Well, January was a bust, sort of. . . . .

So, here goes, I did NOTHING on my January OMG project, you remember, the crocheted tote bag. . . .

BUT, I did get quite a bit of sewing done in January. As well as a bit of downsizing from my craft supplies.

I completed a pattern test quilt top. . . but I can't show that yet since the pattern has not yet been released.  It is from Patterns by Jen and I hope to be able to show it shortly.

I am working on sewing up from my scrap basket. . . I am doing framed squares, Square Dance blocks, and another block that uses up rectangles of fabric. . . .and have been creating quite a nice number of quilt blocks.  Pictures to follow.

Our local Goodwill store was the recipient of FIVE copy paper boxes of quilt, crochet, cross stitch and knitting books that I have been trying to find good homes for. . . but I did not have any takers. . . so they have been set free for others to find. (I wish I had thought to get a picture, but they are gone now & so is that chance.)

The sad part. . . .that hardly put a dent in the amount of books & magazines that I still have to go through as part of my downsizing exercise!

So, my January OMG goal was a bust. . . . but I was not idle and that, I believe, is the important thing.

I hope to have better luck next month!

In peace and pieces,

Sherry


This content was originally posted on the quilt blog Books, Hooks, Sticks, etc. (www.bookshookssticksetc.blogspot.com). If you are reading this on any site other than the original or quilterblogs.com it is WITHOUT my permission and the content has been stolen.

Mid-year course correction

Here we are at the mid-point of the year and, as sometimes happens, changes need to be made.


I had wanted to concentrate on getting UFO's, WIP's and the like completed so that I could get on with other projects without the nagging guilt of all the unfinished items I was neglecting.


And I did pretty well with that.


But then, life happened.


Our gas meter, located in the basement, needs to be replaced.  Which means that all of the boxes, bags & totes that I had in that area needed to be moved.


The only place to move them was around the quilting machine.


So, at this point, my long arm is out of commission.


Moving all that stuff revealed that I really have a problem. . . . .with books, pamphlets, magazines and loose paper:

That is a five shelf book case that was in the house when I bought it.  So far I have cleared out an untold amount of magazines and loose papers from it.


Now I have to work on the books.


There are quilt books, crochet books, embroidery books, counted cross stitch books, etc.  Any craft you might want to know about is probably there in that mess.


The boxes and totes that you see contain projects, fabric, sewing tools, etc.  The wooden cabinet contains patterns, fabric, blocks, and sundry other items.


Since I need to keep that area open for the gas meter guy I am now going to focus on clearing out the books that I do not want.  They are all in very good condition. . . .and many are out of print and hard to find.


My thought is to sell as much as I can and then decide what to do with the rest.


As for the fabric, I plan on getting it folded uniformly and pulling out the smaller pieces and start using my Accuquilt to get uniform sizes for scrap quilts.


The other area that I need to work on is this:

This cabinet was purchased from the same family that we got the cabinet in the first picture from.


It holds quite a collection of things:

Thread and knitting needles

Yarn, crochet thread, pencils, leftover pieces of bindings

More yarn, a finishing kit for one of my UFO's.

I think the last two cabinet sections hold smaller bags of batting that have not yet been used.

Once I get through the bookshelf and the totes and all clearing this cabinet will be my next endeavor.

There is no way that I can use all of this stuff if I don't know what I have. . . . and if I am not interested in it anymore there is no reason to keep it.

Wish me luck!

In peace and pieces,


Sherry


This content was originally posted on the quilt blog Books, Hooks, Sticks, etc. (www.bookshookssticksetc.blogspot.com). If you are reading this on any site other than the original or quilterblogs.com it is WITHOUT my permission and the content has been stolen.

And so begins a new book. . . .

 So I finished reading "Buddy. . . How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man" last night.  It was a good read but it required tissues.  I would recommend it.

After the Little Man went home last night I started reading the next book that I had gotten from the library.

  I have read all of Monica Ferris' other books and, with the exception of "Cruel Yule" I really enjoyed them. 

Well, to be honest I enjoyed "Cruel Yule" but it was not up to the normal standards that I have come to expect from her books.  It almost seemed like it was a "rush job" and not as thought out as her other books.

I'm only on page 10 so I don't have an opinion on this one yet. . . but I'll let you know.


In peace and pieces,