CQ Tumbling Blocks

I am so behind on this project

Oh well, 

I'm only a year and 5 moths late in starting!

This is my latest block so far

It needs more cowbell

Here's the first block I completed

with SRE daisies 

and a good starburst seam treatment

The Tumbling Blocks stitch-a-long is still on Sharon Boggins Blog 

if you want to partake or just go look

And a cloudy moon for the full moon that just passed

I think This is going to be an ongoing difficulty with this project.

I want to do it, but other things keep getting in the way

I have 20 or so dark blocks made and a few ideas beside the 3 I've done so far.

I may even revisit some older Ideas but no theme has yet revealed itself to me 

And if I ramdomize myself too much I may not finish the project at all.

One 6"ish block a month is enough right? I don't have to finish right now, EVEN THOUGH

I started it late. I keep telling myself that, in between the times I wonder why I haven't finished yet.

Now that the studio is, mostly, finished and moved into I can start finishing projects that have been on hold for forever.

I just finished Quilt about 9 of the 14 flimsies I found in random piles some I put aside because they were too big for the space I had and some that got lost in the constant shuffle.

I also picked up 10 charity quilts for the guild I belong to, we have such a backlog of quilts that need quilting 

and as I was nominated and voted in as secretary, I feel honor bound to get as much done there as I can.

I also have my own projects here and there that I want to do, It's hard to keep myself tethered.

Flights of fancy are all well and good, but there is a limit to what one can accomplish on your own. 

As my DDH tells me all this pressure is self inflicted...... 

Rainbow scrap challenge

 I have enjoyed the Rainbow scrap challenge from afar for the last 3(?) years or so vicariously through Cathy over at Crazy by Design  

I've even taken a stab at organizing and sewing a color-of-the-month block here and there.

I get distracted by all the other colors I have to play with, It will be a big challenge to keep to one color for a whole month. 

And who says I can't pay attention to one color for a whole month anyway?

Who says it has to be for a whole month?

To join or not to join..........

I do love a good challenge......

Rainbow quilts are so pretty....

I adore making scrap quilts anyway...

There is at least one gypsy quilt in the leftover block basket..

So what am I waiting for?

It's not like the scrap pile is getting any smaller.

So here it goes first up a few spinning spools. 

They are 4.5 x 6ish. These are nice and quick and use up just a little of the 1"-1 1/4" strips I have laying around. 

I may even shake it up and use more angular bits, after all, who's thread drawer is this neat? 

I will be making as many of these as I can stand over this year.

Its strange, I have this dearth of red in my may piles of scrap, 

I like red and thought for sure I would have had more.

Even after I made a red scrappy basket out of the little pieces!

It could be this is why I have washed out over the years

Because I have made a few scrap baskets, for my scraps in years past. 

These are great for all the little pieces you get after a big project 

and they are squishy enough you can nest them if they aren't too full, 

but boy do they chew up time in the making!

I only did one side on this one and it took a few hours of crumb catching, 

and if you are forcing yourself to sew something,

ANYTHING!

it will put one off making them for a while.

I also made some birdies with red breasts or wings or breasts and wings. 

These are fun little critters to make, but are really fiddly and have many moving parts to them.

In order for me to enjoy making them, I had to figure out a system to streamline the process, 

so I broke it down into 3 piles 

of breast and back wing, 

head and tail, 

and front wing

Then sew it together 4x4 and so on.

From there it got really simple and fun to mix and match, 

so I can make them as colorful or as tonal as I want!

As long as you have enough 2" squares to make them.....

some fresh white fat quarters were sacrificed to make these babies.

Viva la white fat quarters!

I made a thing

I'm workin'here!

 more specifically I made a CQ caddy out of a plant holder thing.

It started life as a planter for herbs as the side says

it ended up getting in the way and holding nothing

Being a person, incapable of throwing away something,

 that might possibly be useful in the future.

It kept getting in the way until I had an apiffany (epiphany)

one day whilst looking, yet again for my scissors and the stiletto poker thingy

I ran over this thing again

and thought, as one does, I wonder if I can sidetrack myself for an entire day AND

make this thing usefull

two empty tins, some heat-n-bond double stick, screw in hooks, a couple of fat quarters and a magnet later,

VOILA!

Heat-n-bond is magical stuff! I use it by the yard just measure, outline, peel stick and iron.

tAA-dAA!

Everything all at once! 

even on the inside

Just the way I like it!

Then I looked at all the extra space where little things could get lost 

and thought, pouches to fit in between! Excellent!

The tricky bit was getting the scissors case stuck to the side of the handle. 

I covered and old janky case inside, with enough hanging out to stick outside, 

then covered and positioned it, so the HNB would cover the inside of the handle and hold the whole thing up after repeated use.  

