Don’t forget to build up!

The past few nights we have been doing a little binge watching on Netflix. Who doesn’t do a little binge watching these days? The show we have been watching is one that I didn’t think I would really enjoy. Thanks to the preview they play, I was curious to see what it was about and ended up watching the entire first episode. I had originally thought that I would view enough to satisfy my curiosity and move on to the things I normally like to watch. I was wrong.

I know you’re totally dying right now to know what this show is…. it is called Physical:100. I had never heard of it and it just showed up on Netflix. I will say that I really did enjoy it.

This is a reality show (which is not something I normally watch with the exception of The Great British Baking Show) that takes place in Korea and forewarning – it’s all in subtitles. It is also a competition that starts with 100 people and through various challenges comes down to 1. If these things are not of interest to you, I would still encourage you to watch the first episode.

Okay, but what does this have to do with quilting? Don’t worry, I’ll get there. First more about the show.

The competitors on this show are elite: Olympians, MMA fighters, Body Builders, Competitive Wrestlers, Fitness Trainers, Cross Fit, Strong Men, etc. Their physiques and the time/effort taken to sculpt them are to be respected. Tasks before them required endurance, strength, and agility. While I began with curiosity about what kind of tasks through which they would have to compete, I found myself becoming interested during their initial meeting. A good portion of the first episode is the gathering of these 100 contestants. Their reputations precede them and even though each of them are leaders in their own right, watching how they respected each other and recognized talents was fascinating and thought provoking. As the competition began you could see there was more than just that respect. They pushed and cheered each other to not give up, to fight through and do their best to complete their tasks. As the pool of competitors decreased, some of those that were eliminated were able to say a few words. They spoke of how honored they felt to be in the competition and how they wished their other competitors well. There was mention of continuing to train to make themselves better. There was no drama, no tantrums, no sabotage.

Now, while we are not necessarily physically sculpted fitness experts, as quilters (especially experienced quilters) we have worked at sculpting our minds. We have curated knowledge whether it be learned as we crafted or taught to us by our ancestors. We become masters of a certain technique or style of quilt or use of a specialized tool/machine. We spend time developing our talents and abilities.

One thing I think we forget is that we all have to start somewhere. It’s easy to look at quilters who are just starting out and offer criticism concerning their efforts. It’s easy to see the mistakes and proclaim our own methods to be better suited for the craft. We forget those beginning quilters are listening to those words. They are taking in that criticism and it can turn them away from our craft. Who wants to be told that their efforts aren’t worth it? Before you go down the path of thought that if we don’t tell them they can’t fix it – stop. There is plenty of time to help them fix methods. There isn’t always time to help them stick with it. They know that there are things wrong, but why shouldn’t they be proud of their efforts? We can fool ourselves with sentiments such as they don’t have what it takes, or this isn’t for everyone. The reality is that making one quilt isn’t enough for someone to really know what it is to make a quilt. Or even to know if it is a process they will enjoy. It takes time and repetition to breed familiarity and competence. That’s when we know if we enjoy the process. How many of us have given up on a technique after trying it once or twice? I’m sure we all have. There is a difference though. When you have a breadth and depth of knowledge to draw from it is easier to decide if a new method/pattern/whatever will work for you. Without that to draw from, everything is new and it is more challenging to find what really does work for you. We forget our own growing pains once we find our joy in the process. We forget that we had to make the mistakes or ask the questions. We don’t forget how others made us feel while we were going through it all.

What does all of this have to do with the random show on Neflix? It’s about the treatment of others. It’s about respect for those who have talents in different areas. Its about offering support to another human being. We live in a remarkable era where technology offers so many options and we carry small powerful computers in our pockets. That technology allows us to connect with people from around the globe. It’s truly amazing. With all of that technology available to us, we lose our human connection.

