Today's Goals...

So... I haven't posted in a bit.  Let me catch you up!

When I last posted, my kids' toys had taken over my house, so I took them all (almost) and put them in the spare bedroom, which created a HUGE mess in there...  I was so optimistic that I could whip that room into shape in no time, along with my own bedroom (a few piles) and bathroom/closet (disaster area)...

Time passed...

Spare bedroom closet and bathroom were completely cleaned out to make room for organized storage of the toys...  So a lot of my crafting/sewing/painting stuff was dragged out of there and tossed into my sewing room (attic)...

Now I have organized most (not all) of the toys and put them away nice and neatly...  The kids have their favorite toys out and are being better about not scattering them everywhere... And my room is a tad better off...

Still my guest bedroom is not suitable for company, so I have been avoiding my sewing room as punishment for not completely spiffing things up around here... Until the day before yesterday.

I figured I needed some quilting therapy.  You see, I recently joined two more quilt guilds.  Yes, that's crazy.  I hear you.  I have been in Blue Valley Quilters Guild for several years and I have a fun time there when I can go.  It's during the day and I stay at home with my kiddos (1 and 2 year old boys), so they're not used to daycare of any sort.  My mother-in-law also belongs to the same guild, so we've been taking turns going every month or two and that's working out ok, but I've been feeling a little uninspired lately and needed some new energy... New inspiration...

At Blue Valley, my mother-in-law and I coordinate our efforts to make Quilts of Valor for US military service members who have been affected by war.  This is very rewarding and I have (seemingly) an army of women who help in so many ways.  I mostly coordinate this and do very little sewing.  I raise funds for materials, I help make kits and copy patterns, I write letters to the soldiers, we make pillowcases to go with the quilts and many other things... My mother-in-law helps a LOT.  She is a Godsend.  Over the past 1 1/2 years, we've sent many quilts to soldiers and more in the works.  70 something total (finished and unfinished).  Amazing.

After Christmas, I heard about a new guild that was forming.  The Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild.  It's a group that's growing quickly and has lots of energy.  Very inspiring.  I love that they're tech savvy (not the case so much at Blue Valley) and that their ideas are fresh and new.  They don't worry about perfectionism and that is a relief.  I feel more freedom to create.  We had a meeting last night.  Great fun. Very crowded (we've gotta find a bigger place to meet) but fun.

But I visited the Starlight Quilt Guild a couple of months ago and felt the urge to join.   I have a few friends there (some defectors from Blue Valley and others who are members at both) and am excited about a lot of the projects they're working on there.  Very excited to be doing a black and white charm square exchange in March.  Will get EIGHTY 5 inch squares... :)  FUN!  We had a meeting a couple of nights ago and I'm excited to get busy sewing.

And Starlight does Linus quilts (quilts for kids).  They want us to make 3 quilts per year to donate.

2 days ago, I escaped upstairs and started a Linus quilt.  Sewed together strips of 30's fabric from a jelly roll and sandwiched it.  I started quilting with my machine that I got a couple of years ago.  I haven't tried quilting with it before.  It's going pretty well, but I was VERY frustrated because it took me 45 minutes to find my sewing machine manual in that mess of an attic...

I must clean it up or I will not be as productive...

So I'm going to get off of this computer (kids are napping) and trudge upstairs to see what I can do about the mess.  I've started collecting shoeboxes from around the house...  Must make some visual progress before the boys wake up.

To spur myself into action, I'm going to take some before and after pictures.  I intend to post the before pictures on this blog soon....  Hopefully the embarrassment from sharing the pictures will FORCE me to get serious about tidying things up.

See you soon!  Stay tuned!