It's time to get back to work!

What an insane day yesterday was! I started the day with Brooke, and we focused on the upper body to avoid further knee issues. I took shorter and slower walks with the girls (they were NOT impressed), and Murphy hung around the front door for a good part of the day, hoping to go for another walk. Then it was off to the dentist. I did walk there, but not before icing the knee to keep things under control. It's not that far, and if I walk slowly, I'm OK. 

Can you believe I got a reasonably good bill of health from the hygienist? Gums are in better shape than they have been on previous visits, and she even said that, while I could clean more, there was less buildup on my teeth. WOW!!!!! Now that makes me want to floss every day!!! I like using those little floss things—they are on a handle, and you can floss with one hand. So much easier and less messy than the string. 

Home with a bit of time to catch up with KU, comparing notes about our travel after the wedding. Then it was off to lunch with the Monday group. And while I was waiting for my dentist appointment, I called the doctor, and she could see me at 3:15. 

So I drove there after lunch. We had a great discussion, and I am finally getting what I want! Some follow-up. I got X-rays done yesterday on BOTH knees because both have various ligament issues. How do I know? I can FEEL the side ligament on the right knee snap into place when I get up - not always, but often. It has stretched over time, so it's not nearly as painful as when it first started. Sounds gross, and that is probably not what is happening, but I can feel it. 

Then I have ultrasounds booked for both knees in three weeks (could have been two, but I'm at retreat and didn't want to come back for that), and then I'm getting a referral to a sports medicine clinic, which is the perfect spot to figure out the issue. 

The doctor was reluctant, of course, but I told her I was tired of self-diagnosing and treating myself to get some relief. So this is the plan, and I'm OK. If the sports medicine team decides an MRI is in order, they will request it. I'm OK -- I need some direction --- more stretching, less stretching, what kind of strengthening exercises or not. How bad is the tear? and lots of other things, and hopefully, they can guide me to getting some answers. Hopefully, the sciatic issue will resolve itself in the process. 

I came home from the X-ray place, was exhausted, and didn't do much for the rest of the day. It was already 4 PM. I went to bed at 7 and slept, except when I was awakened by the pain in my knees. But what else is new? That's what medication is for. 

I feel great now and will probably need a nap later today, but that's OK. 

I've been so focused on dealing with those books that I haven't had much mojo for sewing. But today? I feel much better today. 

Here's what happened in Studio B and what it looks like. 

This is the quilt side of the bookcase, and almost all the books are back on the shelves. There are a few open pockets here and there, and I'm going to find a home for everything that remains on the floor. I know it's not ideal, as there are many more books that I don't want. But my brain is so tired of dealing with the books that I can't, and don't want to, process any more at the moment.  

The bookcase is almost done.

I'm perfectly fine with the books the way they are. They are sorted into categories and on the shelf, and all the spines are visible. That works for me and will make searching for any book so much easier than it has been. 

I do want to catalog them, and I know someone mentioned LibraryThing for cataloging books. It's a free app, and I may investigate it. Just not at this moment, I'm done with books!

This is what got culled and is still downstairs. I need to address all this before I even consider moving on. This has always been a big issue of mine. I get started on something, and then I don't finish, and it becomes a huge mess. So I am trying to learn—get this step done first; then you can make another mess. The books in front are spoken for, while the books on the steps and the post will be donated to the thrift store. There are a few more to add to this pile, including a nice pile of beautiful books on appliqué - complex appliqué that I will never tackle. If anyone is interested in seeing those, please let me know. 

Some of the culled books

The magazines that were on the floor are now on shelves, and there is only this pile left to sort. I've done a pretty good job, and I need to set aside some time every day or every week, or whatever, to start looking through the magazines and tossing them. I do NOT need all those magazines, yet I hate to just throw them out without at least looking at them. That's my way of handling it, and I need to do it before we move. I do NOT want to move all that stuff. This is my wake-up call, and I must NOT miss the train! Doing it now will prevent huge issues when we decide to move. 

Magazines to sort and put on the shelves

The sewing machine tables are clear of projects, except for two mending jobs for DH. Good lord --- he buys all this fancy clothing, and it always needs some kind of repair. I hope to at least get the pants fixed today. I haven't looked at the seam finish yet, but when you buy an expensive pair of pants, I don't expect the crotch seam to come apart. Isn't it sewn with a safety stitch? I'll let you know what happens. 

The sewing tables are prepped and ready to go.

