UFO club update

Although I have a class this morning, I'm feeling pretty relaxed. That does not mean that there isn't a ton of work to do. Instead of sewing this morning, I started some tidy up in that temporary space. I'm going to have to give it a specific name - Studio U for upstairs? and Studio D for downstairs? Oh yes - I like that. OK - so I'm tidying up Studio U. There's so much stuff strewn around - it's getting a bit difficult to work.

Part of that was the whirlwind of activity that occurred this past week. A part has been related to my laziness. I'm also starting to set stuff aside for the upcoming retreat. It has to be done - might as well do that as I'm cleaning.

Today I thought I'd share with you the photos and update the status of everyone's project. Let's just say that getting the pictures together was a bit of a challenge. For those that were present last Sunday, I took pictures with my camera. That was easy - I went into the memory card and extracted the photos. However, one person sent me her pictures via e-mail. TWO e-mails, so I had to find both e-mails and extract the photos from the e-mails. Then one person sent me two photos - one was via TEXT and the other was via IG messaging. The key here is to remember who sent what and how!!!  I could not open the photo from the IG messaging, into Photoshop, but I could open it on my screen. So I took a picture of that and sent it to my computer! Let's see - oh yes, I also had taken a couple of pictures on my phone and those had already been removed from my phone and put on the computer so I had to find those. You see where I'm going with this? It took me also 20 minutes to find everything!

And on top of all that? I forgot to take pictures of Laura's project! Oh, shoot me now!!! However, everyone but Linda is accounted for and I think she's still on vacation.

Let's have a look at what they accomplished. They are very prolific and it would appear that people are NOT willing to give up that $10.

We'll start with Susan. Her goal was to finish the quilting on this quilt, deal with the border (she wanted to make it wider) and have it bound.

Susan's quilt is DONE

The quilt was partially quilted so she was able to finish it off and used some of the designs that we talked about in the table runner/quilting class from last year. She had contemplated making the border wider, but once it was quilted, she left it at the size it was. It's a big job to add borders to a project when you're in the quilting stage. I'm glad she left it like this. The binding is also on. It's a scrappy binding. The quilt looks awesome and best of all - it's done! Way to go Susan!!!!!  I think she was going to put a label on it - that wasn't mentioned in the homework for the previous month, but it's a good idea to put labels on your quilts!

What is Susan going to work on for the upcoming month? She's going to design her quilt top using the Farm Girl Vintage blocks. Sashing or no sashing? How to use the two different sizes of blocks that she made.

Liz wasn't able to get her homework accomplished for the previous month, but she came with the February homework all completed. She had some applique to finish on the poinsettias in the borders, one of the blocks and the words on the top and bottom border. It's all DONE and ready to be quilted!!!! 

Candy Cane Lane by Liz is ready for quilting

Then Liz moved onto the homework that was due at the March meeting. She had more applique to do with the poinsettia of the next quilt which is called O Tannenbaum. It's a gorgeous quilt and I can't wait to see this one finished. I didn't get a close up of the actual petals, but she put GLITTER on them. They look very cool.

Poinsettia are applique for Oh Tannenbaum

She also repaired this block. Apparently, there were two identical light fabrics side by side and now the block is fixed! That's super exciting. I think this one was going to put aside for this month. 

Log cabin block is fixed

If memory serves me correctly, Liz is going away on a retreat (a different one from where I'm going) and she's going to work on this next project. Actually, her goal for the month is to work on Month 3 in the pattern. It's called Holidays at Home by Bloom Creek. Couldn't find a link to it on the internet.

The project that Liz is working on next month

Ronda is working on her Amish with a Twist II. She has completed her two blocks as was the deal. For next month, she's going to assemble the center of the big star in the middle of the quilt. The quilt goes together like a nine-patch and her goal is to get ONE section completed which is the center.

