And June just disappeared

I feel like I am becoming a broken record....busy, crazy busy and nuts....I keep thinking it will lighten up and I will get a break to do all the things on the list, but it just doesn't seem to be an option. The house is a mess, the dog needs a bath (again, that's 2 in one week), the car needs a bath, there are literally dozens of things that need filing and the couch is covered in laundry that needs folding.  And it's June 30....how did that happen??? The truth is, instagram and it's embedded connectivity to FB means I can do a single post and hit all the platforms quickly, and when balancing all of the travel and work of late it seems the best way to do it. Which is a bit sad, the blog has really been a bit neglected the last few months, but for now, that seems the best approach. But not to worry, all those things I have been working on are FINALLy in the editing phase, and you will get to see them here, first.

In the meantime, I've been posting daily about my adventures in sewing daily. For me. Not for work, not for a show or class sample, but for FUN. So far, I've done a bunch of small projects, and July is a focus on finishing. I'm going to work on half done and partially started stuff....not necessarily UFOs ( though some of them are). And I'm going to get back to weekly posts....I promise!

For now, I leave you with some fun stuff from the month of June!

Lauren's Prismatic Star

Ilsa's Prismatic Star

Judy's Rainbow Fire Island Hosta

Judy's Paradise In Bloom

Susan's Summer Solstice

And some lovely hand dyed fabric that Vicky T dyed up for me. Aren't these lovely???? Now, I wanna go play!!!!

See you soon!

Cat

#30adaykeepscrazyaway

It's been crazy this week....and it's beginning to feel like every week is nuts. A million things going on at work, tons of production stuff due, and a ton of design and planning to be done so that June and July run smoothly. Somewhere on Monday, I realized that I hadn't sewn for me since January. JANUARY!!! And that didn't seem acceptable. Sure, I have sewn. I finished Cactus Rose, and Paradise in Bloom and a few other things, but I haven't sewn for me. I even sewed for a swap or two, which ended up feeling like too much work. Then I figured it out, I haven't sewn anything without a deadline. I haven't sewn on the 40 or so UFOs sitting in the sewing room closet. I haven't sewn any of the knitting bags that I had planned and even bought fabric for. I haven't sewn just to sew, or without an "end game". So I talked to a friend about it and we have started a challenge....

#30adaytokeepcrazyaway is a 30 day challenge to sew/knit/crochet/crosstitch/craft for 30 minutes a day. every day. on something for you, something fun, something you want to do, not something you need to do. We're updating social media (Instagram and Facebook) every day with a 3 second post about what we did. I'm amazed so far at what I have managed to get done in what is basically a little over 2 hours. And I find it funny that once I get started sewing it's harder to stop, it's the starting that can be hard....so here's the rules...

The Rules.
- 30 day challenge, 30 consecutive days
- work on some project for a minimum of 30 minutes
- start anytime between now and June 1st
- post on instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #30adaykeepscrazyaway and the day that you are on (#day3).
- complete 30 daily posts by June 30th.
- Only 1 post per day will count.
- You can do multiple different activities -- you don't have to physically sew, you can wind yarn, or pick your colors, or select and cut fabric.
- You can have multiple projects going...for example, I am traveling next week, so some time this weekend I will spend my 30 minutes prepping and putting on a binding so that i have hand work for next weekend.
-You can mix crafts...I am primarily a quilter, but I also knit and crochet. So as long as my 30 minutes are on something for me (not a gift for someone else) i can count.
- I'll find some gifts from my closet, and sneak in a few giveaways, and we will have a bigger gift for one winner who gets to #day30. I will do a random drawing after the  contest closes.

SO.....get out there and have some fun!!! Sew or knit or crochet or scrapbook for you. For fun!

Can"t wait to see what everyone gets done in the next 30 days!!!!


Catherine

Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming

Well, we've been back from Market for a week, and I'm almost caught up. Well, at least to a relatively  normal level of crazy. There's a lot of new stuff, and some expansion on some old stuff, and some little changes, and some very large changes....but more on that stuff later!!!

This week promises to be crazy, since it's a holiday week, and there are only 4 days of work!!! Yippee!!! and only 2 days of teaching!!! which means I got a day off!!! It was Monday! It was wonderful! I hung out with the family, and the dog, and I cleaned and laundered, and paid bills, and all of those responsible things that need to be done. It was really nice to just do normal stuff....and have barbecue dinner with the family.

Anyway, back to the week, I'm teaching at the Orange Quilt Bee on Saturday and it is Month 1 of Glacier Star, which is my second favorite class to teach (right behind the last class of Glacier Star). Sunday is a Judy work day at the Sew 'n' Sew in Glendora. Call either shop to sign up if you are available and want to work on projects.

And now...back to Make a List Monday....

This week's goals are all about getting caught up on projects, now that Helen the Husquavarna is back from the Sewing Machine Hospital. Don't worry, it was just a checkup, and she is fine. She has a minor surgical procedure to remove all of the lint, and received a shiny new light bulb. The bulb had been out for a couple of weeks, and I had forgotten how much easier it is to sew when the light is working!!!