The puzzle table is clear, and the next puzzle is waiting to be set out. There's also a box of things that need to be repaired - i.e., glued back together, including the two missing magnets from the fridge. I might tackle some of that later today. 

The next puzzle is ready to sort

This is some other work that I need to tackle - the jacket on the top needs some hand stitching to finish it off. The jeans (from my Dad) need to be cut apart, so I can make something with them. I thought of a duffel bag for the gym. And a garment in the blue bin for my Mom, since it's next to impossible to buy caftans online in polyester fabric. Why is that? And the bottom bin is photo transfer stuff because I need to print a picture, and our printer is acting up. I need to resolve these items.

Things to deal with

Of course, the debris got put onto the cutting table, but at least half of it is clear as I prep the blocks for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. 

The cutting table needs some work.

I even managed to trim some half-square triangles that I found on the ironing board. 

Trimming half-square triangles

And then, as I was prepping stuff for the upcoming quilt retreat at the end of this month, I found this box of half-square triangles. They are sewn, but not pressed or trimmed. So I started trimming them this morning. They are not a priority, but it's a mindless task I can do until I wrap my head around sewing. I'm in a bit of a slump since coming back from vacation. 

Half-square triangles that need to be pressed and trimmed

And here's everything I've prepped for the quilt retreat. 

Quilt retreat prep

YES --- it looks like a ton of stuff, but there are two totes and two tubs of fleece scraps that are either already cut into 6½" squares or need to be cut and sewn into 6½" squares. If I take my chair risers, I can raise my table to cutting height and cut with the others while they sew. It's a mindless task, perfect for a retreat. YES -- I will take my cutting mat because cutting fleece can crap up a mat, and I'll take my old one, which is perfect for this kind of job. 

So Murphy is pretty smart. I spent a bit of time sitting in the kitchen icing my knee and reading some magazines while she was outside. She likes to sit near the gazebo because she can see me through the window. 

MOM - I can see you!!!!

And since I wasn't going outside, she thought she would encourage me to play with her. I felt really bad - a short walk and no playing ball. I must step up my dog mom game today! We'll try a bit longer walk, but slow! 

Anyway, I looked out the window, and there she was with the ball in her mouth, standing right on the edge of the pond. And she was looking right at me. When I said, "Do not throw the ball in the pond", she immediately dropped it in and looked right at me! That little devil!!!

MOM - the ball fell into the pond

While Lexi is an intelligent dog, she is nothing compared to Murphy. Murphy does things with intent! She's like a child, and she tests all the time! They have been very agitated this morning, and I just spotted lightning immediately followed by thunder. AHA -- now I know why!!! Now I'm the Mom sandwich with a dog velcroed to each side of my chair. And it's raining sleet at the moment. 

OK—so let me tell you the story circulating at the gym. After my class on Wednesday, I bumped into one of the ladies from spin class, and she was quite upset, like everyone else. She reported a separate incident to the manager regarding her daughter, and the outcome wasn't positive. Basically, she was told that her daughter was at fault. Then I saw one of the other ladies from class come down, and she had her cycling shoes on, so I chatted with her. It's funny because this lady is a complainer - she even mentioned it, but I've had dealings with her in the past, and I have never found her friendly. I thought long and hard (5 seconds) before I spoke to her. By the way, there were only 5 people in the spin class compared to about 25 when Joseph taught it. 

Anyway, she actually talked to me! In the past (a couple of times), she's been super snarky! I was prepared to be snarky in return, but we had a lengthy conversation about the situation, and apparently, the manager is pretty incompetent. I've heard that from other people I know as well.  

The bottom line is that the gym's manager is not performing well, and we have seen the gym deteriorate during her tenure. 

So that's an incentive to write a letter to the US office and cc the manager, who is not doing a good job. 

It took me a long time to get out of the locker room that day! 

Well, it's time to take the dogs for their abbreviated walk and hope that it's enough - perhaps they can get two short walks in a day. I'll see how things go. 

And I'm excited (finally) to get to work in Studio B. I think I have to make that list of THREE things to do and focus on them so I don't overdo it and kill my enthusiasm. It doesn't help when I don't have any major deadlines! Those deadlines were a major push in the past, but I have things to get done this month, so I need to get to work!!

BTW -- the Featherweight book went fast, so if you didn't hear from me, it's because it already has a new home. 

