Wow, where have I been!

I can't believe more than a week has passed since I last posted, so much for a post every day!  I've really had a couple of very unproductive weeks, but things should improve soon.  On Wednesday last this little girl came to play!

My granddaughter Nora, age 2,  lives in San Diego so we don't get to see her often.  Lucky for us the winter stayed mild while they were here and we did a few things outside.  This was taken at the Native Hooved Animal Enclosure at Fleming Park, where she fed carrots to the elk.  After greeting each one with "Hi!" Unfortunately, the bison (aka buffalo) were at the rear of the hundred acres or so and we didn't get to see them up close and personal!

Saturday was Kolby's birthday party,  he turned 3.  I cannot believe how big he's gotten!  Had a great time eating pizza and watching him with his gifts-he very carefully looked after any and all money he received!

Yesterday, we went to the Kansas City Zoo.  While many of the animals were not on display because it wasn't warm enough for them we did have a good time together!

Brayden climbing up, Lucas and Kolby rally style!

 Nora so wanted to hold Kolby's hand, she finally made it!

Scrappy Saturday Update

I really don't have many green scraps, or not the kelly green I wanted to work with.  Originally I had a lame idea that I could take four patch "hearts" and turn them into shamrocks for St Pats, thus the reason for kelly green as that's the color you see the most of in Ireland.  Did. Not. Work.  But, I liked the blocks a lot anyway so I made six:

In fact I liked them so much I decided to make these blocks from each color to make a rainbow quilt at the end of the year!  So I made the red ones too!

See the center fabric in these blocks?  It's from the 1970's!  No kidding, I used it to make an apron (still have the apron too!)

No sewing otherwise.  I did get down those boxes from the attic-I thought there were two but guess what, there were four!  I'm beginning to sort and store those as before.

The past week has been crazy and I don't feel I accomplished much in any area, sigh.  Next week my California kids are coming to town!  Can't wait to see them, bet Nora has grown a foot!

Tired Puppy.

Today, Quinn had her first visit to Camp Bow Wow.  According to the workers (and the web cam when I checked in on her) she ran and played ALL day.  Inside, outside and possibly upside down!  She played "avoid the leash" when it was time to go home although she was suitably happy to see me.  I don't think it will be long until I say "camp" and she goes to sit by the door!  She's tuckered though, but that's part of the reason she is going every week.  That and socialization, with other dogs that is, she's a social butterfly when people are concerned.

Winter Came!

Here it is, the middle of February and we finally have winter!  The past several days have the drapes drawn against the cold, another blanket on the bed, and more layers on the body.  This morning we awoke to an 1.5 inch of snow-give or take.  That's more snow than the rest of the season combined!  This was Quinn's first real snow and she took it in stride, digging through it, eating it and generally romping on the snow covered deck.  We did get one walk in yesterday but only one in three days is making for an antsy puppy, tomorrow we should get in one and Wednesday she goes to Doggy Day care at Camp Bow Wow for the first time.  I hope she has fun and runs a lot!

I have been stitching some, folding and cutting fabric from the massive piles, and today I actually got out the town of Kansas research!  I'm trying a new tactic there-I don't have to work on it but I can't do anything else either.  I can't do dishes or stitch or even read during the time I have set aside to work on that, I'll let you know how that goes.

A little "tweaking"

So there have already been a couple of upgrades to the sewing room.   Out there in blogville I've noticed several folks displaying old sewing machines-working and not- in their sewing rooms.  Then some folks have cried because their beloved sewing machine sewed it's last stitch.  The two combined made me think. Scary, huh.  I had my old Elna down in the garage, could not bear to part with it even though it no longer works and can't be repaired as parts are no longer available.  I bought it in 1973 as a college graduation gift to myself and it must have made a million (or three) stitches.  A nearly all metal, computerless machine that was mostly trouble-free (you really can't count as trouble the time my then three year old son filled the inside of the machine with pins and assorted sewing stuff.  He was so proud of himself, for cleaning up my sewing, sigh.)  It finally broke while I was stitching a bag to hold the youngest son's music and stand.  That was 6 or 7 years ago.  So today I brought it upstairs, cleaned it up good and set it up on top of the sewing shelves.

I still loved the way that machine worked.

Otherwise, I tided up the closet and moved empty boxes out. Put in reasonable, useable order the rest of the boxes.

Still need to label everything but I just can't get into it right now.

I did finish cutting squares of the precious little green I have in the way of scraps, hoping for a table runner maybe.  Or maybe just some blocks to add to others later in the year, who knows.

The Sewing Room!

Before I began all the sewing room madness there was a smallish (8x10inch maybe) basket crammed on the bottom shelf of the bookcases.  Somehow Quinn managed to get in and make herself comfortable, getting out was a bit tricky though!  Nothing to do with how the room turned out but cute puppy pictures are always going to find their way into the posts!

This is what I faced last Tuesday morning after the weird beginning to this project!  All the stuff off the one bookcase that later collapsed plus a bunch of other homeless things!

