Saturday, January 25, 2020

I know what I have


It's a rainy day here! But that does not mean that one can sit around the house. Not when there are steps that need to be accumulated! I tell you this virtual challenge thing has the four of us in somewhat of a panic situation from time to time. Ronda was out for steps yesterday and then noticed that her BRAND NEW FitBit had a crack in the face. ACK! How did that happen? Luckily it was still covered by the store return policy and the store that she had purchased it at had another one in stock. So she was never without a FitBit but had to go through the hassle of syncing it all again.

Last night, I realized that I had received an e-mail in the morning that the battery in my FitBit was low. NO!!!! I can't not be accumulating steps. Fortunately, it does give you the warning in advance, so it was plugged in by my bed on top of my phone so I wouldn't forget it this morning when I went to the gym. It's sad! But the virtual challenge is definitely motivating! I love seeing my little marker move along the maps. My personal pace markers are relentless, but thankfully, I've left them behind! But that doesn't mean that I can slack off because they are constantly moving behind me!

All is good! I know this is boring for you, but I know that I'll enjoy coming back and reading some of this stuff later. I'm currently on the Coquihalla Highway through the beautiful mountains in BC. I rode that highway on my bike one year and the Google Map pictures bring back so many memories. The scenery is beautiful and I can't believe that the Google car has mapped all this. Although there have been one or two days when there was no image for where I was. I'm north of Hope and headed for the summit!

On my Route 66 challenge, I'm currently in Elkhart, Illinois, finally off the Interstate for a change and actually on the old Route 66. On my way to St. Louis and another state!

Now I can tell you about my day yesterday. More computer work. I'm loving what I'm working on and I've learned so much. The more I learn, the more I want to learn and I want to know this product inside and out. It's a small product so to speak so it's feasible to be very comfortable with it. You'll see more next week. But the end product I stitched out yesterday? - so adorable!!!!

I was back at the long arm. I'm a little bit behind where I wanted to be this month, but I'll catch up next week. So I managed to get one more customer quilt done. In case you're very observant, I did a similar quilt the week before last. There are two of them. They both need to be trimmed, hopefully later today and they'll be ready for pickup.


Customer quilt

I took a picture of the back of this quilt. The maker used a bunch of leftover fabrics to make the backing. I know lots of people like to piece the backs and it's a great way to use up smaller pieces. You have to be careful that the strips or pieces lie flat. What I mean is that one section is fuller than the one next to it. Does that make sense? This can be a result of not measuring or pinning or not using your walking foot so the top piece stretches and can cause one part to be fuller than the previous section. There was a wee bit of that with this quilt, but the long arm performed it's magic and I helped it along and while I haven't looked closely at the back yet, I think most of the fullness got worked out. So pieced backs are good - just be careful how you piece them together to get a nice smooth piece of fabric.

The backing for the customer quilt


While I was quilting, my brain was going back to that quilt I unearthed the other day. Where could the rest of the pieces and the fabric be? I went through one shelf in the storage room (easy to see since nothing is blocking the shelf). Not there. Hmm - there I had a lightbulb moment. I knew exactly where the rest of this project was.

There's a big metal shelf in Studio B with a bunch of UFOs on it. For some reason, I tend to forget about it. That should be the FIRST place I look in the future.

On the shelf is a green bucket. Tucket down in the corner way at the bottom.

Where's that green bucket?



The bucket was originally for quilts that needed borders, bindings, and backings. Look - it was even labeled.


Bucket for borders, bindings, and backings

The bucket is now filled with striped fabric - set aside to do something with, but buried deep in the bottom is the fabric for my quilt. Thank goodness, I remembered that as I would NEVER have found the rest of that quilt.

AHA - the rest of my UFO


Of the three sections of the border that need to be sewn to the quilt, one of them is completed!

A border strip for the UFO


The two fabrics needed to make the remaining two sections are also there. Now, do you want to know the really funny part of this? This was the FIRST year-long project that I taught at The Hobby Horse. Let's just say that it was a LONG, LONG time ago. I did attempt to get this quilt finished a while ago. It would appear that the book is missing and apparently has been for a long time as I found an e-mail from Helen Anne, dated 2013 with a diagram and measurements of how to assemble this last border. Helen Anne was in that class. OH MY GOD - I need to get this quilt finished!

This is why UFOs are deadly. We waste so much time managing them. Make lists, assemble the parts and get them done!!! Start today! One thing I plan to do is go through the Dirty Dozen lists from 2017, 2018, 2019 and this year. I'll get those projects assembled with all the bits and put them in a very visible spot. I've mostly done that, and I do look at the lists and keep track, but I think one or two might have some missing parts. I need to find those missing parts.

That's absolutely wild and I had a great chuckle over it. It's on the list of quilts to finish this year and I'm going to make it my next UFO project. I WILL get it done. And who knows, I may end up finding the booklet if I went through my books. But that's for another day.

I've got loads to do today and I should be working on my seam finishing samples and I need to buy my skirt fabric. Not sure about the weather, but I'd rather travel on the weekend, than during the week to where I'm going so I might just suck it up and venture out this morning.

On that note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!



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