The Calm After the Storm

Here are the 'after' pictures of Chris' office. If I had more money, I would do the dining room next. Thank God I don't have any more money.

I didn't have enough funds to get him a new desk so I had to 'recreate' his current one. Since I wanted to place his desk in the middle of the room, and it was (is) an open front desk, I built a wooden 'skirt' to go around the two sides and back so that you dont see all of the ugly cords. To bring the cords to the desk, I bought a large area rug. I ran the cords between the area rug and the carpeting. I cut a 4 inch diameter circle out of the rug under the desk to bring the cords up. If the rug is ever to be used for another purpose in the future, the circle that I cut out of the rug can simply be duct-taped back into place from the back side.

I wanted to hang a big picture on this wall. I found a perfect one of Paris, France for 60 dollars. (we spent a few weeks there on our honeymoon, so it is sentimental as well as the black and white scheme that I was trying to follow)Chris likes to enjoy an occasional adult beverage in the evening. He used to keep this stuff in my kitchen pantry and cart it into his office. I figured, why not just make a spot for it in his office since it is locked anyway. I found the drink tray at Hobby Lobby. (Thanksgiving, half-price). It had a painted pumpkin design that needed to be covered so I cut a waterproof place mat to the exact size and placed it in the bottom of the tray. The dresser had to be built, but it was a cinch. The floating shelf was a snap also. I will eventually put a couple of small lights under the shelf that light the dresser.These shelves had to be built also. In addition to the four shelf units, I assembled two height extensions, added four doors, and four drawers. I still had room on this wall to hang his patent and college diploma. A floor plant will go by the window in the back corner.

Really, these curtains on his doors are only pinned up for now. I wasn't sure if he was going to like them so I didn't finish them until I got the "O.K." this step should only take a few minutes. The pictures above the doors are regular photos that I had made into black and white, then blown up to a 11x14 inch size. Ritz was able to print them in a matter of hours. I found the 16x20 inch frames with mats included at Michaels for 13 dollars each. The first night of my project I cleaned out his office and painted. The blue dot on the wall that you see is actually a piece of blue painters tape. I always go back and look over the walls when I am finished painting. If there is an area that needs touch-up, I place a little piece of blue tape there so that I don't forget where to go. Luckily, this is the only little spot that needs attention.

I screwed knobs into the wall; four on each side of each window so that I could hang decorative curtains without spending money on two rods. These shutter blinds swing open, so hanging functional curtains would have been more expensive and stupid.

I hope that I didn't bore you all to death with my project...but I figured someone may get some ideas from it. Now on to my quilting room!

The Calm Before the Storm

Here are a few "before" pictures of my husbands office. I will post the "after" pictures on the next post.

The Race of 50 Million

Does anyone else out there feel like they are constantly running towards a finish line, only to have the race coordinator tell you that you actually have a whole lot farther to go? I feel like I am in this race every day. There are fifty million other runners lapping me while I am going at life with a constant stitch in my side. Why is it that I can't reach my (not too far set) goals?Laundry is never "done". I mean it could be, but the whole house would have to go up in flames for me to see that. Dishes are not too much trouble, but I like to not have anything icky or sticky to look at in the morning so I try to tackle those as often as possible. The fridge has leftovers in it from the Clinton administration and my desk still is not cleared off...but duct tape is holding it all up like a charm! Making my bed in the morning is the only big sense of accomplishment that I normally have in a day. (I should take pictures since I really am proud of that one.) I have figured out that I love to plan and start things. A lot of things. I like to finish them too, but not as much as I like to start them. In quilting, my bindings are few and far between, but at least I set realistic goals with quilting. Maybe I should wash all of my socks today and call it quits on laundry; then wash only the forks for dishes. Hey, in a week I could have half of it done! More time for quilting. One of the most lofty goals that I have set recently is re-doing my husbands office. I decided to wait to do this job until he went out of town for a weekend (apparently, that is like...two days) so that he would be surprised when he came home. Well, long story short...I did it. I cannot believe I did it! There were a few minor loose ends that didn't get done in time; but for the most part it is done. I think that making this outrageous goal, then reaching it was exactly what I needed to start getting my second wind to sprint towards the finish line on my other goals. Before I know it, even my vacuum cleaner will come out of hiding. Kidding, Kidding. Let's not get too crazy.

