UFQ Progress

I found my list of unfinished quilts (UFQs) from last year and up dated it, then found more that were not included from last year, and added those I started last year.  I will include the list at the end of this post, but first I think I should CELEBRATE, my progress this first month of 2012.
This month I feel I have made a good start on my UFQ list. 
 I sent four quilts off to be quilted, and finished the top of one, as well as working on a couple other quilts.  See previous post:  http://quilted-hearts.blogspot.com/2012/01/ufqs-making-progress.html 
I can now move them from the to be quilted list to the need to be bound list, or from the UFQ list to the topsville list.
More to come as I keep working on moving more things off the UFQ list and to topsville, or from topsville to the need to be bound list, and then off the list all together.

I even actually started a top and finished the top all in one month.  Now that is an accomplishment for me as usually I end up with it taking at least a couple of months for a quilt to move from pieces to topville.  That quilt is actually at the quilters as we speak. So it will be ready to quilt as soon as she finishes it.  She has four quilt tops at the moment, as she returned one to me and I gave her the New Year's Day 2012 mystery to quilt the same day.  

NYD 2012 Mystery.  There is one more border on this quilt, but I can't find the picture, so this one will have to do.

Now if I can just keep up this pace, I might actually clear out some more UFQs by the end of the year.
Stay tuned for the next update.

Wonderful DIscoveries

I found some wonderful things while going through magazines.  I discovered quilts by Pat Sloan, in several magazines that I did not realize I had. They date back a while, and I am keeping them as some are ones I am thinking I need to make. I also found several other patterns in magazines that I would love to make and am keeping them as well.
I also found some fabric that I forgot all about. It is beautiful and new patterns and ideas are flooding my mind as I type this.
Backings were discovered as well. I have several fabrics that I seem to have bought 6 yards or more of, and that makes them perfect as backings for quilts.  I love it.  I just need to piece them to make them wide enough and I can back a few more of my flimsies (quilt tops) and either quilt them myself or send them off to be quilted.
I am still working on the sewing and am sure there are more treasures to be found as well as tons of things to send out the door as I continue to work on cleaning out and organizing my sewing room.
Keep your eyes posted as you never know what I may discover hidden in the depths of the closet which is next on my list of places to dig into.
When the room is all together I will post pictures for all to see, until them I am keeping the room under wraps.

What to do with the things I am Sending out the Door.

I feel like I am making some progress in clearing out fabric that I will never use and fabric that is so thin I can read the can of Scotch Guard across the room.  I cannot believe how thin some of my fabric is.  It is wild.  I mean when you can read the label on a can that is across the room, you know that the fabric has to be way to thin to hold up. I am talking several pieces of fabric. I and giving them to my dear husband to use with his art students, so they are going to a good cause, just not into my quilts.
I keep looking at the shelf of magazines and patterns and telling myself, "you need to go through those and get rid of the ones you know you will never make."  I did that with my clothing patterns this weekend, but quilt patterns are harder to let go of.  I kept the clothing patterns for jackets, as I do make quilted jackets and bags, but sent the skirts, and most dress ones out the door. I kept that few that are jumpers that I do like to wear and may make a few more of, but most of those patterns are in the bag for goodwill.
Now, what to do with all the quilting ones? I am thinking this weekend would be a good time to take them with me to the quilt store to let others go through and see if they find treasures in my trash, so to speak.  First off I would rather they go to a good home than to the thrift store, and secondly, I know I could try selling them online and will consider that options over the next few days. The draw back to that is that I then have to take the time to photograph and post them, list prices, and then make the trek to the post office to mail them.  Plus set up a Pay Pal or some other account in order to receive payment. I think I need to sleep on this for a few days before deciding what to do.
Looking in my sewing room and seeing the mess it is at the moment with things here and there and everywhere, I wonder what I was thinking when I decided to tear it apart and start reorganizing and cleaning.  I know I can do it, but at the moment it looks overwhelming.  "Tomorrow is be another day" to quote Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, and I know things will look better in the morning when I am not so tired.

