Done!

Year end accounts? Done!

Taxes? Done!

Shredding? Done!

Feeling relieved? You bet! 

These are my shredded papers, not my accounts and taxes - in case you're wondering..

Hurra for 17. mai!

Happy Norway Day!

Taking inventory

Every now and then I feel the need to take inventory of where I am and make a plan for where I’ll be going next. For quite a while now, I have been starting lots of new projects, trying different things. Last year, for instance, when I was feeling not so well, I pieced tops. Sometimes piecing seems less challenging than actually finishing quilts, doesn’t it? All that wrestling of huge chunks of fabric and batting and all can be physically exhausting – or maybe that’s just me.

And all those scraps I have been piecing together just to get my mojo back or to get rid of some of those ever growing piles of scraps? They can be made into anything. Anything!

My design wall back in January; these are now stashed away in a shoe box but will soon be made into something colourful and fun.

Anyway, finished tops and works in progress have been piling up all over my studio, and I feel ready to get back to them. Quite a few have been finished already and sent off to my magazine editor, which feels great, but there are still many more just waiting for their turn in the limelight.

(My design wall got full back in January, so I taped a piece of fleece to the wall. Three months later and it's still hanging there..)

I always like to think of my ongoing projects in a positive light; they are treasures on which I can enjoy working when I feel like it. I have kept a Treasure box for years, which I posted about here, and have made lots of projects from its content over the years. Well, my current treasures won’t fit into a box, so I keep them on a desk in my studio. To get an easy overview, I decided to keep a record. I found an unused diary from 2011 and have been writing down all my projects, one page for each project. 

I write down ideas, plans, progress etc on each project, and when a project is ready to leave the studio (I stitch my bindings at home), I rip the page out and throw it away. That ripping sound is rather cathartic.

I’m not making promises which I not intend to keep, so I’ll not say that I won’t start any new projects until I have finished all of them, but working with my purple book has put forgotten treasures back in my mind. This is not a small task as things slip out of there way too soon as I move on to the next idea and the next and the next. Now I want to work on them, I get new ideas, and I have things ready to bring to guild meetings. No more throwing together a new project half an hour before the meeting starts; I’ll just take a look in my purple book to see what I would like to do today. Something small? Playing with blocks? Free motion quilting? Binding? Piecing? Well, I have got them all. Quilting large quilts is, by the way, the perfect task when I have company in my studio; chatting with someone makes time and miles of stitching fly.

How long I will keep my record – well that depends on how long it works for me. All I know is that for now, I’m gaining momentum.

How do you keep up with your projects? Do you work on only one project at the time, do you keep several at different stages, or are they ganging up on you and taking over your studio too?

Bob bob

Every now and then I sort through my bobbins and rearrange them. Over the years, I have accumulated quite a stash. I have purchased a few of the black and white pre-wound bobbins from Janome (12 bobbins in each packet), and one of the great things about these is that the empty bobbins can be used over and over again.

This is my stash post rearranging. I have some bobbins stored in the machines’ tool boxes, some in my to-go kit, and some in my hand sewing kit, but the majority of them is here. 

The big box has been with me for years; once filled to the rim, it now contains my pre-wound bobbins only. Most of them are cotton threads which I have used for quilting. They have been sitting here for years as I tend to forget them when I start quilting a new project.

The bobbinsaver holds my piecing threads – black, “neutral” (light blue but it works like grey), and white. The darker blue is my boys-pants-knees-thread which is frequently in use. I have one more of these rings somewhere, probably holding more bobbins.

The smaller box contains the rest of my wound bobbins. I often wind way too many bobbins in the beginning of a project, and the leftovers are set aside for next time. 

Having this many bobbins available is a luxury really; I remember winding thread upon thread on my mother’s sewing machine, not the best solution when the one you need is the third layer down. 

The special threads, which are prone to unwinding, are secured with small rubber bands from when my daughter had retainers.

(Same box, different angle, what can I say, I love the rainbow of colours)

I keep all my almost empty bobbins right next to my machine. I use them whenever I don't mind changing bobbins often, like when piecing scraps or basting, or when I need only a little thread. My goal is to empty them so they can get back in the circle of bobbins.

My empty bobbins are stored in an old button tube that I got at a yarn outlet.

There is room for lots of bobbins in one tube, and I have many more tubes if ever needed.

I have recently tried winding a few bobbins with this gigantic cone of not quite black bobbin thread which I picked up at a thrift store; 

15.000 metres on one (new) cone thank you very much.

A regular big spool of thread looks like a miniature compared to this one.

The thread is quite thin so I get a lot of thread on one bobbin. It curls though; when pulling a length you get a bird’s nest, or a bird’s head like here. I'm not sure why it does this, but hopefully it will stitch allright anyway.

Winding the first bobbin, the thread got spun so tightly that it curled up on itself, so I turned the cone upside down and that worked much better.

