Let it go.........................

I'm probably the most accommodating and flexible person I know. You may think I'm a bit rigid at times, with my lists and my baskets, but seriously - if something doesn't get done as I planned - I'm perfectly OK with that. Provided there isn't an urgent deadline. Then I do care!

But right now? Believe it or not, everything is UNDER CONTROL. How the heck did that happen? OH - I still have quilts to design (just one) and instructions to write (just one) and other quilts to make (a couple), and a few e-mails to take care of, but nothing that requires my immediate attention. I'm loving this new normal!

As a result, I spent a LOT of time on Zoom or the phone yesterday. Catching up with family and friends. And it was great! Life is certainly way too short to worry about sewing each and every day. Did I just say that????? I'm making great progress and I'm happy with that. Any progress is better than no progress.

I did a bit of tidying up yesterday (in the office no less) and I found this quote.

Strive for progress, not perfection

Yep - got to add that one to the list of favorites. It's so true - get it done or make progress, but if you wait for perfection, it isn't going to happen. That's especially true with quilting!!

And with decluttering. You'll get a laugh out of some of the stuff that I found. As I mentioned, yesterday, I did add some stuff to the table. There was a tote bag filled with stuff and I dumped it on the table. What kind of treasures did I find??  So before I show you some of the stuff - you are allowed to shake your head (I certainly did a whole lot of times), you are allowed to laugh at me (well, with me because I certainly got a chuckle from some of the stuff I found), but you are NOT allowed to judge me. Only my mother and I can do that! Hey - not even my mother because she would be telling me that some of this stuff can be fixed and I should save it!!

I found this embroidery hoop. I love the hoop - look - it has no screw on it - it just uses a spring. I got it a couple of years ago when I took a class at Quilt Market.

Hand embroidery hoop by Cosmo

The hoop is brand new and was still in its packaging. However, there's a wee problem with the hoop.

Oopsy - broken

Was I hoping that the hoop fairy would come along one night and fix this for me? It's a silly story about how it got broken. I had a box of my "treasures" that I was bringing home from Quilt Market. They were in the crate for the company that I worked for. At one point during the transit back home, the doors of the create popped open in the truck, and my box of stuff fell out and split open. Can you imagine? I wish someone would have taken a picture and I'm sure the driver was a wee bit ticked off as he would have had to scramble and pick up the stuff.

Anyway, the crate, which was on wheels, ran over some of the stuff including my embroidery hoop! Isn't that just the wildest story. OK --- so perhaps I thought I could convince myself to use the damaged hoop. But really? That would likely have resulted in snagged threads or damaged fabrics. The embroidery hoop is now in the garbage.

I can only shake my head as to why this didn't go in the garbage when I took it out of the crate. Oh yes - I should say that the driver literally just threw all my stuff back into the crate and not in a box! It was "FUN" to unload the crate at that time. Since it was all my stuff, it was a good thing I was the one to unload or - well - all the stuff would have ended up in the garbage before I had a chance to check it out.

Then I found my old FitBit in the stuff that I was sorting through. OK - seriously????  It's dead with a badly damaged bracelet (on the inside) and I have since bought a new one which is working just fine. Going through this stuff is like going through a time capsule. The stuff I'm going through right now is from 2017. The FitBit is now in the box of electronic waste that will be dropped off when the box is full.

Did you see the discoloration on the bracelet? Yikes - that's ugly!

The old FitBit

Two empty boxes. One for the Garmin GPS which I bought in 2015. I know - this is hilarious!!!  The other box is for the new Fitbit. Both were filled with various bits of packaging and "Start Here" manuals. Everything that could be recycled is now recycled and the rest is in the garbage.

Empty boxes of products I bought

I also found the box for my new phone, bought last year. That was dealt with as well. I feel like I'm an archeologist. Going through layers of stuff to find a tidbit or two of life in the 21st century. I do have an issue with the packaging though. The companies make it so pretty that you think those boxes are going to be useful for something - but they are not. So make them different and less wasteful and people like me won't want to keep them.

OK - how many of these types of cables does one household need? I did keep it and put it with the rest of the cables. One day, that pile needs to be sorted through (it's been done once before) and remove all the ones that we can no longer use. What would be really good is to attach a tag to it and say - cell phone or tablet or whatever. Then when you no longer have that device, it would be easy to toss the cords in the electronic waste as well. Although some of the adapters will work on multiple devices.

