I've been a little checked out for the past month and a half. At the time of my last post, I had learned of my baby brother's death. I was in denial at first but slowly the reality sank in. And I kind of shut down. I struggled with doing anything but going to work and coming home. Which made it difficult to celebrate the holidays. But with the help of my husband and children, we not only made it through, it turned out quite well.
During my shut down period, I didn't do any housework, organizing or crafting. My studio has always been the dumping ground of things that need a home so without me going through it for a month and a half, you can imagine what it looked like. The kids were fairly decent about keeping the rest of the house picked up.
So I as I was starting to mend so to speak and get my life back on track. I was watching a Just Get It Done Quilts video. Karen Brown was doing a Q&A. One of the participants mentioned that she was having trouble getting back into sewing after a death. Karen suggested that she take her time and grieve. Which was what I had done. But now my studio was a mess, my house is a mess and I was (am) overwhelmed. In answer to another participants question, about organizing and doing unpleasant tasks. Karen suggested setting a timer. She suggested 30 minutes. Just work for 30 minutes. I took this suggestion and ran with it.
Starting on New Years day, I started to do house work for 30 minutes. Then I organize my studio for 30 minutes. Then I sew/quilt for 30 minutes. I have been doing this just about everyday with the exception of Sundays. Has my house gotten miraculously clean? No, but it has gotten better. Is my studio organized? No, but it is getting better. In fact I have done a few things that I have been putting off doing. Have I finished up any UFOs? No, but I have made progress on a project that had stalled. In fact I frequently do more than just one round of 30-30-30. If feels wonderful to be accomplishing something. And it is helping to lift my depression.
Messes - Part of my mess trouble is I have too much stuff for my space. That is household stuff, crafting/quilting stuff, and plain old living stuff. In doing this 30-minutes of cleaning, I am deep cleaning. That means getting rid of stuff. I've thrown out expired medicines, worn towels and sheets, and junk. I'm donating clothes, crafting supplies that are in excess of my needs, and anything someone else my use. If I haven't used it in the past 10-1 years do I really need it? I am really trying to not bring in more stuff as well.
That being said. One of the first Just Get It Done Quilt Videos I watched was about using your stash. In it Karen has advised us to inventory your stash. This week I started doing just that. I've inventoried about 90 percent of my pre-cuts. I need to dig in a closet to find the rest of them. I am going to have a time inventorying the yardage. It's in about 10 bins and a steamer trunk in that same closet. But I need to find fabric for borders and backings so I am hoping to start that sometime in the next week or two. I hope to try a folding trick on the yard age where you wrap it around one of your rulers. It makes the fabric all roughly the same size for storage. The thing about inventorying your stash. You find all sorts of gems you've forgotten about. I plan to not only inventory my yardage but also manage it. I think that any yardage that is less than 1/2 a yard will get cut into pre-cuts and added to scrap management.
I just read that last sentence and I had typed "crap management" ( I fixed it of course) But "crap Management" could be just as good a title for what I will be doing. I'm talking about all of those pieces that are left over but too good to just throw away. They are crap until you figure out how to use them. I have 3+ tubs of them to deal with. Another of Karen Brown's videos is about managing scraps. I have decided to take her advice and make my scraps into usable pieces for scrappy quilts etc. I may have already figured out how and where to store those pieces. We'll have to see how things turn out.
In the meantime I will keep doing my 30-30-30 while I plan out my quilting goals for this year. I never did make any last year. The results of not planning/goal making is no progress. That will have to change.
Until then, Check out Just Get It Done Quilts. I think you will fine Karen Brown to be informative if not inspiring. You can also find her videos on You Tube.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
What is About Quilt Shops
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.
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.
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?
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