With hosting the mystery quilt along in the blog advent calendar, I somehow “missed” writing up the November report. So now I have two months to recap. And even though it is the end of the quarter where I was considering skipping the post, this one needs to be done for sure. We all want to know the final tally of my fabric tracking, right?
Blog Posts
With two months and some push to finish projects, there were also a few blog posts:
Progress
Besides the projects finished and blogged about, I only worked on the Christmas Star Toss and a yet unpublished second crib-sized version. The second one was born from the idea to use up some of my solids and pair them with my black-on-white stash for the background. It was a gamble and a stretch and I am still not sure whether it qualifies as an “ok” quilt or is simply too ugly to even finish?
November started with buying 1.53 yards of green fabrics for my Christmas Star Toss. I also ordered a big batch of batting during Black Friday and received five Fat Quarters as an extra. I was also gifted a Long Quarter. I then finished the Dinosaur pillow, the first set of coasters, and the One Hour Basket. They added up to 2.06 yards.
The December finishes included three (!) quilts namely Bright Side 1+2 and Charade plus two smaller projects. They added up to 26.69 yards and helped me with finishing with more fabrics used up than brought in. As I had hoped.
Buying that much at QuiltCon – which is a logical choice considering fabric prices over here – took quite some time to whittle down. I am glad I am starting this year without a big fabric shopping spree. Not saying I will never order a big shipment. But it would sure not be this huge ;)
Fabric Report “November“
Used Up:
-2.06 yd.
Brought In:
+3.05 yd.
Net:
+0.27 yd.
Year to Date:
+14.13 yd.
Fabric Report “November“
Used Up:
-26.69 yd.
Brought In:
0 yd.
Net:
-26.69 yd.
Year to Date:
-12.77 yd.
Tally for 2024
Used Up:
85.22 yd.
Brought In:
72.45 yd.
Net:
-12.77 yd.
Minimalism
The topic I am reading the most about – besides quilting – is minimalism. So I thought I would put my best reads from this month in here in case you are interested too :)
With two months to highlight I have a few more links than usual for you. Maybe just pick a headline or two that speaks to you.
Let’s start with the Christmas-themed one, even though Christmas has passed there will be a next one coming up faster than expected. It was one of the many posts that I felt was worth sharing.
> A “Stuff-filled” Minimalist Christmas
And here are two posts that fit well with the theme of New Year:
> Ten Things You Could Accomplish By Taking Small Steps
> 12 Financial Challenges You Could Try in 2024
And in this article, I especially enjoyed a passage about gratitude:
“My home is heated in winter, cooled in summer, and lit at night. I have indoor plumbing, fresh water for drinking, and hot showers. I have a wardrobe of clothes in every color and style, and when they’re dirty, I have a machine that washes them for me. I have an ample supply of fresh food, brought from distant regions of the world no matter the season, that I didn’t have to grow or harvest myself. My spice rack alone would be the envy of past emperors.”
> How to be happy with less: A minimalist holiday manifesto
And some other articles I enjoyed:
- Please Stop Buying Us Nutcrackers
- How to See What You’re Missing
- Sorry Adult Kids, Your Parents Don’t Want to Store Your Stuff
- My Family Had Way Too Much Stuff. Here’s How Becoming Minimalists Changed Our Lives.
- Change Your Environment, Change Your Life
- The 7 Stages of Decluttering: Expert Tips on How to Clear the Clutter
- 7 Simple Ways to Create a Cozy, Minimalist Home.
The coolest thing in November was meeting with Suzy @suzyreno and her Mom Sandy @ragsquilter when they were visiting Hamburg on their way to a cruise. We met up near my work to visit a quilt shop and went out for dinner afterward. We chatted for hours and it was just awesome!
As you can probably guess, the biggest news in December was the Christmas celebration. Here is a picture of the Christmas tree at my sister’s with lots of presents ;)
We were two kids and six adults but this was still too much for me – minimalism and all. But the celebrations were fun, the food good and a lot of love and laughter was shared. My New Year’s celebration was with friends. We did raclette and had lots of conversations, enjoyed a fun game, and admired the fireworks.
I ordered something fun and exciting to rekindle an old hobby shortly after Christmas but you will have to wait for the January report to see it. No teasing at all ;)
I hope you enjoyed my recap of the month and the extra insights into what is happening over here.
Best wishes
xo Melanie