And if there is any book you'd like, or if you are a heavy-dutyappliquéé person, I might have a book(s) for you. 

If you are interested in attending the free two one-hour Zoom sessions on making quilted jackets, check out this blog post for details. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Somebody's been sleeping in my bed!

I think I'm in big trouble, and I need medical attention. Not mental health medical attention, but physical. My leg has been bothering me a lot, and it's time I did something about it. I could barely walk yesterday - at least without pain, and that is affecting my good leg, so there is no time to waste. What do I suspect is the issue? Well, where do I start? Issues with the PCL, which is a tendon on the back of the knee, and the sciatic nerves.  

Don't you love how I'm self-diagnosing? I'll go one step further and say that I need an MRI from the waist down on the leg. It's a hot mess. Yes -- I'm icing my knee and need to get back to serious stretching, but something doesn't feel right, and I need to get it fixed. Can you imagine what it would be like if I lost my mobility this way? 

As a result, my brain just wasn't as focused as I would have liked yesterday, but I still accomplished stuff. 

This is the state of the quilt bookcase. It's not full, but getting full. 

The shelves are almost full.

I still have piles of books to put on the shelves, and it looks like I might run out of room! ACK!!! If I do, then I must cull. I am NOT putting any books on the other side. But there are lots of little gaps here and there, where I can tuck a small book category. I should be good. 

This is what is left to put on the shelves.

But you would think that with moving the scrapbooking stuff and culling as much as I did, I would have plenty of room. Not so! Sigh.................

This is one stack of what got culled. 

One stack of books that needs to go

And another. 

These are mostly about dying fabric or painting on fabric - sigh..............

One more stack. Any would-be artists out there? These are all about learning to draw, perspective, and related topics. 

Books about drawing

The duplicates. 

Duplicate books

And also these two piles. 

General craft books

I guess it was very deceptive about how many books were mixed in with the piles of magazines. Well, this is a lesson to myself! I will NEVER buy another quilt book again. I know -- never say never, but I will think very long and hard before I buy another one. 

My goal is to get all the books back on the shelf, and then I can sort each category one at a time. I just need those books off the floor - I have run out of steam for this decluttering at the moment, and my next goal will be to deal with all the culled books before I move on to anything else. Where are those boxes and bags? 

And if you have a request for a book, let me know, as I might be able to help you. Two people contacted me yesterday; I was able to help one, but not the other. And at this point? I don't really care about keeping them. I just want them gone. 

I took one shelf on the top right and filled it with things that I want to deal with next. There are some books that I need to evaluate and will likely let go, there are some binders with patterns (actual ones and some from magazines), and all that will likely go. So I'm working on it—it just takes time, energy, and enthusiasm, and right now I've lost my enthusiasm for this project. BUT - I accomplished a lot on the first go-around, and the next one will not be nearly as bad. 

I have one last book to try and flog on the blog. If anyone wants this, it's yours. 

Featherweight book

To break it up because I was losing steam, I decided to start prepping blocks for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilt. I think there are 32 that need prepping. I got one completely cut out, and I traced the applique shapes for four more onto fusible web. 

Prepping blocks for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler

So that was good!! I think I now have all the applique blocks covered; the rest are pieced, so I have all my scrap fabrics laid out on the cutting table, and I'll try to tackle a few each day. The pieces are small - the blocks are 6½" and well, I'm just going to forge ahead and make this happen. 

Oh -- I also trimmed some HSTs that were languishing on the cutting table. It's not perfectly clear, but it's not in too bad shape. 

HSTs trimmed

As I walked the girls through the forest yesterday, I spotted that little plant that I rescued from its restraints. 

The one on top is the rescued one, and you can see from the bottom plant what it's supposed to look like. 

What happened to the plant that was restrained

But you know what? It doesn't matter -- this one will be a bit warped its entire life, but it still deserves a chance. It's kind of like people - we are not all perfect, but that makes us unique in an interesting way, and beauty is NOT in perfection. We should keep that in mind when we are quilting -- perfection just isn't always possible, so we do what we can. Learn to rescue the mistakes. And this poor plant's mistake was to grow inside the hole in a dead leaf, and it wasn't strong enough to break the bond. 

A bit warped, but it'll be fine!

There's my thimble collection. It doesn't take up much room, and it sits right above my desk, so I get to see it every day. Some of those shelves are too short for thimbles, so I may have to cull some of the odd ones if I ever get to that point. 

