Mad Organizer Strikes Again...

I signed up for an online class, which led to a search for supplies, which led to another frantic frenzy of the kind of organizing only a left-brained Virgo can do! A couple of piles ended up in the fabric closet, but otherwise things are where they belong and I am happy happy happy (some people are SO easily amused!)

The stacks in the closet make it painfully obvious that I have TOO MUCH FABRIC, so as of today I am on a fabric moratorium. No more buying for the stash, I can only buy border or backing fabric if I absolutely don't have anything in my stash that will work (good thing I went to BJ's yesterday, ha ha). My first test will be Sunday when I teach at the Stitchin' Post. The harder one will be in March when I'm down at Asilomar. I have a $25 coupon to Back Porch Fabrics, so I hereby grant myself dispensation for that one!

(p.s. my last moratorium lasted three months...)

Celestial Navigation

My violet top is ready for quilting! I like the mix of precise points and free-form piecing in the background. I loved making the stars -- just love them perfect points! The wonky background piecing was outside my comfort zone but kind of fun, too. I didn't have a plan in mind but let the stars guide my way, hence the name "Celestial Navigation."

Silver Rings

I finished this just before dinner and absolutely love it. The silver "fabric" has a lovely slinky feel and weight. This is the first time I've done this weave (the mesh looks like the Olympic rings on steroids!) so getting the hang of it was tough at first. I added one end of the clasp about 4 rows in and the extra weight made quite a difference. I only mangled one jump ring which is an accomplishment. I also practiced using pliers in both hands and only putting the down when absolutely necessary. I'm still a spaz but getting more dexterous all the time.

The next step is to add bead dangles -- lots of color and cha cha cha!

What Are Friends For??? (Colors)

The winners are: lime green, tomato red, lemon yellow and periwinkle. The first three are available in a variety of bead types (seed beads, crystals, pressed glass, etc.), but periwinkle is very hard to find. Some colors are difficult to replicate in glass, so I may need a bit of creative license with that one. Sigh, be careful what you ask for, you might just get it!

Color Suggestions Wanted

February has turned out to be a very green month--almost all of my photos are green. I'll be back to work on blue-violet and violet quilts soon, but thought I'd give my loyal fans (HA!) the chance to help pick my next beading project. You suggest the color (the first response wins) and I will come up with a project that includes that color in some form.

(As an aside, that is about two light years beyond my normal comfort zone, but for some reason I can't wait to dive in. Has an alien taken over my brain???)

I've Got Beads That Jingle Jangle Jingle...

The jump rings I ordered for this bracelet arrived yesterday and I spent a couple of hours putting it together. I sacrificed about a dozen sterling jump rings in the process--the beads are large enough that it was a challenge to close the rings cleanly and I had to re-do a few. I added the Hill Tribes silver strawberry charm to try to offset the weight of the beads, but it turned out to be more ornamental than functional. Oh, well, I like it anyway (and DONE is GOOD!).

Getting my package from Fire Mountain Gems triggered an organizing binge. I can't imagine that right-brained non-Virgos are likely to succumb to the overwhelming urge to move this here and that there, but I was pleased with the result. As Monk says: "It is a blessing and a curse." Amen to that! My project boxes are labeled, the pliers are happily ensconced in their new box, the jump rings and headpins are together in one place and all is right with my little world. Except, of course, I'd rather whip out another bracelet than work on things that need to be done. It is back to the grindstone, however...

Golden Details

"Settle" -- that's something we tell the dogs to do when they have the wanders (it works, eventually). I needed to shift gears from a piecing project yesterday to foundation piecing yesterday, but just couldn't get into it. One can only play so much Pogo...

Since instant gratification is a good thing, I dug out these beads to start a bracelet. Alas, I ordered the wrong sized jump rings and couldn't start it after all. It gave me a chance to play with my macro lens so all wasn't lost.

Left-Brained Thoughts on Scrap Quilts

Pat was looking through "Scrap Quilts" by Roberta Horton in our meeting today (only during the boring parts!), so I dug out my copy when I got home. The dogs and I had a good hug while I looked through it for the first time in ages. As any proper left-brainer would, I enjoyed the analysis of what makes scrap quilts work (I'm not sure I can even spell "gestalt"!):

Lots of fabrics -- I can do that!
It must visually show from afar that different fabrics are used
Not every fabric can be noteworthy
Repetition of color makes things go together
Accent colors tell you where to look, move your eye across a quilt and add excitement
Colors need to be mismatched

Which brings me to the Ocean Waves quilt I made in about 1992 (I was working on it when Hurricane Andrew hit). Go ahead and laugh--I started it with the intention of "using up" my greens! Mint green was the rage when I started it, and I had to put it aside for a while until a better range was available. I still have some of those "new" greens in my stash...

What is funny, though, is that I initially didn't mean to add the bright pink accents. It was a green quilt, darn it! Those little bits are so important, though, that I'm glad I left them in.

Interesting how I've internalized a lot of Roberta's "rules" so working this way comes naturally now.

Z is for Zombies!

I wish I'd known about these a couple of years ago--they would have been perfect for my nephew:

A Young Mad Scientist's First Alphabet Blocks

Since I finished my class samples for the upcoming term, I treated myself to a Ratmobile kit!!! Be jealous, be very jealous...

A Good Hum (Tiddely Pom)...

Mr. Wonderful UPS guy delivered a treasure today: "Pooh's Library" with the original illustrations by Ernest Shepard. It is absolutely perfect for a dreary day:

The more it snows (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes (Tiddely pom),
On snowing.

Here's to good friends like Pooh and Piglet and Eeyore...

Darn and Double Darn

I hate it when I think I've got something all figured out and then it doesn't work out as planned. Such is the case for this combo. I used the Phillip Jacobs print to pull colors for the block, with the goal of using the print in alternate blocks (small quilt set 3x3, with paper-pieced blocks at 12, 3, 6 and 9). Now that I've got one block done I'm not sure I like it. The print might work in the border, but I've only got a fat quarter of it at the moment. Bummer!