Back in Action

Yes, after 2-1/2 years of inactivity, Millie is doing her thing once again.  I can't even begin to explain how joyful this is to me. I've had a bit of guilt over not using her for this long. There wasn't any real reason to not have used her. It just seemed life kept getting in the way.  

It started with running out of quilt tops to quilt.  Then it was wedding preparations. Then it was the studio itself. It had become a habit to just move things into the studio instead of finding a home for them.  My studio was a jumbled mess and Millie was covered in various boxes and bags.

There were all sorts of things interfering with me getting Millie ready to quilt. Work, projects around the house, health, etc. This last year, I even tried to use a quilt journal to get me on track. As with all things "Journal" that didn't last. When I didn't get things done like I had planned, I just stopped using it. I am going to try a resurrect it but use it in a different way. I'm not sure what that is yet. 

Last August I even toyed with the idea of taking sometime off from work to get Millie ready. But I needed to save my vacation time and well things didn't work out.  In October, Tatianna was here and she helped me pin the leaders to start straightening them.  After a couple of weekends of working on the leaders, I found out that my mother-in-law was coming to visit Thanksgiving week. 

Mom is 83 years old and has quilted all of her life. She mostly hand quilted but between arthritis and just really messed up hands from milking cows, she can't really do it anymore.  She does piece tops and gets one of her daughters or granddaughters to help her tie them. 

I wanted Mom to see my machine in action. So I was motivated to do the maintenance and get it ready. By the time she arrived Millie was ready to go. Friday, I put on a really simple patchwork throw and picked a simple pantograph to quilt it with.  Of course, not having used Millie in a couple of years, meant there were plenty of mistakes and my seam ripper got a good work out.  But I still got it all quilted in an afternoon.  I didn't lose as much skill as I thought I had and the quilt looks good.  

I think Mom was impressed with the machine. She was right there with me the whole time I was quilting.  When I expressed concern about tension she walked around the machine to take a closer look at the back.  She told me that she didn't think it was too bad. She thought that when I took it off the machine it would relax and look just fine.  She was right.

Mom was very encouraging when I had to stop and rip out stitches. She'd comment about how when I was retired and had more time I would get really good at it.  She thought I should plan selling quilts to supplement my retirement income.  I explained that the money was in quilting for other people.  It shocked her that people would pay others to quilt their quilts for them.   I said told her that not everyone grew up in a quilting culture like she did.

All in all it was a good afternoon and I am itching to get going on the next quilt.  In fact there is one on the machine right now. But we have venison to get packaged and into the freezer. But I will be getting the next one quilted this week

I think my Sewjo is back.

Blog Hopping and Tribes

So as part of finding my work life balance, I have a new morning ritual. I am sitting and eating breakfast and reading blogs.  It started with the 2021 UFOvember Blog Hop. When I realized it was going on again this year, it had been going on for 2 weeks. I needed to catch up

I am all caught up with UFOvember 2021 Blog Hop. In one of this year's posts, I found out that there are all sorts of blog hops out there. (Have I ever mentioned that I am totally inept at social media.)
Any was this discovery led to me reading all the posts from last year's Spring Clean Your Studio Blog Hop. That one is organized by Muppin.com and has been around for 7 years. It's nice to know messy studios are not an uncommon problem. I'd love to go back and read all of those posts but that would take a lot of research and I don't really have time for it.

With my new morning ritual of sitting and eating breakfast at my computer, I've found myself looking at blog posts.  Specifically the blogs of the various quilters doing the posts for UFOvember.  I've signed up for a couple of mailing lists, but only those that have several posts that I like.  Basically I am finding my tribe of quilters online.  

While I am enjoying the blogs and podcasts, I do miss the company of in person quilters. When I first moved here to Southern Georgia, there was a tiny little quilt shop about a mile from my house. I took some classes there. I would drop in and chat with the owners from time to time. Then the shop closed due to lack of business. When in Utah, I worked with 4-H and went to Master Sewing training and Leader-mete. And of course there was Mom's Craft and Fabrics (local quilt shop). No matter who was working at Mom's that day, you got conversation, encouragement, and companionship. Especially from Mom. I found out a few week's ago that "Mom" had passed and I felt like I lost a family member.  And that is after not having lived there for 13 years.

So when I found a new Quilt shop in Tallahassee, I had to check it out. It's small and I think most of her business is long arm quilting work. But it does have some fabric and it has a great owner. On my first visit (sept 30th), we introduced ourselves.  I expressed a desire to join a guild since I miss quilting with others.  The two women there (owner and worker) expressed concern about attending guild meetings in Tallahassee right now.  The meetings are held at night and not in a good part of town.  So that was off the table. They did suggest a group in Havana that meets one Saturday a month.  The owner also told me that she is thinking of trying to get a group together in Northern Tallahassee. She just needs to find a place to have it.  I went back last Saturday (Nov. 20th). The owner was by herself and remembered me.

