Breaking the Insanity Cycle

I was wide awake at 1:00 am on Saturday morning.  The house was all asleep and I could not be productive without waking someone.  So I jumped on Facebook and was perusing quilting posts.  I came across the Just Get It Done post about reviewing 2020. Karen Brown started it by asking should she just burn her 2020 bullet journal. That got me thinking.

I turned and looked at my studio and thought something has to change. I haven't used my long arm in almost 2 years.  I didn't have a quilt to go on it and things got piled on it, the studio is a mess and I can't find things, etc.  I have been clearing my sewing desk and stitching from time to time but that has only created more UFO's. I have not been putting fabric up as I buy it.  Lots of things contributing to the mess.

I've been saying for more than a year that I was going to inventory my stash and organize my studio. But I have failed to follow through.  I lacked motivation, I lacked energy and I lacked inspiration. I lacked planning.  There is an old saying the says "Failure to Plan is Planning to Fail"  Is that what I am doing? Am I planning to fail? 

Karen Brown did a video about Bullet Journaling for Quilters & Crafters. After watching the video, I thought "Not for Me".  I am not a journaling person.  I've started to journal several times and just never kept it up.  Plus I don't really plan quilts I sort of let them evolve. So bullet journaling wasn't for me. 

Or is it? If the definition of Insanity is continuing to do the same things and expecting different results, than I am in a cycle of insanity.  Time to break this Cycle.  While I am not a journaling type of person, I like having journals around.  I picked up this one on clearance just last Wednesday.

So in the wee sleepless hours of the morning I started a Bullet Journal.  I didn't really know where to start other than what I would like to accomplish. So I started with 2021 Ideal Achievments. It was just a quick off the top of my head list of what I'd like to achieve this year.  Sort of a jumping off point.  It's at the very front of the journal so I can keep it in the forefront of my mind.  I can always edit or amend it but it is the start of my Quilting Journey this year.

I believe all epic journeys are done in stages.  And My quilting Journey is going to be epic if I can manage to keep it up. So I decided to set monthly goals.  Then break those goals down into weekly segments.  I doubt I will do daily segments but maybe I'll include daily to do lists later on.  Right now I am not sure how much time or energy I will have each day.  I still work full time for a living and my work schedule is kind of all over the place with the pandemic and all that brings.

So the title of my January page is "January's Lofty Plans"  I am still not convinced if this is going to work or if I am going to keep it up.  I'm also not sure how much I will be able to do each evening.  I am going to shoot for 30 minutes on the house, 30 minutes on the studio, and 30 minutes on a project.  So hopefully I will have the energy to commit to an hour and a half each evening. 

I then wrote a page for this week.  What I would like to get accomplished this week. The plans for this week are a little more detailed and I hope to get most of them done.  I do think I have over planned but that is okay.  What doesn't get done gets moved to next week.  

My bullet journal isn't terribly creative.  It's just lists. Plus I am not sure how long I will keep this up.  I am hoping to develop it as a new habit.  Because I really want to break this cycle of insanity.  The clutter, the wasted energy, the wasted time, it all adds to depression and hopelessness. I need to break that cycle.  I need to stop planning to fail.

On a positive note, I got up Saturday morning and started cleaning in my studio.  I continued to clean on Sunday as well.  I still have a long way to go but right now I feel like I can do it. So Maybe there is something to this journaling.

How about you? 

What destructive cycle do you need to break?

Do you have a bullet journal?

A New Year - A Change of Perspective

It happens every year, on December 31st we ring out the old year and ring in the new one.  People make resolutions that are usually broken by the end of January.  It's a annual cycle that is steeped in tradition and lore.

2020 has been a trying year for many of us.  Many of us are happy to ring in a new year.  But I don't think 2021 is going to bring the changes everyone hopes for.  I believe that we are in for more of the same as last year.  What can change is our perspective.

I was chatting with a co-worker.  She commented that she's made black eye peas every year but it doesn't seem to work for her. I then mentioned that we at least were still working and many had been laid off or their business closed due to the pandemic.  She brightened up at that. Her perspective had been changed. She told me that she was going to go ahead and make the traditional new years meal. For those of us in South Georgia that means black eye peas, pork of some kind, greens, and corn bread. Right now those things are cooking in my kitchen.

