Fibermania

Guestroom clean-up uncovers old work

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Usually at the end of my teaching year, in November, I turn my attention to our house and the mess I left it in when I went on the road. But not this last November. Instead I turned my attention to making new quilts for my one person show in New Jersey that took place this month.

All of those 16 quilts have now been returned to me and adding those to the ones that I carry around for guild lectures means I have one heckova lotta quilts to put away this week. The guest room closet is my quilt depository. Should you be planning a heist, it is the middle bedroom, the chartreuse one. We are insured, so be my guest.

Once I had a plan to keep a running inventory of what was rolled up with what, should I need to pull out a specific quilt for a show or some such reason. Rolls of quilts were tagged and numbered and a chart was taped to the inside of the closet for easy reference.

This lasted less than a blink of an eye.

I must interject that I cannot pass up a bargain bedspread, or down comforter to save my life. So that quilt closet also serves as my linen closet for unused bedcoverings, handmade historic or otherwise (TJMaxx). I also have a penchant for buying new bed pillows but cannot seem to toss out any that are being replaced. It is a sickness.

Along with that sickness, I have never met a plastic bag that I did not love. I must hold on to them, just in case. I used to feel this way about cardboard boxes, but I was cured when I found Uline and could order brand new boxes the specific size that I need for quilt shipping.

Should a bedspread or comforter come in a plastic bag with a zipper, just try to get me to part with it. Over my dead body.

These bags take up a lot of space.
I have not used these bags in years and years.
I can live without these bags.
It won't kill me to toss out these bags.
Maybe tomorrow I can send these bags to the garbage.

Two views of the same closet. This is all the space I have left to fit all that is sitting on the bed pictured below. Not counting the quilts on the railing in the hall...

I succeeded in getting it all in and managed to close the doors of the closet, but don't try opening them without backup.

Here's Dave trying out the newly remade bed. See this for the original look of the room.He will take advantage of this room for naps, and for those restless midnight hours when he feels he can't sleep. That quilt is at least 22 years old and is machine pieced and hand quilted by little ol' me. Pretty much all polyester/cotton fabrics, with poly batt. What an embarrassment. Nevertheless, it is safe enough to allow an open door to the cats, and their erratic digestive systems. I can wash this quilt.

I also store my luggage in this tiny guest room, and since I was being so strong willed, I made a decision to eliminate some larger heavier pieces, and a carry-on bag that was never used, due to its lack of wheels. I put them both at the end of our driveway and it was only a few hours before someone came and asked if they were being given away. I said yes, please take them and he did.

What he didn't know was that there were about ten other bags being stashed within these two pieces.

O yes I am a magnet for tote bags.

I trip over them everywhere. I kept two for knitting etc.
Really. Only. Two.

In rearranging the closet to get optimum stashability I came across this ancient quilt that I made in my early days as a quilter. Yes, really. I made this. And it is brown, peach and blue, like my living room in my old house. It's about 37" square, machine pieced and hand quilted.

Please do not choke. Take a breath and then you may continue to laugh. There was a time when I was an obediant quilter and did the right thing, gathering coordinating fabrics and making certain to line up seams. I also used to be shy.

The binding was premade commercial bias tape, poly/cotton. You call that a corner? Geesh!