Done, Done, AND DONE!

 Yesterday, it was all about getting things done! I think it was one of my most productive retreat days ever! And how did that happen? I seemed to spend a bit more time sewing and a little less time chatting! 

But I still got to chat with everyone, and I still say that I have the best friends and we have the BEST time at Virtual Retreat! It's nice to know that we can laugh and chat without physically being with each other! And we solve all the world's problems! If quilters ruled the world!

OH -- here's something to be careful of. I noticed this at one of my Zoom sessions last week and yesterday. If you have a NEW iPad, be aware of the camera. ALL iPads now and some Macs come with the Center Stage camera, which TRACKS your movement in the room, and it's an ULTRA-WIDE ANGLE lens. Yep --- it's hilarious and creepy, so if you're on Zoom and move around the room -- that camera watches your every move. So be aware, but you can disable it!

And now to what I got done yesterday. 

Oh, I noticed a bit of plaster on the steps and then realized that when the picture fell off the wall, it took a chunk out of it! Ooops!! The walls need to be repainted anyway!

A chunk out of the wall

The binding is now completely on the first of eleven Quilts of Valour quilts!

Binding on one quilt for Quilts of Valour

Then I pulled out this small wall hanging that was trimmed and ready to put the binding on and noticed the edges were getting frayed from being carried around (an example for machine quilting), so I dug out some fabric. It's now bound and has little folded corners on the back (top) to use as a hanger. I did not take a picture of that. 

Small wallhanging - DONE

Then someone commented that I said I was going to work on my sewing machine cover. So that got pulled from the pile of stuff on the floor. I may have to deal with all that since to find a good home for my new machine, I want to move a relatively large shelf, which I'm sure when repacked properly, would hold a lot of space for more projects. So that involves a whole lot of moving and shuffling, but it would be nice to get that cluttered shelf unit out of the main sewing space. 

Let's just say there is stuff where I want to put the unit. So I will have to play Tetris a bit to make it work. That's not going to happen today or this week, as when I'm back later this week, I have quilts that need to be done! And they will be the focus of the next two weeks. 

The sewing machine UFO

I pulled out all the pieces of the sewing machine cover. This is the main body. A two-way zipper in the top can be opened up to access the handle. And the zipper was in, and the embroidery was done. 

The main body with the zipper installed

The two end pockets were also embroidered and done. 

The end pockets

The front and back pockets were also done! Oh yes -- another project that I had made good progress on and then abandoned. I know why I abandoned it! I didn't like how the lining was put in, so I left it. 

The side pockets

But yesterday was the day to tackle it, and so I did. The pockets were attached to the main body, and I tested it for size! Yep -- this fits perfectly on the smaller body sewing machines. 

The cover fits like a glove

As I was working on that, I contemplated how to put the lining in. Don't forget there's a zipper at the top, so you can't just whack in the lining. 

I chatted and listened, and before I knew it, the lining was in! I was going to leave the last bit of stitching around the zipper for this morning, but I decided to forge ahead, and now it's completely done! 

The COMPLETED sewing machine cover

It's quite pretty, but I'd rethink my choice of colors next time. I was trying to use lightweight linen from a particular company, and the colors were extremely limited. I will admit that I HATE that lightweight linen, as it frays like mad! 

The top of the sewing machine cover

And it seems to look different than the original. Their pockets didn't go all the way around, but who cares! It's done, and I like it. 

The side pocket

See - there are pockets all the way around. 

Nice big pockets all around the cover

The back

The opposite side

I need to find more UFOs like that to work on for the UFO club. I got that done in a couple of hours! But I will say with the UFO club that I'm tackling HUGE projects that take way more than a couple of hours, and that's good because those need to also get done! I might save smaller ones for Monday sewing and Virtual Retreats. 

And sadly, this will go on a sewing machine in my storage room, so no one will see it, but I don't care -- it's no longer a UFO, and my sewing machine will have a cover while in storage. The sewing machine in question is my Designer 1, which will become my travel machine for retreats and workshops. That sounds good to me. And now I have to make a couple more covers (four to be exact) to cover the machines that sit out in the workspace. Those larger machines are just too heavy to carry to retreats. 

However, the other covers will NOT be this fancy, and I won't put that zipper in the top, although I like the idea of having an opening in the top. I will quilt up some yardage (I like the small layer of padding around the machines) and make some quick ones. I have to think about the pattern for that!

I don't know why I didn't get a good sleep last night. I could go to sleep but couldn't seem to stay asleep. Now, why is that? I'll be having a little nap right after lunch! But I'm off to spin class!

Then it's Monday sewing, and I have another binding on the table ready to go. I like cleaning off the table and closing the machine every night. It doesn't take much to open it up and rethread the needle when I sew, and it keeps the machine and the area neat and tidy if I'm not working. Oh, shoot --- the under-the-desk drawer- tomorrow!

OH --- I forgot to mention that a retired librarian (Elaine) was on the call, and she was a wealth of information. Thanks to her, I found a WEALTH of resources in Hoopla, so there'll be more on that another day! WOW!!!! I'll never want for something to read or something to browse with that service available for FREE to residents of this city. It's almost like we have TOO many resources and can't keep on top of them all. 

And here's the last post for QUILTsocial. Check it out --- so cute. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!