My thimble collection

Here are the two magnets that we got in Italy. I never did decide on one for Rome, but that's OK. You must be careful because the same magnet can cost between 1 and 6 Euros, depending on where you buy it. 

My two magnets from the recent trip

And that's the entire collection we have. And that's from many years - we haven't culled any magnets. Well, there are a few that need to be glued back together, but only about two. 

There's no danger of running out of room for a long time. My SIL bought us a magnet from Sicily, so that was allowed. No duplicates, although Taormina is located in Sicily. 

The three new magnets from this trip

So our girls technically have their own dog beds, but they can basically sleep wherever they want. The only one that is restricted is Lexi's kennel, but I've noticed that Murphy is getting braver and braver and will poke her nose in to see if Lexi has tried to hoard any food in there. And Lexi doesn't like sleeping on the bed in the window. 

Besides her bed in the family room and her kennel, this is Lexi's third favorite spot to sleep. It's an old quilt I've folded up, and when I'm reading in the living room, she likes to stretch out on it. She often spends the night there. And I suspect she is starting to get deaf or just a very deep sleeper, because when she's out, she's out! 

Once, I went to touch her in the early morning, and she freaked out!!

MOM -- this is my sleeping spot - no blondes allowed!

Last night, as I was sitting in the living room, I didn't see what happened, but I heard Lexi chatting up a storm and looked to see Murphy sleeping on Lexi's quilt. Now technically, this one is for both, but Lexi was mad. Despite all her insistence, Murphy didn't budge. 

MOM - Murphy is sleeping in my spot!

Murphy thinks the entire downstairs is for her to sleep. Actually, she has two spots --- tucked away in behind everything in the stash room in Studio B. I mean - tucked way behind the shelves. And the second spot is under the current project table. 

She no longer spends much time upstairs; when she does come up, she doesn't like to stay there. She has had to learn to slow down on the stairs because she will slip, and she isn't comfortable with that. I think she mostly comes upstairs if there is a storm. 

Both girls have dog beds in the family room, and Murphy's is large enough that I often lie down with her and give her cuddles, which we did yesterday. She also has the bed in the window, which she doesn't use as much, and I suspect she finds it uncomfortable to get up there. And she has one in my office. 

So imagine my surprise this morning when I came downstairs to find this! 

MOM -- this bed is so comfy!!! I don't care if it belongs to Lexi.

WHAT?????? She has never slept in Lexi's bed before. She may have put a paw or two in there, or attempted to search for food (Lexi likes to hoard food), but she has never sat in or definitely not slept in it. Well, what does this mean? Do I need to buy her a raised bed as well? If so, one of the other beds will need to go. 

How forward of her!!!!! And poor Lexi -- she tries to keep things neat and finds little cubbies to hoard food, but it's like Murphy has a radar on her nose for anything edible. 

I had some interesting conversations at the gym yesterday morning, and YES - maybe some of my workout exacerbated my knee, but I don't think so. It's been bad for a couple of days. I survived Brooke's class, and I'm not sore this morning. I'll have to tell you about my conversations tomorrow—interesting stuff! BTW, my knee only hurts when walking, and that's what gets it started. Just hanging around the house isn't a problem. 

I have one last thing to share, and it's about quilted jackets. There is a sew-along by Grainline Studio for the Tamarack Jacket, a basic quilted jacket that covers the essentials of quilted-jacket-making. The videos are very good, though there are a couple of things I might do differently. I'll be hosting TWO one-hour Zoom sessions about the videos and how we can use those techniques with ANY quilted jacket pattern. The sessions are free and will require you to watch all the Tamarack Jacket videos (about 6 hours over 2 months). If you are interested, please email me (elainetheriault@gmail.com), so I can add you to the distribution list, as that is how the Zoom link will be forwarded. 

This will be a discussion, not a lecture, so you will not get anything out of the sessions if you haven't watched the videos. But if you are at all interested in making a quilted jacket, I highly recommend you attend - but watch the videos first. We're going to discuss the pros and cons and offer alternatives to some of the techniques Jen (Grainline Studio) teaches in her classes. I highly recommend watching those videos, even if you don't attend my two sessions. 

They are on YouTube - here's the link. 

And that's it for today. It's a busy day—I have THREE things to do today: a personal workout with Brooke (and I'm going to use the compression pants, which I haven't used for a couple of weeks, to help my knee), a dentist appointment (I've been flossing like mad), and lunch (hoping to offload a few books). I'm exhausted already!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

What are your souvenir buying habits?

