Yesterday was a much calmer day! Phew --- I've had so much excitement lately that I wasn't sure I could handle more! 

Before I forget, let me share the story of the lotto scratch ticket. I found the ticket when I was cleaning up - wait, I have another funny story to share about that! So I found this three-part scratch ticket. It wasn't completely scratched, and when I looked on the back, there was NO expiry date, so why not? 

I think it won $10, so I might as well cash that in. When I went to that kiosk, they couldn't find a code to scratch. So I brought it back home, and when I was dealing with the other issue, I tried to resolve this as well. The woman at OLG has me searching the ticket for numbers, and they were NOT matching. 

OH NO --- this ticket is from Atlantic Lottery, NOT Ontario Lottery. It was a teeny tiny logo on the back of the ticket. Seriously?? When did I get this ticket? The last time I was in Atlantic Canada was -- well, quite a while ago. I apologized to the woman at OLG, and she laughed and said it happens! So I contacted Atlantic Lottery to see if they could help me.

That process transpired via e-mail. I could download the app and check the ticket that way. DUH! So I did, but again, NO codes would scan. So I e-mailed back, and it turns out that this is an OLD ticket, and I have to send it to the head office and see if they will process it. Of course, they have to -- there is NO expiry date. 

I tell you --- all these little follow-ups to things take time! I still need to mail it off, but I'll try to get that done later today. 

So the cleaning up story? I was writing in my journal last night (I LOVE it now that I have a good system), and I read the entry from January 13, 2013. Yes --- TEN years ago, and what did it say? "Will this tidying up ever end?"  OH MY GOSH --- I about died laughing when I read that. It didn't say where I was tidying up, but I bet it was downstairs in Studio B. I have said numerous times that this process has taken a long time! Ten years --- good grief! While one should always be tidying, I bet that in another 10 years, I'll still be going through stuff that we don't need or want. That's why we need to act NOW -- don't wait and let your kids do it! That's NOT fair. Just because they did it to us is no reason to carry that tradition down. STOP IT NOW! 

To add to that cleaning story, here is the cutting table this morning. It looks pretty spiffy, and that basket of fabric is there because I'm looking for something to go with the box's contents beside it. I got a call from Diane, and she needs more sewing projects! WOW --- she is going through stuff like gangbusters, and there isn't much flannel left, and then I'll be digging through my stash. And you know what? I don't even care -- I so want that to be depleted. I'm so pleased with how things have turned out, and well, Diane was a gift to me! 

The cutting table this morning

I sewed one more row on the 150 Canadian Women quilt, leaving 1 1/2 |rows to finish. That means I need to start sewing the rows together. Everything is cut, but I need to get moving on that. Guess where I'll be later today? 

150 Canadian Women quilt

I'm also trying to squeeze in videos concerning software and digital cutters, so thankfully, I'm done watching the baking shows and can focus on "learning" or "educational" videos. A much better use of MY time than watching entertainment shows, and that's just not my thing anymore. That habit got killed over 13 years ago, and I've never looked back. 

So we awoke to a winter wonderland yesterday. But seriously, we got barely any snow, and I managed to clear the driveway, our sidewalk, and the neighbor's (on both sides) sidewalks in about 15 minutes. Yep -- that doesn't count as a storm. 

But the walk was pretty. 

A winter wonderland

And it looked like Murphy was trying to make snow angels. That girl is just one crazy dog! 

MOM -- making snow angels here!

Then they came in from playing outside, and they must have been tired because they lay facing each other, trying to play fight. 

Too tired to stand but still wanting to play

And then it wasn't enough that Murphy had to move the large dog bed and take the quilt out of it, but she got into the small dog bed as well. You can't see in this photo, but her big squeaky ball is in the dog bed, and whether she was trying to toss it out without touching it? No idea, but I sat in the kitchen and watched her and was killing myself laughing. At one point, she had the bed flipped over, then right side up, and well -- it was a hoot. Meanwhile, the princess was sleeping somewhere. 

MOM -- I will get to the bottom of this! 

We had our Jen Kingwell remedial class last night. I had to laugh as one participant stated that she was glad to see she was not alone. Out of all the classes I've taught over the years, the attendance at these classes was probably the highest, and the number of finished quilt tops was perhaps the greatest I've ever seen. We worked on Long Time Gone (twice), BOHO Heart, Wanderer's Wife (used to be Gypsy Wife), and Green Tea and Sweet Beans. Many made more than one pattern. 

They are some of the best sew-alongs we've ever had, as there was a lot of work in them, and I'm so happy with what the groups did! However, some quilts were never finished, so the remedial class is for us. There are 25 of us in the class, and I've got FOUR quilts to finish. 

Now the tops of two of my quilts are done, the binding and the backing are made, and they just need to be quilted, but I thought I'd use this class as an excuse to get them completely done. One still needs a few blocks to be made, and then we have the BOHO Heart quilt. 

So this is my BOHO heart, and it's technically together. I have the backing and binding fabric, although they still need to be made. Someone (who should have spoken up sooner!) decided to make the quilt a bit wider, adding several strips of background to each side (that's easy to do) and making the quilt taller by adding 6 inches to the top, making the heart float in the background as it does on the bottom. 

My BOHO Heart quilt

Some people added a border all the way around, and others left the quilt as per the pattern. But I've decided to add the background to the sides and top to make the heart float, and I kick myself for not paying attention to that when it was time to cut the background. 

So adding strips to the side will be easy. But the top --- that's a whole different ball game. I was going to add a row of strips (in the same pattern as the rest of the background strips) to the top of the quilt, so there would be a seam right across the top of the quilt but six inches down. Then I saw that one of the ladies in the remedial class ripped all that top background part out (it's really not that much when you think about it) and cut LONGER strips and is going to redo the top, so it'll be longer and have no seam across it. 

DAMN HER!!!! I was going to take the easy way out, but now I agree with her, and so this will become a major repair job, but the end result will be much better. Let's get the seam ripper out! 

My goal for the month is to get that quilt top DONE! The more I look at this quilt, the more it irks me that it's not centered. It could have been a better design element, and it would have been easy to change it slightly to make the heart float. I'm almost tempted to cut a strip off the bottom of the quilt, but those little colored bits will have to be considered, which might complicate the entire process. For the moment, I'm focusing on the top!

Today is class one of the One Block Wonder quilt. Oh boy ---- I've got a lot for them to consider, although I have gotten a few e-mails from people saying they have started a One Block Wonder quilt but have no idea how to finish! But today, it's all about fabric! 

Tomorrow is UFO Club, and I'm not quite ready for that, so it's going to be a heads-down to the sewing machine day! 

Oh, I can congratulate myself on one thing in the tidying department. When I tidied 10 years ago, I bet not many things had a home. Today, almost everything has a home. I've come a long way! And I'm also at the point where almost anything can go. Ten years ago, I HAD to keep everything and merely shuffled it to a new spot. Imagine where I'll be in ten more years? I'll have NOTHING (LOL) to move around!

Stumbling upon that little book has been a hoot! I MUST endeavor to keep up with it!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!!