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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Tuesday Morning...



This is my trainer, Charlee! Isn't she gorgeous? She reminds me of Whitney Houston, and she is the most generous, loving, spiritually minded lady I know. I am honored to call her my friend. We had the best time at her party the other night (There is NO WAY this buff woman looks anything like 50!) and we all decided that we have to do this again, not just wait for another birthday to roll around, but to get together just for fun..all of us.

I put a movie on early this morning. Some lame thing on Lifetime Movie Network, otherwise known as the man-hater channel. But it was background noise while I tackled my closet.

I stood there with my door shut, in my undies, trying on EVERYTHING in my closet and getting rid of things I didn't like anymore, or things that just didn't fit right. My legs are too long..a lot of my pants are just too short unless I'm wearing them with flats, and then only barely passable. So..out.

I went through all the skirts, got rid of over half of them. What do I do with all this stuff? I mean, I love feeling feminine in skirts, but I don't have the kind of job where I can wear a skirt every day, or even every other day.

I love flowing skirts, mid calf to ankle length, when it is hot in the summer,but it is turning fall now..

At any rate, I couldn't let EVERYTHING go, so I kept what fit, what I liked, and maybe I'll try to give them one more shot and wear them more. If I don't....this time next year...they are gone. At least I am down by half.

Tomorrow I'll start on the dresser drawers. As it is I only have time to give this about an hour a day....and bit by bit things are getting gone through, and it is true what they say about less is more. I'm reaquainting myself with what I have...and getting rid of what I don't want. Reminding myself of things that I forgot I had (!!! A sure sign there is too much!) and matching things with other things in my mind to switch up my wardrobe a bit without having to go buy anything.

Oh. I went through shoes too. How many pairs of black flats, loafers and pumps does one girl need? And I always seem to fall for the same cute style anyway, so they all resemble each other? Just because they are on sale doesn't mean I need to keep buying the same thing, does it?

Now I am just trying to get the rest of my day going...I keep peeking back into my closet and seeing how nice it looks in there, and I want to do the same thing to the rest of this house closet by closet by drawer by drawer by cabinet by cabinet. I can do this an hour at a time!

And on a quilty note....

I'm taking my own organizing advice, and now that it is cool enough, I am going to sit at my hand quilting for an hour (or maybe a bit less, depends) in the morning. It's time to get the "In The Pink" Dear Jane at sea quilting going. You can tell by the pic I've only done a couple of baptist fans so far. It's been in storage! And you know what? When I unfolded it I found a stain on it. Whhhaaaa. I know this is the life of a quilt....especially one that is a UFO for so long, but I am hoping that after I quilt it and bind it and wash it, that I can do some oxyclean stuff..it looks like something brown...not blood, maybe dr pepper? chocolate? Got on one small space. I tried cleaning it with a dish towel and some soap, but then the pink started to bleed..whhaaaaa..(and yes, it is pre washed) SO. I'm going to wait. Going to quilt, bind, wash, dye catcher, oxy clean, whatever.

If I wait til night time I'm too tired to hand quilt. My eye sight isn't what it was. Even reading, my eyes are so dry at night. So...if I do just even ONE FAN in the mornings when I am here at home, before everything else, it will get there.



22 comments:

  1. Good for you! I try to go through my clothes once a year. (Doesn't always happen, but I try.) Anything I haven't worn but can't part with I put in a very visible and easily accessible spot in my closet to encourage me to wear it. If I don't wear it before next time I purge, it goes.

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  2. Hi Bonnie, WOW-What a Charlee! She can't be five-O! It helps the soul to celebrate like that with your friends-huh? Have you gotten her hooked on QUILTING?? Love your new pic with your sweet Puppy! Mimi

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  3. She's FIFTY??????!!!!!!! No way!

    But what a gorgeous smile, regardless of her age.

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  4. I *so* understand what you mean about being too tired in the evenings to work on your hand quilting. I committed an hour in the mornings to working on anything; just so I'd be in my quilt room making progress! In the evenings I was soooo tired from working all day, coming come and getting dinner, etc... I couldn't get motivated! Now I have to worry about being late for work, I get so absorbed in my morning quilting exercises! Have fun! :)

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  5. wow you GO Gurl! I applaud you for cleaning out your closet like that!!! I've been aiming to do the same thing since having a breast reduction earlier this year.

    As a kid my closet was so small that ever fall mom and I would pack everything up into a box and take to the basement to store and bring up the next season and go thru it all... every year. But now that I'm a grown up I don't remember the last time I did that? Years gone by and I have too much hanging in the closet that I don't like or wear... I'm surprised the closet rod hasn't' collapsed yet!

    Love from Texas! ~bonnie

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  6. Isn't it amazing how so much accumulates despite being away from home so much? Hoping the purge leaves you with a new sense of strength and creativity.

