Clean up and Create

This last week I focused on cleaning out and space planning my work room. I took stock of everything I have, organized my WiPs, and made room for my planner supplies. The bulk of my inspiration in creating this space came from Instagram. I still need to go through a library of books and patterns to weed out what I want to keep.

I have posted two blog updates today in my Year of the Quilter series. Tomorrow I have news about some secret sewing I have been doing. It has been a better couple of weeks, despite my lack of posting, but I have never been really good at blogging consistently. That I am still keeping track of it every week in my planner is a great start to this still relatively new year.

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day.

GET UP, GET TO WORK!

I am so sorry for the absence of late. I am seriously having a time of it getting over this depression, but I get up every morning, and hug my sons, and kiss my husband, and get on getting on. It sounds depressing, and maybe it is, but I am actually doing better then I was when I first "caught" my descent. Dishes and laundry are getting cleaned and put away regularly, the house is clean and orderly, jackets are put away when they are taken off, shoes are in the closet or on the shoe mat, life is looking better then it did 2 weeks ago and my home reflects that too.

I also found these paper craft items at a Paper Source shop in Littleton. The wreath is all paper cut and curled to look like succulents. It is still sitting on my kitchen table but I plan to do that this weekend. The washi tapes, the two on the right in this photo, are from a Japanese brand called mt. My gosh, they are so neat! I want to go visit one of their stores someday and just go bonkers buying washi and all types of fantastic Japanese stationary.

I will find some time later today to post week 05 of my Year of the Quilter journey. I have some updates and exciting new since the first month of the Sarah Fielke 2017 BOM Down the Rabbit Hole released on the 31st! I haven't had a chance to take a look yet but if the images I'm seeing on IG are any indication it's fantastic!

Cheers, and Happy Super Bowl Sunday to all my fellow NFL fans out there. GO FALCONS [anyone but Brady, Please!!]

The New Year Blues

It's been a rough start to 2017 for me. My husband has been super busy at work and away on trips for 13 of the 19 days of this month so far. I'm not exaggerating and after having him home since Thanksgiving, it was a shock to the system. Last night I caught myself silently bemoaning the time I had just spent putting my older son to bed. I was thinking how lazy he is to want me to read a chapter to him when he is capable of doing it himself, and I froze in the hall and slapped myself. How horrible is that? I thought, and then I realized it was my chronic depression. My mind shutting down into itself.

It's why I am only just getting to this post on THURSDAY!

Why I have done nearly nothing this week.

And why I am behaving so selfishly.

Today dawned bright and perfect for the middle of January, so I hauled myself out of bed when the alarm went off. Took my baby to breakfast after dropping my older son off at school [a big deal since he usually rides the bus], and then we went to check out the new location of Colorado Fabrics. I've managed to catch myself on the edge of a depressive cycle, and while realizing what's happening is a good thing, I need to work every moment to keep out of a slump.

It's a beautiful day and all my shades are open, I even have a window open. Taylor Swift is playing on the stereo, I am typing up what I haven't done this week and planning for next week.

Time to Get To Work!

New Week, New Layout

This past week I did some research online into layouts. Basically, I visited blogs and websites I love and took note of their design, what works and what is confusing, and compiled a list of things I wanted to try out here. I am updating pages to be cleaner with better appearance on the mobile platform.

I added week two of my Year of the Quilter. I want to be more productive this week but know that my time is limited to what my kids permit. I read somewhere that setting productivity goals can be a creative impediment to some people and it made me wonder if I am one of those types. With an open maker schedule I can feel free to create at my leisure. Whether it's a dozen blocks of a quilt or a few rows of knitting, allowing myself the chance to enjoy the process again is a new element of making I want to add to my creative personality.

Finally, this week I have begun working on a small project that makes my heart beat a little faster. I am combining stickers and sudoku and quilting. Sound interesting to anyone? Give me a little time here and there and I'll have a completed concept to show you all soon.

Cheers!

Megan

Year of the Quilter

Hello Everyone,

Here I am, back in the saddle (so to speak) and creating again. Life was not condusive to quilting, knitting, or playing in my planner much the last six months. My two sons have been keeping me busy. I am now planning my quilting and knitting in advance, which brings me to this.

----> 2017 The Year of the Quilter <----

What is this plan I've devised? Well, simply put it's about quilting with the patterns and materials and techniques I know, and trust me there's LOTS of each in my stash/head! I have planned the general things I want to accomplish this next year. It all might be too grand, or maybe be too lean, but these are things I want to do to help me find balance and clean out my studio a bit. 

There are so many yards of fabric and yarn, books and magazines of patterns, and techniques for assembly in that poor small space. I have a sewing machine I haven't touch in way too long and a NEED to sew or knit or make!

2017 is my year, The Year of the Quilter, and also my last year in my 30s. Maybe it's a mid-life crisis, maybe I just want to show my husband I do more then curate a collection of materials that border on a serious fire hazard, but this year I want to make more.

I have a manta for YotQ:

Be a Maker. Use the Stash. Practice your Craft.

So simple. This is a dedicated choice, by me and anyone who wishes to join along, to make with what I have. The patterns I have, the materials I have, the knowledge I have. Some of my work will be derivative, (hehe I have a special project for this), and some of it will be WTF? originals.

I am going to try. It may not be pretty or I may end up with some great gifts for friends and family next December, but I will make the effort. 

Who's with me?