The goals for the week....

1. Cut out Gemstone Wedding Ring.
2. Sew rings for Diamond Wedding Ring (yes, patterns are in, yippee)
3. Work on new patterns for Fall Market
4. Sew for 30 minutes a day every day.

I'm keeping the list short this week because there are quite a few things to do around the house, and realistically, not a lot of sewing time this week. So, what are you up to this week???Do you have quilty goals this week?


Catherine

The time where I lost a month.....

Yes, a full month. It's been crazy here in the last few weeks. I've been crazy since the first week of April, but things got even crazier than crazy in late April.....

Due to unforseen circumstances I got the chance to go to Quilt Market in Minneapolis!!!! Yippee!!! It wasn't on plan, but it was a great opportunity, so off I went. Only catch....I needed to finish a quilt in under 10 days....and I was teaching and or working all of those 10 days.....so a couple of fairly sleepless nights, and off we flew to the Twin Cities.

We had a blast, and I came back completely inspired, though a LOT behind. I've been deficient on blogging for a MONTH. A whole MONTH. It's been a wild time. And an inspiring time. I've done lots of sewing, and practically zero cleaning, laundry or organizing. Which means my house is a mess and my closet is basically empty. The laundry baskets are overflowing....and Helen the Husquavarna is on her annual visit to the Sewing Machine Hospital. Which means I have a couple of days this week with no access to the sewing machine and nothing but time to work on the house....so, next time you hear from me, I will hopefully be a little more organized....and have something interesting to talk about.....

To Market to Market

I can't quite believe that Market is here. I am literally writing this from the hotel in Minneapolis, we arrived just a few hours ago. 

It's been a crazy prep for market this time. An ambitious quilt under super tight timelines, with no "days off" to actually sew, and then therebisbthe whole machine issue. The light on my machine died, and I literally couldn't afford to not have it to sew, so I didn't get it fixed! 

I taught the first weekend of May at Cotton and Chocolate - my regular teaching gig, and then I went to San Mateo last weekend to teach at Scruffy Quilts. More on that later, but here are some sneak peaks.....

So it's market this week, and I promise a more normal posting schedule in the next few weeks, as well some announcements that I can finally talk about!

So goodnight for now, and I'll check back in soon and give you the scoop!

Catherine

Make A List Monday - April 20th

I can't believe April is flying by. Market is literally right around the corner, and I am still beavering away on my Cactus Rose. I don't have any new pics, and even if I did you wouldn't be able to see anything...at least nothing really noticeable. So, I'll just be over here working away on the boring parts. ALL WEEK LONG.

I wish this was an exciting post, but it's not....I'm really devoted to Cactus Rose this week, I'm at the point that I have to be monogamous with my sewing time (which just for the record is a major issue for me...). As much as I want to jump over and work on Prismatic Christmas or Wedding Rings or really anything else (because I am a master proquiltinator), I'm only working on my Cactus Rose. Until it is finished.

On other fronts, I have a couple of teaching gigs in process at the moment and a couple more coming up, so once Cactus Rose is done it is off to do a million and five class samples. Or 3. Maybe just 3....

Well, back to the grind for me....what are you working on this week???

Wedding Ring QAL Week 10 - Assembly Time

Week 1&2 February 15th -28th - Project Selection and Supply Attainment -- DONE!!!

Week 3 - March 1 - 7 - Paper Preparation - cut out and bag you papers according to your pattern. - DONE!!!!

Week 4 - March 8 - 14 - Sewing A Arcs - there are multiple sets of these and we are going to spend multiple weeks working on them. Some done.....lots left....

Week 5 - March 15-21 - Sewing A Arcs - just keep sewing!!!! I have 2 sets left to finish these off, and I can't wait!!! 

Week 6 - March 22-28 - Sewing B Arcs - just keep going! We got this far, we can do it! See note above. 

Week 7 - March 29 - April 4 - Sewing B Arcs - This week was the last week of Arcs. I finished these B arcs this week, so as soon as I finish up the remaining As, I am ready to go!!! 

Week 8 - April 5 - April 11 - Using QW Wedding Ring Rulers - Cutting out backgrounds -- Asteroids and Melons. Done!!!!

Week 9 - April 12 - April 18 - Pieced Asteroids and Melons - Done!!!! I only had a handful to do, so these were quite easy this week.

Week 10 - April 19 - April 25 - Assembly. That's right, it is assembly time!!!! We're going to start by  trimming up all of the A and B arcs to the outside line. Once that is done, we will sew the As to the top of the melons. In my case, I have to make 128, so I need to get to work. I know I won't get these finished this week, there is just too much on the plate this week as we ramp up to Spring Market, but I am going to work on it a little each night. Even if it in only 10 minutes. Over a week that is 70 minutes!!!

Week 11 - April 26 - May 2 - Assembly

Week 12 - May 3 - May 9 - Assembly

Week 13 - May 10 - May 16 - Assembly

Week 14 - May 17 - May 23 - Applique - Fused

Week 15 - May 24 - May 31 - Applique - Hand Turned

How are you coming along on this project??

Catherine