Finishing, Sorting, a Goal, and Summer Delights

This poor thing was abandoned, half done, when I went for surgery in June. After recovering, and then taking a holiday, I was anxious to get back to it.


Mission accomplished! Kool Kaleido is (finally) fresh off the frame and ready to be bound.

I also finished this pretty customer quilt. 

"Bluster" pantograph
After that, I couldn't put off cleaning my work room for another minute...!!!

Here is what happens when you shove things any-old-where for about a year.


Yikes!
I am usually super organized, but this room was morphing without a plan. Supplies didn't have homes, so they were set wherever there was space. 

I functioned by grabbing what I needed and running for the back yard! Though I love working outside in summer, it makes sense to have an indoor option for the rest of the year.

At first it seemed overwhelming, but it only took a day to sort the mess.

The pile of fabric on the island is destined for the dye pot!
Soooooo much better! 

I "found" the floor and cleared the counters. Everything now has a designated place. 

The room is broken into zones for different hobbies (stained glass, fabric painting/dyeing, lapidary), and the island offers space to work.

Look! Bare floor!
Facing the stained glass zone.

Now I can actually use the room again.  I love it!

ALYoF

My A Lovely Year of Finishes goal for August is to bind Kool Kaleido and get it mounted on a frame. Not a lofty goal, but realistic!

Summer Delights

Here's what I stumbled across in the heart of Edmonton last week when I walked to the Alberta Art Gallery from our condo. I love finding gems like this on my little adventures!


And, here's our supper from last night - flown in fresh from Nova Scotia (traveling with Amy's folks). Quite a feast!

Amy & her folks provided a fantastic feast!
Being a landlubber from Alberta, I requested lobster eating lessons. It was pretty easy with expert guidance and the right tools!

Time to check out the wonderful blogs I've been missing while AFK (away from keyboard), starting with these linky parties. Come along, if you like!
 
Linking up with:
A Lovely Year of Finishes, at Bittersweet Designs & Fiber of All Sorts
Anything Goes Monday, guest hosted by The Sassy Quilter
Fabric Tuesday, at Quilt Story 
Show and Tell Tuesday, at i have to say
Linky Tuesday, at Freemotion by the River

Try, Learn, Grow!
Carole
Comments are welcome and will be answered by email where possible. Thanks for looking around!

Comments

  1. Yay for finding the floor! That customer quilt of blues and greens came out lovely. But I'm a sucker for blues and greens! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for showing the before picture!!! That's almost exactly what my sewing space looks like, and now I have hope I can pull it all together. :D My husband and I always call lobsters "monsters" and I won't even allow them inside my car -- they go in the trunk! But he loves them, and I love him, so lobsters he gets. :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congrats on all three finishes. I can't wait to see your finished quilt, and I always work better in a clean craft room.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your before picture made me smile. I cleaned up my sewing area yesterday - I don't have that much counter space but if I did - my sewing space would look like that LOL

    I cannot wait to see Kool Kaleido all bound up!

    Looks like you had a wonderful holiday! Welcome back!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yay for those lobsters and great job with all that cleaning!

    ReplyDelete
  6. gorgeous finishes! I need to practice FMQ. Yours is amazing!!! And the transformation of your workspace is pretty impressive. Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lovely quilting, Carole. I'm glad you're back on your feet.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I sure hope you are going to show us the whole Kool Kaleidescope-I like what I see for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Kool Kaleido is impressive! I hope we will see more of both of these quilts.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yay for the quilting finishes, and what a difference to your work room! Wow! I work so much better when I am organized, and I hope that is true for you, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. That looks so good, Carole! The lobsta I mean ; ) And the quilts look pretty nice, too hehe. I'm sure you're happy to have such a fresh, organized work space, as well!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I nearly overlooked this post, but when I took a closer look I just had to see more. I came in from a linky party. The quilting is beautiful on both quilts.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Two beautiful finishes and an amazing work space transformation! Glad you got it back to an organized state again.

    ReplyDelete
  14. It must feel good to have two finishes. I can't believe you cleaned your room up that quickly. It must have taken focus and a good plan. I'll have to invite you down to get me organized. Like you, I've fallen into a bit of disarray and it doesn't suit me, at all.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Those quilts are looking gorgeous, and I'm seriously impressed with your tidying skills! Although we had visitors this week which always works wonders with my tidying focus, so I'm not quite so messy as usual at the moment! That fountain and the lobsters look amazing, I showed my son and he was very envious of both. And I'm only just starting to explore your blog, so I may find these answers myself, but I was intrigued by your caption about the fabric heading off to be dyed. Is that something you do a lot of? Have you written posts about that side of your creative fun?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments make my day! Thanks so much for taking time to leave me a message.