An easy day

Wow -- I did work all day yesterday, but I don't really have much to show for it! I found one picture on my phone that I can share with you.

It was our virtual UFO meeting yesterday and I see e-mails and pictures from everyone and I SHOULD have got it all prepped for this morning, however, I did not. So I'll be posting all the pictures tomorrow. Technically, there should be no excuse for anyone to NOT have finished their homework. In case you're wondering, I did finish my homework. That was a HUGE job to finish and I'll give you the details tomorrow.

I got the last quilt for Quilts of Valour for this month quilted. It's now trimmed and I'll attach the binding later today.

Quilts of Valour quilt - DONE

I have two scrap quilts which I hope to bind later today as well. I dug through the tin of binding odds and ends and pulled out enough for both quilts. One of the bindings is made and ready to sew on, the other has to be pieced together. It'll be nice to get those done and out of the way. But there's still a stack of items that need to be bound.

Did anyone go through the binding links I posted? Did anyone try to bind a quilt by machine? It's so darn easy!!!!

So things are getting done - slowly, but I'm OK with that. They're getting done. I also spent some time on the computer yesterday and deleted a LOT of e-mails. I'm amazed at how many SALE - BUY NOW e-mails that one gets in one day. Some companies send one a day - this was even before the current crisis. Some companies send two a day. Seriously??? Why? And sometimes, the same message gets sent twice or three times. If I didn't want your offer the first time, I certainly don't want it the second or third.

YES - I know that I can unsubscribe. Some of these e-mails, I keep on the subscribe list just to stay current so I know that I have to just delete the messages. I just wish they wouldn't be so damn aggressive in their marketing.

I did order one thing on-line yesterday. It's a pattern that I can only buy from a shop in the US. It was on sale and so even though I had to pay $5 for shipping, (not available as .pdf), I felt it was worth it. This pattern has been on my "wish" list for two years. It was time to cross that purchase off my "to do" list.

So here's something to contemplate. We all know that the Spring Paducah show has been canceled. Several years ago, they had started a fall show, as well and so far, they are planning to go ahead with it. I noticed that they have decided to DOUBLE the price money of the fall show. Instead of a  Best of Show of $20,000 US, it's now $40,000 and the winner gets to decide if they want to keep their quilt or not. Previously, it was a purchase award and the quilt was added to the quilt collection at the museum. It appears that all prizes have doubled.

What are your thoughts?? Personally, I think they should keep the prize money the same. Is this a new precedent? What will the prize money be next year? Wouldn't it be nice to spread that prize money around? Add more categories to give others a chance to win something. Shoot -- I can't find the link where I saw that!

I'm hooked on that silly book - The Goldfinch. YES - it's long and the storyline is hard. Lots of BAD decisions by the characters, but I'm hooked by the stupid thing. I'm now at 75%. It's a good one to listen to, I'm not sure I could read through the physical book and besides the Russian accents by the narrator add so much to the story. However, I did something to my headphones last night and this morning, they kept cutting out. Lesson learned - if something isn't broken, don't try to fix it. I reset a setting on my phone app this morning and let's hope that fixes the problem.

And yes - there I was again - outside in the gazebo after the walk with the girls, with my coat and scarf sitting in the sun until it moved behind the house. I'm averaging about 3 hours a day outside which is great. Loads of fresh air, lost 3 pounds so all that walking is paying off! Plus I'm very mindful of what I eat each day. Of course, my activity level is pretty much the same as what it was before we all had to hunker down. No need to change that just because we're practicing social distancing!

It's Monday and sadly, there'll be no Monday sewing. BUT we all keep in touch through our What's App group. I love it. Here's a picture of the quilt that Nancy is working on. I LOVE this pattern and I can't wait to see the finished quilt in person...........someday.

Northern Seas pattern by Quirks and Quilts

When I was scouring through my e-mails, I found this picture that Pat sent me quite a while ago. She liked the modern Christmas quilt that I had published in a magazine several years ago. She made this for her daughter. It looks awesome Pat!!!!

Modern Christmas quilt

I got a postcard from the Virtual Mission as I passed through Spencer, Missouri. Apparently, this is now a ghost town but I got a chuckle as they talked about a gas station in the town. Here's the note about the gas station.

This reminds me of a small town that we stopped in when we were driving from St. Louis to Hamilton, Missouri a couple of years ago. Some of the ladies had to make a pitstop. We stopped at a gas station just off the main highway and it literally was the same setup. There were mannequins in the gas station, cars in the parking lot, but it was all fake!!!!

Shoot - I would have written about it on my blog but I can't find it at the moment. Here's the link to the blog post. I barely wrote anything about it and certainly no pictures at that time. I must try and find those pictures.

Don't forget that it's my week to blog on QUILTsocial. Check it out.  There are some AMAZING new features on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 2 which make quilting so much easier!!!

So it's time to get the day started. A lot of work ahead of me today. Like I said - not much has changed in my world, except that I don't get to go to the gym. All the outside world is a huge treadmill!!!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!