List update again

Tonight, I finished cutting out the Maxine and flamingo quilts AND made the next Midget block! Here are the pieces for the Maxine and flamingo quilts. This is sure going to come in handy when my order from the Fat Quarter Shop arrives!



And here is my updated list!

1. Finish practicing new quilt design on the practice quilt on the frame
2. Load and quilt Andi's quilt
3. Borders on Split Decision
4. Finish pressing Star Struck - I got the block pieces pressed and decided that I would pair the pieces up to give myself something to sew on as Leaders and Enders. So I am not putting the project away, but it's not going to be a main focus for a while.
5. Piece backing for Regina's quilt - I have modified this to just piecing the backing.
6. Cut the fabric for the flamingo and Maxine quilts. 
7. Pull fabrics for next set of Midget Blocks.
8. Prepare another donation to Goodwill and drop it off. 
9. Taxes - DONE and mailed on Saturday. WOO HOO!
10. Make next Midget Block
11. Finish cleaning second floor - almost done! Just need to vacuum the hallway and 2 rooms and then clean the bathroom. Easy peasy at this point!
12. Write reviews and schedule for posting
13. Pick March PIGS winner and write post
14. Pull fabrics and prep for class on Thursday
15. Grocery shopping

I'm totally thinking that I could get the vacuuming and bathroom done tomorrow and then spend the rest of the evening sewing and most of Wednesday evening sewing as well! At least until I have to go to the airport!

And the pups are just asking, "Why are you doing all this cleaning again?"

A bit of progress made!

A couple of years before I started quilting, I was a Stampin' Up demonstrator and I held many classes and stamp camps and made lots of cards and samples. Since I hardly ever send cards and it would be a boring scrapbook of just me and the pups, I decided to give up the stamping. A lot of my customers were losing interest and I just couldn't support the stamp habit without them.

In the time that I was a stamper, I acquired a lot of stuff.... A LOT of stuff! I had over 80 stamp sets at one time! And all of this has been dormant in the basement for the past few years. Just taking up space.

I finally decided that this was the year to clean it out! It's even one of my 2010 goals! I have spent the last 2 nights taking an inventory of everything that I have. And I will slowly, but surely be ridding myself of this mess! :)

This was just part of what I brought upstairs to take pictures of and to inventory.





Before I started working on the stamp stuff, I was able to finish all of the cutting of the light blue for my Judy Martin Log Cabin Quilt. LOVE this fabric!! It is super cute!



Maxie says...

"All of that working has worn me out! I'm taking a nap!"

The weekend

I'm so happy that it's finally Friday!! And I'm home from work and have had dinner already! I have been so busy this week that I have barely had time to breathe let alone sew. Monday, I stopped by the shop after work to pick up a couple of things and I chatted with Linda until almost 7. By the time I got home, I was pooped and just vegged with the dogs. Tuesday night was a Guild meeting and dinner with Barb and dessert with the gals afterwards. Wednesday night, I had a Board meeting for a different Guild and didn't get home until 9:45.

Last night, I had had enough! When I got home from work, I quickly sealed up two boxes, addressed them and rushed to the post office to get them mailed. I had to stop on my way back home and get more tape to seal up other boxes and envelopes. I ended up with 7 packages total!

This evening, I stopped by the post office and shipped the rest out! If you are expecting a package from me, it is on it's way!! Oh, and at least 1 is a surprise to the recipient! I hope you all enjoy!!

Once I got all of the boxes sealed up, I was able to clear away some more clutter from the family room and I am happy to say that it is now in order and ready for some quilting activities! Well, except for the dog toys strewn about.... If only I could get Max to play with only one toy until it's destroyed... Or teach him to put his toys away!!

Oh well, he's a sweetie so I will keep him!

Now, I am off to start trimming up some scraps and then cut some fabric!

My dad would be proud!

I think that for most people, when you know that company is coming to stay, you go the extra mile to make sure that your place is clean and comfortable for them. Not only does this include scrubbing every square inch of the living area but also making some improvements that have been on the To Do list for quite some time.

When I finally got the closet filled back up, I had no where to put my purses and bags. I had them on the floor, but they were still in the way. I decided that the way to go was to get a purse organizer and to hang it on the open wall in the closet. I found instead a couple of coat racks for a lot less. I hung them up all by myself and they are level and everything!



I then headed to the full bathroom. My dad had re-done the bathroom a few years ago and left the toilet paper and towel holder for me to hang. I just put them in the closet to wait until I have decided to paint the bathroom, but 4 years later, I still don't have a color picked out. So I hung the towel holder ...



... and the TP holder.



My dad had picked out the fixtures, but I am really happy with them. The TP holder swivels instead of being 2 end pieces with a plastic rod in the middle. It's very cool!!

The other thing that I did was to install 2 blinds in the spare bedroom. They are the accordion type blinds so I am hoping that they give a little better defense against the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter like the other ones in the condo have.





They definitely lighten the room up compared to the dark dusty rose models that were in there!

So power tools have been used and served their purpose and are now put away for another day. As proud as Dad was when I put in the 2 additional shelves in the hall closet, I know that he will be proud of these accomplishments!

Cleaning update

I am going to have a house full of people for 3 nights at the end of April. I'm sure that I have mentioned this before. :)

I am positive that I have mentioned the cleaning that needs to be done. Since Bubba is in the shop being cleaned and prettied up for retreat, I have spent the last few nights cracking down on the condo. I have made some awesome progress!!

I finished loading up the clothes into the closet in the master bedroom.

I reorganized the storage closets upstairs.

I cleaned out the vanity in the bathroom.

I straightened up the spare bedroom and put stash away and threw out a bunch of crap that has been cluttering the condo.

I vacuumed the entire second floor and even used the attachment to go around the trim work. I got the spider webs from the spare bedroom, too. :)

Tonight, I am finishing up laundry and I worked in the basement a little.

Last September, when Hurricane Ike blew through Cincinnati, power went out at the condo for a couple of days. When I got back into town, I cleaned out the fridge and freezer in the kitchen. I have a fridge in the basement and a chest freezer, too, that I just hadn't dealt with. Tonight, I looked in the chest and pulled everything out and there was a lot of ice at the bottom of the freezer like stuff had melted and froze again so I decided that everything in the basement was gone. I think that I made 5 trips to the dumpster from the basement. My legs were not happy campers!

And while I was down there, I loaded a quilt on the frame! I loaded Wagon Wheels and picked out some thread to think about for the top. I think that I am just going to do a simple stipple so as not to distract from the blocks.

Right now, I am folding some laundry to put away and thinking about what I can get done tomorrow night. And I am thinking that if I can get this much done so far without Bubba here, I can probably get all of the cleaning from my list done before the end of March!

Some people have commented privately to me that I shouldn't be killing myself on the cleaning, but really all of this stuff has to be done. It's just the out of town guests that are pushing me into doing the work. I mean, I have lived in this condo for 6.5 years now and I had 3 large shopping bags of things to take to the dumpster from my bathroom closet! Shoot, if it was just Jen coming back, I'd run a wet rag over the kitchen counter and call it done, but it's gonna be just a couple more people so I am going all out. Besides, when this is done, I won't have to clean for a month or so! :)

Now for an answer to Brenda. Brenda, you are not set to receive emails from comments that you leave on anyone's blogs. Your question about the star pattern for the quilt I showed this morning is at this site - Quiltime.com. They have free downloadable patterns. The one I showed is here. Check out their site - their patterns are awesome!

Now, I'm back to the laundry!