A few changes

Tuesday I did a little in the studio: straightened up the fabric so I could put away three containers of fabrics that I separated out some time ago. Generally one container of solids goes into the camper when we are traveling--you just never know when you need something that can coordinate with the rest of the quilt. A big container with a variety of solids can really help out in a pinch. 

A second container holds stripes and plaids that I first pulled out to create a kit of, yes, stripes and plaids. Since I was working on that over the weekend, I decided to haul the container along. And it's good that I did because I needed another row to make the quilt a bigger size, which I decided as I was sewing the pieces together. Right now it's 72 by 80, but that could change.

The final container holds word fabric that I've been collecting since word fabric came out. Just a piece here and there, occasionally a few fat quarters, maybe a yard. Now, there's enough word fabric to make several word quilts. I made one top while at retreat. It takes much longer to piece a top improvisationally than to mindlessly sew 8" squares. 

Of course, no matter whether you're working in improv or working with easy one-patch blocks, you have to stop talking and sew. Yeah, there's a reason I didn't get as many tops completed as last year when I was a newbie. Maybe I was a little uncomfortable and possibly less opinionated. But that was not the case this year. In fact, I may have had a little too much fun. What do you think? Are you a little more introverted when you're around people you don't know?

Thread Cabinet ~~ Richard's Finish!

My husband. My wonderful, loving husband. Forty years we've been husband and wife. 

He's is one put-together guy and knows oh-so-many things. Sometimes I think he just knows all the things. I have no clue how he can know or understand all these concepts and mechanics and stuff. 

He can fix a leaky pipe, cook a meal, cut down a tree, explain a football game. He can tell you how safe (or in danger) you are, how to fix just about anything mechanical, figure out interest rates, grow a garden to feed the neighbors. I've barely begun, but I'll stop because there's something wonderful that I want to show you.

Most recently he's been showing off his carpentry skills. It's taken a while but finally, it's finished. Even better, his carpentry has been working for me!  

Check out the drawers in my cabinet: thread drawers, you see.

There are five drawers, each one with three shelves. The number of spools depends on the size of said spools, but I've put at least 10 on a shelf. Which means it can easily hold up to 150 spools regular embroidery spools. 

The drawers pull out completely so I have easy access to the spools at the back of each shelf and can see all of the colors at once. (Isn't that a cool feature?!) Don't look at the paint job. That's my mess. Rich wanted to clean it up, but I insisted that he deliver the cabinet instead. I'm leaving it. And that's the end of the discussion.  

I've arranged the spools by color, of course. The librarian in me insisted. It's the same system I use for fabric...white, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, navy, gray, black. Sort of ROYGBIV, Mary style.

The cabinet sits on my sewing table close to my embroidery machine. Custom made for that spot, which I chose. It's a great improvement over the open system that I had before, thanks to Richard's thinking: the cabinet has doors to keep dust and light out. So now do you see why I give such accolades to the man with whom I hope to grow old? 

Busy week...busy work

I have been keeping busy with all kinds of squirrelly projects. Judy over at Me and My Quilts would be so proud!

First, I chose a new pattern to make an outfit for Milly. Yes, another one. I two put aside that she hasn't worn yet.

I cut the pattern out on paper used for newsprint. To avoid cutting the pattern, I go old-school. I use tailor's tracing paper and the little wheel to draw the pattern onto the paper, then cut it out. Fast and easy. 

The pattern ready to cut out.
 Notice my notes: McCalls, M5353, girl's
dress back, size M, and Milly 2018 (so I can
remember for whom and when I used it)

I also cut out letters for my friend Leta. She had hip-replacement surgery and is recovering well. However, she is not up to par, so I offered to help. So far I have 96 of 135 sets of Phi Mu letters.

I've gathered all of my patterns. Sorted them into boxes. Filed them by number. All of them. I am planning to take pictures of them and put them for sale on one of the Facebook groups for sewists. It's slow going, but I don't really have a deadline.

Lastly, I've been working on these little art quilts. I am exploring the emotions of having bipolar disorder and trying to express that in art. I've decided to work in a series, perhaps five or six, so that I can really flesh out the deeper meanings of my thoughts and feelings. 

I'm working simultaneously on the first three but none of them are complete. I'm quilting these two by hand, but the third one will have both machine quilting and hand quilting. My hands can't keep up with my brain.

Of course, mixed in all this activity, I'm babysitting and visiting my sick peoples. I enjoy visiting with Richard's mom and dad. They really need the company. But just sitting and talking for hours is making me a little stir-crazy, so I've decided to bring some handwork with me. 

Bipolar 1

It's much easier to sit and listen to the problems and confusions of dementia with a little stitching in my hands. Yesterday I didn't even notice the time. Though I did notice that I really made some headway. Before I knew it, Richard was desperate to leave. Maybe he should bring a little stitching. :) 

What kind of busy work are you doing these days?

Milly is loading up! ~~ Finishes!

Today's finishes mean that Milly has gotten three dresses and several pair of shorts in less than a week. It seems that almost every time she shows up for a couple of hours, I get the urge to sew a little dress. 