Your comments put a smile on my face! Yes—there are multiple ways to tackle this mess. What boggles my mind is how I didn't realize what was happening. At one point, the second set of shelves didn't exist, and so there were boxes and piles of books on the floor, and when I wanted something, I was happy to move those. When I got tired of moving, I got new shelves built. Seriously? That just makes me shake my head now. But then? It seemed the perfectly normal thing to do. 

THANKFULLY, I saw the light about ten years ago - well, it's more than ten now. And I haven't looked back since. 

I know I can't make every quilt or attempt every technique I want to, so it's going to require a lot more culling. I know that. For the moment, I just need to get these books sorted and then get everything back on the shelves. And yes -- I have done the first cull (albeit weak!) of the books, but it's a start, and we need to start somewhere. The mental mindset has now started, and that is the hardest!

By the time I put together all the piles that I've culled, I think I've done a pretty good job for a first round. And everyone who comes to my house will be obligated to leave with at least one book! You laugh, but there was a lady here to drop off some quilts yesterday, and she went home with two books. 

While this decluttering process is mostly about getting rid of physical clutter, it's amazing what it can do for your mind. Knowing that I'm clearing this stuff up and won't have to deal with it again is amazing. Knowing that the junk is going to be gone is just an incredible feeling, and it allows one to start doing the things they want to do without the guilt. 

It's also freeing to know that packing and unpacking for a future move will not be an arduous task. Given the state of my house right now, a move would be very traumatic, but since I've started the culling process and the junk is gone, it's going to be so much easier to cull when the time comes. But this culling is a constant. The minute I finish one area, it's time to start at the top and do it all over again. I NEVER thought I'd be able to do what I'm doing right now, and I have mostly avoided Studio B. But now that I've started, it's "easy!"

And I see it's going to be a challenge to get rid of books through my blog -- no takers. That's OK. I'll just start packing them up (I have a small stash of smaller boxes in the garage), and then I'll start donating them - several boxes at a time to the thrift store. 

Oh, shoot —I didn't take many pictures while I worked yesterday. But I decided that if I was in a mess, I might as well make the shelves the way I want. 

I decided to completely empty that bookshelf and moved the stuff from the top three shelves to empty shelves, and then dealt with the items one at a time. I have emptied ONE of the three shelves. 

Dealing with the smaller stuff on the top three shelves

Here's a bit better picture of the situation on the left-hand side of the two bookcases. I moved all the scrapbooking stuff to the other set of shelves, which required emptying some piles of magazines onto the floor, which I'll have to deal with later today. 

Now all the picture/history books of quilting are on the six shelves on the left. The machine embellishment, beading, fiber art, etc., are on the five shelves on the right. YES --- I do not need that many of those, and that will be an area to cull. But for the moment, they are sorted, and you need to amass all like items together before you can start a serious cull. 

The state of the bookcase this morning

That leaves eleven shelves to put the books back onto. I think I'll have no problem doing that. I may or may not cull as I put them back. I've already been at this for three days, and I'd like to be finished so I can do something else. So I may just put the sorted groups back on the shelves. I've made huge strides, and when I'm ready to tackle it again, I won't have to go through this process. I can just pull off a group and sort through it. The first step is always the worst! 

As I was unpacking when I got home from vacation, I realized that I was missing some souvenirs. Now, we try to tame souvenir-buying as well, because what the heck are you going to do with all those things? We have been limiting purchases to fridge magnets. But DH spotted thimbles and asked why I wasn't buying thimbles. So I bought a few, but where were the three items I bought in Taormina? 

While out walking Lexi, I remembered I had put them in my little pouch of sewing supplies I took with me. And when I got back, there they were!!! The one on the left is from Vatican City, the middle one is from Sorrento, and the last is from Taormina. 

New additions to my thimble collection

There was some discussion when we were shopping for magnets. You only need to buy ONE magnet from each place - there is no need for two. And the magnet should represent something you visited or saw. That involved a lot of discussion, and M and Dillon couldn't settle on just one magnet. One of them wanted two. They eventually only purchased one. That was while we were in Taormina. But I was thinking to myself that if I couldn't find mine, I could beg for one of theirs, but since they only bought one, that wasn't a possibility! 

