Slow and steady wins the race.........

 Oh my -- I couldn't believe my ears yesterday. I was asked if I would teach Long Time Gone AGAIN!! And I said YES. We won't start until January- well, I need to talk to Sue - perhaps we'll start it in the fall along with the others. So if you missed it the first time or PERHAPS you were in the original class and didn't get started - here's your FINAL chance to get it done!!!! 

Yes -- that's what we should do. I'm not sure how many projects to teach next year - but definitely not more than five. That's a stretch for me to keep up. But so far, so good, even if I have to miss a few hours of sleep to get everything done. I'm close but not quite on top of the time management thing. I seem to always need 24 hours. So, in theory, if I start my prep ONE DAY sooner, I'll be good. 

I'm almost at the limit of the number of projects for next year, so if you have a pattern/book that you'd love to have help on via one of my year-long classes, let me know, and I'll see if it fits. 

It was a crazy Zoom day with lots of Zoom between classes and family. I didn't quite get to double digits on the walking, but that's OK, and I desperately needed a nap after the few hours of sleep I had the night before. So I was off to the gazebo for that. 

And here's some excellent news. Three more Snail's Trail blocks are done!!

Three Snail's Trail blocks

Wait -- two more are done. 

Two more Snail's Trail blocks

What does that mean? Yep -- all FORTY-EIGHT of the darn things needed for my All in a Row quilt are finished!!! I'm jumping up and down about that. 

But wait! I still need five more for the beach cabana wall hanging that I'm making. No worries, one is partially together, and the rest of the pieces are cut!!! Phew -- like the mighty snail - slow and steady wins the race. I'll start to sew everything together once the last five blocks are done. 

Five blocks left to sew

Last night we had the start of the virtual retreat. Oh my -- what fun it was to just sew whatever I wanted and chat with friends while sewing in my house. We could NEVER do this in person, and I'm hearing from so many people how much they like Zoom. Zoom for classes, although it will be nice at some point to get to a real classroom, but will it?? Packing all that stuff? Forgetting something at home? Realizing you didn't bring the right fabrics? The time you lose on the road? And what about the guild meetings. You can't see the show and tell unless you're sitting in the front row; you have to decide what to bring for snacks and the politics! Nope - I think I'm happy as a clam with Zoom. 

Don't get me wrong, I have a list of places I need/want to visit once the lockdown is over. But I'm also happy to wait. I'm one of those people that is happy with what I have. I live in the MOMENT, not lamenting what I can or can't do, and while I look forward, I don't miss the NOW. 

I put two of the three borders on the second quilt from that mystery quilt fiasco! The third one is cut and ready to go this morning when we start the Virtual Retreat at 10 AM. Be sure to stop by and say HI if you get a chance. I ran out of bobbin thread last night (I wind five bobbins), so it was time to clean the lint out of the machine and change the needle. Oh my - that's a lot of lint. 

The lint I pulled from my bobbin case

And for some reason, I dislodged that little gismo in the bobbin case area again. I'm not sure why I'm doing that, but it's easy enough to snap back into place. I've got a new needle, fabric cut, and ready to sew. Is it 10 AM yet? I wish, but I've got a lot of stuff to get done between now and 10 AM. 

I managed to get all these half-square triangles trimmed from the Bonnie and Camille project. You'll see that show and tell later this week. And I cleaned up the sewing area a wee bit. It had gotten totally out of hand. 

Cast off half square triangles are trimmed

Diane has been super busy as well. Look what I received yesterday—a bag filled with quilt tops that she's made for our community program. Yikes -- I'm not even sure how many are in the bag - I think she said there were eight tops!!! I'd better get that custom quilt (yes - it's still on the long arm) off so I can move through the customer stuff and then get to these. A huge thank you to Diane, who has made a dent in the stash set aside for these community project quilts. 

Quilt top drop off from Diane

Well, it's summer, and you know what that means. It's time to open the swimming pool. OK - not a real swimming pool, but Murphy's swimming pool. I'm surprised the darn thing still holds water. It looked like it had a hard winter partially crumpled up behind the shed. But it's holding water! She hasn't taken a real dip yet, but I suspect she will soon. 

Murphy's swimming pool

Despite all the stuff I say about Murphy, she really is a good dog. The other day someone dropped by, and I was outside eating my lunch. DH told me that someone at the door, and I went to the door, leaving my lunch on the table. As I stood there talking to this person for over a half-hour, I kept thinking back to my lunch. Would it still be on the table when I got back? And YES - even though both girls were outside, my lunch had not been touched. Good girl Murphy and good girl Lexi!!!

My untouched and unattended lunch

Now, if that had been the floor - well, that's a whole different story. They will sit and practically beg for stuff, but they won't touch it unless told. Murphy is amazing in that way. She will NOT touch her food unless she gets the command. So much so that one day DH put her dish on the floor and forgot to give her the command. When I popped into the kitchen a few minutes later, she was still sitting there - waiting. Can you believe it? I was floored. 

These girls are so different. Murphy can't wait to be fed while Lexi eats when she wants. Of course, this is an issue. And somehow - I've no idea how we taught Murphy that she is NOT allowed to eat Lexi's food. Their dishes are NOT in the same area - that can cause a little bit of jealousy which we learned pretty much the day Murphy came to our house. 

So she will glance at Lexi's bowl from time to time but won't touch it even if it sits overnight. But the MILLISECOND that Lexi is finished, Murphy is over there, making sure there isn't a crumb left in the bowl. It's hilarious. All I can say is thank goodness we have a system that works. Now, if we could just add one or two more speeds to Murphy for the walks, she'd be almost perfect. 

On that note, I'd better get the day going. I have some URGENT e-mail to deal with before the Virtual Retreat starts at 10 AM. 

Here's the link for today. Stop by and say hi or stay and sew for a while. 

Sunday, May 23,   10 AM  - 8 PM 

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87246635892?pwd=VGY1cUUyLzRaRi9VUVV2ZWFINXc2dz09 Meeting ID: 872 4663 5892 Passcode: 440473

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!