Plan B goes in action

Yep -- I have the best friends ever! I love our Virtual Monday Sewing Group! So much fun to get together, and you would think after this long that we would run out of things to talk about. Nope! However, we have ZERO tolerance for anything political, those who used to be royals, and COVID (anything related to policy). I never want to shut someone down on a call, but if I have to, I will! 

Our calls are so much fun and well --- what happens at Monday Sewing stays at Monday sewing. A while back, we started a show and tell; people send me pictures, and I make a presentation. It's so inspiring to see what others are working on, and right now, our focus is on sharing the Advent Calendars! How fun to see what everyone is getting, and they are quite varied. 

I didn't get a ton done, but that's OK. I have zero class commitments until the new year and no quilts that need to be quilted. My goal is to get Studio B back in shape, clearing up some stuff, like those bindings! 

This is what I worked on yesterday. It's a UFO on the 2023 UFO list. Some people will pull out a UFO, and it no longer suits their taste. However, I've yet to have that happen. I still want to make them. Here's what I worked on yesterday. 

Pattern from a magazine

It's from this magazine - Quilting and Embroidery by Quiltmakers. It's old -- the date was 2010. 

Quilting and Embroidery magazine

And now I have an issue -- this embroidery design is no longer available. I've checked for the designer's website -- gone. I've searched and searched and have been unable to find it. The designer was Susa Glenn, and should anyone have this file, I'd love it if you got in touch with me. elainetheriault@gmail.com

The embroidery motif

The fabric was all cut, so all I did was sew the blocks together. It's one of those batik strips that were so popular over 10 years ago, and I had to buy it in every color, or so it seems. This color ranged from the brown to burgundy to orange. My center is the 16 blocks on the top left - the rest I'll do something with -- the backing, perhaps. 

The blocks I sewed together

So it doesn't look like I"ll find that embroidery design, so off to Plan B - why can't I make my own? Yep -- I opened up my software, and I'm fiddling around with creating the vines at the moment. Upon close inspection, this is within my skill level. I'll buy a sunflower design and see if I can find a sunflower leaf and a blossom. I've found lots of sunflowers, but no leaves yet, although I haven't looked too hard. 

I could let it go and find something else, and I'm searching! I know I picked this quilt because of the sunflower embroidery, so that's a lesson to all. If you see something you like, you should buy it! Because it may not be around when you finally get around to finishing the project. And no -- I don't remember buying this embroidery design. I'm not that organized to have done that. 

On the binding front, I finished three quilts. 

Binding number on

Binding number two

Binding number three

There is one more flannel quilt to bind, and the rest are cotton, which is way easier. The binding is much less bulky and goes faster. There are still six or seven quilts that I've sewn the binding to the back and need to be topstitched to the front. Then I'll start all over again. I want that table clear by the end of the year, and there are several of my quilts that need attention. Mostly quilt sleeves, if memory serves me correctly. 

Here's what is left on that table to deal with. It's still a mess! 

Quilts to bind

I delivered one quilt yesterday, but this is the pile of stuff in the living room that needs to go. Lexi's kennel and a large chair are under the pile, but you can see a ton of things that are slated to leave the house, and it thrills me to death to know that! The more that goes now and someone can use it, the better. There's no sense in things languishing at my house if I'm no longer using them. 

Things that need to be picked up or delivered

Then as a treat, I opened this puzzle which I got when my neighbour moved. 

At last - a jigsaw puzzle

Thank goodness, this is only 500 pieces, as some shapes are very weird -- cats, dogs, birds, balloons, etc. And the border is scalloped!

Odd shaped puzzle pieces

Can you spot the dog?

I would usually start a puzzle with the border, but not this time. I'm building it one building at a time! I might take the day off and work on it, or I'll stop from time to time and work on it. When I get stumped, I'll go back to binding! And I have a lot of machine embroidery to do, so I should set up the embroidery machine and let it run in the background. 

The progress on the puzzle

I finished The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. The book was written in 2012 and is the one that took place in the abbey. Hm -- If you haven't read it, I don't want to say much, but I'm not sure I liked it. Not that I need my characters to be happy all the time, but this is quite different (in location)  from the rest of her books, or is that just my imagination? I know there are ten more books so let's hope it gets back into the flavor of the first books. Myere is too much drama for the main characters, and is that necessary? 

Oh my --- I've been on the hunt for mylar, which has now evolved into a big discussion about whether mylar is the same as foil or cellophane. Can the products be used interchangeably, etc? So I have some experimenting to do! Yes -- I know I can buy it from Kimberbell, but I wanted to find another source. I laughed when I was at the gym and brushing my hair. I looked down at the counter, and there were some fake mini poinsettias, and they were wrapped in mylar, or is that foil? NO -- I did NOT take one. 

Wrapped in mylar or is that foil?

Once I solve that, I'll share it with you. 

I finally ran out of my five bobbins yesterday and had to clean my sewing machine. Yikes--- it looks like I haven't cleaned it in years. The bobbin case itself was pretty clean, but this came from under and around the bobbin case, and I had already thrown some lint away. I've got a new needle in there as well! I'm ready to sew up a storm! 

Lint from the bobbin case

It was a glorious day, so I volunteered to drop off a quilt and I walked there and back. Instead of waiting for the light to cross the main street, I took the pedestrian bridge. There's a geocache at this bridge, and I attempted to locate it in the summer. I thought I might try again yesterday, but I had that darn bright orange jacket on, so I'm very noticeable. I decided to leave it for another day. 

The pedestrian bridge

Do you think this crosswalk is prominent or noticeable enough? It's huge, and I like that. Those drivers turning right on a red light scare me a lot. They always look left when turning right and never pay attention to what or who is on their right. It drives me crazy, and there was a lady who I thought was NOT going to yield to me, but I grabbed her attention, and she yielded. I gave her the evil eye as I walked in front of her car! It was NOT at this intersection. 

A giant cross walk

Look what I got in the mail yesterday. A nice bundle of Northcott fabrics. This was from the Quilts of Valour contest a while back, where myself and several others quilted up a bunch of quilts. I'll be turning this over to Diane, so she can make a quilt out of it! I don't need it! We may have to add something to it. I'll have her evaluate it, and we'll see. 

A nice Fat Quarter bundle

So this is Lexi - a little miffed that she can't sleep on the sofa. But her love is for the quilt, NOT the dog bed. The quilt didn't get put back in the bed last night, so she chose to sleep on the quilt! And as usual, there is a leaf on the floor. I know this would drive people mad, but ,we don't care. If we pick it up, another one or two or more will appear. I pick up the leaves, but not obsessed with it! OH -- that's one of Murphy's bones! 

Why sleep in the dog bed - quilts are better! 

Remember, there's a Virtual Retreat on Christmas Eve. It's for those that are celebrating that day at home by themselves. If you have a family event, you can drop in to say HI, but then we'll boot you out! OH -- they can drop in to say hi and have a wee nip with us. That means we get to drink all day? I'm not a huge drinker, but it could work? I'd never get anything done!

Now I have the fun task of finalizing all the distribution lists for the 2023 classes. ACK!!! I'm going to take that one list at a time because it will be overwhelming task. So bear with me -- I'll let you know when I'm done, and if you don't get an email from me, then you can contact me. But for the moment, just hang tight!!

There is a massive pile of stuff on the floor beside the computer. I don't know how I'll ever get through it all, but I MUST!!

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!