And I am still picking out paper...
I haven't been sewing or even going into my sewing room lately.
I HAVE been going down to the mister's office  and eyeing all the shelving down there.
 He has been getting rid of magazines he has had for years!....
It took a bit of convincing him to let them go.  
 So ...out to the recycling every week, a magazines box goes!
  Don't worry, not anything worth anything, just trade magazines and manufacturing mags.
  Crap, he has stuff from when he went to a seminar, that is written in Chinese!..(it was a seminar soliciting businesses to relocate in China)...
 OUT!
 OUT!
 OUT!
 Out with it all...
Sooooo, I've been eyeing all that space....
For my paper crafts, punches, paints, inks and some of the grand daughters' craft stuff.
There are 2 book shelves and a large 3 section Ikea shelving unit down there.

 That huge desk he has will be nice to work on....such a large surface....lol!
It's not one of those cheap desks you get now but a large wooden desk from 35 or so years ago.  It's heavy, sturdy and made of solid wood....but not ornate,  just plain and functionable....with drawers and a lockable drawer! 

Oh, and that really comfy chair!!!!!

I have been picking out paper...and picking out paper............... and picking out paper.  It seems like it never ends.

It's a horrible job, especially on this spider web quilt.

I put most of the SW quilt together, then found the paper was really in the way.
Imagine having a queen sized piece of paper that you are trying to get through the sewing machine.
I decided, (when I couldn't keep the seams straight), that I would now remove it.
The big pieces came out okay.  Smaller pieces in the seams were harder ....the crumbs are a royal pain in the eyes.  I pick at those with tweezers.
So, of course, I have little bits of paper all over the house. 
I've been taking the quilt outside and giving it a shake once in awhile.  That helps...I am vacuuming my sewing room often, but still dragging little bits around.  I find them in the family room, living room....in the bedroom. 
No, it's not the cat, MissT playing with them.....she has been hiding on a heating vent for days now.

So now I have most of the paper out.

I decided to press the top, which I did and found a bit more paper.  The laid the top on my bed to see how it looked, and to judge the size.

The mister doesn't like a quilt or sheets and blankets to hang over the edge too much.  The last quilt I made I listened to him and made it shorter..
Hmmmm..
He's pigging the blankets and I am cold.  I barely have any over the edge.
So, I am not going to accommodate him,  I want it longer on the sides.
I had another row to sew on the quilt, which I've done now. ...and started picking out the paper from that row.  Half finished.  I am seeing an end to this quilt ...FINALLY.
I haven't decided yet if I will put this on the frame or not..either way it will be machine quilted.
And......
My Framer's Wife Sampler is calling me.
It wants to be finished too...hehehe.  I am more than half finished it
I sat down at the machine on the weekend to make some doll "backpacks and book bags" for Courtney and one of the patterns for FWS fell into my lap.
I have the same paper in the one, but I don't think it will be as bad to remove as the spider web quilt.
BUT, from now on, I am using the wash away paper.   I have some, there is lots on the market now, the price should be coming down, but, I don't care how expensive it is...it is a lot less work.  I would have been done by now if I didn't have to remove it...plus all the cleaning...gee ...who WANTS to vacuum....not me.  I keep it mostly to clean out the sewing machine!!  lol.  Besides, my time is worth the cost.
So, if you hear me say I will use "paper" again....hit me upside the head and remind me what a mess this was and how much I "LOVED" picking out the pieces.

I sit here, eating my lunch, a nice big salad of chicken, romaine, cucumber, red, yellow and orange pepper and sweet onion...or yeah...cherry tomatoes too, with a roasted red pepper dressing.  A delicious salad! and all the calories come from the dressing and chicken.
 I love it!
 It's been hard to get back to watching what I eat.
 Just getting the motivation is hard.
  and....
 January 21 is coming up fast. 
That is when most people abandon their diet resolutions.  I hope to keep at it and lose a few more pounds.
 I've already lost 5...but that can come back over night!
 Maybe blogging will help keep me on track.
 My sister and I usually do this together with varying degrees of success!  Along with, of course, our misters. 
Sitting at the sewing machine for hours doesn't help! LOL!  Sis will sit and draw for hours!
 Right now I have some cookies cooling, I made them for guild...I can smell them and they smell really good....but I am not going to touch them. (besides I drank all my tea and if I have more tea, I won't sleep)  I will have some sweeties at the meeting.
In the meantime, I need to go work on pulling out more paper.

Things have really changed around here.
I haven't blogged for a long time.  Or even sewn much for that matter.
I had one sister-in-law pass away from cancer.(the mister's sister).  In hindsight, I think she had ovarion cancer all along .  (they removed an 18 pound growth from her ovaries a couple of years ago, said it wasn't cancer and they got it all.)  and..  She never really felt better.
That put a damper on Christmas....the mister was in a bit of a funk and I didn't nag him about it.
On the bright side, my sister came back to Canada to live and is about 20 minutes away from me.
Where she lived before, she had spotty internet service, so we couldn't Skype, emails were iffy and phonecalls expensive.
But, now she is close and it's easier to keep in touch.
The mister and I are TRYING to lose weight.....lol...he put on weight through the holidays.  I didn't.  But now watching what we eat, he is losing faster than me...the bugger...We have been walking or trying to walk.  We have a snow storm just after Christmas and the side walks weren't cleared very well. 
I hurt my knee walking on the ice and snow...and overdoing it didn't help much.  But the weight is leaving .......(I still have a few little chocolate bars from hollowe'en! hehe)

I have been working on one paperpieced quilt (spiderweb).  I have been spending DAYS pulling out the paper.  GOSH! what a messy job.  From now on, I will not be using paper but a paper like wash away foundation instead.
I used paper in my farmer's wife sampler and I am dreading tearing that out.