The Cleanup Crew

Yesterday I made the cute cards in the picture above. I think I have a new craft hobby, but this one is NOT going to create another mess in my house. I love hand-made cards, but I don't want to spend the money on supplies that I'll hardly ever use. Fortunately, Stampin' Up consultant Christi Waite lives nearby, and she has the perfect solution! She holds sessions in her spacious basement workshop in which participants can come and make them. She even has the pieces of cardstock already cut out and the needed stamps, ink pads, and other supplies set out for us! Best of all, the clean-up is done after we leave – with our completed cards. Visit Christi's BLOG to see her fabulous projects.

Day before yesterday (Tuesday), I finished this pretty quilt top. The pieces were already cut out and I got it done in just a few hours. Thanks to the wonderful church custodians, I didn't have to worry about picking up stray threads from the floor.

Today I'm writing. And I realized I have a clean-up crew for this, too. Once I get my story done, I send it to my publisher, who sends it to an editor. That editor helps me get rid of all the stuff the story doesn't need and polish the stuff that's left. What's left is a story that's as good as it can be, and I didn't have to work as hard as I would have if I had to do it all alone.

So here's a toast to my wonderful editors: Kay, Paula, Stephanie, Kim, and whoever else has had to deal with my unpolished work. Thanks for having the patience to wade through paragraphs of unneeded and repetitious verbiage and helping me to tell stories that I can invite my friends to read.

Sewing: In addition to the quilt top above, I made these Christmas napkins (more gifts and prizes for next December!

Reading: I finished Sherry Gloag's The Wrong Target  and got started on Alyssa Alexander's The Smuggler Wore Silk. It's a regency suspense written by a fellow member of the Mid-Michigan Romance Writers of America. I love reading books by people I know!