Slow and steady wins the race

FREEDOM!!!

OK -- so I'm not entirely off the hook as I have urgent paperwork to do this morning, but I spent most of yesterday just puttering and doing what I wanted, and it felt glorious! 

I am determined to keep things under control - OK - until the next crisis hits, but if I keep myself organized, those deadlines shouldn't be an issue? Perhaps I'm deluding myself. That's OK - I can live in a dream world. 

But the biggest issue for me is keeping the space clear. Why is that so hard? I seem to need a table, which is a total disaster. I aim to work on this table until nothing is left on it. I must NOT add anything to the table unless it's absolutely necessary. 

My goal is to clear this table

I took everything off the sewing tables (there wasn't much) and the other table, where there were a few projects to be cut, and put everything on ONE table. Everything else is clear. Project by project, I must find a home, complete it, or move it along to the "to be quilted" pile. 

I can only imagine how long this will take me—probably months! But I was working on it yesterday and accomplished a few things, so it's all good. 

I decided I needed to get those bindings on the community project quilts. 

I got one binding on. 

Binding number one

Then I got the second binding on. 

Binding number two

And I finished the third binding this morning. 

Binding number three

Yeah -- that feels great because those three quilts took up a lot of room. They will reside near the "to be quilted" pile on this quilt rack. 

Completed community project quilts

When I have ten done, I'll arrange delivery. This morning, I trimmed one more quilt, and I'll put the binding on it later today. 

I purchased a pair of children's shorts and wanted to dress them up using a decorative stitch. I had already added a stitch but wasn't happy with it, so I ripped the stitching out and redid it with a matching bobbin thread. 

Decorated child's shorts

This is what it looks like, and I'm much happier. I need to do it right the first time so I don't have to backtrack and redo my work, but I'm so happy to putter that I don't care. Adding decorative stitching to anything is so easy, but I think it's best to use a matching bobbin. I don't know why I didn't in the first place. 

The decorative stitches

We got a notification last week that our power will be out for several hours tomorrow morning. So - no paperwork and no sewing. I'm trying to figure out what to do with no electricity. As if that was a problem. I looked around Studio B and decided that these four bags of crap need to be sorted. 

Four bags of scraps to sort

Many years ago, I had this brilliant idea of collecting scraps and making pet mats. It wasn't enough that I had my own scraps, but I also wanted other people's. I do not know where these "brilliant" ideas came from. I ended up with boxes and bags of scraps that consumed a considerable space in my house. The bags and boxes were initially stored under the long arm, then moved to the cold room under the front steps. But I did deal with them, or should I say I dealt with everything but these four bags. 

I have two of them set aside. I'll bring them up tomorrow, put them in the kitchen, and start sorting. I might have to make more bags to put the scraps in for the pet mats, so I might do that today. It would be nice to get rid of these last bags. And then NOTHING will go in that corner—it'll be empty. 

I also decided that I could trim half-square triangles, and I have a small container of them on the ironing board that needs to be pressed and trimmed. 

HSTs that need to be pressed and trimmed

So I pressed a number of them yesterday, and I can bring those up and trim them as well. Yep - with no lights, it will be hard to work downstairs. 

HSTs waiting to be trimmed

That's plenty to trim in one day, so the rest will wait for later. There's no rush. 

I also prepped another project that requires half-square triangles, and that is all cut. I'll sew the HSTs today so I can trim them tomorrow. Again, with all my scraps sorted by color, it was easy to find what I wanted. There was loads of room on the cutting mat, and once I got what I needed, everything returned to its respective home. 

Cutting

While half of the cutting table has always been clear - more or less, the entire table is now clear, which is exciting. 

Another project is ready to sew

Having that space as clean and tidy as it is is perfect for me. I must say that I'm swiffering, vacuuming, and mopping. What is wrong with me? I've become obsessive!!! 

But I'm OK with that. I know it won't stay as neat and tidy as it is, although I hope to get that table top down to nothing. But part of that mess is trying to clean up more odds and ends, so once that is done, there shouldn't be anything huge that goes on that table. 

I know there will be times when I'm inundated with work on multiple projects at once, but for the moment, I'm going to enjoy the moment and the space and try my best to learn some new habits!!

I see we now have scooters for rent in our neighborhood! I told DH he should take one to the train in the morning, but I doubt that will ever happen.

Scooters for rent

I love checking my calendar and seeing NOTHING on it! How fun is that? However, I have loads to do but no time commitments. I'll be quilting today and trying to make a dent in that pile of stuff on that table. Wish me luck! Getting it done will be a slow and steady slog, but I can do it! I feel very motivated and can't wait for the day when I don't have this stupid backlog of almost-finished projects. I've made giant leaps and bounds in correcting that bad habit, and I figure it will take me a little more discipline to kill it!

I've got an excellent audiobook to listen to and Murphy to entertain me, and I'm good to go!!

So --- let me ask you how you are doing? I know this can be one of the most boring things in the world. We all have loads of stuff to clean up, but it's tedious, lengthy, and overwhelming, especially if you're just starting. But I've learned to jump in and do one small thing daily. Learn to say NO to new things, and learn to say YES to get rid of things, and you'll be amazed at how much easier it gets the more you do!!

OH -- I used to come home from any trade show with tons of crap to deal with. Papers, stickers, patterns, fabric, or whatever. I'm happy to report that I brought barely anything home, and it's all gone! I found a home for it all, even if it meant going in the recycling or the garbage. 

