The longarm is set up!

Keith and I put the table together and set up the longarm this morning. I did a very stupid thing - I didn't pay attention to which way the back of the machine would sit at and when we got everything together I wanted to have the other side of the table against the wall. The room is too small to turn the table around and rather than take it apart I'm just going to live with it this way. The table is on casters so I can move it one way or the other depending on whether I want more room at the front or the back of the machine.

I also did some more fabric folding last night but as you can see from the shelves I still have a lot more to do. I bought more of the bins I was going to keep yarn in -they hold a lot more scraps than the baskets I have because they fit the shelves and fill the entire space.

The second picture is of the den next to the bedroom I have the longarm in. As you can see it needs a lot more work but it holds my cutting table, my sewing table, and computer desk.

String Blocks

I managed to make 4 string blocks last night for the HeartStrings Quilt Project. It took twice as long as usual because I kept having to dig in boxes for bobbins, scissors, thread, etc.

I also had to create paths through the boxes just to get to the sewing table, cutting table, and ironing board. Hopefully I can make a few more today in between a trip back to Ikea and unpacking the last box of fabric.

Another day without quilting

I thought I would get to make some string blocks today but that hasn't happened so far. However, I just have one more box of fabric to unpack in my studio. I started folding it neatly as I put it on the shelves but quickly realized that if I wanted to empty all the boxes so Keith could help me set up my longarm table before he goes out of town on January 2nd then I'd better just put it on the shelves and go back later and fold it.

Same idea with the books - the bottom shelves are all loaded with my books but they aren't sorted in any manner. My plan is to go back and put all my scrap quilt books together and categorize the other ones too. Soon I should be able to go to one section and see all my books on one particular topic. Scrap quilts and quilting books will be my two largest sections.

These pictures were taken earlier in the day so I'm much further along with my unpacking. I thought I'd try to hang up my tops waiting for quilting - these are just my quilts - I have 3 of my Mom's waiting for quilting too.

Progress is being made!

Our furniture arrived from GA yesterday and we've been very busy the last couple days. Today we had to have everything out of the temporary apartment, clean it, and turn the keys in by 12PM. I'm glad to be down to one place here in MN especially since we still have both the house and the condo in GA. No offers on the condo yet and Chris won't move into the house until the end of January so still plenty to worry about there.

The bedroom I'd planned to use as my studio is smaller than indicated on the floor plan so I'm having to modify my plans. Luckily there's a small den so I've set up my sewing machine, cutting table, iron, and computer desk in the den and will have my fabric storage, books, supplies and longarm in the bedroom.

I found a great shelving unit at Ikea and bought two of them. They take up the entire wall of the bedroom and I'm putting my quilting books on the bottom shelves, my yarn in bins along one side, and the rest will be for fabric. I have a lot of unpacking yet to do in the studio and I won't set up the longarm until all the other boxes are unpacked.

I did find my string bins and my sewing machine so I may start making a few string blocks for the HeartStrings Quilt Project as I unpack the rest of the studio. I do have a deadline for my unpacking since I need Keith to help me set up the longarm table and he goes out of town on January 2nd so I can't procrastinate too long.

Comcast is coming in the morning so I'll have my internet set back up and will be able to post pictures again too.

Merry Christmas

With the move we haven't really been able to celebrate the season as we traditionally do. We won't see Chris and Becky or Adam and we don't do presents, choosing rather to make a donation to Habitat for Humanity as we have the last several years. So no tree, no presents, no home cooked meals.

One bright spot was that Adam brought homemade Christmas cookies to us the day before we left Marietta. Baking Christmas cookies has long been a tradition of ours that usually starts right after Thanksgiving and lasts until New Year's Day. I think eating Christmas cookies are Keith's favorite holiday tradition.

Another family tradition that we adopted from Keith's family is the Christmas Eve Picnic on the floor. Cold cuts, potato salad, and Christmas cookies of course - eaten on the floor in front of the fire and followed by a home cooked meal on Christmas day.

Well this year we'll be eating Christmas dinner in a restaurant (the alternative was a frozen lasagna) but on Christmas Eve we will go over to our unfurnished apartment with a picnic (sandwiches and cookies) and eat on the floor in front of the fire.

Merry Christmas to you all and I hope that you enjoy celebrating your own family traditions this holiday season.

I've arrived

I arrived in Minneapolis yesterday just in time for some snow. It wasn't much but did help put me in the Christmas spirit as did the cold! I have a few days to rest before the movers bring our things and the unpacking frenzy begins.

In the meantime, I've been working on setting up a String Quilt Project as an offshoot of the Stashbuster yahoo group I belong to. I'm really excited about working on a group charity project and hope that it will help keep me occupied when Keith is off traveling this winter.

If anyone is interested in joining us or finding out more visit our group or email me directly for details.

Don't forget me!

Just 3 more days until I'm reunited with my honey!

Tomorrow I have to take my computer down for the move so I won't be in touch for about a week. We'll get to Minneapolis on December 21st and I should be able to post once again using the library computers but don't worry if you don't hear from be until after the 29th. My stuff will arrive by the 28th and Comcast is scheduled to set up my Internet on the 29th.

In the meantime, I'll still have access to email because I treated myself to a new phone so I wouldn't feel completely out of touch.

I've been bad....very bad

I saw this antique quilt posted for sale on the Little Quilts blog and I loved it. Love log cabin quilts and love this quilt. However with my move and everything else going on I had no intention of purchasing this quilt. I don't even have room for all the quilts I have since I'm losing ALL of my beds along with my house.

So this morning I had to return my cable boxes to the Comcast store and it just happened to be over by Little Quilts. I decided I'd stop in one more time before the move and had already forgotten about seeing this quilt. Anyway, the quilt was hanging on the wall, still for sale, and it just had to come home with me.

