The Sewing Place’s year-long stash-busting challenge - 01-01-2022 to 31-12-2022

[Ann]

My April and May totals were super low. April I sewed up 2.45 meters and May I sewed up 1 meter. I bought 4.8 meters of fabric that I needed but it was also therapy as things are rough at home. DH needs monitoring all the time and I'm not spending as much time in the sewing room as I use to.

I had hoped this morning to cut out a square bowl cozy and I finally got a shower at 11:30 a.m. I spent the morning monitoring him as he was focused on watering the vegetable boxes but the time it took and how it unfolded was pretty intense and not too pretty. I survived without being hurt, the plants got a good watering, and he is relaxed but only remembers watering the plants. He remembers none of the drama.

[Diane]

@Ann 

[Ouryve]

Rough is an understatement, @Ann.    You very much needed that treat.

[Lachica]

A little fabric treat is the very least you deserve @Ann . Sorry to hear things are tough with your DH. Are you able to get respite care for him so that you can take some time off?

[Ann]

@Diane, @Ouryve, @Lachica. Thank you for your kind words. Yesterday ended up as a write off with DH being out of control until 9 pm. DDIL took him for a drive and a friend sat with me as I was mentally exhausted. It was nice to sit and talk to her.

I was getting respite for 2 - 2 hour sessions a week but the lady is off until mid June to July 1. Now I get a bit of time when family takes DH so I can get groceries. They do come over to help calm him down when I become the target and the trigger. I am looking into getting more support in place and see if there is a day program I can get him into so I can have some time at home to do what I need to do. On the up side, I do have the house cleaned every other week and DS and DGS are doing the lawn. I have a company that comes in to do the fertilizer, weed control, etc and another company is coming in to do the hedge. Now I need to focus on more support for DH which is also support for me. 

[Ohsewsimple]

@Ann that sounds very rough.  I do hope you’re able to get the help you both need.   

[Bumblebuncher]

@Ann 
When will the government realise that they save an awful lot of money with carers looking after their loved ones, but they need a break!
I have had no help with OH since he came home from hospital albeit he is capable of much more than was first thought and now have the Mother to deal with too.
Everything is so hard to arrange, and so expensive, and there is no sign of an improvement in any way.  Let's face it, £70 a week for carer's allowance (you have to prove you do over 35 hours a week to claim and earn less than £130 in wages) is ridiculous when I have been quoted £40 an hour for home help!
I do hope you are able to get some support soon

[Ann]

Thanks @Ohsewsimple and @Bumblebuncher.

I took the bull by the horns and called Continuing Care and asked to have them move us to another agency and to get 3 days a week with more hours. It means waiting a week for help and then fingers crossed I get the hours I need. Being the primary care giver means you work your a$$ off and get nothing. I only pay $12.45/hour for the respite worker as we get subsidized. The agency that takes him on will do an assessment on him which will determine how much help we will get. This is the first time I'm hoping he's in a frenzy when they arrive and we have to do the assessment while following him around to make sure he is safe.

@Bumblebuncher, I hope you get help soon. I hear you that the government needs to get their act together. Here in Canada, not only the provincial governments but the federal government also. I know the pandemic was stressful for care workers and lots left. Our provincial government has given an increase in wages which is helping bring in more help. In the meantime, new clients are not being serviced as efficiently as they could be due to the shortage of staff for several reasons.

[Ohsewsimple]

@Bumblebuncher i don’t think they care!  There is less and less help for all sorts of people nowadays and the government doesn’t give a damn.  Same as health in this country.  It would be much cheaper to practice preventative medicine.  But no, we wait till someone is really ill.   We could have regular health checks but then I guess if they found something it would mean spending more money.  While people are sick they aren’t going to be earning and paying taxes.  And certainly dead people don’t pay taxes!

[Sew Swarley]

How is June treating everyone? I have been somewhat inspired and getting through some fabric stash as well as new purchases.

As at 25/6/22

Fabric in: 15.8m 
Fabric out: 22m

Am I doing as well as I need to on my stash reduction? No! I'm not but I'm still 6m down and that's still progress. Now to get a few more things sewn up and hopefully use 30m of stash Fabric before any other purchases happen.

[b15erk]

Well, I can report a breakthrough!  I have two shirtdresses almost finished, and both fabrics have been in the stash  since Adam was a lad...

I've also got a Winter jacket cut out and ready to sew. 

Unfortunately, I'm seeing no visible difference yet - the stash is still too large!  I'll feel as if I'm getting somewhere when my Winter Coat is cut out, and the large plastic tub is empty and everything is in drawers.

Verdict: must sew faster!

Jessie

[realale]

My last two projects have been from stash but I succumbed at the Sewing show I went to at the NEC and then again at Malvern Quilt show so I'm probably at the same stage I was before!! I haven't been keeping a record so it is all a guesstimate at the moment.
The new fabric was worth it though!! Much better than my stash stuff 

[Ann]

My sewing has been slow going. Some days I sew, some I don't. It depends on DH and how he is doing.

June's sewing -- 1.55 meters sewn with .75 meters bought. Total for year 20.45 meters sewn and 11.65 meters bought.

I had a bit of a shock when I realized that I was buying fabric due to the stress of DH having Alzheimer. I put a sharp stop to that bad habit before I went down the rabbit hole of going overboard. It was while putting in my last purchase that I realized I won't get 25 meters sewn by the end of June, which was my goal. At the moment I will be happy to get the Regency dress finished for the doll.

[toileandtrouble]

You did well to stop!  I realise I was buying for a similar reason. Perhaps it did the job at the time.

[Ann]

July is gone and I'm finally posting. I've been busy this month with DH having his spells and me trying to play catch up. He's good for respite though which is nice. We are suppose to be at the end of a heat wave and it has been exhausting. It is affecting both of us as we don't sleep as well as we could. Our bedroom is warmer than we like as the a/c doesn't reach that room. I have 2 fans blowing in the room and as the hot days go on they just move the air without it cooling too much.

I got the quilt cut out and most of it sewn in July. That was 4.25 meters of fabric. I bought 1.5 meters of fabric for the dolls. I will be sewing it up asap. I'm sewing a doll's wardrobe at the moment as I don't want to go to the quilt store until Friday. I need to get batting, backing and binding for the quilt. Nothing more than that as I'm on a fabric diet and can only buy to finish as project once I start it.

I'm doing as well as I can in the sewing room and have sewn just under 25 meters at the end of July. Not bad being a primary care giver who can spend hours monitoring the safety of her husband.