This is who I am

Rethinking my focus after January

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Terri | Comments Off

For some reason I am unable to upload photos to today’s blog post.

When I posted on December 30, I listed what I wanted to focus on for 2018. Now that we are one month in to 2018, I have noticed that my focus needs to change a bit in order to meet my goals, and work on some of my WIPs from years past.

For stitching, I stated I wanted to work on 12 projects that included 7 current WIPs and 5 new starts (2 large and 3 small).

I started Oscar’s Corsage on January 1 and stitched exclusively on it for 4 days. I ran out of fiber! A trip to Vegas was coming (where I purchased the design and fiber January 2017) so I put it aside to see what I could find during 2018’s trip. Success! While the fiber has a different dye lot number, I doubt I will be able to tell where the new fiber is stitched, once I get back to the project.

Since I knew I was starting a new design on January 12, I switched over to a WIP, Death by Cross Stitch, and stitched on it for 6 days. I am still loving the fiber/fabric combination. I had intended to stitch it strictly from my tablet, but for some reason started out on paper. I am now trying to decide if I want to switch over to my tablet for the chart.

I drove to Vegas on January 11 and was too tired after dinner that evening to stitch. This would be the ONLY day during January that I did not stitch!

Friday, January 12, I went to Stitcher’s Paradise and purchased the fiber I needed for Oscar’s Corsage (and grabbed another – of the same dye lot – for Forest Flower), the overdyeds and DMC I did not have in my stash for Let Freedom Ring, Glendon Place’s Tiramisu (that I cannot find, but have the fiber kit for), Kathy Barrick’s Repeat the Sounding Joy, and a NPI to replace the one I swiped from another project to finish Book of Spells. That evening I started Let Freedom Ring and 20 days later I had to make myself put it away to start my planned February 1 start! I love this design so much!

Yesterday I started Chatelaine’s Desert Mandala after spending 2+ hours futzing around with my table because I could not get the highlight function to work on my ezPDF Reader Pro app. I have had this design in my stash for 3+ years and almost struck it from my 2018 list because I was so aggravated with the app. LOL

This puts me at 10 current WIPs, 1 planned small new start (Adam & Eve), and 1 empty slot on my list of 12. I am thinking of starting Adam & Eve on March 1.

My sewing machine time has had the most mental focus. I am happy to say that I have sat at it several times and actually sewn! I started a new tablerunner that I am working on at sew-togethers (right now we are meeting every Tuesday), I sewed the binding on to the 4-Patch Charm quilt (still needs to be turned and stitched down on the other side); and completed a community service quilt flimsy for my guild chapter.

As to my other goals – Even though I am not starting it yet, I have decided to switch Swoon for Bonnie Hunter’s latest mystery On Ringo Lake. The color scheme I was looking at for Swoon will be perfect for ORL.

I have also decided to replace Celtic Solstice with En Provence. This will fit better with my long-term plans of making quilts for all of my mother’s grandchildren. If I remember correctly I have all the pieces done to make the blocks and sashing, I just need to piece them, and I’ll need to piece the neutral border. Celtic Sostice will be for another grandchild, but I am trying to give them in the order the kids were born 😉 and it is more suitable to a boy.

I decided to not participate in the Scrap Attack. I also am not worrying about making any monthly quilt-related posts. If they happen, they happen. I am working in my room every day for about 20 minutes before I sew. I want to sew every day but there are other fun things that are getting in the way, like going to the movies with Mister. If I do not sew in the morning, I do not sew that day and being “desert dwellers” we tend to do things outside the house in the mornings.

I also visited Quiltique while in Vegas and brought home a few more black/white, white/black FQs, and some brights to go into a future quilt that I have been gathering fabric for a couple of years; 3 quarter-yard pieces of fabric to make qsnap grime guards; a deeply discounted charm pack of Laundry Basket Southern Exposure and a cupcake recipe FPP pack (which I have already started into a tablerunner); and, a cute pattern to make FPP zip bags with scissors, spools, and buttons on them.

