Cat Pics

This afternoon I caught Malcolm (inside) and Edgar (outside) napping. They both like to sleep on their backs. Edgar is NOT dead. ;)

This evening all 4 cats were hanging out at dinner time. Inside is Malcolm, outside are Edgar (tabby), Hecate (Siamese blend), and Charlie (taking a nap).

I think this is the only picture I have of all four cats, and once I snapped it, Malcolm left. He refused to pose a second time. Oh well. Maybe next year. ;)

More Messes, Looking for Order

First I'll show you something productive. It's my Hoffman Challenge. The applique is ready to be sewn to the background. I think I'll keep it this size. Hopefully quilting will enhance the design. I keep waffling about the lion - he needs some enhancement, but I'm afraid I'll ruin him.

Once I finished the color run shown in yesterday's post, I decided that I needed to set a goal. The goal was to dismantle the changing table that had been acting as shelving in the sewing room. I've achieved that objective, and then some.

I started moving things out of the closet too. That's when I lost control.

First, these are some of the bins that I found in my closet. Today I'll put them in the Sewing Annex. I left them out, so you could distinguish these from the bins already in there. (Too bad I didn't buy stock in Rubbermaid years ago!)

The front 3 bins, and the top one in the back pile contain more of a stash I inherited from a friend. I think I will be taking these to guild, to raise some money for the Scholarship fund. The bottom bin in the back contains "kiddie prints." hmmm. I forgot this bin existed. Apparently I'd expanded to a second bin, which is already in the Sewing Annex.

The middle stack contains (top to bottom): 1)sports prints (primarily football & soccer) 2) green fabrics pulled for some forgotten project, 3) cow & farm animal prints, and 4) chunks of every turquoise/ocean-feeling print I owned, cut for a project that I never even started.

When I open the door to the sewing room, this is what I see today. egad. The boxes are all empty, saved for shipping. The white bag on the left is full of flannel. I ran out of bins.

When I take the picture from the reverse angle, you can see that the changing table has been dismantled, and I can now access the closet. whoopie.

In the closet, the shelves are pretty full. I need to cull through and be sure that I NEED to keep everything in here. I can already see things that can be sent away, but not many. The beautiful board is part of my quilting frame. It's so big, I have no place to set it up. Hanging on the rod are (mostly) finished tops and quilts basted for quilting.

When I found this box, I had no idea what was in it. It is more of my friend's stash. I have absolutely no use for this. It's gotta go.

Oh look! Wasted space! I don't know what I'll put up there instead, but I can definitely make better use of that!

As you can see, I have my work cut out for me today. I hope to post pictures of PROGRESS tomorrow.

***Now don't you feel GOOD about where you sew? This has GOT to be encouraging even to the most cluttered quilter. I've got you beat. This poor little room is barely 11' square. Amazing.

Distractions

Can you believe it? Blogger tipped BOTH of my pictures. Maybe that's its input: Maybe I'm looking at it from the wrong angles?

First is the vertical layout (ha!) that I saw in my mind. oops. It measures 29" x 72", which is just wrong, proportionally. grr. But these were the last of the leftover Color Run strips, and I was more inclined to sew them together than to continue emptying my sewing room.

After staring at it for a while, I decided that maybe the horizontal orientation is better. hmmm. But it definitely needs something more. yeah. Blogger's messing with me. tip your laptop, Kristin. ;)

Time to fold it up and put it away in the UFO box. At least it will take up less space like this than it did as all of those cut strips!

oh. And why was I sewing this? Hoffman is bleah, and I'm tired of moving stuff from one room to another. Now that this is together, I'd better go back to what I'm supposed to be doing!!!

On the Wall

I thought you might be interested to see what I've got on the walls right now. They'll probably be the last things to come down, when I get ready to paint. We'll do a clock-wise spin around the room.

First, we've got the doorway. I made the rafting quilt in a Joyce Becker class. It was one of my few forays into wonder-under, which I did not enjoy. I prefer hand applique.
Beneath the rafting quilt is a cross-stitched picture that my mom found at Goodwill for $1. She said she thought of me when she saw it. She gave it to me a couple of months before she died. I've stuck some photographs of my nieces and my siblings in the frame. It may not look like much to you, but it reminds me of extended family.

Above the door frame is a triptych that I bought from the Ricky Tims Studio. It needs a close-up of its own.

