Traveling Stash Box Winner!

Mr Random chose:

Who is:

Jennifer - congratulations again and the box will be on it's way to you today!

Traveling Stash Box Give-away

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter! I was at a family reunion and we had a wonderful long weekend together.

Today I have a Traveling Stash Box to share with you. It's kind of funny because I had this exact same box visit me in January 2013 and the contents have changed 100% over that time... thanks to all of the wonderful places it traveled in between (20 by my count!).

This box contains a great assortment of fabrics:

Lots of fun notions, 3 charm packs and some washi tape:

Sorry about the reflections on these pictures - that is a charm pack of Salt Air in the top right corner above. The box contains a nice bundle of patterns and booklets too:

It's amazing how my efforts to Simplify around my home have affected my shopping habit... I am keeping these items from the box (yes, just 2!).

And I am adding 2 fat quarters that make me think of spring and a charm pack to the mix.

The rules to receive this box are fairly simple. You must be an active blogger to receive this box.

• The definition of a Stash is a secret store of valuables. For quilters it is a collection of usable quality products. The stash contains fabric, patterns and notions. ALL FABRIC IN THE BOX IS AND MUST CONTINUE ON AS QUILT SHOP QUALITY. THE FABRIC SHOULD BE NEW AND UNWASHED. 
• PATTERNS/BOOKS should be new or in a gently used condition. (No free patterns from the Internet) Books take up a lot of space and the box is limited, so please include fabric instead of a big book.
• Other items such as tools or notions should be packaged and in new or gently used condition. Nothing should be old or tattered.
• WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE BOX, feel free to take whatever you like and replace it with the same quantity and QUILT SHOP QUALITY THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED. REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE PAYING IT FORWARD TO THE NEXT QUILTER TO RECEIVE THE BOX. 

The Giveaway for this box will remain open for one week. YOU MUST BE AN ACTIVE BLOGGER to receive The Two Sisters Travelling Stash. This box is limited to travel within the United States only. Please leave a comment and the winner will be announced on April 29, 2014. Thanks for stopping by!

Winners and Not Much Sewing

It has been one of those weeks where my to-do list hasn't really been touched and the return of way below zero weather has kept me huddled under my Valentine's Plus quilt reading books, blogs and slowly working my way through emails. The one day I was out and about I had a nice long lunch with my Mom and picked up enough groceries to get through the week.

I did get caught up with the blocks that have been released for Quilty Stitches over at Little Miss Shabby. The middle block is my favorite so far... love the triangles and the white space!

And I decided while I was at it to dig into a few more bins that weren't in the MUST DO category but I was in the mood for. I'm close to having one of my roll out shelves cleared in the laundry room which will come in handy as a "resting place" for stuff as I work through the rest of my house this year.

This file box was quite an excavation with large pieces on top that got progressively smaller by the time I reached the bottom. And it has some block remnants from some of my 1st projects which are kind of fun to see.

Onto the winners...

For the floral FQ bundle Mr. Random selected:

 Who is:

For the organizing supplies Mr. Random selected:

Who is:

For the sewing themed FQ bundle Mr. Random selected:

Who is:

And, for the kid's novelty FQ bundle Mr. Random selected:

Who is:

Congratulations to all 4 of you and thanks again to everyone who cheered me on throughout my Olympics Organizathon! Can you believe it's the end of February? 

Closing Ceremonies & A Give-Away

First of all, I want to thank each of you who left such encouraging comments on the blog throughout my Olympics Organizathon! I can't tell you how much you helped to keep me on the forward path. Not to mention all the great advice and ideas that were shared.

I'm still catching up on replying to comments (and am WAY behind on my blogroll) but I have read them all and wanted to touch on a few things today. I am really not an organizing guru - it has taken years to come up with systems that work for ME. I am a visual (out of sight out of mind) person who worries that I'll never remember unless I can see what I need to do next.

The funny thing about this is that as I moved into my new quilting room last spring I was amazed to gain an instant jump in productivity. Why? Because as I gradually moved in there was less STUFF to distract me. All the pretty studios I had saved on Pinterest with shelves of fabrics and cute quilty collections just don't work for me. No wall of pegboard or hanging racks filled with rulers as much as I would like them!

This discovery has changed how I organize. I try to find a home for things and then I have a period of habit building to trust that I WILL find those things again even though they are now hidden in a basket, drawer or bin. It might sound simple... but it isn't! Old habits are hard to break. Every Monday morning I clear the surfaces in my quilting room, regain a sense of order and immediately feel better.

I won the adorable mouse pincushion in a give-away in December from LeeAnna Paylor who blogs at Not Afraid of Color and I just love it! These 2 baskets are my concession to having some pretty fabrics on display. The rest as you have seen in my last posts are in drawers or behind doors.

Something else that really works for me are trays. When I need to use my table for basting I love being able to pick up this tray and move it elsewhere. I use trays or small baskets all over my house. It's a nice bridge between having it in sight but contained.

