Cleared Worktable

On Friday night I started pottering at my worktable, slowly picking bits up and working out where they should go. Nothing too serious. Just as I went past each time, which admittedly is pretty frequently, as I walk past it to get to my computer, I'd pick something up and sort it.
Yesterday I did a little bit more. I was even able to start seeing the table top. You can see how covered it is in this photo (yes, same photo as in my last blog post)

Worktable used as dumping ground

And that photo is after I'd spent some time sorting things on it. Previous there wasn't space for the black and white bag at the front. 

This is what it now looks like:

Tidied worktable

All that is on it is my overlocker, a basket of craft bits that need new homes (most have new homes, they just need to get there), and a tray with my priority UFO's. I think there are 4 in there. 

I don't think my worktable has ever looked this clear, apart from the day it got moved into my sewing room. It's definitely going to make it easier to work on my UFO's for the next month as I do my '31 Days of Unfinished Projects.'

31 Days of Unfinished Projects, Take Two

Last year I participated in Nesters 31 days blog challenge. Here is where I started talking about it last year. I've decided that I'm going to do the same again this year. Partly to once again give me some motivation to work on my UFO's. The other part is I've been pretty slack in the blogging department for the past few months, I keep saying to myself, 'I'll do it tomorrow', and then don't. This means I have to do it today, and will hopefully get me back into the habit.

I still have a cupboard full of UFO's. Plus a box of cross stitch ones in another cupboard. Plus a few on the (very cluttered) worktable. I'd like to say I have less UFO's than last year, but looking at my list from last year, too many of them are still UFO's. But that's okay right? They say that good things take time.

I have a quote on the wall behind my computer, no idea where it came from, but I really think I need to embrace it a bit more, 'Let go of projects that feel like obligations not opportunities.'
I know I finished a bunch of last years UFO's, as I wrote about here, but not as many as I would have liked. I was tempted to challenge myself to finish more UFO's this year, but I've just started a new job this week, and am still getting my head around that. I think it will be enough challenge to work on UFO's and blog about it daily.
On a side note, I'm glad I've gone back and read that, it's reminded me of something I wanted to do differently this time, writing in the morning about the progress I made the previous day.

My mostly un-usable work table

 I can see 3 UFO's in that photo. In the stripy bag is a knitted baby wrap that needs sewn up and buttons added. In the black/white bag at the front is the Hungry Caterpillar dress that only needs buttons sewn on. It also contains my underbust corset that needs the binding sewn on. That bag is going with me to social sewing tomorrow, so progress will be made. I also know that at the end of the table are a couple of cut but not sewn wetbags which I really should finish.

My UFO Cupboard

 This is my UFO cupboard. Sorry for the bad photo, there is an ironing board and a worktable in front of the cupboard, so I can open it, but there isn't much space to take a photo of the whole thing. But you get the idea. There is another shelf below the three that you can see. As you can also see, it's a mess of unfinished projects. They're all just kinda crammed in there.

Cross stitch box

All my cross stitch supplies are stored in one box. Except for the thread, there are three thread boxes for those, they're on another shelf as they won't fit in the box. There are kits, pretty much all of which I think I've started. Plus a whole bunch of fabrics. Fox Collections used to do packs of 10 pieces of random aida for $25, and I might have bought two of them, back when I was doing a lot of cross stitch. And when I say back when I was doing a lot of cross stitch, I really mean about 10 years ago.... The rational part of my brain knows I don't need all that fabric, and knows I could easily replace it, but it's still hard to get rid of it, as it's aida I would use if I started another cross stitch. Which I really shouldn't do until I've finished some of the ones currently in progress.

You know, I'm a bit ashamed of just how many UFO's are in that cupboard, and how much of a mess it is. Please tell me I'm not the only one with a space like that.... Makes me realise just how much of a good idea this will be. Only 3 more days till October. But that doesn't mean I can't start work on UFO's now. Well, not now, I'm going to bed now. But tomorrow....

Belated Cape-Along

It's been a few weeks, and not for lack of anything to write about. I spent the first four weeks after my last post making things and preparing for an overseas trip. The past three weeks have been spent overseas with my little family. The past three days have been spent home sick. Not nearly as much fun, but glad it happened as I was heading home from holiday rather than heading on holiday.

One of the things I made before I went away was a cloak for my little one. Actually, I made two cloaks, as I made one for myself, but I'm going to ramble about the little one's one first.

Over at The Monthly Stitch the August challenge was making a cape. Now, I know I made a cloak, and it's not quite the same. But with all that I had to do before going away I wasn't going to have time to make myself a pretty little cape, so I'm totally counting what I did make.

We went to Burning Man. My husband has a large cloak he wears, that keeps him warm as he wanders the nighttime playa and doubles as a blanket. Plus when you wear it on the plane it counts as a jacket and doesn't take up luggage allowance. I decided I was going to make one for myself and for our daughter.

For Guinevere, I found a neon yellow fun fur on clearance. I had some polarfleece I'd gotten in a 40% off sale, enough for the middle layer of both our cloaks, plus some rainbow swirly satin for her, just like her Daddy's cloak. I also had some calico for an additional, velcro out layer, that would have EL wire sewn to it, to provide light when wandering around at night.

Guinevere telling me how she thinks I should lay out the pattern pieces

Guinevere attempting to cut out the fabric using her little scissors

Guinevere happily snuggled up on the couch wrapped in her cloak and grinning at Daddy (who you can't see, but is wearing his cloak)

I don't actually have any photos of her wearing it at Burning Man. Two reasons, one, I didn't take very many photos. Two, the cloak turned out to be impractical for wearing, she kept taking it off, which is no good when I was using it to light her up. So I sewed EL wire onto her little jacket, and used the cloak as a blanket in the wagon we were pulling her around in. She did spend about 30 minutes one evening running around the camp in it, but as soon as we went to head out, off it came. It wasn't helped by it being quite a warm burn, usually in the evenings she was topless under her jacket. Previous years she would have needed a layer or two of merino under it. 

My cloak, which I'll share photos off when I've taken some, didn't get worn at all, it was just too warm at night. Most nights I was still in just a t-shirt by the time we made it back to our RV for the night. 

So, blogged about a bit later than August, but still made in August, so I'm totally counting it.