Big clean up and daffodils

I didn't get any sewing done last evening as I spent my time starting the big clean up. Last November I had the new floor installed in the garage and foundation repaired. I had not spent the time putting the stuff back in the garage. Most of it was in the laundry/utility/dye studio and it was a mess! I have company coming next week so thus the big clean up. I spent 2 1/2 hours hauling stuff out of the laundry room, sorting thru boxes, hanging up my tools, and pitching stuff. Here is what it looked like before

Here is the after. Now that my tools are hung up on the pegboard I can find what I am looking for instead of digging thru boxes.

By 7:10 I was starting to fade. Here is what the after of the laundry/utility/dye studio looks like. No, I did not take a before because even I could not be that honest to show you what a mess it was! It looks 100% better! I still need to take that wood shelf out to the garage, but at least I am not tripping over stuff.

I have a bit more straightening up to do in the laundry/utility/dye studio then I will move on to the rest of the lower level. I did get a couple loads of laundry done while I was straightening up last evening and will work on the rest tonight. So since I am doing the big clean up I don't think I will be able to get the UFO's or the linen piece done for March.

Yesterday I had to go the store to get garbage bags for the office so while I was there I picked up some OTC cold products. Yes, I have a cold and I really don't have time for it right now! It started Saturday night and I feel pretty crappy today.

It is warm enough the daffodils are poking their heads up. I had taken a bunch of mulch and dumped it into the front flower bed for the garage project and here I had buried some daffodils. They are still fighting their way to the surface, but are quite yellow! I pulled some of the mulch away from them and they should start to green up.

Snow and quilting

This is what my front yard looked like Saturday morning after it had snowed all day Friday and overnight. By afternoon it was gone, but I am so over the snow and cold weather.

I tried to stay focus this weekend and get some quilting done. I did get the blue/yellow UFO quilted. Yeah!

Then I decided to start quilting my screen printed improv piece linen piece. I didn't just start it; I finished quilting it!

These are all the different colors I used to quilt it.

So then I switched gears and sewed the binding on that green and yellow UFO. I still need to do the handstitching. I would like to get that done so I can count it as a finish in March.

More progress on the blue/yellow UFO and my new plates

I have been quilting this piece so that the colors of the thread in the blue area extends from the top to the bottom. I got 16 rows of a light blue and 16 rows of turquoise in the top section of blue and 16 rows in the bottom section of the light blue. I will next quilt the 16 rows of turquoise in the lower blue section. As you can see I am almost done quilting this! Those are some long rows going from the top to the bottom!

When I was in Austin, Glenda and I ate at PF Chang's one night. I had never eaten at a PF Chang before so it was all new to me. The plate/bowl they served me shrimp low mein in was so beautiful I just had to track down a place where I could buy them and I did! I bought these two plates/bowls at https://www.tabletopstyle.com/. I had decided life it too short to eat off ugly, mismatched, chipped plates which is what I used everyday. I ordered these on Wednesday and they came Thursday! They were a bit pricy, but they are heavy and can be used in the microwave, oven, freezer, and can go in the dishwasher. The come in several colors - brown, blue, terra cotta, green and white which is what I bought. These are actually called freestyle bowls and they are made in England. This weekend I am going to clean out the cupboards and put all the mismatched dinnerware in a box for the Habitat Resale store.

Right now it is snowing here in NE Ohio. Yes, you heard me snowing! Here is what was on my car when at first, but the now is heavier now and I can imagine there is more. Good thing I did not take the scraper/brush out of the car yet. Have a wonderful snow free weekend!

More progress on the blue/yellow UFO

I am getting so close to having this all quilted! If I can get the binding on this one and the green/yellow piece this weekend I could have two UFO's done this month.

I can't believe March is almost over! Gosh, it will be only 4 - 4 1/2 weeks until I head out to Charm, Ohio to help work at Miller's Dry Goods quilt shop for their 50th anniversary sale.

I'm back

It was a busy time and I didn't get as much done as I thought I would, but that is typical for me! I did work a bit more on the blue/yellow cobble UFO.

I got the first of my series of linen quilts pin basted and I laid out some spools of possible colors I will quilt it with.

Another t-shirt arrived for the hard rock/metal t-shirt project.

I won a dye kit from Linda at artinsearch.blogspot.com. It's play time!

Off for a few days

I am taking some time off the next few days. I plan on reading this book and planning what I am going to do. I need to source some thermofax screens and figure out about silk screens. I will be back Tuesday.

Another T-shirt and a little bit of quilting

The Pink Floyd shirt arrived yesterday. My wall is filling up!