Notions are my biggest problem area. They are not uniform to store and oh so frustrating when I can't find them. For now I am trying to corral them in these boxes. The ones that are labeled are working... the others are still in process. But at least I know where to start looking!

I used to hang my scissors and rotary cutters where my rulers are hanging on the end of my cutting table but I dropped them too often reaching for them and my floor didn't take well to that habit.

Yesterday's give-away was all about labels. Did you notice the cute labels on my baskets above? I got the idea and the template HERE from Better Homes and Gardens. I buy my pouches at Amazon.com but I'm sure they can found elsewhere too. These meet my label criteria which is quick and easy! A package of these pouches will go to the lucky winner so if you haven't entered click HERE.

One more thing. I was going to comment on yesterday's post about the size of my stash on a more serious note but the post was so long already. I started quilting in 2002 after moving here in the midst of a bout of major depression that ended my career. I wrote a POST about this back in October 2012 if you want to read more.

As I look back to that time I was definitely self medicating myself by acquiring pretty fabric. I think I was more of a fabric collector than a quilter - and of course you all know I was an awesome UFO Maker! The upside of that (other than having lots of pretty fabrics) is that I have turned the corner into a "real" quilter who still buys some fabric but also uses LOTS of it. I'm good with that and I love my stash.

Today I'm offering one more give-away in sincere thanks for all of your cheers as I worked through my events and various venues. I have selected 2 groups of fabrics to cut a set of FQs from. Please leave a comment as to which set you would prefer - sewing or kids novelties.

I'll ask Mr. Random to select 2 lucky winners on Thursday, Feb. 27. Be sure to leave an email address in your comment if you are No-Reply! NOTE: This give-away is now closed.

I've yet to watch the Sochi Closing Ceremonies - I've got to get the binding done on my A Year of Lovely Finishes quilt so will be catching up on that too. I'm looking forward to a week of sewing and my Olympics Organizathon is now closed. My Gold Medal Sew Perfect Table has been ordered! Cue heart swelling music please....

Last Day of Competition & A Give-Away

As the Sochi Olympics wind down today so does my Olympics Organizathon. I am happy to show off my revamped venues today and officially close down my remaining events. My Closing Ceremony post tomorrow will wrap it all up in my quilting room.

Event #3: Quilt Kit Making

Event #4: Stash Folding

Event #5: Stash Storing

My definition of stash is fabric that is FQ sized or larger. In my quilting room I store most of my rainbow stash in my daughter's old dresser. FQs are stored in the top 2 drawers and 1/2 yd up to 2 yd lengths are wrapped on comic boards and stored in the other 4 drawers. I'm coming up on a year of using this method and I really love it!

The rest of my stash lives in our laundry room where I used to sew. This room is full of closets and cabinets so I have no desire to ever move my stash anywhere else. No worries about light, dust or kitty fluff in here. Yes, I like big stash!

On the right side I have some collections by designer on the top shelf. Below that are my solids, additional rainbow stash and my current Sewing for the Seasons fabrics. My kids novelties and brights are below that and on the bottom shelf are decorator fabrics and trims in the bin.

I'm going to try storing my quilt kits in the bins between the shelving units. Can you believe I have had these since I was a teen in my black, white and red bedroom?

On the left shelves I have florals, paisleys, shabby chic collections and a few other novelty fabric collections like teapots, gardening and sewing. It won't come as a surprise to you that my quilting theme for 2015 is already set - "All About Florals". I am a prewasher so I use the black basket to hold new fabrics.

I have been putting some of my new purchases on comic boards to fill in this upper shelf. In the file boxes above I store themed fabrics and in the far right corner there are some containers holding floral FQs for watercolor quilts. 

I get some fun reactions when I bring people in here for the 1st time. I also have to say that I love my stash and have had a great time petting it over the last 2 weeks. Now I am anxious to get back to cutting it up and using it!

Event #6: Bin Clearing

Event #8: Space Planning

This large pantry style closet with shelves that roll out now holds yardage for quilt backings, long pieces of my some of my favorites and muslin on the top shelf. Finished quilts, wall hangings and table runners are on the next shelf. Oh, and my Christmas Strings quilt which still needs to be unpicked... guess that won't happen until March Madness!

On the bottom shelves there are some bins holding some more fabrics that have been kitted up, some Christmas scraps, a bin of fabrics from finished projects waiting to be used for quilt labels and some painting supplies. I'm excited to actually see the bottoms of these shelves.

And the adjoining closet where I used to sew has been completely redone and I am feeling pretty darn proud of it because it was a MAJOR mess! I've moved my kid's flannels, fleece, fabrics for clothing and small batting scraps into the boxes across the top.

Here is a close-up showing how my labels turned out. Boy oh boy do I love using this tape! I ended up labeling more bins than I'd planned to because it was so quick and easy. The chevron pattern made it easy to cut same size labels (4 chevrons for the bins and 3.5 for the magazine holders) and the lines were a nice guide to keep my writing mostly straight.

I'm storing supplies for knitting, cross stitch, painting and other general crafts in here. I use the fabric bag to store my current projects.