On that happy note, I have most of the day to spend on what I want to do once I get that little bit of urgent paperwork dealt with! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

The unveiling

It was a fabulous New Year's Day. Quiet and I got a lot done. I like hanging out with friends, but I also like peace and quiet. I listened to an audiobook for a good part of the day. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. I got this book off the book club list from the library. I wasn't sure that I was going to like it, but it's good, although it's long. The audiobook is 15 hours in length -  I'm about half done.

I don't normally provide feedback to the city on anything. I'm pretty content and for the most part, the city does a pretty good job from my perspective. HOWEVER, this past year, they went around the neighborhoods and fixed some sidewalks that were a bit off-kilter. A few spots on our street got new sections in the sidewalk.

I think the engineers who came up with the new concrete made a HUGE mistake. The new concrete is WHITE or quite a light color compared to the old standard concrete color. Guess what? The heat from the sun doesn't penetrate that lighter color and the ice doesn't melt as quickly. And the BONUS? Because of the lighter color, you can't see the ice. Now that's an accident waiting to happen.


In this picture which I snapped yesterday, you can see the ice shining on the concrete because of the direction of the sun. But just that single patch of lighter concrete has ice. The darker section before and after does not. Can you tell me whose bright idea it was to change the formula for sidewalk concrete? Probably someone from a warmer climate. I feel compelled to forward this and other photographs (because it's not just this random patch) - it's EVERY SINGLE section that they replaced with the lighter concrete. This is a HAZARD to anyone walking the streets. I'm sorry - but I walk the streets (well the sidewalks) and this is extremely dangerous. So more money will be spent next year while they rip up these light sections and replace them with dark.

There's ice on those lighter sections of concrete

I've got two more of our block exchanges to show you this morning. This one belongs to Lynn whose theme was the beach. She has all eight blocks.

Beach themed blocks

I took these pictures at the retreat and the lighting in the dining room wasn't great! Sorry for all the shadows. I made two blocks - two easy blocks - that why I made two.

Two starfish blocks

I used a decorative stitch on the sewing machine to add some texture to the starfish. Speaking of decorative stitches - don't forget there's a class on decorative stitches coming up on January 12th. You'll get more tips like this on where and how to use decorative stitches! E-mail me if you're interested. There's a couple of spots left.

Decorative stitches on the starfish

The next set of blocks belongs to Katheleen. Her theme was cows!!! They are pretty darn cute! In this case, we all used the same background as per her request.

Katheleen's cow blocks

And this is the block that I made. I love applique and I love using a satin stitch or other decorative stitches to finish off the edges. Yes - I complain about applique but that's because it's slow compared to piecing blocks together.  I do love applique!

The cow block that I made

The last group of blocks for today belong to Laura. Her theme was butterflies. I love how everyone interprets this theme so differently. Different colors, different techniques, different sizes! They look awesome!

Butterfly themed blocks

Here's the butterfly block that I made.

The butterfly block that I made

I'm busy making samples for next week. I'm not sure I'm allowed to post them so I'm checking. If so, then I've got some cool stuff to show you. Things you wouldn't believe are done with a sewing machine.

But at the same time, I'm still trying to get some quilting done. When I was going through the "to be quilted" pile (I haven't gotten any further on that task so the binding is still missing), I found this quilt of mine that I also wanted to get done as I use it a lot in my trunk shows. Now it's done. I've added it to the HUGE pile of quilts that need to be trimmed or otherwise finished. If I took a day, I could complete quite a few projects in that one day! Mostly adding binding!!!

My quilt - DONE

 I love this quilt. It's so bright and cheery!!


So what did I unveil yesterday??  My Christmas cake! I know it's late and I was given permission to unwrap it weeks ago, but I did buy a container of my favorite Christmas cookies - icebox cookies and I ate one of them a day so I didn't want to spoil myself and add the Christmas cake to the mix. While my weight is just fine, my body fat is a bit higher than I would like it to be. This just means pacing out the sugar intake a bit more.

This Christmas Cake or do we call it fruit cake? Anyway, it came well wrapped.

The Christmas Cake

It was inside a plastic ziplock bag. Then one very large piece of tin foil. Next, two layers of saran wrap. Then one layer of cheesecloth or maybe that's muslin. Notice how dark that muslin is????

Wrapped in cloth

 And at last, there's the beautiful Christmas Cake. Oh my, I had a small piece and it was delicious. Thank you, Shelly!! You're the best! I love it and I'll be savoring it over the next couple of days. I guess it all depends on how large the pieces are!

THE Christmas Cake

She's a pretty darn good baker! I can't be bothered and would likely have purchased some, although the store-bought certainly pales compared to the real thing.

Yesterday we started our Virtual Challenges. As mentioned, I'm walking Route 66. Just checked, I'm walking from Chicago to Los Angeles. It's pretty cool as you get to see your progress on Google Maps. I may have to work out a few bugs in it, but I think it'll be a fun thing to track my distance. I walked 12,383 steps yesterday - the equivalent of 5.3 miles. I'm still in the city of Chicago, but I'm making headway!!!

Life is back to normal today. Stores are open - not that that's a big deal to me, but I need two things and I hope I can get both at the mall. I need them this morning, so I'll be walking this morning, not this afternoon! But not until I write the city a note about those icy sidewalks!! What a shame.

On that note, I'm out of here!!! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!