18 HSTs

Step One is to make 18 half square triangles. The directions called for triangle paper, but I didn’t have any laying around the sewing room, so grabbed my EZ Angle ruler and starting cutting pairs.

Really like these fabrics together!

Organizing Goals?

Funny what can happen while you're getting your hair done -- I was at Montage with Krista Victory styling my hair when we started discussing planners and the best ones out there to control a busy life. Krista had bought a pack of planners and was using two out of the three, so she gave me the mid size one, which turns out to be perfect!

So this is the part where I put in appointments, the never ending To Do list and log my activities for the day.

I found this free printable on www.aquiltinglife.com and use it to keep track of what I'm trying to do on a weekly basis. (I'll be willing to bet that my fabulous assistant, Monica, wishes I were using a "Blogging This Week" form -- go ahead, Monica, and design one!) It prints out at 8-1/2"x11" and my planner is 9"x7", so I took it to Staples and printed out a bunch at 84% (which I found out from planner bloggers is the "magic" numnber), punched them and inserted them right into each week of my planner. I've been using it for three weeks now and just noticed the column "Organizing Goals for the Week" -- really? When I'm traveling, I'm one of the most organized people ever, but at home?

Then I started thinking about all of my works in progress and how they are stored in various places in the house, garage, etc. Maybe I should do a binder that logs all this?

Another Staples run, a trip to Etsy to find a Project Planner form that I liked, and maybe I'll get some of this mess under control! A friend of mine, who wishes to remain nameless, told me she has 114 unfinished projects. When she said that, I knew I needed to corral mine -- I have no idea how many UFOs I have. Living in southern California, I tend to piece and design during the summer when it's hot and quilt when the weather cools down, usually around Halloween, until it heats up again around Easter. So right now I'm in piecing mode, filling out a Project Planner form for everything I touch, and filing it according to the stage it is in.

How do you organize your UFO's? Or are you one of these people that starts a project and follows it right through until you're finished? Any good ideas to incorporate into my system? I need help here!

Bake Something Delicious!

We promote quilting classes on Craftsy quite often.  Their classes are amazing and we love quilting so it's a logical match.  But did you know that Craftsy offers classes on LOTS of other hobbies??

And they're having a big sale this weekend!!  ALL classes are under $20!!

Click HERE to get the sale price on any class through our affiliate link.

What will you make this weekend??

Have You Tried This? The Original Thread Cutter!

We love this little goodie!!  It came in a Quilty Box and has become a necessary tool!! 

What do you use to make cutting go quickly??

International Spring Cleaning Month - CLEAN OUT THOSE SCRAPS PEOPLE!!

I just learned that March is “International Spring Cleaning Month” – what are you doing to celebrate?  One of my friends who quilts all the time and rarely cooks told me she was planning to dust her kitchen!  Me?  I’m cleaning out my stash….I do this about every three or four years, going through all the fabrics, touching them, petting them, daydreaming about the wonderful quilts I could make if I had more time.  Some of my fabric pieces are fairly small and could probably qualify as scraps, but I just can’t bear to toss them. 

So it might be time to get a new Craftsy class about using up these scraps – there’s one from Pepper Cory called “Scrap Quilting: waste not, want not” – that sounds just perfect!  Pepper has written many many books over the years; I’ve always enjoyed her teaching style and her sense of humor, so here’s an opportunity to get her off the pages of the book and onto my iPad screen.

The first time I met Pepper was one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever done/said!  We were both teaching at an AQS show in Knoxville TN several years ago when we were seated near each other at breakfast in the hotel.  After some conversation among the group, she introduced herself to me – “I don’t think we’ve met – I’m Pepper Cory!”  My brain immediately flashed to the large stack of quilting books next to my reading chair and I said, “Oh! I have your picture in my living room!”  Pepper gave me a rather odd look and so I explained about the stack of books…..it was awkward and embarrassing and so totally me!

So if you'd like to check out her class "Scrap Quilting: waste not, want not" click HERE.  You'll LOVE it!  (And it's on a super sale right now!!)

Happy Cleaning!!!!!!! 

Paula