Back to work - for real!

I'm back!!! I finally had a proper sleep within the right time frame, meaning I got to sew this morning. Does it feel strange? It's totally weird! Let's hope that things are back on track because I have lots that I want to do. 

I hope not to offend anyone with this next sentence, so forgive me if I do. WAIT -- before I say that, let's say this has happened to all of us! Most of us anyway! But hopefully, after the first time, it will never happen again. 

That is the text message (or e-mail or whatever) from a "friend," and that could be old or new, or it's from an unknown number. "Hello! How are you?" And you respond!!! OK -- I confess that I did it ONCE, and I believe it was through Messenger when I accepted a friend request from someone. It was actually a hijacked account. 

It didn't take long before I realized this was NOT the person I knew, so I deleted the conversation and blocked the account. 

The same goes for the phone. We have this crazy belief: when the phone rings, we NEED to answer it. Why? If you have an answering machine -- then rely on that. Or use call display. I probably answer my phone about 1% of the time, and ONLY if I know the name of the person/organization that pops up on my screen. For the rest of the time, I let it go to voice mail; if they want me bad enough, there are other ways to reach me. 

We finally weaned my mother off that habit. She had to answer EVERY call that came in. Now, they will only pick up the phone if they recognize the name on the call display, which was a challenge when selling the farm. But it all worked out. The next thing we had to wean them off was wanting to know who had called them. They would use reverse look-up to find the caller. They don't do that anymore, but they still have to look when that phone rings! 

I still don't trust my phone to not drop a call, although I had a long conversation with someone the other day, and everything was OK. While I use my phone a lot, I rarely use it for phone calls. I mostly use my home phone for that. I know—I'm one of the "old" ones with a landline. Actually, having a phone conversation with anyone is very rare! 

The bottom line here is that just because your phone pings, rings, beeps, buzzes, or vibrates, you do NOT have to immediately pick it up! It's incredible how many people in a Zoom session get a phone call and they take the call!!!! Let the call go to voice mail! I answer my phone when I want to answer it -- the caller can wait. Sometimes I need to take a call, but if it's someone just calling? They can wait -- the people I'm with are MORE important than those intruding on my time! 

I sent out some emails in the morning, but I have more to send today, so if you're expecting an email from me --- you're still on my list. 

I'm happy to report that I've made fantastic progress on the borders of the Heartfelt Sampler. Yep, the top border is pieced together. Although it looks like there may be some sort of pattern happening with value, that is NOT the case. It's totally random. 

The top border for the Heartfelt Sampler

I can't wait to see how the others dealt with their borders. Some people just sewed strips of fabric, and some people may not have used borders. I wanted to keep with the scrappy feel of the quilt. I'm very patient and love slow, methodical sewing. I don't care how long it takes—it's the process of sewing that gets me excited, NOT the completion. It's never about completing something for me! Which isn't necessarily a good thing. 

Then I forged ahead to sew the bottom border, and it's also together. 

The bottom border for the Heartfelt Sampler

But not before I came across this little mishap. 

Oops - an extra square

Yep—I sewed two pieces of fabric together as one. I had not pressed the seams, as I needed to know which direction to press them, so it was only when I was getting ready to sew this strip to the next that I realized what had happened. But it's all fixed, and this border is waiting to be sewn on the quilt. 

The strips for border number 3 are together and need to be pressed before joining them, and border number four requires more work. 

Border Number 4

But if all goes well, I should be able to finish it by Saturday morning. And here's the good news! It's raining today. That means there will be ZERO temptation to be outside! I was outside a bit yesterday but returned to the house and worked on this. 

The Momento

I played around with the various mats, blades, and materials to see how each reacted to the settings. Working the machine isn't hard—it's just understanding which combination of tools to use with which materials. So I had fun playing with that. I've still got lots to learn, but it's all good. 

I see spring has officially arrived. Look what I spotted on my walk. 

Dandelions

This little guy is sneaky. Sometimes, as he is so little, you don't know where he is, but you turn around, and there he is—watching you! He's so darn cute. 

Grandma -- I'm watching you!

But boy—he is high maintenance. Yesterday, I had to give his face a good wash and managed to get one side nice and clean. He has chronic secretion in his eyes, so they get goopy, and it's a pain to keep him clean. He wasn't happy, but he did settle down when he realized that I was not about to drown him. 

Then we snuggled in the chair so he could dry off. 

Grandma tried to drown me in the sink!

Yes -- he desperately needs a bath and a haircut, and I'll have to schedule that for next week. 

This postcard must have been on the slow boat! When M was in India, she sent me this postcard that I received yesterday. I think it was sent in early February. 

Postcard from India

So yes -- even though I had an appointment in the morning, I was able to get back to work in the afternoon. I have another appointment this morning and MUST return to work in the afternoon. It can be done! I think it works best when you have a plan, a focus, and a goal. When I have random sewing in my head, Studio B is in such disarray that nothing is exciting. But with that goal in mind, I knew what to do when I got downstairs. I must tidy up more, and maybe I'll do that today.

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!