To the Max, Now and Always

First of all, thank you for all for the nice comments on my newest quilt. I really do appreciate having you all here. I also wanted to thank everyone who noticed I've been absent from my blog lately. Between Ian moving in and working on the baby quilt, I've had a couple of other big projects taking up my time.

First, I've been refinishing the bedroom floor. I mean it guys...actual hard labor was going on at my house! This is the floor before:

floor refinishing project

It was covered with stripey carpet, then double sided tape (that stuck to the floor), then paint from when my brother painted this room years ago, then miscellaneous stains and burns (my brother again), then old varnish and (finally) pretty wood.

floor refinishing project

I sanded and sanded and sanded. I used a tiny electric sander but next time I would do it all by hand. I really don't like machines and the delightful swoosh of the sandpaper was lost in all that noise!

I decided the room needed an accent wall to give it some character. The best part was going to the store and just picking whichever color I liked the best. Impulse paint buying sounds like a bad idea but to me it's really not.

floor refinishing project

Then I sanded some more and finally came the varnishing. Four coats later and the room is finished!

floor refinishing project

I can honestly tell you that this was the biggest project I've ever finished. I sanded or painted or varnished nearly every day for a month and now that it's finished, it feels wonderful! I'm adding "floor refinishing" to the long list of things I'm awesome at.

The final thing that has kept me too busy for sewing is my discovery of minimalism. It hit me like a punch in the gut and I've been so excited ever since. I first discovered that people were living with only 100 things via Lydia's blog and I'm so happy I did!

I probably haven't talked about it much here but I desperately crave simplicity and clarity in my life. I've wanted to live like Ma Ingalls for as long as I can remember. Just me and my wits and my two hands and my little log cabin. The sweet simplicity is intoxicating! Plus, Ma quilted so it's a match made in heaven.

I've decided that it's time to live without distractions, to create without pressure and to focus on the important. I'm ecstatic to get rid of the weight of debt, of stuff, of waste (both money and time), of busy-work and of a life I wasn't really living TO THE MAX!

I started a new blog so if you're interested in minimalism or my adventures therein, please stop by. If not, I'll still be blogging my creative endeavors here with as much awesomeness as you've come to expect. And humor...you guys do know that I say everything with extreme truthfulness but also with lighthearted humor meant to make you think I'm not as full of myself as I really am...right? You guys?