Thoughts When Unpacking After the Fire--post 3

The "important" stuff

I've been unsuccessful with downsizing the items that are crammed in my studio space for more years that I can remember. I'm much better at collecting and cramming the stuff into the studio!

Packing the important stuff that we couldn't replace was an eye opening activity. When we unpacked, I had the opportunity to inventory what I had since all the quilts were together in one place.

I also had the opportunity to review what was "important!" Surprisingly, few WIPs made it into the "important stuff." The majority of my collection of quilting supplies that has infiltrated many areas of the house, also did not make it into the "important stuff" load. 

The unpacked quilts

I packed no books and no patterns. I packed few tools. Three works in process projects made it into the load. Few fabrics were packed as well. I have several WIPs that are either at the quilting stage or a few borders away from the quilting stage. In the past, I have resisted determining how many in process projects I actually have. Perhaps, I should at least prioritize some of the projects because I still am not interested in knowing how many projects there actually are.

Since I noted that I packed the finished projects, I am even more determined to work on my finishes. The old adage, "Done is better than perfect," sure made sense in my case! I have done well to not purchase fabric because I liked it for the last four years. I have limited my fabric purchases to what I needed for the project that was under my needle. I still have bags of Martha's strings and bits so I need to make better progress on charity projects in her memory.

Perhaps it is a rose colored view, but, I still plan to sew myself into more space rather than toss the bags and bins that are cluttering my space. Perhaps, I would make more progress to that end if I always have a charity project in the piecing stage and one in the quilting stage. Currently, I have two projects at the quilting stage and one in the piecing stage.

Zooming with friends while I sew myself into "space"

I  do realize that I need to be faster with my machine quilting. I know that I would benefit from a longarm; but, my room isn't big enough for 13 foot frame and purchasing a smaller frame doesn't seem practical since I want to quilt at least one king size quilt a year. I've more to think about and I'm not getting any younger so I need to figure out how to make progress on the studio reorganization.

Since the quilts were all together when we unpacked, I took an inventory of how many I had. Truly, I had no idea. My family guessed at how many quilts were in the house. They had some fun guessing. The guesses were: Bob--876; S.--172; Amanda--123; Nicole--100; J.--65; Me--50ish.

Me with the retreat tote bag for retreat

In that pile were 67 quilts that I had made and 25 quilts that others had made. J and Nicole definitely were the best estimators. I also thought about the quilts that I've given away over the years. I came up with 44 of those. In 40 years of quilting, I've quilted 111 quilts. Perhaps, the next 100 quilts won't take me 40 years to stitch!

They don't all fit in the closet. I've decided to rearrange the items again so they do fit. I want the majority of my quilts to be in the same room!

Next week, I'll be participating in my second virtual quilting retreat. I had fun at the last retreat which was a couple weeks ago. I made a lot of progress on quilting Unity. I plan to make more progress next week on Unity and even the butterfly as I'm nearing the point of needing the design wall for "Frolic" which was was Bonnie Hunter mystery from last year!

Regarding Covid:

Worldwide:39.6M confirmed; 1.11M deaths

United States: 8.12M confirmed; 219K deaths

Oregon: 38,935 confirmed; 617 deaths

Ballot ready for the ballot box

This week a physician was in for a CPR skill check that I administered. I asked him how his patients were doing. He reported that many didn't believe that COVID was as dangerous as it is. He commented that more of his patients were getting flu shots than in past years. He also said that patients can't wait for 2021; but, he cautions them that 2022 will be when we experience the type of normal that we use to have. It will take time once the vaccine is available to vaccinate 70% of the population.

Regarding the protests: This week, protestors targeted the Oregon Historical Society smashing the front windows and tossing flares that landed on the carpeting. Fortunately, the flares went out leaving scorch marks on the carpets. Sadly, an African-American Heritage Bicentennial Commemorative quilt was taken. The makers finished the quilt in 1976. One of the makers is still living. Fortunately, the quilt was recovered. It suffered damage and will need professional restoration. It has dirt and water damage from being drug through the mud and getting rained on. Some of the colors in the fabric ran. 

Regarding the fires: Oregon Highway 22 opened this week. Workers removed 30,000 hazard trees along 40 miles of the highway. A hazard tree is one that could cause damage if not removed. Because significant work is still going on in the area, highway speeds have been reduced to 40mph. Unless significant news happens next week, this will be my last update regarding the Oregon wildfires.

Regarding voting: Twenty two million people have voted which is more than ever in history. I marked my ballot yesterday. Today, my husband took both of our ballots to the ballot box. We always use the ballot box.