Ronda's two blocks

Laura is working on Kaleidoscope. And YES her homework is finished. She completed two more blocks and there were FOUR of each to make for a total of 8 blocks. For some reason, I was so excited that I forgot to take pictures! Her goal for next month is to get two more blocks completed. There are four of each so that'll be a total of 8 blocks to make. Everything is cut so that should be an easy task!


Lynn finished her cat quilt. Her goal was to finish the quilting, but the quilt is bound and completely done. I know that she experienced a wee bit of frustration as she worked to find just what she was looking for. But she DID IT!!!!!  And it's super cute!!  This was a good lesson in trying to figure out the entire quilting plan before you start as she ended up doing a lot of extra work. But it was all worth it - the quilt looks awesome. 

Lynne's finished quilt

It's a tad difficult to see, but she used her embroidery machine and embroidered a couple of mice that are hiding from the cats on the quilt. It's just the cutest little mouse but required a lot of behind the scenes work from Lynne and her embroidery software to make that happen. I think the end result is gorgeous and she should be super proud of the job she did. 

One of the three mice that are hiding on the quilt

She also used her embroidery machine to make the cat faces. The original cats had no face and rather than embroidery something by hand, Lynne went through her patterns and what's on the internet to find the right thing. Then she resized the design to suit her appliques and the faces are machine embroidered. She did that part a while back - BEFORE she started the quilting process.

Faces were machine embroidered on the cats

Her goal for next month is to get at least THREE of the blocks for this next project. It's a wall hanging that's done in the hoop.

An Anita Goodesign design

 She has a number of blocks already completed. They're made with fleece which is pretty intriguing. It's all done in the hoop.

The stack of blocks that have already been stitched

Next up was Elaine S. I think the goal was to get the "bead" blocks done. She got the entire quilt top done! Yeah!!!!  We discussed some ideas for the quilting and she's going to experiment this coming month. She has some sample blocks that she made so she's got something to experiment on.  This is called Urban Abacus by Sew Kind of Wonderful.

Elaine's quilt top is finished

She also worked on the July 2017 shop hop quilt and got that assembled even though it wasn't on the homework list! Now for next month, she's committing to getting a border on the quilt and to cut a quilt that's called "Snapshots of New Zealand!" 

July 2017 July Shop Hop quilt 

Sharon got not one, but TWO borders on. And she almost completed sewing all the remaining blocks for the top and bottom borders!!!  This quilt is called Winter Wonderland by Crabapple Hill.

Sharon's quilt with TWO borders

I may have shown this before, but Diane's homework was to complete TWO quilt tops. The blocks were all completed. This is the first one that is the country look.

Diane's first quilt top

 Here's the second one which is a bit brighter. These two are from Laundry Basket Quilts and called Quilter's Patch. 

Diane's second quilt top

Shoot - I took a picture of Diane's next project but I forgot to locate it! I believe it's the 2016 July Shop Hop - the blue and white one.

Next up is DeDe. Here's her quilt top without borders!! It's so much fun. This one is called Blizzard Bunch by Pearl Louise

DeDe's almost finished her quilt top. 

And here's the troublesome block. That little sign - but it looks awesome!!!! 

The troublesome block is now DONE!!!!!

I have to go back into her e-mail to see what she is going to work on for the coming month.

This is Shelly's creative backing for her poodle quilt that she completed last month. She had some extra blocks and those got put into the backing. A nice big wide border around the outside and all is good!!!

The backing for Shelly's quilt

 And it looks like it's ready to be quilted. Here is the top, backing, and batting.

Shelly's poodle quilt is ready to be quilted

 I was working on two blocks from Stitcher's Garden quilt. I managed to get both blocks completed and I've committed to sewing TWO more. Hopefully the next two aren't quite as much work as these two were! But they are done and I'm that much closer to getting the quilt finished. 

Block one of mine - finished

Block two of mine - finished

Phew - that's a lot of finishing!!!  I'm so happy with the UFO club. We're all so motivated and everyone is picking great projects that have been hanging around for a while. Did you notice how many Christmas/winter quilts there are in the mix? And you may not notice, but there were quite a few that came from those year-long classes that I taught! Now if they had only stayed motivated through the class to get their projects completed!!!

