is under the fabric. A pretty, fabric-covered box with lettering and markings showing through wasn't too attractive.

Off came the fabric. But I wasn't going to give up - I had already spent hours and I wasn't about to let the project get the best of me. I tried again with a darker fabric with better results. Not great results, just better.

It's time to leave it alone. Maybe the best solution of all is to start using all those squares. It has been a month since I've worked on a kids' quilt for charity. I think it's time to start back. And time to give up the Mod Podge for good.

Day 323 of 365

I have to get away from the Mod Podge.

With my quilt being finished up, I got back to work on re-organizing my sewing room. I went through the very top shelf of my sewing room closet - the one that holds all the fabric and is pictured on Day 57 - and sorted through all the plastic containers that were up there. I tossed some, moved some around, found uses for some.

And I Mod Podged some.

I had several Crystal Light drink mix containers and a beef jerky container that have been waiting for me to find a use for. I found a way to decorate them - Mod Podge and fabric. But now I still don't have a good use for them. I don't need them for a pen/pencil holder. I don't need them for buttons. I'm not sure what to use them for.

I wasted my Mod Podge and fabric (and my time) on them without a purpose in mind. And to top it off, they didn't turn out as cute as I thought they would. They'll be sitting on the shelf until I (or someone else) comes up with some great idea.

Anyone?

Day 322 of 365

Three separate people asked me about my health yesterday. Two of the people have probably only ever asked me once - ever - so it seemed quite unusual to have three in one day. It was only after repeating my story more than once did it become clear. This drug cocktail I'm on for arthritis has gotten way out of control.

I have:

• A weekly injection that can cause TB.
• A weekly injection of a chemotherapy drug that has some of the side effects you would expect. It also causes a depletion in folic acid which requires me to take...
• Folic Acid daily
• The combination of the chemotherapy drug and the years I was on anti-inflammatories has torn up my stomach, so twice daily I take medication specifically for my stomach.
• A twice daily anti-malaria drug which, among other things, can cause blindness, hence my multiple visits to the eye doctor.
• An occasional dose of addictive pain medication.
• A couple other non-arthritis related long-term daily medications.

And I'm still waiting for the last ditch effort to come through. The thousands of dollars a month IV option, the one the insurance company has twice denied.

Going through the list then led me to some questions. What kind of person takes a combination of medications like that? How did I wind up on such extreme medications? And why so many? Thinking about it had me waking up this morning feeling kind of bad about things. Almost feeling sorry for myself. Almost.

I am so grateful and thankful I have things in place to keep me from lamenting my situation. There is always something to organize, but more importantly there is always something to make for charity.

I finished my Disaster Auction quilt. I'm happy  it came out the way I envisioned. I need to get my quilt label on it and it will be good to go.