Show and Tell

Working, working, working on those UFOs. Here was a charm pack wall hanging. It went together in no time but it sat because I wasn't sure I wanted to bind the funny angles. Then I got the idea to just sew it like a pillow and turn it right side out. Worked out fine. Plus, it is 100% finished.

Then there was my Christmas quilt. I had the brillant idea for my sewing group to do a block a month for a year and finish a quilt by the end of the year. I think they might think bad thoughts of me every time they look at their started quilts. I had a fat eighth pack of Christmas fabrics that I'd been hording and managed to use that and not need tons of other things, besides backing, background and chain fabrics. Like how it turned out!

I meander quilted the background. It made it heavy but it also make it go faster. That was a lot of quilt to machine quilt myself! Twisting it and shoving it through my machine really worked my arm and back muscles.

Here's a close up of the colors:

I've been busy. More pictures tomorrow!

How cute is this!

Isn't this adorable! That's me with the bald head. My brother is telling me he can show me how to do a better job. I've been playing a lot with old pictures and came across this one. What caught my eye, after the initial "ah, how sweet and funny" factor was the chair my brother is sitting on. That chair is now my sewing room chair, 40 years later.

My aunt (the one that taught me to quilt) helped me make this chair cover. How funny. I love old things, used things, repurposed things. I love the sense that I've saved it. I love that it has a history. Makes me feel like I'm part of history too.

Closets

Do you ever think about your closets? They can be wonderful (for hiding stuff) and scary (you hid stuff too long) and practical (where else should a vacuum live) and organized (nice even stacks of towels) and disasters (piles of clothes spilling off of shelves). I remember when I was little I had a closet with a long bar. That's what most closets were like back then. I was lucky and had a few little shelves built in on the side. You couldn't really see them because the clothes on the bar covered them. Those long shelves over the bar were to far out of my reach to be very helpful. In the olden days they had pegs for you to hook something on. Horror! No place to hide your messes. Nowadays we have closet systems. How amazing is that! We can arrange our closet to suit our every need. Take a minute to appreciate that blessing. :o)

I recently rearranged my bathroom linen closet and made it my fabric closet. I had all kinds of misc stuff in the closet. All of my fabrics---ok, not all, who could comprehend the all part---most of my quilting fabrics were in plastic tubs under my bed. It was efficient and practical. They were sorted by color and I could just slide out what I needed. Sounds good in theory but not as practical as I thought. Over time it just has not been working. I need to be able to look at several colors at once. Since I like scrap quilts that meant most colors at once. There would be no place to walk; every inch of the carpet would be covered. Cleaning it all up was even harder. Putting away fabrics I had pulled out was daunting. I decided I needed to be able to look at everything I had all at once. I dove in!

I made piles on my bed.

I made piles on the floor.

There was such a mess that I started to worry that I would never be able to reach the bottom, let alone finish. Then I worried that it wouldn't all fit. I realized I had more than I thought I did. Now it is heavenly. There's even wiggle room on the shelves.

Everything is sorted by color. I have a whole box of fabrics to "re-file". I'm trying really hard not to look at it too much. It makes me want to pick fabrics for a new project and I'm still working on completion issues.

A bonus to the whole process was that I found I had yardage that I had forgotten I even had. I'm trying to cure myself of my need to hold on to a piece of fabric and save it for the perfect project. I'm going to turn into one of those crazy hoarders (maybe I'm already there?) if I don't just USE IT! I'm going to try and sell some crafts at the church's fall festival in a few weeks. I need to take some of this yardage and make some bags or purses or something. I'm almost giddy thinking that I could empty one of the yardage tubs now under the bed. An empty tub would be a great place to organize something new...a new project..a new mess to hide...whatever I want.

Time, Time, Where does the time go?!

I've said this before (have I written it before?) but as a mommy I wish I had a super hero ring that would freeze time. What a dream! Think what you could do. Catch up on cleaning or crafting or whatever procrastinating project you have lying around. I also envision it as a quiet peaceful time since everyone but me is frozen.

A week ago I decided to make a jewelry holder. My partner in crime wanted to make something like it to store her cords---phone chargers, battery chargers, external hard drives. We saw a sample and decided we could make our own without a pattern. I even dug fabric out of the Goodwill bag. Easy peasy. Insert a snort, a roll of the eyes and a big heavy sigh here. I bought the plastic and it laid around for a month. I finally got tired of tripping over it so I decided to just do it. I hate how you start out to do an EASY project and it sucks up the ENTIRE day.

At least it is done! I have a store bought one that holds my bracelets and necklaces. Now I have this one to hold earrings and more bracelets. This one thing cleaned off the top of my vanity and two drawers.  

I love the clean top of the vanity. Wonder if it will stay that way? The project really stressed me out though by the end of the day that it took ALLLLLLL day. Sometimes I look at something and think it will be a quick thing and when it isn't I sometimes get so frustrated I set it aside. Hmmmm, is that how I end up with all these unfinished projects? At the very last minute I made myself finish this pin cushion so that I could feel like I did two whole things on this "quickie craft project day" (again with the snort, sigh and eye roll.) I love the look of it. Can you guess what the stand is?

It's a mattress spring. I'd like to find some more. You should hear my husband going on about finding an old (I translate into gross, dirty, stains of unknown origin) mattress and setting it on fire in a controled area, of course. Then being left with just the springs. Seriously, we are looking. That could be a whole new craft concept. Pyromania inspired crafting.

It's good to have friends!

It’s so good to have friends. Here’s my latest UFO.

