Congratulations, Ms. Cluttered Quilter...You're A Mother again!

Yes! I am the proud Mama, of my own Go Baby Fabric Cutter!!

 And I had SO much fun cutting fabric yesterday!!  I bought the dies for the 5 inch squares (charm squares) and the circles. The circle die was an impulse decision for which I am VERY happy I made.  As others have noted, the one draw back to the cutters is fabric waste. I discovered, that when I fold my fabric to be about 6 inches and then run it through the cutter, there are are left over strips...but they look perfect for making string quilt blocks. (Like I needed more strings!!)  At times,  there will be pieces of uncut fabric left over which  are bigger than the strings. I discovered the medium and small circles make quick work of those pieces.  

I am so happy with my Go Baby, that it's tempting to have a "Baby Shower" and invite all my quilting friends over and take turns cutting up fabric...and then let them take home their favorites!! Hmm...a good de-stashing idea! Or if I had more friends who had the Go Baby, we could EACH bring our cutters and stash...and swap our cut fabrics!! Wouldn't that be fun? 

I do have one confession about my Go Baby cutter. It reminds me of a variation of a Jack-In-The-Box. My son, Big Boy, and I have taken to singing the song "Pop Goes The Weasel" as we turn the handle...only we have changed to the words to "Pop Goes The Charm Square" or "Pop Goes The Charm Circle"!! 

And my other reason for celebrating? 

 I GOT A JOB!!

I will be rejoining the work force as a SOAR Benefit Specialist, assisting homeless people with mental health problems to apply for SSI/SSA benefits. It should be an interesting adventure! While I know it will mean less time for quilting and blogging, it will also mean more income to support my fabric habit. 

I hope you find reason to celebrate as you go through your weekend! And, maybe throw in a little decluttering while you are it. It's nice to be able to have a flat surface to work on while sewing. Trust me. I know. I have very few of those in my home. They all seem to attract stuff. My theory is gravity surges in certain areas of my house.

Carpe Diem! 


Deb

Saturday Snickers

Hello my friends!! 

Once again, it has been a busy, busy week. I have so much news to share with you...and no time to share it. But I PROMISE I will share it with you on Sunday...so, 

As Jed Clampett would say "Ya'll Come Back Now, hear?"

Mean while, I have gathered still more giggles to share with you. Enjoy! 

Maybe because I have son's who are video games maniacs, this one especially makes me giggle!

A little science humor...

And finally, I think I have found a new mantra: 

Stitchin' as fast as I can to keep my pieces together,
Deb

Slow Progress

While I can't vouch for my where abouts lately, I can tell you...it has NOT been cleaning my family room. 

Deb, I told myself (that is my name): you have been working on this silly room for days. Why is it not done?  The answer is quite simple.  "Those" people I live with  (aka: my family), keep finding other stuff for me to do.  And It really doesn't take much to get me off track. I did fill one black garbage bag with trash...and part of my youngest son's childhood. I went through the HUGE stack of school papers I had saved over the last 10 years and winnowed it down to fit in one file box. 

A School Career...in 1 neat file box!

Monday, it cooled off enough (if you call temps in the 90's cooler...) that I decided to "declutter" my front porch. Granted, there was no sewing stuff there...but it really needed it. All this heat/humidity has left countless spider webs & dead bugs everywhere. I took EVERYTHING off the porch. Swept it.  I swept the floor and the walls! Then, my son Big Boy hosed everything down and I swept the water off the porch. 

Ahh...a nice place to relax again. 

The porch  needed more plants, so Big Boy and I drove to Menards and found a few begonias (for .85 cents/six pack!)  and I planted them in the wall hanger. I also planted a lavender plant I bought last week and put it in a pot. I hope it adds some aroma to the porch area. Ahh, Life! 

Tuesday found me preparing myself for a job interview.  I think I did well...so hopefully I will no longer be among the unemployed.  

But, I couldn't forget One Flower Wednesday.  Here is my growing bouquet.  Thank you Karen at Journey Of A Quilter  for sponsoring this.  If not for One Flower Wednesday, I wouldn't have gotten ANY sewing done! 

Okay, maybe it is Two Flower Wednesday

Have a great rest of the week. I hope to be more productive. I WILL conquer my family room.  From there...I will be moving onto an even bigger project. My basement full of fabric. 

Still puttin' my pieces together, bit by bit,

Deb

PS:  Check out my newest pincushion on my ETSY site, Prairie Zen   .

Asian Gentleman Pin Cushion

Saturday Snicker

Happy Sewing and I hope all your pieces get sewn right sides together! Meanwhile, the Cluttered Quilter is up to her keister decluttering her family room!! More photos soon! 
Deb
PS:  And NO snoring in church!! :) 

A New Crown for The Queen Of Clutter

Ahh,  The Queen of Clutter Seems Troubled 

Maybe it's the heat, but this has not been a great week for me. Last week, I felt like I was really making progress on my goals. This week,  I'm hot and sweaty and crabby.

