Top Ten Reasons to Keep Your Man Out Of Your Studio

1.      He will, without doubt, step on the needle you lost last week.

2.      He will be able to count your works in progress and ask why they aren’t finished.

3.      He will discover that the cost of your quilting ‘tools’ rivals the cost of his power tools.

4.      He will wonder why you need an entire library of quilting books and patterns.

5.      He will want to know when the fabric bomb exploded in your studio.

6.      He’ll want to know why a grown woman needs crayons, felt markers, coloring books and a felt board. Men just don’t understand the creation of applique.

7.      He might discover your hidden supply of chocolate and hot tamales and want to share.

8.      Or God forbid, he might discover how big your stash really is.

9.      He’ll want to know how you can work in that mess and won’t understand that you know exactly where everything is. (More or less.)

10.  He’ll start touching stuff and moving things around and you might have to kill him. (And digging a hole in the yard big enough to bury a man is sooo much work.)

This is all tongue in cheek of course, except number ten.

Hugs

Cathy

UFO's SEEN IN CALGARY

Okay, it is update time in our UFO contest.

Lisa E. had 17 UFOs on her list. Finished 1.
Audrey R. had 18 UFOs. Finished 3.
Kayle P. had 41 UFOs. Finished 1.
Becky A. had 3 UFOs. No updates.
Linda N. had 86 UFOs. Finished 4.
Marcy Y. had 39 UFOs. Finished 2.

I have finished: Not your Grand Mother's log cabin, Marnie, Kathy, my parents quilt (and a whack of accessories for it.) Charmed to Bits and Baby Bunting. (Pictures coming later.) This gives me a grand total of SIX. Holy crap, I had best get moving here I'm never going to finish them all.

Come on girls, I'm beating you. Lets all step up the pace and get something done. Lisa has sent me pictures of her UFO and some other projects. You'll see them after she has given the quilt away. It is a gift and meant as a surprise for one lucky person!

I haven't finished many of my UFOs yet and now I'm going to make excuses. I'm busy! So ha!! Can't beat that can you? Seriously, things are hectic in my life right now. You, over there on the left, stop heckling. I know we're all busy. I just got back from vacation, then spent a few days in Edmonton. I took a machine maintenance class with APQS at Sparrow Studioz.

I've got a huge queue of client quilts to do and am puttering away at them. But what's really keeping me busy is writing. When I should be quilting my own stuff or writing and editing the new patterns for the sale I am attending in October, I am typing away on my computer writing romance novels. Wicked naughty novels. This is something that I've played with for years and every now and then it gets out of control and consumes my life. Now is one of those times.

The ideas come and the words flow and I type until my fingers cramp. Anyone out there know a massage therapist who specializes in crampy fingers? This is not something I can control. I simply cannot stop the words from coming every bit of scrap paper has an idea scratched on it. I even dream the stories if I don't write them down. It is simply easier to sit at the computer and write until the obsessive flow of ideas slows to a trickle. Now I'm not saying I'm good at it, just that something compels me to write.

Matt Sparrow (Man Quilter)
and one of his lovely Children.

Okay, back to Sparrow Studioz. I met Matt and Bradie Sparrow. Lovely people. Sparrow Studio is a fabulous spot. Mark has a gallery of quilts for sale. There are many longarm machines for rent so you can quilt your own work. He has his own machine where he quilts for clients and also has other longarmers renting space for their machines. I would show you pictures, but some idiot left the camera at home. You'll have to trust me on this. Sparrow Studios is an inspiring place. Now if only we could talk them into selling fabric!

Mark Carahar (sorry if I misspelled your name!) of APQS taught the class. Who knew these machines were so complex? (Okay we all did.) What I didn't realize that they were designed for easy maintenance. Mark showed us how to repair virtually everything that could go wrong. Wow. I'm way smarter now and if I ever drag myself away from this computer I'll know how to fix the little glitch I've been having. I have to tell you that judging from Mark's stories, it seems that I've made just about every possible screw-up with my longarm. (I'm not sure if I was a good student for having stories to relate or not ... I'm thinking that with my history I may have been the class dunce.)

Insanity Is Not Hereditary, You Get It From Your Friends!

Yup, its true. I've said what we all know. Insanity is NOT hereditary, we get it from our friends. Our quilting friends. They give us ideas and inspire our creativity. Sometimes to the point where we later say "What was I thinking?"

I'm there now. Yup totally-absolutely-certifiably insane. And what I want to know is, WHAT WAS I THINKING? Can somebody please, please tell me .....

