I got down to the end of the border designs on the current quilt before having to stop for the day. It's a coincidence that someone asked me about the stabilizing I do on quilts. I just happen to be doing a quilt with stabilizing so I could take a picture.



When I have a very large top with wide borders on it; I will do the borders first then go back to do the center design. I stabilize the center area as I go. This technique seems to tame any friendly borders before the center area is quilted. If there is any fullness it will go to the center where I can spread it out through the quilting.


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I use this same technique of quilting the borders first when the center area is going to be a pantograph quilted. I stabilize the center area with different techniques depending on what is to be done in the center. If it's going to be a pantograph design I prefer to do a single stitch about every 6 inches across in rows about 12 inches apart. If I plan to do custom quilting in the center area then I will stitch in the ditch around the blocks. There are times when I've used pins to stabilize the center area. I have to be sure to pin horizontal so I don't stab myself as I roll the quilt.

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Last night the weather was very cold. It got cold in the house too. I kept asking myself..... if I just got this house insulated then why is it that I don't feel warm? I even turned on a small space heater and put an extra cover on my bed. This morning I realized the battery for the thermostat needed replacing.

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I know for certain I have a half dozen tripple A batteries somewhere in this house. I keep a stash of batteries for things like the smoke detectors, the clickers, the clock, the thermostat, etc. I just can't seem to locate where I stashed them. I'm sure they will be very easy to find when I don't need a battery. So today I will either take time away from my machine to catch a bus to get batteries... or.... pay three times the cost at the corner store.

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It's loosing things in my house that I had hoped to stop doing this year. My intentions were to become better organized starting way back in January. I had planned to do a little organizing each month so that by this time of year.... everything in my house would have a home and be placed in its home.

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So many life happenings and illnesses this year have kept me from doing any organizing. I never thought things would be as bad as they were for me. It's been a struggle just to keep ahead of the quilting schedule. Now it's almost January again. My one hope for the coming year is that it will be a much better year.... and that I can do the organizing at last.

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Well its been a busy 3 day weekend for me. I like to include pictures in my blog so here are 3 of what I'm currently working on. Making a design work is always challenging when the seams don't line up.


When the area to quilt is also very small it makes the design choice even more important.

With a little thought and creative machine movement the design works.

I hope to finish this quilt today and have more detail pictures tomorrow.

Over the weekend I finished the binding and sleeves on my fair entry quilts and watched the baby. I still have one fair entry to get quilted if I can. If it doesn't get finished that will be 3 items I don't enter. I love to enter the woven rug catagories but this year I just couldn't get any rugs finished. Both of the rugs I wanted to enter are still on the frames waiting for me to get around to working on them.

Yesterday I was all set to have an energy audit done on my house. I sat and waited for the man to arrive. About 10 minutes late he calls to reschedule for next Monday. He's feeling kinda poorly but will come if I really want him to. YES! by all means... reschedule!! Please don't bring any sickness around me. I'll catch it...... I catch everything.... and I don't want it.

Well, that meant I could get onto the machine after all so I started that quilt. I'm so far behind on the work that any time I can put into quilting helps. With that said... I'm headed for the studio to get started.

No quilting going on this weekend. It's a holiday weekend and I shouldn't be working. I've been trying to locate one document in all this mess. I decided that since I'll never be picked for an episode of Mission Organization that I would do my own version anyway. I have no idea how people get picked for those shows but I sure would love to have them choose me.


I decided to sort and trash what isn't needed anymore. Then put the rest into smaller organizing projects that can be managed in short periods of time. As you can see I'm making progress.


It's all been gone through and separated into different stacks by type.


The papers and such are partly quilting related things and partly personal stuff. I did find the one document I really needed. Tomorrow I can finish the paperwork for my mother's annual renewal for the nursing home. Most of the stuff was just not put where it should have been. Photos go in one place, banking and bills go in another, books and magazines go somewhere else, and that sort of thing.

