Today, I stopped into a local Quilt shop in Rupert, Idaho. It is called The Gathering Place. It was a nice shop. It was really friendly, a nice size and had a decent size fabric selection. Yet I didn't really care for it. Part of it was the way it was set up. The shelves were too close together and I felt crowded. Patterns and books weren't necessarily near examples of quilts. Quilt kits were not near the display quilt. They had a few tools but nothing I didn't have or that I needed. The other part was the fabric was not my style. My husband said that most of it was Frumpy and I have to agree. But fabric selection is a personal choice and I am not a local. Plus my style is more traditional and less modern than the current trend seems to be.
So what is about quilt shops? Why do we seek them out over fabric stores? What is it that makes it a quilt shop and not a fabric store or a craft store?
The first quilt shop I recall visiting was a Bernina store in Logan Utah. I was married with kids, my husband was in college and we were broke. I would watch the Quilt in a Day Series on PBS and this shop had the books for it. But I never really could afford to buy the stuff. It was all expensive. Plus I was a decorative painter back then. I made a little money on the side painting for other people and or cutting wood shapes for other painters. I had most of my tools and supplies so I just needed a little here and there. My hobby paid for itself and then some.
When my husband graduated from college, we moved to Vancouver, WA which was great because that is where Artist club has a brick and mortar store with their sister store Connecting Threads. I used to order supplies from Artist Club when I was in Logan. Artist Club and Connecting Threads were more of a mail order store. So it wasn't really an inviting atmosphere. They did have a block of the month club the last year I lived in Vancouver, but again I was a painter.
The next quilt shop I visited was Mom's Craft and Fabrics in Delta, UT. Of course that was back in Utah. In Utah Quilters abound. As do Quilt guilds. I had started getting more into quilting and less into painting by this time. Largely because I started volunteering as a leader in 4-H. Mom's was definitely a Quilt shop. Quilts on display, lots of fabric, arranged by color and/or theme. Lots of tools, classes at reasonable prices and no pressure. I could walk in there shoot the breeze and leave without buying anything and never once feel guilty. My daughter Tatianna decided to make a quilt for a friend having a very risky surgery. We bought the fabric at Moms Crafts and Fabrics. Mom asked us to bring the quilt in to show her when it was done. When we brought it in to show her, there was a class going on. Mom was so proud of Tatianna's quilt that she stopped the class and made a huge fuss over it. The other women did as well. That, to me, was the first truly "Real" quilt shop I visited.
Unfortunately it also became the standard by which I judge all quilt shops. Delta was a small town and some of the people were really nice and some not so nice. But at Mom's quilters are treated like family. That is part of what I look for in a quilt shop.
Currently I live in Southern Georgia. The closest quilt shops are over an hour away. One is in Tallahassee, FL. It is really a Bernina store but it has a fair size selection of fabric and often puts the older stuff on sale. They offer classes and stock tools and equipment for those classes. But their main focus is sell machines. And the classes are designed to teach techniques using the machines. But I do like to go in there because I feel welcomed. When I buy fabric, they always ask what I am working on, etc. They take the time to recommend different tools/notions that they think will help give me better results. So not a bad place, just not a real quilt shop. But it is close.
The next one is Valdosta, GA. It's called Pinwheel Quilts. It is also a Bernina store but it is bigger. It has a larger selection of fabric. It also offers classes. It has tools and equipment and patterns. Prices are about average for other shops. They don't push their machines as much. They are not as friendly and usually are all business about cutting your fabric. Not a place I go to often, in fact I'e only been there 3 times and the last time I didn't buy anything. It just wasn't welcoming.
Hahira, GA is home to Sew Blessed Quilts. It is a cute little store inside a refurbished gas station from the 40's. I love how they turned it into a shop. It is small though and doesn't have a great selection. It is also a Handi Quilter dealer and so a lot of the long arm tools are for Handi Quilters. They did have the Loc-Bloc rulers though and a few other cool tools. The atmosphere is really friendly and encouraging. There was a quilt hanging on the wall that I loved. It had been a quilt retreat project that the owner had done. There wasn't a pattern for it but the sales person took the time to look it up on her tablet and give me the link to print out a free pattern for it. I've only been there a couple of times but each time I buy something. Unfortunately it is just too far out of the way for me to visit often or take classes.
I have had the opportunity to visit a few quilt shops when I have traveled. Whether for work or pleasure I try to find a quilt shop nearby and visit it. Mostly because I live in the quilt shop desert but partly because I like connecting with other quilters. Some are very friendly and you just want to stay and learn. Some are all about making a sale.
Last summer I was following google to a quilt shop in a rural town in California. About 1/2 mile before I got there I saw another little quilt shop. I stopped there first. I found a very friendly atmosphere decent prices and some cool projects. The proprietor was quilting a customer quilt that was being sent to a town not far from where I lived. Before I left the proprietor made sure to tell me to go to the other shop and gave me directions. When I got to the other shop I found it to be bigger and better stocked with tools. I did find a tool I was looking for. When I was checking out the proprietor of the second shop asked if I had been to the first shop. They were each other's competition in a small town and yet they helped each other out. They played to their own strengths and recognized each other's skill set. It was really neat.
So what is it about Quilt shops? What do you like about your local quilt shop? What is you must have in a quilt shop? I ask because I would love to have a quilt shop one day.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Seeking Balance - Long Hours, Illness, Stress, and Self Reliance
I started a post 4 weeks ago and just never finished it. It's been a long month with lots going on.
First Jeramie is healing well but has a lot to still go through. TaKayren is now seeing a fetal specialist for her pregnancy. Perigrine has returned home and been kept very busy since her return thanks to all that is going on. Plus she has been with out a working Phone until today. Killian is putting in long hours at work. So am I when I'm not sick.. Kim had to have some dental work done and ended up getting dentures a couple of weeks ago. He is struggling getting used to them. He is still traveling a lot. He was home for a week but that was when he had his teeth pulled and was sick on top of that. We all have been fighting really nasty colds. I am now in an asthma flare and having to start a second Prednisone regimen. All of this right before Kim and I are heading out west to visit family. Should be an interesting trip. I do plan on finding a quilt shop or two while out west.
Even though it has finally turned cold, the trees are still producing. I felt bad that so many of the apples were fed to the pigs this year. It was because I didn't take the time to make apple sauce and process it. We did can a few jars of Pears in September. This month we made persimmon jam. Then Perigrine and I canned 24 pints of pumpkin from the Halloween pumpkins that didn't get carved. This week we will be making lemon curd to can. The lemon tree is loaded and Kim only picked about 1/2 of them. So we will be busy putting up more produce this week. Also Kim got a deer last Monday so we have meat to butcher and package. This self reliant stuff can be time consuming.
So What is new in my Quilting Adventures? I needed an easy to transport hand project to take with me on a trip to Augusta with Jeramie and TK. I didn't have anything in mind or on hand. But I did find some English paper piecing hexies that I bought about 3 years ago. So I prepped a few and took them with me. It turns out that I didn't have time to do much with them. I only got 3 basted on the papers. I am taking them with me on this trip next week. I am going to prep a few more before I leave. I have not done any English paper piecing so this is a new venture. I will post more about it as I do more. I have a feeling this will be a millennial project. As in it will take a millennia before I finish it. Therefore I am not counting it in my UFOs.
Speaking as UFO's, I currently have 3 in production. The same two that need borders, the Irish Chain that needs to be made more bed friendly and the one I started piecing a month or so ago. I wish I could say that I've been good about working on one of them each day but alas, I can't. But I have made some progress. The 2 patch units are starting to become 4 patch units. I cut the inner borders for the two quilts that need borders. I just need to go through my stash and find fabric for the outer borders.
Other progress has happened as well. Quilt Path is being upgraded. I have gotten my tablet and my laptop both up dated. I need to re-install the drivers on both but I can do that before I use them next. I also took advantage of an opportunity to buy a Quilt Path Camp Manual for about 1/2 price. I will be studying this over the next few months. I really want to learn how to use my equipment effectively. I am also reviewing more tutorials from Just Get It Done Quilts. I really enjoy her videos. Plus they make me think about how to do things more accurately.
The Biggest News I have is that Millie is paid off. My wonderful Husband decided to use his bonus to pay off the loan on the long arm. We were half way through paying for it. Quite frankly the payment hit in the first half of the month along with several other big bills, creating cash flow issues during the first half of the month. Now we have one less payment and money isn't quite so tight during the first half of the month. So far I haven't had any lessening of guilt for not using Millie as much as I feel like I should. But that payment is not hanging over my head and I am not feeling pressure to have the long arm help pay for itself. So maybe I can just start to focus on learning to really use it.
That has been my month. Long hours at work for both Killian and me preventing getting things done. Illness for Kim, Killian, and me taking away all of our energy. Stress from Jeramie's injuries and TaKayren's risky pregnancy creating a need for help and emotional support that we are more than happy to give. I am not sure how much help we are being. I wish we were able to make it all better for them. Self reliance in putting up the produce, reducing debt and managing daily life.
All in all not a bad month for any part of my life. Yeah, I haven't made much progress on the quilts but I have balanced things pretty well. Priorities need to be maintained. But I sure could use some down time to just sew. I think we all could. Probably not going to happen in the next little while since we are heading into the Holidays.
How is your Journey going? What are your priorities. Have you found a balance?
First Jeramie is healing well but has a lot to still go through. TaKayren is now seeing a fetal specialist for her pregnancy. Perigrine has returned home and been kept very busy since her return thanks to all that is going on. Plus she has been with out a working Phone until today. Killian is putting in long hours at work. So am I when I'm not sick.. Kim had to have some dental work done and ended up getting dentures a couple of weeks ago. He is struggling getting used to them. He is still traveling a lot. He was home for a week but that was when he had his teeth pulled and was sick on top of that. We all have been fighting really nasty colds. I am now in an asthma flare and having to start a second Prednisone regimen. All of this right before Kim and I are heading out west to visit family. Should be an interesting trip. I do plan on finding a quilt shop or two while out west.
Even though it has finally turned cold, the trees are still producing. I felt bad that so many of the apples were fed to the pigs this year. It was because I didn't take the time to make apple sauce and process it. We did can a few jars of Pears in September. This month we made persimmon jam. Then Perigrine and I canned 24 pints of pumpkin from the Halloween pumpkins that didn't get carved. This week we will be making lemon curd to can. The lemon tree is loaded and Kim only picked about 1/2 of them. So we will be busy putting up more produce this week. Also Kim got a deer last Monday so we have meat to butcher and package. This self reliant stuff can be time consuming.
So What is new in my Quilting Adventures? I needed an easy to transport hand project to take with me on a trip to Augusta with Jeramie and TK. I didn't have anything in mind or on hand. But I did find some English paper piecing hexies that I bought about 3 years ago. So I prepped a few and took them with me. It turns out that I didn't have time to do much with them. I only got 3 basted on the papers. I am taking them with me on this trip next week. I am going to prep a few more before I leave. I have not done any English paper piecing so this is a new venture. I will post more about it as I do more. I have a feeling this will be a millennial project. As in it will take a millennia before I finish it. Therefore I am not counting it in my UFOs.
