Call the National UFO Reporting Center...

...because there's been a sighting of colossal proportion. In fact, they've taken over my sofa.

I realize that some of these projects, for one reason or another, are destined to remain unfinished forever -- but in an effort to reduce the amount of fabric in my household, this is another goal for 2009: Reduce. The. Pile.

And get my sofa back.


Seriously, there is a website where you can report these things.

Well, sort of.

Stash wranglin'...

My workspace has gotten out of control. To the point I don't know what I have in my stash, or can't find that cute orange tone-on-tone I bought last summer, or even the three yards of Kona Snow I use for every other quilt top I make.

I organized my scrap bin after I started the improv blocks, but hadn't addressed the stack of clear plastic bins in one corner filled with fat quarters and bigger pieces, or the UFO pile in the other. On a high from reading my new books and itching to start my improv project, I thought it best to organize first, get in the right mindset, start clean.

I've seen so many pictures on other blogs of color-coded neatly folded piles, easily accessible for spontaneous creating...that's what I wanted. Bins of just yellows, black and white prints, and greens. One bin bursting with blues.

So I emptied everything and started to sort into piles: colors, UFOs, kits, more scraps, random leftover/experimental blocks, non-cotton fabrics, etc.

It was much more than I'd bargained for. And while Archie enjoyed the empty bins and long tails of selvage strung across the kitchen floor, by Sunday evening we were both pretty irritated that there wasn't any place to sit in my kitchen. Or living room. There was no place to eat, because there was fabric everywhere.

Picture this multiplied by purple, green, orange, red, turquoise, black & white, yellow, and twice as much blue. And then factor in some multi-colored prints that didn't belong anywhere so they got yet another pile:

A big pile o' pink

I got it all sorted out and started refilling the bins -- and it wouldn't all go back. I let the damn stuff out and it started multiplying in my kitchen! I should have known not to put the blue and yellow next to each other, because now I've got even more green than when I started! Or at least it seems that way.

So instead of "starting clean," and jumping into my sewing, my table is still piled with that which will not fit. Which means another trip to the Container Store for more bins.

Hi, my name is Kate, and I'm addicted to fabric.

I knew there was a reason I'd cut myself off!

I love gift cards...

Not really.

But this weekend I'm OK with them. The one I received wasn't for fabric (which would have put me over the moon), but the next best thing: Border's. Somebody knows I'm a book junkie, and wisely provided me with my next fix for Christmas.

I love books just as much as I love fabric. Maybe a little more -- it's a tough call. Given I've had a lifelong obsession with reading (being an English major and working in a bookstore for two years and a 40% employee discount didn't help), I've amassed a library big enough to make any able-bodied mover cringe ("We call them 'gold' in this business because they weigh so damn much," one of the guys told me after they finished unloading the van the last time I moved. "YOU got a lotta gold.").

Sorry, I have a thing for hard covers -- paperbacks just don't do it for me.

The fabric thing is in its infancy by comparison, though the volume of books vs. fabric in my household is slowly shifting. At least my fabric takes up less room...for the moment. At least it's lighter!

Anyway, I braved Friday's negative-gazillion wind chill and headed for the Michigan Avenue store after work, knowing exactly what I was looking for -- I've been lusting after this book for at least a year. I made a bee-line for the crafts section, wasn't even in the store long enough to break a sweat in seventeen layers and my good-to-minus-35 down coat (I do not have enough words of praise for L.L. Bean this winter), and grabbed the only brand-spankin'-new shrink-wrapped copy of this:

Three hundred and twenty toe-curling images of improvisational bliss! The perfect companion to provide inspiration for a Project Improv piece!

What I didn't count on, though, was also finding this little baby tucked back in the shelves, which John at Quilt Dad blogged about way back in September. I've had my eye out for it ever since.

Today's photos courtesy of amazon.com

A few quick calculations in my head to stay within my budget, and this came with me as well. I rushed home, antsy with the prospect of spending an evening pouring over these pages.

This is where I wholeheartedly admit, if it's not already painfully obvious, to having never transcended geekdom like I'd prayed for as a teenager. Once a geek, always a geek; even the glasses make their inevitable return, as much as we try to mask it.

The two books couldn't be more different: the free-form, sew-as-you-go construction of the Gee's Bend quilts contrasted with the precise, methodical structure and subtle colors of the Japanese blocks. Gorgeous, both of them...absolutely gorgeous.

Excuse me while I pause to stem the drooling.

Each style has its place, though I'm looking forward to putting a little wonky spin on some of the Japanese blocks, and absorbing more about how the Gee's Bend quilts are put together. Good bedtime reading, and inspiration for my own work.

But the most wonderful part of this?

Gift Card + $10 Border's Rewards + 30% off coupon for responding to their online survey = $8.52!!!

Hot cocoa with steamed milk, a little Liz Story for background music, a quilt, and two new almost-free books.

It's been a really good weekend.

Brrrr!

The sign outside that wonderful Michigan quilt shop everybody's
always talking about. Taken November, 2008

It is officially MINUS NINE DEGREES outside. Without any wind chill. I know we're not the coldest part of the country, but holy crap! That's COLD!

