Out with the old, in with the new

I don't know why it takes me so long to try on something new or use something new that I've purchased. Those new running shoes have sat on the kitchen table for two weeks now. I finally got myself together and tried them yesterday. They fit perfectly! I LOVE them. They are Sketcher's, and I bought them at Mark's. 

The old and the new

Seems a shame to throw the old ones away since other than the heels worn down, they are still good. Is there an organization that is taking shoes for people that don't have shoes? I've no idea. I'm tempting to buy two more pairs since they fit so well, and so far, they don't seem to have the same issue that the other brand did with breaking them in. The tongue is softer, so I'm not having the pain in the front of my foot.

I think they are still on sale - I should check it out this morning. And they have memory foam in them, so they are nice and cushy. I walked over 1,500 miles on the old ones. It's time to change them up. Gosh - look how dirty they are! I remember when I first put them on that the white was jarring and well - it is jarring when you compare the two!

I've got 755 miles left to walk on my Route 66 virtual walk. I'm all set!


I made good progress on quilting my quilt. I decided to do a bunch of ruler work on it. Why - I've no idea! Depending on what you're doing with the rulers, it can be a hassle. I find doing ruler work on the outer border is NOT my best thing, but it had to be done. Oh well - no one is going to be looking at it that closely, but I'm happy with how it's turning out. I've got about one more hour of ruler work this morning and then to decide what to do with the last pieces. Free motion? Or more ruler work?

I'll decide when I get there.

And I managed to get some paperwork done for ME!! I finally ordered the buckle for the backpack. I found it at Emmaline Bags. Holy - if you want bag supplies (in Canada) - that's the place to go. I won't have the buckles in time for the retreat, but that's OK. I'll do as much as I can on the straps at the sewing retreat and then finish the rest off when the buckles come.

I got a few more projects ready to put in the retreat basket. It's almost full, and then I can stop! I've got a bit more than I can actually get done, but that's OK. The foundations for the string quilt are cut from the yellow pages.

The foundation papers for the string quilt are cut

Then I found a small bag of cut off pieces that someone gave me years ago. This would be a perfect thing to throw in the retreat basket. I'm not sure what will become of the pieces, but I'm going to play with them and see what happens. I think these were scraps from using the X Block ruler.

Scraps to play with

I'm behind on getting the Vintage Christmas homework out to the group. I just couldn't get it done for Friday. But now the blocks are cut, and I'll be working on that first thing this morning. And I'm cutting the next homework assignment for Christmas Fig, which is due this coming Friday.

After the retreat, I've got a day booked so that I can get completely caught up on the five on-going projects. Then it shouldn't be hard to keep on track for the remainder of the year. Two of the projects are almost done! That's hard to believe! Then we have to sew them together and quilt them.

I did a wee bit of tidying up this morning as well, and that feels good to be getting things under control. It's incredible how quickly things can get out of hand if you're not keeping on top of it.

Here's one piece of batting with the size pinned onto it. It's ready to go into the batting cupboard for when I need batting for the next quilt of mine.

Pin the batting size to the batting for easy reference

I managed to get my hands on this new serger book as well. It's written by one of our educators. She knows sergers inside and out, and it appears that she's been using a serger since she was in high school. OK - I could be that competent with a serger too - if I did a bit more! I'm pretty good with a serger, but I'm not that familiar with all the fancy stuff that you can do with a serger.

New serger book

I have come to the realization that I could spend ALL my days just making samples and learning how to use the serger and all its feet, as well as all the different embroidery techniques, the sewing techniques and then projects that I want to make that I have access to. Never mind the quilting part of what I do. Oh yes -- I could never be bored.

I was looking for a specific project to take to the retreat. I did find the project, but I also found a zippered pouch that was jammed with zippers. Seriously???? Yep - mostly red and black, but I did find a few orange zippers. Hmmm, now why doesn't Fabricland have those BRIGHT orange zippers any longer??

Orange zippers

So I'll be checking that out today and seeing which lengths of zippers and which colors are the best to use up the remainder of that prequilted orange fabric.

I also got my library account sorted out yesterday. Oh boy - I've got a lot of books coming on August 11 - well about 7, but that's OK. I'm almost finished the one that was due on Friday. I should finish reading it today, and I'll drop it off. I still have two from the last pick-up, and I should be able to read both before August 11, so I'm good.

I also finished listening to The End of Days by Sylvia Browne. I made a mistake when I was talking to someone and said the book was by Sandra Brown. Nope - not even close. So Sylvia Browne was a psychic. The book was written in 2008, and she died in 2013. Unless you're really into predictions and knowing the future, I wouldn't recommend reading the book. The first part just lists how each religion in the world describes the end of days according to them. I get that, but did we need to hear about every religion? I guess it's a useful reference as she appeared to be very thorough.

Then she lists her predictions. Hmm - I think she missed on 99% of her predictions. By now, we should have a cure for diabetes, ALS, MS, and a whole lot of other diseases. We could 100% cure the common cold with heat and some kind of a cubicle. You could take a pill that would do the same thing as bypass surgery. We'll all have robots in our houses that would help control our homes - I guess you could say that that is Alexa.

She did predict that in 2020 that a pneumonia-like virus would cause issues with the world. It would hang around for 10 years and then mysteriously disappear. That would be COVID - no doubt there.

A couple of other interesting things is that she talked about the presidency in the US and said that the people would no longer want a president, but would have a representative from every state to govern the country. Hmm - I can see that happening. And she talked about the dark angels versus the light angels. The second half of the book was much more interesting than the first. Here's an article about some of the highlights - I'd read the article and skip the book.

She talked about the afterlife in great detail! We'll all be 33, which I could handle.

Anyway - it was an interesting read, but the first part was boring.

I see that it's pouring rain. Hmm - I'm not keen on walking in that much rain. Murphy doesn't even want to go into the backyard. I think we'll be waiting for the walk today.

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

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!