LOST AND FOUND!

LOOK!

I found the January 18th post that I lost!



Brrrr!  It is creeping up to 20 degrees . . . and the bright white snow cover  on the ground brightens up my studio . . . so, that is where I will spend the afternoon. I will finish my challenge quilt for the quilt guild "literature" challenge today, so it can be revealed with all the other ones at the guild meeting tomorrow. I can't wait to see what everyone else has done!

Working toward a year of finishing projects in 2013 . . . some that are very old that I started and put away for some reason . . . others that are just ideas that I already purchased materials for. If things are not appealing to me at this point, they will just have to find a new home. It is crazy to keep things around only to handle them when I clean out a closet . . . and restash them back in the closet! My DH is right when he says he can hear out house utter a sigh of relief every time we carry a donation out the door to be delivered to a charity.

I turned 60 years old yesterday . . . It is really very hard to believe I am this old! Where did the years go? They really do fly by faster as I get older. I think my parents would be proud of me and would love the man I married. I just wish they could be here to get to know him and all of my family. They would love to spend time with their grandchildren . . . and great grandchildren. :-) I am so very grateful for the time I spent with both of them and realize what sacrifices they made to give me a good, safe, loving home.  

I will be back in a few days to post a photo of the "literature" challenge quilt I made . . . maybe after the show is installed at the Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia in February.

POOF!

I wrote a blog post about two weeks ago, had it ready to go, wanted to make a correction, hit the back button, and POOF!  It disappeared!

Having just celebrated my birthday, I wrote about turning 60, about the snowy winter, and the projects I had been working on in my studio.  

2013 is the year I am calling my “Finish It” year. The UFOs – unfinished objects packed away in totes in my closet – will come out of hiding and WILL get finished. That is my pledge to myself, my husband and my house. There will be a lot more space in my home come the end 2013 and I will have more examples of my work displayed on the walls and shelves in my home and ready for exhibits at art and quilt shows. My husband has remarked that he lives in our house with an artist, yet we have nothing on display to show it! (In the past, I gave away almost everything I made.) And, many times I have missed the opportunity to exhibit something because it is still a UFO!  

To jumpstart my “Finish It” year, in January I finished a small quilt. All it needed was the binding! That was finished in the span of three nights while watching TV with my husband. Currently, in February, I have pulled out the dreaded mending bag. Jeans for garden work just needed some patches and buttons sewn on . . . and they will be DONE by the end of the month! One wall quilt and two mini quilts will get their borders and backing and will be machine quilted. What a feeling it will be to actually have finished these things that have been waiting for a long, long time! 

I have put another of my handmade mini albums and boxes on my YouTube channel and am working on another video to upload soon. I am making a custom order mini and box now for a client to give as an engagement gift. It is really fun for me to work on something like this because it allows me to make a very pretty and romantic piece. I will be sure to post photos and a YouTube video when it is finished.  

What I have learned:

Write blog posts first in my MS Word so they don’t go POOF!

What I want to learn:

How to make the photo at the top of my blog smaller.

What I appreciate:

My family and friends who support and humor me when I ask them to watch my show and tell.

What I want:

More hours in a day to work on all the things I love doing . . . and even the things I don’t love to do, but still need to be done!

A Sunday Afternoon at Home . . .

The first Sunday of the year . . . and I am inside where it is warm and cozy. I am spending time in my studio today making things that are fun and creative, as well as making things to meet some deadlines! Thank goodness we have lots of leftovers from a little neighborhood party we hosted last night. It will be a grazing kind of day for my husband and for me. He is having a mostly casual day, too...along with a little real estate work.

I am working on an Ohio Star Block for Kathi (due Tues nt!) , the Literature Challenge for the Museum Quilt Guild's annual challenge (due on Jan. 19th!), a mini album for a client that is due in a couple of weeks . . . so, that is enough for today! I have the fabrics and papers picked out and the ideas in my head for all three of these things, now to get my ideas on paper before I proceed. I stopped at Chestnut Bay in Caledonia the other day to get even MORE fabric for these projects because I didn't have just the right shades of burgundy or greens or blues to work with. So, I have a real good start . . . maybe by tomorrow I will have made enough headway to keep the feeling of panic at bay!

Happy to be keeping on track and trying hard to remain positive every day. Six days into the new year and I have kept that resolution! :-) 

The Golden Rule

I love the first day of the new year. A new beginning. When I was a kid, our family would have a big dinner in the afternoon with my father's side of the family. We were a farm family, so New Year's Eve revelling was kept to watching Guy Lombardo on our little black and white TV and toasting at midnight with ginger ale and cranberry juice. A fond memory.

Today I will continue organizing my studio. I am anxious to begin a new project, (I have three deadlines to meet), and maybe even finish one; but putting things away where they belong is the first order of business! I have established two areas for my studio, one for making mini albums and paper crafts, the other for sewing. It is brightly lit in the room today because of the new snowfall! :-)

Now, for my title . . . The Golden Rule . . . In this world that is so torn with natural and man-made disasters, today and everyday in 2013, and hopefully everyday I have ahead of me, I will try to practice The Golden Rule that was one of my earliest teachings. Paraphrased from the Bible, in Matthew 7:12:  “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, . . . "  If only each person would consider and practice this purposeful intention, I think our world would be a better place for most of us.

With that in mind, I think it is time to make some lunch for my husband and myself. Be good to yourself today. It is my hope and my prayer that your year will be full of blessings.

Happy New Year!

Good Bye 2012 . . .

A time of looking back and also a time to plan for the new year. A few resolutions come to mind . . . mostly finishing projects, keeping my studio organized (yeah, right!), planting that dream perennial garden I have planned on paper . . . and getting a handle on an exercise routine that works for me! 

Winter has always been a time for me to hunker down and sew, knit, sketch, plan, dream, . . . and this winter so far is no exception. I love to be inside where it is warm when it is so very cold outside. The bright snow elevates my mood and makes the light so much better in my studio! Of course, if I get really motivated, I may break out my snowshoes! I used to love to snowshoe...just have to get back to it! It is peaceful and I always got a good workout from just walking around in the snow! (Walking as a sport is something I can actually already do and the learning curve is flat!)

To keep me honest and on track with my projects, I will be posting some pictures in January of things I will be working on. That way, I will have my friends here in the blog world to keep tabs on me and help me stay motivated . . (hint, hint . . . !)

Of course, new StudioEmmy orders will come first . . . but there will be time to work on all of the UFO's (Unfinished Objects) that are stashed in my closet!

Speaking of having time . . . it is almost noon and my day awaits! Have a safe and peaceful end of the year.

A new upload to my YouTube Channel . . . A mini album and box

Good morning! It is snowing outside and looks like a Christmas card! Just beautiful. I am tucked inside where it is warm by the fireplace.  :-)  I just uploaded a video of one of the albums I made as a gift (for a client). Take a look, if you wish:  www.youtube.com/user/studioemmy 

I am planning a home day with time in my studio and some time for some home cooking!

Hello Blogging World!

The time has come for me to join the blogging world! In an attempt to keep clients, friends and family informed of what is happening in my studio, I will post to this blog photos and links to videos and other items that I think will be of interest.

A work in progress . . . your comments are welcome!