But on to better things. I have not done much in the sewing room....sorting and finding things I had set aside. I was asked yesterday if I was still quilting. I hated to answer with yes, and no. But it is truthful. I am a quilter, just not productive recently. Pain is the biggest sap to my creativity. That silent enemy I battle each day. Like the little train that said, I think I can, I think I can.......I keep pushing and planning.
I have pinned two tops for quilting....the floral rail fence and the floral scrappy mountains. These are my main project for the month.....get them quilted. I can only sit for short periods and have to move around to reduce the stiffness, so it might just take me all month.
The shopping therapy.......I gave in to the need for more wonder clip things. The dozen I had just were not enough. Instead of the expensive "name" set, I found 100 of them for much less on Amazon. Mixed colors and 2 sizes satisfied that need.
Notice what they are resting on?
I set this one up for my leader ender assortment. This is a very scrappy Double 4 Patch in various stages. I have about 10 blocks put together and the rest of these parts/piece units. Instead of putting everything away, I plan on letting the tray next to the machine so I can make progress on this one.
The guild's Quilt Show is this weekend. I am slated to sit at the admissions table on Saturday morning. So I need to bake up some goodies for the "food room" as Sir Old Man calls it! That should keep me out of trouble for today.
Thank you all for checking up on me during my knee rest.
Keep on stitching.
Those trays are an excellent idea! We all do what we can, some days a lot, some days not so much. But as long as there is still the desire, and the joy when we finish a project, it's all good! I'm happy to hear the knee is on the mend.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to hear the knee is better. A double four patch is on my want-to-do-someday list.
ReplyDeleteI like the tray idea. I have a few old butcher trays that I originally got to use for watercolor painting palettes. I have one under my coffeemaker to catch spills when I am filling it. I never thought of using them this way.
ReplyDeleteGood news about your knee. I'm told those clips are better than the ones I've been using, made by Dritz. Maybe I'll make the switch someday.
ReplyDeleteSo glad your knee is better and that you can walk without a limp. Small victories are the energy for your I think I can train. The tray idea is fantastic - I need to try this. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the Quilt Show. ~Jeanne
ReplyDeleteI love the tray idea. And I have a question about the fabric for the Leaders and Enders. I cut almost all my scraps into the manageable sizes, but have a large portion of them that I couldn't determine if they were lights or darks. I couldn't find a value finder locally, so followed a suggestion and purchased red cellophane paper and made one. But I still cant tell the lights from the darks. Do you have a suggestion that will help me? And if I finally get that mastered, then do I just randomly pick a light and dark and sew them together?
ReplyDeleteYou are a no reply blogger. You can link your email (it won't be seen when you post comments) to your google + so we can reply to you. It is in the settings on your google account.
DeleteLinda also commented to you that red cellophane is not the most reliable to use for value....no good for the turquoise/blue greens at all, as they appear light and are usually a medium or dark. A great trick is to use a camera/phone/ipad to take a photo and view it in black and white. You will see the light versus dark value that way. It takes practice to get the value technique down. A pile of squares on the table....sort them by value placing the lightest in comparison to the rest to the right, and place the darkest squares to the left. What is left in the middle are mediums that can be lighter or darker many times according to what they are placed next to. That is probably what is throwing you off. I will put together a post to better explain this:)
So glad to here there is relief in the knee pain. The fast food tray idea is wonderful. We quilters can never have enough "tools" to help us through our process. It's amazing to me what ideas people come up with to make things easier/faster/more efficient for our hobby. Have fun at the quilt show...wish I could be there.
ReplyDeleteLove the tray idea for setting up leader/ender projects. Glad the knee is recovering, even if slowly.
ReplyDeleteJust last night, for the first time ever, I decided to sort scraps for a string quilt, and what a mess I have all over my sewing room! I must, and I mean MUST find some of those tray and soon! Glad your leg is doing better. Just be careful! ---"Love"
ReplyDeleteYes, you need some trays!
DeleteWow, someone reads my blog and it helps them? Motivation to keep posting received. I just finished piecing two tops for a guild presentation on scrappy quilts and can now get back into something else. For the value thing, I shoot a photo with my ipad and set it to black and white. A phone would do that also. Red cellophane is not always reliable- especially on turquoise shades.
ReplyDeletePraying for a time when you are able to navigate your body in a pain free manner and to do the things you love doing. It's amazing what we take for granted until it's taken away from us. Have fun in the 'food room'.
ReplyDeleteOh, Debbie, I missed your last post while I had house guests, and I had to go back just now and find out what is up with your knee. You are such a warrior, my friend. I know setbacks like this are disheartening, to say the least. I will be keeping you in my prayers!
ReplyDeleteLove the tray I idea. I actually have more than a dozen cafeteria trays (a mismatched lot from thrift stores), but it has never occurred to me to use them in my quilting. They are employed as soap curing trays here, but now I see their versatility!
My oldest son gifted me with a box of those clips last Christmas. It has been very helpful to have so many--and the fact that I didn't have to pay for them was a happy thing. :)
I hope your knee continues to improve. Pain is definitely the enemy!
ReplyDeleteLove the tray idea! We have one kicking around somewhere because we used to put the cat food and water bowls on it to contain the spilling. I'll have to dig it out. And your new Amazon clips are so cheerful. I'm sure they're just as useful as the Clover brand one, which are darned expensive.
ReplyDeleteI don't have nearly the pain you do, but I understand having to pace your sewing or the pain/stiffness get out of control. My brain wants to sew too many hours a day! But the back and shoulders say, "Whoa nelly! Slow down or you'll be sorry!" Sigh.
Glad your knee is better! Take care, and have some fun.
ReplyDeleteDon't know how I missed your previous post about your knee but I backtracked and caught up. I really struggle with anti-inflammatory meds, and have to really limit my ibuprofen because of my stomach. My husband doesn't quite understand that I often choose bad pain over an upset stomach but I just hate nausea! Glad your knee is getting better! Believe it or not, I just haven't tried those clips. I've always used the little bent barrettes when hand sewing my binding backs tho. What else do you use them for? I use the trays sooo much for my gardening (produce) and cooking but I guess I never thought about the sewing room.
ReplyDeleteHope the show went well today. I've not been very productive, either. Oh well. I don't really have an excuse.
ReplyDelete