I am not a native of the south and I don't think we really had New Year traditions growing up. Well, beyond staying up to ring in the New Year and watching parades and football on New Years Day.  But it is fun to adopt some the cultural traditions of the places where you live. That is as long as you keep things in perspective. I don't believe that what I eat on New Years day is really going to affect my financial outcome for the next year. But it is a fun tradition here in the south and I don't have to come up with a dinner plan for that day.

One New Years tradition that I do believe in is reflecting on the past year and making goals for the upcoming year.  Last year and again this year, I did a Facebook post on 15 little things that make me happy. Interestingly enough Quilting related activities took 2-3 spots in that list. 

Since I have been a little lax on quilting this year and my studio has been a complete disaster, I have been a little down on myself and my quilting. So I decided to see if I can come up with 15 quilting related activities make me happy. Maybe change my perspective a little bit. 

Here is the list.

1. Piecing - the very act of sewing is a stress reliever for me.  I love to run fabric through the machine.

2. Cutting - I like using the rotary cutter and ruler.  I like getting things prepped for a project. If I am without power for any reason, cutting is something I can do as long as there is natural light coming in. Cutting is the first actual part of the construction the quilt.

3. Folding new fabric (or any fabric) Silly as it sounds, I enjoy folding fabric to store.  It gives me a chance to look at the fabric, to see the patterns and colors. It is a time to dream of what I could do with the fabric.

4. Finding a new quilt shop - This usually happens when I travel. The first real quilt shop that I shopped at as a quilter was Mom's Crafts and Fabrics in Delta, UT when I lived there.  She had a huge array of fabrics and no matter when I went in or who was working at the time, I felt like I was part of the group. I currently don't live close to a real quilt shop. But just about every quilt shop that I enter, I feel like I did at Mom's. Welcomed and part of the group. Part of the quilting community.

5. Trying new techniques. I love to learn and am always willing to learn something new. Even if it is not my style. It is knowledge I can use at some time or another.

6. Using fabric from my stash.  This year I made a couple of flimsies from fabric that had been in my stash for years. It is very satisfying to use fabric that has been laying around. Especially fabric that I have had for a long time.

7. Binding a quilt.  I guess it's because it's the last step.  Finishing a quilt makes me happy.

8. My quilts actually being used.  My son has the quilt I made him on his bed.   My granddaughters use theirs and really do love them. I would rather the quilt be used than sitting in a cupboard some where.

9. Sharing my projects with my daughter.  Tatianna is a great supporter of my efforts and a good critic.  I always look forward to sharing my projects with her.

10. Actually quilting the quilt - Since I've gotten my long arm, I enjoy quilting the quilts a lot more than just tying them.  Quilting on a domestic machine was not fun for me but my machine did not have a large enough throat nor a stich regulator.  I just couldn't get the hang of it so I tied them.

11. Quilting with others. I enjoy doing a quilt project with the women at church. I like to have company when I sew. I don't mean all of the time but once in a while it would be nice.  I guess I need to join a guild and go on retreats.

12. Good deals on fabric.  I like hitting the clearance section at quilt shops. I also like to hit the sales on discontinued fabric.  I generally buy 2-3 yards of fabrics I like. Getting a bunch of pretty fabric for a good price puts a smile on my face.

13. My husband's support for my fabric/quilting addiction.  I have found that I will spend more money at a quilt shop if my husband goes in with me.  He buys fabric that he likes and I buy fabric that I like and it generally all goes with something in my stash.  Also when I bought my long arm, I didn't have enough to buy the computerized system. My husband encouraged me to get a loan and get the computerized system.  Then a couple of years later he used his bonus from work to pay off that loan.

14. New quilting gadgets - I love gadgets. One of my favorites is my slotted ruler. Another is my binding tool. Still another is the 1/4 inch ruler. I have a bunch of rulers and gadgets, some which I haven't used, yet that is.

15. You tube Videos and tutorials.  I learn a lot from other quilters. Since I haven't joined a guild or found quilting classes that jive with my work schedule, they have become sanity savers for me.  

It took a little more effort to come up with 15 quilting things that make me happy.  Maybe because I haven't been doing enough of these things this year. That is one resolution I intend to make and keep this year. Quilting more regularly.

 What makes you happy? What's you resolution?

