Lights, camera, ACTION

 

Oh dear -- I don't want to say that I'm flying by the seat of my pants or that I'm working to deadlines again. But I am getting things done the day they are due and not a minute before!

Today, it's all about the Quilts of Valour sew-along. Since I designed a pattern for them, they asked if I would participate in the event. No problem - I have NOTHING on the calendar today. Could I prep a short video? Of course, I can do that. When asked how long the videos would be (I'm making two of them), I responded - they would be 2 minutes. OK - so the first one is done, and it's 3:48 minutes. I can't reduce it - OK - I could, but I'm not going to. I might just show the one video today, and that's it. 

Anyway - check out the link for the pattern - there are two versions - using a panel or not. I'm using a panel for my sew along today—all proceeds for the patterns go to Quilts of Valour to buy supplies like batting. Buy my pattern or one of the others. You don't have to make a quilt for Quilts of Valour with it - you can make whatever you want. My pattern is generic. 

I LOVE making videos, and the more you do, the better you get. I'll be putting it on my YouTube Channel at some point, and I really need to get that YouTube Channel in shape. Someone said last night in my presentation that they searched the internet for videos from me and didn't find anything. Well, I do have some videos - not a lot, but some. I might make a few videos of my favorite sewing tips and throw those up. Ah - more stuff to do!

Another successful presentation last night, and I'm done for the week! Now to start getting ready for next week. No - I actually have nothing on the calendar for the weekend, and I need to get some quilts quilted. 

It just so happened that on the table of current projects was a third quilt that I'm making for the Quilts of Valour pattern, which got pulled and prepped yesterday, and it's now in the stack of prepped projects to sew later today. I'm NOT pulling things from the UFO piles or anything else. I cannot believe it, but I finally have my space EXACTLY how I wanted it to be. How many years did that take?? 

I should do a video to show you the various areas and how I organized them all. The only thing now is to reduce that pile of current projects - it's a bit too large for my liking, but I'm working on it, and that's all that counts. 

For some reason, I missed these pictures the other day. I was on a bit of a quick tidy up, and there's this tray beside my sewing machine with bits to make half-square triangles. 

A tray for enders and leaders by the sewing machine

As I was rummaging in the tray, I found these. OH MY GOD  - those are tiny, but they are trimmed and partially sewn together. I guess I know what I'm going to be using for enders and leaders for the next round of sewing. 

TINY half-square triangles

Look - I even twirled the seams on the back!!!!

Not only are there orange and green ones, but black, white and red!!! Yep - I'm a nut, and I'm OK with that. 

Black and white half-square triangles

And yes - those are twirled as well. 

Seams are twirled on the back

And here's the neat pile of project boxes for the ongoing classes this year. It's supposed to be sitting on the sawhorse table leg, but that needs a repair before that can happen. So I must get that done so this box can go back on the shelf. One must KEEP that floor neat and tidy!

The ongoing project boxes for 2021

Here's a totally random photo. I see this townhouse every day on my morning walk. This has to be the most UNINVITING front door I've ever seen. There's nothing pretty about it - nothing to protect it - it's just there on the side of the house. That would be a show stopper for me if I were looking to purchase this house. I hate that door! 

An ugly front door

Yesterday, I posted the picture of that Microsoft product I had purchased and was throwing away. Well, thanks to Ronda, I found out that there is a  class action suit against Microsoft. So I claimed that software and one laptop (with Windows) that I would have purchased in the time frame mentioned - no receipts necessary, and I should get $29 back. HEY - why not!!

Part of my claim in the class action suit against Microsoft

Then in the cleaning process, DH found a gift card for Best Buy. Well, now I have a DVD/CD drive on order, and it didn't cost me a penny. As a matter of fact, there's still some money on the card. What else can I buy?? 

Speaking of buying, I needed a couple of things from Fabricland, but how will this work?? Well, I have to say that I was very impressed. They have a VERY long shopping list, but for each item, they've made a catalog. This is for curbside pickup! It appears that they also have a cart system, but I'm not sure that all items are in there. I can't find the link at the moment, but it's there! 

