No News Is Good News.



Ironing strips



My apologies for my long delay in checking in, however the time away has been well-spent. Progress is being made.   Slowly the dungeon is getting whipped into shape.  I've been going through more boxes and getting rid of fabric I know I will never use, which has been wonderful.  Freeing up boxes and more importantly space to allow for the existing fabric to flex and flow into the space.  It's liberating to allow myself to "throw away" fabric. 

Checking in on the Bonnie Hunter Scrap Users Project:


Less than 12" strips destined to be squares and bricks

 So far I am done with the 1.5" condos...all sixteen of them! I went through and took out the less than 12" strips and cut these into squares and bricks. I opted not to sort them by colour, only by size. The 2" condos have been started. 

Fleece:
No changes at this time, just finding more and more bits and pieces and trying to get them corraled.
Cotton:
No real changes, just keeping up with what is being found.  I pinned a couple quilts and rather than toss the scraps on the pile, I went ahead and cut them into the proper widths.  Good for me.

Stuff:
Managed to sort out my thread into hand quilting, sewing thread (vintage and new), embroidery thread and specialty threads.  It's great to go to the shelf and get exactly what I need without having to tear the house apart.  The rewards make the work to get to this point so much richer.

**** The pressing table has been created! ****



BEFORE



AFTER



I decided to sacrifice a solid wooden table and attach one of the leaves to make the topper long enough to cover the space. I used an acrylic blanket covered by a wool blanket to create the cushioning for the ironing board.  This was covered with a large piece of canvas washed but not dried to be folded under on the edges.  The entire thing was ironed until dry and I am pleased to share that this surface is PERFECT for laying out quilts, pinning, ironing and it's a great staging area for sorting stuff.  I delight in ironing on it everyday!

 

Throughout this whole process I am learning a lot about myself and my collecting tendencies.  For those who know me, I hail from the school of "Waste Not Want Not" and have the genetic predisposition for being a collector/obtainer.  Mostly because this behaviour is constantly reinforced by people asking me if I have a this, that or another and usually I do.  As a part of this whole process I have come to the conclusion I have entirely too much shit and too many hobbies.  But, what can you do? Life is too short not to enjoy it.

Each day I try to do a little, and after a while it really adds up to something big! 

Peach Out, Apricots.

heart, Morg

All Plaid Raggedy Fun!



 My mum dug her plaid raggedy quilt so much she asked me to make more.  This fun quilt was made from 7" squares and sewn together with an inch wide open seam to allow for the edges to be nipped.  When washed the edges fray and give the characteristic raggedy quilt look.

Detail of colours


These type of quilts are fast, fun and easy to do.  I think it took me longer to choose the colour pattern than it did to actually sew and snip!  I love the way this quilt came out with the playful sprinkling of reds and blues with a surprise of purple in the middle.


Back of quilt

 The backing fabric was made from an incredible deal I got on a seventeen yard roll of this wonderful grey and fushia flannel.  It's fun and funky and gives an unexpected snap of colour.

Vital Stats:

Approximately 36 x 60 inches finished.

Squares: 7"

Fabric: Flannel

Completed: Summer 2012

Quilt for Caroll

Springing into Fall

When my neighbour Caroll told me she was having a baby I said cautiously, "Is a congratulations in order?" 

She smiled widely and said, "Yes.  Very unexpected, but very much welcomed."   

 Colours of Fall

Caroll's favourite time of year is Halloween.  She plans for the magic of Samhain all year.   I designed this quilt to play with the colours of the season, to play on nature and complement Caroll's love of plants.

Back of quilt

Leaf it to me

Which witch is which?

When I first met Caroll Patten she told me she was a practicing witch.  I told her I was a professional bitch and we should get along just fine.  I found this fun "prim" fabric and immediately thought of Caroll.  One of the few times when I made my own binding.  I am pleased with how it turned out.

We spent many hours talking over the fence, under the pear tree. 

Our dogs were the best of friends.  Her little Shih Zsu, Wicket and my Xolo, Remus.  They would chase and sniff and water and chase and run and sniff all over each others yards.   

