Guilt Through Association

(It's been a whirlwind  July and August...a week in Portland in July, followed by the somewhat sooner than we expected passing of my father-in-law, rushing to finish the Kaffe scrap quilt for the fair (it won a 5th place ribbon :-( -- seriously!--but quilt judging is a subject for another blog post), a celebration of dear FIL's life hosted by us in August (accompanied by a tad more than the usual family drama)....I'm now trying to regain my footing and continue down the path toward some semblance of normalcy)

In the interest of getting back on track, I thought it might be enlightening if I harnessed my inner OCD and documented every project I have started and intend to finish (note I said 'intend to finish'..... this allows me the freedom to not list a few remnants hanging around from workshops that didn't turn out to be all that fun, or failed experiments in piecing...) . And while I was at it, I also decided to take stock of my 'good intentions', and make a notebook for all those projects I want to do, for which I already have most of the supplies (I didn't count the various patterns, or books purchased because they included a project I want to make--no, that would have required a trip to the office supply store for extra notebooks).

I'm big on lists....mostly because the Queen of Procrastination finds that making a list is an extremely effective tool for optimizing procrastination time. And also because there is nothing more satisfying to a listmaker than ticking off completed items from a 'to do' list. No matter how trivial, the sense of accomplishment is food for the soul.

As a productive person, I thought it better to just list some project notes regarding materials in the 'on deck' notebook. Who knows if I'll even get to these projects in this lifetime...no sense detailing project management steps for something not yet started.

Bottom line....I have 25 UFOs and 31 projects On Deck (it's the end of summer, last chance for baseball analogies). While I'm trying to convince myself that these are reasonable numbers for someone who has only been quilting for 5 years, I've got the hubs in my ear asking if I've been to the basement to count the needlepoint/crewel embroidery UFOs that have been in boxed up for the last 40 years....."(whine) I'm still waiting for my needlepoint chessboard that I picked out of a catalog for you back in 1973 (whine)"....the man is relentless (and I'm hoping that moths have destroyed any evidence of past transgressions).

In the meantime, guilt has gotten the best of me and I have dug out a quilt I began before I was a quilter (aka the "I Had No Idea What I Was Doing" quilt), and have begun the arduous process of ripping out every quilting stitch I managed to make (without a quilting foot/feed dogs up, through cheap see-thru cotton borders, sandwiching the lamest polyester batting known to man) before I folded it up and buried it in a closet, half (ass) quilted.

One small step......and a 2-pack of replacement blades for my Gingher seam ripper.

Once Again...Procrastination Wins

It's after 9 and I've not cut fab one for Fiesta. I shall take my little rocking chair, in the corner of the bedroom, turn it to the wall, and spend 15 minutes in a self-imposed time out as soon as I'm done with this post.......not!

I left the house this morning with my daughter to knock out a couple of merchandising projects and then headed up to Frederick to get my entry in for one of the new Bernina's or a Janome at my Bernina dealer's Grand Reopening event. Of course, while there I HAD to buy fabric.

Just a little stack of oriental fabrics with metallic accents. Zoom in on that photo....the second one from the bottom was the catalyst for this impulse purchase that I plan to turn into:

this table runner/wall hanging from the Simple Quilts and Table Runners II book.

And then I neatly tucked them away in one of my neat new boxes with the magnetic flap lids.

My mobile quilt shop (UPS) also paid a visit and left a little surprise while I was out

Yep, we filled in the Petite Ecole collection we started last week.

 Packed it up all neat and tidy

I'm beginning to think these boxes are genius for not cluing the hubs in to just how much fabric is being squirreled away. Out of sight, out of mind. Though I really need to remember what is in these boxes.

That left one big, sad box all empty

So in went all the Kaffe fabric I'm saving up for the perfect quilt....yardage, jelly roll, fat quarters, halfsies.

I'm hoping that I am able to empty these boxes shortly...okay, well, AFTER I use the indigo.....and the Day of the Dead fabrics.....and the dog quilt......and the Gee's Bend.....Dear Jane...Smith Street Designs....1930s.....oh my.....I see I am a hairs breadth from S.S.O.C.-dom (Stash Spiraling Outta Control).

Well, I've located a box to house Fiesta...

Darn, not exactly long enough for the bolt, but it'll be big enough for those 18-1/2" blocks, and it's a recycled box, which is also good, and it just seems to be a perfect depository for a quilt named Fiesta:

And to think that for a minute there I was going to be all OCD and cover it over with something.

Well, it's time to end this post, check out a few of yours and see if I can manage to sandwich the Checkerboard Hearts before I go to bed. Either that, or I can give some thought to making a Valentine purse

Leapin' Lizards.....how many things can I find to do to avoid starting Fiesta/finishing Checkerboard Hearts?