The Quilting Statue of Liberty

I would like to go to a quilt show. Yes, I have been to Houston. But I would like to go to a quilt show where the quilts are made and used by human beings. I really do not want to ruffle any feathers here or give anyone the impression that I don't genuinely appreciate the talent, work, time, money, etc. etc. etc. that goes into making a 'best of show' quilt; but I really am a lot more grounded than that. I have seen some of these best of show quilts, and quite frankly; I have mixed emotions about the whole deal. On one hand, if there should be art, this is the kind of art that not only holds my attention, but is something that is beyond words in beauty. In other words, quilts are my favorite kind of art to appreciate. No question. On the other hand, the hand that bleeds from hand quilting, hand piecing, and building shelves to hold fabric; I have to say:

WHERE ARE THE QUILTS?

I want and need to see a traditional quilt win something. It has to have under 1 billion stitches per square inch. It has to have two, maybe three, colors to it. It cannot have any applique anywhere on it or it is disqualified for being "showy'. It has to be made by someone who actually has grandchildren ( grandchildren who have one of her quilts and drags it around where ever they go), it has to have a 'humble block', it cannot be perfectly square, it has to have a mistake in it somewhere and that mistake has to be notated on the information card, it has to have a wave at the bottom when hung, and most importantly, it actually has to drape when displayed on a bed. If it is stiff as cardboard from the quilting and sizing, it needs to be omitted from the show completely. this quilt needs to have pictures submitted with the application showing it actually being used as a quilt being slept under. That is what I want to see. If I had any grandchildren, I am sure that I would have one quilt (or two) in that show for other human quilters to appreciate.

So fellow quilters, I say this: Show me your worn, your seam-ripped, your faded, show the huddled masses yearning to breathe free! I lift my rotary cutter in salute to you!

A Winning Battle in the War of UFOs (part 3)

Hello everyone. I am sorry that I kept a few of you hanging on this post. I have honestly been quite busy doing all of the normal things that you are supposed to do to keep a house in order. Well, at least I gave it some thought and a little effort. So without going into that and boring the crap out of you all; instead, I will give my last day of information to you all about UFOs.

This next picture is just another example of the calendar, except it is a view of your week.

This is what I do...you don't have to do the same thing, but it makes me realize my goals if I know where I am in the week. Before beginning my week on my one project, I write a goal on the last day of the week. If you do this, make sure it is a realistic goal, or you will just set yourself up for failure, giving you no sense of accomplishment.

If you never use a calendar, that is OK. Like I said earlier, I don't really use one anymore now that I have the system down. But one thing that is VERY important is the 5-subject notebook. I use it as a kind of journal and note keeper on the 4 projects. Each section is dedicated to one project. As I am working on a project, I will add an entry about what I was able to finish. This comes in handy when I pull the project out the next month. I can see that I left off needing to make 52 more churn dash blocks, for example. Before I started doing my projects this way, I would waste so much time trying to figure out what size I had to cut each piece, how much fabric I would need, what finished measurements I would have, what fabric options I would use, what quilting design I was going to put where...the list is long and tedious. I wasted so much time; in fact, that I would only finish a few things on that project and 'put it away' not bothering to write any of that information down. OH MY GOODNESS! This seems like a no-brainer, but it saves so much time. I love pulling a project down now. It is so nice to have all of that info right there for you to just jump in to start quilting.

The pocket dividers are a nice addition to the notebook if you are able to find one that way. I tend to throw magazine patterns, idea clippings, swatches, pictures, post-its or whatever in there.

