Fall Cleaning

Did you feel the earth rumble or hear the angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus? This week I began my fall cleaning! And by Fall Cleaning, you’d think that would be an annual event, like, um, every fall or something. But you’d be wrong. This is actually more of a periodic purging, a dynamic decluttering or a kool KonMari kaper.  I think we can all be grateful at this moment that my alliterator has conked out. Mary Anne, I’m looking at you when I say this is all your fault! (wink)

Actually, we’re beginning The Official Downsizing of the Aged. Specifically, this weekend we’ll be getting rid of an old beat-up computer work station and a double bed. My two sons are coming over to do the actual work. My computer work station in our downstairs office will be replaced by an old desk that is currently situated in my sewing studio. The desk is in its fourth life now and is a beastly heavy solid maple thing. It was my son’s desk in its third life, my desk in its second life, and my mom’s desk in  its first life. Yeah, it’s almost a hundred years old. After the desk shuffle, there will be a bed shuffle upstairs. Our old double bed (mattress, box spring and frame) will join the battered work station outside where they will await re-homing by 1-800-Got-Junk. The guest room daybed (with pop-up trundle to make a double bed) will move into the master bedroom. That will leave the guest bedroom almost empty so I can shampoo the carpet and set up the kitties’ own lair. There are a couple old armchairs in the downstairs bedroom that may join them. I’m torn between getting rid of everything now or waiting until spring to have a monster huge yard sale. We’ll see...

But in between emptying drawers and removing a foot of dust off the old junk, I did manage to get some stitching done. I quilted two kids’ quilts for Quilts for kids, so they’ll join the five other donation quilts that I’ll be dropping off this morning before The Great Reshuffle begins. I made a serious dent in my yellow scraps this week sewing blocks and things for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge’s yellow October. 

First, here are 27 yellow string blocks (I had a lot of strings) at 6.5” unfinished size.

Then I began tackling the little scraps, sewing them into panels to make another scrap basket.

Here it is on the shelf with the yellow and orange fabrics and the orange scrap basket. 

When that was done, I made three Beachcomber blocks.

That completed all the blocks I need to assemble this Rainbow Scrap quilt top. It will be waiting its turn in  the assembly line, probably in December.  But here is a sampling of some of the blocks that represent all the colors.

Also, with Cousin Kim’s help, we got a better picture of Tyrol, the quilt I finished last week.

And just for a laugh, I have to share this picture. When I was clearing out the old clothing storage under the bed, I found my old majorette costume from high school. We were the Royal Oak Romans (Royal Oak High School, Covina, California, Class of ‘72) and our school colors were blue and gold. This was a halter style, backless and left virtually nothing to the imagination. 

And my Letterman’s (Letterwoman’s?) Sweater

These are going to the thrift store, because I know my kids will have no interest in them (and who can blame them?). They may just make a funny Halloween costume for someone...