July 2018 Projects

My kitchen looks almost clean from this angle.

The June List

• Finish the first batch of fat quarters for the honeycomb quilt
• Pack everything to go to the new house
• Pack and store everything not going to the new house
• Make garden apron
• Make Regency sundress
• Add pockets to blue summer skirt
• Add pockets to pink summer skirt
• Make big silly garden hat
• Finish and submit "Plates" to a lit mag
• Submit "The Carpet" to a lit mag

The first batch of fat quarters are done. It's amazing. I'm slightly over halfway done prepping hexagons, and while it may take me the rest of the year to finish the second batch, I'm pretty pleased. (And I need to arrange a photo of all the current hexagons. They're a sight to behold, even packed in little snack-size ziplocs.)

Technically "everything" has been packed. The problem is that I'm not moving until the end of this month, so there are some necessary things that just can't be packed or moved until the end times. The books, the yarn, the fabric, and most of the clothes have gone, though, along with all the big furniture. I continue to astonish even myself with the sheer amount of stuff I can fit into a very small space, as I continue moving into ever smaller spaces.

The garden apron and big silly garden hat are both great successes, and I'm declaring them done even though the garden apron still needs a pair of buttons.

Toasted marshmallow mutt.

Speaking of packing, while I was loading up my car with all twelve (12!) boxes of books, this charming monster appeared on my street. Some neighbors caught it, but had to leave, so I kept it in my apartment until it could be taken home. For about ten minutes, I had a Malamute.

It is all So Little.

And the garden is doing well! We have The World's Tiniest Watermelon, along with burgeoning tomatoes and rather small cucumbers, one brave carrot, and a number of sweet potatoes and what I hope are either parsnips or rutabagas. Still waiting for the first cotton blossoms of the season—the plants have buds in the leaf axils, but so far they've stayed tightly closed.

In my ongoing efforts to eat more vegetables, I've split my food budget and given the far greater portion to myself to use at the farmers market. So far, the plan is working splendidly. In fact, it may be working too well...I think I'm ruining myself for grocery store produce.

The July List

• Tack layers for Bananabella's Christmas present
• Pack everything to go to the new house
• Pack and store everything not going to the new house
• Complete main motif for Bananabella's Christmas present
• Make Regency sundress
• Add pockets to blue summer skirt
• Add pockets to pink summer skirt
• Start Mum's Christmas present
• Finish and submit "Plates" to a lit mag
• Submit "The Carpet" to a lit mag
• Sort and organize craft supplies and closet
• Unravel grey pinecone sweater

There are really two primary goals for July: Bananabella's Christmas present is slightly more important this year than others, and needs to be done on time, because there are other elements that depend on it. So getting that moving is crucial.

The second is to get a really good catalogue of my craft supplies and clothing. I've been hauling most many of my supplies around for the last five years (or more!), and at last, I've decided I need to use them or lose them. Related to that, I want to shift my wardrobe to a greater proportion of handmade clothing, and to styles I like and wear. I certainly have enough material to make an excellent start. But first I need to know what I have, and in what condition, so I can plan out replacements.

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