It's snowing again.

No joke.

Snow

January Bee Round Up

Goal # 32: Keep up with bees. I belong to 6, which sounds like a lot, but is certainly manageable. I try to get done in the early part of the month, because the end of month, in everything, just always seems to be busier. I know, for me, the rest of my weekends are occupied, so I was happy to get my January blocks finished. Here's what I've got:

For Jodi in Lovely Linen

For Krista in SewFun2

For Sharon in Not Your Grandma's Bee

For Nikki in Bee Vintage



One more Bee Vintage and my 3x6 and I'm good!

100 Yard Fast

Like many fabric hoarders collectors, I sometimes get overwhelmed with my stash and say, Enough Already! I'll resolve not to buy any fabric for the next year, or 6 months or whatever. But then I'll see something pretty and, well, you know. The problem with this, for me, is there's no motivation. If I stop buying for say, 2 months, and I don't use any of my stash, then what's changed, except I'm either a) grumpy from not spending or b) guilty from not sewing.

So, I came up with a new plan. The 100 Yard Fast. The way it works is simple: as soon as I use up 100 yards of fabric, I get to buy more. The quicker I sew, the quicker I get to replenish. Why 100 yards? It sounds kinda cool, like the 100 Yard Dash. Really, though, I estimated my stash at about 400 yards, so I figured using up a quarter of that (at fat quarter of that, ha! I crack myself up!) is an attainable goal. (Have you ever done that, estimated the size of your stash? It's a little scary. And my stash is tiny compared to a lot of people. But go tell someone who isn't textile addicted that you've got 400 yards of fabric sitting in the basement and they'll be calling A&E to have you audition for the next episode of Hoarders. It adds up quickly. )

So how to use it. A lot of what I have is bargain bin, $1 yard stuff pucked from JoAnns red tag tables back when my standards weren't as high. Sure, give me 10 yards, it will make a great quilt back. Of course, now quilt backs are just as cute as the fronts. (In my own defense, I have found some jewels in those, like 12 yards of Timeless Treasures in a provencal pattern - both yellow and blue. Still have 10 yards!) But my plan is this:

1. quilt more. I have at least 6 WIPs that I will finish this winter. I won't count the fronts that have been pieced, but the backs, for sure.
2. make more charity quilts. My goal is one on one. For every quilt I complete, I make a charity quilt. These tend to be simpler and faster. And will easily eat up 6-8 yards!
3. get my daughter involved. She's 14 and very creative. Every inch she uses counts, too!
4. give it away. I recently met a lovely lady, Andi, who works with cancer patients, doing fiber art with them while they're receiving treatment as a way to pass the time. She has a full access pass to my stash.

How long will this take? I don't really know. Three months? Four? It doesn't really matter. The idea is to use what I have and create. Simple. And after I use my first hundred, I plan to do it again, and get my stash down just to yardage I really love.

Oh, and don't feel to sorry for me, working with my boring same old, same old. I did plan a little bit for this endeavor. (Kinda like carbo-loading before a marathon.) Hubby was good enough to visit my Amazon wish list and put these under the tree:

So, as I use it up, I'll post how I'm doing. Feel free to join me on this little adventure!

First Snow

A Christmas Quilt

I started this quilt back in September for a few reasons: 1. I hadn't started a new project in, say, oh, 3 or 4 days 2. I wanted to be part of something, and Pat Sloan's Quilt A Long came along 3. I had all the ingredients in my stash. (I'll do that with food, too. I'll make a recipe, not necessarily because I love it, but because I have everything I need to make it in the pantry. Black Bean and Sweet Potato Stew comes to mind) At first, I didn't looove it, but I liked it well enough. Despite my being applique challenged, it went together really quickly, with a minimum of cursing. The cursing came when I thought that quilting it with gold metallic thread (there's a bit of gold metallic in the fabrics) would be a brilliant idea. Don't ever quilt with metallic thread. Ever. You will hate it and be mean to your cat, (who happens to looove gold metallic thread - so much that I'm regifting it and putting it in her little kitty stocking.) Anyway, after changing needles, lowering tension, starting and stopping, it got quilted. And you know what? I love this quilt!

She Thrifts. She Scores!

I used to love thrifting. I used to live where there were a lot of good, independent thrift stores with great prices, all within 5 miles of me. Now, not so much. I have to rely on Good Will and Salvation Army for my thrifting. SA is a bit geographically undersireable, so I'm usually stuck with Good Will. I wouldn't even mind it so much, but it seems like their prices have really gone up lately. I mean, really $4.75 for a sweater? I can buy a new one at Ann Taylor with a good sale and a family and friends coupon. Today, though, I had a mission. I needed to find "costume" type clothing, specifically white button down shirts. No such luck. (All the waiters of the world must also shop at Good Will.) Anyway, since I'm there, I wander over to the sheets. In the past, I've picked up a couple of vintage sheets . Not great ones, but okay ones. Today, though, as I round the corner, I see this:

I literally heard angels singing. I dash over and find two huge- as in king, in really good shape Vera pillowcases.

Good Will, I take back all the bad things I said about you.