Not Afraid of Color

Isn't everyone's dining room used to store stuff???
No?

Our house is not large but it should be large enough for two humans and a poodle.

One of us, I'm not saying who, is a "collector" 
A collector is different from a hoarder. I don't know how but it feels better to me. Yep, it's me, I'm the collector. I suspect crafters have the collector genes. 
One of the things I love is a tote bag. 
We are trying to pare down in anticipation of moving house soon. If we knew where to move we'd be gone already, so in lieu of knowing , we're getting ready. One day I decided to bring all the tote bags out in one staging area to see what I had. By "all" I mean the ones not in use and that I could see.

Hence the first photo.

In an effort to sort them, I created categories.
Self made totes of fabric
plastic such as Houston Quilt show edition bags
quilt show advert bags like Handiquilter of mesh
Embassy Hop collector bags from DC trips to embassies
Tote's given me by friends
Advertising totes given at trade shows
Totes won on shop hops for visiting each shop
book bags given to dh at symposiums

I made piles of each in the dining room, piling them on top of "goliath" the bookcase from IKEA. I thought I was buying one like the others in the studio, but after dh put it together I realized it's a foot taller and wouldn't fit. I had to relocate it into the family room to hold excess books. (have I mentioned I'm a collector??)

I admit to having more than one bag from the book fest which leads to a giveaway!! 
I will share. It's hard for me, being a collector and all, to let anything go. I already sent some to Eliza who loves to read and uses tote bags til they fall apart. I learned it's okay to let go if they go to someone you like! 
So I am willing to let a few more go to a couple people. Yep. I'm going to. Let. Go. (a little)
The book festival used to be marvelous. On the mall in front of the Smithsonian, there was a city of tents, each one hosting a steady stream of authors talking about their books. Heaven! I heard and met so many people I admire, and felt so energized after.

We got tote bags.

Any day when I receive a free tote bag is a good day.
When I visited Houston Quilt show, vendors gave out tote bags too. Since they gave me one each day, I am willing to share them with you. Of course I'm keeping some, heh heh.

They are handy to store projects in, to carry your projects in the car, to store quilts, to use on shopping sprees.

My collecting doesn't stop at mesh bags... I also love the plastic zip bags blankets come in for holding WIPS
and fabric collections...
and have a selection of plastic bins to use in an effort to stash supplies
One of my handiquilter bags is holding those, kind of.
Two memento totes from embassy hops... Keeping these!! Memories of touring the embassy are good.
My memory of Argentina was watching dancers doing the tango to a quartet of musicians so good we bought their cds. We ate smelly fish in Finland, drank beer and ate chocolate in Belgium, danced to music from the Bahamas.
some of my hand made totes. I use them. I pretty much use these totes instead of a purse now, so one's always in use. Storage is a problem however. They kind of defy storing.
So that's kind of my Confession  sharing of a system. It's not perfect but each bag holds a memory of an event I attended. It takes up more space than a digital image, but it's useful.

I'm willing to share. I want to share with you, the friends I've gotten to know as quilters and readers.
The people who seek to organize and need to carry or store their stuff too.
I know you can relate to me.

Please, tell my husband it could be worse!
now it's your turn... to win entertain me with a story of what you'd tote/store in the bags and I'll choose winners and send them out.
  Would you prefer book festival or quilting??

These need re-homing. 
I need to stop collecting them..... Bwaaaaahahahahahahahaha!
 
We'll be connected in a way. I'll know they went to a good home.








 

Just a random question.
How long does it take stuff  to form diamonds?

We have put stuff in the basement for years. It piles up getting deeper and deeper, layer by layer. An archeologist would have a field day down there.

I'm afraid of it, as if it's quicksand. Don't get too close!!

I go down, avert my eyes from it in order to get to the washer. Eeeek! Don't look! Medusa!

Or breathe.

We need to do a major excavation. I tried that a few years back and it was amazing to find lost objects

I mean, when I got married and dh got a position "way up north" we had a moving company pack us up. Everything went into boxes and when I got here I went through them.   Most of them. Not all of them.

