A Flimsy and Some Task Completions

Texas Tumbleweeds, a Bonnie Hunter pattern I started at a workshop in February, is a flimsy and I can add it to those waiting for their turn for quilting.  I really liked making this pattern and it did help me bust some stash.  It's from Bonnie's book More Adventures With Leaders and Enders.

In August I posted about a broken window.  Wednesday its replacement was finally installed.  It was quite the adventure as the installers broke three replacement panes before successfully setting this one.  We ended up having to brutally chop back a shrub in order to make it easier for the workers to get to the opening.  I’m not sure who was more relieved to see this task completed.  I strongly suspect the glass company lost money on this job.

Our bottle bush has started blooming again.  It likes our milder temperatures these days.

For the better part of two weeks, my mind has been consumed with making health care decisions relative to my birthday next month and the loss of my company sponsored retiree benefits.  To this point my decisions had always been straight forward no-brainers, and this turned into a time of information overload.  Fortunately, I was able to tap into some community resources to help me understand my choices and yesterday I finally closed in on my last decision.  Now I am in wait mode for confirmation from the various companies and agencies involved.  With that chore done, maybe I can resume quilting with a clear conscience and less muddled thoughts.

Chugging Along

I’ve been working fairly diligently on ditch stitching this quilt, but, as a former boss used to say (Bless his heart) you’d have to pound stakes to see progress.  Since the whole point of stitching in the ditch is to be invisible that’s not altogether bad.

In my continuing effort to declutter my life, another load of clothes and accessories made their way to the local consignment shop.  The clothes fit, 40 pounds ago.  Maybe getting rid of them will help me maintain my weight.

I’ve also indulged in going through my collection of scrappy patterns.  Just over a month from now, I will be joining friends for my first away retreat in several years.  I am seeking an easy pattern that I don’t have to think much about, and that I use totally from my stash.  I have several other projects in the works, but most don’t lend themselves to a room full of chatting friends and they also require design walls.  

Summertime, Summertime, Sum Sum Summertime!

Work continues here on the Jill Finley quilt project.  I am using my walking foot to stitch in the ditch and will transition to the HQ 16 for free motion work. 

I’m also continuing my efforts to clean up my quilting space.  This box was full to the brim of assorted scraps.  Some have been folded and shelved while tiny bits of fabric and batting I do not think I could use are now stuffed into the dog bed shown on the right.  It should be full enough to turn in at the Quilt Club's August meeting if I can keep up the pace.

Both our house in town and the ranch reached highs to 101 today and temperatures are expected to continue in that vein through next week.  This happens to be the Lakefest weekend where thousands of high speed motor boat enthusiasts descend on our area.  The street we use to access our neighborhood is the primary “offloading” route for the boat trailers.  As usual, Bob and I have stocked up on provisions and will keep close to home for the duration.  

Making Bags and (still) Cutting

My cutting marathon, which could more aptly be compared to an occasional stroll around the block, continues.  Now, however, I’m working against a deadline.  My cutting table needs to be cleared and stowed by Monday when we are expecting people to come by the house. 

During the process I’ve started cutting and making these cute little gift bags loosely based on a free tutorial at Rachel Griffith's site.   I have a dozen of these in various stages of completion and will donate them to the Quilt Club’s boutique for the show in February.  They are a great way to use up smallish cuts of fabric and remnants of batting, and they make great hostess gifts. 

…and in an effort to keep both of us comfortable while sitting on our patio this summer, hubby has purchased a second swamp cooler so I can have a cool breeze too.  Life is good.

Plugging Along

I'm still doggedly working at taming piles like this, 

...into piles like this.  It's a slow process involving ironing and lots of starch, but it's gradually getting done.  

My pieced hexagon quilt is still on the design wall and every time I look in that direction I end up moving something around.  

Not pictured are two more hand pieced blocks that came out of the workshop led by Ami Simms.  Once those are complete, I'll start making more red hexagons to border it.

This is the time of year the turtles in our area start moving cross country from one pond to another.  This guy (or gal) decided to retreat into its shell as soon as the dogs and I approached.  It's about average size.

A Near Finish and a New Project of Sorts

My French General Quilt is nearing completion.  The binding is attached and it is ready for the handwork.  This picture was taken during the quilting process.  An online friend recommended using manila folders as a template, and I gave it a try.  It is the low-cost alternative to a curvy ruler and worked great.

