Misses at the thrift store!

Oh my goodness --- I guess I'm not alone in getting mail for the previous owners of our houses. What surprises me is how much of this stuff there is around and what that is costing the world in general. In terms of postage, paper, and resources, it's insane. There must be a way for these companies to write a small program and run it annually to find mailings to the same address with different names. A quick follow-up would eliminate the duplication. I may never get it resolved. And YES - years ago, I sent the letters back, with MOVED. To no avail! 

As for that thread? Even when it was brand new, I could NOT use it without the thread shredding. I bought three huge spools before I realized I had an issue. I've tried it on the long arm, the embroidery machine, and regular sewing. The problem was the size of the needle. Once I went to a size 16 needle, the thread worked like a charm, and hasn't broken once. (Knock on wood!) I started this project for QUILTsocial and ran out of time to get it done that week. QUILTsocial and ran out of time to get it done that week. 

Eight-inch quilt block

It's not easy to see on this quilt block, but it's variegated in primary colors, and I love it! Now that I have that issue resolved, I'm making significant progress on finishing this quilt. And I'm playing with machine embroidery software (mySewnet) to "design" new quilt patterns. It's so simple to do that by clicking a few buttons. I should have done 30 different patterns, but I did 5 blocks in each of the 6 patterns. I have 7 blocks left to quilt, and I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to quickly finish. I lacked time to create 30 different patterns, so I only made 6. 

Even though the quilt is small, it's bulky, so I'm being very careful to prevent it from falling off the table. A good part of it is resting on the chair, and I really should move the machine over a bit to have more space on the left to support the quilt. But progress is being made, and I'm very happy with the results. The back feels soft and looks fantastic!

Quilting with the embroidery machine

Wait -- I should clarify that. I see many places where improvement is needed, but since this is the first time I'm doing this, I fully expect there will be a few issues. I'm learning!!! I want to do another one, and this time, I'll do a separate pattern in each block, and hopefully, all the issues will be worked out! 

My score for yesterday on the to-do list was 4 of 10 items completed. Actually, I faired a bit better than that as I'm waiting on a response for two of the items. I'm not adding anything to the list until those are taken care of, as I have some travel coming up, and I'm off to teach in person this afternoon. 

However, I did accomplish something that took over two hours! I found another wire shelf—one that was the size I wanted. Although it's a bit taller than I wanted, I can live with that, as it has an extra shelf. So I had to find a van to rent and then pick it up. I tell you—renting a van from the lumber companies (Rona, Home Depot) is becoming a challenge. The demand has increased significantly because they are cheaper than renting a U-Haul. 

I arrived at the warehouse to pick up the shelving, which a nice lady wheeled across the loading dock area. There are so many of these shelves for sale. 

I paid $100 for this with six shelves, including wheels. A new one would cost at least $500, and the rental van was $32. So I'm happy to have "wasted" two hours getting it. I think this is the LAST organization tool I need to get things in order. 

My new shelf

I think I might be able to use a rubber mallet to take this one apart. The shelves are sitting on those black clips, unlike the other one I bought, which had some sort of rubbery thing. These shelves should pop off. 

So, if anyone in my area wants shelving, this particular warehouse (in Oakville) has more for sale. She wanted to know if I only wanted one! I found these shelves on Facebook Marketplace. I got a note from the other person with a new shelf. I didn't even respond. They were so rude! 

This next picture was again a reminder to tell you a story. I'm walking on the sidewalk beside a multi-use path, which is used by cyclists, walkers, skateboarders, e-bikes, etc. That street is a very busy street, being one of the main exits off the highway, and it was rush hour. 

The multi-purpose path beside the main street

So, can you tell me why a cyclist was riding his bicycle in the street? This path goes all the way to the next highway. Cyclists like him give a bad name to the cycling world. And no -- it was not a road rider, it was some casual guy. I was so stunned that I didn't yell at him, but I wish I had! If I were a car, I'd be honking my horn -- what he was doing was adding to an already congested morning and potentially dangerous situation when there was no need for either. Just stupidity on the part of the cyclist. 

Speaking of waste, I stopped by Harvey's to grab a very late lunch after I retrieved my car and was on my way home. At the window, I was asked if I needed ketchup in the bag. No, thank you. I can only imagine what I would have gotten if I had said yes. Who eats this stuff? It's so gross! Sorry to all the ketchup lovers out there. 

I said NO!

There's a thrift store near where I rented the van, so I threw the ironing board and that box into the car and dropped it off. I got my 20% coupon, so I stopped in to buy a few things on my walk. SOMEONE in my neighborhood likes the same things as I do. I spotted a bunch of Quilter's Newsletters magazines the other day. I took a picture so I could check to see if I had those issues or not. I'm not blindly buying them. 

I forgot to check and it wasn't long before those magazines were gone. I stop by the thrift store about once a week. 

Last weekend, I spotted a tablecloth that I wanted, so I went on the day that bedding and lines were 30% off (the day after I spotted the tablecloth). When I got there in the afternoon, the tablecloth was gone!! 

So it wasn't surprising yesterday when I went to use my 20% coupon to pick up three puzzles. I know—I shouldn't—but these are ones of Canadian cities. There were three, but when I got there yesterday, only one remained, and it was tucked away in a corner on the bottom shelf, so they must have missed it! It was only 500 pieces, but I bought it anyway. 

Banff jigsaw puzzle

I'm not familiar with this puzzle brand, but they have some amazing puzzles. There's an entire series of cities and parks, both Canadian and US. I'm "collecting" the Canadian cities. I actually have a puzzle sitting out that I want to start. 

Check out this link to see the others - they are very cool. Check out this link to see the others - they are very cool. And next time I see another Canadian city, I won't cheap out and I'll buy it immediately. 

I got a kick from this plate I spotted in the collector's section. That is the Montrose Covered Bridge near Guelph. I hosted a car rally for some quilting friends many years ago, and this was one of the spots—and one of the more memorable spots as well! I'll have to tell you the story one day. 

The Montrose Covered Bridge

And I managed to get another quilt quilted. I had JUST enough backing again for this one, so it needed some babysitting. But all was good. I've got a bit of trimming and binding to get done. Perhaps later today. 

A community projects quilt - DONE

I have three things I MUST complete before I leave on Tuesday, and one thing I'd like to do, so wish me luck in achieving those. I've made good progress on the items. I'm more or less in the final assembly stages, but I haven't started on the one item! 

I have a small quilt on the machine today—it's one of mine. For whatever reason, it seemed that long ago, I would make TWO of the same thing. One was probably made as a sample, and the other was used to show how to put it together. So it's a great opportunity to quilt them differently to show how they look. I'm going for the quick pantograph quilting today, and when I'm back, I'm going to custom quilt the second one. 

There are just over 4 1/2 hours left in this Harry Potter novel. ACK --- I won't be able to listen much today, but I should be able to finish tomorrow after my class. 

Well, that's it for today. I've got to complete my UFO homework for tomorrow. I'm tired of working on these two quilts (yes -- two identical quilts!), and if I want to move on to something else, I need to finish the tops. I'm positioning applique shapes and fusing. How hard can that be? I was at it for an hour this morning and made some progress, but I'm nowhere near done! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!