Other progress has happened as well. Quilt Path is being upgraded. I have gotten my tablet and my laptop both up dated. I need to re-install the drivers on both but I can do that before I use them next. I also took advantage of an opportunity to buy a Quilt Path Camp Manual for about 1/2 price. I will be studying this over the next few months. I really want to learn how to use my equipment effectively. I am also reviewing more tutorials from Just Get It Done Quilts. I really enjoy her videos. Plus they make me think about how to do things more accurately.
The Biggest News I have is that Millie is paid off. My wonderful Husband decided to use his bonus to pay off the loan on the long arm. We were half way through paying for it. Quite frankly the payment hit in the first half of the month along with several other big bills, creating cash flow issues during the first half of the month. Now we have one less payment and money isn't quite so tight during the first half of the month. So far I haven't had any lessening of guilt for not using Millie as much as I feel like I should. But that payment is not hanging over my head and I am not feeling pressure to have the long arm help pay for itself. So maybe I can just start to focus on learning to really use it.
That has been my month. Long hours at work for both Killian and me preventing getting things done. Illness for Kim, Killian, and me taking away all of our energy. Stress from Jeramie's injuries and TaKayren's risky pregnancy creating a need for help and emotional support that we are more than happy to give. I am not sure how much help we are being. I wish we were able to make it all better for them. Self reliance in putting up the produce, reducing debt and managing daily life.
All in all not a bad month for any part of my life. Yeah, I haven't made much progress on the quilts but I have balanced things pretty well. Priorities need to be maintained. But I sure could use some down time to just sew. I think we all could. Probably not going to happen in the next little while since we are heading into the Holidays.
How is your Journey going? What are your priorities. Have you found a balance?
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Work, Long hours, and Very Little Stress Relief
After writing my last blog entry, I did manage to get some sleep. A whole fours hours worth. Killian's warm milk did help. But the last two weeks have been crazy. I got back to work and I had forgotten my boss would be out the first half of the week. I ended up working 11 hours that day. Then on Wednesday, I found out that the other supervisor was going to be out but I thought it was only for a few days. The following Monday my boss had to go to his other plant due to a crisis. That left just me to run the department. I've done it before but that was before our work load increased exponentially. I didn't work less than 10 hour days all week. I was really looking forward to being able to sew this past weekend. Sewing is my stress relief.
But alas it was not to be. My son in law Jeramie was seriously injured at work on Friday. The text my daughter sent to my husband and I started with he's alive but on his way to the hospital. He was electrocuted on the job. He has 3rd and 4th degree burns on his hands and compression fractures in two of his vertebra. We are very fortunate it wasn't worse. Any way we have had the two little ones while they went up to Augusta, GA to the burn center. They will be coming home tonight and my wonderful son Killian has chosen to take off work the next two days to help out. So not much sewing time.
I did manage to squeeze is some sewing over the past two weeks. I stitched several of my 2 inch squares into 2 unit pieces. Most of that was done the first week. The second week I did the pressing of the units. I am hoping that this week will afford me more time to sew. I could really use the stress relief. But I am grateful I did have the little squares prepped and ready to sew. It made life easier to be able to sit down for just a few minutes and run a few squares through the machine.
In her blog/videos Karen Brown talks about taming your scraps by cutting them into strips and blocks that you either use often or are going to need for a scrappy project coming up. I am going to start employing this technique so I always have something on hand for quick stress relief. that is after I put my studio back together. It is the Kid's favorite place to hang out. Mine too.
If you haven't checked out Karen Brown's videos, you should. They are on You Tube - Just Get It Done Quilts. I've subscribed to her channel and followed her on Facebook. The videos are definitely worth the time. None are very long and I've watched some of them multiple times. Just be careful that they don't become time busters for you.
That it's for this week. Hope that your life is less crazy than mine. Keep on stitching.
But alas it was not to be. My son in law Jeramie was seriously injured at work on Friday. The text my daughter sent to my husband and I started with he's alive but on his way to the hospital. He was electrocuted on the job. He has 3rd and 4th degree burns on his hands and compression fractures in two of his vertebra. We are very fortunate it wasn't worse. Any way we have had the two little ones while they went up to Augusta, GA to the burn center. They will be coming home tonight and my wonderful son Killian has chosen to take off work the next two days to help out. So not much sewing time.
I did manage to squeeze is some sewing over the past two weeks. I stitched several of my 2 inch squares into 2 unit pieces. Most of that was done the first week. The second week I did the pressing of the units. I am hoping that this week will afford me more time to sew. I could really use the stress relief. But I am grateful I did have the little squares prepped and ready to sew. It made life easier to be able to sit down for just a few minutes and run a few squares through the machine.
In her blog/videos Karen Brown talks about taming your scraps by cutting them into strips and blocks that you either use often or are going to need for a scrappy project coming up. I am going to start employing this technique so I always have something on hand for quick stress relief. that is after I put my studio back together. It is the Kid's favorite place to hang out. Mine too.
If you haven't checked out Karen Brown's videos, you should. They are on You Tube - Just Get It Done Quilts. I've subscribed to her channel and followed her on Facebook. The videos are definitely worth the time. None are very long and I've watched some of them multiple times. Just be careful that they don't become time busters for you.
That it's for this week. Hope that your life is less crazy than mine. Keep on stitching.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Creating UFOs (unfinished projects)
So it is 11:06 at night, I have to get up at 4:00 am and I am wide awake. I should have never taken that nap this afternoon. I can't sew, (it would wake up my husband) so I decided to blog. Killian made me a nice mug of warm milk and hopefully by the time I am done, it will have kicked in.
This past week I went to Pack Expo with my husband. It was a great time and I bought home a whole suitcase fool of swag. Mostly bags but lots of pens, some stress balls, and some tape measures/rulers. But mostly bags. I had to buy a new suitcase to bring it all home in. I had a great time and saw some amazing machinery and cool applications that I would love to see at my work.
We got home late on Thursday night and I was looking forward to working on the two quilts that need borders on Friday. Guess what, I didn't. I did clean up the studio a bit, I did laundry, and I did start to cut the borders, at least the inner border. But that is where I stalled out.
Knowing that I can't force myself, and get good results, I decided to try a different tack. I set aside the borders and pulled out the 2 inch blocks I had left over from the Joyfully Scrappy quilt (one of the ones that need borders). I decided I would just start chain piecing them into 4 patch units. I pulled my machine to the front of my work surface and started. Or I should say tried to start. The fabric wasn't feeding well at all. The surface of the machine was rough and a little tacky.
I did a quick wipe down of the machine and I still couldn't get the fabric to feed smoothly. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had happened. Then I remembered, a few weeks ago I had sprayed a basting spray onto a cork board to get some paper to adhere. I had not protected my work surface from over spray. I had cleaned up the surface but didn't realize that my machine had been hit. Clorox wipes wouldn't remove it. So I put the machine aside until I could get a Mr. Clean Magic eraser.
That was when I decided that I didn't have enough contrast in the 2 inch squares. I decided that I would take more of the 4 inch square blocks and make some more 2 inch squares. Which then evolved into planning a quilt using 16 patch units and four patch units. Over the past 3 days I have cut 1400 - 2 inch squares. I am rather excited to get going on this quilt. It will be another quilt that is using up what I have on hand.
I got inspired to use what I have in my stash from watching a video series on YouTube. It was by Karen Brown of "Just Get It Done Quilts". She talks about shopping from your stash first. She even talks about inventorying your stash and figuring out how many quilts you can make with what you have. I haven't inventoried my stash yet. That is a project for a weekend when my daughters are around. Anyway, she has a blog page and several more video series as well as a face book page, You really should check her out. It's like group therapy for quilters, especially beginner quilters.
So instead of finishing up UFOs, I have started another one. I think I've mentioned before that I really like the piecing part of quilting. Even though I really need to get better at it. I plan to get my sewing machine cleaned up tomorrow evening. Then for a little while each night I will stitch away to my heart's content. I will make this my getting back on track project. Basically a project to work on when I am feeling the need to stitch but not the need to finish up a project. Sort of a way to recharge my quilting energy.
I will definitely get around to cutting those borders and making the backs for the two quilts sitting on the long arm. I will also get the label on the starry night quilt. Plus I need to finish up my Irish chain quilt. I am excited to get that one done and on Millie because I already know how I am going to quilt it and what thread I am going to use.
On top of that Emerson wants me to make him a quilt for his bed. I know what I want to do and just need to pull the fabric from my stash. And I need to make Aurora a quilt for her bed too. Don't know about that one yet. Too many plans and not enough time.
What is in your stash? What project do you have planned? What is inspiring you these days?
This past week I went to Pack Expo with my husband. It was a great time and I bought home a whole suitcase fool of swag. Mostly bags but lots of pens, some stress balls, and some tape measures/rulers. But mostly bags. I had to buy a new suitcase to bring it all home in. I had a great time and saw some amazing machinery and cool applications that I would love to see at my work.
We got home late on Thursday night and I was looking forward to working on the two quilts that need borders on Friday. Guess what, I didn't. I did clean up the studio a bit, I did laundry, and I did start to cut the borders, at least the inner border. But that is where I stalled out.
Knowing that I can't force myself, and get good results, I decided to try a different tack. I set aside the borders and pulled out the 2 inch blocks I had left over from the Joyfully Scrappy quilt (one of the ones that need borders). I decided I would just start chain piecing them into 4 patch units. I pulled my machine to the front of my work surface and started. Or I should say tried to start. The fabric wasn't feeding well at all. The surface of the machine was rough and a little tacky.
I did a quick wipe down of the machine and I still couldn't get the fabric to feed smoothly. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had happened. Then I remembered, a few weeks ago I had sprayed a basting spray onto a cork board to get some paper to adhere. I had not protected my work surface from over spray. I had cleaned up the surface but didn't realize that my machine had been hit. Clorox wipes wouldn't remove it. So I put the machine aside until I could get a Mr. Clean Magic eraser.
That was when I decided that I didn't have enough contrast in the 2 inch squares. I decided that I would take more of the 4 inch square blocks and make some more 2 inch squares. Which then evolved into planning a quilt using 16 patch units and four patch units. Over the past 3 days I have cut 1400 - 2 inch squares. I am rather excited to get going on this quilt. It will be another quilt that is using up what I have on hand.
I got inspired to use what I have in my stash from watching a video series on YouTube. It was by Karen Brown of "Just Get It Done Quilts". She talks about shopping from your stash first. She even talks about inventorying your stash and figuring out how many quilts you can make with what you have. I haven't inventoried my stash yet. That is a project for a weekend when my daughters are around. Anyway, she has a blog page and several more video series as well as a face book page, You really should check her out. It's like group therapy for quilters, especially beginner quilters.
So instead of finishing up UFOs, I have started another one. I think I've mentioned before that I really like the piecing part of quilting. Even though I really need to get better at it. I plan to get my sewing machine cleaned up tomorrow evening. Then for a little while each night I will stitch away to my heart's content. I will make this my getting back on track project. Basically a project to work on when I am feeling the need to stitch but not the need to finish up a project. Sort of a way to recharge my quilting energy.