Sadly, that all ended when Caroll and her husband, Laramie moved away in the fall of 2012.  I am not sure where she is living now, or if she has had her son, Kelly Theodore, but I hope they are healthy, happy.  I hope Kelly likes his quilt, each stitch was made with love.

 



Vital Stats:

Approximately 46 x 37.5 inches finished.

Stitch Per Inch:  body 4, binding 4

Batting Type: Cotton (Warm and Natural)

Binding: Made by Morg
Fabric: Scraps from lots of different places, lots of different sources.
Completed: Late Summer 2012

I miss you Caroll and Remus misses Wick. 

Hugs. 

Operation Dungeon Do Over - January update

As promised, pictures:

Greens ready for trimming.

 Progress is coming along, across the top of the shelves are the more than a yard cuts.  These have been organised by colour or colour group depending on the amount of fabric.  I was pleased to find these file boxes at WalMart for a reasonable price.  They will serve me well. 

 My table is a mess in this picture but you get the general idea of where I am going with this mess.  The pop up laundry bin on the left is where I dump my scraps and when the polyester bag is full I sew it up and instant pet bed!
 

 
 The future pressing table is still a mess with stuff accumulating on it all the time.  It will eventually be cleared off and a large piece of lumber will be added.  I will probably use duck or canvas for the ironing surface and use some type of material for the padding, not sure yet, but when I get there I'll know what I need. 

 

Update Reports:

Fleece - I'll start with fleece today as there has been a little progress but nothing more than rehousing.  I am using the "special boxes" for fleece and after this past weekend have enough to contain all the cut stuff!  This is great!  I now have all the main cuts in labeled boxes even the mice and wedgies.  At last!

Organised Chaos.

Cottons - I just finished the Bin of Greens.  The bins are a group of plastic cat litter containers designated to hold my strips and scraps when I first started obtaining such fabrics from friends and strangers.  The number of bins expanded to about eighteen and now four remain unsorted.  With the completion of the reds I am going to tackle the greens.  I started presorting these into three piles:  more than a foot, less than a foot, bits and pieces.  Bits and pieces go straight into the trays for the applique scraps.  Less than a foot get subdivided by width and then get cut into bricks and squares.  More than a foot get divided by width and then are put away in the appropriate colour condos.

Still in progress is The Bonnie Hunter Scrap Users Project.  This is my official label for the process of going through the cut/sorted strips and making them into easily usable pieces.  As I break from bins and other organising I go through the cut strips and pull out the pieces that are shorter than 12" and cutting these pieces into squares and bricks (2x width in length).  So far I've completed the pinks and purples in all 4 widths.

Charms have been divided up into bins by colour groups.  The single box was bursting at the proverbial seams so it had to be done.  I am steadily filling these boxes as I work my way through the colour bins. 








It is such a delight to work through this organisational process.  As bins are emptied and banker boxes pile up in the corner I look at the work I've accomplished and smile.  Things are coming together "sew" very nice and neat.  

 Guess that is about it.  Hoping to get some more pet beds made with the confetti left overs.  I have plenty of polyester waiting to be repurposed!  ;)

Confetti leftovers destined for pet beds.

Peach out Apricots.
heart, Morg

2012 and the End of Days.

Okay, so 2012 didn't end on the 21st of December like the Mayan Oreo calendar would have suggested.  31 December does bring an end of my creative year and ushers in a new beginning full of promise and things to come!

In the month of December Operation Dungeon Do Over has been successfully embraced and I have managed to weed through all the cardboard boxes of cotton fabrics!  The contents of which have been measured, labeled, folded, cut or otherwise started in the "process."   I do have an abudance of fabric left to be cut and put into their respective shoe boxes according to strip width, but the greater lengths have been appropriately assigned to their proper containers. 

Cleaning last night revealed several hidden caches of stashes.  Including a cache of cotton strippets and bits of stuff that were promptly sewn into a couple pet beds.  Another cache revealed a generous helping of fleece confetti which is destined to become even more pet beds!  The big surprise was a bin full of cotton fabric waiting to be organised into my new system. I consider this the perfect opportunity to test my new system.  I still have the colour bins to sort through and repurpose, but there is light at the end of a long, dark, fabric tunnel.

