Organizing Stinks... like roses!

Before I get in to the real post, I have to share a video.  Here is Bonnie McCaffery's Vidcast from Houston (IQA Festival).  Not only do you get to see a bunch of fantastically wonderful quilts, you get enjoy where Bonnie talks with some amazing artists -- me being one of them!  Watch, enjoy, and share!  Hey, I think I just called myself amazing... hmm, I kinda' like that!

Okay.  Now back to the actual post.  I've shared before that I am a borderline hoarder when it comes to papers, tiny little fabric scraps, stuff in general -- okay, just a borderline hoarder!  Yes, it's bad, but admitting something is always the first step right?  And yes, hoarding is an actual disorder -- I know this, I've got a few of them!  BUT... but, something wonderful has happened to make it necessary for me to organize a giant part of my life -- my studio.  And, the rough part?  In order to organize my studio I also must organize my office/sewing room.  Haha... not sure where the /sewing room part fits into that; I haven't sewn in there in years.  Probably because of the mess -- and no, I will not share the mess photos.  I love sharing but there comes a point when I need to control my anxiety.  You see, part of my hoarding issue is due to the fact that I suffer severe anxiety when *trying* to organize, file, clean, etc.  So, this was a BIG step for me.  It has taken me a little over two weeks, and a lot (and I mean a lot) of help from one of my besties!  She will never know how important all of her help was, she could see the anxiety building and would help to divert my mind to something else.  Thank you Nancy, I love you!  Oh, and she also got first dibs on just about everything in the studio that wasn't staying - that probably helped too!

So here are a couple of peeks into my newly organized world:

Here we have the *clean* office/sewing room -- and into that great open space goes the shelves of quilts:

Look what Nancy found hiding under 85 pounds of batting scraps:

And, of course, I had to make some cute curtains for the french doors, right?

Why do I need curtains you ask?  Because without them I would stare at the pool all day!

A super clean cutting table -- this table is great, but it is getting cut into two smaller pieces.  WHAT, you ask... no worries, it has been buried with so much stuff for so long that I haven't used it and I'm not going to miss it anyway.

Look -- you can actually see my legs!

The the view from behind the Gammill:

The the view from the other side of the room:

The the entire room (yes that messy area there in front of the Gammill, that still needs to be organized and put away.  And in that mess is a bunch more ribbons that need to be hung on the wall.

Soooo.... I still can't share WHY all this is happening.  I'll be able to soon and then you'll all be as excited as I am, well at least I hope you'll all be excited.  But seriously, I'm excited enough for us all!

Festival Favorites

Here are just a few of my favorites from Houston this year.  I could very easily post almost every photo I took, but will contain it to under 20.  I'm not going into detail on each and every one, as that would be a long post... seriously cause I can talk, especially about things I like.

The amount of beautiful quilts at IQA Festival is amazing.  If you've never been -- GO!  Seriously!!
Click here for a link to IQA's website for a view of all the winners.

Home from Houston

Home from Houston.  Festival was a blast!  I was there three days and it totally feels like a few hours.  Everything has blended into one giant blur.  Glad I managed to take some pictures, it helps to jog the memory.

My day started at 3:30 am on Thursday.  Honestly, Wednesday never really ended I just took a short nap and started Thursday super early!  I get to the airport only to find out I could have slept longer -- like 2.5 hours longer!  So, I sit... and sit... and sit some more.  Finally they let us board the plane - one step closer to Houston.  I really shouldn't complain as there were many people in the NE not flying at all thanks to Superstorm Sandy!

Pictures -- I took a few - some I'll share and some I won't (those that received these via text are probably still giggling).  Anyway, I'll start with candids, you'll have to wait for another post to see some of my favorite quilts from the show.

So anyone that has walked through the Hilton Americas Lobby has seen this fountain wall... Nat and I being the curious bodies we are just wanted to see if you could actually touch the water... yup!

So then I had to rush over to the Gammill booth and formally meet the Gammill peeps.  This is Betsey - isn't she just the cutest - a truly wonderful person!

 So while I'm there I've got to stitch, right?

That's Betsey and Dave watching.  Once I'm truly in the zone I don't even know anyone is there.  And no, I don't normal hunch down like that when I stitch.  The tables are set for "normal" peeps -- you know me, not anywhere near normal - LOL... no really, my table is set much higher than these.  It was great meeting the Gammill family!

Then a quick run over to the Purple Daisies booth to visit with Cristy and Sharon.  Oh and see that super cute purple sample behind me... I stitched that for Cristy using Sharon's embroidery designs and then quilted the background fills.  I didn't get a picture with Sharon (strange I know), but here she is creating her magic!

From there it was over to the Meander Publishing booth to say hi to Clouds in My Latte - she was hanging in their booth making people stop in their tracks (at least that's what I've been told).  You can also see and read about Clouds in the Sept/Oct issue of Machine Quilting Unlimited magazine.  Here I am with Vicki Anderson in front of Clouds.  And a big shout-out to Lisa for schlepping my quilt in her luggage so it could be there in time for Market and Festival (((HUGS))).

The rest of the day is a blur... I do remember hearing my name from across the second floor... Bonnie McCaffery was calling me.  I'll share more on that later.  Then we caught up with Candace (a facebook friend) and spent the afternoon wandering the vendor booths.

And we even managed to run into a good friend, Eyvonne, one of our Journeys Thru Art members:

Then off to dinner...

Good times - great company!  And the scenic journey back across the street...

 

Day two started similar... in the Gammill booth.  Seriously peeps, I can't go a day without stitching!  And who wouldn't want to stitch on these brand new beauties!

Then Nat and I walked through all the quilts... beautiful, amazing, inspiring quilts.  More on that in a separate post.

Then it was time to meet up with Bonnie McCaffery.  She wanted to film Wonderlust to inlcude in her vidcast of Festival.  Of course, I was totally honored!  Here she is setting up and the both of us in front of Wonderlust.

Oh, and Bonnie totally taught me a new stance -- Lisa calls this the "hot mama in front of your quilt" stance!  Thanks Bonnie standing like this is way cheaper than plastic surgery and makes you look amazing!  Yes, all the rolls and chins are still there -- they're just hiding while the picture gets snapped!

Here's a pic of Natalie and me with Gail Thomas (wonderful quilter and friend) in front of Belief, Intuition, and Faith a collaborative quilt by Sharon Schamber and Gail.

And, back in the Gammill booth -- Alex Anderson decided to try out the new sit-down Gammill.  Oh, and make sure you visit Gammill's facebook page.  They are having a name that baby contest.  If they pick your name you could win a brand new sit-down machine!

And finally back home, my hubby is happy that I took more pictures than spent dollars!  Here's a peek at my purchases -- not too bad, very proud of my controlled-spending self!

Some amazingly wonderful things happened while in Houston and I can't wait to share them with you -- soon, but, that is all for today.  Another post soon with some of my favorite quilts from the show!  Happy Day Quilties!