I have a couple of other things to share, but my focus is on those books. Speaking of which, here are two more. And there are a lot of piddly small books that I need to deal with today. Then, if I can get everything back on the shelves, I'll be happy. I need/want to move on to something else. 

Two more books up for grabs

And yes -- I will need to develop/use some kind of database/list for the books. But now that they are in similar categories, that will help enormously when I need to find one. I can't wait to search for a book! Oh my -- I have a "few" books on scrap quilts which I'll be using for research on the upcoming (fall) scrap class. 

And I have an upcoming quilt retreat, so I need to start packing. I'm going to take sewing, not cutting, because the cutting tables are in another room. WAIT --- I could raise my table in the room we are sewing in and cut. I may consider taking some stuff to cut and cut for half the retreat, then sew or something like that. It's a great opportunity to do a lot of cutting. 

Speaking of walking the girls, I started out with Murphy, then remembered I didn't have poop bags with me, so we had to come back. She is never happy about that. And then when we were walking, we spotted one tied to a post. But you never know when the incident will happen, so one must be prepared at all times. I know that people attach them to the leashes, but I don't, and I've never forgotten them before. 

MOM -- there's a poop bag!

And YES—there are some trilliums. I thought I had missed them all, but I found a couple. 

A trillium in the forest

And I spotted something else in the forest, which I should have taken a picture of, but I fixed it, and then it was too late. I spotted a plant growing up through a dead leaf. The leaves were pinned to the main stem, while all the plants around it were pushing up their umbrella-shaped leaves. I rescued the plant by removing the dead leaf. It was pretty cool to see, and well, there's no picture. As soon as I removed the dead leaf, the leaves started to open. 

I went to the movie in the afternoon and enjoyed some popcorn. The movie was great! It was the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada, and of course, there was a fashion show. Can you guess where? In Italy!

But I wore shorts to the movie because it was a somewhat decent day. When I exited the theatre, it had rained, and the temperature had dropped by 7 degrees. OH -- a wee bit cool on the walk home!

So it's Wednesday, and I'm typically off to spin class. But since I am boycotting the spin class, I'm taking another class this morning. Incorporates weight training and cardio. I'm sure I'll be a bumbling idiot, but that's OK. I think the instructor is my personal trainer, so that will help with the transition. 

I still want to write a note about my dissatisfaction with Joseph being let go, and I will attempt to do that this week. I am NOT meddling in the situation; I am merely stating my displeasure and providing feedback. I am not trying to find out why he was let go - I could ask him if I wanted, but it's none of my business. 

So now that the books will be sorted by the end of the day and hopefully back on the shelves, it's time to continue processing the magazines and books. I need to set aside some time each day to make that happen. While there might be some people who have nothing to do all day, I (like many of you, I'm sure) have so many things to do that we just don't have enough time in the day. I'm bad with reading material; I start something and then set it aside. I need to stop that and focus! I will also finish reading something and then just throw it in a pile instead of putting it in the recycle bin. Or there might be bits that I wanted to blog about, and I never do that. I MUST change that behavior. 

I'm also listening to an audiobook, which I've already finished, but I just missed some major signs along the way (too focused on sorting books), so I've had to go back and listen to the last two hours to figure out what is what. And AHA—the incorrect name was used in two places. And since we are talking about an affair, it's important to know who did what to whom!

On that note, I'd better get organized so I can make it to Brooke's class. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

What I learned about my books!

I'm so glad to hear that I am not alone in getting books. And Sharon mentioned something extremely important yesterday. So many books are no longer relevant because technology has changed, and the information in the books is so outdated that no one wants it. The only thing to do is to put it in the recycling bin. And that is hard. I have a few things around here that should go in the recycling bin, but I'm not there yet, either. 

However, I spent quite a bit of time in Studio B yesterday, and I learned a few things. No sewing was done, and I'll share that with you in just a few minutes. 

I had signed up for a free conference over the weekend on machine embroidery, and while the way the classes were made available (the schedule) was a bit convoluted, I managed to watch all the videos. That was about 6 hours of video, but I finished the last one last night. Did I need to? No, but I learned something about the history of machine embroidery, gained some inspirational ideas, saw ways of how not to present stuff (I know - we are all different), and I did pick up a couple of tips which I'll use in my work. 

It was worth the time. While the conference was free, there was a massive push to BUY access to all 11 videos to have forever. I forgot the cost - something like $69 US. OK -- I get that those designers need to be paid, but seriously? The upgrade thing was way over the top, and you couldn't do anything without being reminded of that upgrade. Personally, there was nothing that I wanted to see again! BUT I am glad that I watched the videos. 

