That's a LOT of blocks

I was off to the gym yesterday! And it was so much fun to be back! Masks are required inside, of course, but once you get to the cycling studio, you can take the mask off. Joseph is the BEST spin teacher I've ever come across. He's tough, but he's good. Even though he doesn't check, he motivates you to slog through the hard cycling. I cranked out 32 KM on the bike without a thought. OH, that's a lie - I thought about lowering the tension on the bike, but I didn't. I feel fine today. All that walking has helped to strengthen my legs.

Things have changed, but not a whole lot at the gym. I love their thermometer, and I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow. Did I feel exposed? Nope - we need to get over the fear-mongering that is gripping our society. We need to be careful, but we CANNOT let this virus dictate what we do in our lives.

And just to put it in perspective, if you are horrified by the fact that over 1,000 people are dying from the virus each day in the US, look at this.


Every day, nearly 1,000 people in the U.S. die on average from a condition for which high blood pressure was the leading or contributing cause. This includes killers like stroke, heart attack, congestive heart failure, and end-stage kidney disease.


So while we wash our hands, wear a mask, and keep ourselves socially distanced from others to prevent getting a virus that could make us sick, are we doing the same thing to maintain healthy blood pressure? Eating healthier, getting some exercise, reducing stress, and salt, and I'm sure there are other factors. I get it that some people have hereditary heart issues, but many do not. Where's the pandemic for this killer that we have an excellent chance of changing. 

And how many other diseases do we have the opportunity to reverse, but we're not doing anything about it? 

OK -- that's my soapbox for today. But definitely food for thought!


The presentation went fine last night. So many product names to remember! I'm sure I goofed up some of them. But hopefully, the attendees learned a few things as well. There are so many neat things that you can do with a sewing machine that I wish I was sitting there now! I could sew all day and probably not make a dent in all the samples and experimenting that I want to do. 

When the prepping was under control, I took a long nap. I had gotten up extra early to get to the gym, so I needed that nap. 

Then I went back to binding those quilts. I got one more done for Quilts of Valour. 

Binding on Quilts of Valour quilt

And I got the binding on the last of the four Quilts of Valour quilts. Yeah - now I can get in touch with my contact and arrange a drop-off. 

Another quilt finished for Quilts of Valour

I still had a bit of time, so I got one more Project Linus quilt done. That leaves one quilt to bind, and then everything quilted will be bound! 

Project Linus quilt - DONE

I hope to make the delivery sometime today or tomorrow. Then it'll be tine to start that process all over again!

I thought that I'd do some work on one of the FIVE projects on my UFO list for this month. Two of the five are already done, so I'm in good shape. This one is going to take a while to sew together. It's also on my UFO list for 2020, so there's a second reason to get it done. 

It's a disappearing 9-patch. The nine-patches were made eons ago, and they were cut, but then the blocks sat. 

The blocks for a disappearing 9-patch quilt

You have to keep in mind that those squares are TINY. They measure 3 ¼" square. The pattern called for the quilt to be made with 2 ½" strips, so their blocks ended up at 2 ¾". Yikes. Totally crazy. So a total of 238 blocks will make a SMALL quilt according to the pattern.

I laid out my blocks according to the pattern. Yikes - this is a slow process. 

Starting to lay out the blocks

OK - even with the slighter larger blocks, that's still a small quilt. I think the pattern says 39" by 51". Too small to be useful. 

The quilt blocks are laid out

BUT look - I still have this many blocks leftover. 

Leftover blocks

Obviously, I decided to make the quilt larger, but by how much? No idea. There are NO NOTES in the pattern as to my plans. I HATE when I do that. 

And this is how it looks now. That's going to be a LOT of sewing to get that in one piece! And I still have to cut the setting triangles as the quilt is on point. 

The blocks laid out

I still have some leftover blocks, but not enough to add an extra row. I've probably goofed up on the layout somewhere, or I just made extra, which is entirely possible. 

Leftover blocks

I even have a couple of bundles of FQ of this same collection - Frolic by Sandy Gervais. Now, why do I have the extra fabric? Was I going to make the quilt even larger? I think I'll use it for binding and call it a day. I may use the extra to add a border if there's enough. My goal is to try and use it all up. No leftovers!

Extra yardage

So, Katheleen, has me wanting to do more journaling or art journaling. She is a whiz at it and can turn anything into a gorgeous creation. All it takes is the time to start. 

Here's the cover of a journal that she just "whipped together" with bits of leftovers and items she purchased at Value Village (the Dresden block). 

The cover of Katheleen's book

It's so darn creative. I love it, and I've wanted to do this forever!!!!

I have a couple of ideas in mind and was chatting to my Mom on the way home from the retreat last week. I wanted samples of handwriting from various family members. Well, I got way more than that. 

This package arrived in the mail yesterday. 

A package

In the package were scads of pictures (sorted by family members, of course) and loads of samples of handwriting, all labeled as to whose writing it was. 

Samples of handwriting

Yep - my Mom is trying to show me that it's a good thing to save stuff cause you never know when your kids are going to want something!!!

Now I need to get my butt in gear and sit down and actually do some of this stuff. It's all about setting priorities and well - I seem to have too many priorities. I love to read (yep - almost halfway through another book), I like to sew and so many things to finish up or try new stuff, walking in the neighborhood. Well, I'll see what I can do to squeeze out a bit more time to do some journaling. My Mom would LOVE to see the book. I know she would, and well, so would I!!

On that note, I'm out of here for today.

Don't forget the Virtual Retreat on Saturday and Sunday of this weekend. Here's the link for the Saturday post.

Saturday, August 22, Starts at 9 AM EST.

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86077887280?pwd=V2FoTkJvT3NpTDYrZHVqaWhFR1FEdz09 Meeting ID: 860 7788 7280 Passcode: 721457


Have a super day!!!!


 Ciao!!!!!