There's SNOW!!! And Snowballs!

I'm happy to report that NOTHING was running around the neighborhood last night or early this morning. On the wildlife front, all is quiet! Murphy is still sleeping, and we're good!

However, we had issues walking in the morning. Snow was on the ground, and Bear came home covered with mini snowballs on his legs. He wasn't happy, and I had to carry him part way. 

Winter is back with dog snowballs

Lexi, on the other hand, got GIANT snowballs on the underside of her paws. You can't really see it—well, you can, but it doesn't look like a giant snowball. She was NOT happy, but I wasn't carrying her! 

MOM -- get rid of this GIANT snowball!

Now, she only made it worse by walking IN the snow rather than on the path where the snow would not accumulate on her paws. 

Lexi walking IN the snow

This is the first time this has happened. You know what that means! I've been negligent in trimming the underside of her paws, and the hair is pretty long. She was NOT happy when I attempted to trim it. I think we're going to need the groomer and a muzzle. Poor girl --- if only her mother would take better care of her! 

I had a decent day on the sewing front, which is good because it feels like forever since I had time to sew. I also had to prepare for my two Zooms, and part of the sewing was to make a few more samples. Those got done!

While waiting for a sample to stitch out, I ripped out the block from the Heartfelt Sampler that needed to be moved. 

Seam ripping while watching the embroidery machine

Now, there's a gaping hole in the quilt, and the new block is PINNED on one side, so I don't screw up because I want it sewn in a particular position. 

A hole in  my Heartfelt Sampler

I had more waiting time on the embroidery machine, so I also ripped out that small corner block. 

A second hole in my Heartfelt Sampler

I needed to make one more 5" block, so that got cut out, and I hope to get to it later today. I'd love to have half of the quilt sewn together how I want it! And let's hope that side two goes together much easier! 

The extra block is cut out

Later in the day, I noticed that two blocks fell off the design wall. So this is why things get mixed up!!!!

Two blocks fell off the design wall

This could be labeled a tripping hazard. Murphy was out of sorts after the Lexi incident (attempted biting), and no one was happy. She came downstairs and plopped herself on the floor so I couldn't miss her. 

MOM -- I'm upset and need comforting!

Nothing is unusual about that, but with the way the tables are set up right now, there are some narrow passageways from the cutting table to the sewing machine to the ironing board. I am failing at the triangle workspace at the moment. 

Yep -- she's RIGHT at the T-junction of my passageways, so I had to step over her every time I passed. I could have moved her, but I felt badly that she was upset, so I left her there and stepped over and around her. 

MOM -- I NEED YOU!!!!

It was a day of thread woes. I was running out of that one color and found another spool in my thread box, and I've ordered two more as the project is taking more thread than I initially thought it would. But then I made the project HUGE, so no wonder! I was going to make ONE quilt, but I'll make two smaller projects. I want to travel with this sample, and using all the blocks will make it too big. DUH -- I should have thought about that before I slapped more blocks under the needle! 

The first spool is gone, but I'll have plenty to finish the first (smaller) sample and I'll finish the remaining blocks when I get the other thread.

One spool of thread - gone!

I finished the spool of thread I used in the bobbin but already had a spare. 

The bobbin thread is also finished

This morning, both machines are running again! One is doing embroidery, and I'm sewing on the other. The embroidery machine stopped. You are KIDDING ME!!! I ran out of thread and was 400 stitches from the end. 

Run out of thread AGAIN!

What lousy luck with my threads!!! I'll call my local dealer to see if they have this color. If not, I have a substitute waiting in the wings. It's not the same color, but it'll have to do for a sample. I noted where I was in the embroidery design and moved on to the second one in that hoop. 

I had to change the thread color and went to the opposite extreme. This spool is so big, and the thread is slippery that it fell off and wound around the spindle, which caused it to break, so I had to dig out a thread net. 

Keeping the thread contained with a thread net

I can't hear it embroidering, and I see no movement on the monitor on my phone app, so I'd best go and see what happened. I need to get that sample done!

What will we do when our local dealer (Brampton Sew n Serge) closes at the end of April? They were my go-to store for thread, notions, and ADVICE! It's where I purchased my first Husqvarna Viking sewing and embroidery machine in 1998. Yep—I'll miss them for sure. They will maintain an online presence, but it won't be the same. 

Oh yes -- after I finished one bit of embroidery (felting), I had to clean out the bobbin case, which was full of fuzz. 

Cleaning out the bobbin case

I didn't find it stressful to have both machines running -- well, one was doing embroidery, and I was sewing on the other. I had the radio on for part of the time, but I've abandoned audiobooks for the moment. My brain just cannot handle another area of concentration and I'm OK with that. 

Sewing and embroidering at the same time

I even managed to put away a few samples, but I have some in-person events in April, so before I put those samples too far away, I need to sort them and put them in piles for the events. It makes no sense to put them away and pull them out again. 

Stuff got piled on the cutting table, which looked much worse than this in the morning. 

The cutting table is also the staging area

It looks much better this morning when I could actually cut fabric! The only things on the table are four current projects I'm working on. That's a first for me!!

The cutting table is pretty clean

I trimmed three half-square triangles, so that was a HUGE accomplishment!!

Trimming half-square triangles

Curiosity got the better of me, and I ran downstairs to check the embroidery machine. AHA—there are several STOPS built into the design, and all I had to do was push a button. That's my kind of stoppage!!

As I was cleaning the cutting table, I saw something fall, and I looked down. Yikes—this could have been bad if I didn't notice it. 

A needle stuck in my sock

That's my FOOT!!!! So I rescued the needle and put it where it was supposed to be so it wouldn't fall again. 

On top of all the other stuff, we had some repairs in the house that desperately needed to be done, so I finally called a handyman. He did two of the necessary jobs, and someone else is coming today to get the alarm system back in operation. We NEVER use the darn thing, but it's a requirement of the insurance company, which I think is stupid. Whatever—we need insurance. 

One of the jobs was to replace the screen on the patio door. I purchased PET screening, which is substantially heavier than regular screening. Let's say I got my money's worth (I had to pay for two hours minimum), and the handyman got an excellent workout shoving that thicker screen into the crack!!!

Regular screening versus pet screening

Let's see how long it takes before Miss Lexi rips it. She damages the screen with her scratching, so we'll get her nails clipped and try to train her NOT to scratch. Good luck with that one!!!

I made good progress on the 4th writing assignment and should be able to get that out the door today. I also have TWO more Zooms today, and both are pretty much ready to go. 

It's been a pretty calm week, which is great—I needed this. I don't mind being busy, but I get frustrated when things don't go as planned. I'll be working both machines again today, as I want to get as much sewing and embroidering done as I can. There are loads of other samples waiting to be made. 

OK -- one more STOP in the embroidery, but it's merrily working away! 

On that note, I'd better get myself organized and get the day started!!

This is a reminder that we only have a Virtual Retreat on Saturday, March 23rd. We start at 6 PM.

Join Zoom Meeting
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Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!