Sunday, November 16, 2014

Housekeeping

Just before I start a big project, I do a little housekeeping in the studio. I like having a clean slate of everything. I dust, I vacuum (floor and design wall), I put away the detritus of the previous quilt. Sometimes, during the cleaning up process, I'll find a small project to finish, or maybe to even start, and knock that out as part of the cleaning process. It cleans out a little space in my brain ~ the part that has the running "to make" list.

A few weeks ago I finished up two quilts. This one. Plus another (future blog post promised!) And then I decided I needed to make my October Little Amish. And then there were the ornaments. I signed up for the Trim the Tree ornament swap on Flickr. I haven't done a swap in ages, and this one has always been one of my favorites. Fortunately for me, I also signed up for Betz White's Holdiay Stitch-Along Ornament Club. The ornaments need to be posted by today, so finished those as well. (Again, post and pictures later.)

As I was cleaning, and making, and cleaning again, my eyes kept going to the scrap bin. The overflowing scrap bin. It was bugging me. So I made a quilt. Quilt top. A string quilt top, using up all the little bits in the bin. Not really all of them, but enough so that I made a good dent in the bucket. I certainly could have made more, but after 64 8" blocks, I was getting a little bored and finally felt like moving on.

Kitty feet and Katie feet
Don't you just love back lighting on quilt tops?


So today, I'm busting out the vacuum again. Putting the scraps back into hiding. I've got a new needle in the machine, and a new blade in the rotary cutter. New project: I'm ready!



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7 comments:

Pat said...

I love string quilts and yours is no exception. That reminds me that I have one of my own to finish. It will be out of your favorite fabrics - batiks - lol.

Needled Mom said...

What a nice reward for cleaning! It looks beautiful too.

Elizabeth said...

This is lovely, it inspires me to tackle my scraps too. After all, what am I saving them for?

CurlyGirlMom said...

I'm waiting on pins and needles to do my first string quilt, which is second in line. I'm hoping to have it started before the end of spring. I'd love to have it on my bed for spring/summer! :) I just love all those beautiful bright colors. Yours is a real beauty!

Kathy said...

very nice job!!! how you going to quilt it?

Unknown said...

Your peppermint twist tree skirt is so cute! It looks hard to make. You did a great job.

Janet said...

Perfect shade of gray you used to create the design. After our Weeks Ringle class, I am paying more attention. Beautiful quilt in the making!