I am joining DAGMT 2014

"I, Sherry V., am joining Quilting Hottie Haven's third annual DaGMT event, and pledge to quilt for at least 20 minutes, every day of the month of February, 2014. In doing so I hope to get some of the UFO guilt off my shoulders AND start the most needed downsizing of my stash in hopes of retirement (like that is going to happen!) and I think Beth Helfter is brilliant for coming up with this concept and inspiring me to join."

If you would like to take the pledge just follow the link & sign-up.

I am hoping that I will be able to get more than 20 minutes a day. . . .but if I can even just get 20 minutes I am sure that I can get quite a bit done.

Hope to see you in the group!

In peace and pieces,
 

Stash Report -- January 26, 2014

I will be linking up with Judy Laquidara. . . . and will try to be better at making weekly reports.

JANUARY 2014

FABRIC IN

Christmas fabric --- 4 1/2 yards
(this is for backing, there are 2 Christmas quilts so I am not sure which one this will go for)
White --- 2 1/2 yards
Greens --- 4 yards
(the white and greens are for a pattern testing block swap)

TOTAL IN --- 11 yards

FABRIC OUT

Rail Fence Diamond quilt top --- 4 7/8 yards
(all from stash, yeah!!)

TOTAL OUT --- 4 7/8 yards

TOTAL ADDED TO DATE --- 6 1/8 yards

Yes, I am a member of Fabricholics Anonymous but, I do not feel that I have any confessions since I did not count the backing and the pattern testing as "new" purchases. . . . these were things that I needed to get other items done.

So far my numbers are going in the wrong direction. . . . but I am hoping that it will soon turn around.

In peace and pieces,
 

Books read in 2014

I don't know what happened with 2013. . . . but my book reading list for last year just seems to have gone by the wayside.  I think I did read several books. . . . but I don't think I was anywhere near the 24 - 30 books that I have been averaging the last couple of years.

2014 has started off well, I have two finishes under my belt:

 This is the first in the "Sookie Stackhouse" series by Charlaine Harris.  The HBO series, "True Blood" is based on these.

I enjoyed this book. . . . .but it was weird for me because I was reading the book & hearing the voices of the actors in my head!  And instead of having my own thoughts about the characters in my mind's eye I was seeing the TV show play.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series (AND catching up with the series through Netflix).

My second book is also by Charlaine Harris:

 This book has a copyright date of 1981 so it is a very early book in her career.  I know this next comment will sound contradictory, but here goes, the book is not a slow read (I have been averaging 24 - 30 pages during my lunch hour) but the story is very slow moving . . . . . it seems like the characters are just plodding along. . . . but that could have been the plan.

I enjoyed reading it. . . .and could not figure out the ending (which is a good thing).  I'm not sure if there is a sequel to this one. . . but I will have to see if there is.

I will definitely read more books by Charlaine Harris.  I'm glad that I searched out her books through my inter-library loan program.

In peace and pieces,
 

Guess I am a Jersey Girl through & through!!

I recently took a dialect test (for fun) from the New York Times and here are the maps that it gave me:

ark / Paterson

Yonkers

Jersey City

These maps show your most distinctive answer for each of these cities.

NEWARK / PATERSON

What do you call the night before Halloween?

mischief night

YONKERS

What do you call the rubber-soled shoes worn in gym class or for athletic activities?

sneakers

JERSEY CITY

What do you call the rubber-soled shoes worn in gym class or for athletic activities?

sneakers

I have never lived in Yonkers, NY, or Jersey City, NJ. . . . heck, I've never lived outside of Middlesex County (which is definitely central Jersey) so I don't know how I got their accent. . . .but at least it is good to know that I "talk Jersey"!!

You may want to take the test yourself & see if you sound like where you live.

