The Final Countdown is on over at Prairie Moon Quilts.  The third and final challenge is to Pick a New Habit to Start (and keep).

But what to pick?  Don’t start a new quilt until one of the UFOs is finished is less habit than resolution. The same is true of don’t pile stuff on the cutting board (an interesting proposition as it is the 1st flat surface when we enter the house) treadle machine (2nd) or ironing board (3rd).  Also, those surfaces get cleared off when they are needed.

I guess the biggest issue I  have is scraps. Not so much those that I generate myself such as these from the current project

as soon as I get the quilt bound, labeled, a pillowcase made and both washed, I’ll deal with these.

It’s those scraps which come into the house in large quantities via friends and scavenging for them off of Craiglist.

The top box is more of a “stirring box” — I think those the scraps I haven’t put back up from pulling fabrics from the Star-A-Day project.  Those bottom two boxes though…

If I put everything on hold, I could work through these scraps over the course of a few weeks. But I have a graduation quilt to start,  BOMs to catch up on , UFOs to work on, etc. So, I think the new habit is going to be to spend 30 minutes a week working on my scraps until  I get them under control, and then weekly as needed.  Going forward, I’ll add a comment on my Sunday Stash Report post of how much time I worked on my scraps.

As for tasks #1 and #2, I’m happy to report that I have them completed.

Task 1 Before:

Task 1 After:

Task 2 Before:

Task 2 After – The longarm box:

Task 2 After – The retreat box:

Task 2 After – The Star-A-Day bag:

Both the long-arm box and the retreat box get stuff added to them on a case by case basis, but they contain the basics.  The long-arm box is in the bag I  haul my quilt in, along with the 2 pantographs I own. Once I find the second set of zippers they’ll go in the bag as well.  The retreat box, is under the rolling cart under my sewing desk as I can’t easily get to my sewing machine bag due to where it is stored.  The Star-A-Day bag is on the end table in the living room. Perhaps I should get working on them again as that is star # 65 which should have been completed on the November 4th.

The final countdown is on over at Prairie Moon Quilts.  The second challenge is to Organize Part of Your Stash.

I try to keep my stash organized.  I’ve got boxes of fabric sorted by color and/or theme.  Kits are together. Strings, strips, squares and bricks are sorted by size (and occasionally color).  My thread is sorted and in boxes. My UFOs are either in project boxes or zip bags and above all everything is labeled.   That’s not to say my stash is perfectly organized.

A couple of months ago I dug through one of my strips boxes for the Star-A-Day project (now 2 months behind) and that box got dumped into a box of scraps I was also digging through.  I think there are 4 boxes of new to me scraps that need to sorted through. But that’s not what I’m picking to work on today.

The other day I dumped a couple of boxes of notions in the cat bed (the cats prefer the basket of recycled shirts) in preparation for renting time on the long arm.  I need to get my long arm box put back together and in the long arm bag and I need to re-assemble my travel box of notions.

As for yesterday’s challenge?  Well it’s a work in progress.

Hopefully I’ll finish both tonight.

Shelly over at Prairie Moon Quilts is doing her annual Final Countdown Challenge. It’s a chance to do 3 things to get us prepared to quilt in the new year. Today’s task is to clear one flat surface – as in put the stuff away, not set it on a different surface. There are numerous surfaces which need clearing in my sewing room.

• The sewing table — a couple of nights ago I heard a thud — a big pile of papers had slid off the unused portion of the table and landed on the floor. Last night I gathered them up and put them back on the table without looking at them.
• The top of my printer — at the moment this isn’t too bad — let’s just say it’s been worse.
• My desk — it’s actually in pretty good shape as I had to clear it off this weekend to put a sound card in my computer.
• The ironing board – also in good shape – just the fabric for the pillowcase to go with the quilt I’m binding and a backing I just brought into the room.
• The floor — buckets of stuff sitting around on the far side of the room which need to be sorted through and put up.
• The treadle machine — in excellent shape — I moved the cat bed full of sewing stuff to a box on the floor so I could attach the binding to the quilt I’m working on. This is an example of what Not to do. (The cat sleeps in the laundry basket of shirts on the floor)
• Two chairs – not so flat, but both stacked with stuff. One has a crate of “stuff”, I’m not sure what topped by the trimmings of the quilt I’m binding and the sweater I just took off. The other has a top, backing backing fabric, plus a quilt. My husband just sits on top of it.
• The cutting table — There is assorted stuff on the table.  I’ve tried twice to get it cleared off, but before I finish, something else gets tossed on it.

For this task, I’m picking the cutting table. Check in tomorrow to see if I get it done.