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  7. Holy Toledo! Your trainer is buff and beautiful!!! 50yo? No way! I've got 3 years to catch up!! LOL

    I don't have a problem with my closet, I wear the same things over and over!! It sure feels like it that's for sure. I don't like shopping so I stick to the same colors. It makes it easier to find something to wear and easier to shop when I have to.

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  8. Are you fanning the whole thing or just the borders?

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  9. Shame about the stain on your quilt. It sure is pretty! Love the colors.

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  10. Your legs are too long? Oh to have such a problem. My legs only come up to my knees! LOL

    Back in H.S. when we had gym and we had to touch the floor - hey, that was a piece of cake when your legs are too short!

    Great job on the efforts to clean, organize, etc. 8-)))

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  11. It is not quite cold enough here to bring out the winter sweaters, ect. but you are giving me motivation. And yes, you should give yourself some quilting time after a good cleaning job. I would like to know how you figure your fan designs on your quilts. Would you be able to give us a tutorial? I don't remember seeing this quilt but it looks very nice. What is your dog's name, he looks so lovable and you look wonderful. I fully understand night quilting!
    Jeane

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  12. Nice work on cleaning out your closet. I always donate my things to a local women's shelter because often times they have escaped with nothing but the clothes on their backs and can really use the donations.

    I wish I looked like your trainer. I never would have guessed she was 50 yrs old.

    Hopefully the stain will come out. I hate when that happens...

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  13. Bonnie- Good going on the cleaning out. Maybe you will ispire me to follow suit.
    For the bleeding pink...One word...Synthrapol. It saved my backside BIG TIME with a bleeding brown on a customer quilt. A little oxyclean wouldn't hurt either.

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  14. Bonnie if you have dry eyes it is because after age 30 we don't produce as many tears and we need to lubricate them Use eye drops a couple of times a day. I use a brand called Systane, ( I am in Canada)They really do help that itchy scratchy dry eye.

    I hope you don't mind my unsolicited medical advice. I love your patterns and your blog. Thanks so much!

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  15. I hear you with the UFO. I am quilting the very first quilt I made back in the late 80s! I made it all by hand except for the sashes (It's about 40"sq) I have it in a good ole fashion 4 plole stick frame I made myself. It's propped up on tall books on my dining room table. I found that if I quilt an hour, preferably in the morning, I am good to go for the rest of the day! I LOVE hand quilting! (I'll be posting it on Youtube.com shortly - My YouTube name is "VictoriaEv"

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  16. Bonnie,
    Charlee looks like she's in her 20s!!!
    I'm just starting out on my DJ journey-any advice??
    I've also started doing my hand applique for an hour each day. I love doing it and have neglected it too long.
    As for my closet-I won't even go there. :-(

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  17. for chocolate stains use milk rather than water

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  18. Hey Bonnie, a friend told me just the other day that if I really wanted to purge my clothes this is a system that works for her!!!
    Put the clothes your not sure about on a hanger and turn the hanger so it's backwards to the rod... if in say 6 months to a year you haven't turned the hanger around... apparently you haven't worn it... so it's time to clear it out! Kind of like when you pack stuff into boxes, tape shut, and date the boxes... if after 1 year it hasn't been opened... clear it out and don't open it first! Otherwise you will draw yourself back in again.... Good luck with the clear out!

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  19. Hi Bonnie, I wanted to second the idea of using Systane for your dry eyes. You can get it at any drug store that sells eye care products like contact lens solution. It's great and was recommended to me by my opthamologist. However you do have to give yourself about 5 minutes after using the drops before trying to really focus on handwork as the drops take longer to absorb than other eye drops.

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  20. Baptist fans are going to be my next hand quilting pattern, once I finish the quilt I am currently working on. Good for you for doing it in the morning while you are still fresh. And I, too, love the purging process - I can't imagine who put all this stuff in my closet!

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  21. After you have washed your quilt and the bleed out still hasn't come out, hand sew a piece of the dye catcher sheet directly on top of the area where the dye bled, wash and then check to see if all the dye has been removed. If not, repeat the process until the bleed out is gone. Be sure to let your quilt air dry so that you don't set the bleed out. I have done this a few times now and it worked wonderfully. I also prewash my fabrics and still some of them do bleed.

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  22. Bonnie,

    I am such a packrat myself that my whole house is full to busting with just STUFF! A quilting forum pal recommended FlyLady - a great Internet site with great advice and motivation. It's hard to change old habits, yes, it is, but I have since gone through my closet and pulled 4 large boxes of clothes, shoes and jackets out, out, out! When spring hits, I'm gonna go through it again and hopefully, be able to purge some more. You can do almost anything for 15 minutes!! Check it out at www.flylady.com.

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