Fill the Busy Bag!

I spent some time last evening before bed packing the busy bag…okay, more like RELENTING to what I should be working on, instead of what I want to be working on.

SOMETHING NEW.

Since finishing fill-in corner #4 on the Eternal Hexagon Project, and not even having sat at it yet to attach that corner….I am SO not in the mood to go back to piecing more hexies for the border but I know it needs it.  There is too much neutral to the outer edges of the quilt top, it NEEDS a border of rosettes around the outer edge.  But…..Okay…my whiny side is complaining it could take YEARS at this pace!  Yes.  But it’s airplane sitting time anyway.

I pulled my BIGGER Busy bag out, along with my big girl britches and set to reorganizing.  I opened a drawer.  I vaguely remembered putting the left over sets of browns and reds somewhere…Oh yes!  Here they are!  And the browns are already pinned in sets of 6 matching hexies.  I wasn’t going to have to cut anything.

I flipped through those stacks of brown hexies and it was like revisiting old friends.  Okay, this might not be so bad after all.

And then this morning it all flew to heck as the project that WANTS to be primary infiltrated my dreams through the night and caused me to spend part of this morning cutting diamonds instead of finishing my packing.

After all, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend, right?

The papers are by dritz.

They came in a goodie bag.

I have a die for the Accuquilt Studio that cuts 60 degree diamonds 1/4’’ bigger all around than these papers.  This is seeming much more doable, and quick to kit up. (I’m sure they have a die for the GO or GO BABY too.) 

And then I remembered Alex Anderson filling yet another goodie bag for me with rulers, a cutting mat, and these GLUE STICKS she said I needed to try.

You know what?  They are pretty slick.  I haven’t tried stitching any diamonds together yet, but since I would have to thread baste THROUGH the papers on these, and those stitches would have to come out, can’t be left in like the stitches on the hexies (It all has to do with the length of the sides and whether the seam allowance would stay in place over the edge of the paper or not) I think I will give this a try.

Oh ho!!  Ready for stitching!

Do I start in on these as soon as I’m seated on the plane to Atlanta and on to Houston this morning?

Do I force myself to sew BROWN HEXIES on one leg of my flight and then stars on the second flight? 

As to what this sample project will be?  I’m taking a group to China and another group to Thailand in October, and there will be no sewing machines so I need to present a hand project.  I’m not sure how many kits I’ll have to make, but it needs to be kept simple.  I’m thinking I provide them papers and enough fabric shapes (and glue stick and thread, etc) in a small kit and then they can add to it with fabrics we purchase along the way, or from their own stashes when we get home.  I’m thinking total number of stars needed is 7.  But we’ll see!

So do I sew stars first?  Or reward myself with the stars after plugging along on hexies.

The struggle is real. 

A bit of dashboard explanation.

I had an issue yesterday that really had me dropping my jaw, staring at the comment, and quickly deleting it because I could not see how someone could write what they wrote.  Now I’m wishing I saved it.

From before sun-up to long after sun-down I am working.  Quilting may be a hobby and a pastime for many, but it is my job.

I spent yesterday re-writing the tutorial for  Chunky Churn Dash.  It needed to be done as I am teaching it in March in Michigan and the instructions needed to be simplified and  a new printer-friendly PDF written along with a class supply list.  It took me over 3 hours.  A good chunk of a work day.  I posted at noon time about the up-do, thinking that others might want to give this older pattern from the free patterns tab a try.  I put in all of that effort to re-write it, so why not.

A very unkind comment came in the form of “If you have time enough to write a long post such as this, perhaps you have time to answer my comment on Spanish Rose.” 

Lady, whoever you are – I never received an email from you, and I can not answer all comments because I can’t find them all.  You didn’t leave an email address for me to reach you.  There are comments left in places like Youtube, Flickr, Instagram, 2 places on Facebook, and then the Messenger thing on Facebook –where if you are NOT a friend on my personal page I don’t get those messages. They stay in limbo. If you leave a comment on Google + or even sometimes on a blog post and expect a reply, without leaving a way to reach you – it isn’t going to happen.

Besides, that was such a mean-spirited comment , deleting it WAS my reply.

My communication happens in my email inbox, not in comments on various sites including this blog.

You have no idea of how much work goes on behind the scenes here.  I was filling book orders until 11pm last night to make up the time it took me to up-do the Chunky Churn Dash pattern. I’m not just sitting here eating bonbons.

What you see above is a screen shot of the upper right hand sidebar of my blog.  This is YOUR dashboard on how to find me.  See the circle with the envelope?  Find it in the right hand sidebar and click that.  It sends me an email.  All of the other circles will send you to my other social media sites.

If you are reading me on a mobile device, you may not SEE the side bars on the blog to even know that is there.  So go to a real computer.  Or open your browser in “web view” not mobile view.  Everything you need to reach me is right there in plain sight and at your fingertips if you know where to look.

But the ONLY way to ensure that I get your message is to send me a direct EMAIL.  Facebook?  Instagram?  Google+?  Youtube comments?  There is not enough time in my world to go on a full out web search for some question someone might have had about something that they posted elsewhere.

And please, if you leave a comment and don’t get an answer, do not be miffed at me.  You didn’t put it where I could find it.

Now that is settled.  I am putting my happy pants back on, and I hope you do too.

Quiltville Quote of the Day!

Vintage string quilt found in North Carolina.

These are my guidelines for a fulfilling life. I am happy to be flying to Houston this morning in the midst of all the Super Bowl craze, not for football - but to share these ideals with the quilters that I love.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Follow me on Instagram!
Follow my Quiltville Page on Facebook for more fun!
Join our sister group, Quiltville's Open Studio on Facebook, a place to Sew, Share & Grow!!