Where do you store your quilts?

Energy! I'm not sure how much energy I'll have later today. Sleep eluded me last night for some reason, and I'm sure I'll take a big nap later. But that's OK. 

Oh my—these pens do actually run out of ink! This is a promotional pen, but it must be a deluxe one because it really is the best pen around. It writes nicely and feels nice to hold, and I love it. Thank goodness I have several of them, as this poor one is done! There is some satisfaction in having a pen run out of ink rather than losing it! 

Bye-bye pen!!

Do you want to see why I bought a second metal shelf? The first one is going to stay in the garage, and at some point, I need to get in there and start getting rid of stuff, but that's not for this week. As you saw yesterday, the shelf is assembled and upstairs. 

I had been to the dollar store and picked up pieces of foam core, which I sliced in half, and two pieces went on each shelf. 

Foam core sheets on the shelf

Then it was time to load it with quilts!!! Yep, there were quilts in a lot of places upstairs—on the floor and on the chairs—and it looked extremely untidy. So I refolded all of these quilts and put them on the shelf. I could fit a few more on, but this made me happy. 

A rolling shelf of quilts

I don't know how many quilts are on that care, but over 50, so getting them "out of the way" is huge! The fact that the shelf is on wheels and fits through a doorway means I can put it anywhere I want upstairs and it's tucked out of the way!! 

This bookcase was crammed with quilts, some of which are now on the rolling shelf. 

Quilts in the bookcase

Some smaller quilts are sitting in this bookcase. 

More quilts and tote bags

There are still some in one of the closets. 

Quilts in the closet

And a few on the other side of that same closet. 

Another shelf of quilts

And then there are those still hanging on the railing, although I managed to remove a few from there as well. 

Quilts on the railing

I put the quilts in some order for the trunk shows or ones I want to keep personally as they have special meaning. And then there's the rest. I NEVER wanted to give my quilts away—well, never is such a strong word, but I made them as class samples or for a magazine, and there was never any intent other than that to make the quilt. And each one is like a baby—you don't want to get rid of it. 

But as I work on the rest of the house, it's time to get rid of some of these quilts. WOW -- that is earth-shattering! Next thing you know, I'll be selling fabric! In the fall, my goal is to pick ten quilts that I never use in any trunk show or that I want to personally keep, and they will be donated to QOV. I'll probably be starting a pile for Project Linus as well, and I should set a goal of donating ten to each organization before the year is out. I may need to quilt one or two for Project Linus, but those are smaller and faster to finish. 

Here's a mind-blowing thought: If I finished one quilt each week in my Community project pile and my own "to be quilted" pile, it would take TWELVE years to clear the backlog! WOW!!!!! So I'll be scheduling some weeks where I can get five done in a week or something like that. Setting out the numbers is a great motivator to get things done! I don't want those quilts hanging around for twelve years!

Getting that shelf was the best storage solution for the quilts (at least for me), and it only cost $100. Yes, I could potentially have gone through and donated a good portion of them now, but I'm not ready! The storage unit at least keeps them off the floor and is easy to move. One day, I want to arrange that railing so they are not heaped on each other. It's all about moving forward, even if the steps are small. 

Mentally releasing those quilts is actually a HUGE step forward, and I'm quite excited about it. If you didn't guess, the foam core will prevent the quilts from getting indents from the shelf. The sheets don't completely cover the metal shelf, but they do cover enough that I think it'll prevent them from getting marks. It was a very cheap solution, costing less than $10 for the entire shelf unit. The proper shelf liners were going to cost $200!

I got some stitching done at the Virtual Retreat, but not nearly as much as I would have liked. However, I'm happy to report that this is what I accomplished. Again, I could have done more, but I made leaps and bounds, and progress is what it's all about. 

The two deer got done. And there were loads of fiddly bits on these guys!!!

Two deer are appliqued

Look at those antlers!!!! 

Lots of fiddly bits

And the deer on the second quilt are also done!!! 

BOTH quilt tops are at the same stage

That means that all the applique on the big center panel is done. The rest of the applique is on the borders, so turning on the sewing machine will be easier. We have Monday sewing today, and I'll work on one of the borders. I hope to get the one border for both quilts done today. 

We finished up the Virtual Retreat early last night, and I managed to complete the last two deer in one hour. It had taken me all day to complete the first two! I'm not productive on Zoom calls. 

And then I packed the quilt shelf last night after the Virtual Retreat and started to pack for my trip, which was probably not a good idea either. Too much excitement? Anticipation? 

Anyway, I sorted through everything that I had taken out of the closet. Oh, I see that it was exactly the way it was when I took it out of the backpack when I got home last year! Well, the clothes had been washed! 

Here is my meager stack of belongings for 30 days! It's hard to grasp how little there is. I should spread it out on the floor so you can see. Three T-shirts, one sweater, one pair of shorts, one pair of pants, three pairs of socks, three pairs of underwear, and two bras. I hope to buy a pair of shorts instead of wearing my sarong. But it's amazing how little one needs. There is a small bag of toiletries, medical supplies, and entertainment (pages ripped from a Sudoku book). OH -- and the bag of electronics, as I plan to blog when I'm away and need to keep things charged. 

My stuff for the trip

As I pack the various things into the backpack, I'll take pictures so you can see how little there is. 

Yep—and hopefully, it will all weigh 12 pounds or less. That's my goal. 

I accomplished a lot more paperwork in the morning, and there's still more to do today, but I've got things under control. I'm not trying to run around and do thousands of things before I leave later this week. The number is only in the hundreds! Just kidding!!! 

On that note, I'm off to spin class!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!