It doesn't photograph too well, but this is "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" by Sharon Schlotzhauer of Colorado Springs. Her artist's statement says, "The theme 'Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,' first brought to mind the scripture, Hebrews 8:13 which speaks of Christ being the same yesterday today and forever (tomorrow). I was compelled to translate it into a triptych." When I saw the quilt online in 2007, I bought it as a birthday present for myself. (I love faith quilts, and I personally know the artist.)

Oh, will you look at that?!! As you rotate slightly, you see another Sharon Schlotzhauer original. This one was not purchased, it was a gift. It is called, "Suzie's Irises," and her ink artwork was based on one of my photographs. The verses behind the irises are Lamentations 3:22-24. Above the closet is a name plaque that belonged to my grandfather. I think he kept it in his studio. (He was an oil painter, a mechanical engineer, and an inventor.)

Next we have the view from my sewing table.

A slight clockwise rotation shows part of my design wall. I was encouraged to hang some of my ribbons, but I'm not sure they'll stay up after the storage gets here. They're not that integral to the ambiance of the room. ;)

Here's the remainder of the design wall. wow. Talk about a catch-all. There are photographs and drawings and bits and pieces of projects on it, so I guess it's being used for its intended purpose. But for the most part, those scraps of paper contain various verses that have been brought to my attention for one reason or another. I've culled through them multiple times, these are what remains. Maybe I should use one of my empty journals to create a collage book like so many artist/art quilters have been doing. Hey, you know what? That might not be such a bad idea...

I've spared you yet another view of my cabinet full of fabric. As you rotate past it, this is what you see. It's another collection of goodies.

"Think Before You Speak" on the left is one of my faith quilts.

The little quilts to the right are: A pineapple quilt by Charlotte Rogers of Hanford, CA; a quilted postcard (black) by Sharon Schlotzhauer; a quilted postcard (green) by Wendy Van Beek of Tipton, CA; an art quilt by Phyllis Cullen of Chico, CA (purchased from the SAQA backwards auction, the name isn't on the label!);
second row: Flower pot quilted card by Wendy Van Beek; below it is "Joy Cometh in the Morning" by GM Blank of Calgary (again purchased from the SAQA backwards auction); a poster of the CA Sesquicentennial quilt; a quilted postcard from Sharon Schlotzhauer; and a quilted postcard by Lynn Drennen of Lindsay, CA.

whew! I think if you click on any of the pictures, they will embiggen. ;)

My plan for today was to clean the sewing room until noon, and then begin to sew. hahaha! I spent the first hour of that plan posting pictures on this blog. Shame on me!!

But, an hour should be plenty of time to clear off the sewing table so I can see some action this afternoon.

I guess that's about it, other than to say a heartfelt, "Thank you!" to those of you who have served in the military. I appreciate your service.

Setting Goals

I continue to work to move the contents of my sewing room to the new Sewing Annex. Progress is slow, very slow. I tend to stand in the middle of the room, a bit overwhelmed. What should I move next? I've already moved a few things this morning, but I thought I'd show you my progress so far.

Should I begin with what I've moved? In the Annex are some of my photographs (top of bookshelf), a sewing machine (floor in front of bookshelf), stuff to give away (on chair), projects "in progress" (trapunto & handquilting), and two covered baskets, stuffed with batting.

We've already talked about these bins and empty baskets. A few more have been added to the pile.

We've talked about these as well, and again, a few more have been added to the pile. I should probably mention that none of this stuff came out of the closet. It was all loose in the room.

Back in the sewing room, this is what you see when you stand in the doorway. wow. The only change is that we now have visible carpet under the ironing board.

With my back to the ironing board, I see this:

And from the other angle, I see this. The noticeable improvement is that you can now fully open the door. All junk behind it has been relocated.


On a different note, last night we had a drive-by visit from some airsofters. Adam & Co. stopped for dinner, on their way from Hesperia (So Cal high desert) to Davis. It's his room that has become the Sewing Annex. He was surprised, to say the least.

Can you guess which one is the Kistler?

I'll give you a hint. These fellows are: Dave, Nick, Allen, Adam & Jeff.

And with that, I'll publish this post, but I've got one more.

Hip 'n With It?

Pete and I have a ministry to the "kids" at our church who are out of high school but not yet thirty. We've called it "College/Career Fellowship," but are searching for a new name. We get together and have fun, in addition to our weekly Bible study.

