A Second Blue Shirt for Miss J--Fifth Finish 1st Quarter 2020

Finished shirt

I was planning to make a skirt next; but, that blue fabric was telling me not to put it away! I ended up cutting out a second shirt. I used the set in sleeve long sleeve pattern. I was able to cut it out with a few inches to spare. I don't know if these leftovers and the leftovers from the red shirt will end up in a baby quilt or as something else. I know that Martha would be pleased that her fabric was sewn into a useful item for a one of the granddaughters!

In the appliqués were two white horses with red manes, hooves and tails. Miss J would like horses. The price on the package red 49 cents!

Because Miss J and Miss K are just about the same size, I put a shorter ribbing on the sleeves. Otherwise, the shirts are the same size. I decided it would be better to give them the same item; but, in a different color way. I'll save the other blue shirt for another day.

The books before wrapping

Again, I was pleased that the thread stash, ribbing stash and fabric stash was able to supply all the parts to this garment!

My next challenge was how to present the shirts as gifts. Daughter, Nicole, had sent me home with a bunch of books when we visited over Christmas. She asked that I wrap a couple up and get them to the girls for Spring Vacation.

Since there will be no school until after April 28, I needed to come up with a way to package the books. I've started to be more green with wrapping. I do have some wrapping paper that was in my grandmother's stash as well as some ribbons so I don't feel wasteful at all when I use it.

Wrapped books

I placed the book inside the shirt and then used the sleeves to "close" the packaging! I hope they like their gifts. It will be a few weeks before they get them since we are still social distancing.

The books are funny and written with different fonts so the reader will have fun reading the text. I hope I get to have some of the stories read to me!

This was goal number 13 on my first quarter list. I used 1 1/4 yards of fabric which brings my total so far this year to 10 yards used from my stash. It is my fifth finish for the quarter. I have linked this finish to #2020faq1finish in Instagram.

Regarding Covid-19, worldwide there are 677,622 confirmed cases. 141,968 people have recovered from it; but, 31,750 people have died.  In the United States, there are 124,697 confirmed cases. 3,231 people have recovered from it; but, 2,227 people have died. In Oregon there are 479 confirmed cases and 13 deaths.

Other than a short walk with the dog each day, I have not left the house since Thursday, March 19. I am so thankful for e-mail, the telephone and FaceTime for keeping in touch with friends and family. Although my body misses the pool, I am thankful for having a stash of fabric, a working sewing machine and plenty of additional supplies to keep me in projects for as many weeks as needed to wait out this virus.

My husband has gone to the grocery store once a week and to the post office about three times a week. This week, there were no grocery ads. On nice days, he has ridden his bicycle. He misses the gym and his daily coffee time with his buddies. Yesterday, the dryer vent cracked and needed replacement. He was able to go to the local Home Depot store to purchase one at seven in the morning.

He said that he was checked into the store. An employee said 100 people could be in the store at one time and that currently there were two in the store. (He would be the third.) He saw no one until he went to the self checkout. An employee wiped the surfaces after him. As he exited, an employee updated the shopper tally to two.

One granddaughter has had a fever for three days. Her family has been in social isolation for two weeks so it is unknown where her illness originated. They have had groceries delivered and are staying in until three days until after the fever passes and away from people for an additional two weeks.