May Round Up

Housework plan for June

April goals were achieved except for getting the round up done on the blog.

I played a lot sewing and designing this month so I only got about half the goals I wrote down done.

I did mange to:

• Draft the easy version of my Boy Friend Shirt. I have called it the Everyday Shirt
• Did a bit on the sleeve of the Australian Girl Doll denim jacket. I have worked out that the two piece seam needs to be quite curved.
• I started drafting the skirt for my Wardrobe Capsule.
• I stitched and quilted one quilt block and have started stitching the second block for this month.
• I read at least 2 books and I'm pretty sure I read two e-books. I didn't finish listening to the audio book. I lost interest in it.
• I worked on a new free pattern. It is the tie that is going with the new outfit I am making.
• I also managed to get in a few walks to the beach.

Part of May I was away visiting my mum so I am happy with my achievements for May.

What about June.
I have sorted out the goals journal and the habits journal. I have scheduled the house cleaning for half of June on my new month at a view page I bought and downloaded from Etsy.

I printed it on the spare pages I have for the planner so I don't even have to punch the holes. The faint lines on the page are good for writing in the boxes.

I haven't quite got around to making my vision board list for June. I will update this when I get it done.

I love my new planner from Kikki K. I have bought all the accessories in the collection except for the pencil case which I am going to try making myself. I have a fabric paint pen that I will use to draw on my own cat picture.

Stay Organised,

Val

Ready With My 2015 Calendar Pages

I do get a small commission when you buy through my affiliate links.

I love it when things are easy. There may be some free calendars out there but I love the reliability of Mom's Toolbelt. I visit my downloads area and it takes a few seconds to download a whole year of plain or themed calendar pages in a great variety of styles.

I still like the two page spread for a month. I downloaded the summer theme and used some washi tape to tape it to the inside covers of a manilla folder. I added a few plastic pockets to hold planning ideas I am working on this month and the beginnings of projects that haven't been assigned a folder yet.

I also printed out an  'At a Glance Planning' page to list the things I want to do this month in no particular order.

One thing I want to do this month is get back into my applique quilt. It is on the list.  I will put it on the calendar maybe twice a week.
I also like having the calendar and planning files on my computer so I don't have to go on line to get them.

A great resource for quilters and crafters. Get your UFOs listed and organised on pretty calendar and planner pages.



Happy Planning,
Val

How I Use the Calendars in Mom's Toolbelt

One thing I like about have a lifetime subscription to Mom's ToolBelt is having access to a variety of calendar page layouts and knowing I will get the new year's dates without having to look past my MTB download page.

Landscape month to a page Summer theme page 312 of mtb-calendar-monthly-2014-pdf

I love the landscape month to a page view for jotting down my blog planner but I now realise that I need a computer version so I can have active hyperlinks to linkup pages and pattern tutorials.
I link up with several different linky parties and I find it a nuisance to have to open my blog page up so I can scroll down and find the various link up addresses.

Excel version mtb-calendar-BASIC-5wk-xls9703  the basic 2pg (3) table

Today I used the excel version of the month to a page calendar to insert the links into the correct days and I also added a picture of the paper piecing pattern I am going to make as well as a link to the tutorial for the more complicated paper piecing block.
I included notes on what I want to sew each day so that when I walk into my sewing room I don't get side tracked by the first pretty fabric or pattern that I see.

I opened the xls with Numbers on my Mac. It converts just fine.
I merged the cells on one the day sections to add a picture as cell background and I created hyperlinks in other cells.

Export it as a PDF

When I finished I exported it as a PDF into my Google Docs drive so I could access it from my iPad. I didn't need the info about my posts on the iPad but I did want to be able to see the sewing plans and patterns links I had.
I like to use the iPad in the sewing room because it doesn't take up much space.
Here is an image of my calendar. The top photo is my beach :) The PDF maintains the hyperlinks too.

Laptop - Google Docs - iPad - Google Docs - Laptop

I can swap files back and forth from my laptop to my iPad using GoodReader on the iPad to link to Google Docs. A while back I paid $9.99 for the GoodReader app and it has been worth every cent.

I open all files I download in GoodReader now. I can read them, email them, make notes on them and upload them to Google Docs.

One reason I decided to pay for Mom's Tool Belt files was the convenience factor. Just like paying for GoodReader. You generally get what you pay for and if it is for free then it is often limited in its usefulness. Also I liked the drawings on the themed pages :)

I use affiliate links to MTB in this blog. I think Mom's ToolBelt is a good thing and I like sharing how I use it.


Happy Organising,
Val