Spice Market

Oh my! I haven't responded to the comments lately, but I hope to have a wee bit of downtime as I travel from city to city in the next couple of days, so I will attempt to make that happen. But oh boy -- the books! Yep -- if you introduce your children to books, you never know what they will dream up!

For those who signed up for the Spice Market class, YES—there is still room if you haven't signed up yet. My goal this morning is to make the distribution list and then send out a quick email, but I don't know if that will happen as I have to leave the house at 6 AM. So, I will cheat and do some of the work here. 

First, if you know nothing about the Spice Market class and want to know more, check out this link, and you'll get all the details on how to sign up. The dates and where to buy the pattern are in that blog post. A link in that blog post sends you to a webpage to purchase the pattern. Hyggeligt.ca is the cheapest place I've seen to buy the pattern, and they have free shipping. If the link doesn't work, then call the store. I just tested the link in the blog post, and it still works, and the patterns are in stock. Remember -- this is the BEST price I've seen and FREE SHIPPING - you cannot beat that deal!!!

I have to laugh because some people seem adverse to making phone calls. I got notes from some people that they couldn't find the pattern (I POSTED THE LINK in the original blog post) or that it was out of stock. CALL the store (Chantal) to find out the situation. I asked her if she could help, and she agreed and advertised the class on her site. But as long as you have the pattern, that's OK. 

The class starts at the end of October (October 26th), so there is still lots of time to get organized. We will discuss color options in that first class, and while you'll have homework, it will be manageable in case you need to get your fabric. 

OK -- so if you want to sign up and still need to, that's how you do it. 

Now, for those who have signed up and are anxious to pay to reserve a spot, there are 100 spots in my Zoom class. There are NOT 100 people in the class, so if you are worried about saving a place, everyone who has emailed me is in the class. And there is plenty of room for more people to sign up. Feel free to share that original post with anyone you think might be interested. 

Some people have already paid (I have NOT asked for payment, so you are NOT behind). To pay, you would simply send me the class fee ($30) by e-mail. Again, those instructions were in the original email I linked above. My email address is elainetheriault@gmail.com.   

To recap, if you sent me an email for Spice Market, you are in the class and will have received an email acknowledging your email (hopefully, that set-up is still working). Instructions on how to pay and buy the pattern are also in my original blog post. The only thing missing was my email address, which you now have. 

If I don't finish the distribution list today (which is not looking good), it will be the first thing I do next week when I'm back. That will still be almost four weeks before the class—everything is good!!! 

Can you believe it? We had Monday sewing, and we usually finish at 2:00 PM because I go for my walk. I didn't walk in the afternoon, but I had cranked out 30 km in spin class. I put on a few km in the house as I powered around packing suitcases later in the day! 

I hope to get back on track for walking, but I'm doing OK. I can see where someone with a "real" day job can fall off track. There's just not enough time in the day. 

And the Monday call went on until 3:30!!! That's unheard of! But I had some sewing to do, and I might as well continue sewing with the others rather than sewing by myself. However, sometimes, when I'm by myself, I'm much more productive!!! OK—make that ALL times! 

I had a small sample to finish, which I did, and you'll see it in a bit. Then, I had some projects to get the binding on. Last week at the dealer meeting, we discussed the condition of samples shown in a store during an event. Should they be completely finished or not? Should they be perfect? And how many samples does one person need? 

It was an interesting discussion - too many do not make up for the lack of quality. Not finished or too perfect is NOT a good thing. However, having some of them as works in progress is good so people can see the inside, but most should be finished. And the biggest downfall of credibility is quality. If the quality isn't high, the educator will lose a lot of credibility. I couldn't agree more. I've been to some events, and the quality of the samples was horrific. I don't care what they are selling, but I've tuned out if they can't produce some good samples!

So -- here is one of the samples I finished yesterday. It's a trivet that was sewn in the hoop with machine embroidery! It was trimmed, and it needed the binding. I quickly made the binding and was ready to sew it on when I remembered I needed BIAS binding for this one. Thankfully, I still had enough fabric, so bias strips were cut, and it got stitched on. It's super cute!!!! I have another that is NOT finished, but it's an excellent example of what it looks like when it comes out of the embroidery hoop! So finished is NOT always good, but there has to be a reason for it to not be finished. I LOVE this!!! 

Project in the hoop

Then I put binding on some placemats and made a demo using the 5/8" Quilt Binder, which I wasn't so comfortable with. However, after yesterday and the two tricks I was shown, it worked pretty slick. Now, I need to use it more to finesse my technique! Even my corners were pretty darn good. I'll share those another day. 

After the Monday Sewing call, I grabbed my suitcases and laid them in the hall to start filling them. I was worried that there wasn't room, but everything fit! I've likely missed a bunch of stuff, but I have enough to keep the groups entertained, so I'm not worried. 

Filling the suitcases

Then I was off to find my presentations, and I found everything I needed, but I have to admit that they are in a bit of disarray. I need to get those organized and delete the duplicates—which will be a challenge!!! 

All is ready - laundry was done, and clothes were packed. That happened last night, which is rare - I usually do that in the morning. I'm checked into business class, and with my status, I don't need to pay for the luggage (three suitcases) or worry about going over 50 pounds. I didn't even bother to check the weight. I will make that same status again for next year, and well --- it's kind of nice. I'll enjoy it while I can. 

Shoot—as I was moving files around, I found a picture I wanted to share, but I can't find where I saved it. I must have been tired. I also need to start going through my USBs and eliminating duplication. I am not looking forward to that task, but it must be done! 

Look at my little Princess. She was so skittish that she would NOT even walk into the office. I think she was trying to tell me that she doesn't like clutter! This closed room felt too confined to her, so she would never venture past the door. The same goes for DH's office. She would never go in. Then, she would gradually come a bit further. Now, she has no issues with coming in away from the door. But -- she will NOT go into the bathroom. That's a bit much and too tiny for her! Murphy? Total opposite! She would go anywhere!

MOM -- I need to be close to you! 

And yet Lexi likes her kennel as her safe space - until Murphy gets too boisterous and tries to push her head in! But Lexi is happy to sleep here - it's what she knew from the day she arrived. 

MOM -- I'm sleeping! 

Meanwhile, Murphy has to be on display so people can see her, and she can see them! 

MOM -- are we going somewhere? 

We went for a walk in the morning, but they are NOT going to get one today, and they don't know that yet, although they saw the suitcases in the hall! Poor things—everything will be somewhat back to normal in less than two weeks! Yeah, there are still two major trips in that crazy marathon of a schedule. Then, at least I'm home, so I can accomplish more. 

I still have writing to do and had zero time, so things are a bit behind, but I've got everything prepared and should be able to get back to that quickly. I need to move on!

At one point last night, when I was getting the corners on my project using the Quilt Binder, look who dropped in! She got aggressive with the foot licking—so much so that I couldn't concentrate!! I had to stop her for a bit. Then she laid her head on my foot pedal, and the machine was sewing all by itself!! Sigh.

MOM -- your feet are so tasty!!

Well, that's the crazy way things are at my house. I'll be in a different time zone for a week, so the blog might be late. I'll see what I can do to keep things on track!!! I need it for my sanity! I think I would explode if I didn't write!

 And WAIT ---- remember to keep decluttering. I get pictures from people cleaning out stuff they had from their jobs and even high school papers. Yep, we seem to be very good at keeping it all and not getting rid of it. So good luck with the decluttering—it's a lifelong thing! 

Have a super day!!!! Keep smiling!!!!

Ciao!!!!