Lists

I've been running around feeling like I'm not getting anything accomplished and I finally figured out why as I was writing Keith an email telling him all the little tasks I had gotten done yesterday.

I'm a list maker.

I have lists for quilts quilted, for UFO's, for stash fabric used, for quilts donated, etc. All of which help make me feel productive and keep me motivated - I just LOVE marking things off a list when they're done - makes me want to finish more things and mark them off the list too.

For this move, I haven't made as many lists as usual. My tasks are all floating around in my head and I don't have a piece of paper with all the things I've accomplished marked off.

So my lesson learned is: make lists - mark tasks off as they are completed - feel good!

Quilt Photo's

Since I can't sleep I decided to set up a Webshots album with quilt photos posted this year on my blog. I frequently find myself searching back through old posts to find a particular picture of a quilt to show someone in response to a question or comment and I decided it would be easier to have all the quilt photos in one place.

The new layout features of beta blogger certainly made it much easier to post the link on the sidebar too. Not all of these were made this year but they were posted on the blog for one reason or another.

Mary's Webshots Album

Countdown: 3 days until the packers arrive

I caved in

I'd just commented that I wasn't going to change over to beta blogger yet but decided what the heck I might as well get it out of the way. I didn't have any problems with the switch and getting my sidebar set back up was pretty easy.

Since most of the issues seem to be with comments we'll see how it goes.

Quilting

I'm still sneaking in a few quilt related activities even if I haven't blogged about them or posted pictures. Tonight I washed and dried the Red/White flying geese table quilt and it's ready to send to my Mom.

I also finished fusing the last 6 blocks for a block of the month quilt I've been working on with her. (She's doing all the work of stitching them down for me.) I've decided I won't do another one of these - if it wasn't for her I don't think I'd even have the first block done.

I also finished a crocheting a hat for Mom, am about 1/2 way through a scarf for her, and I finished a scarf for myself tonight. I still have to weave some ends in - my least favorite part!

Countdown - 4 days left before the packers come!

Visiting family

I've been in Virginia since Thursday visiting my Mom for her birthday and last night my brothers, sisters, and I all took Mom out to dinner. It was the 2nd time in last last few months we all had an opportunity to get together and it was really nice even if we did spend some time before dinner arguing. It's funny how people raised the same way can have such different opinions and beliefs.

I'll be home Tuesday afternoon.

Does he miss Keith?

I think Chesty looks pretty happy to have Keith's flannel quilt all to himself!

This was a quilt I made from a package of fat quarters that were a gift. Keith wasn't crazy about the colors but wanted a flannel quilt so he accepted it anyway. Nice of him wasn't it? When I was deciding whether to leave any quilts here for Chris and Becky, I asked did he want to leave this one since I've made two flannel backed Autumn quilts that he likes the colors of much better. He's very attached to this quilt now and he said no way. It's flannel front and back so it's really warm and he's apparently gotten used to the colors.

Goodbye

My old table being broken down

My new longarm came today - packed for the move and I said goodbye to my Classic Plus. Several people have asked if I'm upset at *having* to downsize my machine and the answer is no.

A smaller machine gives me more flexibilty with this and future moves and I can still do everything I did on the old machine. Now I just have to get through the rest of the month knowing I can't do any quilting or can I? I might make a simple rag quilt just to sew. I've got two more big sorting jobs left before the packers come on the 18th and I have a trip to Virginia to see my Mom so we'll see how it goes.

The new machine and table ready for the move.

Mice!

Setting traps!

After living here for 4 years, this past spring we had mice in this house for the first time - 3 of them! The whole ordeal of trapping them and then disposing of them fell to Keith because I was really freaked out. Somehow they get in the drop ceiling of my first floor and as I'm working in my Studio and I can hear the pitter patter of tiny feet.

Well just my luck now that Keith has already moved to Minneapolis, I heard the pitter patter again last night. After a sleepless night trying to figure out how I would avoid having to deal with this the solution came to me.

Chris will be in town Tues - Thurs for a training class so I decided I could set the traps - it was just checking them and getting rid of the sprung trap with the mouse I couldn't do. So I set two traps this afternoon in the ceiling and will have him check them Tuesday. If that doesn't do the trick then I'll reset them a couple days before Keith comes home on the 20th to help me make the final move and have him check and dispose!

What a pain for this to happen now!

Cathedral Windows

I also took a picture of the finished Cathedral Window's quilt. I was in the guest bedroom taking the other pictures and realized that it would fit on this quilt rack. Since I took down the wallhanging that was there I think I'll leave it up here for now.

Toppers

Vicki and I have been chatting some offline about toppers so when I was stripping one of my quilts off my guest bed I remembered that I'd made a quilted bedspread when I first got my longarm.

I remade the bed with the bedspread and tossed two small quilts on top. I think I'll leave the bedspread and these two small quilts for Chris and Becky. We're leaving them 3 queen size beds and one twin but I'm not leaving my queen size quilts! Of course, first I have to ask my Mom if she minds me leaving the scrappy tree quilt because she made that one for me! Don't look at my mismatching pillowcases!

Email address changed

I've updated blogger with my new email address but please check your address books and delete my old Bellsouth email address.

I will be checking both emails for a couple weeks but once I move, the Bellsouth address will no longer be valid and I'm trying to get everyone using the new address before then. Thanks.

mmcjohnson@gmail.com

Profile pictures

You can see I've changed my picture again - it's hard to find a picture I like and somehow when they are cropped and sized small enough they don't look as good to me. Maybe I was just accustomed to seeing the first picture I used on the blog but I didn't really like the recent replacement and I'm not crazy about this one either.

I should have used the time to take and post a picture of the finished Cathedral Windows table quilt but I didn't. Maybe I'll get a picture taken tomorrow.