The Decrapification Project - Part Two - The Scraps

Decrapification (de-crap-if-ic-a-tion) The term coined by Rosamaria on Ravelry Thrifty Knitters group meaning to declutter a LOT of stuff (from a room or area.)

I liked it so much that I decided to use it for a blog post (or 2 or 10!)

The work continues...

In the first Decrapification Project post I addressed the furniture arrangement portion of the process. This post will move into the next part of my studio redo project.

Step Five - Relocate fabric (and the scraps.)

This could be REALLY tricky...

Since the REST of the fabric is located...

HERE... In this white dresser:

And HERE... In this brown chest:

OK, ok... in front of it, too!!!

And HERE... In these TWO chests of drawers:

But, WAIT!!  There's MORE in a couple of these GIANT tubs:

... And a pile of these plastic under-bed bins.  Oops!  This one is holding yarn.  There are FIVE MORE just like it that are holding fabric, current projects, and UFOs:

Yes... this is only a SMALL bit of the yarn also in the room!

Are you beginning to grasp the ENORMITY of the problem???  I'm pretty sure I have a problem!!

But, Joyful, HOW can having enough fabric to quilt for the rest of your life (and then some) be anything other than a really GOOD THING?!?!?

Well, Quilters, it's like this...

ALL of that furniture HAS. TO. GO!!!

Wait, WHAT?!?

That's right.  Your eyes did not deceive you.  All of the furniture must find new homes.  The only pieces staying are the two tables, two bookcases, and (hopefully) the fabric cubby/pressing station.

(At least, that's the plan!!!)  SEW...  I ask you...

WHERE am I going to put ALL THIS FABRIC?!?!?!?

Please comment, if you can come up with some (inexpensive) storage solutions.

While YOU were thinking, Needleb came over to help.

We moved some things around...

Sorry the picture is a little dark:

Even though you may remember THIS (recently) clean floor:

It LOOKS really nice, but it's not very practical in this quilt room.  The floor was basically wasted storage space!  Five of the six under-bed bins are housed under the tables and the leg room is less cramped than it was HERE:

Notice the colorful cubbies sitting on the floor in the clean shot?

Well, we had a tentative plan for them, but then Britt had a crazy thought.  What if we move the hutch (not pictured) OFF of the dresser...

... And put the cubbies up there???

Well, I wasn't immediately convinced, but we talked about her vision and I thought about how it would take care of two problems.

First, the hutch REALLY didn't function (for me) the way she thought it might.  Second, the cubbies would eat up too much of the path to use them the way we had (pressing station) in the last iteration of the sewing room.

 SEW... I ran it by DH (since he would have to provide the muscle behind the move!)

The photo above shows my new Scrap Center.  Isn't it AWESOME!!!  I might even adopt the rule
that if it doesn't fit here, it doesn't stay.  Nah!!  That's a BIT too extreme for me.  LOL

Without Needleb, NONE of this would have been possible.  THANK YOU, Britt!!!

Until next time... 
Store that stash!!!

Mail Call Monday - The Quilting Edition

Welcome to another edition of Mail Call Monday!!  Today, I want to share what came in the mail last week:

My friend, Jean, just got this book (from Missouri Star Quilt Company), as well as another, by the same author.  I took a look at both books last week and decided on ...

Christina Cameli's book titled Step-by-Step Freemotion Quilting:

I'm pretty excited about it because it should prove to be a great resource for me.  HERE is a peek inside to one of the patterns that caused me to buy the book:

The book is filled to the brim with SEW many fun looking patterns to try on my quilts.  You might find it useful, too.

Until next time...
Read me a quilt!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC16 - Week 20

Welcome to Week 20 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!! Each week I share my progress as we work our way through the fabric scraps in our stash (using Angela's Color of the Month for guidance.)  In the merry month of May, GREEN has found its way to center stage. Brown accents round out the blocks.  I'm itching to dig into my bags, baskets, and bins!

How much did YOU get done, Joyful???

Well, now that you've asked, I must confess, not terribly much.  Here's how my week panned out...

