Quilting as usual!

I'm back! Drinking water to rehydrate - I'm sure some would say it's still not enough, but I'm working on it. NO naps required, which was great! I did a slow, puttering pace all day, and that worked just fine for me. Did I make progress? Well, I didn't turn on any sewing machine; however, I'm working through that pile of stuff on the cutting table. 

Here's the cutting table in the morning before I started. YES - I remembered to take a before picture! So much stuff to deal with. 

The cutting table before

The work tables are a mess, and I didn't get a chance to touch them. Hopefully later today. 

The work tables are a mess

The ironing board had crap on it as well. More on that in a minute. 

The ironing surface is a disaster

Here are a couple of pictures from before Quilt Canada that I didn't get a chance to post, but since they involve decluttering and organizing, they fit right in for today. All the yardage in the storage room slated for backings for the community project quilts has now been measured and labeled. The pile on the left is quilt backings that are already made. They are labelled, and I suppose it would be more efficient if I folded them so the labels faced outward! And yet another small organizing task to do! This is why you don't want a lot of stuff - you spend forever sorting and organizing it. 

Yardage for quilt backings is measured and labelled

I took my green folding wagon to Quilt Canada, and when I opened it up, look what I found! A spool of bobbin weight thread and a needle. Hmmm -- that would have been used at the last show in Toronto, in 2017. Yikes!!!! Well, it's nice to find something I didn't even know was missing. 

A cone of black bobbin weight thread

There is just one wee issue. The drawer with all my bobbin thread supplies is jam-packed. I know - why have some bobbin weight thread when you can have lots? I must confess that this is primarily black and white - the actual spools of colored bobbin weight thread are located in another area. But that's OK - I know where it is and that's all that counts. After some Tetris moves, I managed to make it fit. 

The cone of thread won't fit! 

I mentioned that Diane's fabrics are all gone. What a relief, but I sorted through them and picked out all the smaller bits and scraps. They are now stored in this giant tote, and I'll cut them up into squares and make an ender/leader quilt. A box like this can last a long, long time and is perfect for sewing at retreats. Scraps also take up a lot less space than yardage. OK - that's a lie, but I can dream! 

A box of Diane's scraps

These were the three fabrics I purchased while at the retreat. The bottom one is measured and resides with my quilt backings. The middle one is in the beige fabric basket, and the top one is on the table, as I'm trying to get an inspiration for a quilt I have to make. 

Three new fabrics added to the stash

Thank you to everyone who brought me a little something while at Quilt Canada. It was so unnecessary, yet each gift was so thoughtful! 

Thank yous from Quilt Canada

As I distribute them, I'll share more. They are now on my kitchen counter waiting to be put to use. Thank you so much!!!! 

Oh dear - I found another virtual challenge medal! I did this short one a while back because they were retiring the medal. I thought they were retiring the challenge. Nope - it came back with a new medal. I'm not redoing it. It's like a large company that retired its VHS movies into the vault. And then POOF - they were back out again. 

Another virtual challenge medal

Let's take a look at the ironing board. My cover is pretty disgusting. I should try to wash it, and it amazes me how water can stain so badly. I guess it's technically not water, but the crap in the iron. 

My stained ironing board cover

While we were at the retreat, I noticed something about the ironing boards. Both were covered with a fresh towel. Hmmmm -- I don't think I'm going to like this. It's going to shift and move, and it's going to be a pain. And you know what? I LOVE it! At the end of the retreat, the owner can toss the towel in the laundry - yes, the towel has marks on it from the iron! It kind of reminds me of homes that used to put plastic on the furniture to keep it clean.

This morning, I found a jazzy towel in the linen closet, and it fits my ironing surface perfectly! I'm looking forward to ironing something later today to see how it works! My towel is not quite as fluffy as the one at the retreat, but that's OK. I'm excited, and my ironing board looks fantastic. I have a second towel just like this one!  

A new cover for the ironing board

Nothing beats pressing fusible products onto fabric like a steam press. Yes - I was pressing the fusible fleece onto the back of the panels I made for the Midi Bag. I think it's the Midi, rather than the Mondo. Same design - different size. And all was working just fine until I had a wee incident. An operator error incident, of course. It doesn't work so well when you put the fusible directly on the ironing surface! Crap! 

Fusing the fusible fleece to the lining sections

And now that I think of it, a towel would be perfect for this surface as well, to protect it. I need to find a new towel! And I have to cut a new piece of fusible fleece! I cut the fabric for the handles this morning, along with the Decor-Bond for the interfacing, and I'll fuse the bits this afternoon. Then I'll trim everything, and it's ready for the final touches. I don't have the pattern, or maybe I do. I'm searching through my external hard drive to see if it's there. I know I don't have a physical copy of it. This bag will get done! 

As someone said at the retreat, I may like the inside better than the outside, and it's not too late to switch them! That's hilarious! I'm not a fan of this fabric, but this scrappy version looks awesome! 

I've trimmed a couple of quilts, and they are all ready for pickup. It was nice to have some room on the cutting table to actually work. The Mondo/Midi bag is spread out on the left, and I need to continue working on the other items. That table must be clear! 

Progress made on the cutting table

Here's a customer quilt I quilted before Quilt Canada, but didn't get a chance to share with you. There was a minor incident with this quilt - again, not with the quilt, but with the operator. I'll share that story tomorrow. I have a couple of other quilts I quilted before Quilt Canada, and I'll share those tomorrow as well. 

Customer quilt - DONE

This is the quilt I quilted yesterday. I quilted it with an edge-to-edge design, and it looks fantastic! It has a flowery pattern indicative of Hawaiian quilts. It needs to be trimmed today. The next quilt is loaded on the long arm. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I have received some additional customer quilts, so I believe there are now ten in the queue. I've decided that any more quilts that come in will be done in September. I have some quilts to quilt for myself, and I want to finish the batch of community project quilts that I've had sitting around for a while. I also want to have some downtime! I also need to perform some maintenance on the long arm, including replacing the leaders and reattaching all the screws. 

I was outside in the gazebo, aiming for some peace and quiet, but Miss Murphy had other plans. She just sits there and insists on barking when she wants you to play with her. It was hot - I didn't want her running around in the heat. I scolded her and told her she was a "bad" dog. She didn't like that and went and sulked in the bushes beside the gazebo. 

MOM - don't yell at me - I'm a good dog! 

Poor thing, but seriously? The neighbors and I don't want to listen to a barking dog on a lovely afternoon! 

As for that massive To-do list, I got more things checked off yesterday. I hate making the lists, but when there are too many things to do, it's so easy to forget something. So I have a list! I also swept everything off the desktop onto the floor. It was becoming a real mess. I don't know how this happens. Everything is neat and tidy, and then it's not! Where does all the paper come from? 

We had a grand time at the Virtual Retreat last night. There's another one later today, so be sure to pop on and say hi! We saw some new faces and got to catch up on all things Quilt Canada, vacations, school, and so much more!!

Here's the link. Please note that the link starts at 3 PM. The attendance was a bit low at the beginning of last month, and I have a lot of things to do, so a later start time seems to work better for everyone.

Sunday - June 29 --- STARTS AT 3 PM. 

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

Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838




And on that happy note, I'm out of here! I have a lot to get done today, and I need to start with an hour of paperwork. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!