The UFO Plan

 

2025 is going to be THE YEAR...
The Year to get my UFO's under control...

...I'll either Finish them or Pass them on to someone who will ....

 

 

I signed up with River's Edge, paid my fee and started the process.

 

 

Step one was to dug all the UFOs out from the closet, drawers and cubbies.

(Is it my imagination, or are there MORE this year than last year??? 
They seem to be multiplying ... like wire hangers in the back of the closet!!!)

 

 

 Lou is amazed....and bored...

 

 

 

Two groups of UFOs ... 40, total.  

So Neat and Tidy! I'm actually excited to get started, I may not wait for January!

A R E A     51

Everything is organized and labeled and ready!!

Just Like Clockwork

Every Year...About This Time...We visit the UFOs ...

I made my list....checked it twice.. picked my numbers and organized it all... HERE And accomplished ABSOLUTELY NOTHING*!

Last year American Patchwork & Quilting stopped picking the number each month...left it up to each individual person...some of the wind went out of my sail.  But, we have a new year just around the corner!!  A new beginning...A fresh start....
and Hope Springs Eternal!

According to the FaceBook posts for this group, I'm in good company...

Barbara did make me laugh out loud!  I can so relate!

Melanie's D.H. has volunteered to pick the number each month in 2025.  What a sweet Hubby!!

Now that I have returned from my travels I will, once again, pull out all the UFOs from their hiding places and make my list...and check it twice and gear up for 2025!

 

In addition to the American Patchwork and Quilting, River's Edge Antiques and Quilting is sponsoring a challenge. This idea just may work for some of us..... Charge a fee....there is something about plunking down a few bucks that gets my attention,
for sure!  

 

This is the one I joined for 2025.  HERE 
Let's see if mixing it up helps get the job done!

* I guess it wasn't ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  I dug out my 2024 UFO Project list.  I finished a few things:

Small Business Saturday

 Making the Rounds in Seattle.

Seattle Christmas Market

 

 

I lived in Portland, OR for 35 years, and I've been gone now for nearly 15 years.  I'd forgotten how pretty the Pacific Northwest is.  It's been a wonderful visit with my daughter.

We were out and about the city on Small Business Saturday....stimulating the Small Business economy, starting with yummy coffee from a local shop, the Chocolati Cafe. (Yes, we bought chocolates, too...)

Then it was off to a fabric shop, Pacific Fabrics.  HERE

This shop is a FABRIC store ... and OH-SO Nice!!!  Reminisce of the Mill End Store in Portland ...
brought back so many memories!.

Don't judge a book by it's cover.  The outside does not give you any clues as to how nice it is on the inside!

 

 

 

 

Ana fell in love with a pull-over on display.

I have to admit, the fabric is very nice.
So, I guess I'm getting back into garment sewing in 2025.
And, it just so happens I'll have a lot of time in the new year!

Of course, had to buy some fat quarters AND
they gave us a little bag of do-dads....how fun!

 

 

 

Notice their motto "Maker of Beautiful Things."

The ladies minding the store were so helpful. 
The whole place had good vibes!

If I lived in Seattle, this would be my Go-To fabric store.  

If I lived in Seattle I might even work in this store!!

 

The second shop we visited, Stitches in the Capitol Hill area,  was very different.   HERE The fabrics were more like fabrics I'd be looking for for specialty sewing, i.e., cosplay costumes, dressy dresses, etc. 

And, yarn! 

 

I almost bought a little felting project but decided not to because I had no felting accessories...the cost jumped up to almost $50 by the time I bought everything I needed, needles and boards, etc. ..and then I'd have to tote it back to Kentucky... so I passed.  But, I think I might do some felting in the future.

 

 

The neighborhood had a community feel.  And from the customers who entered while we were there, I'd bet they live in the neighborhood.  I liked it.

After an afternoon rest, we closed the day with a visit to the Seattle Christmas Market.  Lot's of local vendors...where we continued to encourage the Small Business economy by buying food, drinks and trinkets and Ana bought me a sweater for Christmas.

My new Sweater

Finished-Acabado-Finito

I actually finished them all.   It was kind of a chore toward the end.  

 

They all turned out cute, but now that I'm at the end, there are a few things I'd have done differently.

Whiskers....there has to be a better way to do those whiskers....Looks bad on the back.  (As I hang them again in 2025, I'll redo the whiskers.)

