During August I began listening to podcasts while sitting at my sewing machine, and my new-to-me favorite podcast is Happier with Gretchen Rubin. Gretchen is the author of three New York Times bestsellers: The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before, and The Happiness Project. The Happier podcast, which is a delightful discussion with her sister Elizabeth Craft, touches on topics related to happiness and good habits. I especially enjoyed episode 184: How to Be Happier in Our Work Lives and episode 174: Make Something by Hand. I also liked the deep-dive episodes that explained the four tendencies we have when responding to the expectations of others and ourselves. (This is fascinating! During the Labor Day weekend, my extended family members took The Four Tendencies Quiz and compared results. Clearly, understanding each family member’s tendencies could make life a little happier at home.)

• Episode 35: Upholders
• Episode 36: Questioners (I’m a questioner.)
• Episode 37: Obligers
• Episode 38: Rebels

After listening to a lot of these podcasts, I decided to make a few changes to increase my happiness. First, I’m going to start using my crockpot more so I spend less time making healthy meals at home. Next, I told my husband that my office chair was driving me crazy because the armrests catch on the table. He immediately offered to remove the armrests, and it’s so much easier to spin around from one work table to another! And, finally, I decided to make something by hand simply to make me happier: a new apron!

September Goal: Apron

This morning I pulled out my Sugar and Spice fabric by Northcutt, and the Perfect Fit Apron pattern by Darlene Zimmerman, which I purchased a long time ago but haven’t ever used. This fabric puts me in a happy baking mood, which I think is perfect for cool fall weather. (Yes, it says Christmas Baking, so I’m getting a jump start on December.) I plan to finish this apron by the end of the month for Patty’s One Monthly Goal. It’s simple, and I should easily accomplish this. However, this month looks like it’ll be a bit of a whirlwind, especially for my husband who is traveling nearly half the month. That means I’ll be busy with a lot of other things that keep me away from my sewing machine.

Sewing Loft Updates

During August I continued to make some slow-but-steady progress on my Choose Your Own Adventure Quilt. Emphasis on slow, since I’m still making the Arrowhead Lake blocks. In addition to this large quilt, I finished up a few small projects!

• Pineapple Farm pillows – made for my neighbor
• Wild Geese Straight Furrows – quilted, bound, and delivered to Jack’s Basket
• Six pillowcases – sewed and mailed for the charity Pillowcase Challenge
• Fabric stash – sorted, plus delivered a bag of yardage to my mom
• A few small gifts made and mailed to a cousin

All in all, it was a month of enjoying pretty fabric in between a few summertime outdoor adventures.

Joyfully,

Tracie

I’m linking up with Beth at Cooking Up Quilts “Main Crush Monday.”