I keep inspiring notes on my board...
I have evidence of other people's creativity to spur me on...
Nothing like heroes of the Zombie Apocalypse to generate excitement and fervor (especially if the Xena-like warrior is your own daughter! Go Emily!!! lol)!!
But nothing much has worked until this week.
I took a mad risk.
I've known for a while that I can't function in chaos. And my Sewing Room/Mary Kay office has been a testimony to a cluttered mind for some time. Piles of this and that....paperwork and inventory and unfinished projects, and projects that need to be finished because of deadlines and LAST year's deadlines unmet...
No wonder I haven't been sewing!!
This past week, though, I did something I'd been threatening for a while.
I had a YARD SALE!!!
Oh. My. Word!!
Do you know you can clean out stuff? That you can down size? You can rid yourself of clothes unworn and household dust-catchers, and even....dare I say it...FABRIC!?! at a yard sale!?! And I did!! To the tune of over a $1,000!
I set out on a mission to de-clutter and scale down. Is it possible to have too much fabric!? For me, the answer is yes. I couldn't get to the pieces I wanted. I couldn't see the forest for the trees!! I couldn't pull out pieces to audition because there were already too many pieces out!!
So I got desperate and ruthless, and starting making decisions about what I would keep and what could go. That fabulous Jan Patek block-of-the-month. There are other applique projects that I want more, so it hit the sale table. UFO's that I'd lost interest in, or had started in a class only to push it to the back of the closet. Yards and yards of "It's so pretty I can't resist it!" fabric filled laundry baskets. Neutrals, prints, Moda, RJR, even my precious Thimbleberries....pared down to manageable amounts.
That Orca Bay Bonnie Hunter mystery that I was sure I wouldn't be finishing...suddenly, with some of the clutter removed, I could put pieces on the design wall...
Could it...?
Would it work....?
Oh. My. Word!!!
It's a quilt top!! A sorta Bonnie Hunter meets Jo Morton little quilt top!! And I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl!! I'm a quilter again!!! Who knew!!?!?
One of my favorite passages of scripture is from Hebrews 12:1. The Amplified version says it this way:
"Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12:1 AMP)
Entangled is a good word. And I have to laugh about stripping off the encumbrance. All day at the yard sale I wore a quilt t-shirt that said, "Eleanor Burns made a stripper outta me!"
How it matters that we throw aside the things that are keeping us from becoming all God created us to be!!
I keep visualizing the Space Shuttle...with the pieces falling off, boosters shooting the spacecraft into orbit....Beautiful!! What unnecessary weight do you need to throw off!?
This is my year. My jubilee! Mary Kay said, "If you simplify, you will simply fly!" Pounds (20 so far!), and clutter and yes, even beautiful things that cannot be appreciated for the sheer bulk of them. It's time to be boosted to the stars!! Time to be ALL that God desires me to be!
Blessings!!
28 comments:
Well rats, Mary Lou... you've inspired me to start on the post I've had in my head for the past week. I guess I'll go write it... tomorrow... :)
Love this! Maybe now I will get out my Orca Bay parts and make something of them--I am already sending off packages of fabrics to friends today. You inspire me!!
WOW!, what a great post. AND what a great stripper you turned out to be; 20 lbs, $1000 garage sale. The quilt looks great. Very inspiring!
I wish I'd known you were having a yard sale - I'd have driven five hours to get there! My niece is in school near you now, so I'd get to see her too! Congrats on such a wonderful result from your sale, and it's good to see you back!
I love this post! If you simplify you will simply fly... words to remember. It's so good to see that you're back and flying again... I have missed you!
Congratulations on your completed mission. I need to do the same thing.
Wow, so much I could comment on but I will keep it to one thing (simple, you know?). Congratulations on the 20 pounds. That's something I started working on, too. Good job on the yard sale.
Praise the Lord!!! You are inspiring many!!! Thanks for sharing!! Your version of Orca Bay is beautiful!!
Blessings
You have been missed! Dear Kentucky neighbor, I would have probably made the two-hour drive south if I had known you had Moda and Thimbleberries for sale.
Good to hear from you again, have been checking in. And I feel the need to do some decluttering of my own, it hinders productivity. Great post. Thankyou.
So glad to see you here Mary Lou!! Your Orca Bay...just fabulous and Yes, it is so cleansing to the house, spirit,mind and soul to de-clutter, throw it all off and have a banging yardsale!! I need to make those words into a sign for my wall- If you Simply, you will Simply Fly! You go girl!
I...have...missed...you...SO...MUCH! It is good to read a post by you. You aren't kidding about the weight of the world holding you back... Congrats on it all...quilting again, the yard sale, the weight loss, all of it. I think your Orca Bay looks great...there are a few things I am "missing" right now...I need to straighten up and find them. They are just under something...somewhere! I invited friends over to sew tomorrow...THAT will do it. I've been tidying up the cave.
In stitches,
Teresa :o)
What a great post...we could be twins. :) I too have been feeling the need to declutter, simplify, clean out (whatever you want to call it!). I think it's because we are overdue for PCS orders and usually we would have moved by this point, which is a great way to clear out clutter! Love your "new" Orca Bay quilt!
What a wonderful post! Love "If you simplify you simply fly"...I've been decluttering all year and it's an awesome feeling. Keep up the good work! Congrats on 20 pounds...Way to GO!
Wow. what a post! All I can say is: You go girl and AMEN!
Great post..I've been in a bit of a fog the past few months..you've inspired me to do something about it!
You've been missed in blog land. Hope everything is going well for you. Are you still selling Mary Kay? My BFF has been selling it for ages now.
I love your daughter’s campaign posters. That is true creativity right there. I think keeping the post it notes where you can see them is a great way to spark something. Try something new or listen to some awesome music and see if that helps at all.
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I draw inspiration from everything when Ive writers block. I take inspiration from news stories, from YouTube videos, music, a story my friend told me, your own personal experiences, and anything and everything in between. It is not wrong to get ideas from everyday things such as a news story about a gay teenager committing suicide, or an attempt terrorist attack of an airplane. If you do end up using something like a news story, you have to make it your own. Keep that in mind if you do use those points as your inspiration.
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Thinking of what to keep and what could go is hard, but we surely need to remove from being entangled.
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such a lovely quilt :D Good job :)
I just today discovered your blog, and I've scanned all the way through, loving all I read! Your quilts are as beautiful as the encouraging words you shared. I would be very happy, when you find this comment, if you would continue to blog. I'm sure others who followed your blog would be pleased too. I do hope you can find time for that. I needed to read your words about weeding out things (and fabric) that I will never use. I may try to get started on that next week --- maybe.
---"Love"
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