Last Sunday, we went to the all-church picnic. Afterwards we went to Cold Stone for some ice creamery. yum. yum.

The night before, a few of the girls had a going away party for one of our most loyal attendees. She left on Friday, for a year of teaching English in Korea.

Our hostess was determined to get us all out on the floor, playing twister. It's not an activity I would have chosen, but hey, we aim to please, right? Even if we're not hip 'n with it, we pretend that we are.

First we had some dinner. I may not remember this accurately, but I think Pete is telling the group that if he and I went head to head in Twister, he would emerge the victor.

That meant putting his money where his mouth is, and using his head and shoulders to tip the opposition. Tim-ber!!!

I think that was a Physics lesson in action. When the center of gravity is too high, the loser hits the floor. And stays there.

The winner played air guitar and danced a happy dance, much to the amusement of the audience.

I know. I probably shouldn't have posted the pictures. I'm guessing you wouldn't have posted the pictures. But hey, it's reality. It's what we do...

Imelda? With Baskets?

I got up too early this morning. How am I to fill a Saturday that begins before 5:30am? I'm slogging through it, there's not enough coffee. Allergies are present, and the battling crows were certainly annoying. Without that combination, I would probably still be sleeping. :)

A girl can dream.

Anyway, instead of sleeping, I've been moving more clutter from the sewing room to the "spare" room. Ha. It's now the Sewing Annex. But I'm starting to see something in more than one place, that is not a positive contributor to organization. It is something fantastic, in that the "something" sets my heart going pitter pat. It is not so fantastic, in that storage of the something seems to be something I need to deal with.

I think I may have an Imelda Marcos problem. With handmade baskets.

The baskets on the bed are empty. The basket beside the bed holds tins with pre-cut squares, ranging in size from 1.5" to 4".

The basket in the back holds tins of buttons. The one in the front has my hand-quilting thread. Hmm. I seem to have a few spools too many for hand quilting.

These baskets in the closet are empty. The one on the floor beneath the director's chair has my mom's smocking supplies. (I don't smock.) Oh. That quilt needs to be stored better, doesn't it?!!

I've been filling this basket with "rejects," things that I no longer want or need. I'll be taking them to guild, when they'll let me, to give them away...

The basket with the lid (not handmade) usually holds my acid-free paper (currently on top of the stack) and large plastic bags good for returning quilts or shipping. The one next to it has all of my machine basting supplies (pins, clamps, masking tape, etc.)

Oh look. I spy. I'm not even sure what those baskets hold. They look full of something. Maybe knitting? I'll find out some time this week.

In the meantime, it looks like hubby is ready to leave town. My mess is too much for him.

Inside Outside Upside Down

Does anyone remember that Berenstein Bear book? Inside Outside Upside Down was the title. It perfectly describes what my sewing space feels like right now. But I'm getting ahead of myself, so let's back up a bit.

I've mentioned that I've got a carpenter making some custom storage for me, because I'm convinced that ORGANIZATION needs to be a priority. I can't be organized in the midst of chaos, no matter how valiantly I try. It's impossible.

So with that in mind, what did I do yesterday? Why, I sewed more scraps together.

Actually, I had 5 journals set aside, with the batting cut to make journal covers. They've been in the pile since long before the quilt show. Scraps "to be filed" were in another pile. It was time to combine the two messes and make lemonade. Or journal covers. I finished these yesterday.


I've been moving bins to Adam's room (the true Spare Bedroom), and this is what I've got so far.
The bin on the nightstand holds fruit & veggie fabric. The bin on the top stack is filled with solids. The next bin is primarily filled with leftover blocks. Next in the stack is a bin that I call "jungle/Africa prints." What it really holds are things that look like grassland or savannah. Next is a bin of novelty and children's prints. The bottom container is full of tropical prints. The cardboard box in front holds extra copies of books and American Quilter magazines that I contributed to.

On the other side of the bed we've got...hmmm. Two pieces of foam sheathing that I use for blocking quilts and photography. On top of the dresser are containers of beads and buttons, my hand quilting thread, a box of applique thread, some business paperwork, and some tubs filled with photographs. The two tallest stacks contain scraps (sorted by color) and small UFO projects.