Now for some photos of the mostly finished room!

This is my desk.  It's massive.  The top is quite a bit larger than the base and measures something like 3x6 feet!  That's a lot of real estate in a 10x10 foot room but I love it so it stays and is cleared off-hadn't seen the top in a while until now.  The file cabinets (2) are full of family history files as well as a few research files.  There's a small tv on top, it isn't hooked up to dish so I only watch movies on it.  Moving On.

To my right when I sit at my desk are three book cases, well really two and a half.

The one's nearest my desk are for my research and other paper stuff, like gardening books.  If I ever finish the Town of Kansas book there will be a lot of empty shelves!  The other one is for non-sewing crafts, my craft paints, glues, knitting basket and scrapbook stuff.  Then there the door-it's a good thing I have skinny fingers as I have to reach behind the shelf to turn the light on and off!

When the door is open it backs against the closet/design wall.

This is the closet view, you will notice that there is empty room on the shelves, well once I take out all the empty boxes and re-arrange there will be--room enough for the two boxes of home decor fabric I have in the attic.  Rob will get those down for me one day soon.

Next to the closet are the two bookcases that hold my sewing and quilting supplies.

The cutting table still has fabric on it to deal with, there are several pieces that will probably end up as a fat quarter and scraps.  All the rest of the fabric is either in the fat quarter boxes on the top three shelves nearest edge or stored in these:

Each piece was measured, refolded around a file folder and filed in the box by the yardage (1/2 yd to 4 yds).  I will be seeing fabric to fold in my sleep!  I think it will be easier to see what I have and to keep neat this way.

Next around the room is my sewing machine!

I'm looking for a different table, that one is just too low!  The pile next to it is my current project pile-only a pile because one project is bulky.  Then we are back to the file cabinets!  I have a square of floor left in the middle and a spot big enough for the ironing board (although I can't leave it up anymore.)

So there you have it.  Please the gods it will work better for me and I won't spend an hour looking for my scissors!

Still sorting!

I'm still working away in my sewing room.  I'm just not sewing.  I'm down to sorting the boxes of fabric.  Measuring each piece, refolding it, wrapping it around a file folder (Adapted/stole that idea form Karen at Sew Many Ways-you can see it here.  I don't have an empty file cabinet so I'm using regular file folders and standing them up in the box-photo's tomorrow, I hope.)  Then I'm labeling each piece as to it's size.  Anything smaller than a half-yard goes into shoe boxes with fat quarters-which still need to be sorted by color.  I hope to wrap it up by Wednesday latest and then I'll post photos of the room.  I think it might just work!

Sewing Room Redo, Day three

I managed to work in my sewing room all day without hurting myself! Or having anything collapse.  There is floor showing but not the top of any flat surface.  Tomorrow should get a great deal more put away but it will be a couple of weeks before I've finished the sorts/culls on the boxes.  I will have room in the closet for the two boxes of fabric I took up to the attic and will get them down when I've finished everything else.  Hoping I can get some sewing in over the weekend as winter is supposed to come.  We've have 60F days, only about 30 degrees above normal!  While I love winter-my favorite season- I have enjoyed walking the puppy on these warmer snow free days.  Poor Quinn would have trouble with 6 or 8 inches of snow!

I think I'll do some more putting away and sorting while I wait for Scott to get here for the evening.  He's giving a talk at Math and Physics Institute (part of his high school)  guess he still looks enough like a kid to be interesting!

Sewing Room Redo, Again...

I'm sitting in the total disaster of my sewing room nursing a goose egg on my left arm but at least today I can get to my laptop! Not to mention the cable to charge my Iphone.

Most of you know that my sewing room/office has been an on-going issue for me.  Last week when I searched for an hour for my scissors I declared that I would do SOMETHING to make it useable.  I thought and thought -finally came up with a solution (please the Gods).  Monday evening, having given up on TV for the night I thought I'd get started and move the bookcases.  Bad idea, very bad idea.  I unloaded one and began moving it when it collapsed!  Fortunately not on me.  Rethought the idea and decided to simply add two more bookcases (plus a new one for the one that collapsed) and lots of plastic storage boxes!

Last night I put together two of the new cases (would have done all three but the Independence Target only had two) and today I began ordering them.  Sorting through boxes as I went.  Still need to go back and toss any craft paint that has dried up, will most likely gain a box there.  I needed to get to the shelves behind the cutting table which was piled totally high.  The table sits on upside down paint cans (the ones Larry made to hold the dining canopy by filling them mostly with cement!).  Here's where I made my mistake.  Rather than take the table down I tried to get beneath and move it by moving the cans along the floor.  Don't know what happened but suddenly the table was landing on my arm!  It hurts-a lot -still, even after ice.  It was a stupid thing to do!

Tonight I went to the Lee's Summit Target and got the third bookcase brought it home and put it together so tomorrow I should make more headway, if I can move.

Now I'm going to go ice my arm, again.