I'm not out of the woods yet, but feeling better. Let's hope this doesn't develop into something serious -- I don't have time for serious! Lots to drink, lots of sleep -- that's my healing process!
It's probably too early to think about cleaning up, as most of you will be thinking about Christmas, but if you're starting to think about how to downsize your stash, here's an excellent and FAST way to make that happen. Comfy Cases, an organization that distributes colorful pillowcases to sick children, donated over 4,500 pillowcases across Ontario, including about 800 Christmas-themed ones. So if you have Christmas fabric that you will never use or children's prints, consider making a pillowcase or donating the fabric to Comfy Cases so one of their sewists can make them.
It's better that someone gets joy from the fabric rather than it languishes in your stash! Something to contemplate this holiday season! Here's a link to the website, so wherever you are located, there's likely a chapter. Get in touch and help brighten a stay for a sick child!
For the moment, I'm going to continue to focus on Quilts of Valour and Project Linus, but then I have Diane, and well, she's just the best! Without her, I'd be in a real mess. We all need a Diane!
Speaking of that, I did not work on quilt bindings yesterday. I did not sew much. Too exhausting! However, I did work on this. OH -- and that missing piece? It had somehow fallen behind the sewing machine -- the only place I did not check, and as I was chain-piecing, it snagged on my fabric, and there it was!!!
 |
| My missing section |
I made good progress on my mini Farmer's Wife quilt, and before I went to bed, all the pieces were cut, and the names of the blocks were stitched on the sashing. To put the quilt on point, I had to make one more block!
 |
| The mini Farmer's Wife quilt |
As I lay in bed this morning contemplating if I wanted to get up or just rest some more, I realized that I don't have any commitments today, so I can nap whenever I want. I got up, and this is what happened.
 |
| The mini Farmer's Wife quilt is together! |
So now I need to trim the edges (one must always do that with an on-point quilt as it's hard to get those triangles exact!) and add the borders. Then I'm going to find something for the back, and I've got labels to make for the quilt. It's the perfect size to travel with, and it's all about using fonts and making labels on the sewing machine! The original quilt would take up an entire suitcase as it's enormous!
The other day I mentioned that we had no birds at our bird feeder. Well, yesterday, it was like a bird convention, and they couldn't get enough, and I would have needed several feeders to accommodate everyone.
 |
| A feeding frenzy |
And they were enjoying the fresh water from the pond. Yes -- the birds are happy at our house!
 |
| The rather large bird fountain! |
So why does this happen? Murphy goes outside for a few minutes and returns, covered in leaves and mud. Lexi goes out and comes back in totally clean. Sigh...... One of those girls is high-maintenance, and it's easy to tell which is which!
 |
| MOM --- it's glorious weather - I brought in leaves for you! |
Never mind the muddy tracks on the floor. Thank goodness, that doesn't bother me, and it's a bit of dirt -- what do I care?
 |
| Paw prints on the floor |
It was another 15+ KM walking day! The weather was so lovely that one has to take advantage of it, and I still need 154 KM to bike or walk before the end of the year! A bit aggressive, but I'll make it! But what is weird is that I"m walking in very non-technical socks. These are just decorative socks, and I've no issues with my feet. It all boils down to the shoe size. If the shoe is too small, you'll have trouble regardless of the type of sock you wear!
 |
| No issues with my decorative socks |
And more computer work got done, and I was sorting through some folders, and OH MY!!! There's the missing Goats in Pajamas pattern!! I couldn't find this a while ago and had to improvise. But now I have the real thing! OK -- so while my filing system is good, it still needs a wee bit of tweaking!
 |
| My missing pattern |
And yes -- I needed to work on the puzzle! I've got most of the border set out, and according to the picture on the box, things mostly appear to be in the same position, but is that right? I noticed the cat sitting on the tuffet in the picture, but the cat is not on the tuffet in the puzzle. And there are all kinds of letters and numbers throughout all the pieces. It's slow going! But I WILL get it done. Then will I be able to solve the mystery?
 |
| Progress on the puzzle |
Someone asked me the other day how many books I have on hold or in my possession from the library. I would have tons, but I need to read them faster. So I have 6 books out from the library (only one is a novel), and there might be one or two on hold. As for audiobooks -- I have one that I'm reading, the next book in The Seven Sisters series came in yesterday for a total of TWO books on my shelf, and there are three on hold. There are so many books to choose from that it only makes sense to have what I can actually handle, and it's too much time to manage it all. The less, the better!
I'm reading The Maid right now. Oh boy --- if there is no justice at the end of this book, I'm going to throw it out the window. Wait -- that would mean I have to throw my phone. Well, you get the idea. It was the number one choice on Goodreads in the Mystery/Thriller category. It highlights how easy it is for someone to be manipulated and how people take others at face value!
You know that I've been having a terrible time with my phone. In the middle of a conversation, my voice cuts out. I can hear the other person, but they can't hear me. I've been to the Bell store numerous times, I went to the Samsung repair center, and I've been to the local diagnostics shop at the mall. No one can help me, and they toss the issue off their plate. I don't know why I'm not more upset by it, but I should be.
On top of it all, I'm paying insurance on this darn thing in the event of loss or theft. Well, it turns out that I'm paying for malfunctioning as well. After a call yesterday to the Bell support team where they went through all the scenarios, I've already been through all that. They gave me a phone number for the insurance company, and they could repair or replace it. As I was listening to the menu options, I could fill out the claim online, so I went there.
Stupid system -- it asked what date the problem occurred, so I entered a date and typed in 500 characters with the situation. The system responded by saying that my date was invalid and they couldn't help me. Good grief, so I went back in and typed a date a month ago, and the same thing happened. Seriously??? So I typed in today's date, and that worked.
Then I got an immediate response saying they would replace the phone, but I had to pay the deductible ($300) and return the old one within 14 days. And all the while, there are prominent notices that fraud is illegal! They didn't ask questions -- the computer generated that answer. I don't get it.
But what is disturbing in this whole mess is that I'm paying (leasing) the phone for two years. The warranty by Samsung is one year. I'm also paying insurance on the phone, so by the time everything is said and done, I'll have paid for that phone even though I'm supposed to be leasing it. I'll be thinking about how I manage the phone thing next time. But if I didn't have that insurance, I would be out of luck and have to buy a new one. However, someone mentioned that Bell should be providing a working phone for the duration of the contract. I AGREE!! I was too tired yesterday to care -- I just said charge me the $300.
Oh well -- the new phone is on its way to me. I doubt I'll get it before Christmas, but hey -- at least it was free shipping!!! And it's the same model, so I don't need a new case! A minor miracle in a mess.
On that note, I'm out of here!
I don't know how much I'll get done today. I feel great, but I'm still not 100%. Naps are good, and I'm not afraid to take one. And what's with this massive winter storm? It's still 4 degrees C here with some wind and rain. The WINTER storm keeps getting delayed. The biggest issue for us will be ice when the temperature drops. Snow would be good, as that is NOT quite as icy as freezing rain.
Remember the Virtual Sewing day on Christmas Eve. We'll start at NOON.
Funny you should mention “Comfy Cases”. At some point, somewhere, I got a small slip of paper regarding Comfy Cases. I decided it would be something I’d like to do. I then took advantage of a particular quilt shop’s clearance fabrics and purchased at large amount at 50% off. I’m hoping to get started making the cases in the new year 😊
ReplyDeleteMaryke