Except for the aforementioned zip bag pattern, everything I bought in Vegas was on a list, and it all stayed within my budget. I’m super pleased by that. I went to JoAnn’s the other day and walked out with 2 DMC skeins needed for Let Freedom Ring. I told the cashier that was the cheapest trip I had ever made. I am having no problems so far keeping to my needle-related spending goals, and am confident February will be a success.

Tomorrow I will may be doing my first flosstube. I am joining up with my BFF, who does them frequently.

Comments Off on Rethinking my focus after January

Posted in Blogging, Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt, Desert Mandala, En Provence Mystery Quilt, Goals, Let Freedom Ring, Quilting, Stitching

2017 Year of WIPs Challenge results

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Terri | 1 comment

I think I did rather well in my challenge. Below are the finishes I had, and the last photo is my slow-growing family room Sampler Wall.

1 Comment

Posted in Finishes, Gratitude, Hannah Beeby, Mary Wigham, Stitching, Year of WIPs Challenge

Recap of 2017 and general thoughts on 2018

Posted on December 30, 2017 by Terri | 6 comments

2017 was to be the year of Progress. I had some specific plans, that did not all pan out, but I did make progress in some areas and I am happy about that. Here is how it went:

Attend my Girlfriend Reunion in Vegas – Yep.

Maintain my daily routine to the best of my ability. – I would rate myself at 75% on this. There were many days where I was fighting depression and did well to get myself showered, dressed, and food on the table. I know what is going on and I deal with it. Of course that means I have catch up to do and keeping everything in a planner, or written out, helps with the catch up.

Stay the course on my Year of WIPs Challenge – I am very happy with how much progress I made. If I remember correctly we were to finish half of our WIPs. I did that and will be posting a separate progress post.

Set up my Scrappy Planner (by Lori Holt) – I tried. Really I did, however, this planner was not user friendly for me. I have seen, on other blogs and Instagram, a lot of people using it and having success with it. It was not broad enough for my needs. I will be using bits and pieces of it again in 2018, but not as a planner. I have found something else for 2018 that I think is perfect for me and my needs. I do have plans to make a couple of the quilts provided in the planner.

Finish all the way to binding En Provence, Midnight Flight, Swoon, Kristen’s Quilt, and Kristen’s Baby Quilt. – didn’t happen. The baby quilt will be finished soon, as it just needs binding. Kristen’s quilt … just wasn’t feeling it. It is almost finished but I have decided to “cut” it in half and make 2 charity quilts from what I have finished. En Provence, Midnight Flight, and Swoon will have to wait.

Attend my quilt chapter Spring Quilt Camp – I did not attend a single camp in 2017. 2 years not I have not been to camp. I miss the camaraderie, and the tons of uninterrupted sewing time, but I have plans for the sewing time in 2018.

Attend more quilt chapter meetings. I was re-elected for the 2nd year. I did not attend as many meetings as I wanted, and my plans for October and November were interrupted by a trip home to help my mother after she had 2 surgeries in 4 days. There is no meeting in December.

Attend my annual June cross-stitch get together – long and short story, but I did not attend this year. Sad face.

Post one quilt-related goal a month on my blog – I started out well, then lost my sewing bug in March. I intend to pick this back up in 2018.

Flosstube – I made 2. The first was a picture video only, and the second one a quick hello video.

Continue to try one new recipe a month – I tried many new recipes in 2017, so I am going to count this as a win.

So what is in store for 2018?

I want to continue to focus on the past few years’ goals for “keep happy thoughts,” “stop saying – start doing,” and “progress.”

While I am retired, I do better with a routine. I actually block out time during the day for things that need to be done. When I worked I checked my calendar every day before I left to see what I needed to do the next day. Every Monday morning I reviewed the next 4 weeks to make sure new deadlines had been added, already calendared projects were being worked on/met, etc.