This morning I was listening (again) to The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson. Oh boy --- as I was listening, I was in over my head dealing with my quilt library. I started this task yesterday, and I thought listening to this book was very appropriate. I laugh because in the "what to do with your books" section, there I am standing with piles of books in my hands. Her suggestion? Invite your friends over and let them pick what they want. 

Hmmm --- that doesn't sound like a bad idea. The big question is—where to host an event like that? I don't belong to a guild, so I can't do this at a guild. The only thing I can do is post the books online, and if you see something you like, it could be yours. 

You remember that two days ago, I said I would work on one shelf in the bookcase. Then it expanded into one section of the bookcase, and, well, all hell broke loose! I tackled the ENTIRE bookcase.  

That included this one that I had started on. 

The left side

And this one is on the other end of the room. This set of shelves is an odd duck, and you are NOT allowed to yell at me. I have already confessed that I have significant hoarding tendencies, and I am trying desperately to get things under control. I have already stopped buying, and that is the first step. Everything you see here is a magazine. GASP!!!!! I know—I couldn't help myself. 

The magazine section of my crap

Because the other side was full, books were stashed between the two piles of magazines on each shelf. That made it a challenge to find a book because you couldn't see the spines. It was "fun" to locate a book if I didn't find it in the first set of shelves. 

I've decided that I need to make some significant changes, so I unloaded all the books from this side and will deal with them on the other side. I also found one shelf with more scrapbooking magazines. ACK. Those were on the shelf just to the left of the orange bag on top. So those got removed from the space as well. 

The piles of scrapbooking magazines

There are two shelves that I need to go through, as there are a couple of binders - hmm, what is in those binders? And the shelf below that contains all my sewing machine and serger reference manuals. It could be tidier!

These two shelves need more care.

There is one stack of magazines that needs to be filed, but the rest of this set of shelves is in good order. The magazines are sorted by title and in chronological order. As I go through the stacks, I recycle the magazines. I'm very slow and need to step up my game! 

Then the great sort began. The books were removed from the shelves, which were dusted and flipped upside down. 

Books to sort

And I'm sorting them into categories. Holy ---- I wasn't happy to just buy one book on Sashiko - I needed 7 or however many there are. I have no idea what was going through my head when I saw some of these books. 

Books are sorted into categories.

Now I have to make some decisions, so this is what I'm doing. I have someone interested in any books about dying fabric, so I'm culling those as I sort. Someone else is into intricate appliqappliquéI'm making a pile for them. Someone else asked about simpler or learning to appliqappliquéthose are going into a pile. Before I let them go, I will flip through them to make sure there is nothing I want to keep. 

This is what I still need to sort. It should take about 2 hours. The sorting is easy. And I'm sure there are one or two that will get changed to a new category as they go back on the shelves. I'm OK with that. 

Books still to sort

As I sorted, I put books back on the shelf that were about embellishment, fiber art, and stuff like that. Currently, there are three shelves filled, and I know there will be one more. Those will have to be sorted again once they are in the same location. 

As for the history books? Oh my --- I am STUNNED. Currently, there are SIX shelves of books. I cannot believe that, but I shelved them myself. And I could guess there will be at least one more shelf in the books I still have to sort. So much for thinking I'll just have a few boxes of quilt history books to move when I downsize. The quantity is significant!

My goal is to rearrange the scrapbooking magazines to accommodate the ones I found, and I'm going to try to keep that stuff on the bottom shelf. Or, now that I've moved some books from the right to the left, I may put all the scrapbooking stuff on the right and keep only the quilt books on the left. 

I need to cull more! 

Which brings me to my dilemma and what I learned yesterday. 

1. I do NOT need or want all these books. GASP -- I cannot believe I just wrote that, but as Margareta wrote in her book, the less you have, the simpler your life! I think she said "cleaner living." 
2. Some of these books are just pamphlets for making one quilt or project, and some are so old that NO ONE will ever want to make them. Those should be put in the recycling bin. GASP!! I cannot believe I just wrote that! 
3. I do NOT need to keep books that contain only one quilt, and I have already made it. Why? I just need to make sure I retain the information for the label, which in most cases isn't made, and then the book can be given away. Many of those are popular quilts I have recently taught, such as Long Time Gone and Chatsworth. Why would I keep the pattern - I will NEVER make it again. 
4. I thought I was DESPARATELY attached to those books. BUT, after going through them, touching and evaluating each one, I realized I'm totally delusional, and I do not want that many books. GASP!!!! 
5. Plus, I found so many duplicates! I'll be posting more of the duplicates from scrapbooking and quilting. How did that happen? Obviously, my brain remembers many books, but not all! 

