Double Dog Dare

First off I want to say I am not trying to offend anyone.  I think all of the different blogs I visit are wonderful, the artists are truly talented and inspirational, and I get a chuckle out of them all at one time or another, and eventually really get a good belly laugh at myself.   I am going to admit I am guilty of all of the following.

How many of us have seen someone's quilt and had to make one.  We drop everything we are doing to make it or one like it. Yes I hear the Siren call of the Swoon blocks, the granny squares, or scrappy trip around the world.  Have I succumbed?  Not yet, but when wonderful quilters make so many gorgeous ones it is difficult not to jump in and try it. 

Then there is a challenge and/or a QAL?  The gauntlet has been thrown down.  Do we join in or cower complaining we are too busy.  Even though we have a zillion other projects going, we throw another iron into the fire.  Buy the fabric and join in.  

Or how about a mystery quilt?  Cut 750 HST.  Make 600 flying geese.  You know you have joined along in one of these.  After the second twelve hours of cutting pieces you wonder what the heck were you thinking, but you keep going because you have already purchased the fabric and cut up the majority of it.

Block Of the Month can it really be a BOM when you have a whole year sitting in a bag with none of them completed?  

Swaps of some sort.  Whether you are making a pincushion, mug rug, or swapping fat quarters, bee blocks.  There are always those that make stunning projects, those of us that are average, and those of us that are late.  

Where am I going with this?  I was laughing because I have been or am guilty of all of the above.

QAL I  have a couple going along.  One I am behind 4 blocks, everyone is actually finishing their quilts, another I am about 8 blocks behind, and another well, I am not even in the first lap.  Will I finish them.  Oh yeah they are projects I love.

Country charmer

Mystery quilts?  I have one I am working on.  I finished 2 parts there are 2 parts left and the big reveal took place a couple of months ago. 

Swaps.  What really made me laugh today, I belong to a group where we swap batiks.  Either 5 inch charm squares or  2 1/2 inch strips WOF.  There were two groups of strips which closed out this week that I needed to get my fabric cut, and mailed.  Winter wonderland, and Santa's surprise.  Winter Wonderland I chose a Snow Day Batik from Moda which was a medium blue with mittens, holly, and snowflakes.  While it looked great on paper when I ordered, or on the computer, when I received it boy was it not what I was expecting.  The pattern was very large, and by the time I cut the strips you could not tell what it was.  I told them it was Winter Wonderland all right, the other "strippers were going to wonder how it was winter".

Finally how many of us have been duped into showing our sewing room, sewing machines, or stash?  They are a cross between the Christmas Newsletter, and an intervention.  Hello my name is Colette and I belong to sewing machine anonymous.  :D  Boy oh boy do you come away thinking I need to clean up my room, or organize it better, I need a newer sewing machine, or my stash is a complete disaster!!!!

My point.  Today over at Pigtales & Quilts, the lovely Thearica showed us all of her scissors and challenged us to show ours too. Thearica gets a lot of her scissors from Ken's Sewing Centerr in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They are doing a give away of a 7 inch pair of Gingher's to a lucky reader. Of course I succumbed to peer pressure.  Where is my mother now asking me, "If all of your friends jumped off a bridge would you too?" 

Ta Da!  Here are mine.

These are one of a set that remain from DH great grandmother.  She used to sew automobile upholstery for the Kaiser automobile company.  This is the smaller pair.  The larger pair were relegated to the basement to be cleaned more.  These were left in the junk drawer, and missed the cleaning.

My paper scissors I use to trim up paper for paper piecing, or making freezer paper templates.

These are my sewing scissors.  The blue handled were cheap but I have been using them for years.  The pinking shears with the black handles those were my ex- husband's grandmother's scissors that were given to me.

I bought these years ago, I use them for cutting wool, when I do applique'.

Embroidery scissors.  I keep a pair near a couple of my machines, one set on the ironing board, and another with my cross stitch.  The silver handle are my Gingher, I purchased them almost 30 years ago and for me at the time were very expensive.  I use them for embroidery and cross stitch.

By my count I am officially about 17 sets of scissors short to go by all my my sewing machines, or to match Thearica's collection.  I better get poppin to get caught up to have a set by each machine so I am not constantly hunting.