Done!!

Well, half done really!!

So, the last couple of months my blogging has shown that I haven't gotten much done. That's because DH's siblings decided we had to sell their parents house......now. We won't talk about how much of  a disaster that all is but since just before thanksgiving, every weekend except one we have spent 2 - 3 days down there going through the stuff. We worked Thanksgiving day, Christmas day and New Years day. DH and I were the main ones working on it. My poor husband had to haul everything down from the attic on those pull down steps, filling several rooms with stuff. Then the massive job of going through each box. My mother in law was a great organizer. I've given away about 300 clear shoe box size containers from The Container Store....still have a few.... to give you just an idea of what was up there. That's only a small part of what was up there!

I went through it all, keeping the good stuff that we craft people could use and sending some to Goodwill for others to enjoy.

Here's a good example of what I brought home a week ago.

There are 4 white bags. They contain towels. The black bags are full of sheets. I washed all the towels and divided them by wash cloth, handtowel and towel piles. The towels will go to my good friend's daughter who is a vet and needs towels to work with the dogs she helps. The rest I divided into 2 stacks. One stack will go to a friend who's a potter and the other I'll take to the center for the potters there to use. Apparently, potters like old towels for working with clay, etc.
That's just a small part of a van load. Each week when we came back, the van was full. Saturday evening when we came home, we had both vehicles full. My house is now, too.
So, we're half done. The place down there is empty. I won't have to go down there again for a long time!!
Now I have to find the time to go through all those boxes I collected and put the things into the correct ones again. We were in such a rush, it was just like, fill the box, move on. I already have almost a full office depot box of buttons, one of laces, notions.... I will never have to buy another straight pin, hand sewing needle or measuring tape again. Did I mention my mother in law was a hoarder of the coolest kind? My job is to figure out what I can use and then find homes for the rest.
Of course, in all of this, too, are pictures. There are several office depot size boxes full of pictures and negatives. DH and his sister were amazed when they found pictures they had never seen, of themselves as children and some of relatives. Now that we're done down there, he'll have time to go through them again, scan some to send to family and figure out where we can store the originals.
Hm, I think a scrapbook might be a good project to do. I do have a few things in my studio that would be helpful in creating one.
There's supposed to be a blizzard up north. I wouldn't mind having one down here, too. That way I'd have the time to go through a few boxes and see how many I could empty.....into the right bins!!

Do you know what kind of relief it is, knowing you don't have to go down to keep finding more stuff that you had no idea was there? Even though I've found some awesome quilting tools that I'd never have bought for myself, still in the original bag she purchased them in, that I'll really enjoy using when I work on another quilt, it's just overwhelming and sad to see.
Each week when we went down we'd go eat at The Original Pancake House, best place in Atlanta, and The Landmark Jr restaurant, also a wonderful place with amazing cakes. We've gone to both many times over the years. This time we said goodbye, we won't be back for quite awhile. Hugs. The lady who's almost always at the desk at the Executive Park Courtyard by Marriott was sad when I told her that this was it. She'll remember us because the other weekend, DH stuck his room key in his shirt pocket, next to his phone....and the 2 magnets he'd found that he thought our friend Pierre would like. That took 2 trips back down to the desk to get the room key re done before he realized what he was doing. I guess you make memories wherever you are. (Did you know that your phone can mess up the key, too?!)

What's on the loom? I am weaving the panels for the curtains I need to have done soon. I've got 7 done and hopefully 3 more on this warp. Then I'll wind another warp for the other 10. I'd like to get them done by early next week so I can wash and sew them. Then it'll be on to rugs.

So Saturday, would love to sleep in, but there'll be a box or 3 that needs emptying. I need more than just a path to my chair in the living room!!

I'm sure there's a lesson in here somewhere about having too much stuff, but really, we craft people need things to use to make things. Our daughter worries about what to do when we're gone. I just keep telling her to call Tuesday Weavers. They'll know what to do with everything. Could make some nice money for our bank account, right, Marie?! Only if you're sure you're never going to use something, should you give things away. Like all of us, I just need time to do everything on my list. I'm ready for the blizzard when we're stuck at home for a week but still have power, cable and plenty of food. We need inspiration and sometimes it's right there on the shelves of our studio. Sure, stash busting by weaving what you've got is great. That's what I do. I figure out a project, find my yarns that work and just order what I need to complete it, usually the weft. There's a continual rotation of yarn being used. Donations are always appreciated because they add to what we already have to make a project work plus they give us inspiration for more projects.

Until next week, keep weaving and stay warm!
Hope you're not affected by the storm that seems to be building up for tomorrow!
Carol