 

No more BOMs, unless it's a group where we actually meet face-to-face.

The Secret Revealed

 It's Official...It has been announced....The Bosses know!

I've known since July that this was in the works...
and trust me when I say it's been a L-O-N-G five months since I sent that "Farewell" email to the higher-ups.  

There are some caveats....officially, I'm still on the payroll....when they need me.  (One of my  colleagues is stepping into my position, but there will still be times they need an additional hand.  I can live with that.)

So, after nearly 18 years with this company (and working for most of the last 60 years of my life) it's time to RETIRE!!! 
God is so good...I never thought I'd be able to retire...and yet, here I am!  God is the perfect provider.  He has made it possible for me to work and save.

So, what is next?  

What Ever I Want!!!  And, travel around the U.S. is high on my agenda.

I've been watching YouTube videos on car travel and even converting your car to a camper.  There is so much to see in these United States.  I want to explore, go places I've never been, see things I've never seen.  

And with that "The Quilted "Q" will hit the road.  First up a tour around the Western United States, Spring 2025.

 

 

All mapped out.  Places to go and people to see. And Miles to go before I sleep.

 

Fun Sewing To Finish Up The Month

 

 Two Peas In A Pod!

 ...and toys in pod...and money in a pod...and candy

 

 

I've been working on these little zippered pouches.  They make me happy.

They're fun and pretty quick to make after you get the hang of it.

 

 

I made a flock of 'em!

 

Before you start, watch the videos on YouTube. 
It's well worth it.   HERE

 

 

 

 

 

After you make a few, you get the idea and it goes pretty fast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TIP #1:  Any zipper you have on hand will do.  I found that a 22" zipper is best.  Anything shorter is just not long enough.  Also, if you use YKK zippers, they're inexpensive and it's easy to get extra pulls...remember, you're only using one side of the zipper for each pouch, although two 10" squares of fabric make two pouches.  I found the zippers and pulls on Etsy.  HERE and HERE

Hobby Lobby did have YKK zippers for .99 cents, but no extra pulls.

Tip #2:  If you are using basting tape to hold all the layers, don't sew through it. 
It gums up the needle....(insert sad face here.)  After several failed attempts with the basting tape, I simply based everything together using needle & thread.

Tip #3:  Test the zipper slide before the top stitching.  Make sure the pull can slide up and down the teeth easily.  If you sew too close to the teeth the pull can't slide back and forth easily. (And, I'm giving three of these to my g-daughter...they need to work easily.)

TIP # 3:  Pay attention to the where you draw the line to "square up" the pod.  It took a few tries before I realized I was doing it wrong.  Watch Video #4 at time mark 5:23 HERE

Here is a visual:  The zipper is running diagonally from left to right.  When you flip it over to draw the lines on the other side...make sure the zipper is running the same way. 

You'll find the entire series of short videos HERE 
Good Job, Jaybird Quilts!!!

And now it's time to march off into the Holiday Season....Thanksgiving and Christmas here we come. 
Seems like it was Christmas just yesterday!!

Spa Day

 

When do you give your baby a thorough cleaning?  

I could lie and say I'm very consistent, but truth-be-told I don't dust and
clean as often as I should.  

A number of years ago a sewing friend gave me this idea....I've pretty much used it since:

In a Perfect World:  Sit down and wind all your bobbins.  I use a bobbin ring and wine 10 to 12 bobbins all at once.  Boring, I know, but then it's done for a while.

Separate them into groups of four.  After going through four bobbins, stop, dust your machine and change your rotary blades.

If I was smart, this is what I'd do every four bobbins...but, I'm lazy.

 

 

Yesterday the ring was completely empty so decided to give my machine and the Studio a Spa Day.

First I wound 16 bobbins; then thoroughly dusted the inside of my Miss Millie*; 
then dusted my sewing table and all the doodads that sit on my sewing table. 

 

 

I use these  lint-free swabs from Muppins.

Swabs HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

After cleaning the sewing area, I moved on to the cutting table.  Cleaned off all the discarded fabric scraps; used a pink eraser to clean the cutting mats and finally changed the rotary blades.  Dull blades, bent pins and broken needles are deposited into a Sharps Container.

The last step....vacuuming.  Everything was so tidy I wanted to invite someone over so I could show off!

 

*Do you name your sewing machines?   I name my sewing machines AND my Ukuleles. 