This random physical competition where these paragons of their fields were striving for victory also showcased sportsmanship and respect. Sure, you could argue that their culture demands the respect, but at the same time it was refreshing to see people competing for the same goal and also being so strong emotionally to recognize the talent and the strength of those around them. There wasn’t loud posturing and when teams were created leaders emerged and tasks were completed and no one was jealous of those taking the leadership roles or declaring they could have done a better job.

This is something I strive for on the daily; to give a hand up and not a push down. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, even in quilting. It doesn’t take much to offer a word of encouragement or to offer assistance in a kind manner (I saw your quilt has a lot of 4 patches. I have an easy way to do those let me know if you would like me to show you. or How awesome you tried a bargello. You should talk to Loretta, she does a lot of those and might have some tips if you want to do more.). Honestly it really costs you nothing and you could be the one who inspires someone to stay in the craft and give it another try. No drama, no tantrums, no sabotage.

Once upon a time quilting was seen as something that old ladies do. Now we have younger and vibrant personalities offering fabric lines and new methods and patterns. If you don’t like the modern stuff, that’s okay. There is room for everyone. At one time machine quilting was viewed in a negative light and hand quilting to be the right way. Our craft will continue to have growing pains as it evolves over time. Just remember we all had to start somewhere.

UFO Update September

Eeek! Where has the time gone! I want to say that I’m over here killing it and knocking out all kinds of UFOs and there are a lot of pictures so get ready.

That would be a lie. I haven’t done anything on those UFO’s.

Why not? That’s a great question. The shop has been a bit on the busy side. We have had more folks express interest in our beginning longarm class (yay!) as well as quilters bringing in quilts that need quilting or repairing. Combine all of that with kids going back to school and adjusting to our new schedules and we kinda scratch the surface.

No complaints though – I love that we are getting to meet some new quilters at the shop as well as seeing the beautiful tops that we are being trusted with to bring out their beauty.

But still, why not? We have talked about the whole motivation factor before. Sometimes we just don’t have it in us to do it. Sometimes there are other things that are taking precedence where we can’t get things done. There is no real point in trying to cram in everything, sometimes there just is no time. It really is okay to take a step back and take care of those things that are demanding our attention. Thankfully for me, we are settling down into that schedule and I will be able to get back to those UFO’s very soon. I was really excited to finish off those flower wall hangings. Momentum even carried me into a UFO that I have seriously procrastinated starting (is it really a UFO if it hasn’t been started? I think intent matters here). That is the Safehaven block of the month from Thimbleberries. You can take a peek at it here. Yeah, yeah, I know it says it’s from 2000….I’ve had the kit for a while and at first is was really intimidating so I kept putting it off. Once I finished floral wallhangings, I took another look at it. Turns out that it isn’t as scary as I remembered and I have 2 blocks completed. My debate now is whether or not to go ahead and applique the circles now or wait until more blocks are completed as well as the debate of which applique method to use. I’m really leaning toward a lightweight fusible and then stitching around them as it seems that will be the quickest method for me and this project has waited long enough.

Don’t worry though, I’ve got a hand applique project (or two) still waiting in the wings. Once upon a time Char and I thought it would be great to do a P3 Designs pattern as she has done an aboslutely gorgeous Halloween Baltimore Album quilt. Seriously. If you haven’t seen it you should click here. If you like that one, you should check out the rest of her available patterns. This lady is seriously talented and her work is beautiful. Of course now that it’s getting close to spooky season, I almost want to dig this one out and see if I can nudge it along a little more.

Hmmm. It almost feels like motivation is starting to visit. Maybe I should take advantage of that while I can.

Happy Quilting!

It is time!

It is time!

If you haven’t changed your needle on your machine since before Chirstmas, it is time to put in a new one.

If you haven’t recently changed out your rotary cutting blade, it is time to use a new one.

If you haven’t cleaned out your sewing machine since Thanksgiving, it is time to pull out the bobbin and dig out some lint or schedule service so that your local professional can make sure that you are running in tip top shape.

If you haven’t cleaned your iron, now is the time to take a look at it and make sure that it won’t leave any suprises behind on your fabric.