I will definitely get around to cutting those borders and making the backs for the two quilts sitting on the long arm. I will also get the label on the starry night quilt. Plus I need to finish up my Irish chain quilt. I am excited to get that one done and on Millie because I already know how I am going to quilt it and what thread I am going to use.
On top of that Emerson wants me to make him a quilt for his bed. I know what I want to do and just need to pull the fabric from my stash. And I need to make Aurora a quilt for her bed too. Don't know about that one yet. Too many plans and not enough time.
What is in your stash? What project do you have planned? What is inspiring you these days?
Sunday, September 22, 2019
No New Projects Yet
Wow has it been 3 weeks already? I am completely out of touch with time these days. It just seems to fly by. To make matters worse I am not getting anything done. The two quilt tops that need borders are still sitting on Millie waiting for their borders. I haven't even cut them out yet.
Lately my days outside of work have consisted of cooking, cleaning and laundry. Kim has been out of town during the week but is home on weekends. That means catching up on things he wants us to get done. Plus having Grandkids over so they get some time with Santapa. (which is way more important than quilting)
So in the last 3 weeks, I've canned 8 quarts of pears off our trees and 4 quarts of pickled eggs from our chickens. We've spent a Saturday with the new family members (Shauhanna, Jeff and Zack), the guys went fishing and the gals went shopping. And I have prepped and taught a jewelry making class for church. All of which have been very enjoyable but seem to interfere with my quilting and sewing.
Also I have been in the midst of an asthma flare since August 14th. I went to the Doctor on September 12th and he put me on Prednisone for 10 days. I am feeling much better but now need to try and catch up on everything I didn't get done.
This week I am on vacation and am heading to Pack Expo in Vegas. Pack Expo is like a car show for packaging equipment. So yes it is a vacation but it is also work related. Kim is going for work and I am tagging along. So this week will be devoid of quilting as well. I am taking my Swedish weaving to work on in the hotel at night.
In the meantime, I have been watching some videos and am starting to make some plans. I am going to get a handle on my stash. I am going to get a handle on the UFOS. And I am going to get a handle on my scraps. I have some great ideas. Now to just make a plan and put it in action.
What have you been up to?
Lately my days outside of work have consisted of cooking, cleaning and laundry. Kim has been out of town during the week but is home on weekends. That means catching up on things he wants us to get done. Plus having Grandkids over so they get some time with Santapa. (which is way more important than quilting)
So in the last 3 weeks, I've canned 8 quarts of pears off our trees and 4 quarts of pickled eggs from our chickens. We've spent a Saturday with the new family members (Shauhanna, Jeff and Zack), the guys went fishing and the gals went shopping. And I have prepped and taught a jewelry making class for church. All of which have been very enjoyable but seem to interfere with my quilting and sewing.
Also I have been in the midst of an asthma flare since August 14th. I went to the Doctor on September 12th and he put me on Prednisone for 10 days. I am feeling much better but now need to try and catch up on everything I didn't get done.
This week I am on vacation and am heading to Pack Expo in Vegas. Pack Expo is like a car show for packaging equipment. So yes it is a vacation but it is also work related. Kim is going for work and I am tagging along. So this week will be devoid of quilting as well. I am taking my Swedish weaving to work on in the hotel at night.
In the meantime, I have been watching some videos and am starting to make some plans. I am going to get a handle on my stash. I am going to get a handle on the UFOS. And I am going to get a handle on my scraps. I have some great ideas. Now to just make a plan and put it in action.
What have you been up to?
Monday, September 2, 2019
Joy in the Process
This past week has been as busy as the one before. House and Studio are far from clean. Yet dishes have been done just about every night. (okay so we are eating off paper plates but the cooking dishes still have to be done) I even sewed a few evenings. But mostly I was under the weather. I have been fighting an asthma flare for a couple of weeks now (19 days). I have been wiped out most evenings. Killian, the good boy that he is, has been trying to take care of me despite still being under the weather himself.
We still have 4 baby piggies, the chickens are laying 5-7 eggs a day, the dog and cats are still alive and doing well. All of which has been a big concern to my real life Mowgli, Perigrine. Since she will be in Nevada for awhile, Perigrine is convinced the animals are going to die from lack of attention and care. But Killian and I doing a decent job even if I do say so myself.
As for sewing/quilting, I managed to finish piecing the top of the the tag team quilt. I have decided to name this quilt "Joyfully Scrappy". I have had the joined rows hanging on the rollers of my long arm in between sewing sessions. Every time I walk out of my bedroom and into my studio, I would see that partial quilt top and it just makes me happy. It may sound Silly but it does. I puts me in a better mood for the day and since I have to go through the Studio to get to my bedroom, I walked past it quite often.
I don't know what it is about this top. Maybe it is because I found a use for fabric squares that I have had for a long time. Maybe it is the pattern and the colors. May be it is the whole process of making it. I just know that I hated to fold it up today. But I don't want it draping on the floor. Especially since the dog is following me around and hanging out in what ever room I am in. I am hoping to get it measured and add the borders this next week. I also need to do that to Aurora's quilt. I should be ready to start quilting at least one of those next weekend if not both. That is progress.
For the next project I am torn between:
What are you working on? Have you got your next one planned?
We still have 4 baby piggies, the chickens are laying 5-7 eggs a day, the dog and cats are still alive and doing well. All of which has been a big concern to my real life Mowgli, Perigrine. Since she will be in Nevada for awhile, Perigrine is convinced the animals are going to die from lack of attention and care. But Killian and I doing a decent job even if I do say so myself.
As for sewing/quilting, I managed to finish piecing the top of the the tag team quilt. I have decided to name this quilt "Joyfully Scrappy". I have had the joined rows hanging on the rollers of my long arm in between sewing sessions. Every time I walk out of my bedroom and into my studio, I would see that partial quilt top and it just makes me happy. It may sound Silly but it does. I puts me in a better mood for the day and since I have to go through the Studio to get to my bedroom, I walked past it quite often.
I don't know what it is about this top. Maybe it is because I found a use for fabric squares that I have had for a long time. Maybe it is the pattern and the colors. May be it is the whole process of making it. I just know that I hated to fold it up today. But I don't want it draping on the floor. Especially since the dog is following me around and hanging out in what ever room I am in. I am hoping to get it measured and add the borders this next week. I also need to do that to Aurora's quilt. I should be ready to start quilting at least one of those next weekend if not both. That is progress.
For the next project I am torn between:
- Adding on to the sides of my Irish chain quilt to make it more bed friendly
- Starting a Key hole quilt for Emerson, using some jelly roll strips I've had for a while
- Doing a layer cake quilt that I have a kit I bought last year.
- A simple 4 patch quilt using some 5 inch squares that I have on hand
What are you working on? Have you got your next one planned?
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Empty House Equals More Chores and Less Quilting
This week has been a little weird for me. Tatianna has been gone for a couple of weeks now. Perigrine left to go help her sister in Nevada for a couple of months and Kim is out of town on business yet again. It has been down to Killian and me here at the house and it is way too quiet to suit either of us. Plus we have to do all the chores. I haven't cooked regularly for the past 10 years and now I am fixing breakfast, packing lunches and making dinner. Plus doing dishes and Laundry. I miss my slaves, I mean children. I miss my children.
So with all the wedding stuff and because my slaves (yes I know "children") had a definite lack of incentive, the house is a mess. Now usually I don't mind living with the mess and just go about doing what I want to do because it is the children's responsibility to take care of it. But now, Dang it, it is MY responsibility to take care of it. So I am doing a little everyday. Usually I get home before Killian so I change my clothes and start dinner (frozen casseroles have been my friend this week). When Killian gets home we take care of the animals and do other chores (laundry, dishes, cleaning) eat dinner and the settle down for the night. Maybe watch a little TV. It has been a decent routine so far. Hopefully we can keep it up.
Because other things have taken priority, (I know. Sacrilege!!! but the animals and we have to eat) I haven't done much sewing/quilting wise. I did get my blocks laid out for my quilt top. I have them stacked up by rows neatly clipped together on the side is to be stitched. Last week I said I had 80 blocks. Well, I found some more background squares and made up an 81st block so I could do a 9 x 9 lay out. After laying them out I had 1 block left over. I must have miscounted. So I have an orphan block to add to my collection.
I managed to get three rows sewn and I have to say I am really loving the look of this quilt top. This quilt is really giving me a lot of pleasure. I think it is partly because it is using up stuff I've had for a really long time. There is something very satisfying about using up what you have. It seems to keep in line with the original spirit of quilting.
This week has been a change and a challenge for me but it also has been a little invigorating. I am not feeling as overwhelmed by the house and while the improvement is slow, it is happening. I plan to take some time each evening and work a little on the quilt before bed. I may make it happen, I may not, but I will always have the weekend to sew.
Life is about adapting and growing when presented with new challenges. I feel like this week has been a growth week for me.
How has your week gone?
So with all the wedding stuff and because my slaves (yes I know "children") had a definite lack of incentive, the house is a mess. Now usually I don't mind living with the mess and just go about doing what I want to do because it is the children's responsibility to take care of it. But now, Dang it, it is MY responsibility to take care of it. So I am doing a little everyday. Usually I get home before Killian so I change my clothes and start dinner (frozen casseroles have been my friend this week). When Killian gets home we take care of the animals and do other chores (laundry, dishes, cleaning) eat dinner and the settle down for the night. Maybe watch a little TV. It has been a decent routine so far. Hopefully we can keep it up.
Because other things have taken priority, (I know. Sacrilege!!! but the animals and we have to eat) I haven't done much sewing/quilting wise. I did get my blocks laid out for my quilt top. I have them stacked up by rows neatly clipped together on the side is to be stitched. Last week I said I had 80 blocks. Well, I found some more background squares and made up an 81st block so I could do a 9 x 9 lay out. After laying them out I had 1 block left over. I must have miscounted. So I have an orphan block to add to my collection.
I managed to get three rows sewn and I have to say I am really loving the look of this quilt top. This quilt is really giving me a lot of pleasure. I think it is partly because it is using up stuff I've had for a really long time. There is something very satisfying about using up what you have. It seems to keep in line with the original spirit of quilting.
This week has been a change and a challenge for me but it also has been a little invigorating. I am not feeling as overwhelmed by the house and while the improvement is slow, it is happening. I plan to take some time each evening and work a little on the quilt before bed. I may make it happen, I may not, but I will always have the weekend to sew.
Life is about adapting and growing when presented with new challenges. I feel like this week has been a growth week for me.
How has your week gone?
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Why Have a Design Wall?
Finally the last of the wedding celebrations are over. No more wedding preparations and no more scheduled wedding events. Don't get me wrong it has been a joyous time for all if us, especially Tatianna and Zack (the Newlyweds) But the last 5 weekends have been tied up with wedding events. showers, bachelorette parties, bachelor parties, wedding travels, and receptions. It has been a whirl wind of celebrations and I am about partied out. Time for life to get back to normal. Or at least some semblance of what passes for normal.