Isn’t it great! I love it. It only took me ____years to finish it. I even made two; one to keep, one to sell. All that wool sorting (wool gathering?) did prove to be productive. I couldn’t have finished it (safely) without the help of my friend Elda.

I had everything perched precariously. I had to glue (with toxic stinky stuff) the tabs to the metal holder. This glue is wonderful in holding fabric to anything but I find it takes some time to set. I went through the pantry trying to find heavy things to clamp down on it so I didn’t have to hold it for the next hour (or even second because I have no patience for that kind of thing.) The ginger sauce and apricot preserves were the only heavy things with a small enough base to press just where I needed it. Then I had to use cans to hold those glass jars up. Glass, perched, precarious. Are you catching on? This was the day of the 3 day crop and I was worried someone would knock it over and I’d have a disaster. In my little mind I thought, Oh well it will mess up the floor but miss my project.

Then along comes Elda. She’s so smart! Look at her wonderful solution. Don’t think Duh! You were still focused on those cans and you know it. I’m wondering if it was her years teaching preschool, thus dealing with little brains…I guess that is how I compare.

I need to go get some more clothespins. I find them handy to hang things on my blinds (though I’ve faded a small quilt terribly once by doing that so only short term or paper things).  It gives you a quicky design wall. We use them for chip clips. You know those single socks? They aren’t alone. They have built a house out of those silly clothespins somewhere in the alternate dimension because I know we aren’t eating them but they just disappear…

Schedule, schedule, schedule

Some people might stay scheduling wrecks spontaneity but I've found it helps me get things done. Have I said this before? I really think it is my mommy mantra. I can be spontaneous but if I want to make progress with all these other people's schedules then I have to plan!

I went through my craft room last night and instead of letting myself get sucked in the busy work I started packing my craft bag. I decided if it was mindless and just needed to be cut I would take it to sewing tonight. Sewing is my once a week, meet with the girls, and work on whatever you want time. We work at the church where we have plenty of room and lots of light. And to be perfectly honest it is so much easier to cut there than to climb over my messes to get to my cutting table which is covered in piles of stuff that need to be shifted so I can cut which means more piles to climb over to get back to where ever I was. Did you get tired reading that sentence? That's how tired I get climbing over those piles. They are productive piles...

Each of these piles is a project. What am I doing starting new projects you ask? It is my therapy (that I probably need therapy for.) I had a great time a week or so ago with my friend wool shopping. We headed over to the quilt store with our sale coupon and there wasn't much there and what was there was overpriced. Off to Goodwill we went where we stumbled upon the 99 cents a pound room. It was a treasure hunt. I LOVE a good treasure hunt! We found all kinds of wool things. Now for less than we would have paid at the quilt store we got lots more variety, even if we did have to cut things up to get it. So of course, I needed to sort all my wool, which led to pulling pieces for certain projects, which led to this semi-organized pile of messes. Still therapeutic! I tell myself these are hand projects so it's different from the other unfinished things lying around. Now I can be productive at a PTO meeting. Right?

It did spur me on to finish these key chains. Flowers on one side, buttons on the other. I only started them last Christmas for the girls at sewing. They are a smidge crooked but I think that adds to the primitive quality. (How's that for crafter rationale?) Whatever, they are finished!! Finished! That is such a glorious word. Think how much room that frees up in my craft room...uh, none.

Last week I also scheduled scrapbook time. 3 straight days of it. I find that works best. You set up, leave it and come and go as the inspiration hits. I have others come too which keeps me on track. I finished (meaning I journaled!) the boys' school albums. Then I did 1995 and 1996. That is two more years. Doesn't that sound impressive. Now I need to do 2006 and that fills my last hole in our family life. That may make you roll your eyes but it sure thrills me. I'm getting organized and caught up and just when I think I will have reached crafter completion nirvana...I will have to get a job because I have a child approaching college. Sigh. Makes me want to go start another project!

School has started

I can't believe that school has started. I know I've disappeared from the blog world, again. I'd like to say I was busy working on all my summer resolutions but I'm not going to think about that. Not denial, just reality. No regrets. I know I got some things accomplished. I'm proud that I've moved forward. Moving forward is my happy reality.

I got a Sizzix Big Shot for Christmas. I love the silly thing in my dreams. In my dreams because I wasn't using it in my reality. I've been ordering new things. And more things. And still more things. I'll be looking through magazines or blogs and find more dies that I want/need. I've ordered from Sizzix and from Joanns.com. I've used my coupons at Michael's and Hobby Lobby. I've ordered again (and again) from Joanns. I love getting packages! It brings me joy. I haven't surpassed my budget, yet. Ah, the joy.

I dropped the kiddos in North Carolina this summer and discovered a contest at the local shop. All I had to do was use my Tim Holtz dress form die to make something, anything. I didn't have a clue what I was going to do but I was entering! I thought I might even win, not because my work is so stellar, but just that I've found that people worry so much about competition that they don't enter.

I cleaned out my craft area but I still ended up at the kitchen table. I kept having to run upstairs, then into my room and then into the utility room. I've decided that my oldest needs to leave for college early I need his room for my new craft room. 

I loved playing with the dresses. I just need the figure for a dress like this.

Who knows what I'm going to do with them. One of them is for my mother's red and white sewing room. I had forgotten how fun it is to just play.

Here I am on display in the store. Fun! It's a start.

I even stamped a mailing label for the package. I was quite proud of it. Sad/funny thing was I ended up having to put the whole thing in a priority box. At least you are seeing it. It's a start! Now I need to get off the computer and go sort my vision for my fabric closet. I'll take pictures. Fingers crossed that it works!!