SUNDAY was Mother's Day.  I hope all of you quilting Mamas out in BlogLand enjoy a lovely day! We packed up the kids then went over the river and through the woods (to Grandma's house.)

The photo above shows my two boys (in highlighter yellow just right of center) at last Saturday's Rainbow Walk of Heroes.  My family walked to raise money for the Family Support Program at Duke University Medical Center's Pediatric Bone Marrow unit.  It's a cause near and dear to us, as DS2 is just 3 years post transplant.  The Family Support team members are absolutely brilliant at bringing "normal life" to the extended hospital stays that these bone marrow patients endure.

On MONDAY, I never left the house.  There was laundry to be done and...

... A quilt to be finished.  Count the GREEN blocks:

More about this quilt can be found HERE.

Hooray!!!  S's T-Quilt is FINALLY done!!!

TUESDAY passed in a blur of Knit Group, errands, and meetings.  The best stop???  Melville Trading Company in Mebane, NC.  It's a warehouse full of good junk.  I bought THIS whitewashed shelf-thing to add to my growing collection of funky little shelving units:

Basically, it's TWO small two-shelf bookcases with a crate centered on top.

After lunch, I went home to clear more from the sewing room.  Before the Band Boosters meeting, I published Part One of The Decrapification Project post.  At this point, the mini-series looks to be around four or six installments.  I hope you'll come back for what I've been thinking of as "Tidy-Up Tuesday" for the next step of the process.  I'm working to transform the once shared sewing/guest room space into the studio of my dreams.  (Or at least a close to it!!)

On WEDNESDAY, with the exception of picking up lunch, I planned on never leaving the house (again!)  I had a friend over to help with the reorganization project that has been eating up my sewing time.  Thanks SEW much for the help, Tiffany!!  As a treat for finishing early, we had our toes done.  Mine, of course, are Lime GREEN:

THURSDAY morning dawned bright and early.  Off I went to take the girls to school.  After they were happily ensconced in their classrooms, I took myself (and my friend, Jean,) to my weekly Quilt Group meeting.  :o))  The problem came in when DH needed my help.  :o((

Hence, a side trip to the local truck rental facility, but that bears little discussion.  Suffice it to say that DH took the day off work to take a load of scrap metal to the recycling center (or some such.)

After lunch with the quilters, I had a meeting with my "Quilt Coach."  (Yes, I'm talking to you, Gayle.)  When our meeting adjourned, I took a trip through BlogLand... and (FINALLY) found the pattern that I want to use for my Birthday Scraps.  (The photo is near the bottom of the page.)  I had designed a quilt to use with them, but I think I like Bonnie Hunter's Wild and Goosey better.  The pattern will really showcase the variety of scraps from my friends.

NO!!  I haven't lost my mind.  Consider this: Each unit will use 7 pieces of print fabric and each block will use 29 piece of print fabric (when you count the center square.)  That's a Load of Scraps!!

YES!!  I realize that the block is paper pieced (and that I absolutely HATE paper piecing.) You HAVE to listen to your quilt and this quilt wants to be a wildandcrazy Loosey Goosey!!  :o))

Special thanks to Sharon over at Vroomans Quilts!!  Her UFO Challenge post drew me in and something about her photo struck a chord with me.  I've seen PLENTY of other Loosey Goosey blocks and quilts, but that one called out to me, "I'm the one for your Birthday Scraps.  Make me, Joyful.  Come on!!  Pick me, pick me!!!"  I can hardly believe what I'm thinking (because I'm thinking that I just might listen - and possibly change my view of paper piecing in the process.)

FRIDAY was a rerun of Thursday, with the exception that today's order of business was a trip to the Atlanta area for an undisclosed errand.  I'll leave you with the GREEN leaves from another of my iris plants blooming... across the street:

On SATURDAY, I was still in Atlanta.  Fortunately, joining Angela's LINK PARTY fit in the cards just before breakfast.  Maybe tonight, before I crawl into bed, I'll be able to visit all the links, but for now...  Let's EAT!  :o))

Until next time...
Get Scrappy!!!