She even asked about things we had discussed. I think I found my new quilt shop.  

During this pandemic many people have lamented the loss of the personal connection. I found that this was especially true for quilters, at least judging by the blogs and pod casts.  For me, the pandemic didn't change anything. I still had to work, I still didn't have a quilting tribe, I still felt pretty much alone in the quilting world.  Even a though we are still being affected by the pandemic, I am slowly finding my tribe. Both online and in person.  

Do you have a quilting tribe?

UFOvember 2021

Here we are in the last half of November and I just found this year's UFOvember Blog Hop. This is the second year Geeky Bobbin has hosted it and I spent this week catching up on the posts while eating my breakfast. (One step towards my work life balance is taking time in the morning before going to work.) The whole point of this blog hop is to get you thinking about your UFOs in a different light. There are 3 areas of focus. Resume - in other words finish it. Rework - change the project to make it more manageable or useful. And Rehome - give it to someone who will finish it. I have enjoyed these posts and learned a few things and found some things to look into. 

 One thing I learned is that everyone has UFOs.(Unfinished objects) Some prefer to call them WIPs. (work in process). But everyone has them. The number they have tends to vary greatly. One poster stated she had way too many to count. Another stated she only had 1-2. I personally have 10 that I've actually started on. There are several in various planning stages but they are not actually projects yet.  I don't count them as projects until I've started cutting fabric. 

 Another thing that was obvious to me is everyone loses track of their UFOs. They get set aside for various reasons and then forgotten. This year I've tried to keep them front and center but so far that hasn't worked to get any of them done. At least not yet.

One of the first steps to conquering UFOS is to inventory them.  When inventorying them you are supposed to list what you need to do to finish them. To help with that you can try a UFO Prevention Tool Kit. Becca Fenstermaker of Pretty Piney has one on her site. You may have to sign up for her newsletter to get it though.

One blogger suggested determining what has stopped you from working on that particular project.  Were you out of fabric? Was it out of your skill range? Did the colors not appeal. Is the project just too big?  Etc. I think would start listing those reason on the inventory sheet as well. 

As I was looking at my UFOs, I realize that the biggest thing holding me back was not having my long arm up and running. The past two weeks I've been working here and there on straightening my leaders.  Yesterday, I got them as straight as they are going to get. This morning I woke up very early (4:00am and not my idea). Since I couldn't go back to sleep, I cleared and cleaned the long arm table.  Then I cleaned the rails and carriage.  All that was left to do was the hook and race.  I needed to use my air
compressor for that so I left it until 7:30am.  While waiting I looked up the directions to do it one more time.  All that is left is to update the tablet and Millie will be ready to get back to work.

Another issue is I've misplaced my design wall.  I need to lay out two quilts, one of them is a new UFO this year.  The other was just barely started last year.  So I only have 1 new UFO this year.  but that isn't saying much since, I haven't done a whole lot in the way of quilting.  This issue may require a deep clean of the studio to resolve.  But I was going to do that anyway.

I also found the clip board with my UFO project sheets.  I think I will probably have to hang that on a wall somewhere in the studio to keep it visible.  Interestingly, I have made progress on some of them.  So they will need to be updated when I inventory my UFOs later today.

Another great idea which was not new to me, but it is worth repeating was: Work on it for 15 minutes each day.  This blogger suggested you pick one UFO to work on one day at a time.  Each day schedule 15 minutes just to work on that UFO.  I think will try to make the my first 15 minutes of each sewing session a UFO time slot.  I think doing it first will keep me from running out of time and then not getting it in that day.  One thing I do know for sure, is if you want to get things done you have to know your work habits  and your limitations to make this hint work.  

There is something that I found in this Blog Hop that I am seriously going to try. Sunflower Stitcheries does a Quarterly Finish Along.  Basically each quarter, you choose a project to finish that quarter.  You post a picture of the project and what you need to do to finish it. The next two months you post another picture and an update.  At the end of the quarter, you post the finish project.  It's all up to you to keep on track and reach your goal. But you do have a group of people cheering you on. I will look into this starting in 2022 if she is still doing it next year.

I think though that the Most Important thing I read in this blog hop was by Exhausted Octopus.  She stated in no uncertain terms that there is NO SHAME.  She reminded everyone there is no shame in creating, there is no shame in starting and not finishing, there is no shame in waiting for the inspiration to finish, and there is no shame is letting go of something that doesn't work for you anymore. 