So, as a start, I'm removing all the books on dying, duplicates, appliqué (some of them), and quilts that I've already made. I'm probably removing one, possibly two shelves of books. That is a far cry from what I need to cull. BUT --- it's a start! 

There are books about color theory (many), and designing quilts (many), Celtic quilts, stained glass quilts, and the list goes on and on. If ANYONE is interested in some quilt books, or you know a beginner quilter who might want some learn-to-quilt books, I've got a book for them! 

But it brings up a dilemma like this. Look at the leaflet I discovered!!! An Activity Quilt for children. We would call this a fidget quilt today. I told you—what someone "invents" today is NOT new, and I have the documents to prove it! The copyright date is 1999. 

Activity quilt booklet from 1999

This is where my Mom and I are the same. She likes to produce information about certain things - dates, etc. And well, that is part of my problem with keeping books. Who knew they were making fidget quilts almost 30 years ago? They were probably making them anyway before that, which is why someone wrote a pattern!

I need to document some of this stuff and then toss it. What kind of visual database could I make? I guess I could scan some of this older stuff and then recycle the original. Then file it away with tags so I could find it again? Will I ever go back? You see the dilemma. That's why people just put it back on the shelf!


Someone wanted to see the 24 small projects I'm working on for my machine embroidery goal. They are Kimberbell patterns, and they are absolutely adorable. I've no idea what I'll do with them, but perhaps if I have grandchildren, they can go there. There are two per month, and these are the January projects. One is a small pillow (the pillow form is not inserted), and the other is a door-hanger pillow. 

Two of my 24 projects for machine embroidery

I have a busy day today—OK, it's not busy. The only thing I have is the movie this afternoon. Doesn't one thing make a busy day for an almost-retired person? LOL. 

Speaking of retired, there is a gentleman who is ripping around our neighborhood in this little car. I think, but do not know if it is considered a wheelchair car, although it has a handicap sticker on the back. It looks like it has doors on the side, not the back, as would be for a true wheelchair car. 

Our neighborhood Casanova!

But I've seen this guy whipping around the neighborhood for weeks, and the other day he passed Murphy and me on the multi-purpose path. Hmmm --- is that allowed? Anyway, the guy is having fun with it. 

The girls were in their glory yesterday. It was finally warm enough to leave the door open all day, and they came and went as they wanted. I was also in my glory!!!

MOM - we love being able to be in or out as we want!

Here are the duplicate books that I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. I just shake my head about this. 

Here is one book that I think will be very interesting. Wouldn't it be nice to have a nice (digital) book about yourself with photos of all those memorable moments in your life that you can pass along to your children? What were your hopes and fears? What was life like (as someone said to me yesterday, I'm traumatized about books, as I didn't have access to a real library until my 20s)? I really must start working on the documentation side of my life that I want to do. I get that from my Mom as well. 

Freebie

All I know about my parents is what they have told me, which, unless you ask questions, is very little. This kind of thing has a deadline, so I must get myself together. But first, I am trying to get a handle on decluttering a little bit more. 

I know some of you don't have this issue, and I wish I didn't, but I do. So the first step is to take stock of what you have. Put all like things together. That is step one. Then you need to start sorting to see exactly what you have, and that is where you need to start making some decisions. I'll continue this process as I move to other areas of the house. But doing this much has advanced me by leaps and bounds. Getting started is often the hardest part, and I'm not even sure why I started this now. 

WAIT --- I know why. I was looking for a book to do with an upcoming presentation, and that just got the ball rolling. It doesn't matter what the catalyst is - what's important is to get started. 

And one takeaway from Margareta's book is, why should we ask our children, who are probably more strapped for time than we are, to deal with our mess? And it's better to deal with it before we become unable to handle it physically. 

I am trying! Yes -- I could just go in and just throw the whole lot into boxes, but I like Marie Kondo's approach. I want to thank each book, and sometimes thanking the book just takes a wee bit longer than what she does! I'm certainly getting my weight training in today!

And on that happy note, I'm out of here!!!

Ciao!!!