A Christmas Tree Skirt Finish

For many of us a Christmas tree skirt can be more than just a coverup of the tree base and electrical connections.  It can play a key part in setting the stage for making Christmas memories.

One of the finishes I gifted this Christmas is a tree skirt for my almost newlywed son and his wife. The pattern is a tutorial by the talented EVQuilts.

I admit to doing a little shopping to find the right combination of fabrics...dark reds and greens, lighter prints and, of course, dogs with Santa hats!

I'm hoping this is part of making wonderful Christmas memories for many years.

Wishing you all the best in 2019!
Kathy

2019 Sewing Goal

Annual goal setting is a tricky business.  It's important to have a plan to increase the likelihood of a successful outcome.  However, setting too many stretch goals can set one up for unnecessary feeling of personal failure.  With that in mind, I am setting forth my ONE sewing goal for 2019 and linking up with Quilting JetGirl's linky party.

My 2019 Sewing Goal:  Noticeably (how's that for a measurable goal?) decrease the amount of fabric in my sewing room.

Quite original, I know.  None of you have ever said that before!  After a year with several large quilt finishes (most of which I have not blogged about yet, but I will!) my fabric inventory appears unaltered.  This is the current state:

Fat quarters and precuts:

 More fat quarters, layer cakes and yardage:

 Some scraps, selvages and few long term WIPS:

 More yardage:

 Odds and ends of home dec, flannel, vintage and most of my Tula Pink collection:

And there's boxes and bags of scraps too!

Now, I appreciate  that this may not look like much fabric to some of you but to me it is overwhelming.  The fear that I will never "sew through" all of this is a recurring theme.  I'm  not really concerned about the scraps, it is all the yardage and fat quarters that seem daunting.  As I think about what specific actions I will take to achieve my goal I am considering the following:

• Sew more, smaller quilts probably for donation. I have a fair amount of bright and printed fabrics that make me happy in my stash.  However, I just don't have a lot of demand for pink, purple and cute motifs in my regular quilt audience.  There is a children's hospital nearby that will take quilts for patients and their families.  
• Pillowcases!  I can envision making a sizable dent in some of the cute fabric for pillowcases to be donated to that hospital.
• Bags and pouches are much faster than a quilt to complete and I have ideas about who to gift them to and where I might sell some.
• No fabric shopping unless needed to complete a project that is greater than 50% from stash. (Let's see how long this works out!)
• Figure out how to do a destash on Instagram for some fat quarter bundles and charm packs that have been sitting around too long.  

Other suggestions??  As you might gather, in the scheme of life's big picture, I don't take any of this too serious.  On the other hand, I am quite sure I will feel much lighter if I do end 2019 with some space on the shelves...to buy new fabric!

Wishing you a peaceful holiday season and all the best for 2019.

Kathy