I think that was probably one of the best messages of the blog hop so far.  There are 10 more days to go and I am excited to learn even more.  Check out the Blog Hop.  It starts on Geeky Bobbin's blog.

Slow Stitching and My EPP Project

After Miss Betty's surgery

 A couple of years ago, I went to visit my Husband while he was working out of town.  I needed a project to keep busy while he was working.  So I got some hexie papers and some fabric. But I didn't jumped into English Paper Piecing until Jeramie was hurt and we had to go to Augusta.  I did a few then and then I did more when he had his heart surgery.  A year later I took it with me when Miss Betty had her heart surgery. 

When I started this, I didn't have any plan in mind.  It was just something to keep busy with. I figured I would just make some flowers and figure it out from there. Truthfully, that is still my plan. The only thing I really have planned about this project is that; It will take a long time and it is not on a time table.

When I had showed the EPP to my daughter Tatianna, she thought that it was awfully fiddly and time consuming. I have to agree. It is fiddly and it is time consuming and I would have never started it 30 years ago. (when I was her age) I have always been a get it done, see progress type of crafter.  Projects that take a lot of time bore me and get often get dropped.  Hence the large number of UFOs in my studio.

My EPP Pouch

So I always avoided such types of projects.  Slow stitching was not for me.  Give me a machine and let me go.  That's not to say that I never did handwork, it was just not my thing.  But lately my time seems to be at a premium these days and I really need to stitch.  So I've dug out my EPP pouch (what I keep my supplies in) and started taking it with me to doctor appointments, car service appointments, etc. Basically anywhere I might have to sit and wait.  

Listening to the quilting podcasts, has shown me, that I am not the only one who has picked up slow stitching.  I have learned that many quilters do it to pass the time.  It is something they can do while watching TV with the Family. They can take it on the road with them.  They can do it on their lunch hour.

For me it is a much better way to pass the time than playing on my phone. I have worked on my EPP while sitting in the airport, doctor's offices, even waiting between church leadership meetings. I spent some time this past week working on it while sitting at the dealership as they were servicing my car. Last year, I worked on it to pass the time between all the different family functions at my father in law's funeral. 

Look how many I've made

Here's the thing about slow stitching. It can be very relaxing. It doesn't take a lot of focus and yet you are still being productive. And you meet people. It has never failed. If I am in a public place, stitching on my hexies, someone always asks about it. Then before you know it, I've made a new friend to pass the time with. People are always fascinated by it. Very often, they will tell my about their mother, grandmother, or aunt who quilted.  They would tell my how wonderful those quilts were and share their fond memories of their loved ones with me. And I am reminded why I quilt.

Slow stitching was never my thing when I was younger. But now that I am getting older (59). I am appreciating it more. Plus I am making some progress on it.  I am going to have to take the covered hexies out of the pouch and store them in something until I am ready to stitch them together.  I have a pretty canning jar that is too old to use for canning, it might work. Oh and I already decided I need to cut out more pink fabric.

Do you ever slow stitch? Has it been a life long hobby or did you come to it as you got older and/or busier?

Fifty Dollar Tip

 Several years ago, back when I was doing a lot of Tole and Decorative painting, I attended an expo of sorts for decorative painters. It was held on the Utah State University campus and I lived just off campus.  I had the best time.  I took lots of classes and spent too much money on different tools and paints.  I immersed myself into everything.  It was a fantastic experience and I learned a lot.  But the one thing that stuck with me all these years was a comment one of the teachers made.  At the start of the class she told us she hoped that the end of the class we would walk away with some new knowledge and skills.  But if not, then hopefully we at least can find a $50 dollar tip. 

Several of us asked her to explain her comment.  She told us that when she comes to these shows, she always takes classes. Classes run anywhere from $25.00 to $75.00 depending on what is being taught, the supplies needed, etc.  One class she took was supposed to be a skill building class. The teacher for said class did a lot of talking and a lot of demonstrating but very little teaching and hands on training. Halfway through the class, she and several others felt like they had wasted their $50.00.  Then towards the end of the class, the teacher showed them a household item that she used instead of an expensive tool. At that point my teacher realized that she was just given a $50.00 tip. Did she get her money's worth out of the class, maybe not but She did learn something, even though it wasn't quite what she expected.  From then on with every class she took she looked for the $50.00 tip. Sometimes she found several and sometimes she only found one. But she always found at least one and she never felt like she wasted her time or money again.

I can't remember the teacher's name but I can see her as plain as day.  She was funny and lively and full of energy. I really enjoyed that class. I don't remember the other teachers or even all of the classes I took but that one stood out and mostly because of the $50.00 tip story.  I have learned from her story.  Now 25 years later, I find myself applying it to things like listening to Podcasts.

