Are we there yet?

 I spent the majority of the day just sewing, and it was glorious! I did sew some of the homework stuff that needed to be done. I'll share that with you another day. I need to get some more writing done today to get the homework to the group. I did catch up on some other projects that needed to be done. 

Best of all, I spent it with two friends, and we had a fabulous time just chatting and sewing. Here's the thing - we ALL live alone - right? And did I not hear that it's OK if you live alone to have a bubble. I don't have any family here, and my bubble is small, so this is OK. My mental health is worth more than anything. I'm not sewing in a large group, so I'm good with the mini Sit n Sew day! 

I'm a bit disappointed with yesterday's news that our area is sliding backward and now our regions are being "punished" for not obeying the rules. That is my word, but that's essentially what the Chief Medical Officer for Ontario said yesterday. Seriously??? Are we children? So, indoor gyms and restaurants are once again closed. So much for me standing in the rain booking a spot in spin class. 

I'll just write a couple of sentences about this, and then I need to move on. The government or the news is NOT reporting the facts. Oh sure, they are giving us ABSOLUTE numbers, and yes, they are increasing. But where are the percentages??? What is the daily percentage of new cases versus the number of tests today versus back in March, and what is the trend?? A monkey could see that the numbers they are feeding us are totally useless without percentage trends. 

And to say that we need to STAY HOME is crazy. OK - so stay home, but that doesn't mean you have to stay in your house!!! People - we are going to go mad if we stay in our houses. I don't care if winter is coming - we need to get our butts outside and go for walks or chats or whatever we can and need to do. 

I'm so fed up with the situation that YES - living back on the farm in Saskatchewan is a very cheery thought at the moment. 

PHEW!!! That feels better. And now onto the good stuff. 

I was getting tired of my Celebration quilt. Oh, not the quilt per se. But look at what was happening. The blocks are positioned on my portable design wall, and because I pass by there all the time, some of the blocks would fall off, and they got piled in a heap. 

Celebration quilt - parts of it

Enough is enough! It's time to get this quilt done. So I got busy, and this is what it looks like this morning. 

Celebration quilt this morning

It's not quite sewn together, but most of the horizontal rows are sewn together. I'll see what happens today if I get any more sewn together. I'd like to move that portable wall, so I can finish off the Aviatrix Medallion quilt that's behind it. That quilt just needs one more border. I need those design walls to put up a couple more projects, so that should be a focus today!

My big ironing board is stuck in the film studio corner, and it's a pain to keep running back and forth, so I dug out this ironing board. OH MY GOD. It's like a toy - it's so small!!!  I've been using a large rectangular ironing board for years, so the size of this one is a bit of a shock! But for the blocks I was sewing yesterday, it worked fine. But when I need to iron yardage or my quilts, I'm off to the other one in the corner. 

Teeny ironing board!!

Claudette was showing me a new mask that she made for herself! Kitchen ladies! And of course, they were covered with bling!!!

Claudette's new mask

Once I finished the Christmas Fig blocks, which you can't see today, and the Celebration quilt was partially together, it was time to move onto something else. I decided that I should work on PRISM Squared, which is part of my UFO homework for this month. 

I decided to change up the way it was sewn together. The pattern said to sew it in thirds, but how can you check your accuracy with thirds? So I sewed it together in quarters so I could check if it was going to have a wavy center or not. 

As you can see, that little bit of yellow hanging over the edge was going to be a problem. So I took a few tucks in those seams close to the center. 

Ooops - the center is NOT square

Look - that quarter of the circle now makes a square in the corner, and I'm happy with that. 

Now the center makes a square

Then I was able to sew two quarters together and used the floor as a guide if the seam was straight. Not bad. 

Making great progress on PRISM Squared

Then I laid the pieces on the floor and guess who came to visit?

The center of attention

Actually, she was looking at Lynn as she went up the stairs!! That Murphy!! 

And now that center part is completely together!!! I did get fussy and take in a few more seams at the center as it still seemed a bit ruffly. 

The center part of PRISM Squared

Here's the center of the quilt. There are still two small ripples in the center (one on the left and one near the bottom of the circle), but I need to let it go. That should work out with the quilting. STOP fussing -- enough is enough!!!

The center is pretty flat

I needed a couple of things from the mall, so I walked over. Here's an update on the construction of the new movie theatre. They have put in a whole series of new retaining walls.

New retaining walls at the mall

The new theatre is considerably smaller than the store that was there before. Will this become some green space? patio area? I don't think so - maybe more parking????

The side of the theatre

Considering the current situation, the mall was relatively busy for that mall. 

Inside the mall

I found what I needed - a second wireless mouse as I'm sharing with myself and when the laptop is downstairs, and the computer is on the main floor, and I need a mouse for both computers, well, I was getting in lots of steps. But I tell you this story to make a point. I could easily have gone online and purchased it from that big store, but I REFUSE to buy from them unless absolutely necessary. I got lots of steps in, and I supported a local physical business. 

If we don't do that, they are going to die! 

And besides, if I had stayed home, I wouldn't have seen this on the back of someone's car! 

Halloween is coming!!!!

On my walks in the neighborhood, I see lots of things. There is one house, and well, they leave their garage door open - when the kids are out playing or hanging out in their neighbor's garage where they have chairs and a TV set up for the teens to watch. This garage is chock-a-block FULL of stuff. I don't think they can even walk in the garage, it's that full!! Time for a clean sweep for that house!

Garage full of STUFF

I also got one more block done from our Summer Moon project. 

A Summer Moon block

But here's the really fun fact of the day!!!  Look at my distance on the Virtual Challenges? YES - that is 2,000 MILES that I've walked since the beginning of this year. That's the equivalent of 3,200 KM if you're into KM. 

My goal was to walk the entire distance (2,280.3 Miles) of Route 66 in one year - 365 days. That meant that I would have to walk an average of 6.3 miles per day. I have a few friends who keep saying that I've gone crazy and am WAY AHEAD. Well, I'd like to say that my average walk per day is 7.0 miles. All it took to get ahead was to walk an extra .7 mile per day to finish the walk this far ahead. My goal was more aggressive than theirs to start, so it makes sense that I will finish that much ahead of them. So - I didn't go crazy, and it just goes to show how much a wee bit extra every day can make a huge difference. And that's the same whether you're quilting, walking, reading, saving money, or whatever you happen to be doing. 

Based on my average, I'll finish in 39 days! I'm excited about that. And I need to walk an average of 7 miles every day because of my slightly more aggressive walk across Canada, which requires that I do 7 miles every day to stay on track. I'm about 3 miles behind on that one. But still, those Virtual Challenges have been a HUGE incentive to get me outside regardless of the weather to walk. 

I've managed to keep my weight and my eating under control (I'm a stress eater, so if I can walk my stress off, I don't eat!), so I'm thrilled to death and if that's all it takes - well, it's almost free, and I'm good with that!!!

On my walk across Canada, I'm at KM marker 414.0 and on my way to Thunder Bay. I'm not sure where I'll end up at the end of the year, but somewhere between Thunder Bay and Toronto! I'll let you know!!!

Don't forget my Christmas card offer!  I think it will be fabulous to get cards from people, and I want to send cards to you!!  So e-mail me, and I'd be happy to send you a card!!!   elainetheriault@gmail.com

Have a super day!!!!!  Get OUTSIDE today!

Ciao!!!!