Sewing Obsessed!

It’s not like that I don’t have anything else that I can work on to bring it to its finished stage.  Couldn’t be further from the truth.  At one point, (maybe 6 or more years ago) I had well over 100 projects in various stages of completion.  I did cut that down by quite a bit but I still have many, many more to complete.  Although, many are at the "to-be-quilted" stage and I just haven’t got to "wanting" to do that part ... yet!  Soon I will bring myself to corral all of these UFO’s in one area and count them.  Kind of dreading that day! 😨 I have some projects right now that I have spent 12 or more hours on and they are not even close to looking like they are ready for completion.  There are times when the amount of time one spends on any given project really plays with your “mojo” see it to the finish, so you need to , no that’s not right,  have to , still not right ... want to start something new!  That’...

After almost 3 years. (whoa! Can you believe that long??) .... I'm baaaack! What a glorious feeling it is to be home!  I will be sharing my works along the way and of course the "mis-takes" when they happen.  😕 Who knows what this next adventure will bring ... but I'm ready for it!! Have a wonderful week!  Now off to my happy place I go!! 😊

Wednesday is "move out" day!   Camp Wanna Sew here I come!! I've been packing since Friday evening...think I'm excited??  :-) Put it in the tote - take it out of the tote.  I've packed things that come along just for the ride, so I'm really trying not to do that this time, and with my sciatic acting up I really don't want to aggrevate it by carrying stuff in that I won't even look at!!   So here is hoping I have got it right this time, but I doubt it :-) I've cut down by two totes this camp!! There are a number of quilts/projects I have taken (bottom box) that I hope to get sandwiched for this summers quilting ... or quilted in the fall, I'm not in a hurry.  While at camp I make the most out of the large tables and not having to be on my hands and knees to sandwich quilts!  Now that HURTS!!  So I bring 5 - 7 projects for sandwiching, and quilt whenever the mood strikes me.   So wanted to re-create this quilt for myself ... n...

The last month has been  a whirlwind of mainly work, so my playroom, Tillie, Ruby, Patti and Sally-Sue (my machines)  have all been missing me, just as I have been missing them. Constant brain-drain literally takes away my creative "me-time" when I get home at night and unfortunately, on the weekends now too.   So much so, that all I do is eat, sleep, work and repeat.   Just short of  two months left for this kind of schedule.... here's hoping I last this one out!   Gotta love audit time. BUT  .... Camp Wanna Sew is coming up in 31 days and I'm doing my best not to be burnt out before that time comes....there are priorities you know!  Really there are...  LOL    I'm making my staying up late and sewing into the wee hours of the morning for four nights my priority!  ;-) So I'm going to start packing things up (in between the working at home) and start the wonderful count down to sewing with some o...

You are kidding .... right??    Nope.... 6 months to the day has passed since my last post.  Unbelievable!! By now I guess you have figured out that I am not a "true blogger".   But that is okay, right? At least to me it is... no place for stress here as this is not work!! So, just so you can get up to date with what I have been working on ...this will be a "picture blog". Most all this was done November, as I was pretty sick remember for 6 weeks, (last blog post)  and had absolutely no ambition to even walk into my playroom.   We will see how long before I post again.  Enjoy!! Christmas gifts - Dammit Dolls  for quilty friends 2014 embroidered towels for great-nieces/nephews for Christmas Knitting carrying case made for Daughter for Christmas Knitting carrying case for Daughter family friends Christmas Gifts mini-Ipad carrier for Grand Daughter Madison for Birthday Jan 2015 ...

Big mack truck that hit me!   Holy hannah cold and flu season is upon us!! Camp Wanna Sew was great .... really it was.  Now if I can only remember everything I did while there ... it would be great!   I know I was busy ... and I know I was very productive, but upon returning home Sunday afternoon (Sept 28th) I fell sick to an awful bug.  Actually, it had been "brewing" at least a week prior (Sept 18th) to camp, but when I got home from camp - I let my guard down ... oh boy! did I get hit.   My sister and daughter said it must have been the adrenline rush of going to camp and being there that held off the evil that was lurking until I got back home. Monday and Tuesday were part of my holidays which were spent flat out with a chest cold.  Wed and Thurs were the first days sick days I took in almost 3.5 years of work (n ot many can say that I know!!),  I was still flat out!!  What the heck!??   Returned to work on Friday (nob...

It's been a whirlwind the last couple of months.  And summer was in there??   Okay, so a whole two days of summer doesn't count - let's have a "due-over"!!  Who's in for that??  Not a whole lot of extra time since the last "report"  but I did make the best of what time I did manage to sneak away from everyday/work life.   AND I have taken "my time" back at work so I'm a slightly happy camper.  ☺ Just slightly LOL Speaking of camper - it's time to pack up for Camp Wanna Sew.  Like men with their hunting, my focus is on just getting through each day until the it's time to leave.  And that my friends is in 9 sleeps!   Woo Hooo!!!  Doing a happy dance here, I tell you!  Then it will be a long 8 months waiting  until the next one. Booooo....hiss!!!  So I will enjoy each moment with all the camp friends made over the past 7 or 8 years that I have bee...

