Clean Sewing Room!

Woooohooooo!!!  I worked all afternoon on my sewing room!  Put project parts all together, found good stuff, emptied tote bags that were storing "stuff" and cleaned off the cutting table and the sewing table!!!  Now I'm ready to work!  Got everything in nice little sections on my sewing table and tomorrow will be a sewing day!  One of my group lists is having an online retreat for the weekend and I do believe I have enough things ready to sew and sew!!

My plan for tomorrow is to fix the backing for a (very very old!) UFO and get it loaded on the machine (pictures to follow when I actually get it on there!!), and put the borders on a strip quilt.  then I have bits and pieces waiting to be worked on to complete a few other projects ... AND I am going to get the cutting done for two upcoming mystery projects!

I'm loving the good weather and my increasing energy level!!

Awareness

A couple of weeks ago I was searching for some project parts and ended up having to remove two shelves of fabric from my closet, only to find that the project was neatly stored in its little container where it should have been.  Sheeeesh ... how did it get there??!!  While removing the fabric and replacing it I realized that this was a huge burden -- I couldn't find some small pieces that I needed because there were so many yards and yards of fabric sitting in the way!

Before I go further, I need to point out that the shelves in this double closet hold fabrics that I don't have room for in either the 10 cabinets or second closet!  This is HOARDING!!  I spent a week really fretting over all this fabric, asking myself what on earth I was doing!  Why was I holding on to all of this??!!!  Finally, after a few sleepless nights and days of anxiety and distress I realized what a ninny I am!! (I know, to some of you this is not a revelation!! hehehe)

I have been holding on to some of this stuff for years just waiting for the "right" project or the "perfect" special occasion .... HELLO!!  It occurred to me (again, not news to most of you!) that I can use up a lot of this fabric for many things -- quilts for friends, quilts for charities, fabric for donations ... and the list goes on.  I would so much rather give a quilt to a friend "just because" than to leave this world with piles of fabric sitting here!

So I came up with a plan!  I made a monthly list of people I want to make quilts for.  I've been asking folks for their favorite colors and adding to the list.  And if I give them a quilt this year, I may even give them a quilt next year!  Or they may get two quilts in one year!  I don't have to wait for weddings and Christmas.  I can give quilts JUST BECAUSE I can!  After coming up with my plan I told my husband who was happy to hear that I'm ready to use up fabric.

And at the sewathon this past weekend, I only came home with 10 more yards!!

I'm striving for progress ... not perfection!!

Retreating is so fun!!

Went off to a quilt retreat at my favorite local quilt store this weekend ... What's Your Stitch 'n Stuff in Virginia Beach ... and had so much fun!  They hold the retreat quarterly, starts on Friday evening, resumes Saturday morning and runs until midnight, then all day Sunday until about 6 p.m.  Lots of the meals are provided, and groups go out for others or take-out orders come in.  And it's hours of sewing and companionship and tons of laughing!  I was totally exhausted when I came home last night, but had a blast! 

I worked on several projects while there, but the most fun was a baby quilt made out if strips of mostly 1930s reproduction fabrics.  Then I put in a few rows of chenille -- my first time using chenille by the inch! -- and some words for babies (eat, sleep, play, repeat) and it's just the cutest darn thing!  When I finish the top this week I'll post some pictures for you.

At the "closing ceremonies" I was totally blown away to receive an MVP award from my teammates!!  Actually brought me to tears!  I'm sure that the chocolate dessert I brought contributed to their good feelings towards me, but no matter -- I was touched :)

Great weekend ... now back to sewing!

An Internet Quilt Along!

On one of my Yahoo lists some folks were posting pictures of a block they made using jelly rolls -- now, how many jelly rolls do you have stashed away waiting for THE BEST project??!! -- so I went on a quest to find out what they were doing!  What I found was a great blog "Moose on the Porch" where Konda has started the Jelly roll Sampler Quilt Along 2010!  It just started this week, so you can easily jump in!  A new block will be posted every two weeks, and she's even got prize drawings!

I'll be back later after I sort through my jelly rolls!!