This past week I was able to sew a little. I got all of the little 4 inch squares turned into 4 patch blocks. It feels good to be sewing again and really good to be at the block stage with this quilt. Next step laying it out on a design wall.
Before I got my 4 patches sewn, I decided I was really going to need to lay the blocks out. You see this is a very random and scrappy quilt. So I will need to make sure that the colors are evenly dispersed and the pattern flow is good.
As many of you know, a year and a half ago I made myself a design wall that I wasn't too happy with. (too flimsy) I did a little research on the google machine to see how others made their design walls. I am thinking I want it to be at least 72" x 72". Several had smallish design walls. Basically the size of a block. I didn't see any sense in a design wall that would be block size.
Then I started turning my squares in 4 patch blocks. I now realize that I have something in common with Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilts. I am direction-ally challenged. The four patch block is supposed to look like the top picture.
I started matching up the squares into 2 patch sets and wasn't paying attention to which way the white part of the block was going. So I had sewn about 130 sets and was kind of auditioning them to how they would look together. That's when I realized what I had been doing. Because I had a block that went together like this. (middle picture) While this is a really neat pattern (and I will probably do it one day) it is not the pattern I was going for.
As you all know this is not the first time I have done this. I did it when I pieced the ribbon dance quilts as well.
So I finish sewing the 2 square sets and about 1/3 of my sets are going the wrong way. Fortunately I discovered it before I had sewn any of the sets into the four patches. Even better, before I ripped the stitching out of the 50 sets, I realized that I just needed to match the sets up on the vertical axis and then rotate them to get the look I wanted. I did end up taking apart one of the sets but ripping out one seam sure beats ripping out 50 seams.
This got me to thinking about that block size design wall. I realized that if I had a visual of the block in sight, I may not have sewn so many sets together in the wrong direction. So maybe a small design wall isn't such a bad idea. One of the "make your own" design walls was made with dowels, pvc clamps, and batting. It just so happens that I have a small (10" x 16") pvc style needle work frame. I also have scraps of batting. Now I have a block size design wall.
Next up - a large design wall. I am currently toying with wood panels, hinges and wheels. I wish I could get my husband to design it. He usually comes up with a very workable idea. But his work schedule keeps him busy and out of town a lot these days. I am probably on my own. In the mean time I will lay out the fabric for my design wall on my bed and work from that. Making do with what you have isn't a bad thing.
What tools would you benefit from having? What have you created to meet one of your needs?
This past week I was able to sew a little. I got all of the little 4 inch squares turned into 4 patch blocks. It feels good to be sewing again and really good to be at the block stage with this quilt. Next step laying it out on a design wall.
Before I got my 4 patches sewn, I decided I was really going to need to lay the blocks out. You see this is a very random and scrappy quilt. So I will need to make sure that the colors are evenly dispersed and the pattern flow is good.
As many of you know, a year and a half ago I made myself a design wall that I wasn't too happy with. (too flimsy) I did a little research on the google machine to see how others made their design walls. I am thinking I want it to be at least 72" x 72". Several had smallish design walls. Basically the size of a block. I didn't see any sense in a design wall that would be block size.Then I started turning my squares in 4 patch blocks. I now realize that I have something in common with Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilts. I am direction-ally challenged. The four patch block is supposed to look like the top picture.
I started matching up the squares into 2 patch sets and wasn't paying attention to which way the white part of the block was going. So I had sewn about 130 sets and was kind of auditioning them to how they would look together. That's when I realized what I had been doing. Because I had a block that went together like this. (middle picture) While this is a really neat pattern (and I will probably do it one day) it is not the pattern I was going for. As you all know this is not the first time I have done this. I did it when I pieced the ribbon dance quilts as well.
So I finish sewing the 2 square sets and about 1/3 of my sets are going the wrong way. Fortunately I discovered it before I had sewn any of the sets into the four patches. Even better, before I ripped the stitching out of the 50 sets, I realized that I just needed to match the sets up on the vertical axis and then rotate them to get the look I wanted. I did end up taking apart one of the sets but ripping out one seam sure beats ripping out 50 seams.This got me to thinking about that block size design wall. I realized that if I had a visual of the block in sight, I may not have sewn so many sets together in the wrong direction. So maybe a small design wall isn't such a bad idea. One of the "make your own" design walls was made with dowels, pvc clamps, and batting. It just so happens that I have a small (10" x 16") pvc style needle work frame. I also have scraps of batting. Now I have a block size design wall.
Next up - a large design wall. I am currently toying with wood panels, hinges and wheels. I wish I could get my husband to design it. He usually comes up with a very workable idea. But his work schedule keeps him busy and out of town a lot these days. I am probably on my own. In the mean time I will lay out the fabric for my design wall on my bed and work from that. Making do with what you have isn't a bad thing.
What tools would you benefit from having? What have you created to meet one of your needs?
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Non-Quilting Crafting
I can't believe it has been 4 weeks already. Wow, time really does go faster the older you get. Tatianna is getting married in less than a week and moving away. Okay, it is only 2 hours away, but that is too far for my quilting buddy to go. Out of five daughters, only one, Tatianna, likes to quilt. I think it is because she is very precise in how she does things and that is an advantage when quilting. Also she loves putting together puzzles and quilting is kinda of like putting together a fabric puzzle. Tatianna has always encouraged me in all my crafting and she pushes me in my quilting journey. It will be hard having her not be right here.
I have done nothing when it comes to quilting or sewing in the past 4 weeks. I have been crafting though. I have been using some of my other skills to make things for the wedding. First, it was the bridesmaids jewelry. The bridesmaids are wearing blue dresses and red accessories. So red jewelry. I did not have an abundance of red beads therefore I needed to buy some. I found 3 sizes of the same bead online at Wish.com. The price was right and the delivery was faster than I expected. I already had silver bead caps, stringing materials, earring wires, and clasps. Bonus points for using from my stash. I came up with a simple pattern and made three sets over the course of a week. I am pleased with the results.
Then I did the bride's jewelry. These had to be white for the temple wedding. Tatianna being an old soul wanted a real cameo. I was able to find a white carved shell cameo at Fire Mountain Gems. I set it in a sterling silver bezel. I then strung white fresh water pearls inserting a crystal rondell every four pearls. I placed the cameo in the center of the necklace. I made pearl earrings to match. They will pair nicely with the silver chain maille/veil her father made.
With the jewelry done it was onto the flowers. We decided that the bridesmaids would have a ball of flowers that hangs from their wrists instead of bouquets. I have made corsages and boutonnieres before. I have done some arrangements but truthfully not any bouquets or flower balls. Of course these are going to be silk flowers since I need to do them ahead of time. I bought ten red rose bush arrangements and cut them up. I took some Styrofoam balls covered them in Spanish Moss and started stabbing red roses into them. The balls turned out a little bigger than I planned but I think they are cute. A red ribbon inserted into the ball lets them hang from the girls' wrists.
The bouquet was a little harder. At Hobby Lobby, I found two different bouquet forms. The one would use could be combined with a frilled cone to bouquet a finished edge. It would have been a traditional bouquet with a rounded top and a handle the went straight down. Tatianna liked the other form. It was angled so the top of the bouquet pointed away from the bride that way. that way it was more visible. Plus she wanted all the wedding colors in her bouquet.
I chose white roses but was having a hard time finding small red and blue flowers for the accent flowers. I knew I should have bought them before memorial day. But No! I had to wait until after the Fourth of July to buy them. I ended up with some small red carnation looking flowers and blue hydrangea looking flowers. I had to dismantle the hydrangea flowers to get small enough blooms. I took the white accent from the flower bushes and cut them in half to get the right size of filler flowers. I went with a simple ribbon bow. The end results speak for themselves. Hopefully I will be able to add a couple of pictures in tiny frames on chain to finish it off.
That left corsages and boutonnieres. I managed to get the boutonnieres done as well. They are simple roses with a little white accent and leaves. The corsages will be more of a challenge. I will be using the same flowers as I used in the bouquets and they aren't quite what I am used to working with. But I will make it happen.
My granddaughter Aurora (age 4) reminded me last night that she needs flowers and jewelry because she's going to be the flower girl. Also that Emerson (her brother, age 2) needs a boutonniere and a tie. I am going to have to make Emerson a bow tie since we can't find a little tie. The ones I bought are too big. So Five days left to get all of that done. I need a nap just thinking about it.
I am ready to get back to quilting. In fact I recently watched the Quilt Path videos on You Tube and am anxious to practice what I learned. But I need to get through this wedding and reception first. The reception will be the following Saturday and I need to decorate a cake and cook for that. Which means I will probably watch the videos again over the next couple weeks. Because It will be that long before I get a quilt ready to go on Millie. At least I have an idea of how I can improve what I am doing.
Well I better close and get back to work on wedding stuff. What have you been up too?
I have done nothing when it comes to quilting or sewing in the past 4 weeks. I have been crafting though. I have been using some of my other skills to make things for the wedding. First, it was the bridesmaids jewelry. The bridesmaids are wearing blue dresses and red accessories. So red jewelry. I did not have an abundance of red beads therefore I needed to buy some. I found 3 sizes of the same bead online at Wish.com. The price was right and the delivery was faster than I expected. I already had silver bead caps, stringing materials, earring wires, and clasps. Bonus points for using from my stash. I came up with a simple pattern and made three sets over the course of a week. I am pleased with the results.
Then I did the bride's jewelry. These had to be white for the temple wedding. Tatianna being an old soul wanted a real cameo. I was able to find a white carved shell cameo at Fire Mountain Gems. I set it in a sterling silver bezel. I then strung white fresh water pearls inserting a crystal rondell every four pearls. I placed the cameo in the center of the necklace. I made pearl earrings to match. They will pair nicely with the silver chain maille/veil her father made.
With the jewelry done it was onto the flowers. We decided that the bridesmaids would have a ball of flowers that hangs from their wrists instead of bouquets. I have made corsages and boutonnieres before. I have done some arrangements but truthfully not any bouquets or flower balls. Of course these are going to be silk flowers since I need to do them ahead of time. I bought ten red rose bush arrangements and cut them up. I took some Styrofoam balls covered them in Spanish Moss and started stabbing red roses into them. The balls turned out a little bigger than I planned but I think they are cute. A red ribbon inserted into the ball lets them hang from the girls' wrists.The bouquet was a little harder. At Hobby Lobby, I found two different bouquet forms. The one would use could be combined with a frilled cone to bouquet a finished edge. It would have been a traditional bouquet with a rounded top and a handle the went straight down. Tatianna liked the other form. It was angled so the top of the bouquet pointed away from the bride that way. that way it was more visible. Plus she wanted all the wedding colors in her bouquet.
