POOF!

Two weeks are gone-- so much has happened and at the same time so little! Know the feeling?

If you guessed I am busy working on uploading sets to the new website, you'd be right for most of that time. My organization system is at best, disorganized... yes, my actual sets are all in one place, but they now have to be matched up with their photography and text. I have gotten to be a real Sherlock with finding lost things on the computer-- but that is only half the battle...

...the other half is a frequent problem of mine lately--NOSTALGIA-- and in those folders are pictures of yesteryear that immediately send me into a state of bittersweet. You see the problem... cats and kids alike loved to interrupt my product photo shoots and they still haunt my file structure. From 2006... 

Not much sewing happened last week which was why I had nothing to post... I have a bunch of projects that are 95%-- that last 5% of a project is 200% of the effort for me! I'm calling the pieces "residual sewing" and I have a list. I like making lists, I just don't like following them; nonetheless, it is gratifying to find the list in weeks forward and see that a couple of things got done.  This week, out of mental health concerns, I allowed myself some stitchin' time.

I have been getting up at 6:30am and starting right in to organizing ten years of mystery stitch projects, so morning hand stitching is pretty much out the window.  This may be an avoidance tactic for me-- I really have to force myself the work on the linen project now-- the counting is totally insane on these fancy stitches. At first, I thought lighting was the problem, but now I realize that even stitching outside at high noon on a clear day on the spring solstice at the equator would be of no help. I'm torn between putting this away again and soldiering on. We'll see what happens! 

This week, I did catch up my Corey Yoder Christmas BOM... only to find out that May's shipment will be late. I don't understand this-- I would have thought all that fabric was already in stock? There's enough extra from months 1-9 that I'm sure I could get it done if I applied myself.  

Block Eight...

Block Nine...

You can see there is a note pinned on the quilt...

And if I could write one back to "my past self," I'd sure like her to know I AM DOING JUST FINE, THANK YOU, and no, I think I will leave that patch the way it is. The nerve!

This was a finish this week-- from the January Sew Sampler box I made a table runner and two pillows. (Note that in this case only, I refer to a finish that is 100% finished, and not 99.9% of the way there.) There's still enough fabric left for one more pillow-- I hope with all my powers of being I don't succumb to that urge. Those pillows are wicked hard as can be-- next time I will lie down and put my head on them in the store... so for looks only, I'm afraid... two softer pillow forms are not in the budget.

This is my grandmother's tray... so perfect!

No progress on the pears, and no May table runner! I'm learning to be kinder to myself... what a month it was. I had a peculiar dream that my friend on Pear Street moved (the set is a gift for her) and I can only hope that is prophetic, because these items are going to have a serious problem when I try to wrap and remove them from the office on Pond Street.

Now that the website is totally redone, it inspired me to work on other areas of my life-- my sewing room for one! I always say I'm going to take before and after pictures-- but the "before" right now is beyond shameful! I sorted through my precuts, and this time was able to part with quite a few. There is a group on Facebook called Sew Sampler Swap-- mostly it is to sell and trade your unwanted Sew Sampler box items, but they do have one post each month that is for any fabric. Everything I had got snapped right up, and after shipping, I calculated I'm getting back 75 cents on the dollar. While I'm in that page, the struggle to not pick a few things up is REAL! 

(This is a picture of the AFTER-- in case you wondered.)

One of the joys of sorting-- look what I found! Twenty-four extra log cabin blocks from a QOV my friends and I made a couple of years ago-- someone BADLY miscalculated how many we would need--NOT ME! heehee! 

There are a couple of July birthdays in my family, so I'm hoping to whip up a little throw (could that count as the May tablerunner of the month?). My son recently got chickens-- he's very patriotic, born on the 5th of July, and I'm dreaming of a red, white, and blue chicken quilt that says THESE COLORS DON'T RUN. It seems quite humorous to me, but some people don't get it? Maybe the chickens are more courageous in other parts of the country, so it doesn't seem funny to them. That quilt is a long way off by any stretch, I'm afraid!

In just looking at the square footage of "design floor" used in this establishment, it appears I may have badly underestimated the home office deduction for taxes!

Great news-- "WE" are almost done with the new website! It is my pleasure to say "WE"-- because after I gather photos, text, and zip files, my "Georgia Peach" as I now refer to her, is uploading, tagging, and documenting. Did you ever find a person who is willing to take on YOUR problem and put a shoulder to the wheel? I didn't-- SHE found ME! These are the instances in life that prove to me there is a loving God above... I am beyond grateful. You don't know how close I was to calling it a day and finding employment at Joanne fabric. Now, thanks to the fabulous "R," we are looking at a new summer stitch-a-long, a Stitches of the Sea finishing kit, more cross stitch, more birds, and some new ideas with the artist-in-residence, too. HURRAY! A debt that will never be able to be repaid.

Finally, here's a sneak peek of coming attractions for those of you hang on every word and who read to the end...  like aliens, unicorns, and rainbows with pots of gold, I believe in you.

xox

Carol