The secret life of dogs and dealing with excess

You all have some great suggestions! I can't use my phone as a camera because I sometimes attach it to the computer to share the phone screen (showcasing an app), so that won't work. But all is good! I have an iPad that will work fine after I get a couple of accessories. 

I used the saddle chair a fair bit yesterday, and I like it, although I did find it a bit "exhausting" staying in the correct position for a great length of time. But all that shows is how badly I sit in a regular chair! 

I feel a bit discombulated today, and I'm not sure why. Nothing unusual is happening, and I'm sure the feeling will settle down. I'm in the middle of a massive "bonus" project as I prepare for Quilt Canada, and I'm running around the house amassing many things for the bonus part. I did pretty well yesterday, but I'm missing about a third of what I want. That's probably the issue! More searching today. I'm not sharing what it is - you must come to the show to see, or wait for the video if you can't attend. 

I'll take a video of the show and do a small talk about it, which I'll post on YouTube. 

The other night, I was trying to sew the border on a quilt. I felt like I had never sewn in my life, as everything I did was wrong. The fabric looks similar on the front and back, and TWICE, I sewed the wrong side to the right side. TWICE!  

Wrong side to right side! DUH!!!

Then I cut the strips according to the book—DUH!! I never do that. It wasn't until I tried to sew the borders on that I realized I had made another mistake! I turned the page in the book and realized what I had done. CRAP! 

The top and bottom borders were not long enough. I simply chopped the border in half and added a piece to fix it. GASP!!!

Making the border long enough

Life is too short to fuss over this kind of thing. This quilt is not an heirloom, and who the heck is going to see that? I still struggled with the measurements once I did this surgery, but it's all sewn on, and it looks just fine. 

A corner of the border on the quilt

There is still a lot to do on this quilt, and I'll be working on it this week. 

It is nice to have the entire cutting table free to work on, and I aim to keep it that way. 

I worked on a 60-minute-or-less project: making the backing for this quilt. It has been sitting on the cutting table for months, and now it's in the "to be quilted" pile. 

The backing made for a quilt

My goal is to clear those three work tables. I've been procrastinating about that stuff, and I must deal with it. Not only must I deal with it, but I want to. I would LOVE to fold up those three tables and put them away. I do not need them. Well, maybe I could keep one out with some current stuff, but my work methods need to change, like eliminating "SO" from my vocabulary. 

Remember the quote? I want a non-cluttered sewing space. I need (and want) to deal with the excess stuff NOW! This is who I want to become! 

There will be more about those work tables tomorrow. Something else happened, but I can't share it today. I'm pretty excited about it, and it's the start of the "end." OK, that's a pretty cool cliffhanger! Now, let's hope I don't forget to tell you! 

The other day, I was cleaning up some paperwork from the filing cabinet and came across an old flyer from my sewing machine dealer. Sadly, they closed last year, but look at the date - 2012.

Old flyer from Brampton Sew N Serge

The top-of-the-line embroidery machines at the time were the Husqvarna Viking Diamond deLuxe. 

Top of the line in 2012

And I taught this class, which I do not remember. 

Class description

AHA—I Googled it, and now I remember what they were. They're super cute pillows and an easy introduction to appliqué! 

A good beginner appliqué project

YES - I know I would be much more effective if I focused my cleaning on one area. Take a drawer from the filing cabinet and deal with it. But that's just not my style. I march to the beat of a different drum, and I'll get there. Trust me --- leaps and bounds have been made in my chaotic style, and I'll get there. 

Needless to say, the flyer went in the recycling, and some old invoices went in the shredding box. I have a lot more to go through, and I'll get to it another day. I'm not even sure why I ended up in that drawer—I was looking for something—oh yes—the manual for the camcorder! Which I ended up finding online. 

I need to get the electrician in as I have two dead ballasts in the basement that need replacing. Before my Facebook Live, I had to pop in a new bulb, as one had burned out, and I had the box of bulbs sorted by dead and not dead. When I pulled them out, I made a big mess. I had to clean that up as it was on the long arm. 

The mess of light bulbs

The weather was iffy when I was walking the dogs the other morning. It was fine while I walked Murphy, but it started to rain hard when I was with Lexi, so we scooted home a bit earlier than usual. I swear it was raining harder in the forest than outside. But the sound? It was fabulous! There is nothing sweeter than the sound of rain on the trees. 

Rain in the forest

But then Murphy went outside and lay on the deck. Sigh. 

MOM - I LOVE the rain! 

When I was at the mall, I stopped to browse the magazine covers. Old habits die hard, but I didn't purchase anything. However, look what I spotted. Why did they choose that breed of dog to put on the cover? 

The Secret Life of Dogs

Now, if they could talk - what would Murphy say? Can you caption the photos?  

MOM - shoddy sewing - that tail just fell off - I swear! 

MOM - a little help here. My fish is caught in the tree, and I'm patiently waiting for you! Come NOW!

MOMO - I just need to rest my big butt against this rock. When I'm inside, my butt moves on the slippery floor

Murphy is so much entertainment that I dare not think about the future! She is excellent entertainment value, even if she is a pain in the neck! You just never know what she is going to do next. Lexi, on the other hand, is calm and quiet. 

As part of my tidying of those three tables, there are still a few of Diane's things left. There are some patterns -- there are five housecoat patterns. Does anyone need a pattern or the tissue from them? If not, they go in the donation pile. By the way, I heard that the four remaining pattern companies have been sold to a liquidator. Yikes!!! It's going to be indie patterns going forward! 

Housecoat patterns

There are also some quilt patterns—particularly a lot from Three Swan Studio, which are stained glass. Again, they will go in the donate bin if no one wants them. I'm happy to take more pictures if you wish. 

Quilt patterns up for grabs

There is also some template plastic, which I don't need - could anyone use it? 

Template plastic is up for grabs

Now that the schedule is relatively quiet for the rest of this month (10 one-hour Zooms, 1 in-person class, and Quilt Canada), I will have time to focus on cleaning up that space. July is even more open with absolutely nothing scheduled. I have two sewing retreats that month, both short ones, but nothing planned except for the Virtual Retreat. I should be able to make good headway in clearing off those tables. 

I was busy vacuuming the other day, and POOF—the vacuum ran out of battery. Since all my charging cords are upstairs, I brought the vacuum up and charged it in the kitchen. I should try to figure out a charging area in the house. I charge everything in this area, but none of the cords are there! 

Recharging the cordless vacuum

On that note, I have one class at 11 today and then the in-person one this afternoon. Everything is coming together nicely, and it will all be OK. I'm fired up about dealing with the excess downstairs and have a plan. I'll share one thing about it tomorrow. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!