Connecting Through Quilting

The end of November was a hectic time for my family. The hunting trip to Louisiana did not go quite as planned.  Oh the guys did get to hunt and the rewards were three deer and a hog for our freezers. However, our dear friend's mother passed the Monday that we were there.  My days of reading and working on projects turned into days of comforting and helping them get through the difficult times.  I am grateful the Lord chose to put us there at that time.  My son Killian was a pallbearer for the first time and it was a little sobering experience for him.  But all in all, It was a good experience.  

Then the day before her funeral, we got word that my father in law passed away.  This is the second year in a row that we have had a death right before Thanksgiving in our family. Our friends were there for us as we were for them.  Thanksgiving was a rushed affair with my husband, daughter and I flying out early on black Friday. I only packed my hexie kit for this trip.  

When we got to my Mother in law's house, my sister in law was cutting up old uniforms and hospital gowns.  Good sections were being set aside for quilt blocks and stained sections were being set aside for rugs.  You see my in-laws are old school quilters. They quilt from scraps and old clothes.  That doesn't mean they don't or won't use new fabric. It's just they never had much to spare and they make do with what they had.  

Last year my mother in law showed me a bunch of quilt tops she had made out of sheets that she had been given. She was waiting for my sister in law to have time to come tie them with her.  This year it was old uniforms and hospital gowns. Any fabric is game for quilting.  My husband told me how at one time they would go to the thrift store and get the bags of rags and pull out all the good fabric for quilts. 

One evening, I took my hexie kit with me to my mother in laws.  I sat by the wood stove and started basting the fabric to the paper pieces.  My mother in law was fascinated. She wanted to know what I was doing.  I said I was trying my hand at paper piecing. I explained that it was a quilt project that I could take with me. 

I showed her the hexagon papers that I had bought. I explained how I cut the template that I used for cutting the fabric hexagons.  I showed her the lapel stick that I used to temporarily glue the fabric to the papers. I sat and basted several hexies while talking about it.  I showed her how I planned to put them together,  She recognized the grandmother's garden pattern and comments that she had never been able to get her hexagons even. She really liked the idea of the paper piecing.  She liked the idea of it being something she could sit and do while watching TV. We sat and talked about it for a good hour.  She was interested but felt that with her time and work ravaged hands, she would not be able to do it. Then we were talking about her crocheting and the hats she was making for people.  She figured she might end up giving them to a homeless shelter or something since all of her kids and most of her grandkids are grown.

Here's the thing. I don't' have a lot in common with my Mother in law.  She grew up on a farm in rural Idaho. I grew up in in a city in New York.  She graduated from high school but in her world that was going above and beyond for a girl's education.  I grew up with the understanding that I would go to college. She rarely worked outside of the home. I've not been fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom. We are worlds apart. But we do connect over quilting. Neither of us quilts like the other.  Hers have always been mostly using what she has. I am more of a buy what I like. She mostly just uses scissors and templates, I use rotary cutter and rulers. She hand quilts or ties her quilts, I have a Long arm. As I said she is old school quilting and I am more modern quilting. She is fascinated by what I do and I appreciate what she does. It is a way the two of us can connect.  

I am grateful that I can connect with her this way.  It gives us something to bond over beside my husband and kids.

Who do you connect with over quilting?

UFOVEMBER (a month to focus on UFOs)

 As many of you know, I follow Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts. Well in her Quilter's circle she introduced us to Bobbi Gentili of geekybobbin.com. Bobbi got a bunch of other quilt bloggers together and set up a Blog Hop for the month of November. She called it UFOvember. Each day one of the bloggers writes about UFOs. It started with doing an inventory of your UFOs and then moved on to Resuming work. Then maybe Reworking the UFO instead of finishing it as planned. Either make it smaller or into something else. The last part coming up is Rehome. Basically if you have lost your love of it then pass it on to someone else. It has been a really pleasant experience. I highly recommend you look it up and read the articles.  It all starts on geekybobbin.com.

It's nice to get tips from all of these different quilters.  It has even inspired me to get back to work on my UFOs. So I dug out my Irish chain quilt top.  I love the fabric and colors in this quilt top. But it has been over 2 years since I worked on it. Now is the time to get it done.

As you may or may not recall the quilt is much longer than it is wide. Not very bed friendly to say the least. At first I was just going to finish like it was. Then my friend Cindy suggested that I add something to the sides. Maybe a strip with floral appliques. But I am not into applique.  Plus I didn't have any more of the colored fabric to make it coordinate.  

