Quilting updates

October has been a month of lots of quilting outings. Actually it all started at the end of September when the IQ quilt club had their annual quilt show. It is always the last Saturday of September. We had a beautiful show. Many beautiful quilts to display and a good crowd attended the show.
I quilted the raffle quilt which was a beautiful appliqued and pieced garden flower quilt.

I didn't get a photo of it hanging up on the stage but here is one of it after I finished quilting it.

Here is a detail shot.

At the quilt show I was invited to join some quilting friends at the local state park the following week for 4 days. It was a wonderful time with family and friends. Our last night there we had a scavenger hunt reveal that the list given to us early in the week so that we could come up with some creative things on the list. We laughed so hard. It was a really good time with good friends. We also got lots of projects started or done and needless to say the food was good and very plentiful.

I will add some more of the fun activities in a future post as this is beginning to get a little too long already.

Lots of exciting things in the making so I will be posting on those also.

Remember that you are God's masterpiece and so be kind to yourself and love yourself and others.

Project 333 and packing

Well, here is an update on how packing and traveling using the Project 333 wardrobe went.  We were going to Annapolis, Md, this past weekend for my husband's 30'th year class reunion from the Naval Academy.  We would be gone 3 days and nights, so what to pack and how quickly did I get packed.  Well, several things played into figuring that out.  We would be going to dinner one night with friends so I wanted something a little dressier than jeans, we would be going to the football game/tailgait/reunion festivities on Saturday so wanted jeans for that day and the weather was on the cooler side with possibility of being windy, in which case it could get cold. 
Packing didn't take too long, 1. my khaki jeans, 2 my blue jeans, 3 dressy khaki pinstripe pants 4. orange boucle jacket 5. 2 tshirts 6. coral mock turtleneck sleeveless knit top 7.  beige beaded neckline knit top
8.  Navy mom sweatshirt.  It didn't take long to pack but even so I still took too much.  Not knowing what the weather would be like and the fact that we were driving and not flying I felt I could take the extra stuff. 

I ended up not wearing the dress slacks because I never had time to go back to get changed for our dinner out with our friends, but I feel like I still showed up looking dressed up enough not to feel out of place.  I wore my khaki jeans, the coral/orangish top with my orange jacket. 
For the game I wore my blue jeans, my husband had bought us special tshirts for the occasion and I didn't even need any of the ones I brought. 

Today for the trip home I wore my khaki jeans again with the beige top and orange jacket.

Once I got home it took me a whole 5 minutes to unpack and put everything away or in the laundry basket.

Reflection:  I took too much stuff.  I couldn't make up my mind what I would need while gone so therefore put in things that really didn't make sense for what I really was going to be doing.  I never pack so much when I travel but I do know that I take things that I never use.  I will have to think about that more the next time I travel. 

While gone my daughter and I did go shopping but rather than look at a bunch of stuff that would be extraneous, I got a couple of new bras and spent the time to get good fitting ones and looked for a really versatile LBD but I didn't fin d one that I felt would be me, so I opted to wait until I find the perfect one for me. 

So that was it for the weekend, one great time and little fuss. 

Additional benefits of Project 333

As I have been clearing out all the extra stuff from my wardrobe I have discovered several things. 

1.  With a little more rearranging and editing of things I could completely do away with my dresser.  That would open up a lot of extra room in my not so large bedroom.  This dresser has 4 drawers and 2 of them are empty right now and the top drawer is sort of a catch all junk drawer.  I can find places for the few items in it that I need to keep.  The next drawer has more undergarments and sleep wear that can be put with the other stuff in the closet.  Sop this found space opens up possibilities.

2.  By limiting my clothing items I have to look at the pieces and decide what speaks to my authentic style/self. 

3.  I also have to be more creative in how I put the  items together for different looks and different needs.

I am really excited about this challenge and the possibilities that it is going to open up for me. 
Thanks for following along and let me know what you think about this. 

Revised list

I am revising my list a bit. After sleeping on it overnight I know that I will not use the scarf or the belt. So I am going to swap those things out for another pair of casual shoes and a t-shirt. I am also going to switch out the red and brown skirt for a plain brown skirt. Everything else will stay the same. I am now off to my closet to make those changes and to get the rest of my shoes packed away. My 3 months will begin on Monday, Oct. 11. (Just in case I need to do a little more tweeking before I start.)

This is my closet now that I have eliminated everything that is not part of Project 333.

In the small drawers are my undergarments and my socks. 

 You can see my 3 pair of shoes in the cubbies.  The tennis shoes I only wear to work. 

 These are my clothes for non work hours. I can get everything hung up on hangers and still have room.

 These are my scrubs for work.  I did eliminate about 6 tops that were summery and my white pants.  I don't need those going into winter in Pennsylvania.

