Revisiting stickiness and stashes

 

Oh my -- I just had a peek at my phone bill online. There's so much to see and do! I'm going to go back and have a better look later. It's always a good idea to check that bill regularly as the rate plans change. And while I'm more than 100% satisfied with my Samsung Galaxy S10, I will be able to look at a new phone at the end of August. Will I upgrade? Not sure - I'm going to check it out. 

A note that we are no longer buying (or renting) cell phones. Nope -it's all about the camera. My Samsung has the most amazing THREE cameras, and I love it. So all the pictures today (and all the other days) are taken with that camera. Note the MACRO lens (the ability to take close-up shots). Some of them are incredible, and I'm not sure that I could get the same level of detail (quickly) using a large DSL camera. Plus, I can activate the camera with my voice, so if my hands are full, I just say SMILE, and the shutter is activated. You can't beat that!!!

I'm not sure why my Fitbit isn't syncing the data at night. So then I have to manually sync in the morning, and then I don't have the most up-to-date information when I check my stats on the Virtual Challenges. I know - a first-world problem, to be sure. 

OK -- what did I do yesterday? Some writing got done, and one assignment is off my plate. More today. I had two errands yesterday that took up a lot of time, and they are done. The fuel pump recall on my car is now taken care of. While I was at the dealership, I spotted two things. The first was this adorable car. I WANT ONE. 

A new car, anyone??

It's only $650!!!! I think I'm a bit too large to take it for a drive, but gosh - it's just the cutest. Don't you wish we had stuff like this when we were kids? Well, we had trucks and cars, and we had to "drive" them ourselves. We had construction equipment toys, and we made HUGE cities in the garden with graded roads (my brother was very good at it), and that's what we did with trucks and cars. We probably had more fun. I'm sure driving this thing would get boring soon, and it doesn't promote physical activity of any kind. It does promote a car-oriented society, which I am not fond of. So I'll pass on the car. But it sure is cute!!!

The second thing I noticed is that the dealership has been rebuilt. Well, that's been an ongoing thing for a couple of years. But they have a new section with five bays. When you buy a new car, it gets delivered in one of those bays, and someone takes the time to make sure you know how to use it. Now wouldn't that have been nice when I got my car. I'm happy with my car - now, but it took two years and an app upgrade to make that happen. 

Here's my wildlife picture of the day. Shoot - I should have cropped this picture a wee bit. There's a hawk in the tree. He flew up in front of me into the tree, and he has something in his claws. I think it was a bird, as he proceeded to pluck the feathers from it as he made ready to devour it! AH -- the circle of life!!!

A hawk in the tree

And now back to the stickiness of the fusible products. I want to let you know that these were taken with my cell phone. They are NOT cropped; they are not touched in any way. I used both hands - one to hold the camera and one to hold the stiletto, and I said, "SMILE." I'm actually pointing to the gumminess on my needle. This is after doing another whole pile of applique this morning. The glue on the needle is so small that I can't even see it in this picture. 

The gumminess on my needle - NOT!

OH - in this picture, you can see a little bit of a ball, but hardly anything. 

A wee bit of build-up on the needle from fusible applique

Here's the deal. What does it matter if some of the glue gets on the needle? It doesn't make the needle sticky - at least this product didn't. I've never had an issue with stickiness - just the ball forming. And I found that as I was stitching, some other bits of the glue would just fall off the needle. Then I brushed it off my applique. Someone commented that perhaps the balls of glue are formed if the applique isn't completely fused. That's very possible. 

If you have experienced stickiness, what does it do to your needle? Can you still stitch? I've never had an issue with that. I mean, never had an issue that I couldn't keep stitching. I'll have to try some experiments, but no time at the moment. So perhaps people can leave a comment or send me an e-mail. 

OK -- so the inevitable has happened. I was struggled to see some of the little bits of my applique, even with the open toe foot. And I have to confess that it wasn't the machine - it was my EYES!!! I did have some issues with handwork a while back, so I had purchased a pair of readers. I dug them out yesterday. 

My "new" glasses

As you can see from the magnification, they are weak. I had a hard time trying to find these a couple of years ago. I only have one pair, so I'd better make sure they stay by the sewing machine! But they were just what I needed this morning.

+1 magnification

I'm happy to report that TWO owls are completely done. Yeah!!! The threads are trimmed, and the stabilizer is gone. 

Adorable owl - completed

Some of those bits are fiddly, like the claws. I still have 13 pieces to stitch in place - six of them are claws, four are the small bits in the center of the eyes, and three pieces of the body for one of the owls. UGH!! That is going to take some time. I hope to get it done today as I've got a lot of homework to prep for the weekend. 

Look at those claws!!!

OK -- back to the stash photos from yesterday. Unfortunately, it appears that I got the entire story wrong!

The FQ stash

She has been buying and saving fat quarters for years - even before she became a quilter! I see an obsession here! So these IKEA CD bookcases are filled with folded fat quarters. They were all neatly organized in drawers, so it was easy to put them on the shelves. Boy - those look like GIANT CD bookcases. It must be the angle, but they are the same height as the door!!! Anyway - that's a LOT of fat quarters. 

And these shelves are also IKEA, but her husband added extra shelves between!! AHA - that makes sense. Still - it's a lot of work, but the most important thing is that this person has found a solution to easily access her stash, and that's all that counts. 

The stash

That's the beauty of this - some of us like baskets, some like folding and putting on shelves, and well - I'm sure there are many other ways. But whatever works for you is the best way. 

I've always told people that they should sort their fabric the same they would shop for fabric. And this certainly looks like a quilt store setup!!!

I spent most of yesterday (when I wasn't doing those errands) at the computer. I've got many lesson plans that I've meant to sort through and download from a couple of websites. I managed to get through one website and started on the second. The second one has a ton of information on it. But as I downloaded the documents, I created a file structure that will easily access these documents. I needed to do that a long time ago, but it never happened. I can hardly wait to finish the second one, and then I can go in and start learning. 

Actually, I want to download all the manuals and reference guides for all the PFAFF and Husqvarna Viking machines that I own or use. That's a lot, but then it's all in one place. If I set up a good filing system, which I'm very good at, then it'll be a piece of cake to have all that material at my fingertips. 

The big question is, how far back do you go? Well, I did go back perhaps a wee bit further than I needed to, but I figure I'll still get some good stuff from those older documents. 

But today will be all about sewing as I have to get that stuff prepped for the classes, and of course, there's more writing!!

Notice how I haven't given you any more decluttering things to do? Well - what do you want to declutter? After a while, we have nothing left! As if!!!!  Me personally, I'm going through some old magazines - not quilt magazines. But magazines that have accumulated from organizations I belong to. Now that they are neatly in one sot right beside me - it's easy to grab, browse and toss! 

On that note, I'd better spend some time clearing up some paperwork. OH - before I go - you need to mark on your calendar a Facebook LIVE event. It's June 29 at 7 PM EST. Carla, Claire, Paul, and I are chatting about our experience with the Spectrum Quilt a Long. Even if you didn't do the QAL, come and check it out!!! Be sure to come and be entertained. 

OH -- some exciting things are coming up, and they have to do with Step 2 of reopening the province. 

And here are the links for the Virtual Retreat this weekend. 

Virtual Retreat - Saturday, June 26, 6 PM -- 9PM

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89254233911?pwd=VGQrTnFybW1HMWpleHA4M2Q2NGVwZz09 Meeting ID: 892 5423 3911 Passcode: 982797

Virtual REtreat - Sunday, June 27, 10 AM - 8 PM

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

And on that note, I"m out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!