 It's been H-E-double hockey sticks since Jan 22/14 (yes - I remember the date clearly and I wasn't even at work!! Go figure!!!)  and my "me-time" became pretty well  non-existent.  BUT I'm baaaaack!!!  and I'm making "ME" the priority, okay ... I'm working very hard at it.  LOL Way to close for my liking to a full blown burn-out in May - June, that I am now practising hard at putting me first, something I have a very hard time doing.   Yes, my dear friends  (you know who you are) it's taken me three years to do just that - but I trying my hardest at making it MY reality!!  ;-) Enough said! When I was at camp in May, I was lucky enough to sandwich five pieces together so that I could start my free-motion quilting "studies"  ;-)    The first three items are part of the five that I have been practising on  - things that have been in my "course study" ...

Holy Hannah!! There went April - zooooom!  Just like that ... POOF!   Work really got in the way of the fun life since January 22nd, but that will soon change, as I cannot go this pace for any longer, and I'm beginning to realize "why should I?"   Yes, I know, I know!!  You all told me so!  But I learn at my own speed, which sometimes is slow - very slow.☺ It is now time for Camp Wanna Sew!!  With working, working and working some more, it's all of a sudden time to start packing for camp this coming Wednesday!!  WHAT??  Already?   Can't be January just started ... but it is now the middle of May!!   Yikes! So I've quickly put things in a tote that I may do - or may not.  A couple new things to "maybe" start, and quite a few others to finish or not.  Finishing projects totally depends on the mind set of any given day while I'm there - heck I could be sleeping ...

Not much sewing going on as of late - but when I do I am having loads of fun!  I think? I really don't want to start anything new just yet, seeing I still have numerous projects to finish (that's another story line for later!!) and that is a priority for this year, again...still....YET!   Well maybe not " finish " all of them but at least get a good handle on them.  HAH yah right, who am I trying to kid?  "In what century?" ask me, myself and I!  LOL   As of the beginning of this month (March), I have purchased 10 large quilt backs.  Yes, I do have that many ready to quilt, and maybe 4 or 5 more not to mention the smaller projects/quilts.   I must confess.....   I am a "Quilt-top Maker"!!   There!   I said it. LOL.   We will see just how many I get quilted after my "sandwich-fest" (that's putting the quilt/batting/backing together for quilting) at camp in May; just have to purchase a...

No, I'm not hanging ... well unless you count the time I spend in the sewing room "hanging" LOL I made this piece for my son for his 38th birthday, in 2013, after he asked if I would make him "something to hide the back room" in the basement.  "Something like you made my sister".  Well for his sister, Laurie, I had made two full blown quilts which she uses as drapes for a patio door in their living room.  It was a great challenge, fun to do but would I do it again?  No ... well not until my son asked.  He normally doesn't ask for anything unless it is something he truly wants and cannot get it for himself.  And for him to ask "me" to "make it" ... well that was special. 7 months in the making for daughter and hubby's home (2010) So, in August 2013, I had an idea of what I was going to do. Or so I thought!   I saw some beautiful embroidered owls and outlines of fish from Embroidery Library and I just had to have...

It's the beginning of March, already!  What have you done?  Well I have been sewing - although not as I would like due to brain-drain, but progress has been made even if just a little bit!! Last month I did a demo class with the very basic skills needed on how to get started with free motion quilting, to my guild.  We had a blast with it!  At least I think we did?   Most times when they tried something they would say it didn't look very good.  Of course I would say "Practice, Practice and you will see how quickly you get better".   That class brought me to the subject of this post, and had me realise just how much I missed/loved instructing/teaching!  Pattie and I should have been quilting up a storm by now but alas that four letter word still gets in the way.  But this week I'm on holidays trying to recover from the "brain-drain" before I head in for my next session of it called "year-end".  So, we (Pattie a...

Every quilter dreams of finishing their own quilts.  Well, okay, most of them do LOL   And I'm am one of them.  Don't get me wrong - it is nice to have someone quilt them for you when the tops are made but really - did you really " make it ?"   Hmmm... not really.   But that is MY opinion, right? No, really - think about.    Yes, you may have created the top and it's beautiful ... but " sometimes " your quilter is the one that brings it to life and makes it downright gorgeous!!   Did you do that?   Hmmm... No.  See, that is MY opinion.  I did design one top a couple years ago (for McCall's Quilt Designer Challenge) and it was my favorite piece as a "top".  My quilter/friend, Suzanne Gauthier, quilted it for me in ways I never dreamed it could be done.  You always - ALWAYS - acknowledge your quilter as they are really part of that quilt.  Suzanne - she brought "Breaking Free" to life!  It actu...

Yes, I live!!!   I live!!  Woo Hooo... I'm here!!  Okay ... you can sit down now ☺ Checking in just in time to celebrate a new year.  Can you believe that 7 months has pasted since my last post?  I won't go into all that I've done in those 7 months, but rather start "anew" with blogging.  I know - blogging is  NOT my forte but we can see about posting once a month for 2014.  No promises!!  I'm giving those up! With "no promises" comes the thought of New Year's resolutions.  That is something I have totally given up on, will not do, nadda - no way.  Not because I don't keep them, but because I have realized that they are things that should come naturally or be part of everyday life to begin with.  So why resolve every year on January 1st, only to break it come day 30 (if you are lucky!) or day 2?   Really? Resolutions I've made: I want lose 20 lbs . - should have done that years ago and each ye...