In front of the dresser we've got a magazine rack with more business paperwork, an empty (!!) quilt rack, more bins holding bigger UFOs (behind the sheathing), and bags holding more photo albums to cover and empty shadow boxes for future "art" quilts. You can't see under the bed, where I've begun to put my friend's stash.

With all of this in here, you would think that I've made progress in the sewing room, right? Wrong. Here is the area that I've cleared. It's a 2 foot space where the quilt rack stood. It had been piled with quilts on top, and stacked with bins underneath. Wow! So much room.

Until you look to the side of it. That's the same closet. sigh. You can just see the edge of my sewing table, with the basket set on the corner. That basket is filled with strips cut for baby quilts. I ran out of Rubbermaid boxes and I refuse to buy more.

Here is the sewing table from the other direction. yeah. It's bad. The quilts that were on the quilt rack are now stacked on the ironing board. Oh wait. There is carpet showing beneath the ironing board. The big bins used to be stacked under there...

Here's the part that's got me most frustrated, yet it is miles better than it was on Monday. Oh look! Is that a Hoffman background piece thrown on top? I think it is. And there's May's Step, abandoned on the director's chair. At least I've progressed to quilting with red thread.

The exciting thing about this photo is the storage unit in the background, filled with fabric. My carpenter is making TWO of these for me. I'll be moving this one to another room, and removing the fabric. I am HOPING that two of these units will be enough to hold my stash. It probably won't be. I still have two cabinets full of fabric in my bedroom. They will probably stay there for the foreseeable future.

But, goals are good, and I keep setting them. Posting this online will probably set tongues a'waggin', but maybe, just maybe, I'll survive this organizational process. And if I do, well, I'll be a poster child for "incorrigible mess-making packrat turned neat nik." yeah. It sounds good, but does anyone believe it? We'll find out in the next couple of months.

Hoffman 2009

I've been hemming and hawing about whether or not to participate in this year's Hoffman Challenge. I've decided to "just do it."

My sewing room is topsy turvy, so I can't work in there. I don't know when my cabinets will be ready, but I'm starting to move stuff out - I want to paint, doncha know? - and, well, I just can't work there.

So, I set up a new work station. Yeah, I'm sure Pete loves it. ;)

This way I can prepare my applique AND watch American Idol, all at once. I've been in here since Monday. I should be done by tomorrow.

The background of the piece is pieced. It's in the sewing room. I'm now working on the applique. I'm kind of annoyed, because I thought I was using pre-shrunk freezer paper. But I wasn't. So, of course, the applique is smaller than expected. The 125% enlargement than I'd done on the copy machine seems to be back to the original size. I don't know if I'll redo the applique. I'm more inclined to rip off the outside row of the background, to make it proportional. We'll see, once the applique is finished.

Here's what I've got so far.

And now, I'm going to go do some yard work. Enjoy your day!!

The Antidote

Wow. I followed yesterday's creepisode with the spider with some Hoffman time. ugh. I'm not enjoying working with those blah colors, no matter how much I might like my design.

I started straightening my sewing room mess a bit, then gave in to temptation. I still had some Color Run strips left, and I couldn't just leave them alone. Here's one view.

That doesn't show you enough color. Here's a second view...I think there are enough strips here to make a lap quilt. Yep. I think I might spend more time on these, which isn't getting any of the things that I SHOULD be doing done...

One of the things I SHOULD be doing is working on my May Step. Are you working on yours? How are they coming along? Is anyone making progress? Or finished? I hope so. We've still got a dozen days to work. Let's not totally "waste" them... :)

When I say it's "big," it's BIG

I'm still shuddering, but my face has finally relaxed from its contortions.

I am SO glad that I went out the sliding door (or did I?) to empty the garbage. As I was coming in the side door, I spotted this:


I'm pretty sure you can see how big this nasty black widow is - she didn't need any exaggeration or magnification on my part. I steered a wide berth, going back in through the slider (now I'm thinking I'd walked right by her - barefoot - without even noticing the first time), to get a shoe. Yes, that's my usual treatment for black widows: I give them the shoe. Shovels are usually bent, and don't get the job done as well as a nice flat flexible surface.

squash.

dispose of body.

As I walked back towards the house, I could feel my face making awful contortions. I wonder what I look like? ugh. yes. This is the face of pure repulsion.


Pay no attention to that extra chin. It will be gone in a while. It's the combination of last night's visit to Cold Stone Creamery, a bad camera angle, and a physical recoil that can not be artificially duplicated...