Often we get so busy with our lives or our projects that we forget to take time for the basics. Our sewing can often be improved by taking care of simple things such as replacing a needle or a rotary cutter blade. Why do we wait? I don’t know, I am one that also needs to remind myself to take care of those basics.

How often should we actually do these things? You should change your needle every project. If you are working with heavier fabrics you may need to change it part way through. Our needles dull and lose their sharp points as we continue to use them, much like a pencil when we are writing. If you are noticing that your machine is making a new noise while sewing, it might be the needle thumping through the fabric and a simple needle refresh can often be enough to make it feel like you are sewing on a whole new machine!

As far as cleaning out the lint, that should be every project as well. I wish I had a formula or the ability to know how much lint fabric/thread/batting will produce. Truthfully there is no magic formula and it always seems like the projects I don’t think will produce much in the way of lint give off more than I thought possible. If you feel like your machine is having issues, start with the basics. Rethread, clean out lint, oil (if your machine requires), change the needle, or change the thread if it still doesn’t seem to work after rethreading. If you are still having trouble after the basics are addressed, it will likely need some service.

Rotary blades. Why oh why do we think the blades are still good when we need to saw through our fabric? They should glide like butter! Yet, it seems like (and maybe it is just me) that it is one of the last things I think to replace? I know, it seems like blades are expensive. However, we can always find a deal. I like to get mine at Hancock’s of Paducah. If you buy in multiples, they become much cheaper. You can check our their blades here. For example, the 45mm is more standard size and you can purchase 1 regular blade for $6.99. Not too bad. They do last a while. However, if you purchase 5 for $22.99, that is only $4.60/blade. Five blades would last a while. If you really want to stock up or split with a friend or two, you can also purchase them in a pack of 10 for $38.99 (which is only $3.90/blade!) They also offer free shipping at $80 so go in with a friend and see if there are any other things that you need or want (like needles!) Of course if you prefer to shop other places, be sure to check out blades (and needles) in bulk!

Our irons. They are certainly workhorses for us aren’t they? It’s important for us to check on our irons every time we use them. You never know when we will inadvertently touch something or if we are putting water through our irons if it will suddenly steam out some rust. I’m not here to tell you whether or not you should be putting water through your iron or what kind of water to put through (like tap or distilled). That is up to you. I just want to point out that we should be aware of the state of our iron and make sure that it stays in good working order so we can avoid disaster on our projects.

Honestly, I am not the best at doing all of these things. I often forget that they need to be done when everything seems to be working as it should. It’s like the frog in the boiling water. We don’t always realize the things need to be changed until we start to have problems.

If you are someone who does these thinkgs on a regular schedule, kudos! I’m sure you can speak to how efficient your work can be when basic maintenance is done on a regular basis.

If you are someone who often forgets about these things or thinks, “I’ll do it tomorrow”…it’s tomorrow. It’s time for us procrastinators to take a few minutes the next time we sit down to sew and do some basic maintenance.

Happy Quilting!

Happy February!

Since it’s the first of the month, let’s talk about those UFO’s shall we? In case you were wondering, I did complete the latch hook complete with rug binding. Just don’t look too closely at the binding. That part is not really done well and I am thinking that at some point I will need to redo that binding.

Ta-Da! It has also been given to my son where it graced his floor immediately. One done only about a million to go (or so it feels). It is time to move on to February! One of the projects that came up was a project I bought from a quilt guild garage sale. In case your guild hasn’t done one of these, it’s pretty freeform. They set aside one of the meetings to do this once the business portion is complete. You can bring in items you wish to get rid of and sell them. So there are usually books, kits, fabric, notions, really just kind of anything. You get a little cash with the added bonus of getting rid of things you don’t like or didn’t work for you.

I came home with this:

Look at all the batik! And then it sat because that pattern looked hard. However, I have now done my own similar mandala without the fancy pieced block in the middle and figured why not! Since it’s number cam up, I should at least get it out and see what’s what.

Lots of precut strips so I can make more strata. Not necessarily my colors, but it still has some potential.

