A contrast in worlds

Two days ago, I was in a high-tech warehouse watching robots whiz packages around like it was nothing, and yesterday, I was driving along the countryside and saw the Mennonites in their horse-powered buggies. Schoolchildren and adults were riding bicycles to school or work. On my way home (dark and cold), people were still out in their buggies and on bicycles. WOW! And I found it cool in my car with the heater on! 

I give them credit for maintaining their lifestyle when surrounded by technology and other modern conveniences that would make their world more convenient. But at what point have we taken convenience too far? I think it's gone so far overboard that we've become complacent, and we want everything on a silver platter! And we want it NOW! 

It was even more fitting that the audiobook I listened to was set in Ohio in an Amish community! I don't want to live their lifestyle, but I don't need everything done for me - a little work never hurts anyone!

Some Mennonite teen girls were in my quilting session, and they never smiled the entire time. I'm sure they do when in their own environment, but such a different life than I'm used to. 

And I did feel a bit out of place as I was talking about decorative stitches and showing them my "frivolous" work (that's my words, not theirs) when I knew that most of what they sew would be utilitarian or for sale! And how many would even consider quilting their quilts by machine? 

However, I addressed garment sewing as I went along, and hopefully, they got some inspiration. They were very polite! 

And that's a wrap for in-person classes for me this year. I have one short trip planned for later this month, and then I'm home! It's going to be fabulous -- I'm not used to being out of the house for an entire day, and it's exhausting!

I had never been to this store before -- Pins and Needles in Listowel. You should go if you haven't been and are in the Listowel area. It's a HUGE store and carries all kinds of fabric. They have good quality quilting cotton, a fantastic selection of garment fabrics, and everything else you could want. The best part? The prices were AMAZING. I walked out of there with a wee bit, and NONE of it was quilting cotton!

You'll get to see these when I start making the items. But I was very impressed and could not leave the stuff in the store. Now I need to get to work with the serger and start sewing!

And I needed some cushion forms. I was desperate, so I was at Fabricland the other day and only bought one because the price was $19.50. For a 16" pillow cover?? At Pins and Needles, they were $7.50!!! I should have purchased some and returned the Fabricland one, but I don't have time for that. 

In the future, I might make another trip out there. It's definitely worth it!!!

However, there was one issue that occurred. In all the traveling I've done, the roads have been accident-free. I was a bit late yesterday, and a MAJOR accident occurred on a secondary highway. That road was completely closed, and we had to detour. Thank goodness for Google Maps, which quickly diverted me through some backroads, and soon I was on my way again. 

It's amazing to drive through the Mennonite country. The houses and outbuildings are HUGE! Then can you believe on the way home, there was another accident. I don't know how bad that one was -- there was just a large number of cars on the side of the road, lots of tow trucks, and tons of people who slowed to look. It took forever to get through that jam. 

However, since I was listening to my audiobook, I really didn't care! I got home and still had 20 minutes to finish, so I sat in my chair and listened. I did NOTHING. 

The roads were in good condition, and there wasn't any sign of snow until I got home. No snow stayed on the road, but the snow was on the grass. This morning, we have a winter wonderland. 

My view this morning

I don't think there's enough snow to be shoveled, but it still makes the roads wet and sidewalks slippery. 

I will never get caught up on everything I bought in the last couple of days (shame on me!), but here are some threads I purchased and have added to my thread collection for machine embroidery. I needed some face colors, and I think this will help a lot! 

Flesh-tone embroidery colors

It would be great to pick a brand of thread and buy the entire collection, but that would cost a significant amount of money. If that's not possible, then take inventory and buy a few new spools once a month. Well, that never seems to happen, so I have a mishmash of brands, and I just buy when I need it. 

I saw these threads on my recent travels. They are gorgeous - a cotton thread with a touch of metallic. Perfect for some glitz with machine embroidery! I wanted black as well, but they were out. This is called Poly Sparkle!!

Poly sparkle thread

So I'm off to spin class this morning, and then I'm back, and it'll be nose to the grindstone as there is so much work to be done between now and Monday morning. I'm not going to think about how much because it's overwhelming! And it's no one's fault but my own for not paying more attention to the calendar. I kind of had blinders on that week that I did the Quilts of Valour quilts and thought of nothing else. I can't afford to do that in the future! 

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!