But as I was browsing on Missouri Star Quilt site a couple of years ago, I found some fabric that would work. So I decided to order a bunch of 1 yard lengths of the different colors.  I had plenty of the white fabric left so I decided to make flying geese side panels to make the quilt wider. I had it all planned out. I was going to put a 2 inch dark green strip on either side of the quilt then the flying geese and then bind it with the dark green. I could picture it so well. But I had never made flying geese. So I procrastinated

Well 2 weeks ago, Fueled with inspiration form the UFOvember blog hop, I got out the quilt and started gathering the fabric to cut the geese. Then I hit a road block.  I can't find the left over white fabric.  I had made a point of setting it aside so I would have it, but it is no where to be found. It was a white tone on tone print that I can't find anywhere. I looked at the yards of white fabrics I do have. I even took the time to audition them. I just don't care for the look of the mismatched fabric. Now I am left with 2 choices. I can finish it as is or I can rip out the rows and rework it to a more square size.

I am going to rip out and do it right. I won't be happy with it if I don't. Since this was pieced on the diagonal I shouldn't have to rip out all of the rows. I should be able to just unstitch to the center diagonals. Then I can adjust them to the right width and sew the sections back together.  I think I will diagram it out first this time though.

Working out the issues with the Irish chain has me rethinking the batik strip quilt.  I am going to make it an 8 blocks wide by 8 rows long quilt instead of 7 blocks wide by 9 rows long quilt.  I think I will like it better that way so I will be ripping out apart a row and attaching blocks to the sides of the other rows.  Fortunately life has kept me from stitching the rows together. I already figured out that I need to take the first row apart and use that to add to the other rows.  

This may sound weird but I am actually looking forward to ripping out these seams.  I guess it helps to know that all these professional type quilters have the same issues.  Thank you Bobbi Gentili for organizing the UFOvember Blog Hop.  It's got me excited about my projects again.

Identifying Frogs (or what is keeping you from finishing that project)

Well, I've been back to work for a week and a half and I am really starting to have more energy. Being caffeine and soda free for a couple of weeks seems to have helped. Don't get me wrong I don't expect to stay that way forever but I am sleeping better.  That being said, I haven't done much in the way of quilting. Oh I did finish cutting the strips for the Simply Squares quilt, but I haven't really jumped onto anything. Plus my UFOs are increasing.  I've decided it's because I am not eating the frogs. There are things I am not doing because I am dreading them. So I procrastinate until I have no choice. So with it being UFOvember, I've decided to figure out what my frogs are.

1. Cleaning the studio.  I can't really get moving on anything until I get things cleaned up and put away. I need to be able to move around my machine in order to use it. There are things in there that I need moved out and things I need a place for.  This is a daunting task to me and I am probably going to need some help to do it.

2. Machine Maintenance. I need to give Millie a WD-40 bath and I've never done it before. So I need to get the manual out and read up on that. 

3. Quilt Path Upgrade. I've not used Millie since the Quilt Path upgrade. In one of my face book groups I have heard about all sorts of problems. So I am rather nervous about firing it up and using it. I need to read up on that as well.

4. Making Backing.  It's not that I find it difficult to make backings, I just struggle to make sure they are square.  I've watched some videos on it and I am doing it correctly. I just could really use a bigger surface to do it on.

I think these are my top three Frogs and I think I have them pretty much in order of size. Now I just need to decide when and how I am going to eat them.  

I am hoping to pull Perigrine and Killian into helping me with the studio. I think that Frog is the size of an elephant and will need to be eaten in a few settings. So while it's my biggest Frog, I am not going to be able to get it done before I work on anything else. I do need to sew after all.

Once the Studio is cleaned up and I have things in place, I will give Millie a bath.  She needs one.  I think that this Frog is doable in one day. That is once I've gotten the studio straight. 

In the mean time, I need to do some reading.  I also can complete the Cobble Stones and Windmill quilt top and the Batik Strip quilt top. Maybe I'll even get the backs put together.

What are your frogs?

Eating Frogs (and a couple of epiphanies)

Mark Twain once said "If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first."  Basically the idea is to get the most onerous task done and over with so you can get on with your day. Other wise you spend the whole day dreading the pending task.  

There is always something in quilting that one or more of us doesn't enjoy.  I don't particularly enjoy stitching down the binding.  My daughter Tatianna finds it rather Zen.  I don't care for laying out quilt blocks, mostly because I don't have the surface to do the whole quilt and so I am guessing about placement.  Well, my most recent frogs were the cobblestone and windmill quilt blocks and the batik strip quilt blocks.  These are bigger quilts and I had no place large enough to lay them out.

