To do list....

It's cold and snowy here in The Mitten. Friday night and I'm home with my dog Maple who won't stop whining! This isn't new for her, it's just annoying for me :) My boyfriend is out with his friends, and as I'm a perpetual hermit and lately prefer the company of my sewing machine, I figure it's a good compromise to stay warm inside while he battles the snow and icy roads.

I had to replace my sewing machine belt this afternoon so I could finish binding a quilt I was working on. (No pictures yet as I wait for said boyfriend to take some decent pictures on his fancy camera). After the quilt was finished, I finally decided to clean up my sewing/craft/junk deposit room. I live in my grandparents old house and use my grandma's ancient Kenmore with built-in cabinet. I love this machine. I learned to sew on it a few months ago, and it's sturdy, and sentimental. I feel close to Grandma when I sew on it. But it's still frustrating, unpredictable, and finicky. The room the cabinet is in is in our freezing cold basement, and is tiny and cluttered. When I moved into this room, I put every single bit of craft-related anything I had accumulated over the course of the past year that I've lived here and none of it it has moved since.

Empty jars, bottles, spray paint, vintage sheets I've collected, boxes of...stuff. All sitting under the stairs and making me feel cluttered and claustrophobic. So I decided to organize tonight. I feel better when I clean, but avoid it like the plague... such a conundrum. It only took an hour or so of shifting, moving, hiding, and organizing, but it looks like a whole new space. Now, I can walk around the room, sit and stare lovingly at my growing stash of fabric and sheets, and open drawers and boxes that have never before been opened. Such a great feeling!

As I was feeling so inspired but not ready to start a new project tonight, I decided to make a list of projects  I'd like to tackle sometime in the near future. Here are a few:

• make burp cloths for a friend's baby shower
• Attempt a "Swoon" quilt block 
• Make (several) mini quilts/blocks to hang around the house
• Learn to read a pattern so I can make bags/purses
• Make more drawstring bags with this amazing tutorial 
• Learn how to paper piece (very hesitant about this one)
• Make half-square triangles --sounds simple, but I can currently only measure 1/2 and 1/4 inches so I have some issues to work out ;)

That's kind of it for now. There's more, but I think this is long enough. I'll (hopefully) be able to update and post pictures as I tackle each of these items. Hope you stick around to see my progress....

A drop in the bucket

Well, I took the plunge and started a blog. I've been thinking about, talking about it, stalking other blogs to learn about it, and now I've done it. I started crafting last summer when I found the amazingness that is garage sales. Shortly thereafter, I stumbled upon blogland and finally found the courage to make my first quilt. Now, 6 months later, I'm fully submerged in the quilty/crafty/ thrifty world and love every second of it. If I could, I'd do it everyday, all day. But, I can't. So...this blog will hopefully enable me to live in the dreamworld a bit longer. I'm hoping to chronicle my journey in crafting, quilting--mistakes, successes, frustrations, and $$ I don't have spent on fabric--and other, random escapes from real life of dissertation-writing and lesson planning and stress. So, thanks for stopping by and checking out my Chronicles... I hope you enjoy your time here as much as I do!