A big ball of string

I've had more productive days in the past! And there are days when it doesn't take much to make me unproductive. For the last week, I've been quietly searching for a piece of paper - a paper on which I handwrote some things. It was timely that I find this paper. I searched through my e-mail trying to recreate what was on the paper, but I could only get part of the information. So I read all afternoon because I was mad at myself for losing that paper.

Then right after dinner, I came back to the computer desk and VOILA - I found the paper. It had slipped behind the tray on which the keyboard sits. I was a happy camper for the remainder of the day!!!

But that just goes to show you that I need to do some serious cleaning up in here. My plan is to try for 15 minutes a day to "undo" the piles of crap. I will get there. And by spending the mornings doing paperwork, I know that will happen.

Keep that thought in mind as I talk about another piece of paper I found a couple of months ago and have been saving it for today. It was a HAND WRITTEN list of the family's resolutions for 2005. YES - 2005!!!!!! 

Here's my list:

1. Lose 15 pounds
2. Finish M's room
3. Finish the wedding ring quilt
4. Organize the dining room!

Isn't that hilarious???? 

OK - so for the update. Yes - I lost the 15 pounds but only this past year. Thankfully though, it wasn't more than 15 that I needed to lose - in other words, I didn't gain any in those 13 years. M's room was professionally painted years ago so I was off the hook for that. I finished the wedding ring quilt - well I turned the quilt into 3 quilts which I finished piecing a couple of months ago and hopefully, they'll be quilted by March. Organize the dining room? HA - Oh my!!!!! 

In my defense, a lot of stuff has come in here and then has been taken out. But there's a lot of stuff that's still here after 13 years. It would be great if I could once and for all get it done. I went through a pile of stuff yesterday and I believe that 90% of it went into the recycling. There's another pile on the kitchen table (no room on the dining room table to work) and I would bet that 100% of that small pile is going to be recycled.

So do I have new resolutions? Nope - just complete another 100 projects for the year. Oh - and maybe get the dining room in order!

I found this quote when I was cleaning up. I love it!!!!  It's amazing how good you feel after a brisk walk - YES - even in winter. It's good for you and helps reduce your carbon footprint (more on that tomorrow). I can walk to the grocery store, the mall, the bank, the dentist, the hardware store - well, I can get a lot of my errands done by walking. So it takes a bit more time. But when you factor in parking and then walking from the car to the venue - it doesn't really save a whole lot of time. I'll be off to the library and the bank later today. Perhaps even the post office which is in the mall.

Quote about walking!!!!

What's important is to MAKE the time to be able to walk. We get so caught up in the craziness of life that we forget about the important things. I'm going to try and keep my schedule "light" so that I have the time to walk somewhere at least 3 or 4 times a week. I don't take the girls when I walk on my errands. Don't want to leave them unattended outside and they just slow me down. I'm a very fast walker!!

Speaking of those 100 projects, here's what got accomplished yesterday.

Remember that green bucket of mess from yesterday????  See - this is the kind of thing that I'm trying to get rid of in my 100 projects mission. If someone were to come in and look at this mess - what would they say? TOSS!!!!!  I guess my ultimate goal in all this is that I don't want anything to be tossed!

Bucket of string

I started by sorting out the cord. I don't think this is clothesline cord but it could be. It seems a bit heavy. There were three separate pieces. What was it for? I've no idea. No - that's not right - I think I know what I was using it for. I have to dig something else out and check.

Three balls of cording

Then there was this mess. I'm not even sure what I was going to do with it, but it was about 1/3 complete. I had joined a LOT of strips together and they were sewn into a tube with right sides together. I was inserting the large piping into the cording as the tubing got turned inside out. Don't ask - it was a tough job. I finished off the 1/3 that was almost done. Hey - that wasn't so bad, so I started on the second 1/3. I managed to get that done as well. Then I rolled it all into a big ball. 

Big ball of covered cording

 But wait - the fun doesn't stop there! I still have 1/3 of the strips to deal with. But I had run out of cord. So I'm off to Fabricland today to get more cording and I'll get it all inserted in the fabric tubes.

Strips of fabric tubing waiting to be turned and stuffed

I can't remember how I started the first 1/3 of the insertion process. So I did the second 1/3 a different way. Let's just say that my upper body got a good workout yesterday!!!!  DO NOT do this. It's a hugely physical job and there are other ways of getting stuffing inside a fabric tube. But since I'm this far along - I'm going to finish. Yes - I'm determined to clean up this mess.

I simply plugged in my earbuds and listened to an audiobook. It was pretty neat - the book took place in Australia and was read by an Australian. Love the accent and it made the time go by fast. I finished a physical book and an audiobook yesterday and I see that a new audiobook came in and was downloaded. Something to listen to today while I finish off that other 1/3.

Now that the Christmas break is over, it's time to buckle down and get back to work. The Monday sewing basket is filled with the fabric, pattern, and necessary tools for some applique prep. That was great to get that done. And then back to the delinquent list of UFOs.

I'm back working on Misty Pines by Patti Carey. I have two columns sewn and the third one is on the wall. There are 8 columns in total.

3 columns of Misty Pines

Progress is a bit slow at the moment because I'm sewing up the "tree" blocks as I need them. This is my stack of LABELED blocks. You need to label EVERYTHING on this quilt or you simply can't make it. 

Labeled blocks

Here are the components to make the remaining 11 tree blocks. I think that's how many are left to sew together. Then the last bit of the quilt will go together fast.

Components of the Misty Pines blocks

Oh - could I get it together today? I might, but I also have to get started on class samples and blog posts. I do NOT want to get myself into a bind where I'm rushed and no time for those walks. I'm going to be much more mindful of my calendar this year. I hope - it's only day two of the new year!

I have 14 projects with deadlines on my list for the year so far. As some get completed, I'm sure there'll be others that will take their place. The trick is going to be to get it all done without getting caught in a time crunch.

The other thing I'm learning - WRITE EVERYTHING in a notebook. It's a lot harder to lose a notebook than it is a piece of paper. I was getting much better at that, but somehow that stupid piece of paper slipped off the tray. But all is good.

Hopefully, you're all making progress (however small) in your areas that you want to clean up/organize. I can't wait for the day that I walk into the office and there is an inviting space to work and when I want a certain paper that I could run over and put my hands on it immediately. I can do that in my sewing space, just not in the office - not yet!!!!

Have a super day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!