#SewToShare - Personal Progress: July 2015

It has been one seriously BUSY month around our home! Summer activities, camp, VBS, a complete room makeover (or TWO!), regular day to day duties like the MOUNTAIN of laundry generated by our household of 8, and even, yes, even a bit of sewing! 

We started off the month painting and redecorating our boys' room. They decided to go with a super hero theme and it turned out SUPER! I had so much fun with this and even painted a city scene mural on a whim that I had been inspired by on an Instagram page I follow. I still have some valances and pillowcases to sew for them, but all in all, an accomplishment we were all pleased with.

In the midst of that, I learned that my girls needed extra PJ bottoms for camp. Yea, you know, those last minute requests that have you sewing like the Grinch on the night before Christmas! I did manage to finish a big stack of flannel PJ pants just in time for them to leave for camp. They have NO TROUBLE whatsoever finding fabrics they love, so it was a fun mix to get to stitch up!

On a whim....which just seems to happen to me sometimes...I decided I was tired of vacuuming my stairs and so ripped the carpet off. This led to a sanding and painting episode that by most patient and wonderful husband had to endure. :) I had seen THIS TUTORIAL at Tamara Kate's blog that inspired me. I'm hoping to decide on a fabric to finish off my now freshly painted stairs soon!

If you are on Instagram, be sure to follow me @hopefulthreads I've been sharing a bunch of great pictures!

While they were gone, we helped decorate our church for a super fun jungle themed VBS the first week, followed by the fun filled VBS the next week! The rest of the time, we took on a SURPRISE makeover of our big girls' room, and while a lot of work, it was SO FUN and turned out perfect! They were totally surprised and are still talking about just how much they love it! It feels good when you really nail a vision for someone when they've shared different ideas of what they like. You can see all the pictures I shared on THIS POST.

I've also been working on clearing out my sewing space and getting things much more organized. This initiated a DESTASH, so please check that out if you haven't yet! Even if you aren't on Instagram, if you see something you are interested in, just email me. I will gladly consider reasonable offers as well, especially for multiple item purchases! ;) @hopefulthreads_destash

Part of the clean up in here meant making another awesome FLUFF Project delivery! My husband dropped off another 86 stuffed friends, bringing our current total delivered to date to 1,275!!! That just makes me smile every time I think about it! The staff and Magistrates of Juvenile Court had high praise and encouraging stories to share about the way the children are reacting to our gifts. I can't tell you how much this means to me and my family! Thank you for continuing to trust us with this very special mission of HOPE!

Left to Right: Frankie Holt, Knox County Clerk
Magistrate Kay Kaserman (who has shared some very touching first-hand stories regarding the reaction of the sweet children receiving the gifts!)
Magistrate Michael Fortune (who always cracks me up by immediately beginning to fill his personal courtroom box!)
Magistrate Irene Joseph
Lt. Jim Dunn, Knox Co. Sheriff's Dept.

I've also made a bit more progress on the MEGA stack of tote bags I'm working on for the foster closet. I picked up some more fusible fleece yesterday for these, so I'm hoping to have them on the finished list next month!

And that original goals list....well, not too bad...

Cook more, especially with my children.

Sew curtains for my youngest daughter's room. (FINALLY!!!)

Fresh paint for several rooms in our home. In Progress....and more added!

New skirts for my girls.

Sew "Busy Bags" & Totes for the foster closet. In Progress, A BUNCH!!!

Read some chapter books aloud to my kiddos.

Gifts for our local Animal Shelter.

Participate in library events.
Sort my patterns. ALL of them! 

Visit the zoo.

Help my youngest daughter, now 5, sew her first "something".

Create a pattern/tutorial for a special medical comfort item.

Sew some adult sized bibs for my grandfather.

Make new oven mitts, potholders and such for our kitchen.

Go on a picnic.

And, take a few naps! ;) Never Enough!
Update my 10 year old's scrapbook.
Rip the carpet from my stairs, sand and paint them.
Sew a new ironing board cover.
Take on the giant mending pile. (we'll keep this right here at the bottom!)

My list still has quite a bit of it not marked off....and I continue to find more to add to it....but, I'm still thrilled with all that's been accomplished! Heading into August ready for more!