Friday, January 2, 2015

I hope it is not true.......

They say what you do on January 1st you will do all year.  Please tell me that I won't be cleaning my basement every day!  I have been wanting to tackle the fruit cellar for a long time.  This is looking to the left.  The shelves go all along that wall to the right.  It is 14 feet wide, the same as the bedroom above it.




There are lots of things in there that I don't need such as these trims from the 1960s.












I have gotten rid of a lot of my patterns but kept a select few.  This costume pattern was for my grandsons and they will be 25 in February and March.




On the upper shelf on the right I have my packaged batting.  If you look up in the rafters, that is the 4 long boards of an antique quilting frame.  It was removed from my in-laws' house when we emptied it in 1981.  I was the only quilter in the family so it came to my house.  I had hand quilted one quilt before this time period.
If you click on this photo of fabric you will see that it says Indian Head on it.  Indian Head cotton was a very nice quality cloth from the 1950-60s.  I'm not sure when it was discontinued.  I had a dress out of this print but still have 1 1/4+ yards of it.  It has been washed and is 34" wide.  Almost all fabric was 35 - 36" wide at that time.  Washing reduced this to 34".  I will vacuum the fruit cellar today and put my rolls of batting back in there after I cut some pieces to prepare for quilting a couple quilts.
My daughter sent me some yarn for Christmas.  This one is 60% Corn Viscose and 40% cotton.  It is very soft so I thought I would knit a scarf for myself.

28 comments:

Judy said...

I, too have been cleaning my basement the first of January. There are many items that will no longer be living in my basement by the end of the month.

Maryse said...

I've heard before that the first twelve days of the year are related to all twelve months and give you signs as the year might go... It might be a good thing to pay attention to your thoughts and actions...I guess it is the perfect time to live your life as best as you can...I don't know if any of this is true but what do we have to lose anyway?

Best wishes for 2015!

Mary said...

Who knows what other treasures you'll discover in there! That's a really pretty scarf pattern and yarn.

Beth@IHaveANotion.com said...

I too, hope the first day is not how the rest goes. I didn't even make it to the creative space yesterday!!! On the other hand if organizing and prioritizing... is where this leads, you could have a very productive year!!!

Pat said...

I don't have as large an area as you but need to go through some bins that I have to see if there is anything to get rid of. I am always trying to downsize my junk. If you are selling or giving any of those trims away I would be interested. I used all mine up on Christmas presents this year and would love more to play around with.

Rebecca said...

Beautiful yarn and pattern for the scarf. I am not much of a knitter but have never heard of Corn Viscose. It looks so soft will have to look for it. Thanks for sharing your projects. I enjoy your blog so much.

MontyBear said...

Your post made me laugh.

JustGail said...

Well, if true, I'll be putting decorations away all year (yesterday sounded like the warmest day to have the attic door open). Or maybe just putting things away in general all year? Which wouldn't be a totally bad thing, but not nearly as fun as sewing & needlework.

How big is that old quilting frame? I wonder if there is a way to put it to use displaying some of your quilts.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

it is amazing what all we gather up for our sewing needs, some we buy to use once and have left over and it gets tossed in a plastic bin never to be seen again. When I was helping my daughter make a last minute Xmas gift she asked me to tell her what all she needed to go buy - I asked her "why"? "come into my sewing room and I bet we can find all you need!" and we did

Anonymous said...

You mentioning Indian Head and 36" wide fabric brought back a flood of memories I'd not thought of in years! My parents owned a 'general' store in a small Iowa town and I grew up cutting fabric for customers. It was especially fun when I started to sew some of my own clothing and I'd cut a piece for myself!! I have some quilts made by my mother and naturally the fabrics came from our store. The piece of Indian Head fabric you have is beautiful!!

Marie said...

Heaven help me if what I did yesterday is an indication of what I will do this year - I was a TOTAL couch potato! Too many quilts on the horizon to have me lolling about on the sofa all year...:)

Vicki W said...

I see some eBay opportunities there! I was going through some things yesterday too and considering a big eBay clean out.

Nann said...

I sewed yesterday.
I did not clean house.
Thus the precedent for 2015 is set.

P.S. Love the Indian Head print. Is it the right texture/weight to use in a quilt?

CapitolaQuilter said...

I hadn't heard that saying before, would've done a few things differently. Love the costume pattern. If you interpret that you were productive and faced things head on that'd be a sunny approach to the new year.

Sharron Keck said...

I completely took a day off yesterday - played Harry Potter on my WII!! I envy you your basement and the opportunity to find 'lost' items.

Marci said...

I was finishing a gift to be given tomorrow, wonder if that means I'll finish things this year?
I do crazy quilts, want to sell those trims?

Needled Mom said...

I thought about that saying yesterday as well in between helping care for my mom, babysitting some of the grandchildren, cleaning and cooking!!!

I wish I had a basement to clean. Since we don't have attics either our only storage space is closets and garages. You'll love the organization once you are done.

Jean said...

I had that pattern. Made batman and robin costumes for two oldest boys one yr. for Halloween. I have an Indian Head Christmas tablecloth a family member gifted me. She is no longer with us. Yesterday, I worked on simple quilts for Haiti. What pattern to you used for your knit dishcloths. Can you get more than one from a skein of cotton yarn?

JJM said...

It was a fun trip through your basement fruit cellar. And what treasures you have in there. And the yarn looks elegant. I am sure it will feel as good as it looks. I like the fiber content also... will have to do some searching for some myself. . . And Oh my ~ I hope that is not a true prediction for the first day of the year... I had and have the flu !

JJM

Teresa in Music City said...

Not fun! But it feels so good when you're done, doesn't it? You'll be so happy the rest of the year when you see those neatly organized shelves :) Great scarf in the making there! Love the color.

Sharon said...

My guy is moving from 4000 sq Ft to 1200 sq Ft this spring. Thank goodness he's not a quilter, nor a collector of anything. Oh let the purging begin!

Anonymous said...

I have cleaned three boxes from the garage. Will take it in small steps. Time to play now......oh, need to fold towels.....then play. Have a good day.

Marei said...

I'm in love with your 1960's trims!! And the Indian Head cotton is something I would still wear today....and I'm pretty sure I had a skirt out of it in Jr. High. I think instead of "cleaning" you were "playing with fabric" and who doesn't want to do that ALL YEAR??? Happy New Year, Wanda.

Sujata Shah said...

Happy New Year Wanda! I used to believe nothing ever repeated from the first of the year. I hope that's true in your case. We do want to see more colorful projects from your sewing room.

Charlotta said...

I just got back from a very nice but too short cruise in the Caribbean, and I know for a fact the I will not be cruising the subtropical waters the rest of the year as I did on January 1st! So there goes that saying!
No need to worry about having to spend a year in the basement, Wanda!

Jeannette said...

More likely than cleaning you may be entering in to pull out stash you can now find more easily. I liked the part about sending the son home with some of his storage,,,

Happy to you.

Purple Pam said...

Wow! You have so much storage space. I envy you. The color and pattern of your scarf is great. I have taken up knitting again and I am trying to challenge myself to do more complicated patterns.

Michele said...

I should be doing more organizing, but I spent the last few days quilting two quilts for my grandkids. They are getting new bunk beds and needed new quilts.
Love your scarf. Can you tell me the name of the pattern?