Getting Organized - Part Two

Now that my storage closet has been reorganized, I decided that it was time to redo my Top 40 List.

I took all the lists I made of projects, UFOs, and fabric collections and discovered that I have 62. Yup, that's five dozen plus a couple more!

If I do one a month, it will take me five years to get through all of them. I would have to quit buying fabric altogether, and that's just not acceptable. So now what?

I've decided that I need to do an average of two quilt projects per month. I made a new list - actually, two lists. One is for projects I plan to complete by the end of the year. The other is for projects waiting in the wings.

I know that second list is going to grow, but hopefully, if I stay on track with the first list, I may be down to 50 or fewer by the end of the year!

Getting Organized for the New Year

I am so lucky to have an entire room in my house devoted to quilting. My quilting space even includes a walk-in closet for storing lots of stuff.

(No, that's not a picture of my closet.)

Unfortunately, the stuff took over to the point where my closet was a "fall-in" closet. I could not walk into it without moving boxes and bags out of the way.

The other day I had to move so much out of the way in order to find a particular fabric, that I decided to reorganize.

I culled out two boxes of fabric to donate. I repacked the rest more neatly and compactly. I made lists of contents. And I drew up a map of exactly where every project and fabric collection is.

The closet is still almost as full. You would not be able to tell much difference between the before and after. But now I can go straight to whatever I need, thanks to my map. As you can see, I left myself a space for walking in!

Diet Update

If you remember, I put myself on a fabric diet several months ago. I thought I was doing well, but according to my shelf space, my fabric is gaining weight.

I blame it on the half-price fabric at Glad Creations. The shelves there keep getting replenished with fabric I love. I've been able to resist a good deal of it, but some just had to come home with me.

My most recent acquisition is God's Will fabric. It's fabric I love but don't need.

I left this one alone until after the New Year's sale at Glad's. I figured if it survived the sale, it must be God's will for me to have it. It came home with me the next business day.

God's Will fabric is a modification of the second of my two diet rules - the one about I can buy half-price fabric if it's one I've had my eye on when it was full-priced. Now I realize I've had my eye on at least half the bolts in the store.

From now on when a favorite goes into the half-price area, I may need to let it "age" a bit.

Back in the Saddle

Christmas was extra hectic this year. My sewing/quilting projects slid by the wayside, so now I am playing catch up. It's great to be back in the saddle!

I just completed two sets of coordinating pillowcases.

The first set is for a couple of campers. They have an annual family camping trip each summer, so now they have pillowcases to take along with them.


The second pair is for a couple of Montana sailors. (Yes, Montana has lakes - big ones.)

Even though the pillowcases have nothing to do with sailing, they do depict fun topics, cowboys and their Harley.


Now I have to make a pillowcase for myself. Hmmm. Maybe guys in toolbelts?

Merry Christmas To Georgia

Early this month our friend, Georgia, was broadsided by another vehicle and will be laid up for a while. When I say "laid up", I mean "flat-on-your-back, leg-in-the-air, can't-do-much-but-watch-t.v." laid up.

Georgia was working on an Old Maid's Puzzle quilt for our Comfortable Companions quilt show (January 1 - 10) at Glad Creations. Needless to say, she will not be completing hers!

So here's the one I made for the show. It's going to Georgia when the show is over.


If you know Georgia, you know what a great sense of humor she has, so the quilt had to reflect that.

Here we are: two old maids - Georgia with her companion bird, Merry, and me with my "Bosca" shirt.

You'll just have to guess what we are puzzled about. (Hint: No quilt is perfect. There's always a fly in the ointment.)

Georgia needs a way to have all the essentials close by, so her friends at Glad Creations got together and stuffed the pockets of this apron I made at the last UFO class. It's in Georgia's favorite color: RED!!

The pockets contained Christmas ornaments, fabric, chocolate, lotion, lip balm, a "bodice ripper" romance novel, and a fabulous pillow case to cradle her head. (You can see this risque object at Nate's Notions. See "Links" above.)

Merry Christmas, Georgia!!

Merry Christmas To Me

I belong to a small group of fellow quilters who meet twice a month for camaraderie and inspiration. We also exchange "secret sister" names every year and remember each other on our birthday and at Christmas, when our secret sister is revealed.

My secret sister turned out to be Amy with whom I also work at Glad Creations. Look what she gave me for Christmas!

The pattern is Victorian Table Runner by Southwind Designs. (The pattern is available at Glad's.) Amy chose some of my very favorite fabrics - William Morris prints from a Moda line called A Morris Garden. A few of these fabrics are still available at Glad's along with a new line of William Morris prints.

I've made and given away a lot of quilts, and this is the first quilt I've received. Now I know what it feels like . . . FABULOUS!! I think I appreciate this gift especially because I am a quilter and value the work that Amy does. Thanks, Amy!

The Lake Gang

Besides my dog, Bosca, they are what get me out of bed in the morning - the Lake Gang, that is. If it weren't for them, I'd be snoozing until 8:00. Instead, I'm just finishing up a three to four mile walk around Lake Harriet in south Minneapolis.

Meet Jim, Pat, and Bob. Oh yeah, that's Bosca and me, too. There are many other lake regulars, but these are the ones that stood still long enough for a picture.

I look forward to the comraderie, the teasing and bad jokes, great tips on everything from soup to nuts, and of course, great views of nature smack in the middle of the city. After our walk, I'm primed for a big mug of espresso and a quilting project.

I can't think of a better way to start the day!