Plans for 2013
Tame/Train the Fleece beast.
Cut less than 12" strips to usable sizes per Bonnie Hunter Scrap User's System recommendations.
Continue to process fabric as it is discovered/comes in.
Continue to organise The Dungeon into a usable environment (keep studying Teresa Rawson's space).
Get over my thing about Triangles.
Learn to do applique!
Learn to paper piece!
Learn to free motion quilt!
Blog more!
MAKE MORE QUILTS!

Slowly, as my Dungeon is being molded into a place I want to work and be creative this will be a good learning experience and a chance to grow and develop into the quilter I want to become.  In the meantime this will be a long, slow path full of trials and errors, but in the end it will prove to be a wonderful journey and one for which I will be proud.

Peach Out, Apricots! 
Morg

Progress Report

Sorting 2.5" strips.  Oh my!

Wanted to let you know that I have been making outstanding progress.  I will load before/during/after pictures, I promise.  This is one BIG project.  It's hard to believe how much progress I've made in just a short time.

News on the Cottons:
I have now gotten the strips (cut according to the Bonnie Hunter Scrap User's System suggestion of: 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3.5") into their own shoe boxes.  Each set of strips are divided into 12-14 different colours.  (A BIG thank you to Teresa Rawson from Fabric Therapy) Each set of strips goes on a different shelf making it easy to keep them all organised. 


FQ condos on top,  1/2 Yard Condos on the next shelf down. 
As you can see the fabrics are just moving in and getting settled.




A view of the condos.

Charms which are 5x5" squares are starting to create their own space as I manage to weed through the colour bins.  I am sure this selection will grow with time.   And will start asking for their own little colour coded condos.

Fat Quarters, Half Yards, Yards have all been set up with shoe boxes (I refer to them as "condos" similar in number/design as the strips.

Soon I will be processing scraps which I think I have determined to be anything smaller than 1.5 wide down to a postage stamp or so in size, and all the other odd shapes and bits and pieces that will not otherwise fit into my existing series of shoe boxes.  My friend does applique and I want to learn about it so this will be a fine opportunity to give these scraps a purpose other than filler for my pet bed.

Fabric that is about 1.5 yard 1 yard + 6" and larger are being measured, tagged, bagged and go in a bin.  These lengths usually end up as backing fabric so it's best to have them in big bins.  I am trying to keep the bins to a manageable number so I am dividing them up like this: 
Yellow/Orange/Red,
Blue/Green/Brown,
Purple/Pink/Violet,
White/Cream/Black,
Light/Med/Dark Brights (this one might get split if it gets too full! I LOVE colours!)
Batiks/Plaids

Report on Fleece:
Some of my fleece has been cut into fat quarters.  These are being folded and put into an "underbed storage" unit which is a long flat plastic container.  I don't know the actual dimensions, but I have three of these and I can get a LOT of FQ fleece in them.   Correction - these are going into sterilite containers that are like file boxes with slightly curved lids.  Not to be confused with the less expensive, much more easily obtained flat top file boxes also made by the brilliant minds at Sterilite.  :)

Other fleece has been processed into 9x11 inch pieces, others into 6" squares.  There are circles and wedgie shapes and of course an abundance of bits and pieces.  I will need to obtain a couple more boxes to accommodate the bulk of the fleece, but then we should be set.

Christmas was an excellent opportunity to spread the love and fleece and cheer.  I was able to make a delightful dent in the yardage in the fleece closet.  The blankets were wonderful and well received. 

Update on Batting:
Not much, yet.  Working on a good storage system and how best to manage the scraps from projects past.

So that's what's up in the Dungeon.  Until next time...
Peach out, Apricots
heart, Morg

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Organised!

