Stepping Up

WOW. As of this posting, I've had FOUR, count them, four! comments on the 12 Step Program for Quilters. I feel loved. I admit that I've been jealous of other bloggers - they get frequent comments from all kinds of readers. My readers tend to be the silent type, readers with few things to say...sometimes I've wondered if I'm writing to myself. But if I am, what's the harm in that? No harm, really, it's just an ego thing. ;) (stroke, stroke) ;)

Anyway, back to the Program.

Yesterday I stood in the middle of my sewing mess and thought, "Where do I start?"

In 2007, I set aside all hours before noon as hours to do computer work, errands and housework. Once noon arrived, I was free to quilt to my heart's content. It worked really well, until I hit a major road bump, and unfortunately I never got back with the program. I've been rethinking that strategy, which was a good one, and have decided that maybe noon was a bit extreme. I am usually up before 7am, and often I'm up before 6am. Six hours of housework doesn't excite me, and that's probably why I'm so good at putting it off. But 5 hours? If you throw in breakfast and computer time, that shaves it to 4 or even 3.5. That's a do-able number.

So anyway, that is what was running through my mind as I looked around my sewing mess. I decided that I should really focus on some serious sorting and putting away, before beginning to work on a specific project. The piles are still high and deep, but not quite as high, and not quite as deep.

This is what I have to show for yesterday's efforts:

First, I had a pile of fabrics that I'd pulled to cut three more baby quilts. Here they are, all cut and ready for sewing, whenever I get a round tuit. The leftover fabric has been filed back in my stash. It is no longer sitting on my table, waiting to be cut.


Each little bundle will make a 40" x 48" baby quilt. Each bundle contains 8 light 2.5" strips, 8 darker 2.5" strips, and 8 4.5" strips cut into 4.5" squares. The strips get sewn together in pairs, which are then cut cross-ways into 2.5" slices. The slices are paired and sewn into 4.5" 4-patch blocks. Two of these are then sewn with 2 of the pre-cut 4.5" squares to make Double 4-patch blocks. The yield is 32 blocks, and it takes 30 blocks to make a quilt. Simple as pie. I've done it dozens of times, and these quilts have become my signature baby gift. Love them, love them!

I found a box under my ironing board, that had curious contents. What is all this stuff, and why is it in here? hmmm. It was an "I'll go through this when I have time" collection. At the bottom was a stack of needlepoint blocks that I'd purchased at a guild Silent Auction in 2007 or 2006. hmmm. At the very bottom was this beautiful little stocking. Step 1 was to block it.


Now suppose you were embarking upon the 2009 12 step program - would blocking a quilt constitute a step? Indeed it would! By taking the time to block this little puppy, I'm one step closer to making it into something useful. I expect it to be an ornament before the end of the week.

See? This program is quick and painless. I think the most painful part, at least for me, will be going through my STUFF and listing out exactly how many unfinished projects I have. There are a ridiculous number of them. Ridiculous. Can you say, "Someone give this woman some self-control!" ? ;) I mean, let's face it. Yesterday I actually CREATED three more UFO's, because I don't intend to finish those baby quilts before I go back to working on Quilts of Primary Importance. The new baby bundles were put aside with two others, along with the three baby quilts that are currently basted and waiting for quilting.

The other thing that I did earlier this week was make two more little cards. I had leftovers from the "Cry to the Lord" quilt-let, and I didn't want to put them in my scrap box. They already matched these verses, so I sewed them up and here they are:




I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them, but they're here, in case I need them...

ooh, I can't wait to see what I work on today. Having to be accountable to someone - that would be you - is VERY good incentive to actually get something done. hip, hip, hooray!!! Thank you!!!