Hit new high!

Today was a great day. I worked really hard trying to finish this week. I started at 7am and completed the day at 7pm. That 12 hours does include lunch and breaks occasionally. In that time I made 72 pairs of shorts. I feel really encouraged about the week even though I know it will be busy. Linda Walters is still cutting. However, she lacks only about 135 pairs. She has been so precious to help. We are going next week for pedicures and manicures. She has always been a good friend, but as of late I have considered her a major blessing. Thanks Linda for all your hard work.

Error determines new ending date!!!

I managed to make nearly 300 pairs of shorts last week which is more than twice what I normally do in a week. I had hoped that I could be finished in exactly one week. However, I had set my numbers based on finishing on the 18. However, the 18th is one day beyond a year, so I would have had to make 100 pairs a day to finish on time. On thursday, I decided to try to make 100 pairs and started to work at 7am. By 3pm I had 101 pairs of shorts ready to be hemmed and elastic put in the waist, however from that point I still spend about 3 minutes per pair. So, I was looking at another 5 hours to finish the shorts. Well, I saved them till Thursday and decided that there was no way I could finish by midnight on the 17th, so I decided to slow down a little and get done by the end of this week. I have about 340 pairs of shorts left to make and plan to finish these by Saturday and I am sure I will be able to do this, even though it is way more than double what I normally make. So, I will be finished by Saturday, January 22. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New record, barely!!!

Today, I planned to finish a particular color of fabric. I like to work on one color at a time because I have to change out the thread on all my machines with each fabric change and it saves time if I can sew up all of one color before going on to the next. Just so happen the fabric made 71 pairs of shorts. So today I broke yesterdays new high. I couldn't help but laugh when I counted and there were 71 pairs. I made the shorts in about 10 hours. I started sewing at 7:30am and finished at 9pm I had breaks and prepared dinner however, I kept up with my actual sewing time and it was 592 minutes or 9.87hours. That means about 7 pairs of shorts per hour, not bad. Sure am tired, but it feels great to be doing something for someone else.

Help from Sigma Chi!

Over the Christmas break I got a call from Connor McClurkan. His mother and I are friends and I have tutored him in the past. He is in Sigma Chi and was wanting to get in some volunteer hours, so, he came by and cut shorts for 4 hours!!! I just knew he would have blisters from all the cutting, but he didn't. I appreciate Connor for all his hard work and I am thankful for the Sigma Chi fraternity that they encourage their pledges to be involved in their communities by doing charitable work. Thanks Connor!!!!

Broke a record!!!

Today I noticed that I had 9 sewing days till midnight on the 18th and I lack 616 pairs of shorts. Sounds crazy but I realized that I just might pull this thing off in time, if I can make 68 pairs of shorts every day for the next nine days!!!! Well, considering that I average 25 pairs a day that seems nearly impossible, however, I am determined to make my goal. So far, my best day has been 54 pairs in one day. Today, I was determined to make at least 68 pairs and 12 and 1/2 hours later I completed 70 pairs of shorts. It was a long day, but totally worth it!!! I did have breaks and even managed to pack up some of my Christmas Decorations. Now, I am seeing this as a possibility. Now I just lack 546 pairs of shorts. My goal was to finish by the 18th of January, so If I complete this by midnight on the 18, I will consider it a complete success. We'll see how much gumption I've got.

Family Help at Christmas.

Christmas is always the time for visiting and sharing with your family. This year my family came to visit and stayed at my house and much to my surprise and pleasure, they helped me sew. Visiting was my brother David and his wife Janet, my brother Michael and his wife Sandi, and my two nephews Morgan and Taylor, they are my brother Ricky's boys and their mother is Kelly. I didn't even know my brothers could sew, but they do and they did a great job. Their wives helped too as well as a nephew. They took photos and have not mailed them to me yet, but when they do, I will attach them to this blog. Janet and Michael used the sewing machines and David and Michael used the surger My nephew Taylor cut elastic for the waistbands and Sandi did lots and lots of ironing. We all ironed and trimmed and in 4 days, we made 149 pairs of shorts. It was really nice to get a lot done in a short period of time. I really enjoyed visiting with my family and really appreciated the help. Thanks to you for all your help.

Nearing 4000!!!

Wow, have I ever been busy. I can't believe how long it has been since I posted and so much has happened. In October I was assigned Jury Duty. I was afraid I would really get behind in my sewing, but as it turned out, I had to check in twice but never had to actually report for duty. To cover myself, I went to both Wal-Mart's, Kohl's, and Target and bought all their $1-$2 pairs of shorts. I purchased nearly 650 pairs. As it was, I didn't miss any days sewing. However, I did take a week off and went to Pennsylvania to visit my son and daughter-in-law. We had a great visit. My mother-in-law visited and helped me one day. She surged some of the shorts, but since she had not surged ever before she was not real comfortable doing so, so she quit and ironed for me. Of course, I iron all the shorts after I make them and I had gotten behind on ironing, so, she got me all caught up. Thank you, Murlene, for your help. Today, Brandon Stevens and Sandi Pierce came by and cut shorts. Brandon was here about two hours and Sandi about 4 and they cut about 90 pairs of shorts. Thank you so much Brandon and Sandi for all your help today. I also enjoyed visiting with them while I sewed. It was a really nice day. To date I have completed 3889 pairs of shorts. I have sent 3000 pairs to Haiti and am holding 889 pairs and the 650ish that I purchased. So, I have shorts everywhere!!!! Even taking some time off for Thanksgiving, I will easily reach 4000 by the end of November. That will leave about 7 weeks to complete the remaining 1000 pairs, which would be easy under normal circumstances, however during that 7 weeks we have Christmas and New years. I am still striving for completion by January 18th and we will see!!!! Central Baptist Church is headed to Haiti again in December and January, they may take some shorts in Dec., if they have room, the Dec. trip is a medical trip, so they will take the shorts only if they have room. However, they will be taking a trip in late January and will be able to take shorts for sure then. Currently the January trip is set for the 28th and I should be totally finished by then. Isn't it awesome how God works things out. Also, Dr. McAlexander will be going to Haiti in the near future and he said he would take shorts with him as well. I am so grateful to have all the help getting the shorts to Haiti. Have a very happy Thanksgiving!