Out the Door

I am in a decluttering mode.  I feel like there is too much stuff around and it's bugging me on both a physical (navigationally speaking) and psychological level.  So I am declaring this month "Out-the-Door October."

I'm going to spend a concentrated effort on dealing with stuff—donate it, sell it, organize it, shred it, toss it—and, of course, do some cleaning in the process.  The situation has reached critical mass and action must be taken.

So far, I've sold one typewriter on Craigslist and a bunch of shirts on eBay.  I listed more items this weekend.  Like this ladies' leather jacket.

Also, over the weekend, I cleaned the workshop, where my treadmill is located.  Since the days are getting cooler and it gets dark earlier, I'm walking more indoors again.  But ee-gads, the musty, dustiness in that room!  The workshop is not so much a man cave as it is a general storage area in the basement.  I Shop-Vac'd my heart out on Saturday and then took a small trunk load of stuff to Goodwill.  It felt good.

In the sewing department, I have started working on some things which may potentially be Christmas gifts.  Bummer that I can't share pictures of them at present, but you know how that goes.  I also need to get the sewing space organized better...somehow, some way.

And now for some whine: 

First it was burning mouth.  I've sort of gotten used to that, and it's mostly now a minor nuisance.  A couple weeks ago, though, my eyes started feeling really dry, burning, irritated, and red all the time.  I went to the doctor and got some drops for a possible infection, which didn't help because that apparently wasn't the cause.  Then I saw my optometrist last week because it was still bugging me (and I needed a general eye exam), and he said I've got chronic dry eyes.  He gave me some different, thicker, lubricating eye drops to use at least 6 times a day, probably for freakin' ever.

And of course, what irritates my eyes the most?  Computer work.  Hello?!  IT'S WHAT I DO—for a living and for fun! 

As Roseanne Roseannadana says, "It's always something."

I know that in the scheme of things, this is some petty B.S.  I have many blessings to count (and believe me, I do).  But man, it still ticks me off.  I want my 40s back, and all my hormones and all that went with them, and while I'm at it with the unreasonable requests, may I please have back the ability to digest wheat and dairy products?  Oh, and my retirement account balance pre-2008. Thanks.

I guess if there is a "good" takeaway, it is that this reminds me about balance (remember that computer ejector seat I joked about?).  Meanwhile, it helps to laugh, right?  Some classic Roseanne Roseannadana (below) works for me.

Have a good week, all.  But wait—I almost forgot the point—posting may be light for the rest of this month due to the aforementioned cleaning/decluttering and giving the peepers a break.  I might pop in here or there, maybe show you what I'm getting rid of, progress pics, or if I have something more profound to share.  

How about you?  Does fall give you the urge to clear out?  Anything in particular ticking you off lately? 

Just a Little Something

I have only the tiniest bit of sewing to show for this week, but I guess it's something.  It does move me a little further along the line toward finishing one of my PhD (Project Half Done) Challenges as well, so that's something too.

I don't know...I was just kind of motivationally challenged this week.  I could name any number of possible reasons—lack of sunlight, hibernation mode kicking in big time, something involving a cycle and not the kind with wheels, etc.  

But never mind all that, we're here to focus on the action.

I finished adding the ornaments to the backing of the whirlygig Christmas quilt.  Christmas is only 331 days away, you know!

They had to be fussy cut and fused in place.  Then I stitched around each one, while watching American Idol on Wednesday.

I was originally going to strew them on randomly, but that didn't look right, so I grouped them above and below the center panel in the middle (it's folded in the pic below, so you can't see the whole panel).  They seemed to need anchoring around something.  I don't know; it may have been a hormonally-motivated decision.  It is what it is.

Now the backing is really done.  In fact, by the time you read this, it will be taking a little vacation south courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service.  Wish I were going along too!

You see, I won a $50 machine quilting gift certificate last week on Such a Sew and Sew.  Yay!  Thanks to Elizabeth's generous giveaway, this quilt is on its way to Angie at 5 Little Monkeys Quilting to be machine quilted.  I am so excited to be sending it to her!  We've chatted by email, and she's got a wonderful idea for the quilting on it.

Since Angie's doing the PhD Challenge too, I think we can both count it as a finish when it's done, don't you?  :)

So there you have it.  It's no big whoop, but I'm still going to link to Sarah's Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?  You should check it out too! 

Irish Wisdom

You'll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.
~ Irish Proverb

This is one of my favorite Irish sayings. I need reminding of this on a daily basis.