It's been two months and so far shows no signs of wearing out or falling off, so, I WIN!

The magnet on the right side is for my tiny pliers,

'Cause sometimes you need some extra grip n' pull.

Now I have a thing, I can tote around the house, that has all my tools in and a few extra bits and bobs.

Clever me!

 

Sharon Boggins template holder

So now I can finish anything!

                                                    RIiiiiight...............

I am busy, really, I am

 I'm just randomized to hell.

There are just so many things I want to do

and just one of me, so........

I work on all of it

That's nutz!

In sections

as the mood hits me

And then I watch a you tuber do something amazeballs 

and think

I cAn dOO thAt........

$$ later, neW hObby!

(Thank you Morgan Donner!)

Cause we can't have enough things to do,

 to keep us from cleaning the house amiright?

Sidetracked

 Just a little bit.

OK, a lot.

 

But in my defense it has been a busy few months, 

 

with doctors appointments for the whole family to coordinate, 

 

 

yardwork to avoid, Ahem, do.

 

and then t

here is this pesky new hobby

 

 

I seem to have picked up and obsessed over for the past month

 

Like I need another one.

 

I must admit making tiny furniture for a dollhouse, 

 

I probably will never get around to making, has been curiously satisfying. 

It's also excellent avoidance material, 

turn on the music 

 or your favorite audio book,  

Try to find some semblance of peace While your government is 

trying to burn down the world around our ears

ignore the chaos that is created by men of no conscience

 

and create.

 

Who's hiding?

 

 Isn't that what I originally started crazy quilting for? 

hmmmm. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know how you start a project,

 

then you start another project and the first project never seems to get done?

 

 

 

 

 

Then suddenly you 10 projects scattered around the house.

And just as suddenly they are all done?

I'm not there yet, 

 

to the done point, that is.

If it weren't for the whiskers I would not have seen her this morning!

but I will be

If only Molly would stop poning my chair.......

 

Life in the time of corona

We have been locked down in our home since march 6th , except for occasional carry out dinners and grocery trips.

While I realize I am lucky nay privileged enough, to have to have a property big enough that there are enough things to do to keep busy. I also have a lovely stash that I have picked up over the years, for my many hobbies and a few dozen books that I haven't read yet.

I must confess to not wanting to do any of it.

Things I have found difficult to do? At first, everything.

It has gotten better over time, I can bully myself into finishing things I started before the lock-down happened but it is not a satisfying finish.

I confess to having an overall mental malaise that keeps me from enjoying this new life.

It's aggravating.

I have all the time in the world to do the things I love doing, My dear darling Husband is here for every meal and at hand for any consultation I may need, while he works from home.

Another Privilege!

I find myself chiding my soft whinging. I have become a spoiled brat, complaining of boredom, surrounded by her wealth of toys.

I'm laughing now. silly rabbit. getting that all out even if it is only to you all, makes me feel better.

Because you see, I know I am not the only one. I know there are others out there who are having a hard time. Who cant concentrate, who can't motivate. Who probably can't even get up the energy to clean the house because  I did it already, I'm bored, or whatever. I'm here to tell you, It's OK.

Really!

It is!

This time we have been forcibly given is full of aggravating, horrible, senseless and ridiculous news.

Some of us are hurting in other ways too. It's OK to not be able to wrap you head around it all. It's bewildering, crazy making and exhausting! Its OK if you don't know what to do, to comfort yourself by making tea and staring out the window. We are all in this together, at different levels, apart but we can still comfort each-other by being, if not present, at least out there, trying to get through another day of weird

uncomfortable news, staring at the parts of our latest project or out the window.

Keeping others safe by not making the problem worse.

Wash your hands, wear a mask, stay home, be safe, make a cuppa.

I'll be here, while you are there. 

Dealing with life in the time of carona

That's all we need, right, a way of doing things. A way to think or behave, until we have more information so we can improve, the way we think and behave.
Something that has always made it easier for me to create, is to think of a person I am creating for, or the story I am trying to tell.    I have always been good at telling myself stories, of finding a fabric or a bead or a picture, that triggers something and I can see what it will become.
It is an integral part of my creative process and my stories have dried up.

All this uncertainty in the world, the dangerous, not danger, we all seem to be in. The News reporting, with its constant reiteration of what we have already heard, might be peppered with some new fact but it just as well might be the same as yesterday.
The constant pronouncements of, "Nah! It'll all blow over and we can get back to normal, tomorrow!" Coming from a WH, where we have been programmed to think the best news comes from and is right now betraying our trust in it, on a daily basis. Is only adding to the uncertainty we all feel.
The worry that our loved ones might get this and they might die but maybe not.
We now all live in a Schrödinger world

I know the science behind this Novel Corona virus. I understand it is brand spanking new and we have no immunity to it, which is why we should be taking all the precautions we are taking.
I also understand how, in this day and age, we feel we as a society have progressed so far, our science is so advanced, we should have come together and fixed this by now, right?
I mean whats the use of all this advanced technology, if we cant just whip up a cure at a moments notice?  TV cop shows and Hospital dramas tell us daily DNA analysis and labs come back within the hour and the crime or disease is solved, by the end of the show. Magic!

