The basement clean up is taking a backseat this morning. Well at least as far as blog material goes. Oh - I've been working. Although at one point yesterday, I just couldn't face the mess. I had to leave and I was totally discouraged. How am I ever going to unearth that long arm? I need to get some quilts done.
After having dinner, I went back with a new perspective and - well - it's going to happen. I hope to be quilting by Sunday. And guess what? I found two boxes of thread! Not even sure what colors I found, but I have two boxes!
From this mess and my many years of experience, I've learned several things that I wish people had told me when I was first starting out as quilter.
- You're going to get hooked on the quilting - do NOT invest in any other hobbies.
- Finish the projects that you start - do NOT leave UFOs.
- Find a home for everything - do NOT let those oddball things collect - they create clutter.
- Keep your workspaces clear - the ironing board, the cutting mat, the sewing table - do NOT let a mess get started. It only wastes your time.
- Stay focused - do NOT let other things sidetrack your work, especially your friends!
- Buy ONLY what you need - do NOT get enticed into something that you'll likely never use.
- Buy what you WANT - do NOT buy a project just because your friend is making it.
I'm a Virgo - following those rules should have been super easy. We're supposed to be very organized. But something happened to my brain after M was born. My brain went to mush and just couldn't grasp those concepts. As a result - well - we have a bit of a mess.
But the good news is that I've stopped buying. I'm focused. I've got lists to keep me organized. I've got homes for almost everything (so far) and well - life is good. And I'm giving myself 10 years to enjoy those things I bought. At some point, I'll have to downsize - but for the moment, I'm going to enjoy what I have.
Pictures of Studio B will happen tomorrow.
Thanks to everyone who has offered to take stuff off my hands. It's hilarious because, for each item, I've had ONE person send me a request. All except those two balls of chunky red yarn. I guess those will go in the thrift store pile.
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| Chunky red yarn - up for grabs |
And I'm amassing MORE of the cloth reusable bags. Seriously??? I already gave Jane two huge bags - well, I've got more.
I got my hair trimmed the other day so it's just at that length that it doesn't really work in a ponytail but it's humid today. OK - so there will be no pictures of this, but I made two ponytails. Nope - I'll leave that up to your imagination.
Besides having a nap in the gazebo, I did a lot of sewing, editing, and writing for the blog posts so making good progress on that.
I have some pictures of the homework from the Ultimate Quilt Block Collection that I want to share with you. Actually, there are three different groups of blocks - I'll share one each day over the next three days.
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| Ultimate Quilt Block Collection by Lynne Goldsworthy |
The focus for the blocks that month was small pieces. Each of the small squares is 2" unfinished. These blocks are the SAME!! It's how the colors and values have been positioned that make the blocks appear totally different.
OK - so the maker of this first one took a bit of creative license with the design in one corner, but the rest is the same. There's loads of contrast in this one and those four center squares really pop out.
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| Teal colorway |
Here's a more subtle version of the same block. When the bits are aligned, it makes that center "square" really pop out.
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| Beige colorway |
This is the same block - the colors are reversed. Hard to believe but it does provide a totally different look. That's the beauty of this class - we get to see so many options.
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| Beige colorway - values are swapped |
WOW - this is the same block, but the person used a solid and a very busy print. The square is not as dominate in this block. Can you guess why? That's because while there is color contrast between the orange and the floral print, the values of the two prints are very similar so the contrast is not quite as strong. Nothing wrong - just something to think about.
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| Orange and a floral print |
This next one is the opposite of the block above. Opposite in the sense that the values are in different positions. Ooops - I see a little blip in the top left corner. Notice that the contrast is much more pronounced. Why? The floral fabric is considerably lighter in value than the pink solid. ACK -- why are there so many things to consider when choosing fabric??? By the way - I'll be doing a demo at The Hobby Horse in September on choosing colors and how value can affect your block. Watch for the details on that.
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| Pink with a light floral fabric |
Hard to believe, but this is the same block, although the maker changed it up slightly. Can you see the two differences? One - they used only half-square triangles to get those shapes instead of the flying geese, and the "square in a square" units that were used in the previous blocks. Also - the center square has been made with half-square triangles instead of a solid square. And there were a few extra bits left over to make a couple of pinwheel blocks.
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| A slightly different version |
I love reviewing the pictures here on the blog. There are many things that I don't see in the class. I'm often looking at the block sideways and it's hard to see all the details as we're sometimes pressed for time.
Wow--- isn't that interesting to see those variations? The class was given several options as to which block they wanted to make. I've got two more blocks to share with you tomorrow and the next day.
By the way - there is an OPEN sewing class at The Hobby Horse on Saturday, July 20th - from 11 - 5 PM. The cost is $10. If anyone is interesting, send me an e-mail. I'll be there sewing, but if anyone has issues with a project, it's a great time to come and I'll help you sort it out. I won't teach you anything new, but if you need help on a project, I'd be happy to help you out.
On that note, I'm out of here!
Have a great day!!!
Ciao!!!
I tend to create a total mess and disaster when I am working on my current projects. Projects with an 's' because I always seem to have two or three on the go at the same time. Project 2 starts off as the leader and ender blocks for project 1 and so it goes. But, when a couple of projects are actually finished tops, I always stop and tidy. It saves my sanity. I will have lost my cutter along the way and brought out another. Rulers are everywhere and in my way. Fabrics have been cut and pushed aside. I stop, regroup, and put everything back where it belongs and I mop, dust, vacuum, empty my scrap buckets of trimmings, wipe down my mats etc. I do tend to pile folded fabrics and scraps under my ironing board and when that pile is getting unstable, I will stop and organize the larger pieces by colour and "file" them back in my stash cupboard. The smaller bits are in a big basket and when that is getting full, I will take it with me when I get to tv with my husband and sort by colour. All my scraps are in bins sorted by colour... am a bit OCD? But, things pile up and then it feels so good to have everything organized and where it belongs. I really think that neat and tidy is better for creativity and far less time is spent looking for things that you know you have, but where? For my tops waiting for quilting, I put up a tension bar and I hang the tops on hangers, in full visibility but totally out of the way. I put my bindings in a binding basket and thank you for the lesson earlier this year as to how you wind yours! I will prep backings and batting for 5 quilts at a time and stack those on a table by my quilting machine. I like doing things in batches! Keep plugging away.. move your boxes and pile them up in the area where you are going to emptying them... don't carry them twice! And I agree, don't put things away unless it where you want them in the final arrangement. I would do the books last because boxes of books pile up neatly and you know what is in those boxes. Hang in there... maybe a goal of emptying a few boxes a day?
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