There are a good amount of wedges cut and just waiting to be sewn together. So, I figured my first step was to press everything and take it one step at a time.

Some leftovers that I can use in other things – bonus!

I thought it would be easiest to just do the things that were obvious and so I have sewn the wedges together and pinned it to what I think was intended for the background of the mandala. There are not any strips cut from the brown so that is my best guess. It doesn’t look too bad on there, but it does feel a little blendy to me. The more I look at it the more it grows on me and I’m not complaning. After all this was a quilter yardsale item I probably got for $10 or less and it’s all batiks!

If you are not familiar – this set of strips sewn together is referred to as strata. Althought maybe it should be stratum….I of course had to go look things up just to make sure that I really was using the correct terminology (Stratum: one of a series of layers, levels, or gradations in an ordered system). Either way, I started to work making my own strata and got my first couple of wedges cut. All should be good in the wood, right? Spoiler alert…there was Trouble with a capital T. Take a good look at the picture below.

Did you take a good look? Do you see what I see? I bet you do. It’s fairly obvious. The two wedges to the right are the ones that I added. You can see that things start out looking pretty good, and my strips are all in the the correct order but something has gone awry. I measured my seam allowance on the back and her seam allowance and we were both at 1/4″. The cutting was already done so that was all done by the same person. All I can really think is that it is the differences in our machines somehow….If you have suggestions or know what could be going on, please drop a comment.

I am not comfortable going on with this project as there will be a very obvious shift and I’m pretty sure that even if I shift up a little, things are not going to line up well although I am willing to give that a shot next. Thinking I could pin at each seam intersection, but I’m not certain that will be enough to bring our wedges into alingment.

So, then what? We punt. It’s pointless to put it back in the box as I will still have the same issues the next time I try to work on it. At this point, I am thinking that I will take the wedges apart and kinda flip flop them so they are more of a straight line. I think that brown might make a nice sash of somesort and I could turn this into more of a table runner without having to cut more wedges. The rest of the strips and strata that has already been cut will most likely be used up in smaller projects like table runners and mug rugs that will end up on our Etsy store. No guarantees, I might be able to figure out what is going on, but I’m not going to invest a ton more time in trying to make it work. My goal is to complete something with it and if that ends up not being the pattern it arrived with, then so be it. Fingers crossed something works!

This was also on my list…omg, it’s almost done. Can anyone explain to me why I didn’t finish it? No? Me neither. What it is lacking is the outlining stitching in black. Yep. That’s it. No, it’s not very big so what do I do with it?

Here you can see what the finished project looks like. There is not much outlining at all and I have the instructions and materials to finish out the framing of this. I’m thinking this will not take very long at all and my other son has a love of cardinals so I will pass it along to him, if he likes it.

I have some other things on my various UFO lists that I may get a chance to work on depending on how these two things finish out. One of those is to practice crocheting with crochet thread. It’s not something that I have worked with very much. I did attempt a snowflake ornament a while ago, but the smaller hook sizing feels different to me and there are different weights of cotton thread. So, I have been sitting and practicing my tension and soon I will try the little snowflakes again to see if I can raise my comfort level. I’m not sure I want to try anything larger than an ornament at this time, but maybe that will be something I can look forward to once I gain some proficiency.

How are things going with your UFO’s? I did get my sewing area mostly cleaned up….I really should finish clearing my ironing board (although I do need to get a new cover for that…) and my cutting space. It’s just little stuff that I need to find homes for and I have procrastinated about that a bit… That’s okay though, It will all get done eventually. *fingers crossed*

Hopefully you are also making progress on your UFO’s or whatever project you are working on.

Fabric Organization

So, how do you organize your fabric? If you aren’t a quilter, how do you organize your crafting supplies?

I’m sure that there are some of us who are super organized and while I would love to be one of those people, I’m afraid that it just is not in me to be one. That being said, I do have my fabric somewhat organized. My method is fairly simple. I have some drawers and anything that is a fat quarter to a 1 yd cut is uniformly folded and sorted by color. Anything smaller than a fat quarter is moved to scraps. If it’s a multi color fabric, I decided on it’s dominant color and put it with similar.