An extra cord

 I think this is the charging cord for my new phone, but I just used the old one. When I got my new phone and traded in the old, I asked if they wanted the cables. Nope - they don't want them so that's why we end up with so many. As long as they are all in one spot in my house, I'm good with that. It makes it super easy to sort through.


I've got one other treasure to share with you today. What the heck is this thing??? 

What is this??

As I'm looking at it this morning, I realize that it's the end of a kaleidoscope. Where's the kaleidoscope? No idea. It doesn't matter - I probably wouldn't use it anyway. The kaleidoscope lens is in the garbage. Could I hold it up to my eye and look at my quilts through the lens without the tube? I don't know but at some point, it's time to LET IT GO!!!!!

Part of this decluttering is a bit sad. It's sad to realize that I couldn't throw out a broken embroidery hoop or an empty box. Was it because I couldn't let it go? Was it because I didn't have time to deal with it? Am I a hoarder?  BUT - that's the past. This is the future and the future says - we will continue to work on getting rid of stuff.

Hey - I'm not beating myself up about getting the office cleaned up. If I only work 15 minutes a day or nothing at all, I'm perfectly OK with that. Any progress is good news.

I had to move the table out of the center of the room (to set up the design wall for the video conferences) and I'm loving all the extra space that created. It feels easier to move around and I have a place to work on that table. I might just leave it this way since I'm inclined to look at the table several times during the day and deal with a couple of things every time I walk past. Can this be the start of the end of the clutter? Let's say that very quietly so the hoarding side of my brain can't register what is happening!!!!

Speaking of cleaning, I'm getting all kinds of articles about how good for the body, spirit, soul, mind (whatever) that cleaning and decluttering is.

Here's one of them. I honestly think decluttering is a good thing. I just love walking into my studios to work and not have to clear off a thing to get to any of the important surfaces. It's just fabulous!!!! One of the things to consider is that in this current situation where we cannot control much, we CAN CONTROL what we have in our house.

Put donation stuff in your garage until they are taking new donations. And what you can recycle, reuse - do it. And the rest goes in the garbage. I think this is a task that we NEED to teach to our children. A new toy comes in, an old toy goes out. Otherwise, the situation becomes overwhelming and depressing.

I was walking past a house near me one day and the two garage doors were open. Oh boy - the entire garage was FILLED with stuff. I've no idea what it all was, but I don't think you could even wedge a person in there. I'm so thankful that that is not the case at our house.

Here's another article bout minimalism. I think this is another very important are to consider. I could easily do that for our house, but NOT for the Studios!!!  But something else to consider. It all goes back to buy what you need, not what you want. I have very few regrets in life, but I do wish I realized this about 20 years ago. However, I know better now, and let's just move on!

Because it was so nice yesterday, I was outside when I wasn't on the phone. When I took the girls for their afternoon walk, I didn't wear a jacket!!!!  Oh my!!!  That felt absolutely glorious. I got ambitious and unwrapped the furniture in the backyard and trimmed down the grass clump in the front yard. The yard work is done until I can find some flowers to plant. OH - and I plucked the dandelions from my neighbor's grass.

It's raining today and for the rest of the week which is probably good since I really want to get some sewing done and perhaps find a few more treasures on the table.

I did manage to get a wee bit of sewing done. This was the state of the mini half star blocks when I started.

Before I started to sew this morning

This is what it looks like now. YES - progress is indeed being made. I can hardly wait to get all these blocks done. OK - I can hardly wait to get this project done!!

Over half done

I know that the unfocused me would have abandoned this by now. But my new focused self is saying - you are almost done - just keep sewing!!!! I love the new focused me!!!

Well - that's it for today. I want to get some sewing and quilting done. It's time to take a break from the computer!!!

Oh yes - I've got a topic for the Webinar - sewing machine needles. I'm going to schedule it for an evening next week. I'll be setting that up this week. I hope to get my new data cable before the Webinar so I need to check on the delivery date of that. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

And I should say that I learn a lot from all of you from your e-mails and comments. I learned that using one of those giant candles with three wicks can be a hot mess. The heat generated can cause issues with wax collapsing and all kinds of things. So thanks for that - I sure don't want any burns or fires in the house!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!