I chose white roses but was having a hard time finding small red and blue flowers for the accent flowers. I knew I should have bought them before memorial day. But No! I had to wait until after the Fourth of July to buy them. I ended up with some small red carnation looking flowers and blue hydrangea looking flowers. I had to dismantle the hydrangea flowers to get small enough blooms. I took the white accent from the flower bushes and cut them in half to get the right size of filler flowers. I went with a simple ribbon bow. The end results speak for themselves. Hopefully I will be able to add a couple of pictures in tiny frames on chain to finish it off.
That left corsages and boutonnieres. I managed to get the boutonnieres done as well. They are simple roses with a little white accent and leaves. The corsages will be more of a challenge. I will be using the same flowers as I used in the bouquets and they aren't quite what I am used to working with. But I will make it happen.My granddaughter Aurora (age 4) reminded me last night that she needs flowers and jewelry because she's going to be the flower girl. Also that Emerson (her brother, age 2) needs a boutonniere and a tie. I am going to have to make Emerson a bow tie since we can't find a little tie. The ones I bought are too big. So Five days left to get all of that done. I need a nap just thinking about it.
I am ready to get back to quilting. In fact I recently watched the Quilt Path videos on You Tube and am anxious to practice what I learned. But I need to get through this wedding and reception first. The reception will be the following Saturday and I need to decorate a cake and cook for that. Which means I will probably watch the videos again over the next couple weeks. Because It will be that long before I get a quilt ready to go on Millie. At least I have an idea of how I can improve what I am doing.
Well I better close and get back to work on wedding stuff. What have you been up too?
Monday, July 1, 2019
Stopping Places and Starting Points
This past week went by way too fast. I swear it was just June 24th yesterday and here it is July 1st. While work could have been better, Home went fairly well. I did manage to keep busy after work doing some cleaning, sewing some blocks and a very little bit of Swedish weaving.
I manged to sew 100 more blocks so I now have 250 of them done. I have about 80 more that I can do. I am using 4 inch squares I bought online 15 years ago. When I finish up these particular squares, I will sew them into whatever size quilt I can.
This project I am doing a little differently that previous projects and it is really helping to keep me enthused. I am sewing the blocks in groups. Basically, I am chain piecing 50 at a time. When I have those 50 chain pieced, I am trimming the corners and pressing all 50 blocks. Then instead of putting them aside, like I usually do, I am squaring them up. I find this gives me a nice stopping place. I find I like having a logical stopping place for things.
I am one of those people who has a hard time putting a book down. If I am not going to finish it in that reading I have to end on a chapter. My husband, however, can set the book down with a paragraph left to read. That is just wrong. Finish already! There is something not right about setting a book aside when you can finish it in less than 10 minutes. If I only have 1 chapter left to read I need to go on and finish it. A logical stopping place, it turns out, is pretty essential to my frame of mind.
That being said, I had to be out of the house for several hours on Saturday. Knowing that I wanted to have a productive day, I made some plans. I had a project to do out in the rock shop, but that wasn't going to keep me busy for 4 hours so I took the Swedish weaving out with me.
First I had to pickle the chain mail veil that my husband is making for Tatianna's wedding. It is going to be so awesome. That took all of an hour from set up to clean up.
Then I read for a little bit. My friend introduced me to a great author, Andy Andrews. He writes self help books that don't read like self help books. When you get done reading them you feel pretty good about yourself and encouraged and empowered to do better. I am actually feeling brave enough to get some quilts ready to sell on Etsy.
After reading to a stopping point where I needed to ponder what I read, I settled in to do some Swedish weaving. I do enjoy Swedish weaving but it is a time consuming endeavor. I managed to get 6 lines done before having to take my son to the ER. He is fine but his ankle is messed up. He hyper flexed it on both sides and bruised some cartilage. He is going to be on crutches for the week at least. It was time to clean up and put things away by the time we got home from the ER. But I couldn't let that Swedish weaving alone. You see the pattern is in 3 sections, each section being about 9 lines. I only had part of a section done. Apparently I need to finish a section or it will weigh on my mind until I finish it. Who knew? Well, apparently my husband did because when I mentioned it to him, he just nodded and said yeah that was something I did.
I also realized that I not only have to have a logical stopping point, but if the project is not finished I have to get things set-up to start again. So the for the quilt blocks, I have to have the next group ready to go and the machine threaded and maybe a spare bobbin ready. For the Swedish weaving I have to have the bodkin threaded with the next strand and tucked into the starting point. For reading, I have to have the place marked and it set by my bed (or in my purse, if traveling).
I occasionally joke about being slightly OCD because I like things done a certain way and in a certain order. I have to have my studio set up in a fashion that makes sense to me. Dishes are done in a certain order. Projects are stored neatly in bins and stacked on a shelf. Clutter does make me crazy in my work space. But I didn't realize how much I am a creature of habits until recently. These little quirks affect my happiness so I might as well indulge them. Who needs to be stressed out over the little things.
What are some of the quirks you have when creating?
I manged to sew 100 more blocks so I now have 250 of them done. I have about 80 more that I can do. I am using 4 inch squares I bought online 15 years ago. When I finish up these particular squares, I will sew them into whatever size quilt I can.
This project I am doing a little differently that previous projects and it is really helping to keep me enthused. I am sewing the blocks in groups. Basically, I am chain piecing 50 at a time. When I have those 50 chain pieced, I am trimming the corners and pressing all 50 blocks. Then instead of putting them aside, like I usually do, I am squaring them up. I find this gives me a nice stopping place. I find I like having a logical stopping place for things.
I am one of those people who has a hard time putting a book down. If I am not going to finish it in that reading I have to end on a chapter. My husband, however, can set the book down with a paragraph left to read. That is just wrong. Finish already! There is something not right about setting a book aside when you can finish it in less than 10 minutes. If I only have 1 chapter left to read I need to go on and finish it. A logical stopping place, it turns out, is pretty essential to my frame of mind.
That being said, I had to be out of the house for several hours on Saturday. Knowing that I wanted to have a productive day, I made some plans. I had a project to do out in the rock shop, but that wasn't going to keep me busy for 4 hours so I took the Swedish weaving out with me.
First I had to pickle the chain mail veil that my husband is making for Tatianna's wedding. It is going to be so awesome. That took all of an hour from set up to clean up.
Then I read for a little bit. My friend introduced me to a great author, Andy Andrews. He writes self help books that don't read like self help books. When you get done reading them you feel pretty good about yourself and encouraged and empowered to do better. I am actually feeling brave enough to get some quilts ready to sell on Etsy.
After reading to a stopping point where I needed to ponder what I read, I settled in to do some Swedish weaving. I do enjoy Swedish weaving but it is a time consuming endeavor. I managed to get 6 lines done before having to take my son to the ER. He is fine but his ankle is messed up. He hyper flexed it on both sides and bruised some cartilage. He is going to be on crutches for the week at least. It was time to clean up and put things away by the time we got home from the ER. But I couldn't let that Swedish weaving alone. You see the pattern is in 3 sections, each section being about 9 lines. I only had part of a section done. Apparently I need to finish a section or it will weigh on my mind until I finish it. Who knew? Well, apparently my husband did because when I mentioned it to him, he just nodded and said yeah that was something I did.
I also realized that I not only have to have a logical stopping point, but if the project is not finished I have to get things set-up to start again. So the for the quilt blocks, I have to have the next group ready to go and the machine threaded and maybe a spare bobbin ready. For the Swedish weaving I have to have the bodkin threaded with the next strand and tucked into the starting point. For reading, I have to have the place marked and it set by my bed (or in my purse, if traveling).
I occasionally joke about being slightly OCD because I like things done a certain way and in a certain order. I have to have my studio set up in a fashion that makes sense to me. Dishes are done in a certain order. Projects are stored neatly in bins and stacked on a shelf. Clutter does make me crazy in my work space. But I didn't realize how much I am a creature of habits until recently. These little quirks affect my happiness so I might as well indulge them. Who needs to be stressed out over the little things.
What are some of the quirks you have when creating?
Monday, June 24, 2019
Being Productive Equals Being Enthused
So I had a truly enjoyable time in California. The people at the California plant made me feel welcomed and of value. While I'm not sure how much of an expert I am they sure treated me like I was one. That made for a very enjoyable work experience. Plus I felt like we got some real work done.
There is not really a whole lot to do in Gustine and Santa Nella California. So I spent my evenings in the hotel room. Fortunately I had planned for this and had my Swedish weaving project ready to go. I should point out that I am not really a needle work person. It just takes too long to finish a project. But I always forget that before I start a project. Then project drags on for years.
Anyway I spent the evenings and early mornings (because my body didn't want to adapt to Pacific time) stitching away. In the four days, I was able to get one pattern repeat done. Over this weekend I was able to get a 1/3 of the next repeat done. This project is going to take 7 pattern repeats to complete. It won't be done anytime soon. But as I have a few minutes here and there I will work on it. I have it at the ready in a basket hanging on my project shelf. I am really happy with how it is looking and I love the colors.
Thursday, I got off work a little early and went to a couple of quilt shops. I drove to Los Banos but despite my calling and asking about the hours the day before it was closed. I then used the google machine to see where else close by I could find a shop. Google listed Cloth and Quilts in Hilmar, CA. I headed that way. I was about a mile away when I spotted Cabin Quilts also in Hilmar. It was a fairly small store with a lot of personality. It was very welcoming. I mentioned that I was heading to a different shop when I spotted them. They said I needed to visit the other shop because it was bigger. They even gave me directions to it. They told me the other shop had a lot more in the way of books and rulers as well as a bigger fabric selection. After purchasing a few fat quarter bundles and a small jelly roll. I headed over to Cloth and Quilts. When they found out I was visiting the area and looking for quilt shops, they made sure to tell me about Cabin Quilts. They stated that Cabin Quilts cater to more drop in sewing and often had kits made for people to just get going. Both stores offer long Arm services. Cloth and Quilts offers rental time of their long arms. The two stores have a very symbiotic relationship and often refer customers to the other store. They both offer different services and seem to help each other grow. As a result their customers are the winners. I did make purchases at both stores but didn't break the bank. I was pleased to see the two stores working together.
Friday I headed home. I didn't get in until late (11:30 pm) but the flights were uneventful and I read two books on the way home. Saturday I was so proud of myself. I unpacked my suitcases and put everything up including my quilt store purchases. I didn't just pile things up. I also went through the mail and took care of it right away. Then I finished squaring up the blocks I made before I left. After that I sewed 50 more blocks all of which are pressed and squared up as well.
I am finding that I am more eager to work on things, even excited. I have even kept up working on the studio. I also have had a few epiphanies but I'll save those are for another time.
Are you staying productive? What are you working on?
There is not really a whole lot to do in Gustine and Santa Nella California. So I spent my evenings in the hotel room. Fortunately I had planned for this and had my Swedish weaving project ready to go. I should point out that I am not really a needle work person. It just takes too long to finish a project. But I always forget that before I start a project. Then project drags on for years.
