Resisted...!

I was this close to signing up for a Rainbow Jane BOM.  Deb is working on her Dear Jane and her Instagram photos are irresistible!  Then I remembered that I had 19 projects in progress, one of which is The Farmers Wife quilt.  So I decided to work on the green block - during which I realized I need another long term project like I need a hole in the head!  Some of these blocks take a lot of time!

The orange and red block I'd done some time ago and I don't think I shared it before.  I hope to have an update for you on my 19 projects soon.  I was down to 18 here.  I hope you each have a great week and that all your stitches are happy ones!

A Lady's Worke Box

Two weeks ago, our EGA Chapter was fortunate enough to have Ellen Chester of With My Needle come for a workshop - A Lady's Worke Box.  The event was held at the beautiful and historic Riverdale Inn which is just a block or two from the river.  The day was an absolute delight!  If you've not taken one of Ellen's classes before, you're in for a real treat.  She really does give wonderful instruction and there is always extra bits of information thrown in.  This time Ellen shared some fascinating worke boxes from the 1800's with us.  

Here's a photo from one angle of the room.  We had 17 EGA members attend to include Carol, Carol and Linda from Orlando, Eleanor from Texas (who is also a beautiful basket weaver and rug hooker), Helen and Anna from Texas and Susan from Pennsylvania.  

This is Susan, she sat across from me and it was a joy to get to know her.  We have a lot in common! She is not only a stitcher, but a quilter and book worm.  We each also have a son the same age.

Ellen's class kits also include this something extra that is always so special to me - this is my second class with Ellen and this personalization always makes me happy.  It's another indication of just how much of herself Ellen puts into her teaching.  Every single thing is thought of.

One of our members, Henri, made this delightful card for us to sign and give to Ellen.  I wish the photo showed more of the detail on the card.  You might notice that the house on the card is modeled after one of the panels on the worke box project!

Henri also made these personalized covers for our class favor for each participant.  Look at the detail!

Inside the cover was a counting pin made by another member, Devon!  Each pin was different!

I don't have a picture of Melody but do want to thank her for her tireless efforts in putting the event together.  She planned the event plus organized the block of rooms at the Inn and planned dinner for two evenings.  I had so much fun!  You might want to visit Ellen's blog post about the day - her photos are so much better than mine.

I've worked on my project since the class but don't have enough done to show you yet.  I was in a bit of a stitching slump and this class and my EGA stitching session last weekend seems to have moved me forward.  

I'd like to share that I would have never thought to join a stitching guild in the past or thought to travel a distance for a class.  If you've never done either of those, I would really invite you to give it a try.  I have found both to be a valuable experience and it's amazing how much a shared loved of a needle art can bring people together who may not otherwise have met.  The inspiration and friendships have been a wonderful experience for me and I've learned so much!

In My Neighborhood

It's time for the Theme-a-Lious February wrap up.  Let's revisit this months theme first:

Figural February

Who are the people in your neighborhood...your WIP neighborhood, that is? Give your people-populated projects some face time this month.

Since I didn't work on any WIPs in February (I think I'm in a slump), I'm going to put my own twist on this month's theme.   The people in my EGA neighborhood are working on our Chapter SAL.  I hadn't started yet so I decided it was time to pick it up and join in.  This is Toccata I from The Drawn Thread.  I don't mind a speciality stitch every great once in a while but this project is FULL of them.  A little, no a lot, outside my comfort zone...which isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I love to learn new things - at least that's what I keep telling myself!  Wishing you all happy stitches this week!

Apologies for the iPhone photo

Cherie, This One is for YOU!

I've had a finish!  And it's an absolute miracle because I honestly thought this would end up as a bonfire project.  I first blogged about this project in June.   The tiny flying geese (1 1/8" x 1 3/4" unfinished) sat on my sewing table every day since then.  I'd move them around a little and then look at the trash can and then move them around a bit more.  Flying geese and I aren't on the best of terms - I just haven't found my go to method of getting them pieced accurately.  Working with tiny ones certainly didn't hide that flaw.  While packing up for retreat, I decided to take them with me and I spent the good part of a day assembling this little quilt top.  Here is my humility project in all it's glory!  I've since wet it down and blocked it so it looks better and the chalk lines are out.  

Just to give you an idea at how small these flying geese finish -

Some points are cut off and some don't come to the edge like they should.  But when I look at it, I see something that I accomplished, something I didn't let get the best of me and even something I've learned from.  I see something to aspire to and hopefully something that will one day demonstrate progress in my skill set because I'll have improved.   So much from a tiny little project!

What's Your Number?

Earlier this week, I had someone ask me how many WIPs I had.  I thought I had about 12 but wanted to give an honest answer.  So I went and looked through my sewing room and counted.  First up, the project boxes in the closet. 

Then there are a couple on one of my sewing tables.  I was on retreat a couple of weeks ago and these are two projects I worked on there and in bits and pieces since I returned.

Then there are a couple on the floor.  Also pulled out from underneath my table (there wasn't room in the closet) because I was putting my sewing tote away from retreat.

And over the chair - these are the quilts that are probably a couple of hours away from being finished.  Seems borders brings things to a grinding halt.  There are a couple projects on the design wall - I actually forgot to count the Farmers Wife project until I took this picture.  So I've upped my count by 1.   Make that 2 because I forgot my bee blocks.

It turns out I have 19 quilting projects started but not finished.  For some of you, you may have far more WIPs/UFOs than 19.  That is perfectly ok.  The thing is, 19 isn't perfectly ok for me.  I know I tend to be a "work on a little of this and then a little of that" type of quilter but frankly, it's time to get some things done.  So, I'm going to be plugging away finishing up a few things and maybe even trashing a few things (which is hard).  I actually finished up a small project and will post about that later (Cherie you'll recognize it!) and then I went on to do a little bit of this and a little bit of that.   Maybe next weekend I can dedicate some time to borders and get those quilts on the chair ready for quilting.

Answering this question turned out to be a wonderful and revealing exercise for me.  Make no mistake, I'm not planning on getting all of these done, but to instead get them to an amount I'm comfortable with.  Who knows what number that is, I'll know it when I get there.  In the meantime, I need to get my rear in gear!