13 Weeks of Autumn - What's up, doc?

Happy Halloween to all my ghoulie & goblin pals! You'd think I could've done something Halloween-y this week, but I didn't.  Progress continues, though!

Another pesky pound has found it's way to some other equal-and-opposite-reaction place. An old "stereo" finally made it's way out of the house & will be Freecycled. And I finished this quilt:

Here's a closer shot, showing the cool bubble quilting:

Sometimes there are interesting things to talk about, but most of the time life is just day-to-day non-eventful (in a GOOD way). Still .... this is my place to keep track of things so here are some things.  I got this binding attached, so now it only needs the handwork: (I really like this quilt! It makes me happy to look at it. I will most likely keep this one for my own collection.)

And see all those threads on this batting?

Well, those are the thread snippets from de-quilting this little quilt: (which is showing only a corner ... it's not really that small!)

This quilt, and another just like it, were my experiments when I first got my long-arm machine. Needless to say they are horrible, so I've been de-quilting them so I can re-quilt and donate them. (they're perfect for kids, and LOTS of kids are homeless or in temporary shelters with almost nothing).  The de-quilting is somehow relaxing. Probably because it's totally mind-numbing yet there's the satisfaction of seeing progress made. (Hmmm.... can you "make progress" as you "un" something? (de-quilting = un-sewing). Well....actually I guess you can.

And that is my progress from the week and from the day. Don't eat too much candy! Don't get "skeert" by any wee spookie ones tonight. And most of all thanks for stopping by!

13 Weeks of Autumn - Update

Seriously. How does time fly by me so quickly?  Two weeks of updating to post!

OK I'm 3 weeks into the Autumn version of 13-Weeks, Reset version. I have indeed lost another 3 pounds. I have learned that the weight-loss effort is what's eating so much of my time. I walk 6 miles most days (I can't really say "every day" because some days it's not possible - or I'm just slugging!), and this takes me 2 hours.  Yea, I'm a slow walker, but still ahead of everybody on the couch! :-)  Also, since I'm not trained to be a healthy eater, this takes time as well.  The bottom line is - the getting-healthier issue eats up the largest percentage of my time and energy; this is OK with me!!!!

"Stuff" is getting out of my house. In the last two weeks I've gotten rid of stacks of books and more clothes.  I've also been sorting through and purging quilting projects.  Some projects that I start simply will not be finished by me, so I've prepared them for the Honeybee Retreat quilt-sale-room.

And I have completed projects. In week 2, I finished the Tennessee Puzzle quilt (see it here), and this week I did this jacket:

I want to make a bunch of jackets for my CA trip now that I know what kind of weather to expect.  This will be just enough!  I cut out a bunch of them during the Camden Retreat at Epworth By-The-Sea last weekend, so I'll be working on these for the next few weeks.

So .... 13 Weeks continues onward! I can deal with 13 weeks ... I'm still unsure of my ability to commit anything for a year, though! :)

Trivial stuff I want to keep track of:
What I'm reading: Fiction - To make a long story short, Jeffrey Archer. Classic - Uncle Tom's Cabin, Non-fiction - The Passion of the Western Mind, Richard Tarnas

13 Weeks - Update

What a lazy (non)blogger I've been lately!  But not lazy around here, believe me! After I pushed the reset button on October 1, I really got my move on.  Another pound gone, a finish ...

... and a b-u-n-c-h of stuff out of the house!

My bro' Rick was surprised to find some of my quilt herd on his doorstep :-).  It's soo fun to send quilts when people aren't expecting them!  Another box went to the Basics group in NYC, and the bags went to Goodwill.

The scarf above was made from some "yarn" I got at Quiltfest a couple of weeks ago.  I loved the samples, the process looked simple enough (heck, I'm a knitter!!), so I bought a whole bunch (never buy just one!) .... and I bet the scarf/boa above is the only one I'll make. Yeegads that stuff is awful to work with!!!!  No rave reviews here!

We got drenched by a 7-day nor'easter that finally ended yesterday; I didn't walk for 4 days in a row and my feet are sure feeling the pain after walking again today! I did get up to 6 miles but my poor tootsies feel like I did 60 today.  But it sure did feel good to be out moving again.

I've been up to lots of stuff this week, too.  More on that on Sunday.  Till then ...

....thanks for stopping by!

"13 Weeks" Pushes the Reset Button

Life is what happens while you're making plans. My life certainly got in the way of my plans over the last few weeks! Reflection tells me that one of the reasons is because of the vague focus for this set of 13 weeks - especially considering the zeroed-in focus of my first 13-week session! So ... today being the first day of a new month, with only 3 months left in 2011 (oh please! don't remind me!), I'm pushing the reset button and starting a new 13-weeks.


13 weeks. 13 (more) pounds. 13 finishes. 13 bags(or boxes)-o-stuff out of my house.


Now I feel focused. I honestly did feel like I was wandering, with no direction, during the month of September.  Here's the recap of the month:

• It was a good month for weight-loss; I lost 8.5 pounds in September.  Total since starting 13 weeks: 25.5. Awesome! I went shopping for new clothes yesterday - because, seriously, my clothes were way beyond "don't fit".  (Yes, I know the . should be within the ", but it makes more sense to me to do it the English way.)
• Quiltfest Jacksonville. Great show that ate lots of my time!
• Accomplishments? Well, I really don't feel like I accomplished anything - even though I did. Among other things I finished a few quilts (finished, to me, means the label is on. Sometimes the label is nothing more than sign/date using a Sharpie on the quilt back, but that makes it "a finish"!!)
• Techniques? Didn't happen. Well, I made that book the first week, and started other things, but really - techniques did NOT get done.

September gets marked up to lessons learned: have a specific goal & don't be so vague. The continue weight loss is a success, however - and really does use a LOT of my time & energy! I am up to 5.5 miles per day (most days), going for 6 in the next week or two.  I'll maintain at 6 miles for awhile, though, I'm tellin' ya!

So .... reset with me! Away I go to some finishes, and getting stuff out of my house so my poor heirs won't have to do it when I'm gone!

Thanks for stopping by .... and hanging in there with me!