Artificial Intelligience

Murphy loves her bed. She sleeps in it every night! I haven't seen her perched in there watching out the window, but I'm sure that will come with time. Yep -- those girls are certainly different -- Murphy likes to be on display and loves the attention. Lexi prefers to hide in her kennel, although she is happy to accept a scratch behind the ears from anyone who will stop.  

I had to walk them together yesterday because of time. Yikes -- that is a handful, to say the least. I've had some people stop me and say, " what a lot of work to walk the dogs separately." AH NO -- it's a lot of work to walk them together. Way more peaceful to walk separately! Murphy will calm down eventually, and she is much better than she used to be, but still -- just a nutball on a leash, especially when she's with Lexi. 

I vow never to stop at Tim's again. OK -- that's a bit drastic, but good grief, they are slow. I was on my way to K&A Quilt Studio to teach the paper piecing class, and since I was a bit ahead of schedule, I thought I'd stop at the OnRoute station and get a tea. The first one I came to has been slow in the past, so I decided to stop at the second one. I swear it took 15 minutes to get through the line, and there were only 5 cars ahead of me. I don't know if everyone is ordering a complicated thing, but the service was very S L O W. 

Next time, I'll try the Tim's in Ingersoll. That's just crazy to have to wait so long, and it's probably because of the lack of staff in the restaurant. When are people going back to work, or do people think they don't need to work any longer? 

We had a great morning in the class, and I got waylaid talking (just like my Dad), and I didn't get home until after 4. I was wiped and too tired to do anything!! But I thought more about my Cherrywood challenge, and I think I've got everything worked out. Just need to execute. 

OH -- I found these two great thread kits at K&A. The kits are from Wonderfil and are a great way to try out a variety of thread weights, and there are two different packages. 

One is Stitchery and Fashion, and there are nine different types of thread in the package. It's an excellent price, but why are they all pastel???? I don't do pastel. 

Stitchery & Fashion pack of thread

The second package has nine spools, and again -- a reasonable price to try out all those different weights and types. I guess it would be great to use for samples and experimenting. Then buy the ones you like in the BRIGHT colors. 

Quilting pack of threads

I really like Wonderfil Threads, and I was tempted, but I didn't buy them. But if I go back, I may! 

You can check out the options on the Wonderfil website. 

This morning, I needed to fire up the embroidery machine. Hmm -- which one to use? Since it was set up, I decided to use the PFAFF creative icon 2. But first, let's check the bobbin case. YIKES!!!! 

A PAD of lint in the bobbin case

There was a wee bit of lint in the bobbin case. It's all clean now and has a new needle. 

One of the new features of the PFAFF creative icon 2 is its Artificial Intelligence. What exactly is that? Well, I took the foot off to clean the bobbin case. 

There is no presser foot on the embroidery machine

And this is the message I get on the screen. It knows which stitch plate is on the machine, and thus the Stitch Width Safety is on. And it's warning me there is no presser foot on the sewing machine. 

The AI on the creative icon 2

Then I put the embroidery foot on the machine. 

The embroidery foot is now attached

Now the message indicates which foot I have on the embroidery machine. OH -- now there's a clock on the creative icon 2, and we will pretend it says 4:38 PM. Yes -- PM, as only a nutcase would be embroidering at 4:30 AM. 

Now the foot is indicated 

Now I know you're going to say -- big deal, who needs that? No one does, but it sure is handy. No one really needs electric windows in their car or those fancy navigation systems. The old roll-up handles worked just fine, and it's a matter of convenience! 

I was chatting with a  dealer the other day and asked if they thought the sewing machines could be made larger? Personally, I don't think so. If they make them much larger, we won't be able to lift the darn things. One of the issues they have had to deal with is the frame. The larger machines have some sort of ballast that prevents them from vibrating all over the place. That makes the machines heavy, but it's a joy to sew on and extremely noticeable. I noticed it immediately when I first started to sew on the larger machines, and I didn't even know that feature had been incorporated into them. 

One other thing that the dealer mentioned is the distance you are from the flywheel. It's not that we need to touch that flywheel often, but from time to time, we do, and can you imagine trying to look at the needle for precise positioning and physically moving to the right to rotate the flywheel? I don't think so!!

I think we will see more features INSIDE the machine, but not a bigger sewing/embroidery machine. I have ZERO inside scoop on that -- it's just my guess. 

I took pictures of trimming a quilt this morning, but I'll share those tomorrow. I'm so far behind in work, but I will catch up. It's just a question of when. Oh yes -- when these crazy classes are over!

I had to laugh this morning when I received an e-mail announcing that Jen Kingwell's recipe book (and quilt designs) was available for purchase. If anyone has made one of her quilts, you know that the patterns are sketchy and definitely not recommended for a beginner (although I had beginners take the classes and succeed in making the quilts). So that makes me wonder about the recipes. Are they as sketchy as the quilt patterns?? 

I'm watching Season Ten of The Great British Baking Show. There is a young contestant Henry, who was 20 when he was on the show. When he was 12, Season 2 was being filmed near his home, and he stopped every day to watch. His dream was to get on the show. That is so incredible to have a vision and actually make it happen! 

I'm off for the day -- I got two Zoom sessions. OK -- I confess, I really like Zoom. It's easier to prep for, and the time and gas savings are incredible!! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!