A few are still in the basement.

We've only been married about 22 years so they obviously haven't decomposed yet. Right? 

The ones I went through held what felt like old friends.
I'm sentimental, I am.
And forgetful. It takes stuff to remind me of my life before this one. It's not true what they say, if you haven't used it in years you won't miss it.

I'd miss it!

But... we want to move and we want more space and we want less clutter. Can't I just let go? 
Thing is, most of it would be considered collectible junk by people. Unnecessary to life. But to a person who has had a lot taken from her over the years including her good health, stuff counts. It's part of my humanity and history. It matters. Like, we don't NEED art but it brings us joy. 

That might have to be my yardstick, a joyometer. How much happiness does it bring VS how much discomfort at letting it go away.  
How do you value a memory? 
or 80's clothes? 

How do you let go? 

 

In my continual quest for organization, defined by me as:

"Being able to find what you own"
I invented a solution to one of my "paper problems" and there are several paper problems. It's one big paper chase around here folks.

By the way, this post is not for the computer lovin', "I-organize-everything-on-my-computer" -types reading. Y'all will want to move on quickly to your own kind lol!

This is for people like me, who can't find a doggone thing once it finds a hidey-hole in the bowels of the computer memory. Or you don't think about it if it's hidden in the computer. Or if you like to HOLD a pattern like I do.

quiltartdesigns gave us a block a day free downloads over the holidays. I dutifully did that, and printed them out except for one day when I told the computer to download, it lied to me saying it did, but it didn't download the whole document, only the first page so I don't have that block. No worries, my plan is to put in a block of words there. You can pay Janeen at this point for the whole pattern if you like.

I thought you might like to know what I do with patterns I print in hopes of actually making them.
I use these:
plastic sleeves to hold the whole patterns. They have holes to fit into a regular notebook although I often keep them in a magazine holder til I try them, like this...
I really like this method for me. I enjoy holding a pattern, being able to put it on a table and look at it instead of constantly waking up a computer and scrolling from screen to screen with a small display. I also like a real book more than I like reading anything on a computer screen.
That's an IKEA magazine holder that is very sturdy and a lovely robin egg blue color. Makes me smile to use it.
Back to the Winter Village collection of 11 blocks. I wanted to keep them together, and wanted to use a red Manila folder so I place them inside, marked their holes with a pencil, used a hole punch to create holes for a scrap of ribbon. Use IT!!
Pushed the ribbon through the sleeves, through a hole, back up through the other hole and tied a knot.
Voila! Problem solved!
It is functional.
I even taped a printed image of the whole thing to the front of my folder. Pretty...

The system works for me and that's all a system owes you.
I don't mind other people doing things differently... go for it! This works for me, I used materials I already owned, it keeps the project together so it can patiently wait for me to make it, and I feel good about finding it when I'm ready.
Now as for the rest of the mess... gotta go see what can be done next!
ps
Remember when I got some Antonius rolling shelves? I wanted a top for them, and they make one for the other rolling shelves Algot but not mine. I got this metal top made for Algot and not the same size as mine but it works the way I'd like so I now have yet another flat surface on which to pile stuff.
Gosh I hope I don't....

Make it work!

linking to among others
http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com/

remember my diamonds? 9 of these size diamonds sewn together into a clock of color?
All from tiny scraps a la improv?  if not, the link with pictures is CLICK HERE ! diamonds

I've done them all year for the rainbow scrap challenge. I need some setting diamonds to set the great big diamond of colored diamonds made of small diamonds made of tiny scraps...

So, here's the story...

One day I hear my husband very frustrated with the junk drawer.

(You know the junk drawer, the one in the kitchen that holds all the stuff that defies organization and has no "place" to live? it finds it's way into the junk drawer)

 When someone says where is a twist tie? or matches? or a skewer? it's likely in the junk drawer with a hammer, some nails, the plastic sliders you put under heavy furniture to move it, various old key chains, pens that are dry, old keys you have no idea to what, and lots of other stuff. What's in your junk drawer?

