Slow Stitching, Loom Knitting and Reading

 Another week has passed and I will be heading home soon.  It is going to be hard leaving these three little sassy pants behind. Okay, the baby isn't a sassy pants, yet. But I see the potential in her little eyes.  The older two are awesome and intelligent. I know I am biased but even when they are being drama queens, they can pull it together and use logic to make their argument.  It's flawed but it is an argument none the less. I love that.

This week I managed to get a three baby hats made on my knitting looms. I also fought with and revamped a baby bootie pattern. It took three sets of baby booties but I finally got it to look the way I wanted it too. I just need to do a couple in blue/green for the grandbaby due next week.

I've done several more hexies and I am actually getting excited to start putting the flowers together. I am finding that I really do enjoy the slow stitching during quiet times. Who would have guessed that I would enjoy a fiddly, time consuming project like this.  I must be maturing. Actually, I think I am enjoying it because I am not expecting to finish it anytime soon.  It's a pick up now and again type of project.  I don't count it in my UFOs because it is meant to take a while.

Lastly I have read three books.  I really enjoy reading but often picking up a book leads to binge reading.  Not this time.  Three books in just under three weeks is a respectable amount of reading without going overboard.

All in all it has been a good vacation. I am tired from doing something else. I got to see my granddaughters and spend some quality time with them. I also got to enjoy some of my hobbies. I am not sure I am ready to go back to work next week. But ready or not I will be back at my desk on Monday. Hopefully, I will also get to work on the Studio. I have all sorts of notes from the De-Clutter Challenge.

#quiltingwannabee #declutterchallenge2022

Quarantine, Grandbabies, De-Clutter Challenge and UFO Progress

 I am sitting in quarantine at my daughter's house in Nevada.  My 14th grandchild decided she needed to come 3 weeks early. After much shuffling of flights and changing vacations, I made it to Nevada.  But because of the baby's early arrival, the older girls (ages 6 and 3) were exposed to Covid. And it turns out so was I.  The day after I got here, the 3 of us tested positive.  Fortunately for the girls and I, it has been no more than a mild cold. Mom and baby are doing fine. But Dad has had it the worse of all of us. He is a real trooper who is still trying to do everything to support Mom and baby and take care of the house.

My daughter commented that she knows I would rather be quarantined at home with my quilting machine. She isn't wrong, especially since I feel mostly okay. I would be putting a quilt on the long arm everyday until I ran out of flimsies.  I probably would be working on the 3 baby quilts I need to make. (Especially since two of the three babies have made their appearance.) I definitely would be organizing my studio. But I am not there, I am here with them.  That means I am getting some quality time with my grand daughters, which is priceless.  I haven't gotten to spend this much time with them in their environment before.  It is a wonderful time despite being sick.

Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts is doing her De-Clutter Challenge again this year. I did it last year and got a big chunk of my studio organized. But of course, life gets in the way and I have been back sliding a bit. The picture is of my desk right after Christmas. That box contains cookie cutters of all things. So while I am in Nevada, I am following along with the challenge and taking notes in my Quilt Journal. While I can't do the actual decluttering right now, I am thinking about each day's challenge and how to implement it in my studio.  I have made notes of things I will want to do when I get home. I has gotten me thinking about the best way to do things and how I could make things better. 

I encourage you to check out the Declutter Challenge.  Even if your studio is neat as a pin, there are definitely things you may not have thought about.  For example, how many cutting mats do you have? I have two big green ones, one medium blue and a couple of smaller ones. The blue one is pretty scarred up and one of the green ones is cracked and warped. I actually only use one of the green ones and the small ones. How about your rulers? What kind of shape are your rulers in? Are there any cracks, chipped off corners, or faded markings? What about scissors and cutters? Quilters tend to be collectors and it doesn't hurt to pare down a little bit.

Another part of this challenge is spending a little time on a UFO each day.  That one I can actually do.  I've gotten the Simply Squares quilt laid out and in rows ready to assemble. I also have done about 25 hexies. While I am not in any hurry to get my hexies done, it does give me some relaxing stitching time while the girls are coloring or watching videos.

We will be out of quarantine on the 15th. And I will be returning home on the 22nd.  But in the mean time I am keeping busy and enjoying my grandchildren.

New Year - Reflections, Planning, and Dreaming

Happy New Year.  This year at our house we practiced an old Irish tradition.  We opened the door at midnight to let the old year out and the new year in.  

It has been a year of ups and downs for us.  I've struggled with health issues and depression.  I made plans that didn't work out.  I got a promotion I wasn't expecting but deserved for a couple of years.  I lost a friend who turns out wasn't a real friend, The situation  was one that almost cost me my job. I had to apologize, for something I didn't feel that I did, in order to keep my job. I didn't do enough sewing but I did get my long arm up and running again. My mother in law came to visit and it was a positive experience for all of us. There weren't any deaths in the family this year which is a relief after having one in each of the past two years.  All in all not a bad year but not a great year either.

Looking back, I realize that I really do need to work on a work/life balance.  Work has pretty much taken over my life. Even now, I am on vacation in Nevada enjoying my new grandbaby and I am very much concerned about what is going on at work. 

I need to find a way to clean and organize my home. I also need to do some purging of excess and unused items. I am beginning to feel suffocated by my belongings.  Especially the lack of space to store things. My dad used to get what my siblings referred to as "the Urge to Purge" When he did that things that shouldn't have been discarded often were. I need to get a handle on the Urge before it becomes a great purge. That means decluttering and paring down.

Basically I need to find a balance in all areas of my life.  Not sure how to do that yet. But at least I recognize I need to do it

I think I will start this year with a purge in my bedroom.  Hubby and I both have too many clothes. Then there are boxes and totes of things. Many of which contain craft stuff that needs to move out into the studio.  I will need to find a better organization in my studio.  But while doing this I am determined to keep my work space cleared and move forward with completing UFOs.  At least 15 minutes a day of some kind of stitching. So that is going to call for some time management and organization. Not things that I am terribly great at.

We also plan on some renovations in the house. This may or may not enlarge my studio. I am going to have to do some planning on paper before jumping into that.  Not sure how this is going to be paid for yet, but it needs to happen.  I am just not sure how much we can do ourselves or even how much of it we can afford to do.

I also plan to find a quilting group to work with.  If I had more space at my house I would host one there. If I had the money, I would rent space somewhere and host one.  I just need to find a group to work with.  I really miss working/stitching with other women. I am hoping that the new quilt shop will get one together. I had talked with the owner and she is looking into finding a church who might rent out their fellowship hall cheap.

Lastly I really want to get my treadle machines fixed up and running.  Including getting the cabinets restored. I really am not sure how to make that happen.  I think I have found a guy about 3 hours away. I'm just not sure what it is going to cost me.  He needs to see the machines to give me an estimate. Which is totally reasonable. There are places father away the will do complete restorations including replacing the decals. But again getting the machines there and the costs are factors in getting it done. This guy is closer and supposedly has a cabinet maker to help with the cabinets,

I may have a lot of pipe dreams going on but I am going to try and plan them out in my quilting journal. At least by planning and researching I will be making progress.  It may take a few years to get where I want to be but at least I am working on it. I need to keep my eye on the goal and remember it's a marathon and not a sprint.

What are you planning for the coming year?