Made in Canada

I see the inevitable has happened. The price of regular gas has hit $2.00 a liter. Remember when it hit $1.00? That was an issue as the pumps couldn't display the price. Well, did they take into account that someday it might be $10 a liter? I'll have given up my car by then. 

Someone mentioned that raising the price is forcing people to buy electric cars. Seriously?? If anything, it should be encouraging people to buy more fuel-efficient/smaller vehicles, but that will NEVER happen. People will absorb that higher price and think nothing of it. There's no doubt that people LOVE their huge vehicles and will not give them up! I love the concept of electric cars, and our infrastructure is getting better to support them. However, I'm not convinced that the price difference for the car offsets what you would save in gas. It would take me a LOT of driving to pay for the higher-priced electric car as I'm already pretty fuel-efficient. 

Gas is over $2

So let's take a look and see what's been happening in Studio B. 

I got a bit obsessed with the cleaning thing. I'm reading a weird book -- supernatural, ghosts, and secret societies would be the best way to describe it. Not my favorite genre, but someone recommended it. So while doing that, I was Swiftering away and then vacuuming up the leftovers bits. I even turned the vacuum upside down and cleaned all the crap from the roller bar, which is fun in a sewing space. 

Then I tackled that cutting table. Once and for all, I will make this thing look halfway decent. 

I removed everything to the current project table, although two project cases are sitting on the floor in front of the cutting table as I need to do some cutting later today. I moved the tabletop and dusted the bunnies along the back edge.

WOW -- there's a cutting table

Everything got moved and dusted, and if it didn't need to be on the table, it got moved. I even cleaned the dust from the slots in the two ruler holders. 

The ruler holders are spin and span

The trick will be keeping it clear, which I won't have a problem with now that it is empty. I've realized that I need a dumping ground for the excess I haven't had time to deal with. That's the current project table, but I hope to have that clear at some point. And that's why the office is a mess. It's a place to put things that don't have a home. Somehow, my brain seems to be content to have ONE messy area. Why?? 

This is the current project table. Yes -- it's a mess, and I need to get my act together and finish up some stuff on the table. I don't have time as I'm trying to finish all the sew-alongs, but once the sew-alongs are done, I can tackle this with a vengeance. It would be amazing to have this down to a manageable level. It will happen as the progress in Studio B since I started has been amazing, and I'm pretty good about keeping an area clear once I get it clear. 

The current projects table

My space is also very fluid. One day, it will be configured this way. OH -- I mean, as far as machines go. The sergers might be on one table one day; the next, I need that table for something else. But it mostly stays the way it is since most machines have their own table now. I sold my personal serger, so that got rid of something else. I have one more sewing/embroidery machine that I might be willing to part with -- NO -- it is not the icon or the EPIC, but an older Ruby. I don't use it, and why should I keep it? 

I experimented with where to store those bodkins. In the toolbox of the current serger (which is a loaner) or put them in the drawer with other serger supplies. I opted for the drawer of my serger stuff. Let's hope that I will remember where it got stored by writing this down! After getting rid of the serger, I have an empty drawer. So I need to find a few more serger supplies to put there! 

The metal bodkins

I reduced the amount of sewing sitting on the design boards, so I have design boards to use when I start cutting later today. I've finished off a couple of small projects, but you'll have to wait to see them. 

OH -- here's one more item that got exchanged when Carol, Maryke, and I met last week. Does anyone remember the Piecemaker's Calendars? They started in 1988, and they published a new one every year for many years. I have the entire collection except for the very first one. I've no idea why I NEEDED it, but I did. Perhaps because Carol has it! 

Anyway, someone found it online for me, and I bought it. It was shipped to Carol, who wintered in the US. I finally opened the package, and it was in PRISTINE condition. 

The 1988 Piecemaker Calendar

So it's now sitting with the rest, and I want to make ONE of those calendars before I give up quilting. I've started three of them, and I will have to pick one and go for it!!

All the Piecemaker's Calendars

Yesterday, some of us signed into the MakerFest session on Cricut cutters. It's always interesting to watch this kind of free session. You will get a huge mix of people, and for some, they may not have learned much. For others, it was an eye-opener. I had no idea the community was so huge! It's a cult! NO -- it's like quilting. 

And I need to check out further MakerFest resources at our local library. They have a ton of stuff that you can use for free -- film studios, recording booths, tools, and other supplies. 

The MakerFest

Anyway, I decided to check out the Brother Scan and Cut resources, which I still think is a better machine and can do so much more without any software, but it's more expensive, so not as common an item. My goal is still to cut fabric for my projects. I don't need more paper stuff around my house, and I don't need logos and stickers on everything I own. I'm pretty simple in my likes! 

But we found a store in the GTA that sells Cricut stuff -- actually, she's in the east end of the city. She wanted a few tools that she couldn't find anywhere, and her husband designed them for her; now, he prints them on his 3-D printer and sells them. How cool is that? That was worth the price of attending the seminar!!!

The store is called UniquelyWhy Not? You can see the three tools on the landing page. How cool -- I want them, but I have no need for any of them!!!  It's just that they were designed and made in Canada that makes me excited!! So then I spent time last night trying to find a 3-D printing file of something I could get printed at the library. I found some great ties for electrical cords! 

I will focus on what I do best as there isn't time right now for this, and I want to do journal making, which I could use the Scan and Cut for! All in due time!

And I have another customer quilt done. There are a few to get trimmed and out the door, and I hope to do that later today. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I have to say that our embroidery club yesterday was AMAZING. There is no other word to describe the fantastic work that people are doing. People are learning; they create samples and put their machines to the test. I'm so excited at the direction that the club has taken!! We are FULL -- there isn't room for more as we already went over the one-hour limit yesterday, and not everyone showed stuff. That will keep going as it's a massive motivator for me and the others. 

OK -- so I had a long nap in the gazebo. It was too lovely to be in the house, yet I didn't want to be in the sun! It was glorious!

Today it's all about the UFO club, a huge motivator. I'm getting some old projects done - I wish I had time for more, but managing to eke out a few things. 

I hope to share some of the photos later this coming week. 

On that note, I'm off to an art show this afternoon downtown at one of the big design schools. I'm looking for inspiration, and I know that place will be packed with fantastic stuff. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!