Welcome to the Playroom at 14 Peonystreet!

This blog started in the "playroom". That's what DH calls artwork- playing. Wish I could live in the "playroom" forever.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

How Do You Know When to Abandon a Project- Learning to Let GO

Decisions, Decisions.......

I love watching the home renovation shows like Property Brothers, Love it or List it, and Bar Rescue. The obvious satisfaction of seeing a before and after, with a much improved after, is a compelling, almost obsessive pastime. I think I like it because they actually get things FINISHED, and I am a finisher. I don’t like loose ends....

Enter, stage left, a (quilt) project, started in 1990-something......taken out of the box and looked at and rearranged and restarted, after 7 years. Made three rows, need to make 8 more. I’m out of the fabrics in the colors needed to make this a successful quilt. I have learned much about color and value since seven years ago to know that without the correct colors, this quilt just won’t work. There’s nothing wrong with starting and stopping a project, but how do you know when to just give up on one completely? And especially when you’ve invested time and money already on it? Years of your life too?

Try to take a realistic approach to it, and as unemotional as you can, ask yourself some questions. What it will take to finish it– more time at the quilt store? More money? More fabrics not already in your almost quilt store sized stash? Once you start looking at the project again, you’ll probably remember why you stopped working on it. If you really love it, can you finish it within a week or two, better yet- in a DAY or two? Why? Because you’ll be done with it and the problem will be resolved. The important verb here is to create MOVEMENT in your life, not stagnation.
A more important question: do you really LOVE IT? If you can honestly say that you are not IN LOVE with the project, there’s no use keeping it. It will just become a guilty burden for you.
Does it have the same meaning for you as it did when you started it?
How would you feel if this project wasn’t sitting there anymore, in your to do pile, staring at you and making yourself feel guilty for not finishing it? If the answer to this question is "FREE"- to move on to more updated fabrics and new more modern projects, then stop the project and give it away, sell it or whatever. It’s best to not have it there anymore, because if you keep it, you’ll still feel guilty. Whatever you do, DON’T make it into a pillow, unless you LOVE IT. It will drive you crazy every time you look at it, because you’ll start thinking about it too much, and kicking yourself for not finishing it.
There’s a freedom and weight lifted off your shoulders by clearing out the cobwebs in your head (project box). You’ll feel lighter, more energetic, look forward to new projects.
Sometimes you just have to let things go. Live unapologetically. Don’t worry about what others will think if you abandon this project. It’s YOUR life, and you only have so much time to live it. Do what you LOVE doing, don’t settle for the mediocre. This is the time you need to be decisive, stop procrastinating and get moving! Good luck and Happy New Year!

Friday, November 23, 2012

A Litt'l Bit 'O Christmas... Gingerbread, That Is......

Thought you'd like to see these delightful
images of fabric gingerbread houses!

These candies look so incredibly real.
The only problem I have with stuff like this is
it makes me want to eat it-- and I know I can't,
so it's very frustrating.

If I had one of these in my house, I think I'd be visiting
the kitchen pantry all the time, looking for chocolate.
I love the detail work on these- They look so real!
M&M's, Lifesavers, Kisses, Pretzels, Peppermints, Chocolates--
dancing in my head tonight!
Sorry, gotta go....gotta find out what's in the pantry.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Salute to Our Veterans and Their Families

Thank You!
Thank you to all our Veteran's, past and present.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts
for the sacrifices you have made,
you- the Veteran- and
you-the families,
who have endured so much,
lost so much,
gave so much.
We thank you.
God Bless you Today and Always.
Sincerely,  BB
XXOO

Monday, October 29, 2012

Happy Halloween, Y'all!



It's getting a little nippy down here.....
Drawing by Yours Truely- Moi!

Happy Halloween!

Friday, October 12, 2012

This Week On the Farm......

The fog is fogging.....
(The cool autumn air makes me a little giddy.  I just can't help but say these things in a childish way....)


the mushrooms are mushing....