Yesterday my paperwork organizing was interrupted by my daughter. She's ready to take me to the hardware store if I still need to go. Well of course I still need to go! She knew I hadn't gone on the bus. I only asked her a week ago to take me. It's times like this.... waiting on her schedule.... that make me wish I hadn't given away my car. I would love to just jump in the car and get what I need, when I need it, on my own schedule and not someone else's schedule. Oh, and by the way, could I babysit for the night? Ah ha! Now I know why she is ready to take me to the hardware.

A good thing did come out of our trip yesterday. Our trips give us time to really talk to each other. Our subject of conversation was about her growing up in a very poor household. One of the things that can happen is that the child grows up to rebel against the lifestyle. They tend to become hyper spenders. Spending money as soon as they have it. Or worse, getting credit cards and going into debt. They want to show the world they have money to spend...... even though its really only debt.

My daughter asked me to explain how I had managed to feed us and keep a roof over our heads when she was growing up. She knew my income barely paid the bills; yet, I managed to have plenty of food and such and we were happy. Simple dawling.... coupons, yard sales, canning, scratch cooking, staying organized, bartering, and very careful pennies management.

I feel very proud today! She's asked me to teach her everything I know about living frugal. My daughter has decided to become a penny pincher like her Moma. Can you imagine how big my heart has swelled with pride? She finally understands why it's important to spend money wisely instead of spending just because its in her pocket. You know what I mean? The habit of instant gratification spending.

I believe most of her desire to learn is based on our economy and the cost of gas. I've always told her.... sometimes Mom knows what she's talking about. With everything becoming more expensive, she's finally understanding that her growing up lifestyle wasn't so bad after all. I don't care what the reason..... I only care that she wants to learn from me.

I remember once, when my kids were young, I said something to one of the boys... which made me pause to think. I told myself.... oh my gosh, I've become my mother! You think my daughter has reached that stage in her life?

She says she wants to learn everything from coupons to canning to sewing. But.... not quilting. (smile) That will change when sees the advantage to knowing how to quilt.

I'm getting off the computer now so I can finish the paperwork organizing before the baby wakes.

Geeze, when will I get a break!

I was down to the last 5 inches of design on todays quilt when the storms hit. I lost electricity for the rest of the night and most of this morning. The wind yesterday was something! I lost this little tree in the front of the house. It wasn't a big concern though because it was pretty much dead anyway.


Sometimes the fabrics used in a quilt give me pause. I can't figure out how to quilt it. If I use a design then the pictures of the fabric is lost. Yet, it must be quilted. This is an example of what I mean. I'm not sure the designer of this fabric considered how it would be quilted and keep the beauty of the pictures.


After the power came back on again this morning; I finished the last small area; then loaded the next one on the machine; then came to my computer to make a post. This is the finished quilt.


I did baby rattles on the inside border. It was one single baby rattle that didn't get done when the storm happened. I did line dancing on the center pieced area.


Another view of the line dancing.


A view from the back showing the line dancing.


And a view from the back of how I quilted the outside border with the pictures. I used clear thread on the front and pink on the back. A simple outline along the top and bottom of the characters.


I'm not sure how much of the quilt on the machine will get finished today. I have another project that will take priority over working on a customer quilt. If I get the other project finished then I will get back to working at the machine.

What's the project? Paperwork..... yuck! It's some organizing I should have done weeks ago but couldn't get to it because of other circumstances. I have one simple paper to find among bunches and bunches of papers. A very necessary paper for the annual renewal of my mother's nursing home care.

I do have everything necessary for keeping papers filed..... I just didn't use them as I should have. When I'm extremely busy and running behind on the waiting list; or when I'm not feeling my best; I tend to stack up papers believing that I will get to those later.... only later get pushed back time and time again. So today I'm going to setup and test a solution to my paperwork problem.

Why work on this instead of a customer quilt? Simple really, if I'm not organized..... I can't quilt on schedule. I will spend far too much time looking for something than is reasonable. If I'm organized I should be able to find it, deal with it, then get back to work. Ok, what I mean is..... the less time I spend on other projects like locating papers for renewals, the more time I have for quilting.

I'm still working on the appliqué quilt. I thought I would work on something else but I seemed to be on a roll so I kept going. Here is a look at the border where I did roses.



And a look at the inside border where I did leaves.


Gee.... the days just seem to whiz by as my concentration is on a quilt. After work instead of working on a me quilt I started shredding some papers and junk mail. I think it kind of ironic that the banks have made changes so they could go paperless while at the same time they send out thousands of credit card junk mail. I call junk mail the searching for a dummy mail.

I have far too much paper in this house! Everything from old receipts to old magazines. Hopefully, later today I will finish shredding old papers and get started sorting though some old magazines.

A slow couple of days

Today's finished quilt. Isn't it cute!


There isn't any batting in it except for the borders. It was already too thick and heavy without batting. I did a simple meander all over except for the pockets. I couldn't get my hopping foot over the seams of the pockets. I did a leaf design on the border.


Sunday was a day for paper work. New intake sheets.


Newer version of my waiting list sheets. Now I have to transfer all the names.


Changed my custom quilt catalog.


And.... cleaned up some of the odd papers laying all over the house. Most of it got shredded.

What has stocking up on groceries got to do with quilting?

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I'll explain in a minute...but first, I have to ask, has anyone on the blog ring heard from "Seams to an end" Karen? Did she make it through the fires ok? I sent a comment through her blog asking but haven't heard back from her.

This is today's finished quilt. This quilt just seemed to say it needed simple quilting.


A close up of the quilting. I used the Circle Lord crosshatching template in the piecing. A simple freehand scallop along the border.


Yesterday was a day to stock up on groceries.



I leave them in the front room until I can put them all away. That will be done as soon as I finish the blogging for today. What has stocking up on groceries got to do with quilting?



Hmm... its like this...if I'm not worried about what's for dinner, I can keep on quilting.

This represents about 6 months worth of staples. It's part of my time scheduling strategy.....to get the maximum amount of work completed in the least amount of time.

As anyone knows, shopping takes time. I want to save time by shopping for 3 hours one time every 6 months instead of one hour once a week, or twice a month, or whatever time most people shop these days. The cost of gas is a factor too. The fewer times going to pick up a few items at the grocery, the less gas used. I don't have a car but my daughter takes me. It's still gas used. (by the way, gas was at $3.29 a gallon for regular yesterday)

I spent a little less than $150 for everything that should last a good long time. Last time I shopped for the same items it was a little less than $100. I can see the cost of gas effecting everything already. On average my eating had cost me about $3 a week. I can tell right now that it will change to about $5 based on what I spent.

My daughter will pick up eggs and milk for me when she is headed this way. I don't usually get fresh vegetables or fruits unless a customer feels like giving me an apple or an orange as a gift. (a banana is an extra special treat) My veggies and fruit are in a can or in the freezer. If I had a garden, I would can my own veggies....canned is good.

I did pick up some fresh mushrooms, broccoli, and cauliflower from the discount table. I couldn't find anything wrong with them except a dark spot here and there. Those will be put into the freezer.

I sometimes go to the grocery after my guild meeting once a month. I have someone drop me off right around the corner and my daughter picks me up there later. I only look for items that are on the discount table. Anything I can put into the freezer. Somethings I get lucky and there are bananas there. Most people are spoiled to blemish free fruits and veggies. I'm not. Very few things come from a home garden blemish free. A cut here and there and the blemish is gone.

So that's what stocking up on groceries have to do with quilting. It's just one less thing to worry about as I concentrate on getting organized, staying organized, and staying ahead of the waiting list.

I'm off to start putting away groceries. It will take time to prepare the stuff for the freezer. I may not get back to the quilting machine today. We shall see....

Today's finished quilts. This is a panel quilt. I used mono thread and stitched in the ditch then stitched around the characters.


I loaded both of these on the machine together. This is an appliqué quilt. I also used mono thread and stitched around the characters.