For some reason I was really tired yesterday, but I forced myself to go for a walk to get my steps in. The weather is back to being cold so I had to put on polar fleece, a scarf, the winter coat, and gloves. At least I didn't have to put on boots. Those few days of 50 - 60 degree weather spoiled me very quick! After I got back I sat down and quilted a few more rows on the blue/yellow cobble. The rows of stitching are the entire length of the piece.

More t-shirts, quilting, and Happy St. Patrick's Day cheesecake

I received the Led Zeppelin t-shirt I won on ebay yesterday, so I spent some time cutting up all the t-shirts I had collected in the last week, ironing on the interfacing, and pinned them to the design wall. Here is what the design wall looks like right now.

I only got a little bit of quilting done on the blue/yellow cobble quilt as I was distracted by a situation.

I spent some time last evening making a cheesecake for the guys at work for St. Patrick's Day. I tinted it green, but it is flavored with vanilla and cinnamon. No, I have not figured out how many calories are in that sucker yet, but I suppose I had better do that.

My big dream project, lots of quilting and more t-shirts

I already check with Vicki if my big dream project would qualify and she said yes. My project is to improve my health, strength, and lose some weight. I had started walking in December, but in January I bought a fitbit. It is my constant reminder of becoming more conscious of being consistent with walking and what I eat and drink. The fitbit has helped me a lot! I did fall off the wagon a bit when I got back from Texas. I was just so tired that I didn't push myself to keep up with my 10,000 steps every day. Bit by it I am back! Here is my walking graph since I started I had my fitbit.

Then the next investment for this project was to get an iPhone so I could track my stats easier. There is a lot of mental effort as well as physical effort that is going into this project. I did set a weight goal for myself, but I am not going to beat myself up about it or worry about how long it might take to reach it. It is right now a matter of feeling better.

This weekend I finished quilting the green/yellow UFO

and I started quilting the blue/yellow cobble UFO. Once I get this one quilted I will bind the both of them.

I received two more t-shirts in the mail - Judas Priest and a Motley Crue.

I have a few more on the way - Led Zeppelin, Springsteen, and Pink Floyd. I still have to get a Motorhead shirt. I haven't been able to find a cheap one, so I may have to wait until the beginning of April so I can use my ebay bucks to help pay for the right shirt.

More t-shirts and an ink drawing

Two more t-shirts showed up in the mail yesterday - Guns and Roses and another Hendrix. With multiples of the same artist it will be nice to have options when I go to assemble this quilt. I still have a few more coming in the mail. I am finding that I can get the small sizes pretty cheap on ebay.

I didn't get any quilting done last evening as my time was consumed by walking, running into neighbors which led to conversations, and being on the phone with family members.

I forgot to post this cool ink drawing that was done of Glen and I when we were in Austin. We were having lunch and this fellow in the restaurant/bar was sketching us. I gave the guy some money and now "A Ladies' Late Lunch" lives with me. I was done on a piece of thin foam core and I was happy that it survived the trip home in my suitcase.

Have a great weekend!

T-shirts, UFO progress

Here are three more t-shirts for the Akron Art Prize Quilt (AAPQ). The Hendrix and AC/DC shirts came from one of my blog readers, thank you P.! - and I got the Kiss shirt on ebay for a cheap price. I have a Guns & Roses, Led Zeppelin, Motley Crue, and a Judas Priest on the way from ebay. I still want a Motorhead shirt, but I can't find one cheap so far. I am going to have to start organizing these into a design to see if I need anymore shirts or not.

I did get a bit of a walk in last evening. Last night I was having to share the neighborhood streets with a lot of people and dogs. I don't like sharing. It was nice when it was freezing cold and I had the neighborhood to myself, but I guess I had better get use to the crowd.

I did get a bit done on the current UFO quilt. The center section is 3/4 of the way done. This is a small piece that measures 41.5" x 44".

Fog, another t-shirt, and UFO progress

Despite the light rain and fog, I went for my walk last evening. I walked the exact same route as the night before and bettered my time by 5 minutes even though I had to slow down at times to wipe my foggy glasses!

This is what the snow looks like in my front yard after 3 days of warmer weather and rain - still quite a bit of snow!

I was a bit tired when I got back to the house so no sewing happened. I was up early enough this morning that I managed to get a simple meander done on one of the borders of the current UFO. I would like to get this done so I can work on quilting my first linen piece. I have some ideas on how I am going to quilt it which I will post once I get started on it. I definitely will be doing some variation of line quilting.

Yesterday my brother brought me a t-shirt to add to my rock t-shirt piece. He just said Michael doesn't want to be next to Green Day, so I will have to work my design around that LOL!