Reorganization Day Two

"Organize:  To put together into an orderly, functional, structured whole.

2.

a. To arrange in a coherent form;...

b. To arrange in a desired pattern or structure..."

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/organize

Organizing is a very time consuming process and the clearing out of clutter takes a lot of work.
I am having a hard time, but have found some things to get rid of and I still have a way to go before I have the room emptied out.  There is a lot of stuff just dumped in there on the floor.  I have too much stuff. 
I made one decision. Fabric from Joanns from years ago is leaving.  If I have not used it in a craft project yet, I never will. In reality I moving it over to my husband's room so he can use it for projects with his art students. Keeping only LQS (local quilt shop fabric), which is good quality fabric.
Old patterns for clothes are going out the door also. I even have a UFO that I am sending away. It is a skirt I started like 100 twenty years ago and never finished.  I kept thinking, I will finish that and wear it, NOT!  
I spent some time today going through scraps and making a pile of those too small to do anything with, so will take them to the LQS and donate them to the dog beds bag. They are collecting scraps for dog beds for the local shelters.  A couple of the women make them.
I am also trying to organize things that are for specific projects together in bags so I have it all together when I am ready and looking at a few fabrics to move from usable to possible quilt backs, since I have several yards of them. 
At the moment my goal is to empty the room and redo the shelving so I can organize things in a more efficient manner. I am putting fabric into boxes and will sort it as I put things away so they are categorized by color and amount. I do have a lot of the fabric already sorted by color and one yard or greater than one yard increments.  I just need to find a better way to store it.
Beth gave me a great idea. I need to bag and label things with the pattern I plan to use so they are ready to start when I am ready. 
I plan to put kits in fabric boxes on the shelves so they are ready to go, and works in progress in another fabric box, unless it is one I am currently working on. Those are in plastic 12x12 boxes with handles ready for me to carry to class or to workshops.

The Sewing Room Reorganization Begins

Tonight I started pulling things out of my sewing room. The room is a real disaster and I am not posting before pictures just believe me when I say it is a total disaster and there is not room to move around.

First was a box of jeans.  I am saving them to make another denim quilt.  I love the one I made before and though I use it in the family room, I like it in the car in the winter as it is heavy and warm.  I am thinking I may make another and back it with fleece to keep in the car.  I thought of making another denim jacket, but decided that if I did I would want to do a longer one and the weight would be too much, so ruled that idea out.  For the moment I am keeping the denim.

Next came the Christmas fabric, or at least most of it. I folded and stacked it in plastic bins for the moment.  I plan to go through it when I put it back in the room and decide if I want to keep it, share it with friends, or donate it.  This is the plan for all fabric.  I have two tubs of Christmas fabric and I know there is more hiding in my sewing room. Will I ever make that many Christmas quilts?

The third thing I pulled out and boxed up for the moment was quilt/wall hanging tops that are done or in need of borders. I have four 31 quart tubs and one 15.5 quart tub.  Now I should say that some of the tubs also have quilt backs or the fabric for backs folded with the quilts. There is one wall hanging pinned and ready to hand quilt as well as a wall hanging and a table runner that just need the binding hand stitched down  I did not count how many items are in topsville.  Plus there is one top and backing sitting to the side that is ready to drop at the quilters.  (She has four other quilts of mine at the moment.)  One goal this year is to finish these, including binding.  I have several backs cut and ready to piece in these tubs, but am waiting a while before sending more off to the quilter.  I also have several smaller ones set aside with backs for me to quilt.

I stopped for the night and will tackle my sewing room reorganization again tomorrow.  

I am hoping to get it all cleared out tomorrow and start putting things back together on Sunday and Monday.  I sub Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday next week and sew all day Saturday and Sunday.  I really do not want this to be stretched out over several weeks, so we shall see how much I can get done tomorrow.  There is an awful lot of stuff hiding in that room, and I have not looked in the closet in several years.