Design Floor Friday - The Abbreviated Version

OK...

So what does it mean when you write a post, push the WRONG button, and it suddenly disappears???  That's what happened earlier - the second time it's happened in 2 weeks!  It's SEW frustrating!!!

Want to know what else is frustrating???

Having a UFO that you don't know what to do with, but holding on to it, anyway.  For years and years!  That's what I've been doing with THIS quilt top for the last 5 years or more:

Calico Ric Rac

This quilt has a story (as they all do) and I will tell it another day.  Suffice it to say that this project has been on my UFO List for a VERY. LONG. TIME!!  (As well as, on and off the Design Floor a hundred times.)

It is about to be gone...  For good!!

WHAT are you talking about, Joyful???

It's all Amanda Jean's doing.  Yesterday's post told a story that, at first, had me scratching my head...

Before the light bulb went off!

Until next time...
Sometimes finishing means letting go!!!

Wonderful Wednesday - UFO Club Finish

Welcome to another edition of Wonderful Wednesday!!  Today, I am pleased to report that I have completed a quilt from my UFO List.  (It was actually done earlier in the week, but I didn't have time to post about it.)

I can tell you this... I am SEW excited to have ANOTHER finish for the Q2 Finish-A-Long!!

S's T-Quilt has been on the list since the end of last summer.  I completed her brother's quilt first since he's older.  Once his quilt was done, I put more effort into moving hers along.

Did that help???  NO!!!

This quilt gave me grief at every turn.  I was beginning to think that I would NEVER finish it!!  Then one fine Spring day, the stars aligned and the quilt came together.  HOORAY!!!

After that came the matter of the quilting.  With my shoulder still bothering me, I asked my friend Bo to do the quilting.  Thanks, Bo!!

Take a look at the completed quilt:

I texted the recipient and she is excited to see both Big Brother and Little Sister quilts.  Sadly, she's not available to accept delivery until next week.

Until then...
Waiting on Pins and Needles!!!

The Decrapification Project - Part One - The Arrangement

Decrapification (de-crap-if-ic-a-tion) The term coined by Rosamaria on Ravelry Thrifty Knitters group meaning to declutter a LOT of stuff (from a room or area.)

I liked it so much that I decided to use it for a blog post (or 2 or 10!)  Used with her permission.

Would YOU like to know what's going on in my sewing room?

Well, suffice it to say, there is a TON of stuff in there (as you might have guessed from the title of this post.)  A few of the Ravelry Quilters  and some of my other quilting friends know that I went a little crazy during the middle of April.  One decision got the ball rolling on a MAJOR clean-out of my studio.  More about that in a later post!!  For now, all you need to know is that some reorganization is taking place and this post (and others to follow) will share the process with you.  Because it will DEFINITELY be a process!!

Step One - Lose the bed.

HERE is the bed (because the space used to double as a guest room):

This sewing machine cabinet is sitting where the bed USED to be:

Here's a wider view:

Step Two - Find the floor.

LOOK!!  There really IS a floor under there:

Step Three - Move the tables.

But FIRST...

Step Four - Clear the tables.

Otherwise, the trip across the room could prove to be problematic:

The tables made it safely across the room (with only minor incident.)  Once moved, the farm table in the foreground needed to be tightened up, as it was wobbling from end to end.  Not so good when you have expensive sewing equipment sitting on said table!  Enter, Mr. Fix-it.  Thanks, DH!!

Until next time...
Plan carefully!!!

ScrapHappy Saturday - RSC16 - Week 19

Welcome to Week 19 of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!!  Another month, another color.  I had REALLY hoped that Angela would announce the color for May early. I was in desperate need of a manicure!  :P

SUNDAY morning found me sitting at my computer following all of the links posted in Angela's Saturday LINK PARTY.  (A link for this week's LINK PARTY can be found near the bottom of this post.) I look forward to this weekly event.  SEW. Much. Quilt-spiration!!

