Rumors of my blog death are greatly exaggerated!

Hi friends,

Thanks for hanging on . . . somehow March just marched right on without me, it seems! I'm really not sure how it happened, but I got back onto my blog list, and there they were, all 1,000 plus blog posts, just waiting to be read! Yikes! That's right! I apparently got just a wee bit behind in my blog life! You know how it goes, the rest of life calls, and you must respond, and the blog life falls ever so quickly behind!

Here on the home front we're gearing up for a yard sale--not my usual thing. In fact, I've never held one before. We're working on simplifying our lives. Paring down to just the things we actually truly need. Need, as in actually use regularly, rely on, want, like, and have to have. Not think we will use one day; not have because some friend of a great aunt's second cousin gave it to us and may some day visit and we wouldn't want to offend by not having it on display; not keep because some list somewhere suggests that it may be trendy; not hold on to because I had it when I was a child and it holds some whiff of a positive emotion I had back in 1983. We're trying to go cold turkey on all those things and really stay focused on what we want and need right now. Simple living focused on the present and the future. This may be over-sharing, but here goes: I cut a small square out of my old, holey security blanket (a.k.a. "bankey") from childhood, threw the rest of it out (with a big gulp and a bit of a nostalgic tear), and then packed it away in a small box with some other carefully selected mementos I would actually put in a child's room (the blanket square being the one exception!). This whole process is clearly draining both physically and emotionally. I'm currently lying on my back on an ice pack recovering from apparently too heavy lifting yesterday. We're making great progress however!

I've also made great strides in the office/sewing room. It is a small room to begin with, and while I'm thrilled to even have a room dedicated to creative work, it was feeling a bit cramped, so as part of the paring down process, I've removed one of the tables, and opened up the space quite a bit. It feels so much airier and more conducive to work! I emptied out my built-in bookshelves of books, and put in jars filled with fabric, colorful zippers, buttons, and other notions. My next step is to paint my sewing table (a rummage sale retro piece) a funky Chinese red. Pictures to come!

I'm feeling inspired to get back to sewing, which I've done precious little of since I finished my zippy pouch. I've had two great sewing days at Ella's, which has been great fun--hopefully more to follow! I have decided to get cracking and to to make some tote bags, zippy pouches, and some little clutches to sell at our upcoming yard sale. If nothing sells, I've gotten a head start on Christmas!

Speaking of the zippy pouch swap, I don't think I've shared the marvelous pouch I received from Annabella!! I was so thrilled to discover that she was my secret partner!! Look at the marvelous pouch and scraps I received all the way from Morocco!!

I've loved all the great, rich colors that Annabella uses in her quilts. It's how I picture the lush, rich textiles of Morocco to be. I've been luxuriating in the yummy scraps that she sent, because they remind me of her quilts. It's funny how even though I could go out and buy the same fabrics, I just don't think I could combine them the same way to the same effect! And I just adore the robot fabric!! It's been one of my favorites for a while! And don't you love the patchwork piecing--so fabulous! So many of my favorite fabrics on this!!

Stay tuned faithful readers, changes coming soon to Shortcookie . . . I've gotten adventurous and should have some new design elements coming your way!