Dressing for the cold!

 As I prepared to take the girls for their morning walk, I contemplated how to dress. The temperature was minus 19, with a wind chill of minus 26 or something like that. I'm pretty good for my head (a Tilley hat is the best, although it should probably be replaced as the ear flaps are stretched), but the tightly wound scarf keeps that all in check; my recycled pop-bottle coat is toasty warm, but what about my legs? 

Then I remembered some wind pants in the closet and checked them out. Good grief - there were TWO pairs of pants, one brand new still with the tags on. They are called STORM pants. 

Storm pants

They aren't really lined but are made of two layers of high-tech fabric. Boy, they were warm! I could have walked longer!! It turns out that we got those pants at some golf function. Either they were swag or an auction item. They are way too long for me, but they are mine now! The other pair is size large, and that just won't work! 

I'm wearing the fleece-lined mitts I made. They have two layers of fleece, and my hands are great with my dollar-store gloves inside. Why the double layering? When I need to pick up after the dogs, I still have my hand in the small glove. It helps to keep them warm!! 

And, of course, the girls thought yesterday was a fun day. They both love the cold, and there is no paw-lifting for them! After they ate, they were outside playing like two little kids. 

Well, it was one of those days. I needed to find something on one of those "current project" tables, and of course, while doing that, I made a mess on the floor. I'm so bad, as I left it like that for a while and stepped over it. It's now off the floor. 

A mess!

And then, when I was in the stash room, this happened: That bolt of fabric that created the end of the "shelf" for the yardage slipped and poof—fabric all over the floor. That got cleaned up right away. These extra yardage pieces do not have a home. Well, they do; there's just not enough room on the shelf. I need to make some backings, but I haven't finished any tops recently! 

A spill in the stash room

I am scrambling a bit these days. I have quilts to quilt, UFO projects to assemble, and classes to prepare for. Yesterday, I had a conference call, so to make good use of my time, I sewed all these little things together in the morning so I could turn them inside out during the call! You'll get to see them next week.

Working on my UFO

Later, while I was quilting, I also tried to assemble my quilt top. It's still in pieces, and I need it quilted by tomorrow morning. So, it will be interesting to see how that works out. 

So this was the view from the left of where I was sewing. My quilt is on the design wall off the edge of the photo. 

The view from the sewing machine

Then, looking in the opposite direction and off in the distance, I can see the progress on the long arm. Yes, there is loads of stuff in between. I know, and I'm not happy, but time does not allow anything to be done right now. 

Keeping an eye on the long arm while I sew

Speaking of long arms, I was browsing through an older quilt magazine from 2008. Look at the list of long-arm vendors. I think a few of them no longer exist. At least I bought a brand with longevity!! I love my APQS Millennium! 

Long arm vendors from 2008

This next quilt seemed to take forever. The customer likes a particular busy pattern, and she likes it to be dense. I may have gone a wee bit too dense, as it took a long time, but it just needs to be trimmed. 

Customer quilt - done!

I always have to give extra thought to the thread color when there are high-contrast fabrics. Black? Too stark on the prints. Beige? It's too stark on the black. So I went with a medium-dark grey, and it worked amazing. That's not a very good picture, but it shows slightly in both parts, which is what I want. When quilting with pantos, it's NEVER about the quilting—the fabric and the pattern make the quilt. 

Great thread color for high-contrast fabrics

Why does this customer like dense quilting? She loves the way it softens in the washing process. And yes - dense quilting will soften a lot once it's washed. The more you wash it, the softer it gets and the more vintage it looks, which is perfect for this fabric style! You don't get that with loose quilting! That is why I also prefer denser quilting. 

I also got some of the logs done during the ender and leader sewing as I put that quilt top together. 

Working on enders and leaders

I have some drop-offs and pick-ups to do this morning. I'm trying to empty my front hall as so much is stacked up and ready to be picked up or delivered. I don't have time, but I have to make time. I need ONE MORE DAY this week!!

And here are the girls. They LOVE to play tag. And they are noisy! You can hear them pounding on the deck. When Lexi needs a break, she runs under the shed, where she has a nice hidey hole. 

Run, run, as fast as you can!

Murphy is just a big goof! And she doesn't come down those stairs; she jumps down them. But they are having fun, and that's all that counts. 

MOM - I'm coming! 

And then, for a quieter moment, Murphy is with her ball. How she looks at it, you just wonder what is she thinking? 

I LOVE this ball! 

I put the girls out before I went to bed. Murphy did her stuff and came right back in. Not Lexi. She loves it outside and was happy to curl up on the deck. So I went upstairs. And before long, she's banging on the door to be let in! And sleeping on the floor? Not on the sofa? I guess she likes to sleep on the pile of blankets if Murphy would leave them alone! 

Mom - I'm missing my Dad!!!

It's all very entertaining at our house! I still haven't found that missing book, but not going to worry about it right now. However, I'm happy to say that yesterday, during our meeting, I was asked for FOUR things. I very quickly found the two documents someone was looking for. This was amazing because of all the file shifting I had done a couple of days ago. 

I needed some particular photos, and with the help of my blog (for dates), I quickly found the originals. That impressed me! I also needed to find a specific presentation. That took a minute, but I also located it—I had to locate the same one TWICE in the last couple of days, and it was easy. 

The last were samples sitting on that table, and I found them all. Everything was exactly where it was supposed to be—in labeled folders and so on or with GOOD SEARCHABLE titles. So, I must improve at this so nothing will get lost in the future. Maybe I should have put the information in that book on the computer! Hmm—that's a thought for the future! 

I am working on that list of things to do—progress is slow because there's so much more to do! But I've got it planned out, so I should be good. However, time will be incredibly tight. 

Before I go, what about your stand-up/sit-down exercises? How are they coming along? Are you doing them? If not - you had better have a very good excuse! "I forgot" is NOT an option here. This is YOUR FUTURE MOBILITY and INDEPENDENCE. None of us want to become that person who needs someone to help them get up from a chair. You strengthen your quad muscles and core by standing and sitting, which is essential for continued mobility. 

Why do I harp on that? Because my Mom lost the ability to be independent. Why? Because she lost the muscle strength in her legs and core. She can get around, but she needs a walker or a wheelchair. Could she live on her own? Absolutely NOT! 

With the added stretching that I'm doing to counter all the walking and spin classes, my legs have never felt better. I actually have a bounce in my step, especially when going up and down the stairs. NO -- I am NOT taking chances. I do NOT want to become a "little old lady." I have to stop DENYING that I'm aging and get off my butt and do something about it! I refuse to let age take away my independence!!

My massage therapist and I talked about this while she tortured me. It's easy to get older and let your body fall into disrepair, which it will happily do. Think of abandoned homes and how quickly they fall into disrepair. Then you can complain about the aches and pains. OR - you can choose to do some simple exercises to counter the effects of aging! It's NEVER too late to start. 

And now for the Zoom Links for the weekend Virtual Retreat.

Saturday, January 25 -- Starts at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82693702241?pwd=QpQkm8Ppppy1XwCPOqva1bcgJCWKdP.1

Meeting ID: 826 9370 2241
Passcode: 795071

Sunday, January 26 - Starts at NOON

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073536036?pwd=uxRqMnK1aSKrmrcSO78w8QQs5g44eA.1

Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838

And on that note - I'm off!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!