Make my bed!

Oh my goodness — I love all the stories about typing class. I don't remember how many words per minute I ended up typing, but there are days when I wonder how I ever managed! That backspace key is so handy! And that IBM Selectric -- what a dream! 

As for retirement, someone mentioned that many retired people comment that they are so busy now that they don't know how they managed to work. Seriously? Do you want to jump from the frying pan into the fire? I guess if that is what you want to do, then it's your life. But as Elle mentioned (I swear we were separated at birth), I want to have free time to do what I want, when I want, and, most importantly, IF I want! 

I've had a bit of that freedom over the last couple of days, and that is incentive enough to not get involved in too many things. YES -- I know -- I've been there, and there are times when my schedule is crazy, but I'm getting really tired of all the running around. Not only physically, but also mentally. 

My volunteer work will involve quilting and binding all those community projects - on my own time. I still need some structure in my day, but I refuse to get involved in any committee (I've done my time), and I will help somewhere if it works for me!

I want to read, do crossword puzzles and jigsaw puzzles, travel, enjoy my girls and my backyard, and, well, sew and mess around with various things. So --- I am going to attempt to keep my calendar relatively clear. Of course, I'll still be going to work, but not in a crazy way, and eventually that will pass, and I'll be free!

I'm not yet ready to completely sever the ties with work. By doing less, I have more time. I have significantly reduced the number of classes I teach, and that has been amazing! 

What a great class we had for Colour My World. I have always kept to my one-hour schedule, but I went over by 30 minutes. However, people had questions, and as a first-class, there was a lot to cover. Thankfully, there was nothing scheduled after that, so going over was easy peasy. And the entire group stayed on as well, so that means they all have relaxed schedules!!!

And even though preparing for the class took a long time, I love doing it and thoroughly enjoyed having the time to do so without compromising on what I included in the presentation. I can't wait for more time to do things the way I want, instead of having a time constraint. Going forward, the prep for this class will be much easier, but there will still be lots of things to discuss. 

Here is my first house. It is so cute, and I'm looking forward to working on the rest of this month's assignment. I have everything cut and ready to sew. WAIT -- that's a lie. I have half the blocks cut. 

Colour My World

I went back to my stash and chose more colors. Here is my palette for the quilt. My background is missing from that photo. 

And I must admit that when I attempted to use the folded freezer paper method for paper piecing earlier this year, I disliked it. It didn't work for me, and, well, I wasn't a fan. I tried again -- we must always try again! Guess what? I'm a convert!! I LOVE this method. 

Here's another thing I learned during my preparation for this class. Many people today do not have access to a computer. They rely entirely on an iPad, which is fine, except if you want to print templates for paper piecing. The iPad has no printer settings, so it prints as it wants, and the sizes are never correct. 

So how do you fix that? By downloading an app for your printer, of course. Now, why didn't I think of that? Let's say you have an HP printer. Download the HP Smart app and use its settings to determine the exact size you need. Super simple when you know how. Someone from our Dear Jen class was struggling with this issue, and I think she mentioned that she went to Apple and her printer company to resolve the problem. No one knew the answer. It was a 14-year-old granddaughter of a quilter who revealed the technique. 

I got a little bit cleaned up in Studio B. Not the cutting table -- there is absolutely no room to work at the moment, and I'll be working on that later today. It's mostly just things that need to be put away, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal. 

The cutting table is a mess

Last night at the Virtual Retreat, I decided that I needed to clean up this container of ribbon. 

A disastrous tin of ribbon

I also have a tray of loose ribbon. 

Another place for loose ribbon

It has been like this for years, and both items were sitting on one of the tables. I wasn't sure how to store those lengths of ribbon so they would be neat and organized. I went to Michaels yesterday and found this container on the right, which I think will work nicely. 

New container to store loose ribbon

The spools and new skeins were placed in the tin, and the loose lengths were wound up and stored in the plastic container. Both boxes were then put with the other ribbon in the stash room. I know I have more ribbon on spools in the stash room, but I didn't look at it last night. Why was that ribbon all over the place? I love to do ribbon embroidery with the embroidery machine, but I've never taken the time to tidy up after. The stuff was strewn all over the sewing table, and it was a nightmare. 

Well, that nightmare is dealt with. One down and many more to go! 

The work table that my Epic 3 sits on was now tidied up, and the machine is set up again so I can get some more embroidery done. Four half-completed projects are prepped and ready to go. That's nice to have that done as well. I guess I had better find the power cord first! 