...the dog is waiting....
...the clouds are clouding...
...the ants are anting....
...the walnut tree is nutting...
... a butterfly is resting....
...Bog boots are bogging....
....Autumn is autuming....
...one Hydrangea is blooming (!).....
...the Camellia is budding....

...a Blue Heron is visiting....

...a bird is warblering....
...the pellet stove is pelleting...

...and all is beautiful and well.

Monday, October 8, 2012

The Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook - Review - One of My Most Favorite Cookbooks

While we're anxiously awaiting the results of National Banana Pudding
Contest,  (Update:   The winner is Stephanie Lutz of Spring Hill, TN.  Her recipe is entitled "Fosters Banana Pudding."  So far, have not found if she's sharing her recipe or not.)
~
 I want to tell you about my "secret weapon".
I love this cookbook!
I love reading this book and the recipes are reliable.
And they involve science.  I like science!
Plus, it has the word "farmhouse" in it.  I have a thing for farmhouses.

Yeah, you guessed the author- Chris Kimball.  Author of Cooks Illustrated,
Cooks Country magazine and Lots of cookbooks.  And he's head of America's Test Kitchen.  He also
 
Here's a photo of some of the pages - Applesauce -
There's tapioca recipes-- a subject food that's near and dear to my heart....
And- biscuits... I love to write in my cookbooks- that makes them
special to me- and these are the books I know I'll keep forever.
I refer to this one a lot, and as long as you follow the recipes as
they are written, you'll have success.  There are no photographs in the book, but you
don't need them.  I've had a 100% success rate using these recipes as written.
This is one is obviously rated a 10-- even for beginners- because
techniques and the reasons why you do what you do, are
explained.  Ingredients are also easy to find.
Happy cooking!

Friday, October 5, 2012

National Banana Pudding Festival & Hickman County, TN Quilt Show

Let's Go to the Banana Pudding Festival!
Click on the banner to go the website for full details.  
$4.00 admission fee, free parking, $3.00 to go into the Puddin' Path.

They also have a quilt show!  I think the quilt show is free.
~
I attended the first annual Festival and really
had a great time!
There's a pudding contest- where you pay $3.00 to taste the
competetors puddings  (organizations raising funds), then put money in a jar as to who's you
think is best-- that's the Puddin' Path.  This starts at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6.
 (Click on Puddin' Path for full details)
If you LOVE banana pudding- you will want to participate in this event. 
~
The quilt show is in town at a church and it is well worth going to!!
The first year they had all these antique quilts on display!  There are some amazing quilter's in this area. Here's a few for you to look at from the 2010 show:

~
Going to Centerville is a nice drive, into a rural part of MIddle TN.  About
an hour's drive southwest of Nashville, TN.
See you there!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Pennsylvania Redwork - Unfinished Business


Looks a little bit Christmas-y, doesn't it?
~
Life has a way of slowing you down sometimes.
I dug out this project I started a few years back,
looking for some mindless task to keep me-self occupied.
It's been on my mind lately, because it's unfinished business.
~
There's things I want to finish, just for the fact that I don't
like loose ends.
The pattern and fabric are from a kit I got years
ago- just had to have it because of all the bright colors.
This is a very ambitious project.
It's Pennsylvania Redwork, designed by Ann Kennedy, and
it was published by Labors of Love.  I can't find them
anymore.  I think they sold a lot of these kits, but I've never
seen one of them finished.

Quilt is 82" wide by 102" long.
~
The quilt involves LOTS of little pieces.  I thought at first,
that I'd be able to applique by needleturn, but they were
just too small.  Fusible machine applique was my only option.
Here are a few of the center blocks.

Sometimes I still feel as empty as this chair inside,
due to the loss of my mother.
But I'll keep going and one day I'll have this quilt finished
and hanging upon my wall.
It will remind me that love endures
no matter what happens.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin