Saturday, Jan 18, 2025

 Today my son would have been 56 years old.  We lost him to brain cancer almost 14 years ago -- I miss him every day.  Happy Birthday, Steve.

I spent the day cleaning out my office -- I had done the office closet a week or so ago, but I definitely needed to finish the room!

Here's a couple before pics:

And the afters:

 

It was a job that needed doing awhile ago, so I am glad it is finally done.  I have discovered I have a "thing" for notebooks and small pads of papers - so now I need to start using what I kept or give them away!

Until next time....blessings.

Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025

 I managed to trim and bind quilt #4 for the homeless today:

 And, I managed to trim and iron the next quilt for the homeless.  It is now ready to be quilted:

 I've been piecing this one for a couple of months!  I take it to my sewing days at my favorite quilt store and finally managed to finish it on Saturday.  Yesterday I started another one that I will work on at my sewing days there.  At home I'm still working on prepping more quilts and using up stash and scraps - I really want to make a lot of homeless quilts this year to be given away in October.

I also have some hand applique to catch up on!  Seems like there's not enough time in the day or days in the year!

Until next time....blessings.

Wednesday, Jan 8, 2025

 Today was cranking Wednesday!  So, I cranked a pair of socks:

And then I played with the ribber for awhile and cranked half a sock with the ribber on the machine.

I finished book number 3 for the month/year last night.  Probably start another book tonight.

Until next time...blessings.

Tuesday, Jan 7, 2025

 
The fourth homeless quilt is now quilted:

 This was the mystery quilt during our guild retreat in November.  I put the borders on after I got home, because I was too lazy to do them separately!  Three borders was enough!

Still needs trimming and binding - to be done another day.

Until next time....blessings.

 I've managed to pull some more fabrics from stash to put together for making half square triangles:

I found rolls of triangle papers when cleaning out in the studio, so now I'm prepping them to make a homeless quilt eventually.  Pulling the stack of red fabrics from the stash cabinet is a first!  I've mostly just been using scraps, so it feels good to finally pull a small amount from stash!

I finished my second book for January the other night and have started on my third.  And I'm spending an hour every evening cross stitching -- just the border around the picture so far -- it is slow going!

And I'm still shredding papers in the office - feels like a never ending job!

Until next time....blessings.

Still working

 I finished another quilt today - another homeless quilt, so I now have 3 finished this year:

I also finished the first book of this year last evening.  My friend gave me a tote bag full of Richard Paul Evans books last month.  The one I finished last night was the 4th one I've read so far.  They are quick reads and I do plan on reading them all.  I also have a book on my kindle that is almost finished - hopefully I'll finish it tonight.

 

I've  also started cross stitching again, so I hope to spend at least an hour cross stitching in the evenings before I spend an hour or more reading!  That's the plan anyway!

 

And I've been shredding papers in the office every time I come in here -- hoping to finish the job by the end of the month - including cleaning out the year end files.

 

Until next time...blessings.

 

More progress

I finished cleaning out the office closet this morning:

 Found a bankers box full of papers that needed shredded (from a few years ago even), so I started shredding them.

This will be an ongoing project til it is completely empty.  I think I need to empty the shredder already!

Also found a bunch of empty binders (apparently I can't remember where I put things, so I buy more and put them with the ones I was looking for to begin with!  So, starting another box to go to the thrift shops - I just emptied the back of the car yesterday!

And finally, I quilted another homeless quilt this afternoon:

 

Still need to trim and bind, but that will wait til tomorrow.  I have a couple of books to finish reading, and more to start!

Until next time...blessings.

Cleaning Out

 I gave myself 30 minutes today to start the cleanout of the office closet.

Here's the before picture:

Seriously, it was so bad I couldn't walk into it or find anything.

Still can't walk in there, but the left side is cleaned out (I threw out a lot of stuff like cords to who knows what phone/computer/whatever).

Left side after (not including the floor under the shelves!

And now I'm off to wind yarn onto cones so I can crank some socks this afternoon.

