For the record, I despise being called Sammy. And yet the only way the cadence of that title worked was to suck it up and use the dreaded nickname. Can't really remember why I have always hated it, but, as far back as I can recall, I have... So don't go getting any ideas about having a new pet name for me, okay?
Now that I've got that out of the way- hey, look, I finished my 1st Project Improv top!!
And I LOVE it. I know I went super simple with the pattern on this first attempt, but hey, it made for a good warm-up and confidence builder. And I love the simplicity of this top, and how it shows off the fun fabric choices. It's lively and fun without being over the top- always a danger for me... For the first time in months and months, I am truly excited about how a project came out. Not just happy to have finished something, not just happy to have used the cute fabric I couldn't resist buying, but actually thrilled with an end product and proud of it. What a feeling- I'd forgotten just how good it was. My happy quilting endorphins seem to be coming back. I'm already planning some other projects in my head...
Between pushing my own quilting boundaries AND having the free time on Mondays to follow through on my ideas, I'm feeling pretty good. Last week kicked up some surprise stress- we had calculated the economic impact of my Mondays off, and while it won't be super fun, we'll make it. But then we got some more news from work re: my paycheck, and it looks like I will be taking a bigger hit then we thought (unrelated to the 8 hours off). ACK. Not good. But after only 3 weeks I can already feel a difference in my stress level and so we've found a way (love you, mom) to make it work.
And hey, I had another revelation about my fabric-line buying habits. You know when I started to really get trapped buying a coordinated line instead of just random pretty fabrics? It started when I began predominantly buying my fabrics on-line. The inter-web, my love and passion, tricked me! On-line retailers organize fabric by manufacturer and then collection- making it really easy to find one you like, and then the 7 that conveniently go with it... Oooh, sneaky. The worst culprit? The fabulous Fat Quarter Shop- those gorgeous bundles of new lines, color coordinated and packaged like wonderful presents- are like crack to me. I may need to rethink the organization of my stash- I have one shelf of batiks sorted by color, 2 shelves of basic colors sorted green/yellow/orange/pink/purple/blue,a bin of red, a bin of blacks and whites, a shelf of Kaffe, a shelf of novelties, and one shelf of designers by line. I think what needs to be done is that designers-by-line shelf broken down by color and mixed in with the random fabrics. Maybe that will help free me up mentally?
We shall see!























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