Can you believe I missed a couple of posts yet again? That four little word I don't like to say got in the way, yet again. You know the one? Starts with "W" ends in "K" and has "OR" in the middle. Yah! That one!!! But never mind....we will start again. I've been super busy, as you already have guessed, but not much of it has been sewing. I have put in a few hours at the machine and it sure feels good. I even created a little wall hanging and it won first place at Quilt Day 7. The theme was Canadiana and what would you think would fit the bill? Moose? Beaver? the Nickel? Heck no! I thought of something so very near and dear to my heart!! Yes, my Timmies!! and the idea came to me the weekend before the event. But that wasn't the best part!! See I speed read and sometimes "miss" the important part. Well I really did it this time...I thought it was 100" minimum....but it was MAXIMUM!! This was originally appr...

Trying to fit in 15 minutes of sewing when you are "brain-dead" at the end of a day is truly exhausting!!   So, I started working on my redwork blocks during my lunch hour.  Yes, you heard right.  I am taking "MY" lunch hours to do for me!  Mind you, not every day, okay not even every second day, and not the full hour but I am getting my 15 minutes in every now and then.  Two more days and this is supposed to be a habit - that will make 21!!  Here's hoping!! I took a free motion quilting class two weeks ago and I totally loved it!!  (Mr. V was along with me that day too!!)   Someone asked, "why are "you" here?"  "To take the course" was my answer!!  For me this course was to take the time to try and then practice all what free motion quilting is about - I don't have that time at home.  When I'm at home sewing, I'm creating - NOT practicing!  Now I don't think I will be afraid to venture beyond the stippling of fr...

Unfortunately, work gets in the way of my passion.  My hobby - my sanction - my stress reliever.   Try as I might to change how things are - it just doesn't work out - the responsibility of the job is just too high and my morals will not allow me to be anything other than I am and always have been - reliable, responsible.  And take real pride in that!  But as my saying is to others "Suck it up buttercup and get over it." So what I will try to do is take 15 mins a day to sew or cut pieces for my passion and hopefully it will become a habit.  Did you know it only takes 21 days to form a habit?   So I'm going to test it....and hope I can make more "Me-Time" in doing so.   The next three months will be a huge challenge, but those of you who really know me - know that I work well with challenges and do conquer them with gusto!  So "suck it up buttercup" and let the challenge begin! And on that note of  "knowing me", you might know how I l...

Today is family day here in Ontario.  We (the kids and grands) all had a great day on Saturday for our family day, playing in the snow and then had fresh cooked wings and french fries for supper!  What a wonderful day it was ♥ Today, (the real Family Day) is going to be spent in the sewing room doing some much needed organization!    "WHAT???  Organize a sewing room!!???  You won't find anything afterwards!" Yes, I can hear it now!   Although this really needs to be done as it is part of my "hobby purging" that I'm doing this year.  In the summer I will sell off many of my patterns/books/fabrics (many never - ever used!!) just to say I get "something" for them.  I quit counting when I hit $1,000 in value, and I'm just shy of being a quarter of the way done!  And that is only the magazines/books!!!  Now you know why I quit counting!  Besides, I will never, ever, never live long enough to even use/make 1/4 of what is ...

OH , Yikes!!!  It's been just over two weeks since I last posted - one thing I was going to try and do every two weeks!   Dang-it-all, the time just flips right past yah if you are not careful to watch every second that goes by!! Anyway.... I'm here !! Right now I'm on some much needed downtime and enjoying my days sewing on UFO's.  I really don't care for that name.  But oh, man do I have UFO's!  Maybe I should find another name for those items that have been started and not finished!  (UnFinished Objects)  PIG's are Projects In Grocery sacs; WIP's are Works In Progress, but then again I could say all mine are that... right?   No, cause they really are not... some I have not worked on since 1998 - and I think there is one there that is every earlier than that!  In fact I'm positive it older than 25 years!  Thank heavens I used quality fabrics, (very rich for back then!!!) it just needs to be quilted!...

Bad, bad, bad blogger person!  That's me!  Admitting it is half the problem solved - right??  Sure hope so! How is it that life (a wonderful four letter word) always gets in the way of doing things you love (4 letter word!!) and it seems to pass (4 letters - okay this is getting ridiculous!) you right by?   I'm not sure how but the last 1 year, 8 months and 18 days have been like that.  (alright! did you see just how many 4 letter words were in that last sentence alone?   I give up!!  LOL) So without giving you the "Long Version" of my on-going saga, let's just say I will "try" one more time to be a little more regular with blog posting.  Posts may not be long but you will see "something" from me at least every couple of weeks, just to let you all know I didn't fall of the edge of the earth, even if that is where I am most of the time these days, but this is not about "me" but rather about what I create and enjoy doing.  Even...