Doesn't matter. What matters is that we're getting stuff done! And we all got our $10 back, except Linda because we haven't heard from her. So there's a total of $20 in the kitty at the moment.

I'll be running the club again next year and hopefully, Studio D will be finished by then. OK - it WILL be done and we may have a bit more room. Otherwise, we might try and do some online. But you'll hear all about the details as we get closer to that time.

Hopefully, you're motivated and following along with your own private UFO club at home.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!

Busy as a little bee

I had a great time at the Clarington Quilter's Guild last night. They meet in a beautiful church which has very comfy chairs to sit upon!! They do things a little differently than I've seen in other guilds. They have the goodies set out when you arrive and people sit at the tables (behind the chairs in the church). When it's time for the program (i.e. the speaker), they move closer to the front and sit in the chairs. That's a cool idea!  And obviously, that won't work for everyone depending on their meeting space.

Lucky that traffic wasn't too bad last night, but on my way home, it amazed me how much traffic there is in this city. I had to drive right across the top of the city and there's tons of traffic and this is 10 PM at night!!! I'm sure that even at 3 AM, there's loads of traffic. The other thing is that my drive was about 110 KM. Let's say that 80 of those KM was in the city!! If not more.

The topic last night was scrap quilts. The car was loaded with quilts. It appears that almost all of my scrap quilts are large! But so much fun to go through the stories of each quilt. Brings back so many memories of classes, retreats, exchanges and loads of good times as those quilts were made. 

I promised to take a picture of the quilts upstairs. Oh my - it's not pretty. I was searching for something earlier in the week and so the quilts that were normally laying over the railing were now piled on the floor.

Some of my quilts

Oh yes - it's a huge mess and this is only part (granted it's the larger part) of my quilts, but there are more and let's not forget all the small items. When there's a lull in the schedule, I'll be dealing with them.

I'm learning a lot about computer stuff. I know - the bane of my existence. I'm working with some video these days and learning. I hope to get some more videos up on my YouTube channel. This time it'll all be about the stash room. Those are coming, but unfortunately, my work assignments have taken priority over my own fun projects. Isn't that always the way? The fun stuff has to wait!!!

I was already packed for the upcoming retreat, but now I have to rejig things based on the samples that need to be made. But I think I'm going to take ONE fun project with me to work on. We all need a bit of fun in our lives. Not that it isn't fun making the samples. I'm a maker and I'm happy whenever I'm making anything!

I've become excellent at scheduling things - well fitting them into the schedule. I had a physio appointment yesterday which is in the same building as my GP. So I had booked a quick appointment with the doctor before physio. Hey - my doctor is the best. You rarely have to wait and if you do, it's a very short time. She collected a body sample (don't worry - it's just that routine cancer test that they want women to do every two years!) and I was going to scoot out, except they asked me to sample off at the lab which is on the same floor as the physio. The lab lady made me wait while they logged the sample into the system. The physio appointment was at 1 PM, the doctor appointment was at 12:30. Even with dropping the sample at the lab, I wasn't late for the physio appointment! Even though I'm not super thrilled with my doctor (thankfully I don't need her very often), I'm going to stick with her because I can get in whenever I want and no waiting!!!!

I have to share this video with you. It's hilarious! Now you have to keep in mind that Brandon intentionally makes fun of learning. His videos are based on "learning" from YouTube videos. But this is a super example of why learning a new skill via a YouTube video is a BAD thing. If you're like me, you want to shout out - push the bobbin thing towards the bobbin!!! 

I'm off to teach a class today and then one more class tomorrow and then I'm off the hook for running around for a couple of days. Phew as there's a lot of stuff to catch up on at home. The kitchen table looks like a dumping zone and the temporary studio - well, it's a mess. The good news? I did find that missing book. At first, I was thinking that it had gotten squirreled away when they packed up the basement. Nope - it was me who squirreled it away. All is good now.