So I will review my planner each night before bed to see what tomorrow brings. My ADD turns me into a squirrel! that flits from one thing to the next if I do not have a written plan.
Sunday I will check forward up to 2 weeks to make sure I have appointments away from the house noted so I can better maintain menus and schedule my daily routines to give me guilt-free time for stitching, sewing, and reading.

Personal Year of stitching and sewing WIPs Challenge – I am not officially participating in the 2018 Year of WIPs Challenge on FB, but I have set up a personal challenge since 2017 was as successful as it was. I have already written down what I want to work on and listed it in the upper left hand column. I plan on including WIPs and some new starts for my stitching and quilting.

Stitching

12 projects. 7 current WIPs and 5 new starts (2 large and 3 small).
I do better when I am surrounded by calm so I will be destashing a lot of my cross stitching patterns.

Sewing

10 projects. 7 WIPs and 3 new starts. At this moment, I am waffling on starting Swoon to be replaced by a different design. Just trying to make up my mind.
Post one quilt-related goal a month on my blog. I am participating in One Monthly Goal in 2018. I wish there were something similar in the stitching world.
Scrap Attack. I am participating in Confessions of a Fabric Addict’s 2018 Scrap Attack Challenge. Details can be found on her blog post.

Flosstube – goal is 4 in 2018. Will try for once a month.

Good luck to me!

6 Comments

Posted in Goals

Still working on organizing my life

Posted on December 26, 2017 by Terri | 1 comment

Another Christmas is history. It was extremely low key for us yesterday. Harley had a rough Christmas Eve so I got very little sleep. I crawled out of bed at 8 and by the time I had enough coffee in me to be awake it was almost 10. Mister was in a little better shape since he crawled out of bed at 5, started a pot of coffee, then he and Harley crashed in the living room until I got out of bed. Some time in there we took turns sitting with her while the other showered, exchanged our gifts, finished that pot of coffee, and then I started cooking. My brain was muddled enough that I didn’t do a good job of time management and it was 4 before we ate. It was good though, and this morning’s leftover cornbread dressing was perfect. This is the first time I have ever cooked an organic bird, and it was so tasty, and moist!

Last post I talked about what I am doing for my stitching. I finished “cleaning out” those buckets and now I just need to put things away.

Here is my mess, and the last bucket before I cleared it out. The last one was mostly kitted items and WIPs.

I have pulled out a few new starts for 2018, but I still have not quite decided how I am going to “handle” next year’s stitching. Oscar’s Corsage will be my Jan 1 new start. I need to go through my stash for fabric for Let Freedom Ring since it will be coming to Vegas with me.

I have started my final post for the 2017 Year of WIPs Challenge and will have somewhat of a plan by the time I post it.

Today I am dealing with my quilting. Ugh! I have only done a paper sort for now to include the dates (if I know/can find them). I know there are some things missing off my list, and they will be added as I touch them.

I have more than 30 with so many of them going back to 2013. That freaks me out, and I need to spend 2018 getting a handle on them. There are large, medium, and small pieces, and those all have various degrees of difficulty. Several of them just need a small amount of work to get them to completion and as I touch them, I am going to prioritize them. The list at the top (there are 2 pages) gives me the opportunity to mark what stage I am at and I plan on doing a few everyday for however long it takes me to get them all sorted.

I have updated my list in the upper left column to reflect what I need to start with, and will adjust as I go along. Until I get everything sorted, I am going to leave the RÅSKOG cart alone, except to make a list of what all is in there. They have just been tossed in and I really need to know what there is. Frightening prospect though.

My main hurdle is there are so many quilters out there doing some fun things that I want to join!

Now to come up with a time management plan so I can do all the things!

Looking forward to tomorrow since I will be sending time with my BFF.

1 Comment

Posted in Goals, Quilt WIPs, Quilting, Sewing, Stitching, WIP Busting

It’s that most wonderful time of the year…

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Terri | 2 comments

where I make a post saying I am going to be a better blogger. Haha!

I decided this morning to just sit down and do a brain dump here, so if anyone is reading be prepared for a jumble of thoughts.

