Get your sunglasses!

Painted Desert is done, and it is an intense little thing.  In fact when I finished getting the blocks put together, I thought that it was a bit too much.  The black outer border added just enough of a calming effect to make it just right.  

I did the quilting tone on tone so it wouldn't add anymore contrast.  The flowers were lots of fun to do.  

The quilting in the outer border is a darker turquoise, so that there was just a small amount of color pop, but enough that the pattern shows up nicely.

This project gave me some good opportunity to practice quilting with minimal marking.  The quilting in the corner squares was just done freehand, no marking.  

Last, but not least, a happy fabric for the backing.

Most of the quilts I make for my quilt group give a little tug on my heart as I put them in the cabinet to await a future owner.  This one especially wanted to linger in my possession a bit longer.  Someday, though, I hope it gives some cheer to a child dealing with difficult times.  

Starry-eyed Grandma

Here she is--cheerful, sunny, pretty little quilt.  You might be tempted to envision a rosy-cheeked grandma knitting quietly on her front porch.  Or maybe setting out cookies and milk in her old fashioned kitchen.  Or picking posies out of her colorful flower garden.  Truth be told, though, this quilt is more like the crotchety grandma that would whack you on the shins with her cane.  

I have had a time with this quilt.  Most of the 252 star points involved quilting through some very thick seams which caused two broken needles plus a bent one.  I had to manually work the machine around the points.  The rest of the quilting went pretty smoothly, and I felt like I was on pretty good terms with her by the end.  Got the binding on and put her in the wash to get out the markings.

Now I have never before had an issue with getting pencil marks out of my quilts, but two go-arounds with Shout didn't even faze them.  So now I have to go over all the yellow squares and the border with an eraser to try to deal with the pencil marks.  And that won't get rid of them, just lighten them some.  I console myself with the thought that it makes it look a little more authentic since quilt marks in old quilts are not unusual.  


In spite of everything I do like this quilt, which surprised me.  The 1930's quilts are not my favorite, but when I look at this quilt the words that do come to mind are cheerful, sunny, and pretty.  Just don't be fooled!  She definitely has her ornery side.

Understand the Whys

TED Talk: Susan Cain--The Power of Introverts


Now I understand.....


why I always only had one best friend at a time growing up.


why sending me to my room was never an effective punishment.


why I didn't enjoy VBS as a child, or day camps, or Girl Scouts.


why I have no interest in helping or even going to the ladies Christmas celebration at church or volunteering for VBS, or doing group Bible studies. 


why quilt group works for me.


why I both enjoy and get frustrated with talkative people.


why the idea of community both draws and repels me.


why few people really get to know me.


I knew I was an introvert, but now I am making the full connection.  With that understanding, I find it is easier to deflect the pressure to fit into a world geared towards extroverts and to accept that I can add to the world in quietness and solitude.  


Introverts and extroverts--we were made for each other. :-)  

Keeping Things Straight

Organizing isn't just about sorting and arranging, but also making a space simple to use.  After the sifting and sorting, the keys to making organization actually work are keeping things easy to find, easy to use, and easy to put away.

Apart from the kitchen, the most hardworking place in my house is my studio.  When I walk into that room I want it to invite me to be creative.  Organization allows me to keep my projects accessible and under control.  Knowing what materials I have and where they are helps me avoid unnecessary purchases or duplications, and gives me an idea of what to look for when I am ready to buy.

Welcome to Elzbee's Place:

I love that these shelves (Eurway) have cubby-like sections rather than full shelves.  They are stronger and easier to arrange.  

More baskets...:-)  Stacking baskets are especially great since they give vertical storage as well as containing smaller items.

I found these stacking baskets at Walmart not long after I started card making.  They ended up being very versatile since they hold well three different sizes of stamp sets.

Standard stacking file trays make paper storage easy and attractive.

File boxes for index cards help me keep card verses sorted by occasion.  

Elfa baskets are wonderful for yarn and fabric storage.  Plus, since I have mine on wheels, it is easy to move for cleaning.  

Since I have two sewing stations, small baskets enable me to move my supplies to wherever I am working.  

The wire pencil holder makes a great mini trash can.  

A wooden rack keeps my acrylic rulers in order.

Drawings and info for my current quilting project are posted on a magnetic bulletin board for easy reference.  

In the closet, hanging my quilting projects keeps them neat.

Labeled shoe boxes store the project leftovers.

Hooks contain my totes and a two-sided spinning rack makes grabbing the ink pad or marker I need a snap.  

Elfa baskets store fabric, miscellaneous supplies, and gift wrapping items.

Bundling sets of fabrics together help when planning a new project.  

 All these various storage items allow me to quickly and easily assemble my project supplies, and then quickly put them away.  And when I next stand in the doorway of my studio, it says, "Come on in!  Let's create!"

A Tisket, A Tasket

How I love my baskets...


The two other places in my kitchen that I tend to get comments on are my refrigerator and my plastic container storage.


When the children were little I had a lot of leftovers that would work over several meals.  To keep organize which container, say of rice, was oldest, I started dating the containers with some masking tape and a Sharpie marker.  Now we just eat the previous night's dinner leftover for lunch the next day, so I don't bother to label those containers, but since I have a continual supply of my starches going, the labeling and dating are quite helpful.

Recently I bought some sturdy plastic baskets for the freezer to make my meat storage more manageable.  Huge help!

One thing I don't want to be doing is spending time trying to match lids to containers when I am putting up leftovers.  I keep containers group by size and the lids in baskets.  It is so easy to find sturdy, inexpensive baskets these days, and they make such a difference.  

And thus concludes the kitchen tour.

Backing Up

Knitting teaches a life lesson:

Current project:  Shawl with a lace edge.  

Progress:  About 95% done.  

Status:  Knitting along, realize my stitch count is wrong, determine where the mistake is, try to correct it, make a mess.  

Response:  Wonder why I enjoy doing this.  Try to determine which would be worse--starting completely over or undoing what looks like could be ten (long) rows and hoping I will then be back on track.  

Decision:  Decide that starting over is too drastic at this point.  Settle in and start tinking (tink--knit spelled backwards, thus describing the unknitting process).  

Results:  Was able to get past the mess after tinking back just two rows, and I could see that the mistake was just a couple of more rows down from there.  

Conclusion:  Sometimes issues can look worse than they are.  Taking a deep breath and working on resolution a little at a time can make the process bearable.  The first emotional response is probably not the basis for the best decision.  And I do really love to knit. :-)

His and Hers

I love the layout of my kitchen--a nice big pantry, no corner cabinets, and good counter space.  From the time we moved in, I set up the area to the left of the stove as my baking area, and to the right of the stove is the cooking area.  With my husband and my various food issues, it has now evolved into his area to the left and mine to the right.  Functionally it still works as the baking and cooking areas, but the baking along with a few cooking tasks are not allowed to stray to cooking area.  

His side:

My side:

We had to take down the shelf in the lower cabinet, so the wire ones are filling in.  I use the glass baking dishes for roasting my sweet potatoes and winter squashes, so they get constant use and needed to be easy for me to access.

The three small skillets on the shelf get used everyday, so I wanted them easy to reach as well.  

To differentiate on the utensils, the white ones go on his side.

 And the colorful ones go on my side.  A quilter has to have the color, you know.

Lots of vegetable shopping means I need good knives.  I found this knife rack at Target and have loved it.

 His, hers, and they all lived happily ever after.