Meanwhile, I’m launching into a new project.  Not a new quilt, but a clean-out of my sewing closet that has gotten so bad, I can’t even bring myself to post “before” photos.  Some scraps will be trimmed to 1 ½, 2, 2 ½ and 3 ½ inch strips as recommended by Gyleen Fitzgerald, Bonnie Hunter, and several other quilters I respect. 

Other trimmings I deem too small to be usable will be stuffed into this doggie bed.  Sadly, as I was shoving some more in, I was poked by a pin.  I never did find it, so one of tomorrow’s tasks will be to empty everything out and remove it.  I tried to be careful, but obviously missed one.  Since I need to deliver the bed to Quilt Club Wednesday, I have a deadline.

Some items will be donated to the Quilt Club’s Bits ‘N Pieces booth.  We have a show coming up in February, so I can start delivering things every month and get them out of my limited storage space.  It's hard work, but actually rather fun.

I will be having a milestone birthday November 28, and have promised myself that if I succeed in culling out and organizing my sewing space (and maintaining it); I will treat myself to something especially nice in November.  I haven't decided what that might be, so we’ll see how that incentive works.  At least I have a start, and I see lots of scrap quilts in my future.

Monthly Anti-Ouch Pouch Batch Finished

I finished this month’s supply of 11 anti-ouch pouches last night, so now I feel free to play with other projects.

As a follow-up to my last post, I went by the church’s garage sale fairly early yesterday.  Aunt Mary’s antique chair, the Longhorn golf bag with lady’s clubs, desk lamp, one of two handbags, and several of the home decor items I donated had already found new homes.   I left without buying anything and I managed to get my 10,000 steps in for the day.  So I’m patting myself on the back. I’ll take my victories where they happen.  (...now if there had been a vintage Singer sewing machine in pristine condition for $25, it would have been a whole different story...)

This and That

It wasn’t my intention to take a blog vacation over the last several days, but my mind and heart moved me in that direction anyway.  I firmly believe that these down times are both a healthy and necessary part of the process for me. 

My quilting productivity also slowed, but it didn't stop.  I’ve begun work on this month’s anti ouch pouches for the quilt club. 

Machine work for attaching binding to my twirly ball project is done and it is ready for handwork.  I will be working on one of these two projects tonight during Bonnie Hunter’s Quilt-Cam session.  I had to miss this week’s Tuesday sewing with friends’ day, so I’m very ready for some sewing time tonight.

I’ve also been engaged in a personal struggle.  I don’t qualify as a hoarder, but I do find it difficult to let go of things, especially those with sentimental ties.  I can remember my grandmother, a survivor of the Great Depression, firmly saying she never threw anything away.  She also lived on 300 acres with a barn and several storage sheds, so her home was never cluttered or over crowded.  Even so, I remember my mother and aunt struggling to deal with all the stuff left in her estate.

Last year I embarked on a “get my life in order” effort and made considerable progress much to my satisfaction.  This year I decided to make "enough" my word of the year as I continue addressing the excess in my life.  Whenever I feel my resolve waning, I like to go back and look at posts on the Becoming Minimalist site.  I’ll never be a minimalist, but I respect the underlying philosophy.

The fact that I have lost 30 pounds since October has certainly made it easier to clean out my closet.  Last year's waterline break and subsequent rebuild at the ranch, also forced some decisions.  Most of my “get rid of it” efforts have been donated to local thrift stores.  Our neighborhood does not allow garage sales, but my church’s mission committee has them twice a year.  

This was a car load I delivered to the church this morning: a chair that belonged to a favorite aunt (that’s the really hard kind of thing to part with), a bag of lady’s golf clubs (I just never caught the bug), and another empty golf bag that hubby does not want to keep.  Other items include an old desk lamp and handbags that have gone unused several seasons plus some decorative items that have been gathering dust.  Quilting/sewing related items I no longer want will be donated to the quilt club’s bits and pieces booth at next February’s quilt show.  

It was painful for me to learn that my daughter’s life situation and personal tastes are such that she has no interest in most of what I have.  It took me a while to realize that this is a generational difference that has nothing to do with how much she cares about me.  It also freed me from the responsibility of preserving things for her later use.  For that matter, I think her generation is on to something.  “Things” will certainly take over your life if you let them.  It's so much better to donate or sell them so someone else can enjoy them.  So the battle with the pack rat side of my personality continues; it will always be a part of me.  At least I’m making progress.