The sewing blahs I posted about in my last post (March!!) never went away. I do not think I even touched Mister’s quilt after that post. The sewing blahs also took over my stitching and I had a 4+ month hiatus from that too. I picked it back up in November and have had a couple of finishes. I had a bit of a freak-out moment a couple of days ago when I realized that December is here, 2017 was a bust on so many levels, and I need to get some things done!

I have been going through my stitching and pulling things out that were just tossed willynilly in a bucket (or two) over the past year or so. I was actually looking for a chart and a couple of kitted items that I want to work on in 2018 so I could start making my plans. I did start a tab at the top and have added things as I sorted.

I have 2 oval galvanized beverage-type buckets in my room. One for quilty things and one for stitchy things. I should add something somewhere to keep reminding me that I need to put things away instead of tossing them on my cutting table or in a bucket.

While I will not officially be participating in the 2018 Year of WIPs Challenge, I am going to continue the way I set up for 2017. I am super happy with the progress I made while I was actively stitching, so I am going with the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude for 2018. I had 5 finishes in 2017 from that list (which I need to update). The big stitchy news is that I finished And They Sinned and it is framed and hanging on my bedroom wall.

Right now my guest room bed is almost covered with various stacks. I recently told a friend I would not have anywhere to put her when she asked if she could stay a couple of nights (we are traveling out of state together next month). I know that if I pack it away it will just languish again for whoever knows how long and I am tired of shuffling so much of it around. I am taking a serious look at my stitching stash, so I will be posting things on here and eBay in 2018.

There is still my quilting to sort out. In the back of my mind I have been thinking of just starting at the top of my RÅSKOG cart and randomly picking one thing to complete, then a WIP, then another item on the 2nd shelf, then a WIP, and so on in a bit of a quilting rotation of sort. I have so many little kitted things I have picked up at shows, shop clubs, etc., that I want done, I just need to make a plan and get it done. Some are mini quilts, some are little zipper bags, and other smalls. Right now the only quilt items I have listed in the 2018 tab are large items and WIPs. I probably will not add any of the small items to the current list.

I also have several stitching things that need attention at a sewing machine, so there’s a little crossover there.

2 Comments

Posted in And They Sinned, Blogging, Goals, Quilting, Sewing, Stitching

I have the sewing blahs

Posted on March 4, 2017 by Terri | 3 comments

Times like this I desperately need a goal, so for March’s One Monthly Goal I’m going to get at least one half of Mister’s Nappy Quilt blocks sewn together. He selected Primitive Gathering’s Trotting Along pattern out over a year ago, and this past weekend pulled fabric from my stash and turned the background choices over to me. He also wants a 4×5 block setting instead of the whole quilt.

I did get started on the first block. LOL

I have some things coming up in March that will lessen the amount of time I normally have available to sew (on top of my blah). I feel like there has been so much pulling at my brain, that I cannot settle in my sewing room! I did cut some more manly napping quilt blocks this past Tuesday, but I just cannot sit to set them sewn. Blah!

The construction and repair has been completed, finally, on our home. The carpet people were here yesterday and I now have a master bedroom full of brand new padding and carpet, and the family room is back in one piece as well (some padding had to be replaced, and the carpet re-stretched). Other than 2 black smudges of something on my brand new painted bedroom wall, everything is back the way it was before, only better. I took the opportunity of everything being in upheaval, and Mister being there, to deep clean all around the furniture, and the baseboards in the bedroom and bath (since things were moved in there to make room to “store” the bed while the carpet was being done. That “spring cleaning” chore is done, and I should feel liberated, but instead, I’m still blah.

March’s Rainbow Scrap Challenge color is red, so I’ll be working on 15 neutral- and 15 black-cornered red lozenges.

March’s Goals:

RSC17 – 30 Red Lozenges
OMG – 10 completed blocks on Trotting Along
Farmer’s Wife – 5 blocks
Charity – 3 hours, last Saturday.

