And the marathon begins..............

 Can you believe that it's already the 14th of January? Two weeks have passed since the new year began, and where did the time go? I looked at my calendar, and YIKES - I have classes starting TOMORROW. That means the marathon begins NOW. 

My routine got a bit turned around yesterday morning. There was a thin coat of ice on some sidewalks, and I was NOT risking a fall with my crazy dogs. So I sat at the computer and did e-mail instead of going for a walk. Then I walked in the afternoon - twice! Once with the girls together - they were not happy about that and a second time by myself - much more relaxing!

I had been working on a block that I need to get finished today. I wasn't happy with it, and well, I ended up pulling it apart and remaking part of it, and I'm a much happier camper. The lesson here is that if something doesn't ring well with you - fix it! Now I can move on from that little fiasco, and all is good in my world. 

I had to laugh, though, because the sewing machine in Studio U does NOT have the same bells and whistles as the one in Studio B, and well - I miss some of those bells and whistles! And NO  - I'm not buying a second fancy machine for Studio U. Not happening!

There was a lot of activity at my house yesterday as people dropped off quilts to be quilted so they wouldn't be breaking any "stay home" rules. Although we can still do curbside pickups for non-essential items. Oh well - it's very confusing. I'll just stay at home and continue to walk! I'm even picking up a book from the library today.  

The fabric to repair the doll quilt got dropped off yesterday, and I traded a pattern and a zipper for it.  The pieces that I have were not quite wide enough for the border, but now I have a piece that will fix the back and the front border. 

Fabric to fix the doll quilt

I also made great progress on the second Christmas Fig quilt. I'm going to write up those notes and send them to the class (long overdue), so I hope to share the photos with you tomorrow. I'm delighted with both quilt tops, and I'm glad I didn't make one large quilt as per the book. 

As I shut down the sewing machine in Studio B this morning, I have almost nothing left on the spool. Now, who would continue to sew until it runs out completely? And who would change the thread now? I'll sew until the bitter end. Nothing goes to waste in this house!!

Almost empty spool of thread

So I have one more border to put on the second Christmas Fig quilt top, two backings, and two bindings to make. I don't think I'm going to have enough fabric for all that in here. Part of my job today is to clean up this pile of fabric and finish those quilts. I need them out of the way because I have a LOT of prep work to do for the weekend, and I want this one project off the table. 

Fabrics to finish the Christmas Fig quilts

And just so you don't think I'm lying because I'm very good at it, here's a picture of the quilt corner with the inner border on!

The inner border on the second Christmas Fig quilt

I think I did very well last year. I ran five different year-long quilt classes, and two of them are finished. Well, they are sitting in the "to be quilted" pile. Christmas Fig is the third. The blocks for the fourth one are half sewn together, and the blocks for the last one are made - they just need to be sewn together. So I did very well. Way better than I normally do. 

Oh boy -- I did watch the funeral service. It's amazing what happens when you realize the password is case sensitive. DUH!!!!  I'm glad I was able to share in the service. It was very touching and extremely emotional. I can see this becoming a thing of the future since families and friends get scattered throughout the world, and while those hugs would be very welcome at a time like this - it's better to share the grief and get closure. 

I know of others who have put off funeral services during the pandemic, and it must be challenging for the families and friends to find closure. 

Here are the results of a quilting survey that I found on-line.   Check out the "how to pack a UFO" at the bottom of the article. I laugh because how the heck do you know the project is going to be shelved? In my case - it just usually gets abandoned. There's no thought to packing it away nicely!!!  But if you know you have to put the project away, the advice is excellent. 

And one other thing - have you thought about joining the Canadian Quilter's Association? It's a great organization for Canadian quilters (hmm - do you need to be Canadian to join? I don't think so). Anyway, they are taking their annual show/conference virtual this year. The dates are June 16 - 19. They are hosting a mystery quilt right now, and there are several upcoming challenges that you can participate in - one, you need to purchase a kit (Trendtex), and the second one, you need to work with specific colors. 

I have to say that I've learned MUCH in the quilting world by participating in a challenge. Some have been very successful, and some - well, not so much. But check it out. 

Still waiting to see what happens with my piece for the Cherrywood Challenge (theme Princess Diana). Did it get accepted or not? I'm checking my spam folder in my inbox as that's where the acceptance notice for last year ended up! Oh well - if it doesn't get in - I'm OK with that. I should share it with you at some point. OK - once I know if it was accepted or not - I'll share it. 

On that note, I'm out of here! I've got so much to do today that well - I'll just pick the first thing and work until it's done. Then move onto the second thing. How about the 10-minute tidy up? I hope you are setting that timer since I can't be there to supervise you! Put on some funky music and get sorting! It's so much easier to work when things are organized. Note - not neat and tidy, but organized!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!