I'm chatting with the fellow who did the estimate on the basement and the insurance company so I hope that we can get started on that process in the near future. I just can't imagine the process that's going to happen as EVERY SINGLE THING in that basement may need to be moved. So now when I go down, I'm starting to set aside stuff that has to go. So far - no quilt related things and probably won't be either. I'm going to clear out the storage room so that I can redistribute the rest of my quilt stuff and make it easier to access. Right now, some of it is hard to reach. Oh yes - it's going to be fun and games at my house! They will come in and pack and then do you think I'll ever be able to find stuff??  Not likely so I'm going to have to move it out of the way or pack it myself. ACK!!!!!  Thankfully, we can do room by room so that helps.

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!

Where in the world is Maryann?

I started to write my post about book buying, but I don't have time this morning to give it the justice it deserves. So stay tuned for that.

I spent the last two days playing the role of the freelance educator for SVP Canada. One day was all about the Husqvarna Viking machines and the next was PFAFF. I taught the project on both days. I was a little nervous - not "oh my god - I can't sleep" nervous, but just trying to get all the proper names and functions in my mind so I would appear confidently knowledgeable in front of my potential customers. Remember machine bits are different than quilting!

I think I did pretty well all things considered. Yes, I know that I have a lot of experience to draw on. Certainly speaking in front of a group isn't a problem. So the worst two presentations are over - the first two! It's just like machine quilting - the more you do, the better you get.

But what it did bring forward is that there's a lot of behind the scenes work for me to do. More samples to be made - everyone loves looking at samples. So I need to make myself a list and when I go to the retreat next week, I'll be packing a couple of sewing machines in the car and loads of threads and fabric and I'll be sample making.

I also have inventory lists to make to see what products I'm missing and I've got loads of reading material to catch up on. Oh yes - I'm going to be so knowledgeable - until they change it! Fortunately, in this business, everything that comes out builds on what is already in existence so it's not so bad.

But it does become a challenge as you switch between different brands - while the functions are very similar, they have different names and different icons and different placement on the machines so it's hard to keep track. Even within the same family of machines, some buttons are in different places! ACK!!! That's what keeps one on their toes I suppose.


So the first day at the break, this lady comes over to my table. OH MY GOODNESS - it's Maryann.

Here's a picture of the two of us.

Me and Maryann

Maryann and I both started quilting about the same time and we found each other on an online chat group for quilters. It was called the CanadianQuiltSwappers. It was a Yahoo chat group that operated via e-mail. There was no Instagram or Facebook in those days.

Oh my gosh - we had so much fun in that group. We went to retreats, we did swaps (many of which I still have in the house and waiting to be done). We did group quilts for charity and well - we did a huge amount of fun stuff. I think you can see why I'm reluctant to participate in swap things today because I already did years of swapping and I still have loads that haven't been finished.

We had a wonderful group leader by the name of Judith. We had so many laughs and cries and well just a wonderful sharing of talents on that group. It did get moved to Facebook, but it was never the same.

While Maryann and I do not keep in direct contact with each other, we seem to run into each other in the weirdest of places. The last time we bumped into each other - it was at Missouri Star Quilting Company in Missouri! And this time, at a dealer meeting in Toronto. Go figure!!!!

Always nice to run into old friends and brings back a ton of memories!!!

Thank god I don't share my calendar with you all - you'd die if you saw what the next four weeks are going to bring. Let's just say that there's going to be loads of blogging material!

Speaking of books though, I seem to be missing my book for the class on Saturday. Not that huge of a deal, except that all my prepared notes are in that book! It's around here somewhere. The question is where?

That will be on the agenda for today as well as a few other things. I'm off to the Clarington Quilt Guild in Courtice tonight to speak on Scrap Quilts. If you're in that neighborhood - drop by and say hi.

On that note, I'm out of here to get the day started!!!

Have a great day and stay dry!

Ciao!

Zippered pouches!

