Getting a blog post via e-mail

The information about my classes is near the end of today's post.  

Wow-what an exciting day!!! My two lectures and two classes went well. That leaves two more club meetings for this year. Then there are the Monday sewing and the Virtual Retreat, which don't require any prep, one virtual holiday lunch, and one work meeting. Then I'm DONE for the year as I don't consider any of the above onerous to prep or attend. 

Freedom!!!  What will I  do with my days? Cough, choke, sputter! I don't think that'll be too difficult to find something to fill them with. There are a few quilts to finish off this year and lots of tidying!

Maybe I'll get back to reading. I haven't touched a physical book in months, and audiobooks? No time! But that's OK. I've learned so much this year - it blows my mind. And the learning isn't going to stop! 

OK -- at the end of the day, I did sneak in ONE episode of the baking show. But here again, I learned something. I'm sure there are all kinds of innovative things in the kitchen, but since that's not my area of expertise, I'm not aware. But last week, when I was watching, I noticed the oven doors. Wait -- what's with the oven doors? They don't fold down like I'm used to. 

Nope -- those doors fold down and then tuck UNDER the oven. Then you pull it out and up! Wow -- No more tripping over an open oven door. The brand is NEFF from the UK, which makes sense since I'm watching the Great British Baking Show. Check them out -- they are very cool, and I would like that! 

I notice they also have proving drawers. WAIT -- I just Googled that, and a warming drawer and a proving drawer are the same things! Who knew? See -- even if I'm watching this silly show, I'm still learning tons. Like, I'll never bake bread! Funny that I never learned since my Mom made bread every two weeks and MANY loaves of the darn stuff at a time. 

So yesterday was the craziest day weather-wise. I know it was nothing compared to what some areas of the US received the previous day, and my heart goes out to those that lost their homes, lives, and loved ones. I can't begin to imagine that kind of devastation. Compared to that, our day was a summer breeze. 

This was the view across the soccer field in the morning. Totally fogged in. 

A foggy morning

Once the last class was over, I was out the door for my walk. The wind wasn't that bad, but there were times when you had to be careful to not get blown into the street. 

OK -- the angle of this photo is bizarre, but the leaves were flattened against the fence and looked pretty cool. There was also a tree along this street that was blown over. 

Leaves flattened against the fence

This fence around a construction site was blown over, and as I walked past the still-standing part, it didn't look too stable!

A fence went over

Surprisingly, not many branches were down in the forest, but the leaves are definitely gone! 

A branch from the trees

I had to bring in one wind chime that was all twisted from the backyard. I'll fix it, and it can go back out today as the winds have abated. 

I managed to get 11.1 KM in for a walk yesterday despite sitting at the computer for a good part of the day. 

Progress near the finish line

I'm now 15.8 KM from the finish line in St. John's, Newfoundland. I'll get there on Monday!! 

Only 15.8 KM to go

Several people have asked how to set it up, so you get blog posts in your e-mail. I have tried to use a widget on my post at the top so that you can sign up, and I'm not sure if that is working or not. But here is a SIMPLE way to get the blog posts in your inbox. Go to BLOGLOVIN.COM. Be careful because you can get LOST on that page, and next thing you know, you've signed up for MANY blogs. You just want mine! Kidding!

Then you will enter the name of the blog(s) that you want to follow. There is a search bar at the very top. Type in CRAZYQUILTERONABIKE, and you'll find me. Then you'll get an e-mail every day there is a new post. It's super easy and free. 

I have to put a few more blogs in there that I've recently found out about. I post every day, but many others do not, and that's OK because Bloglovin will notify you when something new gets posted. 

If the blog you want doesn't come up (Mine does as it's been around for a while), then you take the URL of the blog and add that. Let me know if anyone wants a quick tutorial on how it works. Hey -- with Zoom, anything is possible. 

OK -- so here is a recap of the classes I'm hosting personally. 

UFO Club

Time: SUNDAY at 9:00 AM  (1 hour)

Dates: January 16, February 20, March 20, April 17, May 15, June 19, July 17, August 21, September 18, October 16, November 20, December 18

Fee: $25 registration fee + $100 deposit

Class size: Limited to 20 maximum

The purpose of the UFO Club is to help us get our UFOs done. If you really wanted, you could use it as a motivator to work on a current project, but it's really all about getting those UFOs done! 

