Oh oh - bad news!

So I'm supposed to be at the retreat house in about 10 minutes from when I'm writing this. Instead, I'm at home writing the blog with my fingerless gloves on because it's only 16 degrees Celcius in the house. And why is that?  Because the furnace isn't working!  And this just so happens to be the day that DH had to be out of the country so guess who got relegated to wait for the repairman!  I'm thinking we're due to get a new furnace, but hoping to last out this one last winter.  Am I stupid to be that cheap?

It actually isn't that cold in the house and that's why you have lots of quilts to snuggle up in!  I was a tad annoyed though because when I called, the customer service rep said - I can get you in a window from 9 - 12.  Perfect!  But when she hit enter - I got bumped to the next time slot - 11 - 3 !!!!  Well - that's just the way the ball bounces.  No sense getting upset, there's nothing we can do.  It's just one of those moments in life where you just move on!

In retrospect, it's actually not a bad thing and I even contemplated not going to the retreat at all!  I've been away so long, the girls are wild and I could get a huge amount of sewing done at home. Maybe even more than at the retreat, but I'd miss the Bailey's, the laughs and all the stories so I'm going!  The car is almost packed and let's just say that I have a few more bags in addition to that laundry basket!  And I cut two projects this morning and I have two more to cut before I go!

I have e-mails to do and some paperwork so that will take up my time while I wait for the repairman to arrive.

Last night was a fabulous evening.  I really really enjoyed myself.  What did I do?  First thing I did was finish that book. The Girl on the Train.  Oh my, - an excellent book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wonder if that author has a new book out?  Yep - one more book. Will have to check them out.

But then I went into the studio and was thoroughly disgusted at the mess.  I literally ran out of that place two weeks ago.  I ran out so fast that this is how I left the sewing machine. The machine was shut off, but there was an ender left there!

An ender left under the foot of the machine which was shut off

So what can I do about this mess????   I decided it was time to get it under control.  There were threads everywhere, bobbins, spools, loose pieces of cut thread, lint, dust and other sundry items.  Disgusting and hard to work in that environment. 

Sewing stations are a bit of a mess

 It doesn't look so bad, but I'm not showing you the real mess by the machine on the left.  It took me several hours to get everything done. 

Below you can see that I completely cleared that one table off. Got out the dust cloth and the table looked awesome, but that's not enough.  That sewing machine is packed and ready for the retreat.

Table is cleared off

 But there was lint and dust on the floor and I could have used my Swifter, but I wanted to use my cordless Rowenta vacuum. The only problem was that I didn't remember where the charger was and the vacuum was dead.

Cordless vacuum which was dead

 Hm - I'm always saying that everything should have a home.  What did I do with the charger???  Then I thought  - it is a charger and I do have a drawer in the kitchen for chargers.  Could it be there?

Charging and battery drawer in the kitchen

 I didn't see it when I initially opened the drawer but after looking beneath the other stuff, guess what I found?  Yep - the charger was right where it was supposed to be.  It was my brain that didn't trust myself!

There's the charger!!!

This one is even color coded to the appliance which makes it a bit easier to spot since often the brand name isn't on the chargers.  But now I know where it will be stored for future - in the charger drawer!!!

Color-coded charger

 And there it is powering up!

Charging!!!

So while the vacuum is charging, I went back to tidying and cleaning.  I put this project back on the table.  It's the supplies needed to finish off the last 9 Halloween blocks.  I hope to get back working on them and could be completed on a weekend if I really pushed it. The blocks take a long time to stitch out, but it's time to get that project off my plate!

Halloween project waiting to be finished 

 Then I got really ambitious and finished off the second table and cleared the items from below the table, elastics on all the electrical cords, removed the tray from that light after emptying it of all the junk and a whole lot more!!!  I was positively on a roll!

Sewing tables spotlessly clean and tidy!

 Then I looked at the disgusting mess that was right in front of the sewing tables. This is my stash of Northcott fabrics.  Mostly the basics which I use often and some leftovers from projects. A wee bit of a disaster if you ask me!

Northcott stash completely in disarray

 So I sorted and folded and tidied and picked out some scraps for an upcoming project and now look at the space.

All tidied up!

 It looks so much better!  And I don't have to step between all those boxes if I need to get to the bookcase.  I truly am my own worst enemy!!!

I did some more tidying in another part of the studio but didn't take pictures.  I really really need to get a handle on this mess and how will I accomplish everything that I want to do???  At least I'm not adding to the list of UFOs.  Everything I'm starting these days is getting finished so that's the good news.

And here's a cool quote.  I love quotes - I have to figure out how to get more of them on quilts. This one is so true.  Oh by the way - I did NOT shove any of the stuff on the tables to another table.  I dealt with it - found it a home or threw it away. Now that's progress!

Neat quote

And on that note, I'm out of here to get some more paperwork done, more quilts cut, pictures taken because the hotel did NOT find my camera card so I've already cut some of what I needed pictures for.  The rest of the pictures?  I'm going to redo a new project.  Drat - what a waste of time, but it's no one's fault but my own!!!  My own worst enemy to be sure! I sure hope the card is in my box in the crate.

However one thing is for sure, I'm NEVER editing photos on my old laptop.  I'm on my work laptop and I have the trial version of Photoshop Elements 18 and the photos loaded and edited within seconds, not minutes.   I'm so silly - again - my own worst enemy for being so stubborn and resistant to change!

Have a super day and hopefully the repairman comes at 11 so I can get out of here and hope that DH's plane lands tonight or the girls are going to be mad!

Ciao!!!!


PS --- I got an e-mail from a guild member that I spoke at a couple of weeks ago.  She told me that she reorganized her stash in the way that I mentioned and she is a happy camper and has been reunited with a LOT of fabulous fabrics that were hiding!!!   Way to go Sylvia!!!!   If anyone wants that same secret - just ask!   It takes time though!