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| Feathers To and Fro |
Thursday, I got off work a little early and went to a couple of quilt shops. I drove to Los Banos but despite my calling and asking about the hours the day before it was closed. I then used the google machine to see where else close by I could find a shop. Google listed Cloth and Quilts in Hilmar, CA. I headed that way. I was about a mile away when I spotted Cabin Quilts also in Hilmar. It was a fairly small store with a lot of personality. It was very welcoming. I mentioned that I was heading to a different shop when I spotted them. They said I needed to visit the other shop because it was bigger. They even gave me directions to it. They told me the other shop had a lot more in the way of books and rulers as well as a bigger fabric selection. After purchasing a few fat quarter bundles and a small jelly roll. I headed over to Cloth and Quilts. When they found out I was visiting the area and looking for quilt shops, they made sure to tell me about Cabin Quilts. They stated that Cabin Quilts cater to more drop in sewing and often had kits made for people to just get going. Both stores offer long Arm services. Cloth and Quilts offers rental time of their long arms. The two stores have a very symbiotic relationship and often refer customers to the other store. They both offer different services and seem to help each other grow. As a result their customers are the winners. I did make purchases at both stores but didn't break the bank. I was pleased to see the two stores working together.
Friday I headed home. I didn't get in until late (11:30 pm) but the flights were uneventful and I read two books on the way home. Saturday I was so proud of myself. I unpacked my suitcases and put everything up including my quilt store purchases. I didn't just pile things up. I also went through the mail and took care of it right away. Then I finished squaring up the blocks I made before I left. After that I sewed 50 more blocks all of which are pressed and squared up as well.
I am finding that I am more eager to work on things, even excited. I have even kept up working on the studio. I also have had a few epiphanies but I'll save those are for another time.
Are you staying productive? What are you working on?
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Different Actions Equal Better Attitudes
They say you can't expect a different outcome if you keep doing the same thing. This blog is about just that.
Well, it has been a month since I last posted. Back then I posted about the disaster that is my studio. And quite honestly it got worse. I have been rather busy at work with the big audit and all that entailed. But I did manage to do a little sewing and a little cleaning. To be truthful I did most of it this last week.
So the first week of June was the big audit. While it was only 3 days long, they were very long days for me. Then Thursday and Friday required some catch up and consequently were just as long. But this past week was different.
When I got home from work on Monday, despite putting in a long day, instead of flopping on my bed, I changed my clothes and started working. I cleared off my desk and put some things away, and started sewing. I got 50 - 4 inch blocks sewn.
Tuesday, I was off due to a pulmonologist appointment that was in the middle of the day. I got up at my usual time instead of sleeping in, even though I really wanted too. This gave me the time to press and square up those 50 blocks. I even picked up some stuff and put some things away. I realized that I needed a couple of storage bins though I am loathe to add to the growing collection. After my appointment I picked up a couple of sweater sized storage bins. I only wanted one but had to get 4. I could have gotten another large bin but I had convinced my self that I was not going to buy another bin just to fill it up with more fabric. Despite less than encouraging news from the pulmonologist, when I got home I started putting fabric that was stacked up away. This led me to start cleaning out things under the long arm. I got about half of the storage under the long arm straightened up. I swept stuff up a little as well.
Wednesday, I was back at work. I put in a 9 hour day and was tired but instead of my usual resting up to do it all over the next day, I changed my clothes and got to work. I swept up stuff and put some more stuff away. It wasn't a lot but it was progress.
On Thursday I gave in and bought another big bin. I filled it up with the fabric I had stacked up for the past year. I emptied a few boxes and moved the presents for my brother off the long arm. I then sewed 50 more blocks.
Friday was scheduled to be a travel day for me. But my flight wasn't until the late afternoon. I got up and got to work. I pressed the blocks and even squared up a few. But mostly I cleaned. I swept and cleaned behind the long arm, I cleaned the window sills and I even cleaned the air conditioner. I wet swiffered the floor and put some more stuff away. I emptied boxes and filled the other 3 sweater size bins. I am far from being done but I sure am happy with myself for what I did get done.
Today finds me in Bakersfield,California. I got in late Friday night and I am spending the weekend with my husband before heading up to Gustine, California. This next week I will be working at the company's California plant. So I won't be able to do anything in the studio. But I did prepare some monk's cloth and plan to so some Swedish weaving in the evenings after work. You see I have 6 pieces of monk's cloth that I had for the past 12 years. I wanted to do swedish weaving but never got around to prepping the cloth. I went ahead and got all the pieces, serged and washed. So I when I want to, I can just pull it out and start working on it. I am hoping that next weekend I will be back on track with getting the studio together and quilting. In the mean time, I am being productive in my down time.
I am much happier and I am really enjoying the progress I am making in my studio. I know I am far from being where I need to be but lots of things have happened by me just putting in a few minutes after work. One, I found my Quilt path thumb drive so I can start reading about how to really use the computer system on the long arm. Two, I got a good look at all of the fat quarters I have. I really need to get to work using them. Three, I found some patterns that I could use some of those fat quarters for. I am actually thinking about getting some things made and put up for sale on Etsy. I am once again inspired. I am feeling optimistic. I still feel like I am drowning in my possessions, but I feel like there is a way to the surface again. Once again I feel like I can get things done. Am I still tired? Yes! Yes I am. But I feel like I am accomplishing something and that is everything.
Different Actions - I didn't flop on my bed. I did something besides watch TV. I kept moving.
Better Attitudes - I am not as grumpy. I have more patience. I feel like creating. I am encouraged.
How is your struggle going?
Well, it has been a month since I last posted. Back then I posted about the disaster that is my studio. And quite honestly it got worse. I have been rather busy at work with the big audit and all that entailed. But I did manage to do a little sewing and a little cleaning. To be truthful I did most of it this last week.
So the first week of June was the big audit. While it was only 3 days long, they were very long days for me. Then Thursday and Friday required some catch up and consequently were just as long. But this past week was different.
When I got home from work on Monday, despite putting in a long day, instead of flopping on my bed, I changed my clothes and started working. I cleared off my desk and put some things away, and started sewing. I got 50 - 4 inch blocks sewn.
Tuesday, I was off due to a pulmonologist appointment that was in the middle of the day. I got up at my usual time instead of sleeping in, even though I really wanted too. This gave me the time to press and square up those 50 blocks. I even picked up some stuff and put some things away. I realized that I needed a couple of storage bins though I am loathe to add to the growing collection. After my appointment I picked up a couple of sweater sized storage bins. I only wanted one but had to get 4. I could have gotten another large bin but I had convinced my self that I was not going to buy another bin just to fill it up with more fabric. Despite less than encouraging news from the pulmonologist, when I got home I started putting fabric that was stacked up away. This led me to start cleaning out things under the long arm. I got about half of the storage under the long arm straightened up. I swept stuff up a little as well.
Wednesday, I was back at work. I put in a 9 hour day and was tired but instead of my usual resting up to do it all over the next day, I changed my clothes and got to work. I swept up stuff and put some more stuff away. It wasn't a lot but it was progress.
On Thursday I gave in and bought another big bin. I filled it up with the fabric I had stacked up for the past year. I emptied a few boxes and moved the presents for my brother off the long arm. I then sewed 50 more blocks.
Friday was scheduled to be a travel day for me. But my flight wasn't until the late afternoon. I got up and got to work. I pressed the blocks and even squared up a few. But mostly I cleaned. I swept and cleaned behind the long arm, I cleaned the window sills and I even cleaned the air conditioner. I wet swiffered the floor and put some more stuff away. I emptied boxes and filled the other 3 sweater size bins. I am far from being done but I sure am happy with myself for what I did get done.
Today finds me in Bakersfield,California. I got in late Friday night and I am spending the weekend with my husband before heading up to Gustine, California. This next week I will be working at the company's California plant. So I won't be able to do anything in the studio. But I did prepare some monk's cloth and plan to so some Swedish weaving in the evenings after work. You see I have 6 pieces of monk's cloth that I had for the past 12 years. I wanted to do swedish weaving but never got around to prepping the cloth. I went ahead and got all the pieces, serged and washed. So I when I want to, I can just pull it out and start working on it. I am hoping that next weekend I will be back on track with getting the studio together and quilting. In the mean time, I am being productive in my down time.
I am much happier and I am really enjoying the progress I am making in my studio. I know I am far from being where I need to be but lots of things have happened by me just putting in a few minutes after work. One, I found my Quilt path thumb drive so I can start reading about how to really use the computer system on the long arm. Two, I got a good look at all of the fat quarters I have. I really need to get to work using them. Three, I found some patterns that I could use some of those fat quarters for. I am actually thinking about getting some things made and put up for sale on Etsy. I am once again inspired. I am feeling optimistic. I still feel like I am drowning in my possessions, but I feel like there is a way to the surface again. Once again I feel like I can get things done. Am I still tired? Yes! Yes I am. But I feel like I am accomplishing something and that is everything.
Different Actions - I didn't flop on my bed. I did something besides watch TV. I kept moving.
Better Attitudes - I am not as grumpy. I have more patience. I feel like creating. I am encouraged.
How is your struggle going?
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Disaster Studio Equals No Progress
Here it is two weeks later and I am just sitting down to blog again. In all fairness, I put in 110 hours at work over the past two weeks, so it is understandable that I haven't done much of anything. But another reason I haven't done anything is the shape of my studio.
Right now My studio is less of a studio and more of a dumping ground. Things are piled everywhere. Every flat surface is covered. The picture to the right doesn't accurately convey the true disaster it is. Unlike most people, whose studios are in a back room or some other out of the way space, my studio is what would otherwise be called the Living room. It is one of the main rooms of my house.
And since the house has a fairly open concept floor plan, this is highly visible.
This second picture is of my main work surface. My sewing desk. You can see the sewing machine and serger pushed back against the wall. The main work area is covered with papers mail, and various items that my granddaughter wanted me to work on. Not to mention quilt fabric and squares that I was starting to work on. In the lower left corner you can see more piles that of accumulated stuff.
Take a look at Millie. She is covered with fabric, practice pieces, and Christmas gifts for my brother who didn't make down for the holidays. The ironing board is leaned against her. This is not the way to treat a $30,000.00 piece of equipment. You can even see that Millie herself is pushed all the way down to the end. It is just a fluke that there is not a cat perched atop her.
The space beneath her is even worse. I have fat quarter storage bags, bins of fabric and thread and boxes of stuff piled up all over. There are 3 spare sewing machines in cases. There is a box of my husband's papers and who knows what else that I don't know what to do with. The plastic set of drawers have nothing to do with sewing and everything to do with papers, etc. from over the years. It needs gone through and emptied. Of course that falls to me and well I don't want to mess with it. You can't see it but back in one corner I have the box for Millie. I was told to keep it but everywhere I have put it so far (closets, etc) has been needed for something else. So it's taking up room in the studio.
Oh and let's not forget this pile at the end of the room. Some where underneath that pile is Tatianna's sewing machine. I wish I could say that it was all her stuff piled up there, but it's not. Oh some of it is hers but I have a habit of dumping stuff there until I am finished with it. Of course finishing with it means putting it up, Right? Not so much for me. I really need to get this dug out so Tatianna can pack it up her stuff to take with her when she gets married in 2 1/2 months. I may be losing a daughter but I am gaining some space.
