Wednesday, February 28, 2007

End of February/My Favorite Quilting Tool

It's the end of the second month of the year. Wow! Back on the January 1 I created an Excel workbook with three worksheets. One for tracking my projects, one for tracking time spent quilting (not counting reading quilt blogs or quilt magazines) and one for recording quilt expenses.

I didn't report my January totals because I wanted to make sure I could keep track of everything for more than one month. Well I've made it through two months so I'll report my totals. In January I spent $64.46 and in February I spent $142.99. Not bad in my book.

As far as time spent quilting in January I played and quilted for 26 hours. In February I enjoyed fabric and threads for 32 hours. That may not seem like a lot of time to some people, but for me it's quite a bit.

My favorite quilting tool is moleskin. I use it to mark the quarter inch line down the front of my sewing machine bed. I learned this tip in my first on-line quilt class. I used it for a while. Then I thought I was good enough at sewing that I didn't need it anymore. But I was wrong. So the moleskin now lives on the bed of me sewing machine. My quarter inch seams are much better now.


My sports depression period is over for this year. The Red Sox are playing the Twins in the first Spring Training game of the baseball season. The game is tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 9th inning and I'm too tired to stay awake.

12 comments:

Linda C said...

I'm ready for baseball too--but we need to gear up for the NCAA basketball tournament 1st. I swear my husband's eyes will turn into round bballs before it is all said and done, LOL.

Gotta love that moleskin. I am still trying to figure out just exactly where 1/4 inch is on my new machine. Mom says that they have a 1/4 inch foot that seems to be accurate but I wait till I go visit to pick one up.

Wendy said...

Oh my you are brave to track quilting expenses. Maybe I should try it I might be surprized. I have a 1/4" foot with a guide and love it. I don't have to worry the fabric it just glides along the edge of the guide.

Darlene said...

Oh, I'm very ready for baseball season. Woohoo!

I've never tried moleskin but have heard very favorable reviews from many that swear by it.

DubiQuilts - Quilts and Fiber Arts said...

You are way to organized!

I do not think a day goes by when sports is not on the TV in the den of my house.

Thank-you for you comment on my blog!

Patti said...

I'm trying really, really hard to drum up enthusiasm for the upcoming baseball season. The powers that be in the Mariners organization seem determined to make the worst deals possible in the offseason. I predict both the manager and general manager will lose their jobs this year. I suppose a miracle could happen and this cobbled together team could go far - but I don't see how that's going to happen with such a bad pitching staff as they've assembled.

Beth said...

I am with Darlene...I'm SO glad baseball is back...ALTHO..my team has made a color change I'm not TOO fond of. I am happy to be so close to so many Spring training games! I use stacks of blue tape like you use the moleskin.

Libby said...

Moleskin sounds like a great idea - nice thickness and should hold it's shape. I have a foot with a 1/4" 'training wheel' but sometimes even more is necessary.

Carole said...

I have no clue what mole skin is. I'm just hoping that it's not what I think it is. I have too many favorite tools so I cannot just pick one. As for your expense, our credit card provider gives us a yearly summary. I thought I would calculate what we spent on groceries etc. Well, it turns out that last year I spent more on quilting than on groceries. I've come to the conclusion that no one needs to kown about the cost of my addictions! ;o) lol Keep well!

Cynthia said...

it was interesting to read how you kept track of your quilting expenses and time spent quilting. What a good idea adding this in your sidebar. I think i'll try keeping track of the number of quilty hours for this month out of curiousity.

tootsiesmom said...

Moleskin is that stuff you cut to put on your feet to pad a bunion. I have used a stack of post it notes and several thickness of blue painters tape to make a 1/4" guide on my machine. I like your idea of keeping track of your actual sewing. I may put a journal by my machine and track it this month.

sewnut said...

I keep a "Sewing Studio" journal in which I keep a note of how much time I spend on what project, when as well as a comment on what I need to do next. I started this a few years ago because my family kept accusing me of spending all my time quilting. I knew that I really spent most of my time at work or looking after the household stuff but they challenged me.

When I was challenged though I could easily tell them how many hours I spent all year, any month or any given week!! That stopped them.

Now I have a record of how much time all of my projects have taken. I am keeping it going.

Meredith said...

I have been keeping track of my spending, being on no buy helps but I have not had the courage to put it on my blog. Way to go! I agree nothing is more frustrating then not having a correct 1/4 inch.