UFO Show and Tell Part Two

Sigh..............

Have you ever had one of those days when NOTHING seemed to go right? Yesterday was one of those days. I rarely feel like throwing in the towel, but I was tempted on numerous occasions. However, I maintained a level head and kept working methodically through the fiascos trying to make sense of the crazy day. 

The modem that was to arrive between 9 and 9:30 still wasn't here by 4 PM. A call indicated that it would likely be delivered today. Fortunately, DH's Zoom call didn't go down, although it slowed. I didn't stream the radio on Alexa for fear of causing issues with his call. 

I had typed out my agenda for the two lectures last night. And guess what? Word froze, and I had to reboot my computer and start over again. There was NO autosave? Why not?? 

As if that wasn't bad enough, I couldn't print. The printer had run out of paper, and while I refilled the paper tray, my computer wasn't recognizing that I had done that. So I had to reboot yet again to get it to recognize the correct status of the printer. Seriously?? It was like there was a tech gremlin in the house yesterday. And yes - I had issues last night, and thankfully everyone is so patient. The connection slowed down considerably in one presentation, and it died in the second one. It seemed to take forever to get reconnected. 

I did note that DH was watching TV when I was online. Hmmm - I stayed off while he was on his call? But I won't go there. 

I did take a walk in the afternoon before my lectures, and that helped to clear my head. I've got two lectures more today and no idea when that modem will arrive. And I've no guarantee that it'll solve the problem. It could make it worse, but I won't go there. I might have to zip down to Tim's to do my lectures!

Needless to say, I didn't get a chance to log into the Monday sewing - I just didn't dare tax the bandwidth with a second Zoom call. 

But today is another day. I had a good sleep, got some writing done this morning. I'm still behind a wee bit, but every day, I get closer to the finish line! 

So - let's go back and finish up with the Show and tell from the UFO club. 

Elaine finished her Stitcher's Garden quilt (Stitch Connection). This is the third one of these quilts that got finished because of our UFO club. 

Elaine's completed Stitcher's Garden quilt

There are five borders as per the original pattern! Hey -- while this quilt top is finished, it's OK to change up the borders. If you don't want to put on five borders, then only put on two. But I do love the vibrant colors in the borders; they help to tie in all the bright colors in the quilt. 

The five borders on Stitcher's Garden

Elaine also quilted this small wall hanging that she started many years ago at Quilt Canada. It was the result of a workshop. It just needs the binding, and it's done! One more project bites the dust!!!

Elaine's landscape quilt - ready to bind

She also got the binding on this quilt. That picture is a wee bit dark as the quilt is grey and white with lime green. It doesn't matter - it's one more project - DONE!!

Elaine's Shop Hop quilt - DONE

She also finished or almost finished this small candle mat made with wool felt. It's so cute!!!! It'll be finished in plenty of time before Easter next year. 

Easter Candle mat - almost done

Great job, Elaine - she was very busy this past month!!!!

Guess what? We have ONE MORE Stitcher's Garden quilt done. That makes four completed as a result of the UFO club, and to my knowledge, there are no more of them waiting in the wings amongst this group. This one belongs to Diane. She had to sew the quilt top together, and she also added the five borders. 

Diane's Stitcher's Garden quilt top

So these two versions now have to be quilted. I'm just happy that mine is in the "to be quilted" pile. 

This is Diane's next project. It was a Border Creek mystery from last year. She's already done a ton of work with making all those half square triangles which are sewn into four patches. 

Diane's Border Creek mystery project

This is what the block looks like. That's going to be a beautiful quilt. Diane loves to make things large, but she insists that she's only making it a lap size. We'll see what happens next month!!!

The block for the mystery quilt

Diane also got two quilts quilted this past month. They look great!!!

Elephant quilt - DONE

And here's the second quilt. 

Diane's second quilt - DONE

As if that wasn't enough, she made two small wall hangings, just in time for Halloween. 

Diane's two Halloween wall hangings - DONE

Sharon did a TON of handwork this past month, and the train station is on the quilt. I'm so impressed. I know she struggled this month to get that commitment done. But it's done, and she can move onto another section of the quilt. This is from the 2000 Piecemaker's Calendar. 

The train station is appliqued to the background

The blocks are almost completed!!! Wow-what a huge relief it must be to get the quilt to this stage, but she's not done yet!!!

Sharon's quilt 

Diane T assembled this table runner. I wonder what size of sashing she used between the blocks because it looks AMAZING. I might have to try that with one of my string quilts because it has a totally different look than when you just sew the blocks together. 

Diane T's string pieced Chrismas runner

Liz is back after taking a hiatus at the cottage all summer. She was to complete 2 blocks for this project, and she got four of them sewn together. The quilt is going to be gorgeous!!!! 

Blocks for Liz's quilt

She still has 6 blocks to make, and it looks like she got quite a bit of cutting done for those. It's all about progress, and we have to remember that some of the group members have full-time jobs, others have family or other commitments that don't allow them to sew all day. 

Pieces of blocks have been cut and ready to sew

This is the quilt that Laura is working on, and she'll be adding the borders for next month. I LOVE this quilt, and YES, I have one to make—no time to even think about that at the moment. 

Laura's Over and Under quilt

Ronda is making a new project - a gift for a family member. She imported a fabric collection in EQ8 and designed the quilt with a wee bit of assistance from me. The quilt is made from flannel, and it going to look amazing. 

I think all the blocks are cut out - these are Bear's Paws blocks. 

The Bear Paw blocks are cut

The alternate blocks - square in a square are already made. 

The square in a square block for Ronda's quilt

That leaves my projects. I don't have time this morning to post, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what I did. 

Here's something vital to keep in mind. As I was posting homework from the recent classes, I noticed that several people haven't been around for a while. 

So I started e-mailing people to see how they were. You know - not everyone is faring as well as others under the circumstances. If you know someone and haven't heard from them in a while, give them a CALL. We must stay connected to each other. And we mustn't let anyone slip through the cracks. 

I know that I don't do enough of that, and often, I'll go for days and sometimes weeks before I call family or friends. I'm trying to get better at that, and even if I end up on a phone call while I do my walk - I'm OK with that. The important thing is we MUST reach out! 

One more thing, and I want you to do this IMMEDIATELY. STOP watching the news. Just STOP. It's depressing; there's nothing we can do about certain political situations - it's going to hell in a handbasket quickly, and there isn't a single thing we can do about it. There are fires and other disasters and we can't do a single thing about them either. So do yourself a favor and STOP watching the news. I stopped over 10 years ago - Oh I keep abreast of world events, but I don't let myself get dragged down into the depressing thing that is called news these days. 

If you feel compelled to help, then make a cash donation or get out and find a place to volunteer locally. Even with COVID, there are places where help is needed. 

Make your own fun, call friends, hold Zoom calls with your friends - it's good to chat about the ridiculous things happening in the world. I find it gets it off my mind if I have a good chat and then I let it go. If sewing by yourself is boring, then get a Zoom meeting going and sew with someone all day. You don't even have to talk - just know that someone is there for you!!

Have you put on weight during the pandemic? Then move in with me. DH does most of the grocery shopping and there are NO treats. Thank god for that. I'm a stress eater (when I'm stressed for time) and well, yesterday? I could have eaten a pallet of chips and cases of pop if they had of been handy! I did have a couple of small snacks that I've squirreled away in Studio B. 

On that note, I'm out of here. It's another jam-packed day and I'll be in Manitoba this afternoon and then zipping off to Newfoundland! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!