Is it any wonder that I have not felt like quilting. How could I even begin to get inspired when the very space I create in makes me depressed. I really need to get a handle on this. I need to find a system that will work for me. I know some of it is going to be weeding out what I don't use or need. That will take some help from someone stronger willed than I. Too bad Arianna is too far away. Plus it isn't going to be just a weekend thing. This is going to take months.
So for now the plan is to take one area at a time and clear it up. Starting with my work surface. I actually have space there now to start sewing again. A little cleaning, then a little sewing. If I do it a little bit each night before too long I will not feel like I am being buried alive.
That's my goal for now. What are your set back? How are you over coming them?
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| View of the whole studio from the north end. |
And since the house has a fairly open concept floor plan, this is highly visible.
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| Main work surface |
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| My very expensive Long Arm |
Take a look at Millie. She is covered with fabric, practice pieces, and Christmas gifts for my brother who didn't make down for the holidays. The ironing board is leaned against her. This is not the way to treat a $30,000.00 piece of equipment. You can even see that Millie herself is pushed all the way down to the end. It is just a fluke that there is not a cat perched atop her.
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| Below Millie's table |
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| Tatianna's sewing surface |
Is it any wonder that I have not felt like quilting. How could I even begin to get inspired when the very space I create in makes me depressed. I really need to get a handle on this. I need to find a system that will work for me. I know some of it is going to be weeding out what I don't use or need. That will take some help from someone stronger willed than I. Too bad Arianna is too far away. Plus it isn't going to be just a weekend thing. This is going to take months.
So for now the plan is to take one area at a time and clear it up. Starting with my work surface. I actually have space there now to start sewing again. A little cleaning, then a little sewing. If I do it a little bit each night before too long I will not feel like I am being buried alive.
That's my goal for now. What are your set back? How are you over coming them?
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Lost/Wasted Five Months
Here it is May 5th 2019 already. I don't know where the time has gone to. I do know it has not been well spent by me. This will only be my 3rd blog in all of 2019. The reason being that I haven't done anything in the way of quilting or even sewing. If I am not creating something then I have nothing to write about. So what has happened?
It all started back in January. I went back to work after a glorious 3 week vacation. While on vacation I didn't use my inhaler once. Half way through my first shift back, I started wheezing and had to use it. Basically for the next two and half months I was in an asthma flare. Which meant I had no energy for anything. I went to work then came home and collapsed. No sewing, studying, nothing. I'd watch TV and hole up in my room. Or I would read romance novels. The thing with reading is I am a compulsive reader. As in I have trouble stopping especially if it is a series that lets me escape reality. After the Flare had ended, the studio was a mess and didn't have the energy to get it cleaned up. I think looking back I have been rather depressed as well. That may have been why I was escaping into the books.
Now I am trying to decide what it is I really want. Okay I know what I want, I want a self cleaning house. I want to be able to stay home and still bring in a paycheck. I want to be able spend the money and time I need to learn how to be a better quilter and seamstress. I want to go back to school and get a degree in family and consumer sciences. I want to be able to drop what I am doing and fly off to see my children and grand children. I want to do the Bali Batiks excursion. I want to have enough money to spend on stuff when I travel. I want to lose weight without making the effort.
Most of these are fantasies. Or far flung wishes. I have a foot in dreamland and another in reality. Sometimes being an adult in the real world sucks. Thomas S Monson, a late president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, once said that "Work will win when wishy-washy wishing won't" I don't want to put in the hard work. I want it to come easily. But I know better and it is time to get off my behind and do better.
Starting with What I really want that is realistic.
I could go back to school but I don't have anyway to pay for it and going into debt for it is not practical at age 56. So that isn't going to happen at least not at this time.
The self cleaning house will never happen. It is time for the buck to stop here. Which means I can't expect my children to work full time and clean up after themselves and still wait on me hand and foot. I need to be picking up after myself and helping with the cooking and cleaning and the animals. This will mean adjusting my schedule and habits. It will take some time and some sacrifice.
Spending the money and time to be a better quilter and seamstress. Money is not ever going to be plentiful. I will have to learn this stuff on my own. Starting with studying the Quilt Path manual. Plus there are lots of tutorials on line. I can learn to do it. One thing I am sure of I can learn to do about anything.
Staying home and bringing in a paycheck is not going to happen. At least not in a way I am willing to go. Which is disability and/or workman's comp. This past month we had a man at work lose a hand on the job. His life has been forever altered. He can no longer function in the career he has worked in most of his life. I am thankful that I am basically healthy and have a job that I like.
Flying off to see my children at a moments notice isn't practical but with the amount of traveling my husband does for work, I have been able to do a little bit of visiting. That will just have to be enough.
The Bali Batik's excursion will require careful saving. I don't mean saving just for the cost of the excursion itself, but also for spending money along the way. The trip may no longer be available by the time I have it but that is the only way I can do it. I need to get out of debt before I retire so that means saving and cost cutting.
So what does that mean for Quilting?
It all started back in January. I went back to work after a glorious 3 week vacation. While on vacation I didn't use my inhaler once. Half way through my first shift back, I started wheezing and had to use it. Basically for the next two and half months I was in an asthma flare. Which meant I had no energy for anything. I went to work then came home and collapsed. No sewing, studying, nothing. I'd watch TV and hole up in my room. Or I would read romance novels. The thing with reading is I am a compulsive reader. As in I have trouble stopping especially if it is a series that lets me escape reality. After the Flare had ended, the studio was a mess and didn't have the energy to get it cleaned up. I think looking back I have been rather depressed as well. That may have been why I was escaping into the books.
Now I am trying to decide what it is I really want. Okay I know what I want, I want a self cleaning house. I want to be able to stay home and still bring in a paycheck. I want to be able spend the money and time I need to learn how to be a better quilter and seamstress. I want to go back to school and get a degree in family and consumer sciences. I want to be able to drop what I am doing and fly off to see my children and grand children. I want to do the Bali Batiks excursion. I want to have enough money to spend on stuff when I travel. I want to lose weight without making the effort.
Most of these are fantasies. Or far flung wishes. I have a foot in dreamland and another in reality. Sometimes being an adult in the real world sucks. Thomas S Monson, a late president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, once said that "Work will win when wishy-washy wishing won't" I don't want to put in the hard work. I want it to come easily. But I know better and it is time to get off my behind and do better.
Starting with What I really want that is realistic.
I could go back to school but I don't have anyway to pay for it and going into debt for it is not practical at age 56. So that isn't going to happen at least not at this time.
The self cleaning house will never happen. It is time for the buck to stop here. Which means I can't expect my children to work full time and clean up after themselves and still wait on me hand and foot. I need to be picking up after myself and helping with the cooking and cleaning and the animals. This will mean adjusting my schedule and habits. It will take some time and some sacrifice.
Spending the money and time to be a better quilter and seamstress. Money is not ever going to be plentiful. I will have to learn this stuff on my own. Starting with studying the Quilt Path manual. Plus there are lots of tutorials on line. I can learn to do it. One thing I am sure of I can learn to do about anything.
Staying home and bringing in a paycheck is not going to happen. At least not in a way I am willing to go. Which is disability and/or workman's comp. This past month we had a man at work lose a hand on the job. His life has been forever altered. He can no longer function in the career he has worked in most of his life. I am thankful that I am basically healthy and have a job that I like.
Flying off to see my children at a moments notice isn't practical but with the amount of traveling my husband does for work, I have been able to do a little bit of visiting. That will just have to be enough.
The Bali Batik's excursion will require careful saving. I don't mean saving just for the cost of the excursion itself, but also for spending money along the way. The trip may no longer be available by the time I have it but that is the only way I can do it. I need to get out of debt before I retire so that means saving and cost cutting.
So what does that mean for Quilting?
- Put in the time - I need to start putting in the time to improve my skills. reading practicing, learning.
- Curtail impulse spending - Instead of building the stash I need to use what I have. Not the least of which is use the kits I've bought. Buying supplies for projects should come after checking out what I have that I can use. Elephants two for a Quarter is only a bargain if you have a quarter and need the elephants
- Cut out the useless - that means make better use of my time. Watch less TV and read better books, etc. It also means getting rid of the things I don't use and that don't bring me joy. I sometimes feel as if I am drowning in my possessions.
- Clean up after myself - a clean house will help keep my mind at ease to create. I won't feel guilty about sewing when company may show up.
- De-clutter the house - by cleaning up and inventorying what I have I can better save money and not have things going to waste.
None of these is going to be accomplished overnight. It is going to be a long habit breaking and habit forming process but I am going to work on it.
Next Week: The Disaster that is my studio.
Sunday, February 3, 2019
2018 Goals Summary
Here it is the 3rd of February 2019 and I am just wrapping up some of my goals for 2018. I took 13 months on some of these. But that is okay, because late is better than never. Let's review the goals.
So How did I do:
- Three quilts for family - can be started, especially finish UFO (UnFinished Objects) or NSY (Not Started Yet)
- Complete three UFO or NSY - can be used for #1
- Work on something 20-30 minutes each day. Can be sewing, Cutting, Prepping, Quilting or Studying - a hold over from last year
- Use what I have and only buy fabric to finish a project.
- Document Quilts I have made, this is a hold over from last year.
- Read The Technical part of the Thread Waggle quilt blog.
- Try Paper piecing - use the cake mixes you have.
- Do an easy project now and then. Life isn't all about learning.
- Clean up after each project. it is easy to let things sit and then I don't get going on the next project.
So How did I do:
- Three quilts for Family - DONE!!! Actually I did 4 but 3 of them were bigger quilts than I had been doing.
- Complete three UFO's or NSY - Mostly accomplished Completed two UFO's. The third just needs binding stitched on the back side and a label. Started three quilts and completed two of them. The third needs borders and quilting.
- Work on Something 20-30 minutes everyday. I have to say only partially accomplished this. I did really well for the first quarter of the year. then was very hit and miss (mostly miss) the rest of the year. Still it is something I need to work on.
- Use what I have and only buy fabric to finish a project. About half way accomplished. With the exception of one layer cake, the fabric I bought was for projects and did not just add to my stash. I spent way less on fabric this year. I need to try and do that again in 2019. Starting now of course, because In January I hit an awesome sale on batiks. $5.00 a yard and well I couldn't pass that up. I do know what I am using some of them for though so it wasn't all stash building.
- Document Quilts I have made. I finished that this afternoon. At least as much as I could for the quilts from the past 9 years. I do know there is a table runner and a baby quilt that I made but I didn't photograph before I gave them away. That was more than 5 years ago so I am unlikely to get a picture now. But I believe I have all of the others documented.
- Read the Technical part of the Thread Waggle quilt blog. Not even close. This goal, it turns out, was not really a practical goal for me at this time. I ended up dropping it.
- Try Paper Piecing. I didn't get around to that. I will keep it for this next year. That layer cake I mentioned in number 4 is probably slated for a cake mix quilt.
- Do an easy project. The third quilt I started is an easy project. The next one I plan to start will also be and easy project. Then I will jump into a more complicated quilt.
