Getting organized!

It was another late night, but only because I was outside for most of the afternoon. It was too nice to be inside, and I'd rather take advantage of the fantastic weather! 

We had a great time at Monday sewing, and it's been a while since I haven't had to zip out prematurely because of a work commitment. I got to stay until the end! 

Lots of stuff happened in Studio B, and I knew, with all my tidying, a couple of scenarios would arise - not being able to find something and refining already sorted areas. 

For the most part, everything has a home, making it super simple to tidy up! However, several almost-finished things are hanging around, and I hope to get to work on those. I bet, in many cases, that ONE hour on each project and it would be done! So I will try and work on those in the next couple of weeks, in ADDITION to everything else I need to get done. 

In my efficiency of tidying, I could NOT find a few things. So while I was quilting, I was determined to find them. What was missing? Stuff for the serger! I was missing feet that I was sure I had received. I had samples that had gone astray and a couple of projects that needed to be serged. Where could they be? 

AHA -- I found everything. They were in a tub under the long, and it was LABELED, no less, but I had forgotten that I put the stuff there. 

The tub of serger stuff

I must move the tub to the first spot I looked at yesterday. It's OK under the long arm -- it's just on the wrong side! 

And guess what? I found the missing cover stitch hemmer that I swore I already had, but now I have two. One will be returned. 

Two cover stitch hemmers

I found all my samples and many more feet for a different serger and more duplicate feet. It really needs to be sorted and neatened up, so that is on the agenda for today. I also found serger thread in the tub, which has a home, and it's not in this tub. So that resulted in a tidy-up of the serger thread, all stored in one plastic rolling bin. 

Colored serger thread

Decorative serger thread

White serger thread

Grey, cream, and black serger thread

I found the serger projects that need to be finished, and I plan to work on those today, so I have a few more samples for my serger class this week at Hamilton Sewing. I'm also running a lecture on garment sewing techniques, so I'll also be working on a few samples for that. 

Serger projects to finish

And here I am with the tub opened and sorting. 

Sorting through the tub of serger stuff

Even with all the sorting and tidying I've done in the past, some pockets in Studio B still need attention. And that's what I'll be working on when I'm in the mood and have the time, like sorting through the books and this tub of serger stuff. 

I also attacked the Current Projects table -- I mean, how many current projects does one need?

The Current Project table

A few of the projects were moved to the ironing board, where I hope to refine them today. If they can't be done quickly and in the next week, they must find a home on a shelf! 

Projects to sort through

I should resign myself to the fact that the cutting table will likely NEVER be completely clear. As I ended the day and with a few minutes to spare, I put stuff on it in preparation for today

The immediate stuff to work on today

There was ZERO drama when quilting the customer quilt of the day. It's done and needs to be trimmed later today. The other two quilts I quilted earlier this week are trimmed and ready for pickup! The next one is loaded; hopefully, I can work on it this morning rather than late in the evening!

Customer quilt - DONE

But I did cut it close with the bobbin thread. I still had an almost full bobbin and this, so there was more than enough to finish the quilt!

Bobbin thread chicken!

It was HOT yesterday, and I could have worn shorts when I walked in the afternoon! But even in the morning, it was hot, and look at poor Murphy! She can't handle the heat, so she won't be happy for the remainder of this week! 

MOM -- it's HOT!!

But look who I spotted in my pond! A cardinal was having a grand time bathing! What fun to watch him as he sputtered around. 

Cardinal in his larger personal birdbath

And, of course, Murphy was out there with me. However, I had left the door open, and the next thing I knew, an INDOOR toy was outside. 

An indoor toy that is OUTSIDE!

And yes -- it ended up in the pond! She has a fascination with water! 

MOM -- the toy jumped into the pond! Help!

Someone asked me the other day if I had a favorite colorway when making quilts. Hmm -- not really, but I love this quilt's PINK/ORANGE combination. And look, it matches the pink and orange on my sewing machine! 

Binding a quilt

But that quilt got bound, and I met a commitment for this week. 

The quilt is bound!

Remember that I was making a priority list of THREE quilty things per day that needed to be done. I stopped at Indigo on my walk and spotted this in the discount bin. 

A weekly "to-do" list

This will be perfect. I can write the week at the top of the page in the spot indicated. Then in the top left box, I can list all the commitments/classes for the week. Then per day, I can list the THREE priority things that must be done. And if I need to make notes, I can put that on the right-hand side. 

I read a quote the other night in my Happiness Journal about "tidying up" before you go to bed. And this can be part of that process. Before bed, I can check that the three priority things got done (and yes -- they got done yesterday), and then I can decide, based on the weekly requirements, what the priority is for the next day. I will NOT fill this at the beginning of the week as I may get more done in a day or whatever. 

I think this will work, and if I like the system, I can go back and buy a few more! This was the only orange one, but I can live with another color. I think there are 52 pages in the pad, so it'll work for the year. At the end of the week, I'll rip the page off and start a new one! Let's see how the system works. I like the idea of consciously picking three things that are a priority - rather than thinking they are a priority! 

With the amount of stuff that I have to do, it can be overwhelming to write it all on a list -- I think the three priority things per day will help me, and trust me -- I got way more done than just those priority things, but I need some structure in my day, and I think this little bit will help. Plus, the five minutes of reflection on the week every evening will help to avoid those panic days. At least, I hope so. 

Hey --- I need the serger stuff for Thursday, and I was working on it on Monday, so that's a start! 

Only one of the suitcases got unpacked, but I'll have to focus on the other one today and get it repacked for tomorrow night. I'll be at the Grand Quilt Guild, so you can stop by if you're in the area. They do their meetings hybrid, so you can get the link from them ($10 fee) and watch my scrap quilt lecture!!! 

On that note, I'm out of here! I walked 15.5 KM yesterday and am on track to finish my Virtual Challenge in 14 days! 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!