Done and DONE!!

OK --- so the lawn furniture got put away. Phew -- we can all rest easy now. It wasn't so much the furniture; it was shutting off the tap to the backyard that was the critical thing here. I noticed that DH put one piece in the shed, but it was the largest piece, making it a challenge to get the rest in there. But I managed. And I drained 200 feet of garden hose, and it's all stored away. The deck is mostly swept -- I would have used the leaf blower, but it was at the back of the shed, and with that huge lounger in there, it was a challenge to get to. 

I can't yell at him --- he took the initiative to do it on his own, but seriously --- could he not have waited ONE more day? 

The deck furniture is stored away

And the 11th quilt for Quilts of Valour is now quilted and trimmed. A few bits of batting to tidy up will be done next week. 

Quilts of Valour quilt - DONE

That makes 22 quilts completed for Quilts of Valour and 41 for Project Linus since September 8, plus some for customers. I have two other quilts to be donated to Quilts of Valour that I quilted two years ago. My goal is to get back to quilting customer quilts and to bind everything that still needs to be bound. My guess is 32 quilts need to be bound. Now that I don't have to make quilt backs, I should get that cleared up in no time!

Speaking of backing, here's the backing for the 11th quilt. 

The backing for the 11th quilt

I had purchased those two panels in the center -- they were images of Canada, and I decided that I wasn't ever going to use them, so they are now in the back of this quilt. I will be thinking carefully about what I buy in the future! No more things just because I LIKE them -- I have to have a reason to use them. 

I dug through the red fabric basket yesterday and realized I needed to go shopping. I mostly use monochromatic these days and have very little in the red fabric basket, which is hard to believe when it's overflowing. 

Lots of reds, but not what I need

It's hilarious (NOT!) that most of what I bought over the years is NOT what I like to sew with. So how did that happen? I'll still use a lot of what is there, but a lot I won't, so it'll get used in Project Linus quilts. 

I also learned that I can get 24 lap quilts from a roll of batting. Well, 23 and a bit, and I'll make up the difference from my batting stash. This remains for the next time I take on some Quilts of Valour quilts. The pieces are in a labeled bag, and they'll return to storage for the time being. 

The remainder of the roll of batting

I need to get back to work on customer stuff, and the next round of community project quilting will be smaller quilts for teens. I want to use up all my flannel backing, so that will be the focus. I hope to do that in December/January timeframe. 

It's a good thing I cleaned up the garage floor the other day. The doorbell rang yesterday, and I spotted this out front. 

A delivery truck

OH --- I was expecting a delivery, but I didn't think it would come that quickly! So this new toy will sit in the garage for a couple of days until I can get to it. More on that another day!

A new toy

It's incredible how much thread I find stashed in project boxes. I found this thread yesterday when I was looking for something else, and it has since been filed in the appropriate box. 

Found spools of thread

I also got some embroidery done, but the design is not quite finished, so I'll wait to share it with you when it's complete. 

My new embroidery project

But it necessitated a trip to Fabricland to buy some goodies. Gosh --- I hadn't been there in a long time. I barely shop these days --- not even online, as I just don't need much. 

My shopping spree - no fabric! 

Oh --- here's all that blue thread back in the box. We'll share our thread storage solutions at the embroidery club this weekend. I hope to find something good because this is NOT the best way to store it! And I have thread EVERYWHERE --- depending on its use. One can NEVER have too much thread. I would really like ONE of every color of Robin Anton polyester embroidery thread. 1100 meters. That will only cost several thousand dollars. How can I sneak that out of the household budget? 

My green and blue threads

And I had to laugh as I mentioned; I've been swiftering around Studio B, trying to keep the dust and fabric lint under control. Obviously, I'm not doing a good job. While I love the telescopic thread stand on the PFAFF creative icon 2, the small spools sometimes pop off, and this one fell to the floor. Look what came up along with the thread!!! It looks like a darn spider web! So I had better use the Swifter more often! 

ACK!!!!

OK -- so these girls of mine (ours) are pretty pathetic. Doesn't Lexi belong to DH? You think Murphy is bad; look at this! She now believes the couch is hers forever. And Lexi would rather lay up there on the furniture than not. Eventually, she lay right on the table. Sigh..................   And we wonder why M is the way she is --- DH and I have different rules for discipline! Don't worry -- M is fine! 

MOM --- a little help, please -- move the table!

The weather was so amazing that how could I not go for a walk. I hope everyone else did as well. But I decided to take the girls to the Leash Free Zone. Not that they love it, but there were a few more dogs there yesterday. Murphy is so happy to go, and then she doesn't want to play with the other dogs. Lexi just wants to be petted by the owners of the other dogs. Sigh....................

Almost at the Leash Free Zone

But here we are --- one for all and all for one!!!! Oh, my girls are the best! A million laughs every day!

Me and the girls

You have to love them. And I have to say that my feet were sweaty, even in those open sandals! I've never paid much attention before. Well, I'll be walking that Camino in sandals next time! Actually two pairs of shoes, so I can trade off if I need to! Oh yes -- there will be a next time!

Don't forget that the York Heritage Quilt Show is this weekend. The dates are November 11 and 12. I'm going today! It's always good to see quilts in PERSON!!

I'll be at Thimble Quilts and Sewing Company in Windsor on Saturday. I'll be demoing machines and techniques from 10 - 4 PM, so drop in if you live in that area. It should be a fun day, and I'm packing some samples to share with people! And I have a couple of fun projects that I'll be working on during the day! I'm still packing! 

November 15, I'll be at Pins & Needles in Listowel, where I'll be hosting two seminars on quilting, so if you live close by, be sure to get signed up for that!

And as if that isn't enough, I'm running a four-part ZOOM session on mySewnet (hosted by Stitch by Sitch in Kingston), which includes the software, Wi-FI connectivity in the embroidery/sewing world and explaining what it's all about as it can be very confusing. I had to have it explained to me at least three times before I totally grasped the concept. The first session is on Monday, November 14. Even if you are not in the market for embroidery or (GASP) own a different brand of machine, this is going to be loads of fun to discover how the industry has changed! 

Next week, watch for the list of clubs I will host in 2023. I know what they are; I just need to schedule dates in my calendar, and I hope to do that this weekend! You can refer to this blog post if you can't remember what they are. Scroll down to the end --- in reality, there are only four new ones --- EQ8, Digital Cutters, the Jen Kingwell remedial class, and the Many Blocks project. Others, like the UFO Club, embroidery club, and Out of the Box, will continue, and at this point, there are NO or minimal spots open for 2023. You'll get the info next week. 

I believe I got all the dates figured out, so that is great news!!! Hopefully, while I'm sitting in my hotel tonight, I can get some of that on my calendar! And then on to you! 

I have two classes to prep for on Sunday morning, and YIKES --- there just isn't enough time! But I'll make it! I need someone in the car to make a presentation while driving. WAIT -- I need a self-driving car, so I can do it myself! Now that would be nice! 

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!