The Epic 3 is ready to get back to work

One of the projects I want to finish is this witch. I had started this at the Buckhorn Quilt Show and was going to stitch it out during the show. However, I ran out of thread on the very first color for the face!!! See around he left eye. We thought of other alternatives - a bandaid, an eyepatch? I continued to move forward on the face, just to have something to stitch. 

Ran out of thread

However, when I was at Stitch by Stitch in Kingston, I found the missing thread. I bought all they had of that color and the next shade lighter. So I can continue. 

I found the missing thread

I put away all the cameras and tripods, and wound up all the cords and put them back in their container. The container just needs to be placed on the shelf. 

And then I emptied a tote bag that I had taken on my last trip. I took the project bags and such out of it, and that's on the ironing board. I'll go through these later today and put the items away or identify if any work needs to be done on them. It's a great way to putter, nothing significant to think about, and I can listen to my audiobook. I know I have mentioned this many times, but while I love zippered plastic bags, these larger zippered bags from linens are the best! They are large enough to accommodate an entire project. Carrying things in a solid plastic tote takes up way too much room. A massive shout-out to Diane (RIP), as I found these bags in her sewing room when I helped her husband clear it out. 

Two project bags to clear up later

This is one of the tote bags I had with me. Every time I leave the house with it, I am asked for the pattern and where I got the panel, because, yes, people touch the bag thinking I pieced all those squares. I did NOT. 

My Crafty Tote

The bag pattern is on AllPeopleQuilt. And the panel is one by Northcott. Here is the information if you'd like to try to find it online. It is a retired panel, so it is no longer available for order from Northcott. Scroll down on that linked page to retrieve the SKU, so you can perform a search. Perhaps they need to reprint this panel! 

I am trying a new snack cracker this week. Oh my --- it is not my favorite. While the taste is OK, it's like eating a rice cake with nothing inside. It feels like I'm swallowing air! It turned out a bit moist when I toasted it with cheese on top. Let's just say that I won't be repurchasing these, but HEY - I tried something new. 

A new snack bread

Speaking of new, DH came home with a tea for me yesterday, and look at the cup. They changed the cups AGAIN! These look like the original cups - at least, I think they are the old style. I suppose you need to keep making changes - just because you can! 

Retro Tim's cup

I love to support the Girl Guides by buying their cookies. However, I don't have anyone close to me who sells the cookies, or at least no one I'm aware of. So I was delighted to see that at the sewing day last week at Stitch by Stitch (my free day off), one of the ladies had brought in the cookies. I had to walk to the bank machine to get some cash, but now I have cookies. I don't need cookies, but it's all for a good cause. 

Girl Guide cookies

This has been a tough year for boxwoods with some moths getting in there. I have sprayed mine several times. It appears that I have saved one row of them, but I'm unsure about the other one. Perhaps it's time to reapply the spray. Dratted garden pests!!! 

My boxwoods

OK -- so you want to know the story of the bed. Everyone has a preference for a freshly made bed or not. There was a famous speech about making your bed in the morning, because it was a sign that you had accomplished something, and if nothing else went right, at least your bed was made when you got home. 

So, we have a princess in our house, and her name is Lexi. She was traumatized when she saw the couch leave the house sometime last year. Poor thing -- she was never supposed to be on the sofa in the first place, but DH has become soft with the girls, and they are learning some nasty habits. 

I bought the princess a new bed and tucked a couple of blankets into it, so it was a bit more comfy. When she is in one of her "I must save my snacks in a safe place" modes, she tries to dig in her blankets. And this is what I spotted this morning. 

MOM - My bed isn't made

Seriously? The bed is too messed up to sleep in. 

So I straightened out the blankets, and within five minutes, I spotted this. 

MOM - my bed needs to be made each morning!

Seriously? What a princess!!!! I laughed when I heard the bed squeak when she got in, and I had to run and get a picture. Murphy couldn't care less. Gosh -- those two girls are so different from each other. Never a dull moment with them around. 

Here is the link to the Virtual Retreat later today. I have one session this morning, and I'll put the pictures in the presentation after I walk the girls. Then I have a couple of hours to myself to do some work. There is a pile of mindless housework things to do during the retreat, so I look forward to that. 

September 28 (Sunday) Virtual Retreat - Starts at 3 PM EDT

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

Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838

On that note, I'm out of here. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!