Area 51

Area 51 is not one specific location...it is millions of sewing rooms, studios and She Sheds all around the world with many...I say MANY UnFinished Objects.  (UFOs)

Could be 10; could be 100; could be more??? (Do Tell...)

 

Can you spot the UFOs? 

 

And, these are only the UFOs out in the open where you can see them... there are more...some are hidden in drawers and cubbies and cute boxes...because donjaknow you need cute boxes!

I'm a little embarrassed....I have good intentions, but somehow I get distracted and never quite get anything accomplished.

 

 

While out-and-about today, I stopped in at Muppins Sewing Emporium for a friendly chat with my bestie, Cheryl.  We laughingly decided she should start a Zoom sewing group and we'd call it Area 51.  

Truth be told, I don't think this is an altogether bad idea.

We could "meet" twice a month or so and show what we've accomplished.  The more I think about it, the more I like it.

Thank It For Its Service

 

Isn't it funny what we hang on to...

 

 

 

Early in 2020 when the world was locked down because of the pandemic, The Babes were at my house for the day and Cash made this Origami Swan.

Here it is 2024 and I still have it...even moved it 2,000 miles...funny.

 

 

 

My daughter, Ana, is 38 years old and these are the last of her childhood clothes I made for her...about to pass them down to my 5 year old granddaughter, Catalina.  After all these years, I'm a little nostalgic...funny.

Remember Row-By-Row?  Well, believe-it-or-not it is still alive and kickin'.

I have weeded this collection a couple of times already, but I think it is time to do it again.  Isn't it funny that we keep telling ourselves "I'm going to finish these"?

Marie Kondo says: "No matter how wonderful things used to be, we cannot live in the past. The joy and excitement we feel here and now are more important. People cannot change their habits without first changing their way of thinking. Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong."

And, might I add: "...sometimes we cannot move forward without first weeding..."

 

The Ties That Bind

There are certain things that connect us to other people:  family, work, church, hobbies, etc.  (Not necessarily in that order.)

I took a few days R & R and drove to Mustang, OK for a conference. About 1,200 miles, round trip.  

 

 This was a conference hosted by G3 Ministries* and it was about the doctrine of Cessationism.**

It was just what I needed.  Got to listen to and meet some of my favorite preachers, AND, when you are in an auditorium of about 1,000 other like-minded people, there are no strangers. 
You can make new, life-long friends. Talking with people sitting around me refreshed my soul.

Two of those people were Mark & Julie from Michigan.  They were too much Fun!  Not only do we have a common spiritual belief but they actually built their very own ukuleles!!

And, we were staying in the same hotel so you know we HAD to have an impromptu ukulele session in the lobby one night. 
We were a hit!  I should have brought my TIP jar!  Ukuleles bring people together! (Lisa, The Ukulele Fool says "Spreading the Ukulele Love." Find her on Facebook HERE. Also find her on Patreon HERE)

The conference ended mid-day on Saturday.  After a quick lunch at WhatABurger (in honor of my grandson, West, who thinks they are The Bomb) I went in search of a quilt shop. Had to get my fabric fix.  There is only one in Mustang,*** (Actually it is in Yukon, the town next door.)  Threads of Tradition. HERE  

Where I met Rockie!  She was such a delight!  Turns out we had more than just quilts in common.  We stood at the counter and chatted for the longest time...until her customers pulled her away.  She made my day!

 

The next morning, rising before the sun, I headed back home.  What to my wondering eyes did appear in Springfield, MO?   

If you need gas and it's lunchtime....you want a Buc-ee's!!

* To know more about G3 Ministries, click HERE
** The gifts of the Spirit ceased when the Scriptures were complete.  Suffice it to say, it's complicated.
*** Mustang is a suburb of Oklahoma City, were there are several quilt shops.

Feed A Cold...

Starve a Fever.  What do you do if it's BOTH?

 

Covid put a crimp in my plans for about 5 days, 

Apparently Covid is still around...  I'd forgotten.

 

 

 

There are a few things I always keep handy for colds:  

 

 

 

That is all the medical advice for today.

 

 

 

 About the only thing I actually finished this past week was Wanda's Princess and the Pea.

 

I'm still practicing FMQ.

 

 

 

 

I think it is adorable!

And I sure miss my friend.

 Summer Soiree Blocks are sashed.  One block left over....not a very pretty block and not posted here.

 

But now the next decision....make two more blocks for a total of 12...or leave it at 9...decisions, decisions!