And my furnace picked today to act up. So it's not very warm inside, either. But still warmer than OUT THERE.

It's almost too cold to type. It's definitely too cold to sew. But on the upside, I have three cute handy boys in my basement, and corn chowder in the crock pot.

Always looking for the silver lining...

Not sure about this one...

This orange and pink one was fun to do. I love these two colors together, all bright and cheery on yet another snow-filled, bitterly cold winter day.

Isn't it spring yet? I've had enough of this stuff, and it's only the middle of January!

I pulled out every orange scrap I had, which turned out to be more than I thought...but then again, I am a brights girl, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise. In retrospect, I probably should have used more of some and less of others.

I had this flower image in my head, but I'm not sure it translated as well as I hoped. Just not sure about the white prints...but then again, second-guessing myself defeats the purpose of improvisation, doesn't it?

And maybe the fact that I'm questioning it means I've pushed myself outside my comfort zone? Which again, is the whole point of this exercise.

Now to go clean up the mess.

Distracted again...

So what else is new?

I was supposed to be just looking for orange scraps for my next Project Improv block. I found some, all right...in the UFO corner.

Another project started, then forsaken for something more inviting, or more pressing. I'd started a couple of blocks, but the rest of the fabric was cut and had been waiting patiently to be sewn for oh, about three years. Or longer.

So in the spirit of spontaneity (and improvisation), I finished them. It was time.

Another UFO one step closer to being identified. And a little more orange fabric for Project Improv!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Kona Snow, that is.

And the other kind, too. It's been snowing here since yesterday morning and, as the song goes, it doesn't show signs of stoppin'.

And since I've no place to go -- gotta sew, gotta sew, gotta sew!

I committed to a red/aqua block for Project Improv, but I don't have many good reds in my stash for some reason -- a situation I would quickly remedy if a) we didn't have eight inches of snow on the ground and more one the way and b) I hadn't cut myself off from buying any fabric until the quilt show in April. Which is when I plan to make up for it.

So I dug. It took me a while, but I found some wonderfully whimsical Jan Mullen reds buried deep in a box, some aquas and -- inspired by the weather -- some Kona Snow and lo and behold! We have Block #2:


And here's Block #1 in its entirety:


I haven't yet decided on an improvisational project beyond the charity quilt blocks, but it may have to involve the red/white/aqua color combo, it's just so dang cheery -- and in the throes of a winter snowstorm, it's a nice little bit of sunshine.

Which means I have to keep digging through my stash for more reds.

It's much more fun than shoveling.

Jumping on the improv bus...

And Jacquie's driving! Thanks, Jacquie, for jump-starting 2009!

I'm on a roll...

Mostly because now that I've rearranged the living room, there's a big wall with nothing on it. And nothing to hang there that I really like any more. There's also a conspicuous lack of a throw on the sofa -- so in an effort to reduce the pile, I paid a visit to my UFO corner and found these blocks.

Only this time, they had more appeal than the last time we met -- and, now that I've changed up a couple pillows, they go (more or less) with the living room. A slight stretch (Lord knows there're enough colors in there), but better than nothing -- so they became this over the weekend:

I still haven't decided whether it'll get snuggled under or displayed on the wall -- that, I think, depends on the quilting. But I have to admit, I'm back in like with it. Not love...yet. Give me time.

First things first...

I was feeling all full of resolve yesterday.

So much so that I rearranged (and vaccuumed!) the living room. And in the process, came across this quilt, still in the frame, tucked behind the couch.

A wave of guilt washed over me. I knew it'd be forever before I could successfully return to it...and here I was, talking about starting another new project? Shame on me!

So I quilted it. By machine. I hadn't gotten very far with the hand quilting in the first place, so taking it out wasn't a big deal.

I used variegated nylon in orange, pink, yellow and neon green. All wavy and easy to do. Backed it with this wonderful Jane Sassaman stripe I'd had forever. Stash busting already!

I bound it this morning. By machine, of course.

My first quilt of 2009.

No more guilt. About this project, anyway.

I hope this bodes well for the rest of the year!

Resolving to resolve...

I hate making resolutions, mostly because I never follow up on them. Except for last year.

Following an early January visit to Paper Source (one of my all-time favorite stores), I determined that their motto was something I could aspire to:


It sounds easier than it actually is. In fact, trying to be creative on a daily basis can be exhausting; some days I just didn't want to put forth the effort. But everything counted: quilting, sketching, knitting, Gocco, polymer clay, photography, Photoshop, blogging...and it didn't matter how much, just that I kept those creative juices flowing. So I didn't have much of an excuse not to.

I jotted down notes about what I was working on in a calendar to keep myself honest -- and looking back through it, with the exception of a couple vacations without the sewing machine and the week the cat died, I did pretty well.

Cutting squares out before work. Blogging at lunch. Sewing a few blocks just before bed. Snagging little bits of time here and there -- nothing big, just whatever I could.

And you know what? Somewhere during the year, it got easier. And more fun. And made work seem less stressful.

With that kind of success rate, I don't see a reason to stop. So I'm recycling last year's resolution for this year.

It's the green thing to do.