Out of the kitchen and into the garden but not in the studio

The last few days have been consumed by the project of installing an hardwood floor in our circa 1939 kitchen. We bought the floorboards last week (they are pre-finished birch) , ripped out all the layers of tile and vinyl, and began laying the floor yesterday. It was tough for me due to my bad back (The Spine in the Form of a Question...Mark) but I was able to help a great deal. I even did all the cutting on our brand new miter saw. Power tools!

The whole story is on my other blog: http://www.itsmetonim.blogspot.com/.

Today we started in again, but my poor body could just not keep up. So I was kicked out of the kitchen.

Since then I've been mostly sitting quietly, listening to the air compressor while Tom finishes the floor. I'm not even able to do anything in my studio! I did manage to take some pictures in the garden. The hostas are suddenly huge, and I caught them just after they were watered. I love the texture and the water drops. I'm sure these will end up in a new quilt somehow.

Scrappity Scrappy Scraps

I got some time in my work room today, and did I sew anything? No. Did I paint, or sketch, or think about any of my myriad undone projects? No.

I sorted scraps. Piles of scraps. Scraps I've been saving for probably seven or eight years, most of which are these itty-bitty pieces that I would never actually use!

So I threw the bitty bits away. I saved bigger pieces to cut into 3" squares. I saved the batiks and hand-dyes for art quilts and applique. The biggest pieces I folded and will keep for future project. And the pieces I know I'll never use, I packaged up and will sell at a future yard sale.

This freed up a whole corner of my studio! I feel as though I took a good step towards organization. A baby step.

And actually, it as fun thing to do. I took a little trip through time, as I found pieces of the quilts I've made over the years. The baby quilts, the Christmas gifts and projects, the quilts I made for sick friends and family occasions.

Tomorrow, I have a huge drawer full of more scraps to sort. But it'll be easier, since I did the hard part today.

The only thing is, I need a way to store the pieces of fabric that are bigger than little scraps, but not as big as a fat quarter. (Does this make sense?) I have a nifty storage unit for my FQs, and I have that nice big drawer for yardage, but it's the in-between pieces that I'm finding difficult to store.

If anyone out there has a suggestion, please let me know. I"m stymied!

The Red Shoes

Today, I watched one of my favorite movies: The Red Shoes, about a small ballet company in Monte Carlo. It was made in 1948 and almost every scene is a work of art! The set decoration and the costumes...fabulous. The direction is really dramatic, making for the best shots of the actors, all of which are super-stylish. I especially love the scenes in the Paris hotel room after Boris leaves Monte Carlo looking for his ballerina.
So, I did a weird thing, and took a picture of the scene on the TV. The paneled walls in in this room are painted China blue with gold moldings. All the room accents are also gilded. Then there are these huge purple drapes and rose-colored chairs. All in heavy velvet. Boris himself is wearing a red velvet smoking jacket, and at one point in the scene, he tears open the top button to reveal a gold satin lining. The whole movie is great eye-candy, as well as a great story. I need to make something in those colors. Or...take a trip to Monte Carlo right now!
Oh...I suppose I broke some copyright law by taking pictures of these images while they were transmitted to my TV set. If so, don't tell anyone, OK?