January Continues

Thanks to Audrey’s organization of the valentine swap, I have received the name and address of my swap partner. My item is ready to be wrapped and will be in the mail tomorrow. This is so exciting. I feel like a little girl waiting for a present in the mail.

I have nailed down the pattern to be used for the custom diaper bag I am making for a friend to give as a gift. Next a trip to Linderella’s and she can pick the exact fabric she desires from their delightful collection. It will be complementing and contrasting shades of yellow since that’s the color of the nursery décor. More on this to come as it progresses.

We are going to Joann’s today to get the batting to cover the quilt wall. Daughter #1 got a 50% off coupon in the mail so that will certainly help since I need a solid piece to cover a 4’ by 8’ area (plus the edges and overlap in back). The question is – will I make it out of there without buying anything else? (The answer is – no I didn’t. I found the neatest covered box that will fit perfectly in my new shelving unit.)

I think my contemporary quilt art prototype project will also qualify as an entry in the “no strings attached challenge”. According to the instructions, this will meet all the criteria. This may provide just a little more incentive to keep working on this project and not let it slide into the UFO stack. I think I may be stuck in the planning phase. Time to quit planning and DO!!

Actually, I only have four items in the UFO’s. I managed to get a lot cleared up between Thanksgiving and Christmas. (I was actually targeting 100% completion, but I’m happy with just 4 left – it’s kind of like sourdough starter – you have to leave a little in the jar to make more.)

I made the string quilt blocks last night. I could really get hooked on these. I like the fact that you see an end product so quickly. Now to get busy and finish them and get them posted. Stay tuned. I did post my patchwork heart mini-quilt on Etsy this morning. That’s my first new posting of the year. Wow – I need to get busy. It’s already the 19th of January and I have only finished one item??? Well, not exactly, I also finished the valentine swap item so that counts for two. The count for 2010 as of this posting is:

Number of UFO’s – 4 (carry overs)
Number of Projects started – 4
Number of Finished Projects - 2

The Dude is here (finally). He is out of school until Thursday so he will be here until Wednesday evening. Sure makes a difference in the noise level around here. It was beginning to sound like a mausoleum before he got here. He manages to keep both of us on our toes at all times. By the way, I lost the Wii bowling tournament – no surprise there. I don’t think I’ve won one yet. I wonder if they make quilting for the Wii? Maybe I could at least place in that one.

From me to you, lots of hugs and thanks for joining me in my new adventures of learning to be creative and artistic.

Marie

Organization and USP's

I am so excited! We bought the shelving units for my sewing room (home studio) today and agreed where things will be going. I can actually begin work up there tomorrow. I have to do some major closet reorganizing before Big T can put up my shelving units. I have been dreaming about arranging and displaying my fabric collection (and making it much easier to work with). I am eager to get the physical, organizational work finished so I can return to my projects (which are stacking up). I think in addition to UFO’s (unfinished objects) and WIP’s (works in progress) I need a category of USP’s (unstarted projects). Am I the only one who feels this way?

Speaking of which, I just read a blog from a fellow quilter who kept track of every project she completed in 2009. I was so impressed with her tally, but when I started counting my projects (the last 8 months of 2009) I was amazed at what I had accomplished. I think we are all that way. Someone else’s accomplishments always sound bigger or better than our own.

I met a new friend from Bulgaria yesterday, Nevita. Audrey from Audreys Country Crafts highlighted Nevita’s shop over the weekend. Nevita has beautiful hand knit items. Please check out her blog site and her online store to learn more about her. I personally would like to learn more about ‘gobelin tapestry’ – just the name fascinates me.

My books on ‘easy stained glass quilts’ arrived while we were in San Diego. I sat down to peruse them as soon as I opened the package. I’m really not sure that they looked all that easy though – the jury is still out. Two of the three books looked very good; the third one did not grab my interest as much but I will give it another read to be sure.

I am having so much fun learning new and different ways to be creative. One of the projects swimming in the back of my mind is a way to show the ‘financial crash of 2009’ through contemporary quilt art. I visualize this in a black and white strip quilting technique. This one, of course, would be dedicated to Big T. I don’t know how many hours I have put in at night working on that one in my subconscious state. I have it almost finished in my sleep, while I have yet to put rotary to cloth in consciousness.

January is always quiet and a good time for thinking and organizing. I would rather think than organize, but I need to take advantage of the latter. My immediate target is the sewing room (also known as home studio). I will post pictures when it is finished. I will also remove the vacation status from my online store, Hummingbird Treasures, tomorrow and see what improvements (or changes) are needed there. There is now a 'subscription box' in the sidebar which will notify you by e-mail when a new posting is added to this blog. I look forward to seeing all of you there.

From me to you, lots of hugs and thanks for joining me in my new adventures of learning to be creative and artistic.

Marie

Lego Wars, UFO's and WIP's

My embroidery machine is in the well-baby clinic for a complete checkup, annual vaccinations and such. My home studio not only looks empty (well not really, no way could it look empty), but my sewing machine has decided to act up in the absence of her sister. Kind of reminds me of my two girls when they were growing up. This is going to be a long week. My original plan was to use the time for that growing stack of UFO’s and WIP’s.

The problem is that my brain is not in the well-baby clinic and hasn’t stopped. I am still unconsciously creating and I can’t try any of my new projects that keep creeping into consciousness. I have some great ideas for using some very simple Christmas appliqués that I am dying to try. Of course, these ideas didn’t surface until my machine was gone. My idea file is not well organized; my notes and sketches tend to be written just for me on small scraps of paper and are somewhat cryptic to say the least.

The DUDE is staying with us this week while his mom is at a conference, visiting her sister, and playing with the LITTLE MISS. So there are lots of sunshine and spontaneous hugs in my life right now. We have the battle of the century upstairs with StarWars Lego characters all over the family room. If he just didn’t have to get up so early to go to school. . .

I am trying to learn how to play bridge by reading a couple of books a good friend lent me. I must admit that I understand it a tiny bit better on the second time through the books but my brain is in for a real challenge. I must find just the right gift for her when I return her books which are now starting to look very dog-eared at best. She can never accuse me of not reading them. Not everyone goes to bed at night all tucked in with a book about bridge – now I’m really worried about me.

From me to you, lots of hugs and thanks for joining me in my new adventures of learning to be creative and artistic.

Marie