Opening a can of worms!

I hate when my morning goes awry! I had trouble sleeping last night, and I think I know why, so I slept in rather late. And then I realized as I was making breakfast that I forgot to buy bananas for my oatmeal. Sigh................. Let's hope the weirdness stops NOW! I have too much to do in the day to waste time by not getting a good night's sleep. 

I have to say that the days are becoming very much the same. I got two more of the small quilts done. 

Community projects quilt - DONE

I think I've lost count of how many of these small ones I've done. I did NOT get any bindings done. And I'm trying to remember why I had so much of this flannel around. Anyway --- they are getting quilted, and I'll get to work on the bindings another day. 

Community projects quilt - DONE

I may switch up what I'm quilting, and I think that is partly why I couldn't sleep. Quilts of Valor is pushing for long-arm quilters to quilt for them, and since I have MANY quilts sitting there, I may just switch tactics for a change. I certainly do NOT need any prizes from this contest and will be looking to donate anything should I win. But I want to finish that roll of polyester batting first, so it's GONE!

I trimmed some of this group of half-square triangles. It's a tedious job but perfect to do when listening to this audiobook. I like to stop between chapters if I can, and this book, with 22 hours, has only 13 chapters, so they are LONG! 

Trimming half-square triangles

I mentioned that I have been resourceful with the batting, and what you see here is the waste from trimming fourteen quilts. Yep--- I don't like to keep batting that tight with a customer quilt, but for these ones, because of their size, you can get away with a lot less batting on the sides. And I'm getting pretty good at this whole quilting process. Since the quilts are all the same size, it helps reduce waste. 

Batting leftovers 

I should just stick my head in the sand regarding technology. I got a call from The Grace Company regarding my software. I didn't hear the call, so they left a message. Hmmm --- should I try to update before I call them back? So I did, and OH DEAR -- it appears my tablet wasn't connected to the internet when I tried the day before. I thought I was, but I was NOT. So once the tablet connected fully to the internet, the upgrade took mere minutes. 

I will have to check it out when I quilt this morning to see if I know how the new version works. There are a couple of differences, and I think one of them will speed up my progress on these small quilts. Did I grasp enough when I watched the highlight video months ago to remember how to use the new feature? 

Then it was time to catch up on The Amazing Race Canada. I won't put in any spoiler alerts if you are not up-to-date, but I'm happy! All four contestants in the finale have won multiple legs of the race, and I have two favorites and will be happy if either of them wins. The other two teams are just too darn emotional and do not appear to handle the stress well. 

And I also watched an episode of the baking show. Yep -  -- a downright TV-watching marathon for me. I was working on one of the blocks for the Green Tea quilt. One of the blocks is done with English Paper Piecing, so I cut out all the hexagons and started to glue the seam allowances under. I'll work on more of that later today. 

Working on Engish Paper Piecing

And this applique block got finished. I had to do all the satin stitching around the edges of the applique. And I added more leaves as the way it was in the pattern looked bare. Then I trimmed the block and had a heart attack. It's too big for the spot it goes. 

Applique block for Green Tea

Then I read the pattern and looked at where the block goes -- -OH -- it's the right size, no need to panic! Now all the blocks are made for half of Section One, so I will try and sew that together later today. I need that hexagon block for Section One, and one more block must be assigned. Will I assign that block in October? Or will it be in November? We have to wait and see!

But this is the main reason I couldn't sleep. I dug out the box of papers that I had for family history. Oh my --- I had forgotten that I had so much stuff. 

Family history stuff

For any of you in the genealogy world, this is a nightmare. Tons of paper with scraps of notes, letters written to family members trying to fill in gaps, and where does one start? I swear I have a book about history from the small area where I grew up, but when I checked where I thought it was, it was NOT there. I cannot confess to my parents that I no longer have this book, so SIL and Brother came to the rescue. I know where extra copies are at the farm, and they will send me one. The headstone pictures are still missing, so I must look for those. I think I know where I filed them, so I will check later. 

I found the wedding information about the person in question -- this would be my great grandfather on my mom's side. He was married in Owen Sound, Ontario, so his parents and her parents were on the document. I sent that to my cousin, and she found information on him within hours. I got that e-mail while I was lying in bed and that's why I couldn't sleep. My mind was racing. I have NOT digested all that she sent. My Dad also sent three e-mails with information or clearing up information, so that didn't help at all. 

YES -- there is a lesson here. DO NOT read your e-mail in bed. Never!!!!

So I'll be processing that information this afternoon as I want to get those quilts out of the way this morning. Oh -- and I've been meaning to check on the used book sale for the local symphony, and OH MY --- it started yesterday. I know --- I do NOT need more books, but it's going to a good cause, so I think I'll wander down later today and check it out. Besides, my car has been parked in the driveway for weeks, and it needs to be taken for a ride! 

There is never a dull moment in the house or a lack of things to do. 

So tell me, for anyone who has worked genealogy --- there is NO good way to put this information on paper. One family tree leads to another, and if you unearth any paperwork, how do you manage that? I have the documents from when my great grandfather applied for a farm section of land in Saskatchewan. He walked 35 miles to get to the land, only to discover it was NOT viable. Then he walked back, rescinded that request, and requested another piece of land. And someone requested those documents, and I ended up with copies of them. I need to locate the land sections on the map -- I cannot quite read the map, so I'll need my Dad's help. 

Yep --- I need to call my parents to get some more information. 

And I think my cousin found my great grandfather's family living in Ontario way before I thought they lived here. What year did the family emigrate to Canada? I may have to go graveyard hunting in Ontario! And I could geocache at the same time! 

Oh --- off on another adventure. But for the purposes of my book, I need to find a way to highlight JUST the family tree of my family, but still make a note of their siblings, etc. OK -- so this opened a can of worms! 

Well, I"m off. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!