Quilt Room, FlyLady, and where's the article?

I've been looking off and on since my last post for that magazine picture that set off my quilting passion 38 years ago. If I still have it, it should be in my quilt room, wouldn't you think? So far no joy...and I know what many of you are thinking. Chances of finding one piece of paper in many quilt rooms would be a hopeless task. But it shouldn't be for me. You see, I met (in the internet sense) FlyLady in 2000. This was my quilt room pre-FlyLady on any typical day. Didn't bother me, I seldom gave it a thought. I knew a lot of quilters who worked in the same environment.

But someone mentioned FlyLady on the DJRetreats list and it caught my imagination and a few days later I started the FlyLadyQuilters list. A bunch of us worked for a year, and became life-long buddies through the agonies we went through cleaning out cleaning up our homes. I gave away the list when I was properly FlyLadied and I've never looked back. I gave up a lot in that year, nothing of which I missed. But coming back to the magazine page that set off my quilting passion...a small snide voice in my mind says "you just think you didn't miss anything". Maybe I did throw it out. Time will tell, I'll keep looking, maybe it is tucked in one of my quilt journals.

But since seeing JJ's work areas triggered this blog I'll show you the same stitching area post-FlyLady. This photo is from late 2001, but the space looks much the same today. There is a container of rice by the machine because I was making rice bags today, the ironing board cover is now a celestial fabric rather than flamingos, one of the featherweights under the table has been moved to our farm, and we put in new grey carpet last year, I've worn out a couple of irons...but this is it. I can walk in, sit down and sew anytime, any day. So where did I put that magazine page??

We live in an A-frame house which has a whole slew of storage and decorating problems. Because all the outer walls look like this / \ . Believe me, I've had to be quite creative about storage and display. I'll share some of those pictures later. Are you willing to share before and after pictures? Leave me a comment so I can come see your blog :-) Right now I need to find a magazine page for my own blog premier post.

Looky What I Found!

A picture of the very first results of my virginal immersion into quilting, circa 1970. Way back in my first two blog posts I mentioned The Magazine Page that got me started. Still haven't found the page...but here is the yo-yo pillow, plus a Roman Stripe with feather stitching, one with appliqué work on it, and a green one with a piece of variegated crochet stitched to it. Humble beginnings but like the seed of an apple tree, the fun and wonder have colored my life ever since.

Sharing the spread, may they rest in peace and be waiting for me, Smoky, my first cat as an adult homeowner, and Little Grey, her son. They were both such marvelous clever intelligent companions...

Sunday Thankies
A full table
A full heart
Freedom of thought

KalamaQuilts births a blog

I have another blog where I can scratch my wordsmithing itch, but I enjoy keeping up with friends and strangers who ply needle and thread and other creative talents, hence KalamaQuilts is born. Once again. I picked KalamaQuilts as a business name in the last century (!) when we moved to this area, it has served me well through numerous multiple streams of income as I call my quest for lucre.

What really triggered action now is JJ blogging her workspace. She was lusting for a studio, but I think she has been very clever in her adaptations. I am fortunate in this home to have a space dedicated to my quilting passion and how I've adapted it to my way of working.

• Honesty and my UFO/AFO Coach compels me to say I have 14 unfinished and nearly finished quilt projects. I am dedicated to finishing them in this lifetime.
• I have been on the fabric wagon since October 2001. I've used about 1/2 of my stash since then. Good thing I wasn't shopping because I inherited most of the stashes of two dear friends, lost to cancer.
• I have been quilting since 1971 when a landlady introduced me to it by handing me a box of yo-yo's and asking me to make her a pillow. In the box was a magazine page with patchwork pillows. I was hooked.

The World Is Too Much With Us

I'll admit it, my Christmas seasons are simple. We haven't done gifts for years and years, we weren't even living at home the last two years so no tree, I quit sending cards when postage went up to .15 cents...mid-70's? In spite of that kind of humbuggerish attitude I do enjoy the season very much. I do appreciate that people go to a lot of work to light up their homes and I love taking an evening just to drive around and look at them. I sing along with Rudolph and I LOVE The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Sometimes we do hang our Christmas stocking which are large and grow funny bulges as December progresses.

But there doesn't seem anywhere to go where we can shut off the world and enjoy something simple. Something so rare in the house that we'd go back to it over and over...I'm talking about the 1950's women's magazines that always had a 4-6 page Christmas story for children with lovely graphics. My brother and I LOVED them! It was the only month of the year mother would buy magazines. It's been a long long time ago when a kid would or could be entertained for a month with a ten cent publication. And it wouldn't be politically correct anymore anyway.

Saying that makes me suddenly realize that now, in her 80's, magazine subscriptions are mother's hobby, the more unusual the better. It's the only thing of hers I'd like to inherit; her neatly boxed issues surely hold a wealth of interesting fun for my info-junkie mind.

Tuesday Thankies

Memory that works

My Facets Friends

The Simple Life