When I finish a project, I pull out all of the pages, notes, pictures, etc. and I put them in my scrapbook. I then use that empty section of the notebook for the next project replacing it. (you will be able to go through quite a few projects in each section before having to buy a new notebook. The 5th section, I use for my cheater project notes, but I am sure there may be a lot of other uses for it.

That's it. That's all I have. It doesn't seem that hard, does it? It is all just a matter of disciplining yourself a little bit. You don't have to get too anal-retentive here, but just tiny bits of organization helps a whole lot. Good luck with your projects. Please do not hesitate to give me updates and please tell me what worked for you better. Any tips and hints that I can get will help me get rid of the aliens in my closet.

A Winning Battle in the War of UFOs (part 2)

O.K. Just so you all know, I am only using the calendar as a way to explain how this works. After doing your projects like this for a few months, you will not need to use a calendar because, well, you will just get it. The picture above is just an example of how your month will go.

1. The first week you will work on your 2nd most important project that needs to get done.


2. The second week you will work on your 1st most important project that needs to get done. (I know you are saying "Huh?" but just wait...)


3. The 3rd week you will work on your 3rd most important project of the 4.


4. The 4th week you will work on your 4th most important project.

Each week you will work on one quilt. Your week starts on Monday and finishes on Sunday. Sunday is the day that you will pack your project back up into its box or bag and put it away until the next month. If a month has 5 Mondays, then in this system, it has 5 weeks, in which case you would work on the 1st most important project again on that 5th week. Then next month on the first Monday you will start again with the 2nd most important project. Now you see why I do the 2nd on the first week...I needed to have a 'break' between me working on my 1st priority.

Now, lets say that you are piecing blocks by machine on one of your projects one week and your machine breaks, or you run out of fabric and have to order more...you actually have a 'cheater project' or 5th project that you can work on but you should not work on any of the other 3 projects. I work on my 'cheater project' when my hands get sore from hand quilting or when I am creatively blank or if I just plain don't want to work on that weeks project for a day or so.

Let me give you reasons why this system works for me (and hopefully you, too)

1. I force myself to only work on one project during the week...so simply put: If you wanna quilt, Monica, quilt this...it forces me to get over whatever road block that caused me to stick the thing in my closet in the first place.


2. By working on a project for a week, and being 'forced' to put it away on Sunday...you are going to find yourself actually wanting to work on it again the next month. In other words, you are not working on these projects long enough to get sick of them.


3. I never feel guilty about starting a new project now...as long as it is used as my 'cheater project'


4. By only focusing on 4 projects, I find that I am more aware of what supplies I need to get them done. I try to only spend money on fabric, etc. for these 4 projects. I don't even worry that I have 35 (or much more) UFOs that need to get done...just these 4.


5. After completing a project, I will finish out the week doing the 'cheater project' then I get to re-evaluate which quilts are most important and add another UFO from my pile to replace the one that I finished.


6. If you find that you are not getting one of you projects done or are not looking forward to it after a few months of this system; it is a very good indication that you don't want it done bad enough and you should find another person to give it to. (Well...it IS a way to get it out of your closet you know)


7. By putting my entire project away at the end of every week, I don't have it in the way of my other projects or stressing me out; plus, when I take that project out again, everything is there. No hunting everywhere for the fabric, stencils, etc.

I will give final information tomorrow. Don't worry...tomorrow's instructions won't make your head hurt. Big huge smile.

My 4 Projects

O.K. everyone out there in quiltland. I don't have a lot of time to post right now, so I will make this one quick and do part 2 tonight when I have a little more time and the sweet sound of silence. I just wanted to share a picture of how I store my 4 projects...I hang them on the wall on coat hooks that I screwed into a stud behind the drywall so that they are strong enough to hold the weight. I can put my projects away so much easier, then bring them out knowing that the whole project is right there in the bag. See y'all tonight!