More Thoughts on 2011

2011 started off with a bang!!  Not literally because I went to bed around 10pm on New Year's Eve.  I know, how boring can you get???  Anyway, I can't tell you what kind of bang we had around here YET but I promise I will tell you all about it real soon.

Anyway, I have decided that 2011 is going to be my year to Finish It Up and Slash my Stash.  I have so many projects that are in progress.  I know all quilters do but I'm tired of having far more unfinished projects than finished ones.  So, since I got my Janome this past year

I am determined to finish up as many of my unfinished projects as possible.  I am also going to attempt to not buy any fabric except what is needed to finish up those projects.  Now I'm not saying that I might not start some new projects but I will use what I have to do them.  I have so many kits and patterns that I have bought that I just have to get to these or I'm going to drown in my sewing room.  Besides, that way I can buy more fabric and patterns without feeling guilty, right????  I thought so!!

So the first step was to clean up my sewing room.  That started last fall when our daughter went off to college and my sweet hubby took over her room for his art studio.  I took over the formal living room.  We definitely are not formal people here!!  Here are a couple of pictures taken during that process.  Beware, it's a mess!!

I told you it was a mess.  You can't even see my sewing machine in any of those pictures.  Anyway, here is the start of the re-do.  There is still much more to be done but it is in good enough shape that I can get to everything easily so I've been sewing instead of re-doing.

That's better but not done.  The bookshelves hold only my craft paraphernalia.  The cutting table has been moved but still needs a skirt to hide all the junk under it.  I still need more of the storage bins to hold my fabric and scraps.  Well, maybe not once I get finished stash-busting, huh?  So, we'll see if I can finish up the room re-do and stay the course for my project finishes and stash busting.   I'm signed up for a machine quilting class on February 14th so that should REALLY help.  I have so many quilt tops that need to be quilted.

Thanks for stopping by,

2009 is rolling right along

Aren't they cute? Scout stays worn out most of the time trying to keep up with his new little buddy. It is such fun to watch them play but at the rate that Rudy is growing it won't be long before the tables are turned and Scout is the "underdog".

I've been doing a lot of "puppy-sitting" now that school is back in session for our sweet daughter(Rudy's mom). Oh my, he's so constant. The weather doesn't help either. We have had so much snow this year and they are forecasting blizzard conditions for tonight and tomorrow. It's not fun taking a puppy out for potty time in snow that is almost belly high on him. It doesn't seem to bother him but "grandma" doesn't care for it.

I have been doing a bit of sewing. I took pictures but the computer won't seem to recognize the USB port so that I can get them uploaded. I am working on a new project I bought fabric for in Houston last month and also trying to finish up my 2008 Thimbleberries quilt. I have jumped into the middle of several BOM projects but will wait to post those another day. In the meantime, we are rearranging our hobby rooms(again). My hubby's art(check it out here and here) and hunting supplies are going back upstairs to the spare bedroom and my quilting is spreading out into the formal living and dining rooms now. As soon as it's in some kind of order I'll post pics of it also.

There hasn't been much else going on around here. Both of our boys are back to their respective apartments at school. Spring semesters are starting next week for them. As I said earlier, our sweet girl is already on the downhill slope of her senior year. I know these months are going to race by so quickly.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to have the camera up and going again soon.
Happy Quilting!!

A Post A Day in May

Jenny B over at Allsorts has issued a challenge. Are you up for it? Run on over to her blog and join in the fun. Even if you don't have a blog, go on over and check out her blog. She's really got a lot of colorful inspiration there.

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Since I haven't finished anything substantial to show you I thought I would share my sewing space with you today. It is really our formal dining room. We are not the least bit "formal" people so we usually eat at the bar in the kitchen or at the table in the adjoining breakfast room which you saw yesterday. We do however have our farm table in that room so it has become my sewing table. It is ergonomically-challenged but I'm hoping to remedy that soon. The bar in the kitchen is also my cutting table since it is at the perfect height for cutting. It is only a few steps from the "sewing room".

By the way, I cleaned up for this photo. The table NEVER looks like this when I am sewing. Those tubs stacked up there are some of my current WIP's.

Meet Quilt Inspector's #2 and #3.(You met Lily here.) That's Grace on the ironing board and Preston on the table. Grace spends most of her days on the ironing board. She is very "hand's" on with her inspections. This is not a problem unless there are large pieces to press. That's when the power struggle begins. Preston usually sits behind the sewing machine while I'm stitching. I guess he feels that quality control at the machine is the way to go.

I hope you enjoyed this small tour. Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!