One day he pulled it open and Ka-boom! So he piled it in a laundry basket for me to sort thru.

I began putting "like with like" making lots of little piles on the counter. This went on for a while until suddenly I got a grip. I noticed I was looking for another rubber band to hold all the little flower powder packets that came with cut flowers and I didn't use.

Blink, blink.. wha??? I mean, I am a keeper but suddenly it occurred to me, I only needed maybe one or two packets not 20.

Insight! It takes space to store all the stuff you might need one day. It's easy to toss it in a drawer but not so easy to find anything. I began looking with new eyes, and got rid of about half the stuff which then left the drawer MERELY FULL. Not stuffed, but still full.

What if I looked at my craft supplies with these new eyes and insight?Might I be able to let things go???

Ha! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Well at least I did the junk drawer. So I took my two scrap bins worth of beige and white scraps to bee where I could look through it and organize sizes and see if there was anything I could throw out.

One by one my bee mates came over, attracted by the enormous spilling out everywhere pile of scraps
I carefully laid strips the same length together, squares over here, triangles over there. People began helping. Then they said how pretty some were. I said "Oh yes, I love that one. I used it in "xyz quilt"

Keep!
They started their own piles that they thought I should throw away which I had to go through too.
Then they started discussing me as if I weren't there... "this has to be too small, let's throw it out! I will put it in the garbage so she can't pull it back out and keep it!" Huh?  Heyyyyyy

They just couldn't see the value in keeping small pieces. They use patterns and carefully cut  squares from yardage, all alike so it matches. They think 8th of a yard is scrap.

But I know... I know how valuable the small mix of tone and texture is to my quilts. You can't buy that. You CREATE that! I'm a happy piecer. I like to sew even really small pieces.

Anyway I went home that day with the bin MERELY FULL not overflowing. I felt very competent.
 Then I used those strips and small pieces to make 35 diamonds.
Happy happy me! I once made a winter quilt, one of my seasonal four, just this way with some brown thrown in for the scene.

I wanted to make one big quilt with these instead of using them to set my others.

And I still might.
Aren't they pretty? Even if they are just white and beige scraps? some with colors mixed in.

And the bin after it was all said and done? A very tidy one, too tidy, I'm a bit uncomfortable now...

As I wrote before I am in the middle of a re-organization in my sewing space.
I am dragging out storage bins, and seeing what's there, adding in newer supplies.

I am deciding just how I can find that magical balance between storing supplies and using supplies.
I have discovered a lot of treasure that has been put away for years like a Time Capsule.

I find I need clear space to create, but when things are put away I forget about them.
That's a problem.
This rolling cart lives next to the cutting table and holds small templates, all my marking tools, some paper piecing patterns, and drawers of components.

These are small bits I sew and put away to be used later. Then forget about. Including the red blocks you see in the top picture.

The RSC     issues a challenge to make blocks in designated colors each month from scraps. This month is rose red and gold. Ewwww. That combo...ewww.

I am still not sewing much, as grief has sapped my creative side, hopefully temporarily. I feel I may be coming out of it a bit lately but have not continued to do the rainbow scrap challenge this year.

There's always tomorrow.



I happened onto these red blocks in my components drawer.

Apparently one year, I sewed some of those tiny scraps together, and liked them enough to put to the side til I decided on a setting for them.

If I don't write this stuff down, how will I ever remember??

Do you do that? Think you'll remember and then can't?

Anyway, because the challenge is red, and these are red, and there are tiny splashes of gold in the square blocks I'll share them.

The real meaning of this post is to ask:
1. Do you make blocks with no purpose in mind?
2. Where do you keep components that are simmering?
3. Is it true "out of sight is out of mind" ? If so, then how do you balance storage with using them?

My word of the year is a phrase, "use it" meaning use what I have be it supplies or talent. Recognize the possibilities and use what's in front of me.
What do you think???

