Tidying

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We're enjoying some glorious sunshine and warmth, sometimes those don't always go together. I trimmed the garden blackberry bush, then sat in the sun reading before going in to wash the dishes. I'd hoped to get to that Cornflower Quilt, wanting to make that quilt sandwich, baste it, then bring it downstairs to begin the hand-quilting. But my work table needed to be cleared, which meant putting away the paper shapes from the above mentioned quilt.

It's thrilling to remove papers as the blocks, then rows, are sewn together. Bagging those papers, I knew eventually I'd need to return them not only to their box, but from the sources where I borrowed squares and diamonds to complete it. Fortunately I'd written down how many I used, so it was a matter of counting out shapes, slipping them back into envelopes. Certainly not the exact shapes I'd removed, but the papers were in good condition, and I won't be using them anytime soon.

I put the Cornflower Quilt box into my EPP tote, as well as the Seedlings Quilt box, from which I borrowed. It was nice to get that done, like liberating myself to work on that quilt top tomorrow. Some parts of quilting I'll stack up on the scant surface area, scraps and other EPP papers, but my work table needs to be clear so I can get things accomplished.

But cleaning up also goes with the writing. I have removed The Hawk from online outlets, as well as another book that I published back in 2011. I'm in the process of getting covers sorted, but I'm also considering whether or not to stay with Smashwords once they fully migrate all accounts to Draft2Digital. I've been with Smashwords for over a dozen years, but I'm not exactly keen on some the impending alterations. Or maybe I'm just resistant to change, well, yeah, I am. I've been perfectly happy with how I release books, and change is always difficult. If I was going to alter distributors, this would be the time, but more research is required before such a weighty decision would be made.

With spring somewhat on the horizon, I'm considering my options. And I'm grateful that sewing by hand is relatively unchanged, other than which project emerges next. The Mandolin block pictured above is another of my faves, and now that Cornflower is kind of behind me, perhaps I'll alternate the large Mandolin block with smaller stars. I'm feeling a little adrift, but not in a bad way. Just in how change is uncertain, but usually not as disturbing as initially considered.

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