This past week I have been home due to illness. (Not covid-19 thankfully)  I spent the week in bed. While laying in my bed, it occurred to me that the wall at the head of my bed was about 72 inches wide and there wasn't anything on it. If I moved my bed out away from the wall, I could tack up my portable design wall.

Friday morning I got up just before noon and actually got dressed. I was finally feeling good enough to do something.  I ate some chicken soup and then debated what I was going to work on. There were the strips I needed to cut for the simply squares quilt. And all I needed to do for that was set up the ironing board and press the fabric first. Or I could set up the design wall and lay out the quilts. 

I should mention that I rather like to cut fabric and I don't mind pressing fabric at all so working on the simply squares quilt wouldn't have been an issue with me. Laying out quilts on the other hand is not something I particularly enjoy.  Largely because I can't usually lay out the whole quilt at once since I don't have a large enough space. Which makes it difficult to keep the appearance balanced. A problem I could rectify if I weren't so determined to make random and/or scrappy quilts. 

With the frog quote in mind I proceeded to pull my bed away from the wall.  Then tacked up my 72" x 72" design wall. I decided to do the cobble stones and windmill blocks first. I chose to do that quilt first because the color placement was going to be a nightmare. I knew that I had only one or two windmill blocks for a few of the colors.  It wasn't going to be easy to get everything spread out evenly. Basically it was the biggest of the two frogs. It took a few hours and a some creative thinking but I got it laid out. It is stacked and clipped by rows ready to be stitched together. But after all of that I needed a nap.  It was too much exertion for my still weak body.

After the nap I grabbed the next quilt. This quilt was made from batik jelly rolls that were sewn into strip sets. I cut the strips sets into blocks. These block were larger and I needed to put a sashing strip between the blocks.  Also some of the prints looked...well for lack of a better word..."muddy".  I needed to make sure that the "muddy" blocks were spread out among the bright blocks.  When I pieced this quilt I was going for a random pattern. So there were only 4-5 blocks that were the same of each strip set. Again I needed to spread all of these out.  

Well, I started laying out the quilt and could only lay out half the quilt at a time. Since the whole point in laying the quilt out was to ensure the fabrics were spread out over the whole quilt, that was a problem. Fortunately I am a decent problem solver. After I was satisfied with how it looked. I stacked up the top two rows and put them aside. I moved up the remaining three rows. Then added the next two row to the bottom.  I stood back and moved blocks around. Then sat and looked at it. When I was satisfied I again stacked off the top two rows and moved up the remaining three rows. After the last two rows were added, At this point it was bed time. I would finish have to finish it off on Saturday. I ran some errands Saturday morning then I went back to work on the quilt. Then when I was happy with it, I stacked off all the remaining rows.  I will probably start sewing these blocks over the next few weeks.

On Sunday, I did start cutting the strips for the simply squares quilt. As I was finishing cutting the strips I realized that I didn't have enough of the white fabric I had.  In fact I was 5 inches short. I was two strips shy of what I needed to do the sashing strips and inner border. Time to rethink the border. I am thinking that I will do a narrow black border and a wider green border with black binding. 

I had a couple of epiphanies this week as well.  One is that a 72" x72" design wall is not big enough to lay out a largish quilt. it's great for baby and throw sizes but a twin size is a little bit of a tight fit. I told my husband that I need an 8ft x 8ft design wall. Which is still a little tight for laying out big quilts but is better than what I have.  He is actually working on the design for it.  He said he could go wider but not taller than 8ft. So I am eagerly awaiting my design wall.

The next epiphany was just how easy it is to change the appearance of the quilt. As I was laying out the batik strip quilt, my son told me that my pattern was off. I replied that it can't be off since there wasn't really a pattern. He then said all of the bright colors are drifting down and to left.  I stepped back and looked and he was right. The lower left side did seem to have more bright colors than the upper right side. So I moved two blocks and stood back. The whole appearance of the quilt had changed.  Moving just two blocks balanced out the whole quilt.

I also came to realize just what a good upper arm work out laying out quilt blocks is.  I moved the blocks around a bit on both quilts. I sure felt it in my upper arms for the next two days.  I think I need to do that more often.