Then did a windy meander in the background.


The final push is on to finish up the Christmas quilts. When they are done....I can start to do some things for myself again. I'll have to prioritize my to do list before tackling anything though. I want to be efficient as well as organized.

Eating in important too

I didn't go to the LAFTA meeting Thursday because the sky was getting dark and warnings were already being forecast on the news. I couldn't be out at a bus stop when a storm was approaching. The guest speaker was from Owensboro and he did give his presentation before leaving for home shortly after the storms had passed over. I'm sorry I missed the presentation. I hope everything was alright when they got home.

This is the quilt that took the last couple of days to finish. After quilting all the designs I went back to do stitch in the ditch around the rings.


A close up of the designs.


From the back.


Like several others, I make my own bread. I have to tell you the story behind my bread machine. For a long time after my daughter left home; I existed on peanut butter sandwiches and cereal. I was suffering from an empty nest and I hated cooking for one. I would buy groceries but there wasn't much point to cooking so I gave it away to the neighbors before it spoiled. It was a long time before I started eating right again.

Every time my daughter called to ask if I needed anything from the store (since she was on her way) my answer would be - bread and milk. So one year she bought this machine for me for Christmas. She put a note into the box that said; I tried to buy you a cow to go with this machine but the city doesn't allow farm animals in back yards.

I do know how to make bread without a machine. When I was a small child visiting with my grandmother we used a wood burning cook stove; even in the summer. I learned to cook the daily bread in it. Some days it was biscuits and some days cornbread and other days muffins.

When raising my kids I was always a scratch cook. I just don't want to have my daughter come over and ask where her gift went. Kids are very sensitive about gifts. So I use the bread machine.


I do save myself 'time' by putting the dry ingredients into freezer bags and then into the freezer. They are there, ready to take one out, pour it into the machine, add the water and oil, set the timer, and wait to hear the finished beeps.


The machine does all the work while I keep on quilting. It kneads, lets rise, kneads again, lets rise, bakes, and tells me when the bread is done. The machine even tells me when to add other ingredients for banana nut bread or cinnamon raisin bread. My neighbors ask me all the time to make a loaf of some kind for them. They supply the ingredients.

Today is a day away from the quilting machine. I usually use this day for away from home trips. To visit, to shop, to guild, to other places. Instead of leaving home; I'm sending the furkids to the vet and taking some time to sort through my book collection.

I love books! Frugal living books, organizing books, and quilting books are my favorite. I have books that I bought at used book stores way back in the 60's and 70's. I don't have an extensive collection, just an old one. It's time to let some of the oldest quilting books find new homes at the library.

Why don't I sell them on eBay or amazon? If the books are at the local library I can revisit them any time by simply checking them out for awhile. If I sell the books or give them away I won't ever get to see them again.

Organizing 2008 - what went wrong?

No finished quilt today. I got all the way to the end of the double wedding ring quilt and decided it needed stitch in the ditch around the rings.

While working on that quilt I started asking myself 'what happened'? How did my house get this way? I'm normally a very organized person. Before I can prevent this from happening again I need to understand where I went wrong. In other words, 'what's not working'?


This is the problem. The fabric fairies, my time management, and a love of books!



The fabric fairies visit at their convenience dropping off all the good stuff they can't use anymore. When it's dropped off I don't always have TIME for sorting and distributing it to other people or places. So it gets piled up somewhere in the house until I find more time.

I've also had a rash of 'not quilt fabric' being brought to me lately. That picture is of a bag and box full of drapery fabric scraps. Very nice fabric scraps but not really good for making quilts. The lady that dropped it off believed it was quilt fabrics. She was clearing out her mother's sewing room after the mother passed away. I can't really use it and no charity group is going to want it. Maybe I can use some of it for making rugs?

So how can I fix this problem?

Stop accepting donations - I can be more specific when accepting donations so it will be something a charity would want or stop accepting them all together.