A wee bit more time today but let's just say that I'm a little duck at the moment. On the surface, everything is smooth and calm. Underneath the water, my feet are paddling a mile a minute. Even with my lists, a few things snuck up on me. OK - I confess, the things that are now EXTREMELY URGENT - like finishing some samples were never on that list. So I'm just a victim of my own procrastination.

I swear I was hoping that one morning I would wake up and the sample fairy would have finished those items. I must be in dreamland! I think I'll be making samples at the retreat instead of sewing my own projects. But that's OK.

The presentation went fine yesterday. Got some good feedback at the end. Just so you know - I can give a presentation on quilts and quilting at the drop of a hat. However, when it comes to the sewing machines, it's a different story and I feel like a total newbie. OK - I'm a total newbie at it! The more that I do, the more comfortable I become, but gosh - there's so MUCH information. My brain spins at the steps and features. I'm definitely working outside my comfort zone.

I'm not comfortable and that means more homework and more samples to save the day!


I taught a class last Friday on Zippered Pouches. All the students (even the trouble makers - I say that with tongue in cheek - we had fun!) finished their zippered pouch.

The happy students

They all choose some pretty cool fabrics so I thought I'd share a closeup with you. Look at Carmen's snappy beach pouch. Beach themed on the outside................

Beach theme for the outside

 And surfboards for the inside. How cool is that? Here's an instance when working with directional fabric works just fine. Zippered pouches are great for directional prints. It's easy to get the fabrics going in the correct orientation.

Surfboards on the inside

Cathy's print is also directional. There are birds amongst the paisleys.

Cathy's soft paisley

With a solid on the inside.

Solid on the inside

 And the second that her pouch was finished, she put her sewing supplies inside! I think the zippered pouch was much needed. And it looks way prettier than her Ziploc bag!

The pouch is already in use

Ardese used the most adorable llama fabric on the outside of her pouch. Also directional!

Llamas on the outside

 She's got a blue floral print on the inside. Non-directional.

Blue floral on the inside

 Dana used a soft almost watercolor type fabric for the outside of her zippered pouch.

Soft watercolor type fabric

And a solid on the inside. She didn't have to worry about directional prints at all!

Solid on the inside

Isn't that awesome? I do believe it was the first time that some of the students had ever put in a zipper. They all did a superb job!!! 

If anyone wants to make the zippered pouch, I wrote a tutorial about it and you can find it at this link.   Or you can call Oh Look Fabric and book some time. There is another class on April 26.

I also wrote a few other tutorials or posts about zippered pouches. This link uses different fabrics to make zippered pouches and chats about changing the sizes. 

This link uses a different method than the first one to insert the zipper. 


Actually, the one above is a two-parter. Here's the first part. 


Anyway, by reading those tutorials, you'll know everything there is to know about making a zippered pouch. If you make one, send me a picture!!!!

On that note, I still have some urgent paperwork to get done before I leave for the second day of presentations. Oh boy - I need a week more to prepare so I'm going to wing it!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!

A home for everything

One of the tips that I provided to the local guild members the other day was that everything in your house should have a home. While this is important in your house, it's even more important in your sewing room where you probably have a whole lot more stuff and less room.

So two wise words of wisdom this morning. And I'm terribly sorry, but I don't have pictures today - there's just no time. I'm off to an all-day event today and tomorrow and well since I'm a little behind, I'm having to get some work/samples completed in the evenings. Nothing like a little pressure to get one motivated.

1. When you're in the store (or sitting in the comfort of your pj's shopping online), I want you to think twice about what you're buying. There's this movement going on out there for purging. You're supposed to hold each item in your hand and ask yourself if the item is beautiful, useful or sentimental or whatever you're supposed to ask yourself.

Well - I think you need to ask yourself that question BEFORE you buy. Seriously - what is your intention for this item? Is it useful? Is it going to make your home more comfortable/more beautiful? More importantly, I think we need to ask ourselves - WHERE will this item go? If you're buying a sweater - ask yourself if your sweater drawer can handle another sweater. If not, then perhaps you should get rid of one sweater when you buy that new one. If you're buying a book - do you intend to keep the book after you're finished reading it? If not - where will you donate that book?