I feel like a hamster on a wheel. Running as fast as my little fat, fuzzy legs will take me and not getting any where.

I did make a few pincushions for my new ETSY site, Prairie Zen .

This pincushion can hold your sewing notions inside, has a handle for your embroidery scissors on the outside and the pin cushion in the lid. 

This teeny-weeny pin cushion has a cheerful  bird to guard your pins and needles.  

This sly kitty has a secret. Pull on her bead chain and her  pin cushion pops off . Inside, you can stow your precious notions and Hershey's chocolate kisses. 

These two kitties in a basket also share the secret of the  bead chain. Underneath their felted wool  pincushion is room for sewing notions or this week's lottery ticket. 

This vintage planter of a wise Asian farmer  will hold your  sewing notions in his basket underneath the pincushion made of a salvaged antique quilt remnant. 

My One Flower Wednesday hexie, is still in petals needing to be sewn together. But, go visit the other flower's at Journey of a Quilter, I'm sure they are blooming! 

Please! Sew me!! 

Queen Victoria isn't sure she is happy about my recent coronation.  Read on. 

And,  to add insult to injury, I went to the dentist today after losing a filling. I knew the news probably would not be great. I could tell by the size of the cavity remaining, that the dentist may come across Alice and the White Rabbit in that hole. Yes, the cavity is too large to just fill...it needs a crown.

"She's not gettin' my crown!!"
Honestly, some monarch's are soooo stingy! Couldn't we share it? :)   

And, if I  begin to experience pain after the crown, that means I will also have to have a root canal. UGH.

Do you think I can get these over the counter at Walgreens? 

I am fortunate to have a good dentist, but this is one crown I could do without. Do you know how many fat quarters I could buy with this? About 150.  I am thankful to not have to be toothless. But 150 more fat quarters would be much more fun!!

Ah...aren't these prettier than a silly  dental crown? 

I hope you are keeping your pieces together better than I am this week! This cartoon gave me a chuckle...I thought I would pass it along...

Deb :) 

Havin' A Heat Wave...

Me, keeping cool during the  heat wave.

If you are in the USA, you may be aware the Midwest is going through an intense heatwave. As I type, it is about noon. The temperature 93 degrees  and  the heat index is 109. No way I'm going outside today!!  It has been a perfect day to bond with my machine and browse my favorite blogs. 


It starts with a giggle from Becky, The Civil War Quilter  and her adventures yesterday. She was just trying to do what needed to be done before the heat set in yesterday.  Feel free to roam around her site...she has great quilts!! 

And then I went on toThe Empress of the Universe or How I Learned To Quilt On The Internet . Impera Magna has been busy chain piecing, but she sent me to Julie at Me and My Stitches  . Oh what a naughty site...the good kind of naughty!! 

Aren't these pendents gorgeous? 

Julie is having a give a way! Head on over to her site to learn the details. I'm hoping I win...but if one of my followers wins, I will be almost as happy!! 

One of Julie's original patterns

Pendant and Matching Earrings

For my friends in the Midwest,  keep cool and don't over do it!  For my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, stay warm and snuggle under those quilts!  And no matter what the weather, it's always a good time for quilting...be it actual sewing or perusing the Internet for inspiration! 

Courtesy of Google Images

Still looking for my pieces (I know I put them somewhere....)
Deb

Tracking Devices Versus Divining Rods

Missing: 1 small silver thimble. 

Sad quilter misses it. 

Contact me at this blog if you locate it. 

One of the problems with having a cluttered home is frequently losing items.  Additionally, one of the problems with decluttering, is remembering where one puts items that were previously cluttering, say, their cozy sewing nest. I have been happily making pin cushions and hexies this weekend. Then, it started. First, my pinking shears disappeared.  I think he took them:

Then, my thimble. The sewing one, not my gray, furry sewing supervisor.

In my house, I am the only female with a uterus. (Sorry to do that to you Thimble, but we just didn't want any other little baby Thimbles.) One of my favorite stand up lines, comes from an early bit by Roseanne Barr, where she complains that her family seems to think her uterus is a tracking device. I relate to this, because I seem to have the same problem at my house. "Mom, where is my..."; "Deb, have you seen the...".   I suspect you may have experienced this at your home also.

As, Big Boy has gotten older, he has gotten pretty good at locating items. He claims it is because he has a "divining rod."  Therefore,  we now have contests to vie for which is superior.

Big Boy in search of lost item...

 Most times the GPS/Uterine Tracking Device usually wins.  I guess that is the way Mother Nature intended it.


Sit back and enjoy a little old school Roseanne Barr which I hunted down because it makes me giggle. It is from her early days when she was only mildly caustic...

Meanwhile,  I will be activating my uterine tracking device to see where the heck my thimble and pinking shears have relocated themselves.


And to quote Roseanne, "poke me with a fork, I think I'm done!"
Deb