Today's insanity comes from a number of sources.  There's a lot a blame to go around here, so line up friends and take your share. My first torpedo of blame goes to the girls at guild. Friendship blocks. What a lovely idea. Everyone makes a block or two for this month's recipient. And quick as a blink she has a new quilt. Ha. Friendship blocks? Evil blocks! Evil, evil I say.



My turn came up and I had this brilliant idea for making a quilt entirely of half square triangles. So for my friendship blocks I requested one side light/one side dark half square triangles. I had a plan. It was a cunning plan. There was this vision, it was going to be perfect. All those triangles plus a few more in different sizes was going to create this fabulous disappearing-diminishing-distance look. Just let me say now, FAT CHANCE! That idea failed. So I settled on a much simpler plan and put the blocks together in a simple pattern for a wall hanging.
 

The whole quilt.
Flowers will be in each spot where
there is a petal pinned.

Hmm. It didn't turn out quite big enough so I added a pieced light/light half square triangle border. Ouch! Waaaay to bright. It needed toned down at bit, or maybe jazzed up. S0, I thought of Linda W. I took a three dimensional quilting class from Linda several years ago. I learned how to made 3D leaves, flowers and embellishments. So I decided to add an applique vine and some 3D flowers and leaves to my wall hanging to make it pretty and to make the borders a little softer. Nothing fancy just a couple of dimensional flowers to spruce it up. Great idea. I started planning. First we add the vine stem, quilt the top, then we bind it. Then we decide what to do for the 3D bits. Okay, I admit, it wasn't my smartest idea.


But wait, it gets worse, the next torpedo of blame goes to Kim Jamieson-Hirst (www.chatterboxquilts.com ). Kim is crazy about applique. She'll applique anything. I suspect that she would put applique food on the table at supper if she thought she would get away with it. One day I'm puttering away in my studio thinking about my wall hanging and I start thinking about Kim which gets me thinking about raw edge applique. So, I cut out some flowers and leaves. Test place them on the quilt. They look perfect. They are exactly what the quilt needs. Except, I've already finished stitching the layers together and sewing on appliques would spoil the back.

Don't say it, I know what you're thinking. "But you could HAND applique them on."

I told you not to say it. I wanted this quilt finished and off my UFO list. So hand applique was out. To heck with Kim and her crazy obsession with applique.

Just when I've started thinking about banging my head into the desk to try to jar out a solution to those punchy borders, I think of THEM. Those dreaded art quilters. You know who you are, stop sitting there looking innocent. Those woman are crazy. Nuts. They are always jazzing up their quilts with little bit and bobs. How about a button, maybe some beads? You know who they are, trying to turn quilting into an entirely different art form. How I hate them! Okay, I'm just jealous that they can work outside of their box and I can't. But now they have me thinking flowers. Bella Nonna Petals! Perfect. A few quick stitches and Voilà the quilt will be finished and ready for hanging. A little out of my comfort zone, but still do-able.

Ha ha ha ha ha ..... this is where the maniacal laughter starts. I try bunching those petals. I mean really, how hard can it be to add a few flowers? Hmm, bunching the petals together doesn't work. That little cluster of leaves looks good. Maybe I'll add a tiny white center to my cluster of leaves. Nice, but not enough. Ooooo, a beaded center would punch that wee flower right up! Success! Now that looks nice. Just a few more and the quilt will be finished.

So I start planning again .......  I'll need a couple flowers to go with those corner leaf clusters.

So I design and build my first flower. It lovely. Its perfect. Its exactly what I had envisioned. It took a while though. "Yeah", I told myself, "its exactly what you want. Make some more. After all 20 minutes a flower isn't that bad."

Lets stop here and take a count. Leaf clusters for the corners. That's four. Maybe a bigger flower for each corner. That makes eight. Hmm, now something for the sides. That makes 24 in all. Not too bad. Okay, I can do this. Its going to take a while to make two dozen flowers. Lets put a couple of them in place and see how it looks. Nice.

Ooooh, but it is sooo much nicer when you cluster a few together like that..... Okay so now I'm thinking I need about eighty. Yes I said EIGHTY flowers to complete this border.


More maniacal laughter here.  Much more!


So now somebody tell me, WHAT WAS I THINKING? (And yes I am blaming everyone else for this. How could I possibly be at fault?) Maybe I should have gone with the hand applique!

TGIF

Yeah, I know. TGIF. Everyone uses it all the time. But seriously. I'm glad it is Friday. I'm going to spend the weekend working on my own projects. I think I'm nearly caught up with longarming for clients. I'm going to spend the day sewing with the Spawn. Wee daughter Wendy is coming over to work on a baby quilt for her friend. I'll run the longarm and help when needed. Tomorrow the other Spawn, Tina, is coming over to play. Does life get any better than this?

