Sunshine!

 

The sun was out in all its glory yesterday, and I took full advantage of it! I moved a sewing machine upstairs to Studio U. And after I finished my project for work (on the laptop), I moved over to the sewing machine. I can't share what I'm sewing with you - well, not yet, but what fun to sew in the sun! 

It was so warm in that room, I thought it was summer! I finished the one quilt block that I was working on and even cut out and sewed part of the next one! How about that? I just took one project up - no sense in bringing up more than I can handle. 

Besides, if I wanted to stay there, I could always work on sorting out those bags of scraps, and that's exactly what I did!

I went through that entire huge box. Some of the scraps were a bit large, but I didn't care - I just stuffed the pet mats and didn't keep ONE thing! Shocking! But we have to get over this hoarding thing. 

I filled 10 pet mats. 

Ten pet mats ready to be sewed shut

The serger is in Studio B, so I trundled them all downstairs to serge them up at some point. Seriously?? Why not do it now? So I did. I serged them all up and then trundled them back upstairs to my cozy spot so I could finish off the serged seams by inserting the thread back inside the seam. 

I know - you think that's a lot of up and down the stairs. I'm OK with that. I have a very aggressive walking goal this year - I need an average of 11.5 KM each day for 365 days to make the goal. That's a total of 4,200 KM (walking) for this year. Call me crazy - but I want to finish my virtual walk across Canada. 

I'm happy to find steps any way I can! That means - I've already walked over 100 KM this year! Yep - I can't get behind, and with the weather the way it is? I'm taking full advantage of walking outside, but my two walks each day are not enough to get the 11.5 KM, so I need steps in the house. 

Two more things I HAVE to change. I need to stretch EVERY DAY, and I need to eat more protein EVERY DAY. 

Anyway - after dinner, I finished off the pet mats, and they are ready for delivery. I'm going to have to do that soon as there is now a bit of a pile in the living room, and I need to get them out of here. 

There are still a few scraps in Studio U that need to be dealt with, but I'm making good progress so far. I just wonder what the heck am I going to do with all my "free" time when I no longer have to manage my possessions (mostly junk!). Oh - I'm sure I'll find something to keep me entertained. 

Here's the status of the table in the office. OH MY GOD - there's an actual surface under all the garbage that's been languishing there for years! I need to go through this stuff. I might just walk it upstairs today and do it there. I think it will be another sunny day, and I'm taking advantage of the light in that room. It makes me feel happy. 

There is an actual surface to the table

I did get a bit of work done in Studio B this morning. I'm making progress on the Christmas Fig quilt. The top half is now together, so that's a good thing. Just need to sew the bottom half together and add a border—my goal for later today. 

Progress on Christmas Fig

And I started to sew the binding (by hand) on one of my quilts. This has been sitting around long enough - it's time to get it done. I got about half of one side done. That's OK - I'm slow at hand stitching - the big thing is progress is being made!! Just so you know, this is the ONLY quilt of mine that doesn't have the binding on. Oh - I lie. That modern scrap quilt I just quilted needs the binding on as well. 

Hand stitching the binding

What I need to do right NOW - is to stop pulling anything further from cupboards or piles. This is what happens. I find a new book to read, and the one that I'm currently reading gets abandoned. Not with novels, but with non-fiction. As I mentioned, I'm browsing through the one on machine embroidery. I must NOT start another one until I'm done with that. This is what gets me into trouble!!!

Speaking of reading, Linda asked how many books I read last year. I set my goal at 50 as I had no idea how many books I could read in a year. I read 72. I might have forgotten one or two non-fiction books in that count. That's both audiobooks and physical books. I would love to read more, but I don't have time with work stuff, and there are times when I just don't want to listen to an audiobook or don't have to sit with a real book. And I HATE to listen to anything when I walk. That's just FREE time to do nothing but walk. 

It's important that we give our brains a rest and just use our imagination and think about stuff. I solve a LOT of problems and deal with many issues when I'm working away, not listening to anything. So I only listen to audiobooks about half the time when I'm sewing. I'm pleased about that. 

I did set my goal for 2021 at 75. That'll be a stretch, but I've already read four this year, so I guess I'm well on my way to reaching that goal!!!

Speaking of goals - I came across this quote the other day. Perfect. 

I've got a couple of finishes to share with you. The first one is from Aviatrix Medallion - a quilt that we did last year with Oh Look Fabric. This quilt belongs to Gisele. She quilted it herself, and now it's bound and on the bed!!!!

Gisele's Aviatrix Matrix

HEre's a detail of the quilting that she did on her domestic machine. I love it when the students tackle their own quilts!!! 

The quilting on Gisele's Aviatrix Medallion

This next one is Jana's Summer Moon quilt top. The quilt top is DONE!! I love the color on this one - very unique. 

Summer Moon quilt top by Jana

Cathy sent me pictures of her Summer Moon, and they were ones that got lost in the e-mail fiasco. I must ask her to resend them. 

So if you were in one of my classes and managed to finish a quilt or the quilt top, send it to me. It's never too late to ooh and aah over them!!

On that note, I must buckle down and get the last of my group e-mails organized today. No more slacking off, and I need to start the homework planning. Sadly, my free time will be gone this next week as I buckle down to work, but that's OK - I had a nice couple of weeks off, and I'm looking forward to classes again!

Have a super day and if the sun is out in your area - get out!! Even for a few minutes or a walk down the block and back. It's so important in this crazy time. We need to get outside - if for no other reason than to change your view!!

Ciao!!!