Clean slates, bucket lists and Ornament a Day on IG

I know I am in the crafting minority but by year's end I will have completed all of my WIPs (works in progress). I kept procrastinating on finishing a Christmas quilt, when I decided I liked the backing better than the quilt top. I pulled more Christmas fabric from my stash and added to the backing from recent additions of mystery quilter shown below. The weekend thrift shop finds were quilt books eye candy and some seed packet fabric blocks with matching material.
I have just fallen out of love with this flimsy (shown here). Maybe it needs more, maybe it needs less - I may give it away next month on my Countdown to Christmas. 

What better time to refocus, destash and concentrate on one amazing quilt. My plaid fabric pull is waiting patiently for me to spin them into the Storm at Sea pattern. 

The destash was to get rid of the uglies. As I gain newer, prettier thrifted material, I go back to my stash and take a hard look. This culling was the greens and marginals. Olive green, not one of my favorites and those funky remnants where the colors are too bright or strident, off they went - to the Great Thrift Shop Beyond. 

My Just Be statement quilt has been submitted to the California Chapter of AARP for their caregiving art contest. There will be a panel of judges comprised of volunteers and AARP staff. I will know next month if my interpretation will be included in the exhibit.

I have been thinking it is time to create my Bucket List. Quilting was one of the items I had always wanted to do and have been thoroughly enmeshed in for the past three or so years. 

Mr. VZ mentioned last night, should he recover from his undefined illness, that he wanted to get horses again (he had them years ago). He has the tack, the fences, the room to accommodate that type of livestock. I, on the other hand, have never cared for livestock but as a child dreamed (begged my parents) of having a horse. It was not in the cards as it was just too expensive a hobby for a middle class family. I would have also had to board the horse some distance from where we lived. This is one childhood dream I hope I can realize.

Another bucket list item is to return to Paris. I toured Europe when I graduated from high school. It was a month-long 8 major city whirlwind with kids from all over the United States. For my hopeful return to Paris, I want to take an excursion boat along the Seine River, have dinner at Le Meurice and speak fractured French.

Thrifting, my favorite pastime, produced two sets of gloriousness. First, a Julia Klein Western jacket and 4 fun CDs, already ripped to my laptop. 

I snagged this Russian nesting doll seconds ahead of another fan. Another thrifter spotted her in my hand and asked if there was another one. There is a retail tag of $39 and the thrift shop tag of $3. She is beautiful, I will cherish her and give her a good home.

The fabric is the third round from a thrift shop in Jackson, California. I talked to the manager and this is the last from mystery quilter who bought some beautiful fabrics some 16 years ago. Fabric lines such as Moda and Robert Kaufman. The selvages are dated 2001.

Back to the Julia Klein jacket, when I saw the buttons, I knew it was worth $4.50 (and more, to me). Inside higher quality jackets are extra buttons and this jacket had one. It is an exact match for one on a Western jacket (some 30 years old) that had been missing one button. It is complete again. 

If you are in the Instagram neighborhood and want to play along with me, I will be posting an #ornamentaday beginning December 1.  Look for me under tamaschen, hope to see you there!