Now for an update: So far I have finished three UFOs. Marnie, Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin and now ..... a baby quilt. So far, I am leading the race. (I'm not even taking credit for the quilt for Cousin Kathy because it wasn't started when I opened this competition.) I've finished three projects and my contestants have not yet reported any finishing. Tsk tsk tsk. Come on ladies. This is supposed to inspire you ... get sewing.

This is the quilt I finished last night. Decided to
make it from two fabrics just to see how
it turned out. Its kind of cute.

This is Charmed to Bits. The original version of the
same quilt made from charm squares.

The second version has no name, but it is the alternate cover picture for my Charmed to Bits pattern. I decided to make it on a whim and was surprised how different it looked in two colors rather than with Charm Squares. Both are the same basic rail fence. But WOW what a difference color selection makes.

I also managed to bind a second quilt last night. (Hubby is out of town and I'm watching Star Trek the Next Generation and hand sewing. It is great!) I finished binding my first friendship quilt from Piecemaker's Quilt Guild. It has been quilted for eons, but I never got around to binding it. Well, it is bound and I am working on the embellishments. I'm not sure where they are going, but I am using Bella Nonna flower petals and beads to jazz it up. I'm kind of excited about it.

Generally, I'm not much of an embellisher. I'm more traditional than that. I'm trying to break out of my comfort zone and do new things. This is the first step. Not very adventurous I know, but I am trying. (And I don't mean trying people's patience either.)

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Are you an embellisher or art quilter? What inspires you to work in those mixed medias?

My Secret Shame

Today's post is kind of a mixed bag, so don't expect any organisation or coherence. I've finally finished a couple of new projects. Two of them come off my UFO list. The third is a bonus project (and test drive of a new pattern). And, I finished piecing the quilt for my parents. I even made their new bedroom curtains to match! Plus, I am almost finished the pillow shams.

A completed UFO: This is for my husband's cousin
who has a birthday this month. And who gave
me some beautiful paintings.

Another UFO and birthday gift for another of his cousins
having her birthday in August. This is from the book
"Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin."
It is a variation. (Read that as my magpie syndrome
got the better of me and I skipped the complex borders.)

Detail view of  "Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin."

The completed top of the quilt for my folks.  I had to lay it out on my
friends floor, mine isn't big enough. Dang king sized beds.
I even mitered the printed borders. I am wondering if
I need to add some applique to fill in the large
cream colored areas.
What do you think?

Test run for a new pattern and a birthday gift.
It is for, you guessed it: another cousin of my husband.
She turned fifty this year. Happy Birthday!

The forth female cousin (all from the same family) got her quilt for Christmas. The picture of that is in my December 22, 2010 post. Hers was a wall hanging while the other ladies are getting at least lap sized.

NOW FOR MY SECRET SHAME:
Okay, anyone who knows me realizes that housework is absolutely the last thing on my to-do list. The VERY last thing. I know things are getting out of hand when my husband (who asks only that the dishes be done and he empties the dishwasher) tells me its time to sweep my studio. Today he DEMANDED that I sweep. Yikes! So, I did. I got 5 of these, yes you read correctly FIVE of these dust laden things from one sweeping. I vow here and now to sweep once a week. (Okay, I'll try.) But to be honest, longarm quilting does generate a lot of dust. So does all that cutting and sewing. Yeah I know I am making excuses...

My Secret Shame.
I never sweep, and only  occasionally dust.
I use batting scraps on my Swiffer head to clean up with.
As you can see, when you use the danged thing
it works pretty well. The bonus is that batting scraps are
FREE!!

Question Of The Day: Are you getting any work done this summer? Do you live in the garden in the summer? I would love to see some pictures of your projects, both completed and in progress.

Things are Moving Along Well

The Center Medallion of Mom and Dad's new quilt.
Somehow I don't think it will be finished by Friday
when I go for a visit. Maybe if I work real hard .....

My to-be-quilted closet. About half the quilts are mine.

Fabric for projects underway.

Well, as always I am busier than a one armed paper hangar. Things are ripping along quite well in the studio. I have finally managed to write some directions for new patterns. They are off to the testers now and will be back in a couple of weeks.
I have even managed to quilt two of my UFOs. Of course they are still unfinished as the binding is not on yet. But, it will be by next weekend. I will have three done by then as they are for cousins' birthdays on the August Long Weekend. So they WILL be finished.


Entries for the UFO contest are as follows:
Lisa E. has 17 UFOs on her list.
Audrey R. has 18 UFOs.
Kayle P. has 41 UFOs.
Becky A. has 3 UFOs.
Linda N. has 86 UFOs.
Marcy Y. has 39 UFOs.

Based on the nature of this competition, I have decided to allow more entries. After all, aren't UFO's really about having trouoble getting started and finishing things? Have you entered yet? Don't forget to send a list of your UFO's and a photo or two of your works in progress.

Storage shelf with UFOs stacked up!

Its UFO Time: Ladies and Gents, Start Your Sewing Machines

WARNING!

Leave Me Alone I'm Quilting!

Okay people it is confession time. I have, by actual count 58 UFOs. For those of you who don't already know, in quilting terms a UFO is an Un-Finished-Object. (This is not to be confused with the more rare, but equally frustrating WOMBAT ... Waste Of Material, Batting and Time.)


I am an expert at UFOs. I have what my husband calls Magpie Syndrome. I am distracted by bright or shiny objects. I see something and say, "'Oh I've got to make that." The words are hardly out of my mouth before something else catches my eye and its "Oh that too, and that.' I start many things and finish significantly fewer. Its time to pay the piper. I'm going to get some things done and I want you to join me. So, I'm having a friendly little competition.

To be clear projects are only considered UFOs if they are actually started. All those piles of fabric I have purchased for projects not yet stared are not UFOs. That is only stash or what I call un-started projects and they are a whole different ball of string. We may deal with them in the future. It does not become a UFO until I actually start the project.

My goal for the remainder of this year is to finish as many previously-started projects as I can. And I am challenging you to do the same.

Today I have:

• 5 quilted tops that need binding (Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin, Charm Square, Guild Friendship Blocks, Fairies, Pink and Blue rail fence)
• 3 incomplete hand sewing projects (includes hand piecing or applique) (Bonnet Girls an on-going BOM, Floral Wreath Applique, partly pieced Crazy Quilt)
• 30 finished tops waiting for me to quilt and then bind them (Table runner to queen sized)
• 15 projects that I started piecing that have not yet reached the quilting stage. (Mom and Dad, 2-Turning Twelve (modified Turning Twenties), 2-baby quilts from Dick and Jane ...)
• 5 projects that are ready for the pattern to be written and tested (Midnight Blues, 2 applique wall hangings, Scrap Therapy and Marnie)

That gives me a grand total of 58 projects to complete. (Okay I may have quit counting when I began to get discouraged and embarrassed. I definitely skipped the boxes in the basement and I am not including those I have designed patterns for but haven't started.)

The challenge is for you to send me a list of your UFOs and see how many you can complete before December 15, 2011. That gives you more than five months to work with. Half a year. Eons of sewing time.

Here's how it works.
1. You have until July 5 to join the fun.
2. E-mail me a list of your UFOs, or at least a list of those you plan to complete. Un-started projects do not count. You must already have started these projects to qualify. If you wish, you can submit a photo of the started projects or the mess in your sewing space that inspired you to join in the fun. Please include your full name, hometown, e-mail address and project list. (quiltingcath@gmail.com) I will keep all your personal information confidential and it will not appear on my blog.
3. E-mail me a picture of each project as you complete it. (I may publish them on this blog to inspire others. If you want to share a picture with me, but do not want your photo posted here, please tell me when you submit your picture.)
4. I will publish an ongoing list of competitors and their stats. (Number of projects, number finished.) (No last names, just first names and initials and home town.)
5. You must be a follower of this blog to enter and to win. If you are not already a follower, please sign up.
6. The winner will be the person who completes the most UFOs before December 15, 2011.
7. Every entrant who completes more projects than I do will be entered into a draw for an additional prize.

Sorry to my off continent followers, this contest is only open to subscribers in Canada and the Continental United States. (Technical question for my American readers, does Continental United States include Alaska? It does for this blog.) If you are off continent and want to participate, please join us but you will not be eligible for prizes.

 

The Grand Prize .... a quilt kit. The pattern will be one of my choosing and one of my own patterns (of course) and the fabric needed to complete the top and the binding. The Bonus Prize: to be determined.

Ladies and Gents ..... start you sewing machines. On your marks, get set, QUILT!

I dare you to enter! I double dare you!! I double-dog dare you!!!



Something Lovely to Inspire Us!
Birds of a Feather
By: Joan F. Naylor.Quilted by: LuAne Downs
3rd Place Wall Hanging
Machine Quilters Showcase 2011. Kansas

Storage and Distractions

Plastic Storage Bins, the two stacked
closely togethe with no lids
are full of batik scraps. Mmmmm.

I talked briefly about organization yesterday. I loved the idea one reader posted yesterday about an over the door shoe organizer. Sadly, I have French doors and they wouldn’t work for me. I would be worried about breaking the glass if I closed the door too hard.

