Even tiny progress is progress

 It was a crazy day, and there are two more Zoom presentations today. But after today -- I have ZERO presentations until January 6. I can hardly wait for two weeks of downtime! And next year, the classes have been slashed in half! So, there will be less prep and less follow-up! 

Zoom has been a great way to stay connected to people during the pandemic, but I definitely see a fall in attendance. And it doesn't help that we are one week from Christmas! 

I have already sent half the follow-ups from yesterday and two more to do later today. The presentations are done for this morning. Phew!!

After the presentations, I had fun puttering in Studio B yesterday, and I actually got stuff done for me! That is so refreshing. I'll talk more about UFOs another day, and my puttering will end tonight as I'm off for a few days. But I'll still be in touch on the blog -- hey -- when have I not? 

One of the groups that will continue to run next year is Many Blocks. For those of us crazy enough to take on one of those crazy projects like Dear Jane, 365-Day quilt challenge, Town and Country, and so on, these are challenging quilts with MANY blocks, hence the name!

I have quite a few blocks cut and ready to sew, but I had more urgent stuff to sew, so I only got two blocks done this month. 

Two blocks for the 365-day quilt

I'm OK with that and hope to finish sewing the remainder of the March blocks this month. The number of pieces in each block will blow your mind, and in the top block, the half-square triangles were trimmed to 1". YES -- trimmed to 1"!!! But if I can finish those March blocks, I'll be a quarter of the way, and that's an incentive for me to keep going. With fewer projects on my plate for 2024, I can actually get some sewing done!

At the end of the day, I had a few minutes, so I trimmed up the half-square triangles that had accumulated. There are still many of the Barn Star Sampler triangles to stitch together, but I think I'll put those aside and start working on the 365-day blocks as my enders and leaders. 

Half-square triangles trimmed

It was a late night, but I finished a customer quilt. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I have one more that I'd like to get finished today. I still have a few to finish before the end of the year, and once I'm back later this week, I'll be at the long arm every day to try to get the pile done. It would be nice to start the new year with a clean slate. I'm almost there!

No time for decluttering yesterday as I had to finish my UFO homework. You'll get to see that tomorrow. How nice to work and NOT be doing it minutes before the presentation! Can I finally be moving in the right direction? I think so, and I must be VERY DILIGENT about not loading the plate up. If I do, I cannot do justice to the things I want to spend time on. 

I even pinned a project to my design wall for inspiration that I want to work on as part of another group running next year. I can't wait, as I haven't been able to participate in Out of the Box all year because of time restraints. I still have to tell them the subject for January, but if you're interested in joining that group, we have loads of fun and had a STRONG participation yesterday, even this close to Christmas and changing the date. The members are super creative!!! 

Think about the Quilt Retreat I mentioned in January in Shelbourne. There is still ONE spot open, and you can come for a few days or the entire week. Let me know if you are interested. 

I also have a Journal Making Retreat scheduled for January 9 - 11 in New Hamburg. If you are interested, let me know. You do NOT need any supplies; you will get a kit, and two dinners are included. Here's what we'll make, and these are absolutely STUNNING!!

A journal cover (yours will look different)

Some of the pages

I am NOT teaching this, but I will be attending to make my journal! It promises to be loads of fun!!! 

I will finish my Virtual Challenge of walking 4,400 KM for 2023 TODAY. There are 4.6 KM left, and I'll have that quickly done by the time I finish walking the dogs. Yeah!!! 

I was chatting to someone yesterday about decluttering. Many people are cleaning out parents' homes and are saddled with this huge job. Do NOT do this to your children. I hope you respect them more than that! 

And that's a wrap for today. Loads to do - as usual. But calm and relaxed is my new motto!! And I'm thrilled that we have chosen to opt out of anything Christmas. Not that I don't believe in Christmas, but I don't believe in the stress that occurs because we are trying to do too much to make everyone happy! 

To recap --- there are TWO retreats with spots.

• A journal-making retreat - Jan 9 - 11 in New Hamburg
• A quilt retreat (work on whatever you want) - January 29 - February 4 (stay a couple of nights or all six)
• Out of the Box - Zoom Club (Sunday Morning) - You get a monthly word prompt to create something.SMALL and UNFINISHED is great, and you can continue to work on your project the following month if you wish.
• Many blocks -- Zoom club (Sunday morning) where you get the motivation to finish these giant projects we took on and are currently sitting there as a UFO. 

Let me know if you're interested in any of the above, and I'll pass along the appropriate details. elainetheriault@gmail.com

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!