2026 OneThing #22 - Downsize RaDon Fabric

My wonderful boss Don Sibbet, owner of RaDon, Inc., let me take lots of horse blanket fabric scraps home. I've used this sturdy fabric for lots of different projects (a few shown below) and gave some to other people to use, but still had a lot here.

 

I've been trying to get rid of excess in my sewing room and having two large bins dedicated to this fabric was too much. By refolding and rearranging, I got it all into one bin. (It's a full bin with a lid that doesn't quite shut, but it's one bin.

I used the emptied bin for larger pieces of different kinds of fabric. Slowly but surely, I'm trying to minimize my stuff and use what I have.

 

Ever since I rearranged my sewing room for my new piece of furniture, I've had a certain number of things that have "lived" in the guest room so I can deal with them / sort them / etc. It was 18 distinct items to start with! Every time someone is coming over to stay, I pile the things back into my sewing room to prepare the guest room. Then when the guests leave, I put the extra stuff back in the guest room so my sewing room has room to move. Right now, I've only got six bins of "stuff" in the guest room. That's a big improvement! I've been adding fabric to my bag for donating freebies, which I'll do in July at an MQ meeting.

 

Here are some of my fun RaDon projects:

 

Because we've got storage on a home cloud that I can no longer access, I can't share pictures of my Kitchenaid mixer cover, the carry sack for our campfire kettle, and so many other things I've made over the years! This ugly red bag is for garbage and recycling on the pontoon boat. I have a big rock in it to keep it from blowing away. (I think the mini red bag is one I keep with crazy quilting to put loose threads and stuff in . . . )

 

On to a new week! 

2024 Studio Blog #32 - Medora Pattern

 At last Saturday's MQ meeting, I won a pattern! The 2025 show will feature "Medora" quilts. The pattern designer (Jill Blair of Materiella) was at the meeting and shared some of her quilts. Then she gave away twenty copies of the pattern. I'm not much of a pattern person, but I could also stand to follow directions and be more careful!

Since I can be a bit wild with my ideas and sewing, I decided to start by making a crib quilt. It's small and do-able. So when I got home from the meeting, I picked out some fabrics. That's it. That's as far as I got. But I love feeling excited and inspired!

If I like the design and the process, I may make a larger Medora quilt. It would be so nice to have a quilt in the 2025 show. And I'd love to build up a stash of baby quilts to give as gifts when someone's expecting.

Studio Post #15 - Fabric

I didn't actually spend any time at all in my studio this week. (Sad face) It was just a busy week! I had a Grandma Day, subbed three days, had a bad cold, and was just not very productive.

I had gotten some pretty fabric off the "free" table at the MQ meeting and I laundered it. That's all. I also took home some hexies but have decided to bring them back for the MQP group to enjoy or sell. My hexies are all cotton and I don't want to mix with these (which also have the stitches visible on the top).

I need to enter my 2024 MQ Challenge and my "God Heals" quilts. Deadline is midnight tomorrow!

Declutter #33 - One Step Back . . .

Sadly, not only did I NOT get rid of stuff this week, but I added unnecessary items to my household. 

I love sewing horse blankets and sheets at RaDon, Inc. I love that my boss is super generous with fabric scraps and no-longer-used bolts. I have used scrap fabric for many different things!

However, a co-worker (Kriss the amazing!) no longer wanted her bin of scraps that she had taken home over the years. She is clearing out a lot of her sewing room. Although I know that lots of fabric goes into the garbage . . . I just couldn't see these go! So I took them. All of them.

I now have burgundy, red, black, navy, forest green, kelly green, and gray/green scraps of "cordura" - at least that's what it sounds like. It's like a canvas but with a different texture. It's super handy for making sturdy things like grill covers, carry sacks, etc. 

What will I do with all of this?! I have no idea. Actually, I have some ideas, but it's not a priority right now. Ugh. Two steps forward, one step back.

My sister Ann and I just did some brainstorming. Perhaps I'll be able to use this stuff up!

If you want some, please let me know!

I also took a box with stall curtains that had a broken zipper. The customer wanted it replaced, but she ended up buying new curtains. These were going to be thrown away so I took them home! They measure 4' x 8'. I asked my sister-in-law who has horses if she wanted them, but she hadn't ever heard of stall curtains! I have a few other people I can ask, but they may just have to end up in the garbage.

Focus on the Positive #12

Honestly, I'm just too lazy to take a photo of my white board and add it to this entry . . .

For March 18-24: "Bday gift to Angela!"
I took her to lunch on March 22 (her birthday was the next day, but Louie and I went up to the lake for a long weekend). It was very nice to visit with her and she liked her gift, even though Louie said it needed something "fun" instead of just pragmatic stuff.

For March 25-31: "Wash fabric for Morgan and Angela wedding quilt."
Even though they got married a year and a half ago, I do not spend enough time in my studio! (It's all the puppy's fault.) I was hesitant to do this, because I dislike ironing and there are several yards of fabric! Yesterday (April 3) I finally washed, dried, and carefully folded it all! I may have a One Thing goal of ironing it sometime soon. . . . I know I got this thing done later than planned, but I did spend time last week working on the basement bathroom ceiling.

It is much easier to focus on positives these days. Quitting my job has been tremendous for reducing my stress level and helping me keep a smile on my face. I am so blessed!