The Pony Express runs 24/7

One Zoom down as well as Monday sewing. That leaves TEN more Zooms, one meeting, one in-person session on quilting, and FIVE writing assignments. That's on top of the paperwork that still needs to be done. But there's ZERO need to stress about any of this. What gets done gtes done, the rest will have to wait. However, with careful planning, I expect it will get done - just not completely!

I talked about the Pony Express yesterday, and it runs 24/7!!! I took stock of what had been piling up at my front door. 

These were some customer quilts that were ready for pick-up. One customer picked up her quilt and a bag of quilts that she will Pony Express to another customer. She also picked up a bag of material that will get Pony Expressed to another person, and within that bag is another small bag of material that will get Pony Expressed to yet another person! 

The first pick-up on the Pony Express

I also had this group of pet mats that were destined for delivery. They got picked up in the middle of the night! Bless your heart for working the midnight shift -- You know who you are!

Pet mats on their way to a new home

That bundle will make two stops before its final destination! 

And look what I got in return from the Midnight Pony Express. An order of thread and stabilizer. Thanks so much for the drop-off! I very much appreciate it!!! And NO, there wasn't a peep from the girls or the boy. 

The Pony Express drop-off

What's left at the front door for the Pony Express? Two things - one is waiting for the customer to pick it up, and the small bag is something I'll advance on the Pony Express in a month. 

Two items waiting at the Pony Express depot

I also have two boxes to drop off at the donation center, a tripod that needs to be returned to the store for a refund, a book to return to the library, and a letter to mail. 

Stuff to drop off

I LOVE getting rid of stuff from my house! OH -- I did receive a couple of small items as part of the Pony Express drop-off a couple of days ago. Those still need to find a home. Let's say things won't find homes in Studio B until at least April. 

Chatting with people during classes, here's one question I get repeatedly. - "My machine comes unthreaded when I start to sew, or I get a bird's nest of thread under the start of the sewing line." 

This is the easiest thing to fix, and I don't care if you have the cheapest or the most expensive sewing machine in the world; this will happen. Why? The sewing machine's process of taking a stitch is to pull that loose bobbin thread tail to the underside because that's how the stitch is formed. Unless you use your scissors and cut the thread really short (I rarely use my scissors), you'll get a thread nest, or the needle will come unthreaded.  

How to fix this? 

• Chain piecing
• Using your scissors will reduce the size of the mess
• Hold BOTH threads as you take the first two stitches, then let go. 

Problem solved!!!

And you have to LOVE the projection system I'm using here to make half-square triangles. NO MARKING - I gave up marking flying geese, stitch and flip corners, and half-square triangles a long time ago!!!!

Hold those threads!

I managed to get one more block set done for the Heartfelt Sampler. This group had ten blocks, and I see I messed up the half-square triangles on the last two blocks. While the backgrounds look similar, they are NOT, so the darks are the same. I may or may not fix that. I'm down to THREE block sets remaining for a total of 23 blocks! I might just get this done by the weekend. It's all about focusing!!!

One more block set is done!

So, the girls and the boy are a source of daily entertainment. I went to the front door to get something and spotted Bear sleeping on my gym bag! Surely there are more comfortable spots than that to sleep? 

GRANDMA -- this spot is very cozy!

After my walk, I popped into the backyard for some relaxation. The girls and the boy are always by my side or on my lap to ensure I'm OK. We need some new chairs for the back and the front. I spotted some at Rona, so I'll stop by when I'm out and about doing errands with the car. I need to do that soon, otherwise all the chairs will be gone. They are light, so I could carry them home, but that would be silly! I'll get four in one shot with the car!

Relaxing in the backyard

At lunchtime, I looked out the window and spotted a cardinal having a bath! He was sitting in the water and thoroughly enjoying himself. 

Bath time

We were remarking the other day about how the trees are in bud - I think I posted a picture of the pussy willow in bud and robins have been around for a while. Since we're not getting snow, let's pray for rain, as the farmers need it. Otherwise, the cost of your food will only go up AGAIN! 

If you are a Husqvarna Viking, PFAFF, Singer, or mySewnet customer, BIG changes are coming. Those brands' websites have been revamped and went live yesterday. I'm not sure if everything is complete, but what a change. If you try to get to the main page of Husqvarna Viking, PFAFF, or Singer, it'll default to the Singer page. You can switch between brands at the top left. If you type in mySewnet, it goes directly to that page. I'm sure there will be some tweaking to do. 

You can now buy directly from any four of those websites. You could do this on the PFAFF page for a few years, but the other sites have also moved that way. This is NOT new in the industry -- you can buy directly from Brother, HP, and many other companies, so this is NOT anything to get upset about. 

Something else NEW and EXCITING is happening today, and that is the release of the Singer Momento -- a crafting machine (AKA digital cutter - that is 24"!!!) You'll find that information on the Singer page and all the backend stuff -- (software, projects, inspiration, etc) on the mySewnet page. 

If you are looking at pages and want to see pricing, ensure you are on the correct page - Canada or US as the pricing is different. You'll find a little flag in the top right-hand corner that you can change. If you are in Canada, it should default to Canada. 

Exciting times, to be sure!!!! I have big plans with this new cutter - since the mat is so large and I found the mat to be reasonably priced, I can cut QUILTS with the cutter! OK -- so I have to try that. WAIT -- I still need to get one. 

On that note, there is much prepping to do today as there are two Zooms and one meeting. And I must try to squeeze in some writing. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!