Slow and steady wins the race

We had an excellent serger class at K&A Quilt Studio! Some people were new to serging or relatively new, and others wanted some inspiration or confirmation that what they were doing was the "right" way. Or should I say the best way? That's the thing with sewing and quilting; there is NO right way to do anything. You have to try various things and find the one that works for you! There will be another serger class sometime soon, so watch for that. 

Then I was home and trying to get some work done, but either I was exhausted or not adjusting to in-person events very well. I had a nap outside, then inside, and I finally dragged my butt to the studio to get some work done. 

I didn't even reach 10,000 steps yesterday -- far from it, and it did niggle at me for about 5 seconds. Good grief -- I don't need to be a hero. Everyone is allowed a down day from time to time, and that was yesterday! 

Today is all about work. And I thought about that this morning -- this is a long weekend, and I have as much work as ever. This has to stop! I need to be able to take a weekend and do what I want. Soon --- it will all end, soon. 

I've almost got everything cut that I need for the weekend, so the afternoon will be spent sewing.

Last night, I started watching the 11th Season of The Great British Baking Show. ACK -- this is the final season on GEM, and I believe the 12th is on Netflix. I have learned so much and had so many laughs -- it's really been quite entertaining. And while I watched, I got this block hand stitched. 

English paper pieced block

Yep -- -I'm still not done with all the homework from last month. But only on the Boho Heart quilt, which has a ton of blocks to make. The final show and tell is in June, so I have time to catch up, but I thought I could do this English Paper Piecing while I watched the show. 

Blocks that still need to be finished

It's actually quite relaxing to do some handwork, and I have one more EPP block to go and then a bunch of English Paper Piecing for Green Tea and Sweet Beans.

But I wanted to share something with you. Everyone has advice for the thread for English Paper Piecing. Me? I just grabbed a regular 50-weight thread. Can you see my stitches?? Barely!!

The thread I used for EPP

If you match the color and do the stitching correctly, there is NO need to go and buy a bunch of thin threads. Regular piecing thread works like a charm. And I would love to have a small spool of each of the colors of this thread. I should make a list of what I have and then fill in the gaps from time to time when I'm out shopping. I mostly use cotton (beige spool), but sometimes buy the polyester in the white spool. This is how Guterman differentiates their thread types. 

AHA -- I just found a PDF online of all their thread colors, and I might just print that out and do some inventory. 

This thread is great for putting on bindings. I don't use it for applique -- I use my shiny embroidery threads for that, but for hand piecing and English Paper Piecing, topstitching, this is my go-to thread. 

You can use it for applique, but I have used embroidery thread for that, but that's my preference. Again -- no right or wrong -- if the final result looks great, then it's the right way to go!

OH --- I'm making excellent progress on the Cherrywood Challenge. Slow and steady is all I can say. I'll have my headphones on all day, listening to Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarity --- good grief -- secrets!!! I now have 7 books to listen to. A few came in yesterday. I should have passed on a couple, but I have a lot of heads-down work, and the audiobooks keep me focused. 

I'm slightly over halfway on the most intense quilted section, and I hope to keep at it today. I do a bit until my shoulders get tired, then I do something else. I hope to get to the 3/4 mark today. Yeah!!! Then the embellishments, which I'm thinking of how to create them, so when it comes time to make them, all the issues will be worked out!

Here are a couple of nature pictures I snapped in the last couple of days. The leaves are coming!! Hard to believe this was taken with my phone!

The leaves are coming!

As I was sitting in the gazebo the other day, the birds were whizzing around the backyard. I don't think the robin knew I was there. He (or she) whizzed past me and landed on this branch. OH -- there's a human right there! and they flew away!

A robin 

I'm trying to encourage Lexi to sleep in the raised dog bed. She is OK if we put her in, but she never looks comfortable! 

Lexi in the dog bed

But at least she is staying there longer. I even walked upstairs, and she stayed in bed. 

Yes, MOM -- I'm still here!

I think she would be fine if it wasn't for Murphy, who freaks out every time I put Lexi in the bed. Murphy is jealous, but that is par for the course. In her mind, everything is about Murphy and only Murphy!

Years ago, when I worked for a fabric company, I had introduced them to a graphic designer/artist who I thought was highly talented and had the potential to design fabric. Guess what?? After how many years, they finally got their act together, and there is a new collection called "Quilt Retreat." You can check it out here. We have to encourage our local store to buy that fabric -- I would like to have some to support my friend Cynthia (we have been Facebook friends for years), but I organize so many retreats that I would like some -- just because!

I love Cynthia's design style, and she designs everything -- cards, journal covers, mugs, and gosh knows what else. You can also find a lot of her fabrics on Spoonflower. 

On that note, it's time to get the day started. I have paperwork to do, but I don't really have time. I'll do the bare minimum this morning, and then it's going to be heads-down at the sewing machines. Yes -- one is set up for quilting and another one for piecing. I have to confess that Studio B looks like a tornado went through. Yep, even after tidying and sorting, it's back to its usual mess. But that is temporary and will be cleaned up once this weekend is over. At least when it comes time to tidy up, it won't take long! And one day, all these quilts will be together, and then the mess will genuinely be cleaned up! A little ways to go before that happens! 

Have a super day!!!!

 Ciao!!!!