1. Noticing a pretty Autumn display while on a walk.  Mums are showing up...

2.aroma therapy oils
My friend Monika suggested essential oils might lift my sagging spirits. This blend is from Whole Foods.  When I catch myself bursting into tears yet again, I open the bottle and sniff. About three times. And I'm surprised that the tears stop, and I can resume life, already in progress. Thank you Monika... it seems to take the edge off. Better living through chemicals.



2. the movie "The magic of Belle Isle" ( wikipedia)
with Morgan Freeman and Virginia Madsen. Well written, superbly acted, entirely charming. All that and a yellow lab. We watched on Netflicks. We both LOVED this film. You will too!

3. This cheese spread made with cream cheese and feta... so very good.This one has roasted red peppers.
4. beautiful drinking glasses. We got these at Sur la table on clearance. They said hand wash so I promptly put them in the dishwasher, as I do not enjoy doing dishes. They survived but your mileage may vary. I love pretty dishes and glasses, it makes drinking all that water a better experience.
 5. "Order"... I'm putting the studio in order, or trying to.
 The Studio is trying to remain in it's comfy zone of chaos.
This stuff is not new, it's just all been jumbled. I decided I needed to pull out some boxes and see what has been hiding in there. Lots of cool stuff.
Don't you find when you put things in tidy boxes on tidy shelves, you forget to use the supplies? I do.
When your life feels out of control, it's comforting to sort, organize, and pare down, right?

I looked at the old organization that no longer works.
This week, I am putting "like with like" meaning I start with laundry baskets, marked with categories such as "UFO"  "components" (little bits sewn but waiting for an idea to use them) "books and patterns" etc.
 As I sort, I toss items into their baskets to make decisions about later. The newer "un-put-away-stuff and the older forgotten stuff all go together in these baskets.  

You gotta know what you have to know how to store it.
Then I know how large a box I need for that stuff.
I also found a lot I'd like to work on.
To my credit I did not stop to work on it instead of doing the sorting, lol!

On another note:
I realized there are other parties kind of like the one I proposed so I need to think about how mine should work.
If you wrote an "I Like" Thursday post this week, please leave a link in comments so we will know to come look. I am still figuring out  how to do a party.
People writing I Like... posts are:
3poodles and a nana
mysewingroomsara   this is a pic of a 50 statue of a native woman and quilt, awesome!!

parties I'm linking to, among others: -favorite-things

What did you find to like this week??

I needed fabric therapy one day this week.
I turned to the magic box of fabric candy...
As I am digging through scraps for projects I come across small squares and cut them to 2". Not 2.5, because my very first watercolor class used 2" and I had some left so that's the size I cut after that.
That little box probably holds thousands of little cotton squares.
Seeing this it looks like a fat quarter doesn't it?

Wouldn't you like a fat quarter of this?
It's one reason why I love fabric... all the possibilities in one print.


it's actually one of these...




I arranged, and moved, and played around til I did a tree, summer sky and wild flower covered ground.
I plan to hang a rope swing from that branch. The picture is before sewing the little squares together. It's a flash project once you start, a speedy tutorial on my tute's page.
Look as some of the prints...

I use these based on color, or the light to dark scale.
I admit, sometimes I use them for the cuteness factor, such as the cows....

After I pieced the center,
 made up of 99 2" squares

The decision of whether to border or not surfaced.

Let the auditions begin...
Rejects.  Not quite right.
 And the whole drawer unit?
No...not right....

while some of these might "do" none of them gave the effect I want. When we create art, we are not satisfied with what might do. We want the whole thing to be exciting!

And I don't know exactly the effect I want either.
 That complicates things.
I have made an improv winter quilt, an improv Fall quilt, and a Spring quilt. I want something that sings summer.

I know it will have lots of thread work. Hand embroidery and beads. Surface embellishments. But the borders???