There are some exceptions, because of course there are. I keep all my batik fabrics together. They follow the same rule about 1yd cuts and under being folded, but instead of going into the general color section, they all hang out together. The same applies for my civil war reproduction fabrics as well as any fabrics that I have collected with a certain project in mind.

What about those that are more than 1 yd? Well, those go on shelves and I have them wrapped around comic book boards. You can find those on Amazon here. If you don’t want to shop Amazon, you can check out your local comic book store and see if they have any on hand or that they can order for you! I did purchase mine from a local shop and it was an interesting dicussion on why I needed so many. For me there are a few benefits. The first is that I can write in pencil on the edge of the board what yardage I have. It makes it a little easier to make sure that I have the appropriate amount when I shop my stash for a project. The second thing is that they are acid free so I feel like it is fairly safe storage. The last beneift for me is that I then get to store them standing up like library books. I like the look of that better, it allows me to have a double row of them on my shelves, and they are still neat as well as easily accessible. Whether or not that works for you is up to you. The things I don’t like about them is that they are bendable and I wish they were a little more rigid. I suppose that I could have used 2 boards at a time, but I really didn’t want to double up and need twice as many. It has been fine so far. I also wish that they were a little taller. Since fabric typically comes folded selvedge to selvedge, I find that I need to fold that fold down to the selvedge edge for the fabric to fit. It is a minor inconvenience and since I am measuring the fabric anyway, it’s not too much of a hassle to fold it again in order to wrap around the boards.

Once they are all wrapped on their boards, they line up on the shelves each with their color family. Batiks stay together and civil war reproductions stay together and if I have yardage earmarked for a project, I might jus go ahead and pull all the fabrics and wrap them up together.

See, simple! You could totally go crazy with organization like novelties here, and multi fabrics here and and and…..and depending on your style of quilting, that might be a good idea! For me, keeping it simple is where it’s at. I keep them in Ikea drawers so that I can pull them out and look at them anytime I want to.

Lastly we come to scraps. What in the world do you do with yours? Do you cut them into uniform sizes? I have found that left me with more questions than answers. How do I know what sizes to cut? Do I cut more of the smaller sizes or cut the biggest size first? Do I organize them by color or just put all the like sizes together? Will this be a system that works for me. Turns out not so much…

So, that brings me back to the scraps. I toss them in a box. Then, when I need something, I go through the box. Not very original I know. What do you do with yours? Do you send them to friends who do more scrap quilting than you do? Do you use your scraps a lot for scrap quilts? Maybe you use them for smaller projects like placemats or wall hangings? I fall more into the camp of using them for wall hangings. I have one scrap quilt project that is in progress, but most of the time I pull out those scraps when I need to make a test block, or something small.

So, where does that leave you? How are your supplies stored? Do you have a favorite method that you haven’t seen anyone else do? Is there a trick you learned from a trusted friend that helps keep your stash organized? Be sure to leave us a comment and share!

January UFO Report!

How has your week been? Hopefully you are staying warm and healthy. Have you been working on any projects or maybe made any progress on your crafting area?

I have! Slowly but steadily I am making progress in my room. My cutting table is just about usable and I have most of my sewing table cleared. Next up is the ironing board. Why is it that flat spaces seem to have some sort of magnetic power that attracts all the things to be placed on them? Do you find that to be true in your area? (Or maybe even the rest of your home?) I did not take any pictures of my room, maybe once it is all cleaned up I’ll share what my home space looks like.

As I was going through and finding homes for everything, I realized that I did not list every single project on my lists. Which is okay (and makes for fewer lists!). The number for this month is 12 and that happens to land on a latch hook kit that I thought I had all the yarn for. Well, one of my number 12’s. I took a look at what was listed at 12 and chose one that I could work on in the evenings without needing to be in my sewing room.