3 Comments

Posted in House, LinkUP, Lozenges Quilt, One Monthly Goal, Rainbow Scrap Challenge, Trotting Along

My February OMG!

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Terri | 4 comments

This has been a great month for me. I have settled back into the routine that affords me piece of mind. My housework isn’t suffering, the laundry’s always caught up, I’m cooking more often, I’m getting a lot of time in my sewing room (although it still needs a major sort out), I’m reading more, and Mister and I are back to spending evenings together (when he doesn’t have last minute homework) visiting, or watching our favorite shows (while I stitch). We finally have an appointment for the pad and carpet to be repaired downstairs, and replaced upstairs. My stitching friends will get a laugh when they hear that the bedroom carpet will be Platinum colored.

As to the sort out in my sewing room, I finally dug through the huge box of scraps given to me by one of my friends. So many beautiful pieces of fabric, and so many 1/2-yard pieces as well. I still have the bag to go through, but the bits have been pulled for the scrap basket I use for Wild and Goosey, and the rest has been folded neatly until I get some cutting time for charity quilts.

Speaking of charity quilts. Today is the last Saturday of the month, and this is the day that I have dedicated to working on charity quilts. One Saturday a month, for at least 3 hours. For the first quilt, I’ll be making 10″ paper pieced string blocks starting with a neutral in the middle. It took me longer than expected to go through the above mentioned box, so I’m not getting to sew 3 hours today, and will carry that over to tomorrow.

Here’s where I stand this month:

February goals –

Baby Quilt – 1) finish step one; 2) cut background for step two
Lozenges – Make a minimum of 20 lozenges with February RSC17 colors (10 black/10 neutral corners)
Farmers Wife – Make a minimum of 4 blocks

Baby Quilt – This item was for my One Monthly Goal link-up. I am beyond thrilled to say, that not only did I finish Step 2, I finished the quilt top! The longarmer has been contacted, and the backing should be pieced by tomorrow evening.

Lozenges – This item was for my Rainbow Scrappy Challenge. February’s color was Teal. I made a total of 29.

Farmers Wife – not only did I catch up, but I’m ahead of the game. It has helped me satisfy my love of paper piecing. As I have gone through the scraps hunting for the perfect piece of fabric, I have been sorting them into colors (and ironing some of the worse off pieces) as part of my sewing room sort out.

So much accomplished!

For stitching, I have made progress on Death by Cross Stitch, and finished a 2nd round on An Expression of Gratitude. I spent more time than anticipated on Death because it was just too easy to keep going while getting stuff around the house sorted after the water break, dealing with the contractors, and the repair to the walls. But, I’m back to my rotation, and will probably move on to Houses of Hawk Run Hollow by tomorrow evening.

I am linking up to Elm Street Quilts and soscrappy.

4 Comments

Posted in An Expression of Gratitude, Blue Ribbon Designs, Bonnie Hunter, Death by Cross Stitch, Farmer's Wife, Goals, Long Dog Samplers, Lozenges Quilt, One Monthly Goal, Rainbow Scrap Challenge, Year of WIPs Challenge

That was easier than I thought

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Terri | 2 comments

After my post on Thursday, I was determined to get back on track. Yesterday, I ended up finishing the 15 Wild & Goosey blocks I had started.

I swept all my bits and pieces into their respective scrap baskets, packed up my templates, and cleaned off my cutting table.

I pulled my bolt of white expecting to just cut what I needed for step 2 on the Baby Quilt. I did a test on one block, that turned into several, and ended up getting as far as placement on the design “wall.”

I did take a break sometime during all that to head out to Mister’s garage to find my fraternal grandmother’s sewing machine. He had pulled it from the cabinet a few years ago to clean the cabinet up (it now sits in my family room as a side table). It was covered in nicotine from years and years of my grandparents smoking. Anyway, I have been wanting to get the machine cleaned up, and see if I can get it to work. The wiring coating was fragile when I got it, and now is non-existent in some places. The machine is important to me for what it made – “rubber” pants for me using old Marine Corps parachutes when my father was stationed at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, California. I know she sewed other things for me, but that’s the one that stands out the most. It also means I know the machine is at least 58 years old 😉

Now that I’ve located it, I’ll get him to pull it out (it’s behind his surfboard) and get the serial number and start searching.

