When I first moved into my renovated studio, I spent a lot of time folding and ironing my fabric and carefully placing it on the shelves…

It was SO neat and tidy.

Let’s move 5 years down the road……

Not quite as pleasing to look at!!

I knew that it was time to do some straightening, and I also wanted to pull all of my solids out of the regular stash.

But I simply couldn’t summon the energy to commit that much studio time to the clean-out.

Then I got the idea to work on it while we watched TV at night. I set up a small table and brought down the stacks….two at a time.

And before I knew it, I had re-organized the whole wall…..

It was amazing how quickly the task was accomplished by doing it two stacks at a time!!

I also learned that I didn’t have as many solids as I thought that I did…..

Hmmmm…. maybe that means a trip to the fabric store??

So what is the moral to this story (besides the joy of fabric shopping)??

If you have a BIG, DAUNTING task, break it down and just do it!!

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I have had my Sit-Down Longarm (Julio) for 5 years now and I have loved using it to create so many fun pieces.

Lately, I have had some issues with tension and have been frustrated that I couldn’t figure out why.

Also, I uncovered a number of spools of a Trilobal Polyester thread that had luscious colors and I was excited to use them……

Unfortunately, the thread kept breaking!!

I was so disappointed and boxed the threads up to give them away.

Then, a few days later, I SAW THIS HOOK….

….and thought…. “Shouldn’t my thread be going thru this?”

I pulled out the instruction manual and realized that I wasn’t threading the machine correctly!!

Then I looked back at the first time I used the machine, and yes, the thread went thru that particular hook.

The question is…. “When did I change the threading pattern?”!!!!

It was so frustrating!!

I went back and tried the threads again, and they worked perfectly…..

So now I have learned a good lesson…..

….NEVER assume that you KNOW what you are doing….. ALWAYS check the instructions!!

The other day, I was attaching a border and started grabbing straight pins to hold it in place. I was dismayed to find that every other one was bent, some beyond using!!

How did they get this way?

In the first place, I REALLY like Flower-Head Pins!! They are easy to pick up, and I love that they are flat, because I often sew over them…. I know, I am bad!!

So, WHY are there so many round-headed ones in my pin cushion?

It was definitely time to get this situation in hand!

First of all, pull all of the pins out and discard the bent ones…..

Is that all of them? Not quite….

That is a DANGEROUS needle!!

Now, let’s sort them into groups and put them all where they belong!!

Design wall pins (shorter and stronger) into their special pincushion….

All of the thin red pins into my favorite turtle pin cushion…..

All of the rest were placed into a spare pin cushion….

So, all that are left are the Flower-Head pins, so let’s load them up and add a few new ones…..

I am DEFINITELY ready to sew again!!

In one sense, this is a silly post, but it does highlight the importance of having things organized and ready.

Is there something that you need to organize?

At our last guild meeting, we heard a program from Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis.

She is an engaging speaker, and I came away with numerous ideas for new designs or ways to reinterpret existing ones.

One of her statements was this….

“THROW OUT THE HERO!”

Honestly, we all looked at her with puzzled expressions, but then she explained.

As a way to pick fabrics for a project, we often pick a focus fabric, also called a “HERO fabric”.

As an example, I picked out this “Moda” fabric to be my “Hero”…

I carried it to my overstuffed shelves and spent an enjoyable 15 minutes, searching for fabrics that would match the colors in this bold print…..

These are what I came up with…..

Or, to look at it differently……

I think that we can all agree that making a quilt with those fabrics and using the Hero print as a border would make a stunning quilt.

But, now comes the kicker…..

THROW OUT THE HERO……

What do you think?

Would the quilt be just as nice (or maybe even nicer) without the bold print?

I will never make this quilt, but it was a FUN exercise that I intend to repeat!!