Latch hook kit? What decade are you living in?!? I’m sure we all have those older projects that have been lying around or you inherited. I haven’t done one a quite a while and had one that looks vintage modern. I thought it would be fun. However, I do not have all the yarn. 😱. I know right? Don’t they all come in kits? I used to think so, but I have two canvases that are sans yarn. This is one of them. I don’t know if you can tell from the picture but the yarns are two different lengths and I have the stuff for the long yarn sections. Although now I’m debating whether or not to do it all in white…maybe I should see about finding a light grey for the shorter sections. Either way it’s going back in the UFO pile for another time…..

Yeah, that looks every bit like it is from the 1970’s doesn’t it? But it also looks kinda cool…. However, with not having all of the materials it will just have to wait until I have everything. I’m not rushing as I have plenty of other projects to work on. I ended up swapping it out for a different latch hook that wasn’t on my list. This has been a low stress project to work on in the evenings while watching tv. The bonus is that I am a lot faster at this than I used to be and this project is almost complete. Double bonus is that one of the boys has laid claim to it so I won’t have to figure out what to do with it when it is finished. I know you are totally curious about what it could possibly be so of course I need to share a picture.

I did forget to take a picture of this project when I first started to work on it, so I folded it up to show the section that was done.

And here is where we are now. I am hoping that in a couple more evenings I will have it completed!

Honestly I’m still a little surprised that I’ve gotten so much done. It is working up much quicker than I had anticipated and I’m kind of excited to complete it. The real challenge will be remembering how to apply the rug binding but I think that I have some instructions around here somewhere. Fingers crossed that I can find them!

Hopefully you are also making progress on the things you need – whatever they may be. If you are challenging yourself to get some of your UFO’s completed, or perhaps get yourself started on a challenging project, please feel free to share your progress! We love show and tell!

Happy Quilting!

Back from the Craft Shows!

We made it, we survived, and we even sold some things! We weren’t sure what to expect over the weekend except for one thing – we would be tired at the end of it. And we certainly were, and thus why we are a little late (and short) with our posting this week.

Usually at these types of events we meet some interesting people and hopefully make some connections for people to come to the shop. While there are a couple of guilds in our area, many of our customers are not part of guilds and this becomes a great way for us to meet people and advertise ourselves.

There were some common themes for our discussions – mainly shipping and holiday shopping but there was another topic that came up that I didn’t anticipate. Quality of Goods.

We had many folks stop by to check out our wares and received compliments on our items. Many compliments went along the lines of, “Oh, I love these and they last forever!” Most of our items are not consumable, so they are meant to last a long time. Some of these conversations went further into how at these craft shows you find people that make a thing well and it lasts for a long time unlike purchasing mass made products from a big retailer.

To be honest, it wasn’t a conversation that I had been expecting to have and it got me thinking. Many of us crafters make our items so that they will last a while. We can be particular about the quality of materials that we use while crafting our items as well as the methods to put items together. We take pride in our work and our finished items reflect the fruits of our labor. Which is why we receive inquiries about repairing quilts and afghans. These items we often made to be used and to last.

To be honest, it is a bit of a double edged sword. How wonderful that we have created items that last with use! It makes items harder to sell when they have a long life…after all how many coasters or hot pads does one really need? (We, of course, would say all of them! ha ha!) However, we are often not open for the same convenient hours as the big retailers or maybe have the same variety. What we can offer is a well made product that lasts.

So, as you do your shopping for gifts or look to replace worn items in your home don’t forget about the crafters. It may cost a little more on the front end, but you will be getting a product that will often last you much longer than you anticipate.

Happy Crafting!

Quilting By-You

Tip of the Iceberg.

We talk about the tip of the iceberg at home a lot. How icebergs are tricky things…that you can only see a portion above the water while the greater mass lies below the surface. We talk about how the tip of the iceberg represents our final product; the result of our work. The mass below represents the work that it takes to get the result, or the part of the iceberg you can’t see. The boys wanted to start a podcast – so they are learning a lot about the work that lies beneath the surface.

