Just one more piece! Just one!

The keyboard is back! It needed new batteries as it's a BlueTooth device. But this is the bizarre thing. Look at the back where the batteries go.

Why is this wet? 

For some reason, it became WET, and my first thought was that the batteries were leaking. But they didn't appear to be. So did I spill something on the surface? Nope -- I did not. So I don't know what the issue was. I took those batteries out and left the whole thing to dry thoroughly, and this morning, I put new batteries in, and I'm good to go! 

I love an easy fix to a technology problem!

So it was Monday sewing, and I confess that I seem to get very little done during those sessions. There's lots of talking but not much sewing -- at least on my part and we get to share all kinds of things with each other. I loved it, and when it was over, I got to work and accomplished almost everything I had planned to do, so it wasn't a complete bust. I wanted to finish that novel, but that didn't happen, so I should be able to do that today. 

Look at that sleeping beauty. What a girl --- she just has to be close, but not too close. And she loves to sleep on the crocheted rugs that I make. We have a few around the house, and all of them get used. Even the new one in the office. You can never have too many dog beds in the house if you have dogs. What would my house look like without a dog bed? 

Sleeping Murphy

And I swear that dog seeks and craves attention. Everything is quiet, so I sneak into the living room to read my book, and the next thing I know -- there's Murphy -- begging me to get her ball that's been stuck under the couch for days. Or scrunching up the blankets that I just straightened. 

MOM -- I LOVE YOU!

Oh, Murphy --- it's a good thing you are super cute!!!!

I could not help myself with the puzzle. I had to put a few pieces in, and you know how it goes. Just one more piece, and then I'll leave. OK -- just one more! 

This puzzle was a first for me. I start with the border, separate all the pieces, and then create that frame. But for the life of me, I swore two pieces of the border were missing, or I had goofed. But NO  --- I was almost down to the last few pieces before that elusive last border piece emerged. Now, why is that? 

Finding the last border piece almost at the end

And here it is --- done!!! It's a nice puzzle, but I'll put it away later today, and then it goes into the giveaway pile. There is a couple of our Monday sewing group that trades puzzles, but I don't want to trade -- I just want to give this away! Remember, NOTHING is precious in my house any longer. Well, maybe the living things at my house! But I might be persuaded to give Murphy away on certain occasions! 

The completed puzzle

And what's with the price of gas? I feel like I need to make a trip just because gas is so cheap. OH -- that's hard to read, but it is $135.9 a liter. That's cheap!

Cheap gas

Here are the two quilts of the day! Both of these are flannel quilts for community projects. One was a bit larger than usual, but it's still small at 40" by 50". 

Community project quilt -- DONE

Community project quilt - DONE

I did not get the binding on either of them. I might attempt to do that today. I don't want to get too far behind in that --- I want these done so I can make a donation at the end of the month. I think those two are numbers 10 and 11, but who is counting? 

Then it was time to work on something else. This is one of the blocks from Green Tea and Sweet Beans. I still have to apply the oval, but the stem part is done. I'm not too far behind on this quilt, but it would be good to get it together! NEW classes are coming in the fall, and one needs to stay caught up!

One more block for Green Tea and Sweet Beans

I also joined that polyester batting. I attempted to do it on the sewing machine with a large zigzag, but that did NOT work. So I dug out my fusible tricot (interfacing for knits), and voila --- it worked like a charm. I did turn the temperature on the iron down! Keep in mind that this is GOOD quality polyester batting, so it has some density, and I'm not sure this would work with some porous polyester battings. 

Joining polyester batting

The batting pieces are joined

Speaking of classes for the fall, one of the ongoing sessions that I'm going to host through The Hobby Horse is "what to do with precuts?"  You know you got them, and you're not using them. There are many reasons not to use them - they are too pretty, or you have no idea what to do with them. We're going to have a discussion about them. It won't just be me chatting (I hope), and I want to hear all ideas and see a LOT of collections of precuts. Here's the link to The Hobby Horse website so you can get signed up. If you have a lot of precuts, I think this ongoing session will benefit all of us. You have to call the store to sign up. There will be NO specific monthly assignment - well, there will be a few things for you to do! 

I had a browse through my precuts this morning. OH --- there's a lot of precuts there. I found precuts in all sizes and shapes, and we'll be chatting about each of them and trying to figure out what to do with them. I've got some great ideas up my sleeve. 

Jelly rolls

Charms and mini-charms

If you haven't signed up for classes yet, there's still time -- at least for my classes. Check out this blog post with all the information about the classes and how to sign up. I will start registration for my personal 2023 clubs in October/November, so watch for that. The ones that I will run personally, not through a store. 

For some, the most exciting part of any new class is accumulating the fabric for it. I think I only have to find fabric for ONE new project, but I'll be checking that out later today. 

So -- do you want to see some eye candy? Here's the link to the winning quilts at The Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England.   I haven't had a chance to go through all of the quilts. But one of the ladies in our Monday group managed to get there for one day and gave us a brief look. If anyone knows Sue Sherman from Canada, she had a winning quilt in the show, but it does NOT look like a typical Sue Sherman quilt. 

That about covers it for today. I want to try and work on something OTHER than those community project quilts today, but I still want to get more of them quilted. Just be faster and wiser about how you work. The next one is already on the long arm! I hope to be done with them by noon! 

And holy --- the days are definitely shorter and much cooler in the morning! Fall is coming! But we had a nice rain yesterday -- probably a little too late, but better late than never. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!