I’m planning to use it while free motion quilting this quilt which is next in line. I’ll probably try it out on a test cloth first to see how the thread tension works with cotton thread at the top and this at the bottom. Time will tell.

Thanks for stopping by!

Second to none

Our little man is 4 today. How time flies!

He is so much fun; bright and happy and curious and sweet and head strong and with a smile that will light up the world.

He and I have something in common - we are both a second child. Following him growing up has given me quite a few aha moments about my sisters and me.

Totally awesome and second to none. Happy birthday little one!

Sir John and I

Meet my new workmate, Sir John. Isn't he just a dashing young fellow! I have been dreaming of a bigger machine for years, and now he’s here.

He has been sitting in my studio for days until I finally took him out for a run yesterday, but first I had a look in the manual to see if there was something fundamental different from my other machines. So far everything looks quite familiar.

My studio floor is rather slippery, so I cut a piece of a bath mat to put underneath the foot pedal so I won’t have to chase it around.

My first projects were some leftover scrappy blocks which I’ll be making into doll quilts for grandson’s kindergarden. 

 

That pink floral fabric is a recycled favourite of mine. I wish I had yards of it!

The walking foot worked smoothly, so I soon switched to the free motion equipment and a test cloth.

 
Having tested all my usual twists and turns, I felt confident moving on to the next scrappy block. All that extra space sure makes a difference even with such a small project.

No eyelashes on the front or the back

Scraps of fleece on the back

I’ll be practising some more before I move on to the pile of tops waiting to be quilted. I think Sir John and I will get on very well indeed.

Hello Face of earth

Hi there, remember me? I never planned to fall off the face of the earth like that or that it would take so long to crawl back onto it. I have been writing a comeback post in my head many, many times, but it has been growing more and more difficult as the weeks and months have passed by. I didn’t realize that I would be missed until I got concerned comments and emails from you guys, so I am truly sorry about that!

I have always tried to separate private and personal here on the Mrs Moen blog; while I want it to be personal and real, I do not want to feel exposed. However, I find it difficult to explain my absence without crossing my own boundaries, so here we go. July did not find Mrs Moen well at all. Some chronic health issues were knocking the breath out of me, literally, and it was hard to bounce back. That being said, I got to spend the planned week and then some with the boys and husband at the cabin, and I got to go to the Festival of quilts in Birmingham with my friends.

When September came around I was feeling increasingly unwell, and realized something was totally off after a very stressful weekend trip with my family. I was confused and forgetful and angry and my head was boiling, and it was almost a relief to finally learn that my blood pressure was dangerously high and my blood sugar levels too. No matter how fab our new house turned out, the stress had most certainly taken a toll on my health.

I’ll admit to feeling rather sorry for myself for a couple of days, and then a group surfaced in my Facebook feed. Fit for 100 days. Goal: make healthy choices for 100 days. It was the start of some big changes in my life. I set some simple goals. Stop eating sugar.  Take walks. Get rid of the diet soda. Avoid stress. Have more fun.

It has worked like magic, but all my energy goes into improving my health. The passion I put into my quilts is now going into cooking healthy food. Cutting sweets and snacks out of one’s diet works fine for a while, but this time I have replaced them with sugar free goodies. Some of them have been great, others not so much, but I’m having a ball working in the kitchen. I am still drinking diet soda though.

The walking part has also been great. I bought an activity band which keeps track of things like steps and pulse, and it’s also a great motivator to keep on moving.

My favourite walk is being dropped off at the top of Stavanger (feels like top of the world) and walking home. I have enjoyed the changing colours of fall and caught quite a few sunrises and sunsets on my walks. Pure bliss, and besides lowering my blood sugar and blood pressure, the air is clear and fresh. What’s not to love, right.

For the less stress part, I have been working less in my studio. Studio time is a two-edged sword for me. It’s the place where I go to relax and get lost – and it’s the place where all my work is waiting for me. I have been designing a LOT of new quilts though, so I have plenty to start on when I am better.

For the more fun part, I am attending lectures and meetings and going to shows and whatnots. I had forgotten how much I enjoy all those things. In January I will see the Swan Lake ballet which is my most favourite thing of all, and in April I will see the Irish comedian Dara O’Briain who makes me laugh out loud. I have been visiting my family back home more frequently than ever, and even got to accompany my mother to her knee replacement surgery. That last thing may not sound like fun, but we had a great time. My parents have just moved into an apartment, so a few of my visits have been to help out with purging and packing.

Life here in the orange house is working well for all of us. Some days our part of the house is full of boys, other days are quiet. I would say it’s starting to feel more like a home than a fancy house.

If you are wondering what the pictures are all about, I just needed some colourful and fun to brighten up the post.The circles are pieces of a matching game I played with grandson. I love all the different patterns and colours,

I'll be back soon. I promise.)