A couple of weekends ago they also got to watch us go through a bit of that as well. They helped to load items that we had lovingly crafted and packed them into our vehicles so we could unload at show one. They came to see our end result where we had our items unpacked and displayed. At show two they had the opportunity to see how we turn a stack of boxes and crates into a shopping display, talk with shoppers, and then dismantle it all into packing boxes and load it all up once again. At this point all I have to really say is, “Think of the iceberg”, and they know.

Our quilting is like icebergs, people enjoy the finished product but don’t always understand the work that goes into the creation. There are seemingly unlimited pattern and fabric choices and combinations. Then there is the money for supplies which always seems to be increasing. Lastly (and possibly most importantly) is the time we dedicate to the creation. Some of us have projects that are really large icebergs. We hope you keep plugging away on those – we know the effort you are putting into things!

A lot of the time when we talk about icebergs, we are talking about how no one really cares about the part that is below the surface – the unseen work that needs to happen. That is until that work isn’t done. Everyone likes to focus on the part that can be seen. That’s our Wow! Factor.

Previous to opening QBY – we both worked in a law office and occasionally I would bring in a finished project and my boss would always ask the same question, “How many hours did that take you?” I didn’t really get it at first because it was my creative outlet and the hours didn’t matter. However, to him where hours are billable, he was attributing a value to it in way that I never thought of that also gave credit to the effort I put into it. A lot of people take our finished creations for granted so it was nice to have recognition for the time put into things.

There are countless memes or posts about how much fabric costs, hours totaled, the monetary cost of other needed supplies like thread and batting and finally adding up to a grand total showing why quilts can cost so much. Honestly, I think that type of thing just gets passed around by and to most of us who understand and gives us a way to commiserate with each other.

Hopefully you don’t find yourself having to field these kinds of questions regularly, if at all. Maybe a better way to start explaining things is to talk about the iceberg. After all, we know how the Titanic turned out!

Happy quilting – and don’t give up on those projects that have a larger iceberg!

How early is too early?

So, we walk into a store in late August and are bombarded by all things Halloween. At first I feel a little rushed and frustrated. Why so early? We all know that Halloween candy purchased in August is not going to make it to trick or treat time!

But lately I’ve been thinking. How early is too early? When July hits, we start to think about “Christmas in July”. Some of us gift items crafted by us and that takes time. We might be crafting year round to not feel so rushed when those holiday deadlines come around. We might even be doing holiday gift shopping year round when we find that perfect item on sale.

It does seem like once the Halloween items hit the shelves we blink and then there are Christmas items replacing them and we haven’t even had time for Thanksgiving. Sometimes it feels like we are being rushed through the year. Swim suits coming out when there is still snow on the ground and disappearing right when you think now is the time to buy one.

However, when it comes to our crafting, I find that I don’t mind having those holiday themes creeping out early. I don’t always want to plan for next year’s holiday decor before this year’s themes disappear. Those holiday themes mean that I can get a set of kids pillowcases in holiday fabrics plus their favorite cartoon characters with ease. Or I can get my Easter table runner and placemats completed while I still have a good selection of fabrics to choose from.

I certainly don’t like feeling that my holidays are rushed through the year, but when I’m the one sitting and planning things out I find that I appreciate having access to all the things I need.

So, how early is too early for you? Are you a crafter who gifts their items? Do you find that you would like to have access to seasonal items before the season starts? I’m sure most of us enjoy the discounted prices as the season ends!

Sometimes we just need a reboot in our way of thinking. Perhaps take inspiration from the new color combinations or layouts of things and find ways to incorporate that into your projects. Of course this is always easier said than done! It’s easy to think that “I’m not ready for that holiday yet”, but in reality you are already thinking about how Aunt Betty would love a new Thanksgiving runner for her table. We may not be ready to actually decorate for that holiday, but we can take advantage of the inspiration these displays may bring.