Each month YOU make a commitment to complete a portion (or all) of an existing UFO. Some months, you may have more time, others you have less, so that's why YOU decide on the amount of work you can commit to. 

The night before (or sooner) of our next session, you send me a picture(s) of your completed work. And all your deposit money stays intact. 

Should you NOT complete your assignment, then you forfeit $10. The forfeited money is donated to the local food bank at the end of the year. 

If you wish to leave the group at the end of the year, whatever amount of deposit money remains in your name will be returned to you after the December class. 

We ooh and ah over the show and tell during the class session, and you provide me the commitment for your next month's assignment. 

While we meet in July and August, there is NO financial penalty if you don't attend or get your homework done. 

It's a HUGE motivator, and we've accomplished loads in the last three years that I run the UFO Club. 

To sign up -- send an e-mail with UFO in the subject. And tell me about how many UFOs you have. 

There are two or three spots left. 

________________________________________________________________________________

Green Tea and Sweet Beans by Jen Kingwell

Time: SUNDAY at 9:30 AM  (1 hour)    (if people prefer, we can do it in the afternoon) 

Dates: January 9, February 13, March 13, April 10, May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, October 9, November 13

Fee: $25 registration fee 

Pattern: Booklet - Green Tea and Sweet Beans  (Size 71" by 75")   Can be ordered from Thimbles and Things

Skill Level: suitable for all levels of applique, piecing skills - confident beginner

This is an APPLIQUE quilt. However, if you don't want to make the entire quilt, the blocks on their own would make a gorgeous series of wall hanging, and you could experiment with various backgrounds and applique shapes. I'll be walking you through several applique methods. There is also piecing in this quilt, some of which you may find challenging, so lots to learn. 

___________________________________________________________________________

The Butterfly Quilt

Time:   (1 hour)

Dates: FRIDAY evening at 7:00

January 28, February 25, March 25, April 22, May 27, June 24, July 22, August 19, October 28, November 25

Fee: $25 registration fee 

Pattern: The Butterfly Quilt by Tula Pink  (Size 88" by 94")

Skill Level: suitable for all levels 

PLEASE NOTE: The pattern is NOW available for PRE-ORDER and will be available in early January. Thimbles and Things does it available for pre-order on their website. If you have the original pattern (pictured below), that will work as well. 

This gorgeous quilt can be done in so many beautiful colors. Note - there is a small amount of applique in the quilt - those blocks can be substituted if you do not wish to do applique. 

To sign up for this quilt, send me an e-mail with BUTTERFLY in the subject. 

_______________________________________________________________________________

Out of the box

Time:   (1 hour)

Dates: (specific date and time to be determined)  (likely will be Sunday afternoon)

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November 

Fee: $25 registration fee 

Pattern: NO pattern required

Skill Level: suitable for all levels 

The goal of these one-hour monthly classes is to get your creative juices flowing and hopefully work on something you've never done before. Each month, we'll pick a theme, a color, a block, an inspiration, or embellishment, and your task will be to create a SMALL project using the selections for that month. 

NO -- you will not know the selections ahead of time - I may even put them in a hat and select the options during the meeting! 

What exactly do I mean? Let's say the theme is log cabins, and the color is brown. Yes -- you might be "forced" to work with your least favorite colorway - that's a good thing. So what could you do? You could make ONE log cabin block - quilt it and use it as a trivet or a potholder, or it goes in the orphan block box. You could make an appliqued log cabin with brown logs. You could make a miniature log cabin quilt. The sky is the limit, and I'll be scouting around for ideas. 

If you want to be part of the fun, send me an e-mail and put BOX in the subject. If you have a suggestion for embellishments, themes, or inspiration, include it in the e-mail, and it'll go into the selection hat. 

It promises to be loads of fun, and our goal is NOT to make large quilts, and they should be no larger than 12" by 12" or thereabouts, so they are doable in one month. 

=++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Oh my -- that's it for now. I've got to run. I was hoping to get one more thing done before our Machine Embroidery Club this morning. Wait -- I didn't add the Machine Embroidery Club to the list above. But if you're interested, let me know. It isn't really a teaching thing per se unless people ask for information, then I'll teach, but it's wide open for sharing best practices, tips, sources for patterns, and supplies. Lots of fun. I'll share some of the show and tell with you tomorrow. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!