We also need to make sure that we USE that item that we just purchased instead of shoving it in the closet/bookcase or bag on the floor. What's the point of buying it - if we have no intention of actually wearing/using the item? How many times have you found a BRAND NEW garment in your closet with the tags still on?

So that's the wise word of wisdom - number one. Think really hard about what you buy. I so wish that someone would have drilled that into my head when I was younger. Gosh - I bought tons of fabric just for the sake of buying it. I didn't need it, haven't used it and well - I still have it!!! I still have a T-shirt or two that are brand new as well, as well as books and I'm sure loads of other things that I technically didn't need. I wanted them, but we need to learn to curb those WANTS. They just get us into trouble. Trust me - I've curbed them big time!


2. Once you've evaluated your potential purchase and YES - you need this item and you're going to use it, you must bring that item home and immediately introduce it to its new permanent home. I'm not kidding on this one. I just spent a good part of last night and this morning trying to locate a box.

The items in the box came to me in a cardboard box. Some of the stuff was too large to fit nicely into the box and so I bought a clear plastic tub that was large enough to hold all these items. Do you think I could find that box? I didn't get that permanent home for that stuff for a couple of months and so in my mind, that stuff was located in a cardboard box at the bottom of the stairs.

Except that I knew that I had moved it, but to where and in what? I couldn't even remember what the new box looked like. I was panicking a wee bit and my brain was shutting down! OK - I'm exaggerating, but you get the picture. I thought about it and went and did something else and back down to look this morning. I had at least remembered what the container looked like. That helped a lot. I was about to give up when I remembered the location of the box. It was under the long arm!!!



This is why it's so critical that when you bring something home, you MUST put it in its proper location IMMEDIATELY. That's the place where you will always return to when looking for that item. So that's why this step is CRUCIAL.

I got more stuff yesterday that needs to be added to this box. Now I'm going to remember for sure where that box is and what it looks like.

I also needed to locate a couple of samples for today. Do you think I could find them? Nope - with the basement water issue, a few things got tossed here and there and I'm trying to find stuff every day. BUT I persevered and managed to locate the item this morning. PHEW  - I could have talked my way around the sample, but so much better to have the actual piece in hand.


Now that new temporary sewing room looks like a tornado went through. There are so many small projects just begging to be finished. We have a retreat next week (OH GOD - I'm so not ready - well I am and I'm not) so I should just throw a bunch of those small projects into my bag, with lots of sewing machine feet (for zippers and topstitching and whatever else needs to be done to them), lots of thread colors and just get it all done!!!!


Oh yes - it's a mess to be sure. Speaking of the basement and the mess, each time I go down there to find something, I look at some of the stuff that's now on display (that has been hiding for a long time behind other stuff). Well - it's time to get rid of that stuff. Some of it, I'll be asking around or taking to local guild meetings to try and get rid of, some I'll put on the blog. NONE of it is fabric at this point. But there are cute bags, totes and there's all the decorations and wrapping paper supplies. I do NOT want to put any of that back in the storage room. 

What I would like is to bring upstairs everything that I don't want. YES - put it in the dining room (this is the staging room after all), and then we'll have less stuff to deal with downstairs. Hmm - how can I add a few of those huge containers to the dining room? It's time to get this done. I'm so disgusted with myself and the huge mess I've amassed.

No this is not self-loathing - I happen to like myself quite a bit. It's just how much has accumulated without me realizing it - that's the part I'm disgusted with.

On that cheery note - it's time to hit the road.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!

Technology in the quilting world!

There are no pictures this morning. I was in the process of taking some photos and the battery died. I knew that was coming. On previous cameras, I purchased an extra battery so I always had a backup. I didn't do that for this one.

