A #31dayblogchallenge post.
I made a new friend last night. We’ve known each other for years. She’s my neighbor. It all started when I showed her my studio. The conversations are private but here’s what my studio looked like after an hour. We bonded over art and stories. Can you see how many quilts are laid out? So much fun.
Getting organized can be so messy! I’m looking forward to getting into my new studio soon. Really, like soon soon. We need to give the wood a few days to acclimate to our house then glue it down and install the trim. Then I can move in.
In the meantime I’m getting some sorting done. The more organized I get now, the easier it will be to load up the shelves and get to sewing. I’m starting with my fabric stash. Here are the new categories:
It’s so nice to be able to find everything quickly! Some of these are further sorted by color or type. I started with yardage (anything 1/8 of a yard and up) and am going through my scraps now. I also have boxes for types of items for sale in my shop. The baby quilts are all snuggled together and when one sells I won’t have to search twelve boxes to find it.
Of course, I need to take sewing breaks. So I made this month’s Stash Bee block. Then I traced some baby bibs which’ll be sold in sets. 
What about you? How do you organize your stuff?
Soon I’ll have an art studio! Hubby and I installed a new window today. Yup, all by ourselves. 🙂
Our cat Milo didn’t approve. His hiding spot is under the covers. (I see you!) He’s not going to be happy tomorrow when we replace the bedroom window. The kitties will be locked out of the bedroom while there’s a gigantic hole in the wall.
My husband started the job by unscrewing the window and removing the frame and track. We set those aside to deal with after the installation.
We discovered that he’s much better with the caulking gun than I am. So my job was to squish the silicone into the holes and smooth it out.
The window easily slid into its space. I pushed from the outside and Jeff screwed the frame into the wall from inside. It’s a nice tight fit. The window on the left in the photo below is the old style. How much nicer does this one look?! All of the windows in the house will be replaced. First one’s done!
Clean-up was fun. It’s not everyday you get to smash a window! We hammered the glass out, swept it up, and put it in the bin for recycling. The metal track and frames were sawed smaller and recycled too.
I’m excited to see things progressing! The studio will be ready for me soon. We’re going to put bamboo flooring in. The closet doors need to be put back up (we took ’em down to paint) and then… and then… and then… well, I guess there’s nothing left to do but move in!
Linking up with Thankful Thursday.
Paint’s drying in my new studio as I speak. I used a brush and the tiny roller in this photo on the door jam. The ceiling, walls, trim and closet doors (on the floor) were all sprayed. The room’s so shiny and white now!
Next up is removing the tiles and installing the ceiling fan. We’ll also put the covers back on the outlets and replace the doorknob. Hardwood flooring and a window are on order and should be here in the next week or two. It’ll be move-in day before you know it!
Our other big project this week was making and canning soup. Two large pots of turkey, vegetables, spices and pasta made for fifteen quarts of soup. All of the lids popped so they’re sealed for the pantry. I loooove my husband’s soup recipe. Now it’s easy to open a jar and have some anytime I want.
Canning soup is cheap too. The lids and ingredients for this amount comes out to around $28. I’m not including the cost of the jars and bands because they’re an initial expense but will last forever. We get about 3 servings out of each quart. Price per serving is $0.62…. and this tastes much better than any canned soup at the store. Win!
What projects are you working on?
Linking up to Thankful Thursday and Let’s Bee Social and Can I Get a Whoop Whoop.
I saw a meme on Pinterest last night that said, “I used to be a people person until people ruined it for me.” It’s snarky but a bit of a downer. As a born introvert I actually feel the opposite way. I can totally be a people person… depending on which people you’re talking about.
Take these owls, for example. The first is dubbed “Disapproving Owl.” Surely, you can see why. This ceramic ornament was in the window next to our front door when we moved in to the new place. It felt like he was saying, “do what you want, but you’ll never be welcome here.” As soon as we could, he was removed from the house.
Actually, my husband finds it hilarious that I think this owl is so creepy… so he’s hidden Disapproving Owl somewhere in the garage. That way he can make random reappearances and wig me out. Thanks honey.
The second owl is one we bought while running errands yesterday. He was on display in hardware store. “Mo” thinks you’re curious. You may be strange but if wide-eyed Mo watches long enough you’ll no doubt do something interesting. Maybe even something spectacular! Mo is mo’ like the people who I choose to be around… who’ve helped me become a mo’ of a people person. (See what I did there?! Mo thinks it was clever.)
I don’t think I’ll ever really grow out of being an introvert. I value my alone time and feel overwhelmed when there’s lots of activity around me. So I’ll sit quietly in my room and Mo will look at me with encouragement and I’ll remember that I’ve chosen the right people to be around… and they’re nothing like that @#(* Disapproving Owl.
QUILTArtbymegan 
