I remember a time when the internet was new and acronyms were confusingly abundant and I was trying to catch up on what all the latest little "letter-speak" things meant.
And then trying to explain them to elder folk went something like "LOL means Laughing Out Loud." and the response went something like "Oh, I thought that was Lots of Love, that explains why I got the weird reaction to the sympathy email I sent Joan about the loss of her dog and I signed it LOL."
And then there was the "What is LMAO??" And I said that it meant "Laughing My ARMS Off because I couldn't say the word ass to certain folks in certain situations.
At any rate, I was both Laughing Out Loud and Laughing My (Arms) Off yesterday as I was determined to FINALLY go through some gifted bags of scraps and sort them into submission.
Well, try at least!
A while back I had posted a photo of several bags awaiting sorting - almost to the point of embarrassment, yet knowing that sorting of this kind usually happens when I have more time on hand - like I do during the winter months when the retreat isn't running.
That sorting began yesterday - and little did I know it would last until 5pm and I still am not done.
What an abundance of scrappy possibilities!
Some folks joke about the Cat Distribution System. I've been the beneficiary of that as well (4 cants...I never thought I'd have 4 cats!) and now I am also realizing that the quilty version of the Cat Distribution System is the Scrap Distribution System -
And often bags are left with my name on them!
Oh my word! What has begun here?
One bag at a time was dumped at my feet. And one by once, I grabbed handfuls of scraps while sitting in my comfy chair with Britbox on in the background and began to sort.
Hunks and bigger chunks in one pile, strings and strips separated by color family.
This trim off of neutral rectangles will be pulled apart and used in the center strips of my Cracker blocks. They are the perfect size!
Maybe I should just call that project CRACK because I'm obsessed.
X-Plus project? For another day. Right now I'm all about CRACK!
Piles roughly by color family...oh the marvelous quilts that are going to come out of this!
Some of the pieces have gone into scrap bags for the free basket at the inn. m I'm sure they will be happily adopted and used in really fun projects. . My piecing stays pretty small so things like big floral prints are lost when you start to cut them small.
And the granddaddy of all - there is one huge and fully stuffed white kitchen trash bag still to go through. I'll do that today.
I'm excited to discover what is in that bag. Possibilities are endless with these scraps and I can't wait to make beautiful things with them.
Bored? Don't understand bored. I don't do bored. All of these scraps thrill me with ideas.
I'm not sure any machine stitching will happen between now and when I leeave for New York on Friday to meet up with my Craftours group at JFK on Saturday - we'll be at Jeff's for Thanksgiving but there will be time for hexies, feet up with some movies. I'm okay with that.
Cracker blocks can wait for my return.
Of course, Part Two of Lupine & Laughter will post Friday morning before we leave for the airport. Part Three will post from wherever I am in Germany and Austria - likely on European time! I'll be home before Part Four goes live.
I will be posting Thanksgiving morning (Tomorrow - Thursday) and will have something special for you.
Make sure to come visit the blog while your pies are in the oven.
And yes - this is still happening around here!
Christmas tree harvest time brings anticipation for the holiday season ahead!
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
It's a constant rant and a battle of wills!
Not me yelling at the thread.
Those little twisty slipknots that happened for no good reason need to explain themselves -
Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!
(Go sort some fabric!) 
Piles roughly by color family...oh the marvelous quilts that are going to come out of this!
So many fun pieces!
And quite a lot of batiks so they are going in their own batik string bin:
Much love from Lola -
Not me yelling at the thread.
Those little twisty slipknots that happened for no good reason need to explain themselves -
What fun!! Sorting of any fabric always gets the creative juices flowing. Thank you for all the wonderful quilts you have inspired over the years, Bonnie! Blessings to you and all your family this Thanksgiving season. Thanks for Jason's successful surgery, thanks for time with family & friends who uplift us. Thanks for the "mystery," too. Safe travels! I know you will return inspired with wonderful quilts ideas!
ReplyDeleteI thought those slipknots only happened to me! I do hand work every night just as you do, but mine right now is appliquing the hexie flowers onto background squares as alternating blocks with the 16 patches I've already sewn. I love using up the thousands of 2 or 2.5" blocks I've got behind the Ikea glassed doors - as well as using up some of the thousands of charm squares I've cut over the decades from scraps. Makes a simple & colorful scrap quilt - this one is for my grandson's girlfriend (who's favorite color is blue - so lots of it in this quilt). Seeing the bags of scraps that you've been sorting is lovely. I love finding a quilt show that has lots of scraps that you can bag yourself & buy for a small amount for that reason - freshens up my scraps & gives me more ideas on how to use them. It's like Christmas for a scrappy quilter! Deb / N. Calif.
ReplyDeleteHi Bonnie, yeah, I hate those tiny knots too. They drive me nuts. I've tried everything, from making sure I thread the needle with the end that comes off the spool first, to using a tiny blue box of thread conditioner, I think it's called Thread Magic. Those things help, but I still get those pesky knots as I'm hand sewing. Sometimes I can cut the thread and tie off. But other times I've either got to pull a bunch of stitches out to be able to tie off, or sometimes I just let it sit untied off, and stitch over that whole line of stitching again. Sometimes I'm lucky enough that I can tug them through and keep going. That doesn't happen very often though, sigh. And how about those pesky loops of thread that form from getting caught on a corner and I don't see them until I've finished that section and they've come loose from the corner? Anyway, have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'm breaking down my 8 lb turkey (it's just for me and the dog) and I'm going to cook it in my crock pot. So, I'm planning on getting some slow stitching done tomorrow on my hexie project while the turkey cooks all day. Some quick veggies with it and we're all set.
ReplyDeleteI use bees wax to coat my thread when hand sewing, quilting -- it keeps it from knotting up! Works great.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only one who got those nasty slip knots! Why is it that they won't come out of it? Happy Thanksgiving 😊
ReplyDeleteHave a great Thanksgiving Bonnie! And thank youi for all you do!
ReplyDeleteMy table runneth over with all the scraps generated from my 2 grandsons' quilts. Unfortunately almost all of it is new to the projects so there's no storage for the scraps! I will have to resolve this after Christmas. And I love today's quote; I have a queen size quilt I'm hand binding and those little knots are testing me!
ReplyDelete