I guess there's always my phone, but I'm uploading all the photos to my computer so I can edit some video. For some reason, the computer will NOT recognize the phone inside the video editing software, but it will recognize it outside the software????  I don't know and I don't care. Needless to say, I'm bypassing all that fuss and just uploading everything to the computer. Then I don't need to access the phone.

Last year, I was asked by a local guild if I would teach a class (lecture/demo style) about tips and tricks and use my book as a guide. Hmm - that could work. So yesterday was the day. It was three hours and we went through all the steps in making a quilt. Nothing in-depth of course, but covered some of my all-time favorite tips.

The students asked a lot of questions and we had a range of quilters in the room from newbies to people who had been quilting for a while. It was great fun! I'd definitely do that again.

I'll chat more about the book when I can get a picture of it. Or you should be able to find a picture on QUILTsocial.com. Actually, if you sign up for QUILTsocial, you can download half of it for free. Scroll down and you'll see it on the right-hand side.

Hmm - maybe need to add that one to the list of workshops and have something else in the afternoon to make up a full day. One more thing to think about.

We had our UFO session in the afternoon. OH MY GOD - we are so motivated by peer pressure and that $10. For sure, we'll be carrying this on for next year. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe for those who live away, we could do something online in our Motivational Monday Facebook group. Hmm - might try that next year.

I've had a number of web sites open that I want to share with you. Since I had to restart my computer last night in an effort to try and upload those files, I'm sharing four links this morning.

While conventional printing is still the dominant force in the fabric world, digital printing technology is getting better and better. I do believe that I read somewhere that Micheal Miller will be moving almost exclusively to digital printing.

Here's the link to the article about Micheal Miller and the direction they're going to be taking in the future.

Imagine GIANT inkjet printers printing fabric. That's what digital printing is like. Each printer costs about one million dollars and then a couple of million more for the pre-processing and after-processing machines. Anyone got a few spare million to set up a printing shop???  Here's a link to a short video where you can see a digital printer in action. And there are a number of services that will print your own designs on fabric!!!  Yes - YOU can be the fabric designer!!!


Here's a second link. This time to an article about Women and Needlework. Actually talks about women and their jobs within the magazine world. This came out the same day or close to the day the F+W Media made their little announcement.


And yes - one more link. This time to yoga - rage yoga to be sure!!!  Come on - you can't tell me you didn't have a day when rage yoga would have been just what you needed? Well - if it makes you feel better  - then why not?

Last link -- thinking of downsizing?? How about downsizing like this? Oh my - I met Judith last year and we're Facebook friends. Their house closing date is May 1. She's madly selling stuff, packing, sorting. I can't imagine, yet a wee tiny part of me thinks this is just the best thing since sliced bread. Can you imagine - packing up and roaming the country? Oh yes - that sounds like FUN!!!   I wonder if they can have guests? Oh, perhaps we can just roam behind them. I could ride my bike behind them. They can carry my tent!

I see that all the files are transferred and deleted off the phone. It's MONDAY so I need to get moving. I'm going to have to figure out how to upload those files, but that's for later today.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!

Peer pressure and $10

Today is our UFO check-in class. This is the one where we each coughed up $100 and put it into the UFO bank. If we get our commitment done in the month, then we get $10 back. At the end of the year, if we've all done our homework, the entire $100 will be returned to each participant.

The nice thing about our UFO sessions is that we each make our own rules about what we get done. Some of the participants work, some have other commitments, some might be traveling. So each month before everyone leaves, they make a commitment as to what they can accomplish for the upcoming month.

I don't think I posted the pictures from the February class and I'd better get that done before the ladies come. I did get an e-mail out to them last week to remind them of what their commitment is. So I'll have more show n tell for this coming week. Never mind what's happening in my world! Nothing more exciting than sample making, sewing, reading, and walking.

Here goes.............


Susan's goal was to choose the order in which those two outer borders would go on the quilt. Green on the inside or on the outside. Then she was to have cut the borders or at least measured to see if she had enough fabric. Well - the two borders were ON THE QUILT when she arrived. No harm in overachieving in this class.  YEAH!!!! 