The right side of this closet has also been tamed. The kitty litter boxes take up the floor space in between where my sewing table used to sit. Can you tell I'm participating in a pillow sew along this year?

Nothing too exciting except for a bare shelf (Woo Hoo!) and you can see my new magazine bins on the bottom. It's so nice to have some breathing room and I actually look forward to my daily litter scooping in here. Seriously!

For today's give-away I'm going to offer a set of tools that have nothing to do with quilting but are instead ALL about organizing starting with a roll of the tape I used to label my bins. I'm also going to include some Sharpie pens and some other labeling supplies that you will see in tomorrow's quilting room post. Trust me, you will want these! 

Image from amazon.com

I'll use Mr. Random to pick a winner on Wednesday, Feb. 26th. To enter leave a comment on this post and be sure to include your email if you are No-Reply. If you are at a loss for words tell me your favorite color.  NOTE: This give-away is now closed.

Staying the Course & A Give-Away

It's been a crazy couple days around here sorting through bins, folding fabrics, touching LOTS of stuff... and now I'm just itching to sew. Not to mention that my mind is in a split mode of bursting with ideas and feeling a bit overwhelmed. Even sitting down to write this post is making my brain twitchy.

Olympics Organizathon Update

All events are underway and all venues are open - total chaos! I finally located my roll of tape and I've got fresh pens so labels will be made ASAP. My memory isn't one of my better attributes so labeling my new system is necessary. I saw this idea on a blog or Pinterest to use pretty tape instead of my usual masking tape and thought why not?

Today I want to wrap up the following events:

Event #1: Magazine Culling

Event #6: Bin Clearing

Event #7: UFO List Making (Other Crafts)

Event #8: Space Planning

I'm also making good progress in these events:

Event #4: Stash Folding

Event #9: Scrap Management

And, I've added a new event based upon the wonderful comments to THIS post asking for help with my batting scraps. 

Event #10: Batting Management

There were so many great ideas shared (thank you all!) and now I know exactly what I'm going to do to make this pile work for me.

Olympics Organizathon Give-Away #1!

Even though none of my Events have crossed the Finish Line yet I am overdue for a give-away. Today I am offering up a set of 6 floral FQs cut from my stash because I am thinking SPRING!   

Please leave a comment answering one (or all) of the following questions:

-  Are you a whiz at organizing fabric, notions or tools? Tell me ALL about it!

-  What is your biggest hurdle to organizing your sewing space? 

-  Are you thinking SPRING???

Mr. Random will select a winner on Sunday, February 23rd who will be notified via e-mail so please make sure that I can reach you.  NOTE: This give-away is now closed.

Speaking of the real Olympics, I thought the Ice Dancing competition yesterday was superb! This event has become more athletic over the years and, to me, much more interesting. I've been pretty into all of the events that involve a pair of skis or a snowboard this year. Some of the new events are just INSANE to watch and I find myself holding my breath until each competitor is safely down the hill or through the course.

And, I want a Sochi volunteer jacket like you wouldn't believe! I see this morning that Hoffman will have a free pattern "When Bali Met Sochi" available soon HERE. Oh my!

from https://hoffmanfabrics.com/images/SiteImages/Site10/125521420141849.jpg

Back to work...

Sew Mama Sew Winner!

Mr Random selected:

Who is:

To win this!

I enjoyed reading all of the comments and I managed to reply to about 50% of them before I just couldn't keep up. It got to be kind of funny when I would send a reply and get 2-3 new comments at the same time.

There were several common answers - blessed, busy, change, fast, grateful, new and thankful. I can relate to all of those as well as many of the others. Thanks to all 544 of you for taking the time to share a glimpse of your world with me.

And congratulations to Sam! Your package will be mailed on Monday.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

Get ready to exercise your fingers everyone...

I was very new to blogging when I joined last years Giveaway Day organized by Sew Mama Sew and had no idea how HUGE this event is! So of course I want to join in the fun again.

One word sums up what I've been blogging about over the last year - UFOs. If you look at my UFO Countdown on the right you will see that I've finished 71 UFOs in the last 14 months. My Word of the Year for 2013 has been FINISH. 

But that's enough about me... here is what I am giving away to ONE of YOU:

A 9 fat quarter bundle of Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House! I have been head over heels in love with this line all year so it seemed like the perfect choice for a giveaway prize.

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. I guess I'm not the only one who loves Pearl Bracelets judging by all the entries!

Mr Random selected:

Who is:

Congratulations to Sam!

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. Tell me what one word sums up 2013 for you and tell me why. Easy peasy - one comment per person please!

Be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger so I can reach you. Mr. Random will select a lucky winner on December 13th at 5:00 pm PST and I will notify you via email. International entries welcome.  

And, I would LOVE it if you came back to check out my blog when you have a few free minutes. I've got lots of eye candy on my Finished Quilts pages for you. I can't tell you much I am looking forward to wrapping up my Year of Finish and mixing in lots of NEW projects in 2014. I've really enjoying making friends here over the last year and appreciate my virtual guild of quilters worldwide!