Let’s Get Organized!

In March of 2010, I decided that if I were going to be serious about the Grandbaby Quilt Project, something needed to be done with my computer/sewing room… then known as “the dumping ground” or “The Black Hole”….  things went in the room never to be seen again.  The walk space was tiny because of the clutter and all sewing supplies were impossible to get to without breaking one’s neck!  I had a beading table that was essentially inaccessible.

I broke up the project into steps because the reorganization would never happen in just one weekend…. not only would it be impossible, it would be overwhelming!   First, I tackled the beading table... where there was way more than just beading stuff...

The beading table became a cutting table.  All my beading stuff went into the new white drawer unit to the left of the table.

 Then, the Bermuda Triangle of a closet…  how embarrassing!

Just removing everything was a chore.  The guest room next door became home to all the stuff until I had a chance to sort things into categories.  (The boxes in the bottom of the closet are from grad school; two of which contain the research part of my thesis.)

 At last, the bottom of the closet was cleared!

A trip to WallyWorld for drawer storage... and then some major sorting... et voila!

What a project that turned out to be… but oh so nice afterward!   And what a difference it made to both the sewing AND finding stuff processes!   

Are you wondering if the reorganization project held up over time?   Check back tomorrow… and I promise NOT to clean up the place before I take photos!

It's all House Dragon's Fault!

...at least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I met HD online I'm not sure how many years ago. The initial connection was via RecipeZaar (now Food.com). The friendship moved from RZ to an online chat board and the rest is history.

In the course of posting over the years, HD shared her quilting adventures. Having sewn almost all my life, I was interested, of course, and then... HD started luring me into quilting by talking about fabric and quilt patterns and visiting fabric shops and posting photos of beautiful quilts and buying quilt fabric and making quilts for grandchildren and buying fabric online and quilt shows and.... I thought: "This might be something fun to do when I retire."

HD continued to spin her web and enticed me with all the lovely fabrics and quilts she posted until one day, I thought... "I have a niece getting ready to graduate from college" and "Wouldn't a throw-size quilt be a nice graduation gift?"

I surfed around the net looking for beginner's quilt patterns and found "Fine-toothed Comb" which was guaranteed to be for "absolute beginners!" With the fabric requirements in hand, I drove to my LQS for the very first time and purchased fabric. A weekend of cutting and sewing followed by another weekend of quilting and binding and I had:

My niece was thrilled and I was hooked.

It's been about 18 months since my first quilt and I've finished an additional eight quilts with another ready for binding and a tenth in the piecing stage. I have at least three UFOs and a fabric stash that is becoming a tad embarrassing. I've found that I can stay out of my LQS to limit fabric purchases but the internet is abounding with quilt fabric. Etsy and Ebay are some of the biggest temptations for me.... how easy is it to search "quilt fabric" and browse... which is fine except when I come across fabric I just have to have!!!

One of my new year's resolutions was to shop my stash and NOT buy any fabric unless I needed something to finish a project. Ha! That resolution lasted all of five days... when I stumbled across Lilac Hill by Brannock & Patek for Moda. The line is so new, it's not listed on the United Notions site altho The Fat Quarter Shop shows the line that is promised for March 2011.

I digress...

But all this quilting activity was not sufficient for HD... oh no! Next, she told me all about the QUILT SHOW in Knoxville TN! I admit my will power was very weak and so... off I went this past summer. It was a good thing I took my rolly-cart that I use for hauling my file box and test kits in and out of schools b/c when I left, I used it to help haul purchases from the quilt show out of the hotel to my car in the parking deck.

One of the nicest things about the quilt show was that I got to meet HD in person for the very first time. We had lunches together, shared finds we came across in various booths, and attended the Eleanor Burns presentation one night... what fun that was!

Since it was late when the presentation ended and I was concerned about the availability of the trolley back to the hotel at that hour, HD volunteered her dear husband to drive me back. As we walked out of the convention center, HD called my attention to the evening sky....

Yup... it's all HD's fault that my wallet is much thinner and my stash is growing by leaps and bounds. It's also due to her that I've started on a wonderful new adventure that nourishes my creative soul.

Thank you, House Dragon!