As with all things, the gears of inspiration need to be oiled.  My latest attempt at restimulating the seemingly frozen gears of my creative ebb and flow has been to pick up where I left off in organising my sewing room.  I recently felt the need to see who was doing what in the world and found this blog:  Fabric Therapy.  Do a search for "Stash Organizing" and you will see the most incredible series of tips on how to tame the Stash Beast. 

I had started my reorganising project earlier in the year with my entire basement in mind.  From the images here you can see that I have done an okay job in getting stuff organised.  I almost wish I had pictures from before I started.  My sewing dungeon was crazy horrible.  It looked like an episode of Hoarders.  Okay, not quite that bad, but it was pretty bad.  I did manage to force some order out of the chaos that is my fabric stash.  Most of it is safe from the creepy crawlies that share my subterranean space.  I did manage to get some space in the Studio organised as well.  The Lab, not so much, but it's a big job and I am still not quite positive what I want to do or how I wish to deal with it as it holds more than just paint and horses...there's more...so much more...  I shudder to think about how I want to deal with this space.

As luck would have it, finding the Fabric Therapy site inspired me to renew my efforts to get things organised.  This time I would focus specifically my Sewing Dungeon and eat that elephant first!

Presently I am working on the fat quarters/half yards.  So far I have gone through four boxes and redistributed these into thirty-two shoe boxes.  Sixteen for each size as the shelving space allows for twelve to sixteen boxes depending on the type of box.  This starting point has helped immensely in getting the fat quarters all in one place and neatly divided up.  The expandability of the system is great as my various yardage gets cut down/used up or I obtain more fabric (which I am still on a self-imposed fabric buying moratorium two years and counting).  The half yards will be sorted in much the same way as the Fat Quarters.  The plan is to do the single yards in much the same way using shoe boxes if possible or if I must, go to a deeper/larger box.  By doing this it will get the fabric where I can see it and when I am ready to create I don't exhaust myself hunting through box after box trying to find the fabric I am looking to use.  I will have it right at my finger tips.  More time to play and sew if I spend less time fiddling around with finding stuff.

Welcome to my Dungeon:



Southeast wall.  Non-cottons. And miscellaneous crap on my table.

South wall.  Cottons, mostly. And a lovely view of the shit I have on my table.

South wall, more cottons and more crap.

South wall, even more cottons and some more shit.

Not all my fabric is in neat yards or fat quarters, I have strips, strips and more strips.  For these I have implemented the Bonnie Hunter Scrap User's System organised these otherwise unruly bits of cotton into four different widths (see the blue lidded boxes on the middle shelves) which will be sorted into shoe boxes by size and colour.  Odd sized scraps will be dealt with when I get there (the maroon/purple lidded box on top).  One must first learn to crawl before one can run!  :)

Progress!  You can actually see where this is going!

 In addition to cottons, and non cottons, I have fleece.  All of it.  Seriously, I have a major fleece problem, scratch that HAD a major fleece problem.  I am slowly weeding through my fleece and getting it used up.  It takes time which I have precious little of these days, but I do have a wonderful working system based loosely on Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User's System.  This has proven to be quite effective in taming the fleece beast. 

Yard and yard plus lengths are hung on hangers in the Fleece Closet.  Anything less than a yard is started on The Process, with each stage using the remaining material from the previous cut.  It's a great way to get the most out of my fleece investment and at $9+ a yard, I'd better be getting my investment's worth!

Ponoe Pads

Buoys

6" squares

Mice/Wedgies

Tails/Fins

after all this the leftovers are pretty much confetti.  This confetti and the cotton I just can't bear to throw these slivers away even tho I can't use thems are going to become filler for pet beds.  I have some horrible polyesters in patterns that would make you seasick lurking in the Non Cotton Boxes and I just can't bare to throw it away, so they will be used for a good purpose.  Waste not, want not as I am often heard to say when it comes to my hobbies.

My hope is to have this Sewing Dungeon in working order by the end of the coming year, if I am lucky perhaps I can manage to get The Studio and The Lab organised as well. 

I just have to remember that in order to eat an elephant you must take one bite at a time.  CHOMP!

Peach Out Apricots!
heart, Morg