Project completion

Hi Blogland!

I wish I was posting progress of some kind every day but I have been working on a big project--sadly, not a craft project. It's almost done. By tomorrow it will be out of my house and I will be at peace. I'm savoring the anticipation of that. There are so many things that I want to be doing. I was glad to do this project. It was a service, it was an honor, on some level it was a blessing...but too much of the same thing can bore me. Adult Attention Deficit? Bipolar craft disorder? Bi means two (or something like that). Bicycle...two wheels. Right? You following along? So to me bipolar is two opposites. For me that's two crafts---sewing/quilting and paper crafts/scrapbooking. I need one or the other or it makes me crazy. Do you think that's the official diagnosis of bipolar disorder?

So fingers crossed I will get this all finished tonight and have no trouble sending it on the next part of its journey. Then I can pet the new fat quarters I bought today when I ran away from reality for the Tuesday Fat Quarter sale. I needed it. (Probably didn't need the fabric just needed the escape.)

Here is my last craft project that I completed just so you have some eye candy. It was assembly line crafting. I made them in the hopes of selling them at my quilt retreat:

In the beginning they looked like little top hats. I did Christmas pails, Valentine pails, country pails, a disco pail (seriously, the fabric makes me think disco)...

Now they look like they are coming together. I'm starting to wonder why I was doing this many. This is what happens when you set aside fabric and a pattern years ago. When you finally go to do it you can't remember what you were thinking but you think you must have been thinking something for a reason...yeah, I know, as confusing as my need for this many pails, I think.

So now I'm getting slap happy and thinking they would make gear shift cozies. Better than beer can cozies, don't you think?

Now they are all finished with coordinating buttons holding the handles on. I made 20 (again, why?...I have no answers...) Sadly, I didn't sell them all but now I have gift "bags" for gift giving or inventory for my next craft sale.

Now back to my project.

Back from the Honeybee's quilting retreat

The guilt was getting to me today. I kept feeling like I needed to be doing something I wasn’t. I snapped out of it because I was doing stuff. It didn't matter that it wasn't my taxes (unless you ask my husband, our accountant) or the church anniversary booklet that really needs to get to the printer's on Monday (Have I started it? Well, in my head I have.) Last week was very inspiring and today was MY Thursday. MY day to play. So I needed to remind myself that I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.

I'm fresh from the Honeybee's quilt retreat. I look forward to it every year. Here’s what I packed this year:

Notice this doesn't even include my suitcase. The tall bag was all things to sell, plus another smaller bag full of things to sell, my machine, my laptop, a table, and lots and lots of projects. Next year I need to remember one of my cropping lamps. Just the lightbulb (yes, I brought my own lightbulb) wasn't enough this year. I'm getting old and blind...

I'll share some classes, projects and other things I did for and at this weekend in the next few days. Here is the class that had the most prep.

I cut almost 400 squares. I started out with some 30's or 40's reproduction fabrics that I wanted to get rid of. My plan was to use up what I had for this scrap quilt. I cut and cut and then decided I needed a little orange and a tad bit more red and yellow...so much for using what I had. Off I went to the quilt store for a little more. Our teacher said that was using our fabric. We didn't have to use it up, just use it.

Then began more mass production. I sewed them into 96 4-patch blocks. They were all done and stacked neatly with my cut batting and white squares (96 of each of them too). Ironed nice and flat. It was fun to just pet them. I got to class and had to mess with the centers and re-iron all of them. Sigh...

Now the magic starts--fancy new templates, pins, sewing in circles. I stayed up after my roomie went to sleep. (Bless her snoring husband who trained her to sleep through noise. My machine was nothing compared to him. Teeheehee.) I ended up having to resew about 30 (Crap!) because my tension was off but I mangaged to have them all sewn and cut by the brunch the next day.

I sat at the brunch and listened to the guest speaker and turned my circles right side out. I had a lovely stack. Now I need to sew them all together. Can't wait to show you what they look like sewn together! Maybe tomorrow...It's amazing because you quilt as you sew so I can say it's almost done...almost...maybe...until I get distracted...