Get out the ripper

The morning did not start out as I had planned. I was merrily sewing away and making significant progress. However, when I went to join A to B, it was WRONG - totally backward!! It would appear that I was a bit dyslexic this morning, and EVERYTHING I had sewn had to be ripped out. OK - I confess, I did say a bad word or two, and then I ripped. So when I go back to sewing, everything is laid out exactly how it needs to be sewn. We all have those days!

Thankfully, I had only sewn for a half-hour, but still!  It's a humbling experience, but I've moved on.

We had two great Zoom classes yesterday, and I'll share the homework from one of the classes today. Today is our UFO club. I see the e-mails coming in last night and this morning with the completed homework. Holy - this group is so motivated to get things done, including me. There is no money on the line this month, so if we slipped on our deadline, it's not that big of a deal. But next month, we all stand to lose money if we don't complete our assignment, so chose that assignment wisely. 

There will be another UFO club next year, so watch for that. And should we be able to get back together in person, I'll still have a UFO club via Zoom, so if you're interested and don't live close, you can sign up for that.

I did a wee bit more tidying. That's a very sobering job. However, I'm very excited about it and glad that I'm finally tackling that job. Let's just say that I've come a long way in the last five years (yes - it's probably been about five years since I decided to get a handle on this mess). If I were to just bite the bullet and tackle it, I'd have been done in a couple of months. But the decluttering thing is an evolutionary task. You have to be in the mood to sort and in the mindset to let things go. And you have to have homes for the stuff you want to keep. It takes time to learn that.

Seriously, this is the kind of thing that needs to be taught in school or at home (hopefully with NON-hoarding parents). Why don't we teach our kids how to deal with their excess toys, books, and clothes. If we get the kids involved, they'll learn what to do with stuff when they are adults. If the adults always deal with their stuff, the kids have no clue what happens to things they no longer want. Then it's just as easy to always ask for new, which is not good. They also learn about the environment at the same time. You are laughing, right? Well, some people think food comes from the grocery store. That's sad.

OK - on with the stuff I unearthed this morning.

I found this thimble. These things remind so much of jujubes! It's on its way to the container with the rest of the thimbles.

A rogue thimble

 Two placemats that had been taken apart so they could be appropriately interfaced and made into zippered pouches. I know - why do I do that to myself? These got put into one of the current project baskets.

Two placemats to make zippered pouches

Four pieces of chiffon type fabric. Why? No idea, but I suspect that it was to practice machine embroidery. They are going in the sample making box, so I know where they are when I need them.

Chiffon type fabric

A pile of silk fabrics. Now, why did I buy those? I've no idea. I do have a container with specialty fabrics, and they'll go in there. Can you believe this???

Silks

Two more fabrics with no clue why they were bought or set aside. One is like, gosh, the word escapes me this morning. It's not burlap, but it's a coarser weave, and the other is similar to chiffon. So much for my knowledge of non-cotton fabrics.

Two more rogue fabrics

A hunk of prequilted fabric. This is for making binding samples. That also goes into the sample making box.

Prequilted fabric

Another piece of silk and a piece of sparkly fabric. I do remember that I bought these to make something. But what? No idea. It's going to get put with the other specialty fabrics. I think it was a rope bowl, but I can't be sure. Again, no notes or a pattern. Sigh.....................

More silk and a sparkly fabric

Then I unearthed this green tub. I knew what was in it - my collage projects.

Collage project stuff

Oh my - there's the giraffe that I worked on several years ago. This went into one of the baskets of current projects. It needs to get finished before it gets damaged. Everything is there to finish it, including the background.

The giraffe collage project

There are several collage patterns that I'd love to make someday. There is fabric in the green tub that was pulled to make a specific project. I'm going to get that organized, and it'll go into the New project tub. The rest of the fabric, which is the leftovers from the giraffe, will go back in the appropriate fabric box.

It just amazes me at how easy it used to be to come home from a class and just leave stuff. I'm a new person now! Making the lists of the projects in those tubs is making me accountable for what I have and certainly makes me think when I go shopping.

This is what's left at the bottom of the stairs. Now some of this, I've already been through and didn't have time to thoroughly sort through the box or whatever. I need to get those things properly put away and the other few things that I left on the ironing board - they need to get dealt with properly. Then I can move on to what's left here.

The sorting pile

But that's super exciting to know that this stuff is getting put away and dealt with after YEARS of being moved around from place to place. Projects are bagged and labeled and nicely stored away. And what's nice is that once I did that, it'll all going to fit nicely under the long arm. Not an ideal situation, but better than it was! Yes - it looks like that closet is going to be next. There's still a closet and a shelf unit (OK - three shelf units) that should be sorted through. Oh yes - there are a few things upstairs that still need to be dealt with, but that's for another time. I do NOT need to tackle something new until the current stuff is taken care of.

And there are several baskets of current projects that need to be addressed, and I should really get those done before I go searching for more projects. My biggest issue was to deal with those bags of stuff that didn't have a home. The three shelf units are filled with projects that are labeled and in a box or a bag. My class materials are there as well, so they are mostly organized. It would just be good to go through them and see what needs to be done.

I'm thrilled with the whole exercise. Today is going to be a busy day! Yet again! There are now a couple of urgent things on the list, and I have a whole bunch of paperwork to deal with after the classes this weekend. Plus, I need to get more kits together for Diane! My quilt top sewing machine. If we don't watch out, she'll have tackled all that fabric for the Community Projects, and I'm OK with that.

OK -- I had to take Little Mister for a walk last night and well, he's just so darn cute, I snapped this picture of him. This was after we rolled in the grass in the park, trying to get some other shots. No - I wasn't trying to get grass stains on him. He's adorable, and M thinks that he's going to go back home next month. Ah -- possession is 9/10ths of the law, and he likes it here!

Little Bear

And look how much of a helper he is!

My little helper

 OK -- now I've run out of time to upload those other pictures. I shall do that tomorrow or sometime this coming week. There's just so much to chat about.

I hope that you all are working on UFOs or tidying up the sewing space. It's amazing how freeing it can be. In the past, I kept moving stuff from one space to another. But no more. I'm dealing with it. And it feels GREAT!!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!