She's not complaining, though. Well, when she's done with the waiting, she can whine a little but nothing too bad. 



This crazy loud daisy fabric been sitting around for a couple of years. I've cut into it several times to toss a few scraps into some colorful quilt or other, but I keep finding these the big pieces. Even after cutting Mill's dress out, I still have enough to make a pair of shorts. Maybe I'll just chop it to bits and add it to a quilt kit. Let's see what happens then.

Yesterday I got pretty enthusiastic with the cleaning and emptied another box of fabric. There are only two options--on a shelf (where I can see it) or in a box for donating. Occasionally I do put something aside to make shorts or a dress, but even those are rare. I'm determined to get my studio into a clean enough condition that I can find stuff and get work done.

The other thing that I got enthusiastic about was recovering this little binder. It holds my favorite recipes, mostly those written by the person I got it from, and a few recipes that I want to try eventually. (In some cases it's been years, but who's keeping track, right?)

The original binder

Front cover

Inside front cover in pretty stripes

I discovered this little piece of decorator fabric that I really like because of the soft colors, and added two other pieces that were hanging around (and almost match) to use as the inside covers. 

Back cover (same fabric goes from front) edge to back edge

I like the way it turned out. Plus it was fast and easy. I used Mrs. Bertha's suggestions from last Monday's guild meeting. I think I'll write a tutorial and include the tips Mrs. Bertha gave us. Look for that by the end of the week. 

Inside back cover

And here are a few more pics of Milly dancing in her new dress with her favorite toy--a cheap little plastic slinky. Goodness knows where it came from.

Link Ups!

My Quilt Infatuation (NTT)

Busy Hands Quilts (Finished or Not Friday)

Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!)

Name tag and Studio Pics

I made a quick name tag to wear at our monthly guild meetings. I've escaped having to do that for several years because I was rarely able to attend. 

Now that I can attend every month and am president, I need to set a good example. Am I right? Besides there's a $1 fine every time I show up without a name tag. That was also okay but, let's face it, the fines will begin to add up now.

I've joined several sewing/quilting groups on Facebook recently. One of them is all about craft rooms. People share their rooms, spaces, closets, wherever they craft. They also discuss ideas and ask questions. Chatting is nonstop. 

I have been enjoying reading these group discussions and have participated in several. Finally I decided it was time to take a few pictures of the studio and share them. 

Then it occurred to me that I had a rough sketch of the floor-plan from when we last worked on it and found it among the many jpeg files I have saved. It may give you an idea of where things are and how I have set up my little work-space. 

Sewing table

Having cleaned up a bit, I thought I'd share them with you, also. The cleaning is far from complete, but maybe it's not so bad that I need to be embarrassed. My daughters-in-law noticed the difference, so there's some progress, anyway.

Accuquilt Studio cutter

Fabric and notions

Ahh, the mess that I'm working on.

 Areas are now well-defined so that each table, shelf, etc. has its job to do. No more of this playing around and thinking, "Well, I can do this here." Or, "If I put this here, I'll remember to come back to it." And, "Maybe I can do two things in this place." I'm finally resolved to keeping things in the area where they belong. 

Thread storage

Innova long-arm machine

I really like this set up and hope I can maintain it until it becomes a habit. There are, surely, some more things to do: figure out what to do with all that extra fabric, give away some of the books that are hanging out under the long-arm, and arrange those odd things that I'm not sure what to do with. All in time, I suppose. 

Next week I'll tell you how I have solved some of the storage problems that come with having lots of stuff.  

Back to Beta and a fabric sale

Convention theme: Beta on My Mind

I'm pretty far behind blogging about the things I've been up to. For example, I haven't reported back on my trip to Beta Convention. I really had a great time catching up with old friends, getting some "away" time, and helping others. 

Visiting state and national officers lined up for an intro

 My job at convention is to manage backstage: call groups to the back, line people up so they are ready when it's time to go on, and get people out of the way (back to their seats) when they're done.

Just a few thousand teenagers

and they love to support their clubs, even
if it means sitting on the floor

 I'm sorry that the pictures are so bad, but it's actually a good thing. These days we post all the pictures that we want, but I still hold by the adage that children don't have the mental capacity to decide for themselves what is safe. 

BHS students who were in the club I sponsored before retiring

Parents are quick to complain and sue if they think their child has been exploited. Of course, that's a parent's job, so I agree. But because there are always those who take things too far, I don't post clear pictures or names of students under the age of 18. Now that I'm retired, I don't have to be concerned so much but old habits tend to hang-on to a person.

When I returned home from convention, I got busy cleaning the studio again. I'm going through some of the fabric that I know I'll never put in a quilt and am trying to sell it online. I've joined several FB groups, some of which allow people to post ads. To find my ad, just click on this link.

Hopefully I'll sell some of this rather than give it away. I can't toss it, that's for certain. I struggle to toss out even the stuff that I know is not good because of stains, fading, damage, etc. I suppose it's time to say I might be a fabric collector!  :)