Susan got the two borders on her quilt

Her goal for next month (today) was to finish quilting and bind this quilt. Will be she be done???

Susan's homework for this past month

Ronda is working on Amish With a Twist II. Her goal was to get two blocks sewn (one of each). Task - DONE!

Her goal for this past month was to sew two more blocks.

Ronda's two blocks for Amish with a Twist

 Laura is working on Kaleidoscope. Her goal was to sort through all the mess of this project and see what needed to be done. She did that. Her goal for this month was to sew two blocks. I can't remember how many of each block there was. I could go back through my notes, but I'm teaching a class this morning and there's no extra time! I  may have goofed up her tasks - I'm sure I did, but I know her homework for this month was to get more blocks sewn.

Laura's Kaleidoscope project

I wonder how many of these projects are being worked on this morning???  OK - I confess, that I did some work on my two blocks this morning. There was a LOT of work in my two blocks. I still have 15 minutes of work and I'll get that completed between my class and the UFO session.

Shelly's goal was to get this quilt top together. I love the setting for the quilt as it helped to accommodate for the wonky sized blocks that she received in an exchange. Her goal for this past month was to make a "creative" backing for the quilt using the extra blocks or not????

Shelly's poodle quilt top

Sharon is working on her Winter Wonderland. There's a load of embroidery in this quilt and that part is all done!!!  That was the hard part in my mind. Her goal for this past month was to get ONE side border on. There are blocks to be cut and pieced.

Sharon's Winter Wonderland

Elaine S is working on this quilt (Urban Abacus) by Sew Kind of Wonderful. She was supposed to make sample blocks to ensure she got the curved piecing down pat. However, she went gangbusters and got some of the actual blocks made. Her goal for this past month was to finish all of the "bead" blocks.  I think there are 72 of them to make.

Elaine's Sew Kind of Wonderful quilt blocks

Linda was working on a challenge for her guild. She was the only one that had an actual deadline outside of our little group. Linda came to Quiltcon with us and then I believe she's been on vacation. Did she get it finished on time????? The pattern is Luminary by Jamie Swanson. Linda is using it as a starting point.

Linda's quilt challenge

I almost died laughing when DeDe pulled this pattern out of her bag. Oh yes - I have that pattern and I have some of the blocks done. Not sure where it's sitting in that studio.

The Blizzard Bunch by Pearl Louise

DeDe has been sitting on this block because the snowman is holding a sign in his hands and she wasn't sure how to make it happen. A little bit of advice and she was good to go. Her goal for the month was to get this block completed and sew the quilt top together minus borders.

DeDe's block from The Blizzard Bunch

Last is me. My goal was to finish two blocks from the Stitcher's Garden Quilt. Here are the two blocks. Those also got finished just before the last class as originally they had pink borders on them and well - it was just too pink. My goal for this month has been TWO more blocks. Oh boy - there's a LOT of work in each of the blocks. But I have a secondary purpose for these blocks - actually three reasons to finish the blocks. I have about 15 minutes of work left which I'll do as soon as I'm back from my class. HEY - I want my $10 back!!!!

My two blocks from Stitchers' GArden

Diane is also working on a project. The Quilter's Garden Patch Quilt  - two of them. I'm not sure that I have her before picture. Oh yes - here they are.

The bright version of The Quilter's Garden Patch Quilt

The country look of The Quilter's Garden Patch Quilt

Liz wasn't able to attend last month and that was the first $10 that went into the communal kitty that we'll decide what to do with at the end of the year. It'll all depend on how money is in there.

Isn't that super exciting?? I just can't believe how motivated we all are to get that $100 back. Some people have asked me to hang onto their money until the very end so then it seems like something significant. Yep - I'm good with that. It's so successful that I think I'm going to run it again next year. Anyone want to sign up????  OK - it's a bit early for that!!!

On that note, I'd better get moving. There is one quilt that I'm trying to find to take to my class today. Let's just say that the upstairs hallway is almost impassable with quilts!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!