Prepping for Quilt Canada

Will the chaos ever end? I contemplate this every day! Will there ever be a lull in my life when I can work on my things and spend time as I wish? I get pockets of that, but then something crazy happens, and chaos ensues! 

Let's hope that in the fall, with fewer class commitments, that will be the case. We'll just have to see how that works out, as my schedule for September includes a Facebook Live, a two-day embroidery workshop, a seven-day quilting retreat, and the Buckhorn Quilt Show, where I'm the featured quilter. I won't be home for much of August! ACK! I can see it now! July will be all about prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! 

After that - it should be smooth sailing. Just say NO!! But when a great opportunity comes along, how can you say no? At least with fewer classes, there will be more time to focus on these bigger events. The quilt retreat will be fun, and no prep is involved! 

As for prepping for Quilt Canada, I think everything is under control. There is a lot of paperwork to accomplish today and some more printing, but I will do what I can. At the very least, there are 30 quilts to display, and the quilts are the most important part! Do I dare say that it shouldn't be too big of a deal to get the rest of the paperwork completed? LOL!!!! I can see it now - it's 3 AM and I'm still struggling with something! 

I got to bed much later than usual, but all is good. 

To my knowledge, there are still four quilts that need a quilt sleeve pinned on. And one binding needs to be on a quilt—don't ask the story about that one. It is a quilt of mine that needs the binding. I hope there are no more surprises. 

I have a bag of quilt sleeves that I use for temporary sleeves. EVERYONE should have one or two of these! Mine are various lengths, which is good since the six quilts that needed sleeves are of various widths. I laid the sleeves on the first quilt and picked the one that worked the best. Two are on, and I was able to find a sleeve the exact length required! Will I get so lucky with the last four? 

Finding the appropriate size sleeve

And in case you don't know what a pinned-on sleeve looks like, here's a picture. The sleeve is a fabric tube, and I pin it on the top and bottom using safety pins! It's super simple! 

The sleeve is pinned to the quilt

I need to make the setup and tear down super easy for the volunteers, so there is a little more work required on my part to make it easy for them. That work is almost complete! When in doubt, add more information, make a list, and print a label! 

Stop by and say hello if you come to Quilt Canada. You'll find me in the SVP Booth - Husqvarna Viking, PFAFF, and Singer. My rejected Cherrywood Challenge will be on display in the Husqvarna Viking booth. And you can check out my show, "Celebrating 25 Years of Teaching Quiltmaking". That is in booths 500-599. It's so exciting to see it all come together, and there is that trip down memory lane surprise to share with you! Plus, I have a quilt in the Trendtex Challenge. Check that out as it was a tremendous amount of hand work, but it looks fantastic!!! Lots to see and do! 

I quilted another quilt yesterday, which you can't see yet. And there goes another roll of batting! I seem to be ripping through the rolls, but that is good. There are many quilts that need to be quilted, and I must get to them! It would be so nice to reduce the number of those quilts, and I have plans for that. I must look into another batting order - I like to keep a bit on hand. 

Another roll of batting bites the dust

I've mentioned this before, but when I quilt with the computerized long arm, I use a small piece of tape as a marker to advance the quilt. When stitching, I often place it on the rolled-up quilt top so I don't stitch over the tape. Sometimes, it gets caught on my sleeve and I can't find it. I couldn't find the tape yesterday, so I got a new piece of tape. Oh, it turns out the tape was attached to the front of my T-shirt in a very strategic spot! 

Since I already had a new piece of tape, I placed it on the wall for the next quilt. For the remainder of the day, every time I spotted that tape out of the corner of my eye, I thought it was a bug! 

A tape bug

Of course, Miss Murphy is a bit upset because there is a lot of packing and stuff going on, and she has no idea what is happening. I heard her snuffling in the corner as I finished a quilt last night. 

Mom - I can't settle!

Turns out she didn't like the way the mat was placed. This is how I found her this morning. What a nice, dark, and cool corner to sleep in! 

Mom - this is much better!

As I sat in the gazebo yesterday for a short break and a snack, I watched the bees in the flowering bushes. With my Zoom settings on the phone, I easily got this picture. Not the best, but that bee did not want to stay still. He was like a kid in a candy shop and didn't know where to turn first! 

A bee is doing its thing

And now there are FOUR blooms on the pond. The thing is going to go crazy in the next month. I love that we do NOTHING for the fish or the plants. They just grow and thrive on their own. I only have to clean the filter for the pump and top up the pond if the level goes low. But the sound of the water? I love it! 

Four blooms in the pond

And of course, my faithful, not-so-helpful companion is everywhere! 

MOM - I need sunglasses! 

My dentist still hasn't called me to make an appointment to fix my tooth. It's a bit rough around the edges, but it's not a crisis, and I don't have time anyway! 

We were supposed to get our yellow fever vaccines yesterday, but let's say DH threw a monkey wrench into the mix, and the appointments had to be rescheduled. I refused to reschedule with him, so we will do separate appointments. Sigh. It's going to be a fun vacation—it's going to be a fun vacation—it's going to be a fun vacation. Now you know why we NEVER travel together. 

Here's one thing about my walks: They are the best planning time in the world. I envision things, make up mental lists, look at various scenarios, and so much more. Then, when it's time to execute the plan, it comes out like a hot knife through butter. Yes, sometimes there are things I haven't considered, but with all my experience, I can usually make stuff on the fly! It's all a part of life! If you say something with confidence and authority, it's believable! That's actually a big issue today! Too many people are spewing falsehoods confidently, and we are getting into trouble. 

About all those SOs: I know I still say it a lot on Zoom—A LOT. But I'm catching myself doing it now. That means I will be able to correct it, but it's going to take time, and I only have ONE Zoom left for June! I will continue to work on fixing that little habit. Then I'll move to the next one! 

And on that happy note, it's time to start the day! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!