 And there is probably where we get all caught up in, what we think we know, about how science works. MAAAAP! No. That is TV science, there for the entertainment of you so our heroes keep you coming back, week after week. Real science takes time.
Real science it hit or miss, mostly miss. If we are very lucky and some much smarter than I am person, hits on the solution, It will still be months before there is a solution. Any pie-in-the-sky reporting or pontificating from the podium on a daily basis o0, will only make you more anxious than you need to be.

Right now our monkey brains are overloaded with, Danger, Danger, Danger Will Robinson!
And we are all quietly panicking about ourselves, our loved ones, our friends and our world and there is nothing we can really do about it. Because as advanced as we have become and as smart as we all are, with the amazing technology we have at our finger tips. We are still just monkey's.

So after all that what is my solution? How do we stop the panic? How do we cope with this new scary world? My way might not be your way but I go find something else to pay attention to.
Something not news.
Since I cant seem to find the brain-space to read or sew, I garden, clean the house, again.
Listen to music, I watch TV or waste time on you tube. I try to give myself a break from the nagging at the back of my head that keeps telling me, I'm not doing anything useful or worthwhile.
Mostly because none of us are doing anything useful or worthwhile either, it kinda takes some of the edge off not creating. So give your monkey brain a rest, and give yourself a break.
After all when was the last time you were told you could help save the world, by staying home, doing nothing?

Where did it go this time?

Maybe I can start some small things. Everything I pick up lately gets put down and kicked under the table. I don't have the energy, motivation my head is full of blah.

I cant seem to find my Mo-jo,
It's wandered off and left me.
bereft of all my creativity,
I sit on the couch and mope.
I've cleaned the house twice hoping to find it,
but the couch cushions stubbornly will not relinquish
any hint of it's whereabouts.
Is it under the bed?
did I leave it in the fridge?
I'm looking in all the silly places now,
desperate to reacquire the mo-jo that keeps me sane.
maybe the freezer in the garage,
the trunk of the car?
It' must be somewhere.
I can't have lost it.
it must be there.
My Mo-jo has taken vacations before,
off to the beach or out to the store.
but it has always come back to me,
ready to go, flowing with energy,
crackling to become some new thing.
Where did it go this time?
Timbuktu?
Maybe it went to France and found a better lover,
a creative who doesn't need so much pushing, 
or maybe a better temper.
Without you there is nothing for me,
The mediocre piddling amateur  at best,
is now a plagiarizer, a tracer, a copy-cat.
I haven't checked the garden yet,
Are you hibernating up a tree
The wood pile, a wheelbarrow, a pot, maybe ?
but it's been raining,
today has grown cold,
I am weary,
the grass is wet.
I will try again tomorrow.

Applique a little

 This is what I do when I'm busy doing nothing

That is to say Binging on a favorite show or watching TV in the evenings with my Hubbs








I am trying to use all my big scraps from my bin

in a bid to empty the sucker out
but it keeps filling back up





I don't get it

I've 3 of 9 panels done so far

Lets see how far I get before
"short attention span theater" hits again


 I still have that felt rug to finish

2 more charity quilts to quilt

The hawaii panels to sew

my self-imposed "scrap bin of doom" project

A new skellie

2 done quilts to bind

I can never die, I have to much to do

I joke but its true, who else is going to use up my fabric stash?

resolution or list?

I'm not much for new years resolutions. I've tried them in the past and they last about as long as my attention span, which is another way of saying, not long.
 I am, however, a fan of lists and organizing and blogging about my thought process and why I do things in the way I do them.
I find this helps me to put things into perspective. It also helps me when I can put an actual name or a why to feelings and thoughts.

so this year I decided to write all this down and inflict them on you people.