Store it somewhere else - Since I don't have a garage, basement, or storage shed; there really isn't anywhere else to put donations until I can go through them. This also leaves me open to the possibility of bringing in little creatures I don't want in the house.

I've decided to eliminate this problem completely. I won't take any more fabric donations. I will also put into my budget to save for a storage shed. Not for storing donated fabric...just for storing other things I would like to get out of the house. Empty canning jars, Christmas decorations, garden tools, and that sort of stuff.

So I make myself a note to start checking the prices of storage sheds. I can't afford one right now but I can put it into the budget to save for one.


I thought I should also explain; I'm a tightwad, skinflint, penny pincher, greenie, or whatever you want to call someone who believes in making use of throw away objects. You will see more of my tightwad ways as I show more of my organized life.

Simple tasks

The quilt on the machine is one of those that take more than one day to finish. After the day's work was done I took time to put a new cover on my pressing board.

In organizing; sometimes it's the simple tasks that get put off the longest. I've had the iron fabric for a few weeks. I just didn't seem to have the few minutes needed to put it on the board.
I use this pressing board instead of a regular ironing board for my quilting because this is more convenient. It's easy to take out and easy to put away. Doesn't take up a lot of room. I can put it anywhere on the intake table to sit and press quilt pieces.

It's made from 1/2 inch plywood, two layers of Quilter's Dream thin cotton batting, and the iron fabric. Held on by duct tape and non-skid shelf liner on the back. I have a larger one for when I'm pressing yardage fabrics. So this gets marked off the 'to do list' for 2008.

Organizing 2008

I want to first say THANK YOU to those who gave me links to find fabrics. I've located some brick fabric. Today I will do more checking for the wood fabrics.

Does anyone remember back last January when I spent so much time organizing? If not you can look at the January posts. I can't believe I let things get out of hand on me.....again. It's totally not like me to have stuff stacked up everywhere. I've always been a super organized person.

Judy L has asked what goals people have in mind for 2008, my goal is to help an internet friend get organized right along with me. So that my internet friend doesn't feel like she is the only one with stuff everywhere and completely out of hand I'm showing her (and the world) my mess.

This is the kitchen table. When things start piling up on my cutting table or the end of my machine table it gets moved here. The chairs are just for show. The legs are coming apart so they are not for sitting. I will be getting rid of these during our next junk pick up day.


When the table gets so full its ready to topple over, it gets moved to another place. This is the room I chose last January to be the quilting storage room.


This is the closet in the storage room. I had this room was so organized....sigh.



This is another view of the stuff piled up in the floor.



Remember the room that I thought would be a living room after 25 years without one? Well here it is today. This is the love seat.


And this is the couch.



Even the porch has stuff piled up. Those fabric fairies at work again.


The cubbards are bare. Looks like I cleaned it out but I didn't. It's just near time for a grocery trip. Don't worry, I have plenty still left even with an empty fridge. I could eat for another month on canned and packaged foods.


My poor plants. They looked so nice back last January. I'll see if I can save them.


So....for my internet friend....don't try to organize during the Christmas rush. Make lists! This is my little book for listing. On the left is "what I need to buy" on the right is "what I want to do". I take these with me almost every time I'm away from home. If I stop at any store I check the list. The list on the right is the equivalent of a job jar or a honey do list.


If I write it down it will stay there for me to refresh my memory in January when the serious organizing will begin. I will check the list on the right each time I am near an organizing items isle.

For example: I'm planning to move all my stacks of papers into a file cabinet. I have that listed in the one on the right. I'm on the look out for two file cabinets on sale or at a thrift store. I would like to use them as the 'legs' of a desk. I will buy plywood for the desk top. If I happen to find the right file cabinets (and buy them) I cross it off the list. I make a different note on the list to remind me to start the filing of papers.

So...my internet friend...are you ready to begin our organizing pact for 2008? Any one else want to join us? A little note of caution....no organizing (or organizer) in the world will work if you don't use it! I'm guilty too but plan to go back to my old ways.