Summer Bucket List

Today is the first day of summer vacation for my family. It started later than I expected since there was a loud, loud teenager party at my house the night before. Tonight we are having a family meeting. We are planning the summer timeline, trips we want to take, excursions, craft projects, home projects and whatever else.

The past few years I've used this great book as a guide to get us out of the house. If we don't do some planning we end up letting the day fly by and no one has left the house. So I'm excited about making plans tonight. I'm hoping we can all inspire each other. I'm probably living in a naive place but I can hope.

We have a vacation planned, a romantic grown up weekend discussed and almost committed to, a few week long camps set up. Now I want to get my cross country runner training (and maybe I can ride my bike along and work on my exercise goal.) I want to get my creative child actually doing some creating rather than just talking about it (like mother like child). I want to conquer some house projects that we've neglected because we've used the excuse of homework and too many other commitments.

I believe things don't just happen. We don't just get miraculous a-ha moments all the time. They do come unscripted and unexpectedly but sometimes you have to plan for the silliness or the adventure. You can't just wait around for it to happen. Otherwise, it's happening out in the real world while you are cemented to the couch!

What do you want to do this summer? Here's a rough start to my list:

Make homemade popsicles, basic ones, designer ones (with fruits and mixed up juices.)

Go through ALL the silly old magazines in the house (preferably while floating in the pool.)

Figure out how to mesh mine, my mother's and my grandmother's charm bracelets into something that means something and something that I will wear.

Purge at least one room a week (including all cabinets and closets.)

Take an artistic field trip once a week (even if one week that means looking at magazines in Barnes and Noble.)

Teach several card classes--make a stockpile, use up some supplies

Clear off the craft room tables and start being productive, a little something every day.

Learn how to transfer my videos to DVD.

Catch up the boys' school scrapbooks.

Catch up on our vacation albums.

Organize my itunes music into better playlists.

Use a picture to create a quilt or paper creation.

There's a start...I could go on but you probably don't want to read it all. Make your own. Type it up. Print it and cross things off. But don't stress about it. Have a friend help you accomplishs some of it. Share the fun. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Summer!

Spring is flying by!

Sorry I’ve fallen off the planet. I was trying to be good and motivated and motivating. I started out last month super inspired. So super inspired that I even spent some time with Jillian Michaels (on the exercise on demand channel). My Michael would ask me if I was going to channel Satan when I was putting off working out with her. I guess he sensed that she is not for the faint of heart. That phase has passed but I really want to get back with it. The practical me and the healthy me and the perfect me want to get back. But the real me (the one that exists) is putting it off. I understand that the world is supposed to end tomorrow, so I need to at least wait until after that to start over.

I have been finishing lots of UFOs! I decided that in the process of cleaning what better way to clean but to just pull what was on the top of the pile and deal. I’m really looking forward to uncovering something that I love. A few of these things were a chore. Like the last of these silly pails. I’m sick, sick, sick of pails! The little quilt I got at my quilt retreat sale for $3 for the pieces and the batting. I added backing and binding, sewed it and finished it. Pretty good for three bucks!

Then I added a closure and stacked some buttons for this.

I got it at the last quilt show for $1 or $2. It’s extra poufy but holds my mini light that I attach to my sewing machine, very handy. Cute colors. Not my usual, but very cheery.

I love the stacked buttons with the bead.

Next I unearthed these notebooks. I had one finished; now I have lots. I’m sick of them too but they are cute---more stacked buttons and some bright colors. I went to sew one and discovered that I had interfacing cut for five more. Sigh. I always start out overzealous. Discovered I had interfacing cut out for 2 matching bags. More sighs, more projects.

I finished these pouches in January but I wanted to show them off. The pattern was drawn on interfacing that I just had to iron on to fabric and then sew on the lines. Easy as it gets!

I had a few more cut and traced so I did these. I couldn’t decide if I thought they looked retro or cheap. Hmmmm, I think someone will like them. I had fun stacking more buttons. I love, love, love buttons! I want to make some vintage looking jewelry out of buttons but that's a whole 'nother post.

This one is the keeper. I love it!! I obsessed for a bit on the gears and watch and wings and then just committed. Finished! Time to go work on something else…

Win this quilt!

I worked like a crazy person to finish this before we left for spring break!

It felt so good to get it FINISHED! You can buy a raffle ticket to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. Save our friend Nathan!! Count your blessings today.

I'm blessed today that I have a great husband so I don't have to work today. So I'm going to try and be a productive human being and go get some work done. Hopefully...

Eye candy

I saw the title Crazy Daisy and thought of my scattered daisy logo. I HATE yellow (notice the screaming capital letters)!! But this makes me happy.

 

The quilt (and the pattern) can be found on this blog: http://www.nelliesneedle.blogspot.com/ She designed it and sells the pattern. Is that enough copyright? It's an easy pattern with raw edge applique. I want to make one (not on yellow...that is the color of p_ _) and maybe without the raw edges. I want a little happiness today. Dreary weather...dreary people...too much drama...

I needed some eye candy, oh yeah, and that fudge round....

Remember those circles?

Remember those circles from a previous post? I've lost all track of time to know when that was. Here's the finished project...

I feel like I've been running in circles. This one was quick in that you quilted it as you sewed it together. I broke 4 machine needles and a seam ripper on it! I'm also really disappointed in how the white looks wrinklely (is that a word?) Ick! It's not fun to spend a lot of time (going in circles) on a project that you turn out not to like. I'm sure it will look fine folded up on the bottom of a bed but the lesson in this is it is done.

Be in the moment. I hear that all the time but I'm finally applying it to to my crafting and it helps. Say it again, "Be in the moment." Don't feel a need to fill it. Be in the project. Don't spend time thinking about the others that still need to be done. It is very peaceful. I'm even applying it to my ever increasing waistline. I'm exercising these days. I feel good. Progress isn't going to instantly show up so when I start to obsess on my non-bathing suit ready body I let it go. I'm trying. What more can I do?

Letting things go (when it works) makes life much more peaceful.

Now I need to get back to the next project:

I basted it last night and now need to get it quilted. Think I can do it today? Ha, not even if I had super hero powers but I can dream. This one is a raffle quilt for a friend's son Nathan and the Cystic Fibrosis fund. You can buy a chance!

Have a great day! Be in the moment!!

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...