Til next time....blessings.

Happy New Year!

 Change of plans today. Instead of loading and quilting another homeless quilt, I put away the little amount of Christmas stuff I had put out - which was mostly my tiny angels collection on the mantel.

I also put different quilts up for the seasons, but most of them are winter themed this year, so I left them up!

I like the change back to everyday things after Christmas:

The rest of the day will be spent tidying up in the office and gathering trash to be put to the curb tomorrow evening.  I already loaded the back of the car with a load of stuff to donate.  I'll start another box next week as I start doing my yearly cleanout.   

I do believe less is more, so I don't know why I have so much stuff to give away every year.  Hopefully this next year will see an end to the accumulation and the beginning of paring everything down to only what I need and use (including fabric and yarn!)

Until next time....blessings.

Monday, Dec. 30

Steadily working at prepping for homeless quilts, after chores and running errands of course:

 These are 3" hst papers that I have pinned to a light and dark/medium fabric.  Eventually I'll stitch these up (I still have to find more lights to add to the dark scraps) and then I'll decide what to do with all those 3" half square triangles!  I've been cutting some leftover scraps into 3-1/2" squares in case I need them for fillers!

Tomorrow I have a haircut in the morning, but hope to load a quilt on the machine and get it started while I cut more lights and hopefully use up the rest of the triangles on a roll - I've made quite a dent in the roll already, so it won't take much to finish it off.  

Then I have 2-1/2" triangles to play with!

Until next time...blessings. 

Making Progress

 Today I managed to finish cleaning out and emptying the bin of scraps.  I pressed them all and then started cutting.  I now have piles of 2" strips. 5" squares, a stack of fabrics to run thru the Go Big cutter for pinwheels, and a stack of fabrics to make 3" hst's and 2-1/2" hst's. 

I put the squares in the bin with the other 5" squares I have cut, the 2-1/2" strips into that bin, and I put the triangle papers that I found while cleaning out stuff a couple of weeks ago with the stacks of fabric cut for that purpose all back into the big bin -- but now it is all sorted and stacked so I can just pick up a stack and start sewing.  Then I pulled out the Go Big cutter and fed fabric thru for the rest of the afternoon!

And I have most of the pinwheel fabrics cut except I might need a few more lights that I will pull from stash.  Then I'll clip each block together so I can just pick up a set of fabrics as I go and stitch them together.

All in all it was a busy, but productive day and I'm tired!

Until next time...blessings.
 

Day after Christmas!

 Pictures of my family on Christmas day.  We celebrated at my step-son's house.  He made a fabulous brunch spread!

And then there is today!  I had some chores to attend to this morning, so I got a late start in the studio, but I managed to trim and bind the homeless quilt I quilted the other day.  That makes two done for next year:

Then I spent more time pressing scraps from the big bin.  Some of these scraps were given to me and I am surprised to find some yardage pieces - some are 2 and 3 yards.  So now I have to sort yardage and set it aside for something else.  Like I needed more large pieces of fabric --NOT!

Until next time.....blessings.

Christmas Eve

 Besides a few chores today, I had nothing on my schedule so I went to the studio. I had big plans, but of course I always overestimate what I can get done in a day.  But I managed to make and put the borders on the mystery quilt I started at my guild's retreat in November:

It needs to be pressed, but I also pieced and labeled the backing and made the binding for it - so another homeless quilt is ready for quilting.  I still need to trim and bind the one I quilted yesterday (sigh).

I was running out of steam, but I did pull some of the scrap fabrics and pressed them ready to be cut.

Until next time....blessings and Merry Christmas!

New Year Plans

 Yes, Christmas is still two days away, but I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish next year.   I make quilts for the homeless during the year and give them away in October every year.  A friend makes a couple and I quilt them and add them to the pile.  I think this year we donated 15 quilts.  