The last epiphany I had was while I was cutting strips.  Actually while I was cutting down strips into 5 inch rectangles.  You see, I like gadgets and so I have a Klutz glove and a Gypsy Gripper. I got both of these years ago to protect my hands while using a rotary cutter.  After a few months I just kind of stopped using them.  I have for years cut my fabric without any issue or injury. 

That is until Sunday.  I was sitting at my desk cutting the strips down and video chatting with my daughter and granddaughters. When I all of a sudden I felt the sting.  I had sliced a rather thick piece of skin off my finger. I learned that I am not as proficient at multi-tasking as I thought I was. My rotary blade was sharp and I didn't even feel the cut until the air hit it. The thing is I was distracted and while I was being careful with the measurements, I got careless with my finger placement. I need to be more focused while using my rotary cutter. As a result of that lesson I am nursing a very sore index finger. I did get lucky though, there was no blood on the cutting mat or the white fabric. So Yay for that.

Well that was my week. Funny thing is I've been so busy (and tired/still recuperating) that this post took me a week to write. Now back to eating frogs.

What quilting task don't you care for? 

What's Under Your Needle and Other Social Media Questions.

 Like many others, I spend a little too much time on Facebook.  (Okay, way too much time).  As such, I belong to a couple of groups that deal with quilting. So I get to see all sorts of posts from companies that sell or promote quilting supplies.  One thing these sites all seem to have in common is every so often they ask about what you are working on. I think these questions are suppose to get you thinking about projects that are sitting on your shelf.  It may even push you a little to get moving.  And they also give you the opportunity to show off your work.

One of my favorite questions is "What is under your needle today?"  It would almost make me feel like I needed to sit down and sew something just so I can answer it.  What is under my needle? Right now nothing is under my needle.  I am in a sort of transition stage. I have two quilts that I need to do a layout on and another quilt that I need to cut strips for.  Not to mention the 6 quilts that I need to make backs for. So I am in flux as to what is under my needle.

Another question I see frequently is "How many UFOS do you have?"  If you aren't careful this question can stimulate guilt over the numerous projects that are half done. It can also trigger you into reconsidering starting that new project. It may also prompt you to drag all of those UFOs out and look at them.  Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts suggest that you re evaluate your UFOs.  You may not be far from finishing them and it will give you the incentive to finish.  It also may be you fell out of love with the project.  Either way decide if you really want to finish it or not.  How many UFOs do I have? It depends on how you define the UFOs. If I am talking about projects that I've actually started then I have ten. If we are talking about planned projects, I lost count along time ago.  

"How big is your stash?" is really not a question that I've seen more than once.  It was in a post about managing your stash.  But I think it is worth asking. The post that I saw it in was all about knowing what you have and how you are going to use it.  Karen Brown has a good video about stash management.  In it she talks about inventorying you stash.  I started to inventory my stash. I managed to get all my pre-cuts inventoried but never did get my yardage done. There have been times when I felt guilty about how much I was spending and even tried to restrict my purchasing of fabric to just what I need to to finish a quilt.  That didn't work out too well.

How about "What is the one thing you want in your sewing space that you don't have?" What I want is more space. Okay more space and more organization. And maybe an embroidery machine and or how about a cool cutting table.  If we are fantasizing, I want everything, every cool gadget, tool, machine, furniture and fabric there is.  Dream big or go home.

"What is the one tool you use that others don't?"  I have no idea. I learned about most of my tools from other quilters. Do you have one?  I will say that there are somethings people repurpose for their quilting. One of my favorites is the toilet paper tube for rolling binding strips on.  I new some one who rolled all her strips on toilet paper tubes and the used a toilet paper holder to hold the binding strips as she sewed them to the quilt.

"What one tool/ruler could you not live without?" While I have different tools that I love for different applications, there isn't one that I couldn't live without.  But I have to say I really love my slotted ruler.  I like being able to cut one strip after another easily.  But I also like the square up rulers. Oh and who doesn't love a good sharp blade in their rotary cutter.

One last question "What are you working on this weekend?"  That one puts a little less pressure on the reader.  The answer could simply be nothing or some thing as simple as stitching down binding.  It also could be a new block or quilt.  It could be block mapping or graphing. Or it could be cutting out the newest project. This weekend I worked on increasing my stash (I am in Missouri visit my husband and we found a quilt shop) and cutting out Hexies.  I would have said sewing hexies but I forgot my thread.

So what are your favorite social media questions? How do the questions affect you?