Since, I have taken to listening to podcast to fill my daily commute. Here a just a few of the tips I've picked up:

• Don't have your presser foot down as you thread your sewing machine.  When the presser foot is down the tension discs are closed and your thread isn't seated between them.
• Starch your fabrics if you are going to be dealing with bias edges. By starching I mean do it heavily so the fabric is like paper.  That will help keep you from stretching the bias out of shape.
• Use French Fuse when making memory quilts to stabilize the fabric. Especially if using old clothing. French Fuse is a fusible interfacing that will strengthen older fabrics.
• Everyone is at a different skill level of quilting, Do you best and learn as you go. Remember Comparison is the Thief of Joy
• Don't criticize other's work, you will only take away their joy and possibly drive them from the hobby.
• Take chances, take risks, push out of your comfort zone and you be surprised at how much you grow.
• People have a color comfort zone, look at your stash and see what is missing. Make a quilt using colors that are not in your comfort zone.
• Inventory your stash annually and plan quilts just using your stash (I haven't managed to inventory my stash yet but I have made quilts form it.)
• Set One Monthly Goal that you can accomplish. Something like make a new block, add borders to a top, bind a quilt, etc. (I plan on trying this)
• Invest in good thread. (I have yet to do this for my piecing)
• Work on a UFO for 15 minutes a day and you will be surprised at how fast you get it done.
• Not only change your needle with each new project, but also thoroughly clean out your bobbin area. Consider doing a cursory wipe out with each bobbin change.

These are just s few of the tips I've heard.  I think that if we look for that $50.00 tip every time we take a class, attend a workshop, watch a video or listen to a podcast, we will get more out of them.

Do you have and $50.00 tips? 

Podcasts - Are they worth listening to?

As many of you know I work full time at a peanut processing plant.  More than once I have lamented on my lack of time to quilt.  I've also have felt segregated from the quilting world because of the lack of quilt shops in the area. One day I realized that I could use the time I spend commuting to and from work to at least connect with the quilting world. Hence Podcasts.

A month or so ago, I started listening to podcast on my way to work. I find them way less depressing than the news and talk radio.  I started with The Quilter on Fire podcast when Brandy Maslowski interviewed Karen Brown of Just Get it Done Quilts. You all know by now how much I like Karen Brown. Any way I just started listening to all of Brandy's podcasts as I drove to and from work.  Brandy interviews people from all over in the quilting world.  From Thread, to fabric, to average guild members who do great things.  These people are always interesting and very often inspiring.  Many of them have full time jobs and quilt as a hobby. Many started quilting as a hobby and now have a side business in the quilting world.

When I had caught up on all of Brandy's podcasts I listened to the Connecting Threads podcast.  For those of you who don't know, Connecting Threads is a catalog (and I guess now online) quilt shop.  Their podcasts dealt mostly with the people who make up the staff of Connecting Threads and their sister sites.  It was interesting but it stopped and I haven't seen any new posts. The last one was in July 2021.

When I had caught up on all of those podcasts. I started listening to Quilt Buzz. Quilt Buzz is a little different as it has three hosts that basically chat with one guest.  I believe they are all on Instagram and that is where their guests are picked from. I like their motto of "Interviewing all of your favorites from across the Quiltverse"  It has me thinking about getting an Instagram account.

Currently I am listening to Hello My Quilting Friends by Leah Day. Leah has something like 143 podcasts.  Hers is a little different. She invites you into her world and tries to inspire you to learn and grow but also take care of yourself.  Put away the guilt, find the light within yourself. Break rules and find your own way.  She is pedantic sometimes and sometimes my mind wanders while listening to her. And sometimes I replay parts of the podcast to set it firmly into my mind. 

I will have a while before I finish up all of her podcasts. She currently has 143 and I've only listened to 25 of them. So I am not looking for another podcast quite yet.  Plus I have go back and listen to a few new podcasts from the first three I binged.  

Here's the thing about listening to the podcasts, You never know when you are going to get an answer to something you've been pondering.  I heard about some really cool notions, found a source for unusual quilting rulers, even some new websites for fabrics.  You also get encouragement, reminders to let yourself off the hook for not being perfect, and even reminders to just do what you can do.   

Are podcasts worth listening to? I'd say yes if you want some background noise while working on something or driving.  I certainly wouldn't set aside the time to just listen to them.  But while hand stitching or chain piecing or even on long drives, definitely pick one and tune in.  Plus it gives me a small connection to the quilting world that I have been missing. So yes, for me, they are worth listening to.

Do you have a favorite podcast?