Today I quilted one on the longarm, although I still need to trim and bind it, so it is not finished.  But while I was working on piecing another, I was thinking about what I want to do next year.  My goal in the next 4 years is to use up my stash of fabrics!  With that in mind, I pulled a bin of scraps from under my big table and decided I would start with them:

I have two of these bins filled with scraps so I want to use them up before I start working on the fabric stash (although I will be using fabric stash to finish blocks I'm sure.)  I also have a Go! Big! fabric cutting system and I pulled the pinwheel templates to start with.  It makes an 8" finished block  - so two colors and 4 wheels.  I usually make the quilts about 60"x 80", so it will take quite a lot of fabric.  The plan is to get the entire quilt cut on the Go Big in the next couple of weeks while using up as much fabric as I can.  I am not adverse to buying coordinating fabric, but I make scrappy quilts, so hopefully can use up a lot of lights to go with the mostly medium/dark scraps.

I already have a quilt cut out of tumbler blocks - all clipped together so I only have to start stitching.  My friends and I get together at our favorite quilt store 5 or 6 times a month, so I will be doing the piecing there usually.

I also have a couple of bins of 2-1/2" strips I want to use up this year.  I've made plenty of 16 patch blocks with sashing for homeless quilts too, so I use my 2-1/2" strips and squares and add to the bins with leftover fabrics from other quilts.  But mostly 2025 will be homeless quilts only - I don't need anymore large quilts!

I'm not going to set a number that I want to finish for the year, but I just want to keep moving forward!

Until next time....blessings.

Merry Christmas!

                                 Blessings

Wednesday

 I worked in the studio for more than 5 hours today.  I placed all the blocks for the next tumbler quilt on the design wall and then took them down and clipped each row together for the next time I start piecing on the machine again.  These are the blocks I have leftover - at least enough for probably 3 more quilts:

Then I prepped a couple of applique blocks -- which is what I usually work on at Sunshine Stitches.  And finally I pulled out the Quiltworx quilt I started a year or two ago and prepped the applique for it.  This is the second section of the quilt called Valley Blossoms.  I forgot to take a picture, but hope to get a bit farther on that part tomorrow and will take a picture then.

Until next time....blessings and prayers for those dealing with Helene and now Milton and the tornadoes that are also accompanying the hurricane.

The rest of Saturday

 After working in the sewing studio yesterday, I came upstairs and decided to finish two pairs of socks that I had cranked on the machine at least 3 weeks ago, if not more than a month.  The toes needed to be grafted  (or Kitchenered).  I managed to finish both pairs:

And that was the extent of my work yesterday!

Today is a day of rest!

Until next time ...blessings.

Saturday

 Today I managed to piece the backing and label it for the tumbler quilt and made the binding,  I folded them together and will load them on the longarm at a later date.  

I started another tumbler using black alternate blocks which I like better:

The black sets off the other colors better I think.  Either way, I'm using up fabric stash!

I have another addiction:  yarn - specifically sock yarn and I received two skeins in the mail yesterday, so I put them on cones this morning.  I need to get cranking!

Until next time...blessings.

Working my way thru

 Today I managed to finish piecing the first top of record of using up stash!

I pulled the tumblers and managed to get the top done today and will piece the backing tomorrow:

All told I think about 4 yards of fabric covers the top.  The backing takes four yards and there's usually enough to bind it too.  

We donated 12 quilts to the homeless on Tuesday, so this is the first for next year - and I hope to do more than 12 this year.

I also cut about two yards of black fabric to start another tumbler top - so that's another two yards out of the stash.

Until next time...blessings.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

 Today I officially started my Operation Cleanout!  I loaded a dozen quilts into my car to be delivered tomorrow to Carpenter's Place for the homeless.

Then I pulled out a bag of tumblers that I've had stashed for at least a year and started a new homeless quilt:

I try to make them about 60" x 80".  This is just what I had pulled from the bag.  I had to iron the rest:

Doesn't look like much, but there is at least 2 quilts in there and maybe more.  I also cut some black fabrics to add to the pile.  

Tomorrow we're delivering the quilts, so Wednesday I'll be spending more time in the studio working on using up stash!

Until next time...blessings.