Hi, my name is P. and I am an over-thinker.

I have a lot of ideas -- some darn good ones that never get started because they both begin and end with me merely thinking about them. Others get started but then get bogged down for lack of action.

Awareness is the first step to recovery. I don't think it was the Irish who said that, but I could be wrong.

In my favor is that I do like to finish things. So, over the years, I have learned a few tricks that help sneak past my own barriers, such as, "I can do anything for 15 minutes." Sometimes I literally have to set a timer. Usually though, I am more than willing to continue beyond the 15 minutes.

Yesterday, for example, I felt largely unmotivated to work on anything currently in process. I had a lot of random ideas swirling around but no sense of focus. Then I reminded myself of the 15-minute maxim and worked on pinwheel string blocks. Ninety minutes later, I had a few done.

What also works for me is "baby steps." What is the next step? Do the next thing. It sounds simple, and it is, but if you tend to think too much, like I do, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. If you break a project down to its elements, which usually have a logical order, by simply taking the next step, you will get there eventually. And, like the 15-minute technique, taking the next step usually leads to taking a few more.

Anger can be a motivator. Piss me off, and I'll likely get things done that have been languishing for months, all the while steam virtually puffing out my ears. Although I have some Irish in me, I am not that easily riled up. Therefore, this technique cannot be counted as reliably effective. I do, however, get annoyed with myself such that sometimes the old Nike slogan works and I "just do it," already.

Sir Isaac Newton, who could have been Irish for all I know, claimed that a body in motion remains in motion. To break the physical inertia, sometimes a brisk walk can get things going. That is, if I continue to walk on down the stairs and into my sewing room once I get home.

Does any of this sound familiar? Is there anything you do to get out of your head and into action? Coffee, tea, Diet Coke? Do share.

The top picture is of my great-great-grandmother, Ellen Frances Curley, born c. 1849 in Ireland, according to the 1880 U.S. Census, as were her parents. Other sources say she was born in Rochester, NY. One day I will delve into her genealogy to clarify. Right now, I am just thinking about it.

The second two photos are of Ellen's sister, Maggie Curley. The one on the right is a tin-type taken when she was a child (although she looks a little boyish to me; possibly my great-aunt misidentified it). The one on the left was taken when she was a young woman in St. Louis, Missouri.

Late Bloomer

Shortly after I finished my first quilt, I started making another. I had bought a book called Learning to Quilt: A Beginner's Guide, by Leisure Arts.

It walked you through the quilt making process step by step, and the end result was a sampler quilt. You learned and built on techniques, and the blocks got a bit more challenging as you went along.

That was the idea, anyway.

As with many undertakings, I didn't work through the book in a linear manner. I hopscotched my way through, making about half the blocks suggested and skipping the rest. Instead, I checked out books from the library and substituted blocks that I found more interesting from those resources. I just made sure all the blocks finished the same size.

My mother had given me some calico scraps left over from her many craft projects, and I used those. The background fabric was plain, unbleached muslin. In a short period of time, I had made almost enough blocks for a finished quilt.

Then I shelved the project. For over a decade.

Putting it aside was probably due to a combination of factors--raising a family, going back to work full time, and maybe boredom with the sampler as well. Around that time, I was really getting into genealogy, and my brother and I had started publishing a family newsletter. Then we wrote a book on our family history in conjunction with a big family reunion. So there was that.

Oh, I did a few small craft projects in the interim, including a couple little wall hangings. That was about it.

Sometime in the second half of 2007, having quit my main job and with my daughter off at college, I got the quilting bug again. In December '07, I dug out the sampler quilt project and assessed the situation. I needed just two more blocks to make a lap size quilt. I sewed a maple leaf block and a churn dash, reworked a basket block with too generous seam allowances, and found a fabric that worked for sashing and borders.

The project finally came together.


My mother's birthday was coming up near the time I was finishing the top, and I thought it would make a nice gift. It seemed fitting that the one who had taught me to sew and nurtured my love of creating with fabric should be the recipient of this quilt. I also thought she might enjoy seeing some of her fabrics from years past. But with a self-imposed deadline, I needed to find a way to get it quilted in a hurry. So I found a machine quilter on eBay.

In hindsight, I do not recommend this. Live and learn is all I'm saying.

At that time, however, I was saying Git 'er done.

The quilt did get done, and I shipped it off to Mom for her birthday. She was delighted!

I named it "Late Bloomer."