 On the shelves, the top left are my casual tops, on the left are my work t-shirts that I can wear with my scrubs.  Those I am not counting in my 33 items.  On the bottom shelf on the left are my yoga workout cloths along with bicycle shorts.  I don't know that I will need them but since they don't count and we still might get some nice days this fall to ride, I didn't want to miss out on the chance. To the right on the bottom shelf are my jammies.  On the floor are my casual boots and my dressy boots.

These are my long hanging items.  One dress, one skirt and a sweater set-dressy for Christmas. 

My 33 items

I went through my closet and selected my 33 items for Project 333.  Here it is:

  1.  Black heels
  2.  Brown ankle dress boots
  3.  Black suede casual boots
  4.  Purple dress coat
  5.  "Kate" blue jeans
  6.  Bandolinoblue jeans
  7.  Khaki dressy jeans
  8.  Black/white print dress
  9.  Brown paisley skirt
10.  Red and brown skirt
11.  Black pinstripe dress slacks
12.  Tan pinstripe dress slacks
13.  Gray slacks
14.  Yellow blouse
15.  White blouse
16.  Blue blouse
17.  Pink wrap sweater
18.  Cream front tie sweater
19.  Black button sweater
20.  Pink "Navy" sweatshirt
21.  Beige beaded tank top
22.  Brown tank
23.  Coral mock-turtleneck sleeveless top
24.  Purple mock-turtleneck sleeveless top
25.  Pink sleeveless knit top
26.  Black Coach purse
27.  Purple suede gloves
28.  Orange Boucle jacket
29.  Black/blue/beige jacket
30.  Black/gold/blue glass necklace and earrings
31.  Shell necklace and earrings
32.  Turquoise and rusty orange skinny scarf
33.  ?????  I will add my brown belt but I usually don't wear a belt.  Maybe that will get changed out.

I do work in a medical facility and have to wear scrubs to work and special t-shirts that are for different events, ex. Hope T-shirt for any number of cancer benefits, like Relay for Life,  so I did not count those things in my 33 items.  I do not wear them outside of work.  My tennis shoes I wear for work only and I didn't count those either. 

I tried to keep a very basic and versatile core wardrobe but I did have to add color to my tops or else I would have been one very depressed puppy by the time the 3 months are over.  I have to have color around me to be happy. 

I do plan on posting pictures of my outfits at least once a week.  I haven't gotten everything out of my closet yet.  I do have the clothes out but the extra shoes , not yet, I need to get a box yet to pack them up in.  My closet is looking pretty neat and orderly and spacious for being a little closet. 

Sorry for the lapse in posts

This year has been full of new beginnings and fast paced.  I have been so negligent of my blog and hope to correct that problem now that I am participating in a new challenge/project.  Project 333.  http://www.bemorewithless.com/2010/minimalist-fashion-projects/

I am hoping that this will get me motivated and comfortable with making blogging a daily or at least 3 times a week habit that I get good and faster at it.  Check out the project and follow along and if you get inspired to join the adventure, jump right in and get started.  It is ok that the project has already started.  This is something that can be started at anytime and you can set your own 3 month window. 

Projects that are finished

Well, I don't have much in the way of pictures but I have been busy busy busy quilting up a storm.  I finished quilting a queen sized block of the month quilt for a local shop owner and from her response I think she was pleased.  The shop is Shaffer's Countryside Quilting and Judy has an amazing shop.  Lots of activity going on there.  She was preparing to go to a show and wanted the quilt to be ready to take to it, which is going on right now.  After I finished her quilt, I finished up two small baby quilts for a customer and she also was thrilled.  I got a big hug from her when she picked them up. 

Lindsey's quilt is coming along quite well and I have the most difficult part done.  I have it resting on my laundry folding table the edge hanging off the edge of the table so that as I am working on another project I can take a look up and get some ideas on how to finish it up.  Several ideas have been running around in my head so I just have to settle on something but for now...

 I am working on our quilt groups raffle quilt for this year.  Our group is The IQ Quilters.  We are not an official guild but we do have an annual quilt show which is the last weekend in September.  We are a rather small group, somewhere in the teens in members, and it is an invitation only group.  Anyways, the quilt this year is a gorgeous French Braid design in stained glass colors.  It is beautiful and I feel honored to have been chosen to quilt this fantastic quilt.  I got quite a bit done on it yesterday and am now getting into the fun part of the quilting.  There will be a extra surprise on the back of the quilt as the thread work is going to make an awesome colorful design on the back.

I will have some photos to add soon.  I have been so busy quilting that I haven't had time to do too much else. 

Lindsey and Katie will be home this weekend.  Lindsey is on spring break from the Air Force Academy and will be home to do some wedding preparations/planning, and Katie is throwing Lindsey's bridal shower this weekend.  I hope that we have a nice day. 

Lots to do with so little time to get it done.  I best be getting back to work.