Art, Craft and Needlework, September, 2022

[Harriet]

As our own CEO shared with us earlier, she is bringing her site "Organized Home" to a close.

Her very nice letter of change and future is here.

For the holidays, of course, CEO's own writings and her site were a repository of knowledge and planning for so long. She eventually hosted a total of 3 holiday planning schedules on her site, the oldest being the venerable Holiday Grand Plan, to which she gave a new home.

Back in 2009, thinking of the Holiday Grand Plan, hosted on CEO's site, I wrote this "shorthand" of the creative gift-giving/decor aspect of that plan for September, which always started about this time of year (end of August) and posted it in Sept 2009 A, C and N thread. So, in hopes a quick overview and reminder might be helpful, here is that post of mine again for reference :

(Let us know if planning for holidays will be part of your September creativity!)

Anyone interested in the Holiday Grand Plan's recommendations for how you might spend your creative time in September?

Thought it might be interesting to have a quick reference in one place for just the creative/handmade timeline of HGP's concept of the month:

Week 1 – week of August 31
Make the following lists:
• Gifts to be given, amount to spend (include family, friends, school, church, etc)
This week's printable forms from OrganizedChristmas.Com include:
• master gift list

Week 2 – week of Sept 7
• Develop ideas for gifts, decorations.
• Divide gift responsibilities with other family members.
This week's printable forms from OrganizedChristmas.Com include:
• gifts to make list

Week 3 – week of Sept 14
Buy all supplies for homemade gifts. Package each project with directions and other information in zipper food storage bag and place in a basket or box in craft/sewing area.

Week 4 – week of Sept 21
• Work at least 1 hour a day on homemade gifts.
This week's printable forms from OrganizedChristmas.Com include:
• gift closet inventory

Week 5 – week of Sept 28
• Work at least 1 hour a day on homemade gifts.
This week's printable forms from OrganizedChristmas.Com include:
• gift ideas planner

[Nancy]

I have a couple of fall Items a table runner is one so I need to bring it upstairs.
One other item I forget what is next to it, can come up too.

[Nancy]

I finished knitting on a project a shawl I want to seam together to make a wrap.
It is in shades of blue with green and yellow. Fun to work up self striping.
The had some with pink and other colors and one other I am considering not right away.

[Harriet]

Finished more mending today.

I had a bobbin, fully threaded, that I set down on our bar, which spans between kitchen and den. Oops, HRH was on kitchen side, and spilled some lightly sugared tea. Sigh. He was so sorry, but that's the least of our troubles. I had to tell him, it's a "bobbin". He laughed because of course when he worked at textile mills many decades back, "bobbins" were completely different, large things.

I need to get my mending basket empty and then can think about whether gift projects may have some available time.

[Nancy]

That is a funny reference about the bobbins Harriet!

I got another piece of yardage for the second nite dress today. I need to pre wash it still.*
Cut out that project.

Also got yarn for two more projects. you have to get yarn when you see it here, later in the season it gets wiped out and that was before
pandemic supply chain issues happened. Started one of them.

I am doing up some more granny squares with the rest of the other project that I just finished to see how it will look,
I will need to separate the colors to get the look I want. That still needs to happen. I do have 3 granny squares done one a day
and that is enough progress for me!

[Nancy]

I have a question do you have a sewing planner or craft planner how do you track progress for projects?

I have a sewing planner I rarely use it however. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
I track progress in with my other stuff.

Knitting counted I have apx. 12" on my newest self striping shawl project.
Watching some of the news on the UK happenings this week with the passing of the queen it is a good project.
Too smokey out to do much gardening.
I have a gardening planner that I rarely use as well.

Dgd will be here this weekend tomorrow I have a pack of embroidery floss for her to make friendship bracelets with
she requested it. Win win! Nope she did not come. No show. sigh... oh well I needed the nap.

I have nearly half of the new shawl I am knitting on done now.

[blessedw2]

d harriet - I didn't realize that you had put all these dates on here. thank you!
I would have never thought about this.

[Harmony]

I have the Holiday Grand Plan printed out for my Household Notebook. There it stays, ready to be used...

Nancy, I don't have a craft planner per se (what does per se actually mean, anyway?) But I do have a spiral graph paper notebook. In those pages I planned my squares for my quilts and attached patterns. I noted dates and whose quilt this was to be for, a copy of the label, and description of colors and patterns of the material. I also put descriptions of other things I've sewed, aprons for DD and DGD (matching), pieced placemats (birthday present). Then I have a small photo album where I put pictures of the projects. It's fun to go looking through these things.

A couple years ago DGD asked me for a quilt with the marine things on it and I sat with her and showed her my planning book and we figured out what she wanted and I wrote it down. I don't know if she remembers, she was about 9. But she sure liked the quilt and pillow I made her!

[Nancy]

Thanks for the responses to my question.

I finished the first of the two flannel nite dresses.
I have a vest to do also.

[Nancy]

I have finished a prayer shawl.
Made up a few granny squares.

Made some progress on the #2 nite gown. Hems are left to do.
Got out the yarn for my next knitting project thought about the pattern for the edging while I was on my walk.