Hmm, I wonder what my youngest sister comes up as ---- she lived in New Jersey until she moved to Tennessee. . . . and she cracks me up when I talk to her because she's "Jersey with a twang!"  LOL

In peace and pieces,
 

Tomorrow night is FNWF . . . . .I'm going to work on my GID goals

Tomorrow night is the first FNWF for 2014 and I am planning on being there.

If you would like to sign up jump over to Cheryll's site to sign up.

I have 4 goals for this month and have joined KatyDidArt on the 2014 edition of Get It Done.  The first thing that I plan on working on is the sample quilt for the one day retreat that I am helping with in February.

Hopefully I will have lots of fun pictures to show off either tomorrow night or Saturday!

Hope to see you there. . . . . .

In peace and pieces,
 

Word for the Year 2014

Over the past couple of years I've noticed that many bloggers pick a "word of the year" as a goal or ideal to strive for during the year.

I've thought about doing it myself but never was able to get to a point where I could "buckle down" and get to it.

Well, this year I've decided to really try to:

STAY FOCUSED




I have a habit of joining everything and then getting nothing accomplished.  And I am an admitted "process person".

However, this year I will try to break that habit. . . . . . and focus on getting things accomplished.

Since I have already joined Fabriholics Anonymous I have some help on that front. . . . now I need to remain FOCUSED on working on one (or two if I am doing a Leaders/Enders project) project at a time.

In peace and pieces,
 

Goodbye 2013. . . . . .glad to see you go!

Happy Belated New Year!

Mr. Books and I are glad to see 2013 go "bye bye". . . .it was a not so great year (especially the third quarter) and had much more sorrow than we wanted.

I am hopeful that I will be back blogging on a more regular basis. . . . I have a lot to catch up with.

Here's hoping that 2014 will be a much better year.


In peace and pieces,
 

Stash Report --- first of 2014

I am hoping that I can keep up with reporting the stash usage more regularly than I have in the past.

Right now I have a clean slate:

Fabric in:    0 yards

Fabric out:   0 yards

Fabric used in 2014:  0 yards

I am linking up with Judy L.for this.


In peace and pieces,
 

New Year. . . . . . new attempt to clear the stash

My name is Sherry & I am a fabriholic.  Luckily, I have found a group of like minded individuals that will, hopefully, keep me on the straight and narrow.

 

I have tried to do this "fabric diet" several times; but, in trying to downsize my household so that we are not moving a ton of unnecessary "stuff" when retirement rolls around (I think I've got 8 years before reaching "critical") I realize that I have more than one person could ever use unless I really start doing instead of thinking.

 

So, with that in mind here goes:

GOALS:

- To use the Stash I already have!

- Finish UFOs without distraction by shifting to new projects.  (But I will allow "leaders & enders" to stay so that could create a new project.

- Stop the insanity of buying new fabric just for the sake of having it.

- Save the $$ I spend on stashing. I would like to get a mid-arm quilting machine, but I don't want to go into debt to get it.

- Destash the fabrics that I realize I am never going to use.

- I also need to work on cutting back on my purchasing of books & magazines --- after all, many of the things that I am seeing the most current magazines are just old patterns in new fabrics.

 

FABRIC FAST RULES:

1) No fabric purchases for 6 months beginning January 1, 2014.   

2) On July 1, 2014 see how I am doing.  Should I continue with the program or not.

 

3) Create a UFO list and complete them!

4) Exceptions

• Backing: purchasing a backing to finish a quilt top is permissible.  However, attempting to use fabric in your possession for a backing is preferable.
• Books and Magazine purchases are allowed as they are not fabric.  Notions acceptable too.
• Swap Mama Fabric: if hosting a swap you are permitted to by fabric to execute swap duties, but you may not join a swap simply for the sake of being able to buy fabric!
• Quilts for Publication: if you are making a quilt for a publication and need certain fabric to execute it correctly then that is a major exception - who can blame you?

If this sounds like something that you would like to take part in please join us at http://theelvengarden.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/fabriholics-anonymous.html

Happy Quilting!



In peace and pieces,