1) What makes me most productive? (sounds simple enough but sometimes it just helps to write it down)
    a) having the tools I need to do my project (duh)
    b) having an organized place to do my project (it doesn't have to be 
clean, just organized so I can find stuff)
    c) light (double duh)
    d) an Idea of what my project will be when its done (sometimes this is very important, sometimes not so much. depends on how creative I'm feeling that day)
    e) emptying my head of useless thoughts (pertaining to the project)
    f) staying the hell off Facebook! (Oh yeah!)
    g) starting work in the morning when the light is the best ( I work best in the morning)
    h) bloggong about my process (hi there)
    i) a good breakfast (car works best when full so do you)
    j) being comfortable (try getting something creative done when your not)
    k) keeping hydrated (water keeps your tummy from distracting you with demands for junk food)


2) What projects do I want to do? Ha! what don't I want to do?
    I suggest making a list of projects, including the yard work and house work you want to get done and revise as needed. 
you know what you need to do, writing it down puts in front of your mind 
and it works on that, instead of what so-and-so said about whatever.
Chances are you have just as long a list as I do so it should keep you too busy to worry or agonize about the other stuff. 

3) How best to accomplish these projects? (AH, introspection)
    a)have a routine
    b) exercise ( get those grey cells moving)
    c) put a time limit on social media distractions ( go ahead and surf just don't do it all day)
    d) keeping my tools organized ( can't use it if you can't find it)
    e) make a plan and stick to it (it helps, really)
    f) give myself time and space when my creativity wanes (sometimes you just need to walk away from it)
    g) if its not working GO DO SOMETHING ELSE (really, go for a walk, or scrub something)
    h) sometimes its ok to do nothing (the world will not fall apart if you sit your butt on the couch and potato for a day)
    i) give yourself a break ( and not just for lunch)
    j) clean off your workspace every once in a while ( just saying)
    k) organize your stuff so you can find it( you'll be surprised what you might find, again)
l) Have a place you can put your project when it goes dormant ( because sometimes your muse just gets up and goes on vacation)
 

4) What inspires me? ( sounds simple enough but is a good practice to get into reminding yourself what makes you tick)
    a) Pictures- mine/ other peoples (research)
    b) books- pintrest- paintings (more research)
    c) sketching it out (part of the planning)
    d) research (learning the history of an idea helps)
    e) deep contemplation (looks like taking a walk, sitting on the couch or cleaning but is so important)
    f) exercise (can't stress moving the grey matter enough)
    g) cleaning house/yard (something to do when your brain is on the fritz)
    h) gardening (ditto, with fresh air)
    i) music (thought distractor, get up and dance, you know you want to)
    j) reading (sometimes you need to do something else)
    k) poetry (it gives me ideas)
    l) CQ Wednesdays with girlfriends (we do lunch and kibbutz)
    m) organizing my space (so i can find stuff)
    n) gathering the materials for my project (cant use it if you don't have it)

5) What stifles my creativity?     
    a) Facebook suckage ( ever been on that thing and next thing you know dinners pizza, again?)
    b) brain fry (sky blue, tree pretty. that's it. that's all I got)
    c) anxiety ( and who isn't after this election?)
    d) too many thoughts that are self deprecating/non-productive (youre wonderful, just not all the time and that's ok. now go have some chocolate)
    e) anger at things I have no control over and can not change or effect ( this election for example)
   f) not having the tools I need when I need them (clean off your desk dummy)
   g) not being organized (can't find it, don't have it, I just had it...)
   h) not being set up to work (I put it away and now I need it, sigh)
   i) not having a plan (sometimes intuitive creativity is a good thing and sometimes you sit there and skive the day away)
   j) being stuck on a part that is nOt working (walk away)
   k) discomfort (bad chair, bad posture all bad for creating)
   l) not being able to find what I need (stops me in my tracks sometimes)


so there you go. the basic questions are good ones to think about.
my thoughts with commentary in blue, I don't know about you but I have this sarcasm fairy in my head, who can't let a thought go without commenting on it.

procrastination

Procrastination presents in strange ways in me.

like right now I should be sewing on my gardens and flowers RR, finishing a fairie block and working on skellie but I just can't seem to get motivated on any of it

some people shop, read novels back-to-back, go shopping do the movie/TV show couch potato marathon.

when I'm avoiding something I bake, cook elaborate meals, garden. oh I do the other things too but yesterday was too pretty to do them and today I had to finish.


 I saw one in my local farmers market but it was too expensive and a little small so I went to home desperate, collected my gear and built a potting bench.

no plans or directions just winged it. yes folks, I am an odd duck.

how hard could it be?


apparently, not so difficult.
once I found the measuring tape and the drill my DDH hid in the garage, it was off to the races!
and look for $60 bucks in materials, I have a potting bench to suit my needs!

I used 31 - 6'x4"x1 1/2" cedar fencing($1.89 per)
a box of 1" #8 screws ($5,?)
2 2" corner brackets for under the top shelf for bracing and squaring ($3.50 E)
 the rest of the stuff I had lying around
1 sterilight container for dirt
1 handle
4" screws for hanging
4 hooks
you also need a measuring tape, pencil
table saw and a drill with a 5/32 bit and phillips head screw attachment
and voilà!