so I've been playing around with my novelty fabrics - they've missed me.  I decided I was going to cut strips 2.5" wide & 4.5" wide from all the scatter type prints just to make it a bit faster.  Fussy cutting is necessary on larger prints but much of my stash is the small prints - this way I don't have so much to refold after every quilt.   So since I had a bunch of 2.5" strips already cut I was looking at quilts that used noddles.  I found several, already posted pictures of a couple posted under a separate thread ("interesting jelly roll idea"0.  Here's another I've started - remember now why I don't like on point settings - I'm getting a crick in my neck looking at the strips on the wall side ways -

this is another idea from Jordan fabrics - called beads.  I made mine using 2.5 & 4.5 fabrics.  The background is also made from 4.5 squares - I didn't use her construction method at all.  But her instructions work well if you are using precuts.

I'm also using up scraps making a bunch (200+) 4 patches.  Rather than using 9 patches like in the pattern below I'm using 4 - 4 patches instead.  9 patches don't translate to 4" finished very well and I really want to use those 4.5 precuts.  So I'm making 4 patches that are 2" finished - yup crazy but it used up ALL the little odd scraps left from previous quilts.  Great leader/ender project.

Your version of  "Beads" is just awesome, Dee, and looks just so easy to make!  Thank you very, very much for sharing with us.

That looks great.

In preparation for our oldest daughter and son-in-law's visit this weekend, I've cleared out one of the kid's bedrooms that had been relegated to a catch-all room.  It has needed a cleaning and reorganizing for a long time.  Well, this visit has provided the impetus for me to get 'er done.

Some items were moved to the family room where my longarm and closet of UFOs is.  One of the items moved was a large milk crate of UFO projects that had been hiding in the catch-all room.    There was an appliqued top that I had wanted to bring to the Retreat this year but I couldn't find it in the UFO closet.   I wasn't worried that it was lost but really didn't know where it might be.  It turned out, it was in that milk crate!  No wonder I hadn't found it in time for the Retreat!  

In that milk crate, all neatly folded with bindings and (sometimes) backings and (sometimes) notes & leftover supplies were TEN UFOs.  Holy moley.  I don't think those 10 were included in the previous count of 42.  I unfolded all the projects, refolded, measured them and hung them on hangers.  Some of the tops were projects that I had completely forgotten I had even done!

Being at the Retreat has reignited my desire to get back to quilting, so what I think I'm gonna do is earmark one day a week to longarm quilting.  I have no shortage of tops to work on.  :-)  I like to approach projects (of any kind) in a logical, organized fashion, so I have been thinking on how best to choose which top to work on.  Should I simply work from one side of the closet to the other?  Should I flip through the tops and pick the one that strikes my fancy?  Should I work on the "bulkiest" ones .. the ones that have the backings hanging with them ... so that when they are removed from the closet, there will be more room?

Nope.  None of the above.  Like many longarm quilters, I use the area under my longarm for storage.  Batting storage, specifically.  Over the years, I have bought (on sale!   Look at how much money I'm saving!!) rolls and packaged batting of various sizes.  They are all taking up real estate under my longarm.  My M.O. for quilting is going to be to use up the batting under the longarm ... free up that space and decrease the visual clutter.  I'll take a package and look for a top that will best fit that batting size.

To make that choice easier, over the years, I had begun to pin a small paper label to the UFO with the dimensions of the top.  Not all tops have that paper label, so that is ANOTHER project that I need to do ... label all the UFOs with their sizes.  That will make picking out a top to go with a batting so much easier.   I will even go one step further and once all the UFOs have their dimensions on a label, I'll hang them in the closet grouped by size.  :-)

It will feel good to get back into quilting.  :-)

I think it is wonderful that your daughter and son-in-law are visiting and have lit a fire under you to get so much organizing done.

Your M.O. for your quilt agenda is very clever; let the batting lead the way to quilt happiness, so to speak.

Yeah, I'm a real professional when it comes to procrastinating.  There's nothing like a deadline to get things done.  :-)

the old 'company is coming, yikes, gotta clean up' syndrome!!

Your plan of attack is admirable...

like that!

Re company is coming, one of my fav memories of my son was a cleaning day, me giving every one their assignments and him asking who was coming to visit. When I answered no one he asked then why are we cleaning...

You are very welcome. It was easy though I am redoing a few placements because I did not like the color arrangement. Otherwise it would be done. This one will give me 4 tops to quilt. The bathroom remodel is done except I still have cabinets and basebords to paint. But all the construction materials are off my table so I can quilt now. FINALLY.