Next post I will show what I chose, and what new question came next.

no dents in the number of strings here 
plenty to use for paper piecing
lots of watercolor squares


It's a phenomenon... I pull out a bin, use lots of fabric, and it won't close after.
They must be  breathing in! 

Then again, I just washed a bag of scraps some friends gave me yesterday... lots of new green strips to push into an already overflowing bin.
A non-ending overflowing container.
A font of fabric!

The fountain of youth...Fabric edition!

When I open it to use, pull out lots of fabrics, it  inflates like a life raft!

My life is an I Love Lucy episode!

Stored by color

 I might not view scraps like other people. To me they are pattern, color, texture. When you see a bolt of fabric you see the whole design. It colors how you decide to use it but quilters usually cut it up. 

Designs change when you cut them into smaller pieces, like cropping a picture. When I dig through my scrap bins, the cropping has been done, and I view fabric differently. Luckily my friends see little value in scraps and happily pass them on to me. 
More posts under the label organization and Studio

Just a few sharp items, ahem, waiting around to stick me.
Yep, even the pencils... I reached in to grab one, and stuck myself with the point.
Oy!

Quilting ain't for sissies. Look at those weapons! I haven't even mentioned how some people manage to sew right over their fingers with the sewing machine. (my grandmother did it with her treadle, so she gave the treadle to me) (I did it once when not paying attention) A day doesn't go by I don't stick myself with a pin or needle. I've snipped my finger with those wicked little snips. We won't talk about the rotary cutter.

The other day, I bravely faced the disaster area of a studio with hopes of sorting and putting supplies away.
this is the area of my cabinet that holds the bead collection.

I sorted them into seed beads, cylinders, natural stones, etc.

There are a lot of categories.

By the way, there are a lot of cute carriers for beads.
I'm a sucker for containers.

I taught beading on Fabric many times so there are also kits in here. But still... beads are small, so you know I've got quite a collection.
Well you ain't seen nothing yet.

Purchase after purchase I just piled in this cute little pink bin...


until I reached critical mass. Then I started to sort... and look what came out of the little pink bin...
I mean, this is testimony that you can go into a bead store for "just a look around" come out with a stash out of sight in your purse, and having spent a fortune!! Listen, they are shiny, and sparkly, and really fun to play with!
Anyway....
Some of these beauties defied sorting.

One of a kind, or too large, or difficult to squeeze into the containers that hold their kin.

Know what I mean?
You can have systems, and containers and best intentions to be neat and orderly but if the item defies you, well, what do you do??




And what if you container has reached critical mass and will no longer close? The sequin box SAYS it's full.
I know how small sequins are and think there's always room for one more, right?
What's a collector to do? There's only so much room in the studio and I'm not getting rid of anything.

Back to the sharp things, I was just thinking about them because I've been beading jewelry and trying to learn to do the brick stitch and getting repeatedly stuck by beading needles.

You gotta be tough to be an artist! What defies organization in your sewing room?

Reindeer blocks in January?
The free BOM at quiltdoodledesigns is too cute to ignore. Plus it gives me a reason to dig through the brown scraps.
They will be set in a row eventually.

Right now they are just blocks. The other rows have winter fun stuff like mittens, and snowmen. Each month Cindy gives us the free pattern, then they go on her craftsy site for sale.
The background fabric was given me by someone who felt it was not worth keeping. I just love it! There is about a half yard in pieces left for later blocks.





Look at the next guy... looks nervous to me...




Faces take on expressions with a tiny change in button placement.
Speaking of buttons, when I went in search of eyes and noses I found a mess. I mean, what do these things do when I turn off the light, Party?
This is the mess after I removed half of it...

I went to the junk drawer (I'm not just a hoarder of quilting supplies, I also keep weird stuff in a drawer in the kitchen)  (ya never know....)
I found a pile of paper covered wire twist ties.
I  strung them on the twist ties in groupings. Now I can reach in, and pull out an orderly group.




 The loose ones go in a zip loc bag.

One of the best inventions.