- Clean up after each project. I did pretty good with this one and will keep working on it. I also think I need to do better about organizing and putting supplies up instead of letting them pile up.
I also looked at how often I blogged this past year. I posted 40 out of 52 weeks. Which is about 76.9% of the time. This year is off to a bad start since I missed 5 weeks already but I am going to try and do better. I am starting to look forward to projects again. I don't know why I got so discouraged but I did. Then I was traveling, then trying to catch up at work and now trying to catch up at home.
So I haven't really settled on goals for 2019 yet. That will be topic of my next blog.
What are you working on? What new challenge are you taking on? I could use some ideas.
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Quilter's Block And Absent Minded Ramblings
Hello out there. I dropped off the radar for a while. In fact I dropped off for seven weeks. This journey I am on to be a better quilter is important to me but like everyone else out there I got a little discouraged. In fact, I had a bad case of quilter's block. You know like writer's block only with quilting. That and probably more than a little bit of depression.
In my last installment, I told you how I totally messed up my second Ribbon Dance quilt. Well I spent the following week tearing out the stitching of the border and the bottom two rows. Except it hit me that I didn't need to separate every block apart. I just needed to take out the stitching between the 6th and 7th row. Then I picked out the stitching between the 2nd & 3rd and the 4th & 5th columns of those two rows. This gave me 3 - 2x2 blocks.
The first week of December I stacked those blocks onto each other and ended up with a 2x6 column. I sewed that onto the center and my now 8x6 top was ready for borders. Except that now I had borders that no longer fit my top. At that point I was really down and for a while very unmotivated. In fact I didn't even want to be in my studio. I was starting to hole up in my bedroom again. A sure sign of depression.
It was the second week of December, I was down a tech at work, I had people taking vacation, and a really nasty bug was running rampant through work. Long hours and lots of stress had me short tempered and gave me a bad attitude. I had done nothing in the way of Christmas preparations and had some more shopping to do. I just didn't have the energy to put into quilting and everything else. Like I said I was down. Kim came home on the 14th and I just had one week until I was on vacation as well. That helped but not enough. I didn't even look at my projects.
While I was cleaning up in the Studio a bit to make it nicer for Christmas, Killian's girlfriend asked me who the Christmas Lemonade Quilt was for. I had been wondering who to give it to the whole time I was making it. When Joy asked who the quilt was for, I was trying to figure out what to get my friend Liz for Christmas and it hit me the quilt was for Liz.
That quilt evolved from a bargain purchase that wouldn't work for the project I had in mind. I was determined to make something with that purchase. I ended up with a wonderful quilt. When I met Liz I was her supervisor. The housekeeping staff need more supervision than Sanitation could provide so management temporarily put them under quality. Shortly after that we ended up firing 2 of the 3 house keepers. Apparently Liz was the only one who had a decent work ethic. Morning reports with her led me to realize we had lots in common. I enjoyed talking with her. But I was her supervisor and decorum dictated distance. A few months later, housekeeping went back to Sanitation. That was when Liz and I became fast friends. It seemed that the Christmas Lemonade quilt was symbolic of our friendship. I decided that the quilt would be her Christmas present. That meant I had to finish binding and put a label on it. I started stitching the binding down on December 18th and once that was done I put the label on it. That was the 20th. It was wrapped and under her tree on the 21st.
That seemed to break the quilting block so to speak. I then moved onto stitching down the binding on the first ribbon dance quilt. The label was on it by Christmas Eve. At which point, Christmas took center stage.
The day after Christmas, I got to work on fixing the inner border for the second ribbon dance quilt. I had a long piece left over. I gathered all of the pieces, starched and pressed them stiff. then I sewed them back into a long strip and then measured and cut the inner border pieces. There are more seams than there were but that's okay. Once the were on it was time to cut the outer border. On December 29th, I put the outer borders on and made the back. I then got the quilt on the machine. I also wound the bobbins and threaded Millie with the lavender colored thread I wanted to use. Before starting the quilting part, I made the binding and set it aside. The next day I quilted it. On New Years Eve, I trimmed the quilt, and sewed the binding to the front. That night I turned the binding and using one of my favorite gadgets, wonder clips. I even started stitching it down.
I didn't finish it though and in fact I didn't finish it until just last week. I still had some time off and the star quilt needed to be quilted. Binding I can do in the evening after work, quilting I need blocks of time to do. So I made the back to the star quilt and got it on the machine.
I have decided to name the star quilt Starry Night. It is made of batiks in blues greens and purples. The sashing, back, and binding is an indigo batik with little white star corner stones. It reminds me of Van Goth's Starry Night. Which by the way is one of my favorite paintings. I didn't start out to pay homage to that painting, it just turned out that way.
Anyway, I found a really cool star and swirl pattern to quilt Starry Night with. I just seemed perfect for it. Now what color thread to use? I went with silver. I got bold and used silver in the bobbin even though the back is almost black. Than means the stitching really stands out on the back. I am really happy with how it turned out. No, its not perfect and my mistakes are visible, but I am happy with it and I have figured out who is getting it. Now I just need to trim and bind that quilt and of course put a label on it.
I am really glad that I got past the quilter's block. I am even happier that I am getting projects done. I also know that Liz is a big reason why it happened. I wanted so much to give her something more than a sweater or trinket. Finishing her quilt broke the block. It also reminded me why I was working on these projects, for the people I love. Liz loved the quilt by the way. She won't let anyone else touch it. And when I told her the story behind it, it made it even more special.
Sometimes I forget that quilts don't have to be done on a deadline. I forget that they don't have to be perfect. I think I need to allow myself to move on and come back to the project later. I think that part of my quilter's block was due to the fact that I was trying to get these two quilts done and it became a chore instead of being fun. And because I kept imposing deadlines on myself, I was getting discouraged. Also I was not letting myself start another project before finishing the ones I was working on. Sometimes we need to take a break from projects, especially big ones.
I have decided to do a couple of quick little throw quilts before starting another big quilt. I need a couple of easy ones to get my creative juices flowing.
Have you ever had Quilter's Block? How did you get past it?
In my last installment, I told you how I totally messed up my second Ribbon Dance quilt. Well I spent the following week tearing out the stitching of the border and the bottom two rows. Except it hit me that I didn't need to separate every block apart. I just needed to take out the stitching between the 6th and 7th row. Then I picked out the stitching between the 2nd & 3rd and the 4th & 5th columns of those two rows. This gave me 3 - 2x2 blocks.
The first week of December I stacked those blocks onto each other and ended up with a 2x6 column. I sewed that onto the center and my now 8x6 top was ready for borders. Except that now I had borders that no longer fit my top. At that point I was really down and for a while very unmotivated. In fact I didn't even want to be in my studio. I was starting to hole up in my bedroom again. A sure sign of depression.
It was the second week of December, I was down a tech at work, I had people taking vacation, and a really nasty bug was running rampant through work. Long hours and lots of stress had me short tempered and gave me a bad attitude. I had done nothing in the way of Christmas preparations and had some more shopping to do. I just didn't have the energy to put into quilting and everything else. Like I said I was down. Kim came home on the 14th and I just had one week until I was on vacation as well. That helped but not enough. I didn't even look at my projects.
While I was cleaning up in the Studio a bit to make it nicer for Christmas, Killian's girlfriend asked me who the Christmas Lemonade Quilt was for. I had been wondering who to give it to the whole time I was making it. When Joy asked who the quilt was for, I was trying to figure out what to get my friend Liz for Christmas and it hit me the quilt was for Liz.
That quilt evolved from a bargain purchase that wouldn't work for the project I had in mind. I was determined to make something with that purchase. I ended up with a wonderful quilt. When I met Liz I was her supervisor. The housekeeping staff need more supervision than Sanitation could provide so management temporarily put them under quality. Shortly after that we ended up firing 2 of the 3 house keepers. Apparently Liz was the only one who had a decent work ethic. Morning reports with her led me to realize we had lots in common. I enjoyed talking with her. But I was her supervisor and decorum dictated distance. A few months later, housekeeping went back to Sanitation. That was when Liz and I became fast friends. It seemed that the Christmas Lemonade quilt was symbolic of our friendship. I decided that the quilt would be her Christmas present. That meant I had to finish binding and put a label on it. I started stitching the binding down on December 18th and once that was done I put the label on it. That was the 20th. It was wrapped and under her tree on the 21st.
That seemed to break the quilting block so to speak. I then moved onto stitching down the binding on the first ribbon dance quilt. The label was on it by Christmas Eve. At which point, Christmas took center stage.
The day after Christmas, I got to work on fixing the inner border for the second ribbon dance quilt. I had a long piece left over. I gathered all of the pieces, starched and pressed them stiff. then I sewed them back into a long strip and then measured and cut the inner border pieces. There are more seams than there were but that's okay. Once the were on it was time to cut the outer border. On December 29th, I put the outer borders on and made the back. I then got the quilt on the machine. I also wound the bobbins and threaded Millie with the lavender colored thread I wanted to use. Before starting the quilting part, I made the binding and set it aside. The next day I quilted it. On New Years Eve, I trimmed the quilt, and sewed the binding to the front. That night I turned the binding and using one of my favorite gadgets, wonder clips. I even started stitching it down.
I didn't finish it though and in fact I didn't finish it until just last week. I still had some time off and the star quilt needed to be quilted. Binding I can do in the evening after work, quilting I need blocks of time to do. So I made the back to the star quilt and got it on the machine.
I have decided to name the star quilt Starry Night. It is made of batiks in blues greens and purples. The sashing, back, and binding is an indigo batik with little white star corner stones. It reminds me of Van Goth's Starry Night. Which by the way is one of my favorite paintings. I didn't start out to pay homage to that painting, it just turned out that way.
Anyway, I found a really cool star and swirl pattern to quilt Starry Night with. I just seemed perfect for it. Now what color thread to use? I went with silver. I got bold and used silver in the bobbin even though the back is almost black. Than means the stitching really stands out on the back. I am really happy with how it turned out. No, its not perfect and my mistakes are visible, but I am happy with it and I have figured out who is getting it. Now I just need to trim and bind that quilt and of course put a label on it.
I am really glad that I got past the quilter's block. I am even happier that I am getting projects done. I also know that Liz is a big reason why it happened. I wanted so much to give her something more than a sweater or trinket. Finishing her quilt broke the block. It also reminded me why I was working on these projects, for the people I love. Liz loved the quilt by the way. She won't let anyone else touch it. And when I told her the story behind it, it made it even more special.
Sometimes I forget that quilts don't have to be done on a deadline. I forget that they don't have to be perfect. I think I need to allow myself to move on and come back to the project later. I think that part of my quilter's block was due to the fact that I was trying to get these two quilts done and it became a chore instead of being fun. And because I kept imposing deadlines on myself, I was getting discouraged. Also I was not letting myself start another project before finishing the ones I was working on. Sometimes we need to take a break from projects, especially big ones.
I have decided to do a couple of quick little throw quilts before starting another big quilt. I need a couple of easy ones to get my creative juices flowing.
Have you ever had Quilter's Block? How did you get past it?
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