Today, we're getting that "Debby" storm-- it looks like quite a bit of rain, but it's stopping short of Noah's Ark for us, at least. My sister and I got out of Florida just in time. Instead of a bad driving day, I'm now looking forward to an indoor day in Quiltopia!
Unpacking is slowly moving along again-- the sheer volume of unfinished work in incredible though. I bought some things at a wonderful quilt shop in Florida AND at the Maine Quilt Show-- I'll show you them later-- but now I'm kicking myself. One night I just lay awake, having a talk with myself about the sheer volume of craft supplies I possess. Everything here is now fully organized and every inch is getting used-- do you see any spaces there? Problem is, I think there are 30-40 more boxes upstairs.
See some cross outs in my master list of UFOs? No, I didn't go on a finishing spree-- I actually SOLD five Sew Sampler boxes yesterday. (I was also thrilled to realize I listed some twice--LOL.)
I am determined to get this list down by at least half in the next few months, whatever that takes. You know how we all want to fit into our jeans? I am going to fit into that closet, one way or another! The biggest problem with having all this is-- well, you forget just what you have, so there's no using it anymore. But I am surprised how it hurts me to part with things-- you'd think I would feel relieved! Here is one of my sales photos-- these are some of the less popular kits from about 2022, ones that are really hard to sell. I let them go cheap-- just over $15 each. But better than my kids having to get a dumpster when my sewing days are over, right?
Letting go of my newest Sew Sampler box was awful-- but it's going to a new home in the Netherlands, to someone who is beyond excited for it. This box proved popular, so I recouped my entire cost. And I just saved myself HOURS of work that I can now spend on something that's already started.
With all this going on, road trip-- homestead activities, unpacking-- there hasn't been a lot of sewing time in the last couple of weeks, but I do have a couple things that have progressed. In the hand sewing category, I am slowly working towards a conclusion with the Moonbeams cross stitch. (The quilt is still needs a ton of work, but it's high on my list.)
One second to place the order, people-- MONTHS to make! Remember that.
I stitched one of the quilt blocks wrong, so now I'm just making them all wrong the same way! Four wrongs makes a right. Sewing wisdom.
Then, I got my Lori Holt Prairie Meadow Block #12 all prepped for hand stitching to take on my flight to Florida-- that explains why it looks like it was in a suitcase!
I made a mistake on this, because I haven't touched the project in a couple of months. I put the glue drops in the center of each piece, instead of near the edges, so the pieces were completely flopping around. I even lost a couple. If you happen to be passing through Logan Airport in the lounge area between Terminals B and C, could you have a look around the floor for me? A quick press and a few more drops of glue and I'll be on my way.
Did you hear me? I did say BLOCK 12-- so I can now be finished with this quilt if I want. I'm still toying with the idea of adding four more blocks and a full set of borders-- we'll see. It's just another symptom of my problem-- I raise the bar on myself and have worked very hard to create an incredible body of unfinished pieces.
On the longarm: (Too many fun things to do around here-- another issue.)
This was what I made with the Sew Sampler Box from June-- I bought this cute dragonfly template and am just tracing it out and practicing with it. For a while, I regretted spending for this beautiful machine-- no more. It is happening and I'm watching free-motion quilting videos on YouTube with a vengeance. Expect great things.
The Star of Wonder quilt is coming along slowly, but surely. I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the weekend. Then I'm buying my little needle minder from Fat Quarter Shop as a reward- but that's it!
I made a friend who is also doing this sew-a-long. for years I have been reading the "Sister's Choice Quilts" blog-- it is Nicole Reed out in California. I rarely missed a post, but I rarely commented, either. Very stalkerish of me. That being said, I could see we are fabric soulmates-- she was always picking the same fabric collections as me, and I love her pattern choices. More than a few things on my Master List above were inspired by Nicole!
Nicole started the "Let's Pop Some Corn" table runner-- in a rare case, mine is finished first. She was getting frustrated with the instructions, so I finally wrote a more lengthy comment with some encouragement-- I am happy to say, she dragged it across the finish line! She also started the Star of Wonder, but finished in a few days-- lol. But this is the kind of inspiration I need. So definitely add this to your Blog bookmarks-- it's honestly my all-time favorite.
There's also been quite a few distractions on the homestead. Homestead farming is MADE for people who love crafts. I made a goal to can one thing from my garden everyday this week and I am on target! Before August is out, I'm going to do a post devoted to farm life and the joys of the boonies for those of you in your doorman buildings overlooking Central Park. One thing I'm looking forward to is the big Skowhegan Fair-- I always love seeing all the crafts and flowers-- of course. Many of you win ribbons for your San Francisco Stitch Co. projects-- I love seeing them all-- it is ten times better than getting a ribbon myself. xox. So the COUNTY FAIR is the inspiration for this month's Village of the Month.
That's all for now-- the rain is still coming down, and I want PROGRESS, PROGRESS, PROGRESS today! I'm going to slip in a shorter post this weekend with the measurements for finishing the Star of Wonder Cross Stitch Pillow. And that begets the next pillow I will be making-- I so want to make one out of my cross stitch ABCs designs. Did I mention I have an entire bin with beautiful test stitch outs just wanting to blossom into something beautiful?
Your canned goods look wonderful and isn't it GREAT to hear that "ping"??? XOXO Dottie
ReplyDeleteI live for that sound!
DeleteThanks for the shout out Carol! I think you are amazing for clearing out those projects you know in your heart you will never get to, or that you don't feel the love for. It is a great feeling to have a sense that you are getting on top of things. I've been having a blast the past couple of weeks picking up UFOs and getting them knocked out.
ReplyDelete