I have never cleaned a vintage machine before. I know I could have it serviced somewhere but I would like to try myself first. I have also been thinking of getting my maternal great-grandmother’s treadle up and running again. I guess before I work on either of those, I should pull my little featherweight out, get her oiled and give her a whirl.

Since I put the Wild & Goosey away, and am ahead of my plan on Baby Quilt, I am going to on Farmers Wife today, when we aren’t running errands. While the game may be on tomorrow – neither of us care who is playing – however, Mister does want some “super bowl party” food, so I’ll probably make some easy wings and sides so I can get a lot of time upstairs tomorrow as well. The plan for then is to cut my Lozenges pieces.

Have a great weekend!

Linking up to Finished or Not Friday.

Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts

2 Comments

Posted in Baby Quilt, LinkUP, Lozenges Quilt, Quilting, Vintage Sewing Machines, Wild & Goosey

Getting February Quilting Organized

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Terri | 3 comments

It’s time for me to set up my February quilting goals. I’m so proud of the progress I made in January.

Baby Quilt – I keep distracting myself from getting this finished. It’s not hard, I just got myself pulled into the world of paper piecing Wild & Goosey blocks. LOL They are my quilting crack. I almost finished step one on the baby quilt, however, so I need to get that finished and the back ground fabric cut. This will be my One Monthly Goal for February.

En Provence and Midnight Flight – both still in time out until I finish Baby Quilt. I am using fabric from these in my Lozenges and Wild & Goosey blocks, so they are still thought about almost every time I sit in front of the machine.

Wild & Goosey – oh man. Do I love these little critters. So far I have worked on them every day that I have been able to sit and sew. It’s fun to dig through my little snippets, but it is messy!

Farmers Wife – I am behind on my block of the week. I need to pull these out instead and put Wild & Goosey away. I am also paper piecing these so maybe that will satisfy my need to “quilt by number.”

Lozenges – still my Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2017 project. February is sea green and defined as “Anything between blue and green will work. From teal, to aqua to turquoise.” This is going to be fun! I am also trying to incorporate more neutral and black scraps into this month as well.

So for February:

3 Comments

Posted in Farmer's Wife, LinkUP, Lozenges Quilt, Midnight Flight, One Monthly Goal, Quilting, Rainbow Scrap Challenge, Wild & Goosey

What do you do with your leftover fibers?

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Terri | 1 comment

During the process of sorting out my sewing room, I finally got all (I think) of my non-DMC fibers collected. I keep them on rings by dyer, and those rings are looped on a larger Rule Your Rulers ring that I bought a long time ago. I have a Command Hook on the front of my stitching fabric/fiber cabinet that I keep it on.

I was making a photo of my cross-stitch fabric for someone and tossed the ring of fibers on my sewing chair. There are cottons and silks, and the colors are so pretty.

While most in that photo are new skeins, many are leftovers from designs already stitched, or they are gifts from various dyers, designers, stitchers, etc. I have been thinking of just tossing them for a long time, especially since you can rarely buy a new skein that has a matching dye lot.

I follow so many stitching Facebook groups and one day I saw someone say they were stitching using some of their left over kit fibers so could not tell the person asking what colors were being used. Eureka!!!!

I posted on my Facebook page that I was looking for a sampler to use my leftover fibers. I had pretty much decided to stitch Jan Houtman’s Patchworkand wanted to see if anyone else suggested it, or something I had no thought of. Yep, they did. I will be recharting Haemmaeker to reflect the “leftovers” used for the design and the “DE” and “JH” also, but not sure to what. There’s already a spot for a date on the left side just barely above “Haemmaeker.”

So, I have started a new stitching Facebook group. If you are interested in doing the same thing, you are more than welcome to join us at Ort Sampler Stitchers.