Possessed!

Well, that was a whirlwind day! And I was super productive! 

I got this bee in my bonnet about the "state" of Studio B, and since I had done such a great job at prepping the work tables, I was bothered by the state of some of the other areas. SO - this is what happened. And I will say that it didn't take all that long to make this happen. Why? Because there isn't as much stuff laying around as there used to be. 

Here's a view of where I sit when I do my Zoom calls. I miss having access to that design wall, but that's OK. I used to change the quilts for every presentation, but that's just silly. So now I change it up once a week. The quilts that I rotated were all over the place, and well, I wasn't happy. 

The Zoom backdrop

I had an EMPTY quilt rack upstairs in one of the bedrooms, so it got moved down to Studio B, and now the quilts that will get rotated are on the rack! The right side is folded in, so that's why it looks a bit boring! But DUH! What a simple solution to a problem and I didn't have to buy a single thing! 

The quilts are now on a rack

I had emptied two big tubs of decorations, and they were sitting where the quilt rack is now, and I needed to do something with them. 

Hmmm - let's look at the storage room where all the community project stuff is. While the quilt tops are neatly stacked, perhaps those tubs can be brought into service here. 

Quilt tops to be quilted for community projects

As I filled the two tubs, I counted. There are 31 quilt tops in EACH of the two tubs for a total of 62 quilt tops. All the quilt tops have binding, but many are missing the backing, so you know what will happen once I start attacking these quilt tops. My stash of backings is going to deplete very quickly, and I'm OK with that. 

Tubs filled with quilt tops for community projects

Besides what's in the tubs, there are still boxes and baskets filled with quilt tops. 99.1% of what's here was made by Diane, so she's been super busy!!! I would guess that there are another 60 quilt tops in this picture, and we've given some away - small ones. And there are three more at the long arm waiting to be quilted. Never mind the two tubs sitting by the long arm that belong to community projects as well. Those tops were pieced by me many years ago. Oh yes -- there are a LOT of quilt tops to be quilted in this house! What I need is an even more automated quilt machine than what I have. I need a flatbed long arm with an endless bobbin! They do exist -- they have them in factories in Asia where they do quilts and mattress tops, etc. Check out that link to see a video of one in action. Very cool!

More quilt tops to be quilted

Then I tackled the table that sits in front of my filming desk. Sewing machine feet, books, and a bunch of other stuff. I whisked that all away and put it back where it belonged. If I need it, I know where it is. 

A messy table

I filled a laundry basket with all the materials I had set aside for making samples, and now it resides all in one space. I must get busy and EMPTY that basket. But that entails a lot of work! But ALL is together. 

The table looks much better now

While I was in the storage room, I remembered there was a box of pillowcases. My goal was to get the total to 100, but that isn't going to happen this year. So I've contacted Claudia from Comfy Cases, and she is going to pick them up. If you want to quickly get rid of lots of fabric, don't forget to make pillowcases for the hospitals. Check the website for all the instructions and details. The program has expanded and they cover quite a few of the local hospitals. Check out the link. I'm donating 60 pillowcases. The bands are cut for a few more, but I'll deal with those next year. 

Pillowcases for donation

And all the while I'm moving things around, I'm grabbing my Swifters and the vacuum to keep the place neat and tidy. You would be amazed at the amount of dust that collects, and I can't imagine having carpet on the floor. That would be pretty dusty! So the Swifters come in very handy, and all the dirt not picked up by the Swifter gets sucked up by my cordless vac! 

Cleaning tools

And now this area looks a whole lot neater! The quilts are off the wall and on the rack. I'll put new ones up Monday morning.

The filming area

There is only one bucket of projects left sitting on the floor. This is all my Kimberbell stuff, which I hope to get to soon. 

Container of Kimberbell projects

I've moved it to the back of the current project table. This is where all my ongoing class materials hide. I need to get a couple of borders on and then clean this area up! A lot of that just needs to be put away, and then I might have room for the Kimberbell stuff on the shelf under the table.  

Supplies for the ongoing projects

In the meantime, these partially finished quilt tops are hiding the mess on the current projects table! I may tackle that darn table one day and put more of that stuff away. I do have a closet in Studio B that, with a good rearranging, would probably have lots more room to house some of that stuff! Visual distraction is just that - a visual distraction! 

Quilt tops hiding the current projects table

Here are my three rolling drawers that house sewing machine accessories (sorted by brand) and samples and tools needed for various classes or sample making! 

Three cabinets for supplies and small samples

As I worked, stuff got left at the bottom of the stairs. Don't worry -- it all got moved to the appropriate spot by the end of the day. No danger of tripping!

Stuff that got moved upstairs 

I even cleared off the table that is supposed to be used for papercrafts, but at this point, I don't seem to be getting there. It doesn't matter - the table is clear. I might have to use this for my puzzle table in December. 

The papercraft table is clear

The living room has become a staging area. This is where I'm sorting the last two tubs of Christmas decorations. Boxes are at the ready to hold what we don't want. There is a lot of stuff on Lexi's kennel that needs to go. 

The staging area for sorting

And all of this is waiting to be picked up or dropped off! One day, we'll have our living room back, but the more I clean and tidy, the more I want to get rid of stuff. Honestly, I'm looking at everything these days! If only I had more time!  The best part is that it gets so much easier the more you do. You're in the mindset, there is less to deal with and more room to work! 

Stuff ready for pick-up or drop-off

And I've finally been able to LET GO. I don't want to throw anything in the garbage that I don't have to, but I used to worry -- how will the next person use it? Well, if I donate something and they decide it's garbage, I'm OK with that. It's time to move on, and I REFUSE to buy anything that I don't need. And I'm very mindful of what I pick up for free! I used to covet FREE things or giveaways or prizes - not any longer! 

I placed an order for some replacement parts on the long arm. I've been missing a nut on one of the clamps for years. It still worked, but every once in a while, that clamp would go flying. So as I was placing the order, I was going to buy a new clamp. Then I thought about it - my Dad would be positively ashamed of me for buying a new clamp because a nut was missing. I looked in my pin tray, and there was the nut AND the washer. So I fixed it. Now, how stupid is that? 

The clamp is now fixed

And with all that shuffling around, which didn't take too long, I did get some more paperwork accomplished. The next customer quilt got quilted. 

Customer quilt - DONE

Here's the back of the quilt. It's trimmed. 

The back of the customer quilt

I also worked on the magazine quilt and made pretty good progress, but I was tired by 6 PM last night! 

And once the magazine quilt is done -- look what arrived yesterday. The fabric for the next project! Yep -- it's a merry-go-round for sure.  

Fabric for the next project

Well, that's it for today. There will be NO organizing today. I have another quilt ready to go on the long arm, the top for the magazine quilt needs to be finished today, and those sergers and embroidery machine are patiently waiting! Plus a wee bit more paperwork! 

OH -- I have a homework assignment for you. If you have something around the house that needs a small bit of work --  like finding the nut for that clamp. Get busy and FIX IT. It could be big, but I bet that we all have a ton of those small niggly things to fix. And in my case, I didn't have to buy anything -- I literally found the nut and put it on. Now, how many years did I suffer without that - all for the sake of what??? 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!