While everyone has been affected in some way by this virus, some households have seen HUGE changes and others not so much. Things at our house (thankfully) haven't had to change much. We both work from home all the time, no kids at home, only one family member nearby to take care of, we're both healthy, we have a great backyard (when it's not freezing cold to sit outside), and we have two dogs to keep us entertained.
Don't get me wrong - things have changed - I've moved my classes online, but we can still have the classes. Trips have been canceled, events have been canceled, and other classes got rescheduled or canceled. We are limited in what we can do outside, but I still get outside for a couple of hours every day regardless of the weather. Shopping isn't happening, but that's probably a good thing. Instead of running out for every little thing, I've had to find other solutions and so far - I have nothing on my shopping list once shops open up, except for some purple for the border of a quilt.
Overall, we're in a very good position. However, if someone were to ask me what I missed the most - what would it be? I thought about that very briefly before I realized that our sewing retreats are what I'm missing the most. That's a first-world problem, to say the least. I admit it - I'm spoiled.
We were to have our first (of four) retreats for this year back at the beginning of April. That didn't happen. So we rescheduled to the end of May. Because our province is still in a state of emergency and will be until the beginning of June, the retreat house is closed. So that means that our retreat is canceled once again!
We're going to reschedule again for August and hopefully, that one will be a go. In the meantime, I'm going to host another virtual retreat. The dates are May 27 - 31. I got so much done the last time, that I'm going to go for it again. I wonder if the weather will be nice? So if anyone would like to attend the virtual retreat, I can set up a Zoom meeting once a day so we can all get to know each other a bit better, do some show n tell and just do something different. I'll make it open to anyone who wants to attend.
The one thing I've noticed on my walks is the number of cars parked at Tim's. Why is that since they can't go inside to have coffee? I think (and I could be wrong) that people are driving to Tim's, getting their coffee, and enjoying it in the car by themselves. That's what I would do if I had kids. Gosh - I was always very selfish with my time when M lived at home. I did NOT need to be a hero and be the perfect parent. I took time for myself. If I had kids - I'd be at Tim's for coffee by myself. You bet!!!
Yesterday was one of those days where not much got done and certainly nothing that can be shared with you. I had completed the blocks for the magazine quilt and wasn't happy. GRRR!!! A chat with the editor and she agreed with me, so the blocks have to be REMADE. Don't you just love that? You think you're ahead and then you're not! Oh well - I'll start cutting tomorrow. The worse part is that I had a niggling feeling when I threw this one fabric in that it didn't belong. And sure enough - it doesn't belong! Listen to your gut!!
I made good progress on the blocks for the Aviatrix Medallion class which is tomorrow night. I'm LOVING this one. It's turned out so nice and I'm working with oranges and cream so it's a challenge to get some variety in this quilt, but it's beautiful so far and I'm just making up the look as I go along. I'll be sharing that with you once the class has seen the quilt.
One of the things that I've had to do during this time - actually, it's a constant at my house. Arrange for pick-ups or drop-offs of things. Someone wants to borrow a ruler or a pattern. Diane (my VERY PRODUCTIVE community project quilter) needs new kits and drops off completed quilt tops. Someone needs a quilt quilted or to pick up their quilt. Plus I have stuff at the front door waiting until I can get together with the appropriate person.
Yesterday, I had a box of stuff to drop off and then a lot of stuff to pick up (toys to play with!). It involved a drive to the other side of the city! I loved the trip - not only did I get out, but it was a breeze to zip across the entire city in 37 minutes, not HOURS. The errand still took a couple of hours.
Yesterday, I talked about managing our stuff, and if we have too much, that we can spend a lot of time and effort managing that stuff. Here's what I'm talking about. I'm excited about getting rid of these scraps. I didn't get anything done in the sorting process because of phone calls and my errand, but that's OK.
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| The scraps to sort later today |
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| My scraps to sort through |
BUT - it's those darn scraps that were amassed to make the pet mats. Here's where the managing stuff thing really hits home. When I first started collecting (I was totally out of my mind!), the boxes and bags went under the long arm. They stayed there for a long, long time.
Then at one point, the entire lot got moved to the cold room under the front steps to the house. Then they got moved out of there and into the small storage space under the steps to the basement.
