Organized Chaos!

I think the funniest thing I ever learned on Flylady was just what CHAOS stood for – Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome!

And basically, that is how I have felt about my basement space through the winter. I could start to get a handle on it, but there wasn’t a lot of time before I was flying off on another trip, and other projects had deadlines, so a lot of things I wanted to tackle just kept putting themselves on the back burner…or the way back way back burner! And there is more to be done, but I’m happy with what I accomplished yesterday!

Stacks of Fat Quarters were separated and sorted by color or category depending on what they were, and were put away in their drawers. See those two NEUTRAL stacks to the left? How many did I think I needed? Ahem. I Need. More. Drawers. This is creating quite a conundrum because I really “AM” about using what I have, but it just seems like I’ve been restocking my variety this year. And some of my drawers are shared by two colors, all of which could use their own drawer now ((Like the pinks sharing with purples or the yellows also sharing with oranges)) And I’ve found that as I’ve used yardage, some of the leftovers if they are large enough have also graduated down to the Fat Quarter drawers…((I put anything less than 1/2 yard in there)) and I added a new category of black and whites –Those need their own drawer because they really don’t mix well with the other beige-y civil war type shirtings and backgrounds.

But look! This table is now COMPLETELY clear – With the exception of those African prints that I KNEW were buried somewhere ((Yes, I found them!!) and I also found the ones that Aby gave me while in Germany! and I found a whole baggie of batik scraps –We’ll get to that later --

I made some make-shift Fat Quarter space in plastic shoeboxes on this old bookshelf I got at the second hand store for something crazy like $8.00. It’s SOLID wood….I really don’t like my fabric out in the open air. DH’s workroom/aka: Lawn Mower Garage is down here, and it has a Garage door on it, and it is often open, and dust and dirt and blower stuff and whatever comes through – But until I decide if I need more Fat Quarter drawers or what….this will have to do for now.

{{Insert personal-note-to-self: STOP. BUYING. BLUE!! You have more blue than you can use in a lifetime. USE IT!!}}

At this point I’m still mulling over that small pile of scraps on the table! Can you hear them calling my name -- LOUDLY!?

I have a set of bed risers under this table, so it is a great sorting, folding, cutting, laying out height.

THIS mess is next in the Queue – MAGAZINES. Old and new, some picked up from guild meetings, It’s become the magazine dumping ground. Before moving here I had gone through all my magazines ((I’ve done this several times over the years after they pile up a bit)) and saved the pages I wanted to keep in page protectors and put them in binders and use them as “Dream and Idea” books. But I’ve gotten behind on it, well—BECAUSE. Do I want to sew, or do I want to tear apart magazines? THAT IS A NO BRAINER!

And it’s not just that bottom shelf…What started to look CUTE in this fun wire basket is now overflowing….And I admit it. Some of the magazines have not even been taken out of the plastic bags that they were mailed in! Many of them at first glance don’t have anything I want – “Seen that, done that, nothing new, same old same old same old” and those will get donated.

Uhoh! Enough Cleaning!! And the pile on the clean table began to GROW!! This was evening time, and I was itching to play!

At this point I was thinking….I need something that will work with some of these African prints that are no more than 4” wide –Maybe I can find a batik or tone on tone texture that would play well with each of these, and pair them with a black and white ((Since I had just fondled,folded and put them all away!))

Did I really THINK I could get away with just ONE test block?! These are 6” “Kings Crown” blocks, and I am loving them! The on point Square in Square is a great way to frame those fun African fabrics, and the black and whites are so fun! The corners are more tone on tone batik or hand dyes –I have NO idea how I am going to set them yet…on point? Straight? Sashed? PIECED sashing? Alternate block? I don’t have enough done yet to even think about it….

But I did have enough time to kit up 25 blocks! They are ready to travel with me to Alabama this week! Since it is a road trip with nights in hotels, I’ll be setting up my machine and making good use of evening/morning time!

And it’s a good thing because I asked DH last night just when his Assistant Controller’s baby is due – “Oh, early June…” was the reply! ACCKKKK!

So! It’s Monday! My favorite day of the week—Monday is new and fresh with all kinds of possibilities. Today, Lisa and Shelby and I are going to hike Pilot Mountain! That should be loads of fun—Maybe some more piecing tonight, or some more digging through tonight. The jury is out on that one yet.

Tuesday will be a “packing up” day—because YES! I’ve decided to leave Wednesday and enjoy my journey to Huntsville, Alabama instead of just pedal to the metal to get there. Seems like a good plan, eh?

Enjoy your day!