When I arrived, I found that Angela had posted a very subtle Color Announcement embedded in her Slowdown Sunday post.  In the first paragraph, she mentioned,

"The new color inspiration is an evergreen forest.  Think of a soft loden green tree with a dusty brown trunk." 

I think it's a bit odd that ANOTHER month has brown as its accent color, but who am I to complain when the Color of the Month is GREEN?!?!?!  Loden and forest may NOT be my favorite shade, but I can certainly work with sage.  Although, this month's RSC sewing will probably have to wait for the END of the month!!

Remember... BIG doings in the studio = NO actual sewing time.

On MONDAY, I got off to a slow start.  Early, but slow. I spent several hours writing blog posts and later I spent several hours working on reorganizing some things in my studio.

What now, Joyful???

As noted in Random Thoughts discussion thread of Quilters Knitting group on Ravelry: I emptied (and refilled) FOUR drawers today!! One GIANT bag of upholstery fabric has a new home. :o))

P.S. The birthday scraps have a new home, too!!!

I could have snapped a shot of the the empty drawers or one of the diminished T-shirt Scrap Pile, but none of those things make very interesting pictures.

Unfortunately, there has been:

NO

Sewing!  :o((

Instead, I think I'll show you the new arrivals in the garden...

Spiky Iris:

Lavender Iris with Purple Falls:

Lacy Lavender Edges Iris:

There are 3 or 4 more varieties for you Iris lovers, but if memory serves, they are late bloomers.

TUESDAY is Knit Group.  This week it was followed up with a Hair Appointment and then ANOTHER trip to Raleigh!  Another??  Yes, this time I had to get DS1 along with the rest of his stuff!! He's baaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkk:

WEDNESDAY started off well enough.  I woke before my alarm clock (always a bonus) and got a jump on my morning routine.  Once everyone was off to school or work, I put dinner in the crock pot, composed a grocery list, and was on my merry way.

After lunch, DS2 had an appointment at Duke Children's Health Center.  His bone marrow doc wanted him to see his cardiologist before heading off to college.  Fortunately, he didn't have an AP Exam this afternoon!  (AND... they were kind enough to get us out the door in time to make it to my 5:00 appointment, too.  Whew!!)

On THURSDAY, I was up bright and early to take the girls to school.  After dropping them, I headed to my weekly Quilt Group meeting and after that...  Errands kept me out the rest of the afternoon.  Perfectly boring errands made more exciting by having to slog around in the rain.  Oh, joy!

FRIDAY morning I woke up earlier than I had to (considering that Jazz was canceled for DS2!!) I was out of the house by 8:30 AM, returned briefly in the middle of the afternoon (to write out bills,) and didn't get home until nearly 9 PM.  Wow!  What a day!  The good news is...

DS1 got a job for the summer!!!  :o))

On SATURDAY, my family attended the Rainbow Walk of Heroes, a fundraiser for the Family Support program on "5200."  (That's the Pediatric Bone Marrow unit at Duke University Medical Center, where DS2 was hospitalized for the better part of 2 months back in 2013.)  The Family Support staff make being in the hospital more fun.  They celebrate patient birthdays, coordinate meals for care givers, and plan "date nights" for in-patient parents on major holidays.  Since they did so much for us and continue to do so much for others, we like to give back (and solicit contributions from friends.  Just indicate Team Matthew on the donation form.  Thanks!)

We went, we walked, we survived another Rainbow Walk!  Upon arrival home, I threw on a load of laundry and headed for my computer to join Angela's LINK PARTY.  I've been looking forward to seeing all the wonderful GREEN projects that will be featured.

Alas, there will be little time for that.  Why?  Because today is a special day at our house.  DH and I are celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary!!  I'm off to shower and change for our celebration dinner.

Here's a heads up regarding my studio redo...  I will be releasing a feature story in order to document my progress and share the process with you all.  Watch for that on Tuesday.  Maybe it will encourage you to BUY LESS STASH (before your room is buried in fabric like mine is/was/whatever!!)

Until next time...
Get Scrappy!!!