Thursday, September 10, 2020

Change - is a "good" thing

 

I've noticed that the interface that I use to post my blogs has been changing. I'd see the "new" interface but quickly found the button to revert to the old. I see the new interface this morning and I did NOT see the button to revert back. Well, I should just suck it up and get used to the new. It appears that the functions are the same - just different formatting. 

Before you know it, I won't even know the difference and certainly won't remember the old interface. Change is good - let's move forward - onward and upward! 

I had another presentation last night! I'm getting quite comfortable with the Zoom calls, switching between cameras and the laptop where I can share my screen for presentations I've put together or access the internet. It's all good and I'm glad that for the most part, it went together pretty seamlessly. There are still a few things I'd like to tweak. Each week, I try to do something new. I've got another one this evening for a different store and then I have a workshop on Saturday morning. 

It's all exciting stuff!! 

I feel like I spend my entire day running around with my phone taking pictures. Some stuff I can share with you and some I can't - not yet! And let's not forget videos and pictures of Little Bear to send to his Mom. And I wonder why my phone is almost dead at the end of the day? 

I was doing some embroidery yesterday trying to get started on my blog posts before they become urgent. An errand in the car and then it was back to prepping for the class. 

Prepping means running around the house, collecting stuff. Mostly to take pictures for the presentation. The more of the presentations I do, the less running around I'll have to do. Now to get all that stuff organized! 

Of course, I needed a couple of quilts that were on the bed. I knew that was going to happen. I should have thought a bit more carefully about the order in which they got placed on the bed. So with a little help from Bear, we did this. 


white dog on a stack of quilts
Bear on the mountain of quilts


Of course, the two that I wanted were close to the bottom of the pile. Of course!!! And did you know how heavy quilts are???  I can't imagine how much all those quilts weigh, but it's a lot!!! Little Bear was very careful to not get crushed under them. He was happy jumping over the roll as I rolled the quilts to the end of the bed and onto the floor. 



Quilts rolled off the bed


What I should do is roll them ALL off the bed. This time, I need to sort them and photograph them. All those that I would NEVER use for a presentation should be on the bottom. And then group the rest by my presentations. That would make logical sense and I see that I have a lot of work to do to make that happen. Plus some have sleeves that don't need sleeves any longer. So take the picture, remove the sleeve and back on the bed. 

There's a lot that I don't need/want. At some point, they will either go up for sale or be donated. Or be gifted, but believe it or not, most of my friends are quilters so none of them need a quilt from me! I'm sure I'll find a good home for them when the time comes. 


I snapped another photo of that darn Rose of Sharon. This time, it's easier to see how the flowers on the very top are quite different in color from the rest of the flowers. I NEED one of these shrubs. The bees and wasps were all over this bush. I must call the landscaper and arrange to have the low ugly ground cover shrubs in our front yard removed. Now the question is - is this a job better suited to fall or spring?


Rose of Sharon
The Rose of Sharon bush with two different colored flowers


AHA -- I just learned that this is tri-color Rose of Sharon. It should also have RED blooms on it. I haven't seen any red ones. It might be a bit big for my front yard, but I don't care! I'm planting two of them. It's drought-tolerant and likes full sun. Perfect for that spot!

OK -- Hopefully these pictures and the captions are going to come through OK. That seems to be one of the big differences. 

This morning, I worked on the paper pieced Double Wedding Ring quilt. I got on a roll with the production style piecing. I cut all the little pieces before I got started instead of using strips. It worked so much faster. 

Chain piecing
Chain piecing the paper pieced sections



I'm still working on Arc B, but that's OK. There was a lot of work to do to get them completed. I almost finished adding the fabric on the left. There's a few left that needs to be trimmed. 


Partially completed Double wedding quilt arcs
Paper pieced Double Wedding Ring arcs


I have to give Paula credit for her organization skills. She had the quilt split into a LOT of containers! When I first got the project, I further organized it and now all completed and partially completed sections are together. It got a bit tricky as she started to sew some of the sections together. I'm just going to work on finishing one section at a time and then move it down into the appropriate container. There are NINE containers!!!!

Nine containers for a quilt project
Nine containers for the Double Wedding Ring quilt


Those nine containers are in my current projects area and they take up a LOT of space. I'm going to try my best to keep working on the project as I continue to work on my UFOs and everything else that needs to be done. 


I have some eye candy for you this morning. The Trend-Tex challenge hosted by the Canadian Quilters Association is usually shown at Quilt Canada which due to the current situation was canceled this year. People still finished off their challenges and submitted them. I made one and I'm very happy with it. Well, now you get to see the quilts! They are on this AUCTION website. YES - the quilts are being auctioned off (as they are every year) as a fund-raiser for Canadian Quilters Association. 

There are 76 quilts in total and some very nice ones. If you click on each quilt, it'll open and you can see more detail. Can you find mine?  I think the quilts are entered in the order they were received. That should give you a big hint as to how quickly you can find mine. 

I usually buy one each year so now I have to scour the website (I only had a quick peek last night) to see which one I want to bid on. Actually, I really like mine. I notice that some others did something similar to mine, but I like the 3D effect of mine. Hmm - I could just bid on it. I'm OK with that. 

Well, I'm off on a road trip today, but no time to dilly dally as I need to get back and get things set up for tonight. I'm starting the same series with a new store. Same brand (PFAFF) and the topic is quilting. I should be good to go!!!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!



3 comments:

  1. I have a question about one of the pictures in yesterday's post. It is of the T-shirt quilt on the longarm. I see that you have your side tension strap coming over the top of a curtain rod. Can I ask why you do that? I have a different brand of longarm, but wondering if the same technique would help me? Thanks!

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    1. Linda - the curtain rod is lift the clamps. This lessens the chance that the machine will hit the clamps as it gets close to the edge. Someone told me about the curtain rods years ago and it works like a charm. Otherwise the clamps sag. Hoe that makes sense to you!

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    2. Yes, thank you. I recently changed some curtain rods and have two that fit perfectly on the long arm, so I am going to try that and see how it works. Thanks!

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