A new pillow and progress

I am determined to actually start working on some of the organizing projects that I have faced since retiring 3 years ago. I certainly have the time, just not the motivation. On Monday, Hubby and I made a trip to the local Salvation Army donation area to clear out some clothes and items that we had set aside in the basement. Since then I have been spending some more time this week in the basement. It is where we have a multitude of storage boxes and where all my craft supplies reside as well as my sewing machine. There is a sectional, an older TV as well as an Xbox that sometimes gets used when our kids visit. 

I started the organizing by to working on one of the languishing projects. Many years ago I wanted to update all of my many photo albums with scrapbooking. I bought all the supplies and got to work. Guess what? I really don't enjoy scrapbooking. There are just too many decisions. I also don't like to cut up photos. Eight photos that used to fit on the front and back of one album page, now take up two pages. What color paper should I use? Should I make a frame around a photo? What should I write on a little sign? Should I add stickers? I was in the middle of an album from 1990-1991. When I was pregnant with my daughter! I had wanted to at least scrapbook through her birth. I took out that album. There was a half-finished page from the summer before she was born. I finished it, closed the album and said enough. My scrapbooking days are over. I will use the supplies for crafts with my grandkids. This is no longer a project that is hanging over my head and it feels like such a weight has been lifted. Whew!

Once that was done, I went looking through some odds and ends in a basket by my sewing table and found two small printed Autumn panels. I had just unearthed two small Autumn pillows that I made last year and decided that these panels could be made into pillows also. I looked through my fabrics and used one to make the small pillow with the scarecrow below. It was a quick and easy finish.

I now have it displayed with the Pumpkin House and Old Crow pillows. There is a slightly larger panel that says Happy Thanksgiving that will become another pillow this week. 

My granddaughter's stocking is growing by leaps and bounds. Stitching up the individual packages is a nice way to pass an afternoon.

Next is to start stitching the Christmas tree above the gifts.

I have started to assemble the granny square baby blanket.

Three of the 17 rows are completed. Ignore the perspective that the right hand side is wider than the left. It is not.

The purple block block is quilted and the hoop had been moved. Next to be quilted is the yellow block.

I have added rows to the donation hat. I need to keep knitting the pattern until it is 8 inches long. I work on this while waiting for my balky computer to load pages and while reading the posts of fellow bloggers.

In my quest to actually makes some of the recipes that I have clipped and printed over the years, I had two successes and one fail this week. The first was a cole slaw recipe that was too thick and creamy for my taste. That recipe was tossed. Next I made this Double Dutch Dark Chocolate ice cream. 

So delicious. This will be made again for sure. Last night I made Baked Split Chicken Breasts. Now Hubby is not a fan of white meat chicken and he loved this recipe. It is tasty and easy to make. I may try it with bone-in thighs sometime. 

I finished reading The Dressmaker's Gift by Fiona Valpy. I loved it! I am now about to start The First Ladies.

I think I have written enough for today. 

I am joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch today and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching tomorrow. I hope you take some time to relax with some tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by!