Happy quilting to you! Don’t forget that it is September already (!!!) and if you are planning on doing some crafting for gifts you won’t want to wait too much longer to get started. (Although I think I am saying that more for my benefit than yours.)

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Time to Tweak it a Little.

Hopefully we can now get back to our regularly scheduled posting habits!

We will certainly pick up where we left off with our Jacob’s Ladder blocks, but that will have to wait until next time. They are all sitting patiently waiting until it is their turn.

We also fell down a bit on UFO stuff. That’s okay too. I’m sure that we have all realized over the last year or so that sometimes life happens and we have to shift our priorities to take care of those things that are necessary. Hopefully you are all making UFO progress in some form or another.

Maybe you are like me, constantly tweaking your sewing area because some new idea has taken hold and surely that idea will make my crafting area just that much better! To that effect, I recently acquired a 6ft workbench. I have been wanting one where I could keep my Cricut and embroidery machine (because we can never have too many hobbies right?) sitting out and at the ready on a sturdy surface where I can use them. (Or perhaps learn to use them better that I do currently…) Previously they were sitting on flat surfaces where I would need to move them to actually use them. Now I have some storage under the bench and need to get a shelf or two for above the bench and that area should be all good. At least until I get the urge to start changing things up again.

It took a little rearranging to have the space for the workbench. Which prompted me to really clean out my book and pattern cabinet. Since it has doors on it, I can cram a bunch of stuff in there and close the doors. Out of sight, out of mind. I had to unload it to move it, and took that as an opportunity to really evaluate what I have in there. I was also able to repurpose some cubes and a stand to other parts of the house.

For the record, I have binders where I place my individual paper patterns in slip sleeves. I also keep block of the month patterns together in another binder. I have torn apart magazines to just keep the patterns I like and those are in another. If you are looking for ways to store your patterns, this had really worked well for me. I can just take the whole slip sheet out and put it with the materials for a project and I can keep papers with all of my notes for that project in that slip sheet as well. If you are a super organized person, you could even sort by type of pattern (applique, paper piecing, etc.) or designer, or theme, or however you work best. I know, actual binders are expensive, but often Goodwill has a few.

I ended up going through all of those binders. Well, there are 4. And all of my books. And then my magazines (which were totally over flowing my magazine file holders). I discovered that I have come quite a way on my quilting journey and that there are many books and patterns that I have outgrown, purchased on a whim, or was saving for later that I can really let go.

Can you believe that I had two laundry baskets full? I was a little surprised. My books and patterns all fit nicely on the shelves now and I can see how much my tastes have changed as I have grown as a quilter. Does it hurt that I spent money on all of these items that I don’t need anymore? No. Chances are that we have all spent money on things that ended up not being a good idea. Maybe it was a duplicate, maybe it broke right away, or maybe it just didn’t work out the way you thought it would. It’s okay. The things I am removing from my crafting space are all things that brought me joy at one time. They provided me some inspiration for projects or even the instructions for the project itself. They helped to move me forward on my quilting journey. These items have served their purpose and by letting them go, another quilter can find their inspiration and continue on their quilting journey.

Maybe you have some of those types of things in your crafting area. Things that you bought once upon a time and they have become things that you won’t use any more. Maybe you even feel guilty when you see them in your sewing room. Remember that you have options. Check with your friends and see if they would like to trade items with you. Or list them for sale and see if you can get a little cash for them. Don’t let those items continue to hang out. Use them to make charity items, donate to your guild, or gift a quilter that may need a pick me up. By moving these items out of your creative space, you will feel freer and your may find that your creativity jumps a notch or two without that guilt weighing you down. It’s easy to get caught up on the financial aspect – but these items have served their purpose for you and it’s time to move them on. I’m still finding things that I need to move along. Life is ever changing and we just continue to adapt.

Hopefully you continue to tweak your crafting area to make it more serviceable for you. It seems like that can be a never ending project, and it some ways it is. Sometimes we have to move it all around and find the way that works best for us.

Happy Quilting!