The thread catalog at Fabricland

If you want threads, you open up the thread catalog and pick what you want. Now - it is NOT Shopify, where you click the items and put them in your cart. Instead, you note what you want and then write it in the space in the shopping list's main body. A wee bit laborious, but HEY - I found everything that I wanted and even renewed my membership. I got a call yesterday, and I'm going to pick it up today. That's my car errand for this week. I have those items to get and another item from Staples. I'm so excited!!!

I think they should make the thread catalog a tool that sits on their website. It is amazing to see all the colors and the types. I wasn't sure which orange thread I needed for my project, so I bought a small spool of each! Now I'm good for any orange fabric that comes my way. 

I have a wee pile on the floor beside me of junk that I'm processing when I have a free minute or two. So I found this software. Hmmm - it's for Windows XP. That is NOT going to work on my Windows 10. Everything has been recycled. Well, all the literature inside was recycled - the rest went into the garbage. Now, why couldn't I have done that before? First off, it was tucked away in a cupboard where I couldn't see it. 

Obsolete software

I did get a chuckle when I noticed this message on the inside of the case. To release the CD, you need to press the center button. Years ago, when I first started to work for HP, it was a nightmare to keep track of all the product brochures. We thought we had died and gone to heaven when they put all the docs on a CD. OH MY!!! And I'll never forget that the product manager demonstrated how to OPEN THE JEWEL case that the CD came in. 

How to remove the CD from the case

CDs were fairly common - well, sort of in the early 90s. We didn't need a lesson, but the product managed was enthusiastic, I guess. 

So - you want to know what was in that second package that I got in the mail??? Another magazine with a quilt of mine in it. I should probably say table runner because that's what it is. I have to run upstairs and take a picture of the runner, which I'll share tomorrow. I don't even know who is stocking magazines these days, 

McCalls Quilting January/February

I had a dentist appointment yesterday. I'm very proud to say that I'm super relaxed at the dentist now. I never used to be, but I've learned that it's not bad at all. I only felt a wee twinge when he put freezing in the roof of my mouth, but it was fine - I've learned how to zone out when that happens. But when he replaced this old filling, the tooth was cracked as well - that DAMN pretzel that I ate a while back, and now half of the tooth is gone. Next step - a crown. But not for the moment. Sigh................

As I go through this pile of software and computer parts, I found this. These remotes for my old laptop have never been out of the packaging. All of the plastic went into that recycling, and the bits went into the electronic waste. 

Electronic waste

I found two batteries and put them in the battery drawer - I never tested them, but they are there for the moment. 

Two batteries

I've got more software to deal with, but if I manage to get rid of one or two packs a day, I'm OK with that. It's looking so much better, and I really need to get rid of the donation boxes. That would make the space look positively HUGE. I hope that's my car trip for next week. 

I didn't hear from Katheleen on the CDs, so I'm guessing those go in the garbage! 

Things are under control, and that makes me feel happy. It's taken a LONG, LONG time to get here, but then it took years to get into a mess. I'm not out of the woods yet, but have you noticed that I'm no longer whining about not wanting to clean up the office, but I'm tackling it. Well, there's nothing else to clean up! So I'll get there - it's going to be boring, so a little bit each day is fine by me, and when I have the urge to do a major purge - well, that's going to be OK as well. I have to say that I'm motivated because I want to change up my desk arrangement now that I'm doing more paperwork and I need a bit more room. I am NOT making any major changes until some of the mess is gone to really evaluate the situation. I don't think I need to buy anything new - I just need to rearrange what I have. 

WAIT --- I didn't give you an assignment today. How about the bedside table?? I should be sharing the photos of my items with you as I give you an assignment. I only have a lamp and a book that I read before bed. NOTHING else sits on the table. And the drawers are pretty much empty as well. OK - I might start to share my homework with you - just so you don't think I'm just randomly picking things. Well, I am! 

Well, it's time to go. I've got one more video to shoot this morning and get it uploaded and ready to show during the sew-along, and hopefully, by the end of the day, my Quilts of Valour quilt will be done!!! One more project OFF the current projects table. Oh yes - progress is being made!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!