Ikea bins.

I store each of my projects in clear plastic tubs. They stack neatly on my shelves and I can see what is inside. I'm not saying that inspires me to work on old projects, but I can see what I’m not doing. I have IKEA bins in my cutting table that are easy to pull out and dump allowing me to find that perfect piece easily. I have them color coordinated.

I find that I have "Magpie Syndrome" and am easily distracted by bright, shiny or colorful objects. I hop from one project to another and back. I’ll be busy working away on a project and I’ll see the perfect fabric for someone I know, and I’ll snatch it up and start designing their quilt. Last week I went shopping with a friend and found the perfect fabric for Cousin Anne. I know she has at least a double bed, so being wise I bought enough fabric to make her a queen size quilt. Yes, there is logic there; I hate getting half finished and discovering I’m six inches short of something. Anyway, Anne stopped by for hubby’s 50^th birthday. She loves the fabric, but only wants a wall hanging. She wants something small that she can easily show off. While I’m flattered that she thinks my work is worth showing off, what am I going to do with all the leftovers? I’m trying to reduce my stash, not build it. Maybe she’ll get both ... Ha ha ha, like I would ever get both finished. I would be distracted first.

Sometimes, I’ll see something I love and in almost no time it has a new home in my studio, just waiting for me to use it. Worst of all are new designs. I’ll see something and it will flash into my brain as a new idea for a quilt. First chance, I’m on EQ7 planning a new design. That design in turn morphs into half a dozen more before I now it, its time to cook dinner and I haven’t accomplished a darned thing.

My project bins are slowly being emptied, but when I get frustrated, I’ll drop a project sometimes for an extended period. Eventually I get back to them. Sometimes I’ll trade UFO’s with a friend. It’s like a whole new project. My Magpie likes that!



My queue for quilting.



Now, if only someone would quilt all the tops I have hanging in my studio waiting to be quilted. I always have great plans to fit one or two of my tops (or my daughters’ tops) into the queue each week, but it never seems to work that way. A client top will take longer than I expected, I’ll get lost in EQ or someone will invite me for coffee or fabric shopping. My discipline isn’t all it has cracked up to be.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What distracts you the most? And how to you inspire yourself to get back to quilting?

Welcome to the Fall into Fall Blog Hop.

This is your chance to find some great new inspirational quilting blogs and maybe win some prizes. Check out the host site Quilting with Debi (http://www.debiquilts.blogspot.com/). You can do this by clicking on her link, or by clicking the scarecrow picture. On her site, you’ll find a full list of the particiapating blogs. Be sure to check them out. I know I’ll be reading at them all.

As for the contest, I am going to give you at least 3 prizes and 5 ways to win. I’ll add another prize for every 25 entries I receive.

1. Sign up for my blog. (3 entries) If you are already a member and want to enter, make a comment and let me know you have already signed up.
2. Become my friend on face book. When you send your friend request, mention the blog in the comments. Or, after I have accepted your request, tell me that you have entered the contest. (1 entry)
3. Sign up for my mailing list on my pattern website http://www.pinefreckleforest.com/ by sending me an e-mail and mentioning this blog. (2 entries)
4. Comment on my blog. (1 entry)
5. Answer today’s blog question. (2 entries)

Remember that you can receive an entry for each comment you leave so check back tomorrow and comment on tomorrow’s topic.

As for me, I’ve been busy cleaning out my studio. In the interest of making room for new fabric and patterns, I am going to give away some of the patterns I have published, and some that I have purchased and never used (occasionally I like a pattern so much that I accidentally buy two copies.) I’ve got a couple of small fat quarter bundles as well.

With my longarm machine down for maintenance, I’ve found a lot of time for other things. I’ve been finishing up old projects and tidying things up a bit. So far, I’ve finished six UFO’s and spent two days mucking out bins. There is a lot of fabric going to Piecemakers for their charity projects. Piecemakers is the guild I belong to here in Calgary. The guild will make great use of it, and I’ll have space to put things away. Some of the fabric is quite dated, some of it is just small bits great for a scrap quilt and some of it is "what the heck was I thinking" fabric.

It is my goal to only purchase what I need for a fabric, but still I can’t help but purchase wonderful, inspiring fabrics that I see, even if I don’t yet have a use for them. How can I resist those pretty angels and fairies. And I think I’m addicted to Alexander Henry’s nearly naked men. Mmmmmmm. Some day I’ll turn those buff men into a quilt that will give a friend the best dreams she’s ever had.

Today’s question: How often do you clean out your studio or sewing space and what organizational method works best for you? Give me your top five organization tips.