lotti's key to suitcase space for expected and unexpected purchases during travel:
- when you go, pack chocolates and other heavy things to give away to deserving people
- bring your favorite pair of really gone and dead sneakers - and all the jeans & t's that are 2 sizes too large - or getting a bit embarassing... (the same goes for the old rainjacket that's been waiting in the closet and hasn't been worn for a year)
once you've done your shopping (fabric, goodies, souveniers like that button coffee cup that was just too fun to pass up and the great poka-dot blanket from the woolen mills)
decide how much of that "old" stuff can now be safely garbaged - advantages: no blisters when you go walk-about because these shoes are perfect for long days exploring
those clothes that you've been putting off dumping are finally finally gone - giving valuable closet space and allowing you to go on a clothes shopping spree as soon as the bank balance is back to an even course...
leave food, books and booze for the duty-free once everything else has been checked in and you've been scanned, searched and ok'd suitable for flying - that way they don't count either for checked weight or for the on-board limits (scratch the food if you're going to the EU, North America or Australia as they are really really picky) (scratch the booze if you'll have a connecting flight after an overseas flight - and if you forget - give them to a helpful, nice looking, harassed looking cleaning lady / check-in person / whatnot during your transfer - do NOT give it to the folk that won't let you take it with you because they'll have to destroy it !!!

romira wrote:
I was uploading the final group of scans at the weekend and thought that some of them were missing, they were, as they were in tif not jpg. So I had to stop and change them over to jpg. Hope to get some more done this week.

Renata wrote: Here is the only photo I have of it so far[url]see-quilts/quilt-gallery/[/url] It shows half of the front & half of the back. Currently it is all pieced & sandwiched up and partly quilted, but the front has come up smaller than the back, but the quilting is designed to fit the back, so I am having to add a border to the front, and then see what happens size wise (By the way I started it BTQS, decided to make 2 6' x 6'6" tops and just put them together, and did not allow myself any fudge room like plain outer borders cos they were going to fit together, right!). My BOM 2009 is Dogrose 2.

PosyP wrote:
dear pretty posy,
Yes, & yes!


p.s. And, I'm still continuing work on the Reels & Receipts book with you! I promise I haven't forgotten that task.

I, too, Lotti, like the idea of cutting a strip or two from different fabrics... would work really well with another pineapple quilt or even some other quilts and it would probably motivate me to do a little more, especially when I don't have a specific quilt design in mind or when I need a relatively easy piece to do to take my mind of a more complicated one (genesis of my recent pineapple quilt when I wore out from doing the Chinese good luck bats for Sedona Star). By the way, whatever happened with the red-centered grey pineapple that you were working on? I really liked that!

Rosemary, what on good earth is a Too Loud/Dogrose 1inch quilt?

twiglet wrote:

Hey Lotti, did you have any space in your sutcases to bring any of your clothes home?

I love your idea of just taking off a couple of strips of each fabric and have them available as pre-cuts to play withwhen the mood strikes.

I've decided to bite the bullet & get on with sorting out my 'Too Loud/Dogrose 1' quilt which got interrupted by a certain Sottt's deadline

Renata wrote:
I vote for going out and buying more fabric...

I know I definitely have a lot more than the 365 yards, in batiks alone... Don't really want to know how much there is... But the freshly washed and ironed 4 piles on my dining room table are almost a full collection in themselves (contains all the purchases made in Canada, the states and I Ireland this year...
My biggest problem is, whenever I contemplate cutting into one or two of the fabulous fabrics, I find another solution. Although...
As I started to fold these new acquisitions, I came up with a new solution for having cuts (free to use) available.... Every fabric that comes off the ironing board, gets two full width strips cut off: 1x 1 1/2 inches and 1x 2inches, which get cut into 2 inch squares... These then go into roughly color coordinated baggies, ready to use. The stripper exchange got me absolutely hooked on handsewing fabric strips into squares... The squares will head the same way. And once these are done, the remaining fabric gets measured, folded and labelled and eventually sorted into the stash... Of course I would much rather look at them and fel them for a month before that happens - and one day I'll make the time.
Now back to work - paid work - NQR - to pay for the fabrics (and the threads - been a very very very bad girl and shopped at superior threads - OUCH - but OHHHHHHH now trying out thread embellishings - gosh is that ever addictive...

twiglet wrote: A bit like a stash transferal scheme?

Roseanne, it's the bit about not buying any more fabric for a year that I have my doubts about Still at least you can still buy thread & sparkly things & gadgets

Brilliant! Will you be hand quilting the 12 projects?

Shall we post our addresses to help you use a yard a day?

ritzy wrote:
Ah, the secret is in my wording. I'm not promising myself to sew all WIPs, only 12 in a year. And will use up stash in many ways, not only quilts! So, I hope to outwit me!
One thing I know about myself is that the busier I am, the more I get done!

(And have loads of fun along the way....)

Roseanne - I am EXTREMELY impressed!! While I definitely have the 365 yards of fabric in my stash and have way more than 12 UFOs waiting for attention , I don't know that I could get that much done in a year. You definitely have my support and encouragement! I think it takes me too long to do the quilting part of the process to finish that much. But I am making an effort to finish up some of my WIPs along with you! And I really look forward to following along on your blog! Hopefully we can all work together to have an extremely productive year.

Nancy

OK Roseanne, here is the question: if you are cutting into a fat quarter a day, you will be putting together more quilts which will give you more WIP and UFO--how in the world will you keep track of it all and still have time to blog about it? ;o)