Now some of them have been moved into these IKEA bags and sitting near the long arm.
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| Scraps to be sorted for pet mats |
There are still enough bags to fill two of those big tubs - these are still under the stairs to the basement.
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| A tub filled with scraps |
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| One more tub filled with pet mat scraps |
And as mentioned, I'm on a roll, so I brought up some boxes and bags that I can deal with once I'm finished with my scraps.
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| Pet mat scraps |
I took them upstairs to Studio U. It's a nice bright space and I'm certainly getting a lot done there so I figured this was a good place to put them. They are in my face and I want that space clean. Oh yes - I'm going to get those boxes empty even if it kills me. And sooner, rather than later.
The biggest hurdle at the moment is that I'm almost out of bags to put the scraps in. I have a huge stack of upholstery samples that need to be cut (they are 26" square). I need to cut big squares from them and serge up the bags. It was trying to figure out how to best use those squares for no waste. I've now got the measurements in my head so I'm ready to go. Just waiting for my big ruler to get back to me (later this weekend) and I'll be in production mode.
If the scraps are cut up (like they were supposed to be), the process of stuffing the pet mat bag is simple. From what I took up yesterday, a lot of it appears to be like that. Let's pray!!!
But you see how crazy that is? How much time and effort have I expended on these silly bags and boxes of scraps? A LOT of time and a lot of effort. We do the same thing with our stuff. Just get rid of it! Deal with it - and reduce the amount. Just do IT!!!
When I finally got back to sewing last night, the last of my "pre-wound" sewing bobbins ran out. That meant it was time to clean out the bobbin case and change the needle. I thought about sneaking in another bobbin and then thought that my sewing machine was worth a little TLC.
Whew - look at all that lint!!!!
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| A very linty filled bobbin case |
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| That's a lot of lint |
I changed the needle and then wound five bobbins. OK - I cheated - I wound SIX bobbins. And that little adjustment I made last time I wound the bobbins worked like a charm. The bobbins are full, but not so full that they don't fit in the bobbin case. I think the last time I did this was in preparation for the virtual retreat at the beginning of April. Yikes - six weeks to use six bobbins? Oh - a lot of thread goes on a bobbin! That can't be right. No worries - it doesn't matter how fast I work - just the fact that stuff is getting done is enough for me.
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| Six bobbins ready for a sewing marathon |
Even though I have two top of the line sewing machines in the house, I'm perfectly happy to sew on my Husqvarna Viking Opal 690Q. It's a great little machine - it's got the hands-free bells and whistles that are important to sewing (for me). I'll save the big boys for the big jobs that are coming up and some embroidery as well.
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| The Husqvarna Viking Opal 690Q |
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| The Opal 690Q |
When I opened the drawer to my sewing cabinet to get the supplies to clean the bobbin case, I noticed that I have a LOT of lint rollers. Good grief - what was I thinking when I bought all those. I hardly ever use them and I mostly use them to remove lint from a quilt top. Oh boy - that's one of those "it seemed like a good idea" things.
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| A drawer filled with lint rollers |
One of the fabrics I'm working with for my Aviatrix Medallion quilt was a fat quarter that was folded in half and rolled and tied TIGHT. Gosh - look at the wrinkles! That took a wee bit of steam to get that pressed flat. But I didn't require any fancy pressing starches - just steam and a heavy hand and it was just fine!
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| A wee bit wrinkled from being rolled |
In the dental department, I'm happy to report that the Vaseline is still holding my crown in place. I really can't believe that something so simple would work so effectively.
I was reading the e-mail from Thimbles and Things this morning and OH MY GOD - I need to take a road trip. The Storybook Princess and the Pea panel has arrived. I NEED IT NOW. Perhaps a drive this weekend would be in order. Not just to get the panel, but I have a sewing machine that I'm selling to someone near the store and I could do both things at the same time. I'll see how that goes. I wonder if someone wanted to come along. Does that break the rules??
On that note, it's time to get the day rolling. I've got loads to do. What amazes me is that as much as I get done, there's still a ton of things waiting in the wings. I will see the end of it someday. But that's going to take a few years!
So did anyone empty their bathroom cabinets? I hope to get through part of it today. Just for some variety in the day! How crazy is that!
Have a super day!!!!!
Ciao!!!
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