PRIORITIZE FOCUS WIN!!!

That feels better—I was off bright and early to meet with Brooke. My legs have been so tired since my last trip, but after my stretching and compression pants, they feel so much better! 

Well, I am loving this relaxed schedule and certainly want to take advantage of it for as long as I can! I have two trips, a quilt retreat, and one guild lecture to round out the last two months of the year, so that should be pretty easy. It's giving me lots of time to tackle those current project tables, but as we all know, everything takes longer than we plan. 

However, I managed to eke out a few things yesterday. The quilt is trimmed and ready for pickup! 

Then I loaded the next quilt and realized I had the backing for TWO quilts here. Remember the dog-themed quilts I made in September? I need to get those quilted, so one of two is done on this backing. 

The first of the two quilts for this backing is quilted

I won't unload this, but simply add the next quilt to the backing and away I go. It's pressed and ready to load this afternoon. The batting is wider, but not quite wide enough for two quilts, so when I get to the end, I'll add a strip to the bottom. 

Here is a better picture of the L stitch as a reference point when advancing a quilt. 

The L stitch as a reference

I was wondering how easy it would be to remove it, and after timing that other quilt, I quickly removed the reference stitching. It was super easy to remove, and I think I just found a new way to mark my quilts while quilting. This reference mark will always be there in case something happens. It takes a few seconds longer to stitch the mark, but it is well worth the extra time. I'm a believer! And I'm sure there are many other little tricks that I could learn about that software to make my life easier. 

Thanks to the APQS dealer out west who helped with that one. 

I also got the backing completed for that other quilt, so now it's in the "to be quilted" pile, and I have done the three things on my list for the afternoon. That quilt had been languishing on the floor under a table for several years! 

The backing, the binding, and the quilt top

Now what? I looked in the bucket on the cutting table and picked the next project, which was a quilt that needed the sashing cut. Actually, I needed to cut the cornerstones as well, and I had enough fabric scraps to do so. 

The cornerstones and the remaining fabric scraps

All the scraps are now compiled in a plastic bag. I finished with all the fabric except the background, so it all went into the project container, along with backing and borders, and the book for Vintage Farm Girl II. 

The leftover fabrics for the next quilt

The backing and borders won't fit in the box, so it went on top, and that project box got put on the shelf. 

This box went back on the shelf

The old me would have left that box out because I might want to start it. Well, the new me says NO -- I will pull it out another time, but now is not the time to work on this. My goal is to complete the top, backing, and binding of the original one. And this is how those tables are going to get clear! 

I still have more cutting to do for the background and borders, and that is on today's list. This is a larger project and I can't finish it in one day, but I can set myself a goal for each day. 

What is nice is that these projects I'm working on are ones that I committed to myself and the Many Blocks and UFO Clubs to get done. YES -- PRIORITIZE FOCUS WIN! 

And yes, before I shut things down last night, I had everything prepped and ready on the table for today. Notice how the blue box is NOT overflowing at this point. Yep --- there are still a few projects in there before I need to fill it up again. But so far, this is all working just great! 

The cutting table is ready for today

I seem to have this need to know that something is waiting for me to work on, but I overwhelm myself and my space by filling it with things I am sure I can accomplish in a day. If I can continue in my new way, I may just make this routine a habit! And dare I say I see some progress on the current project table? There was a basket of fabric on the table for the second Farm Girl quilt, but since I decided to set that aside, the basket is gone! 

I had purchased this book a while back, and it was in the blue box as well. I read the book last night (cute story), and it's on the shelf with the other children's books about quilts. Should I ever be blessed with grandchildren, they will know all the quilt storybooks by heart!

Storybook about the little ghost quilt

You know me and the wonderful world of technology. Well, for the most part, I email photos to myself -- and if you need to email pictures to someone, you should be aware that you can CHANGE THE SIZE of those photos. Many people don't know that, but it's a great thing to learn. However, there are times when I need to download pictures, and I have a data cable to do so. I have two of them. 

My data cable

However, something had happened, and the cable transfer wasn't working. OH, great —now what is the matter? I tried both cables and different USB ports, but NOTHING. And I really needed to upload a video because that was on my list of paperwork things to do. 

Hmmm -- I wonder if Google has an answer, and YES it did! I switched my phone in July, and for whatever reason, there are new settings for the Samsung 25+ phone. Of course there are—thank goodness people make videos about these small techie details. 

The phone has to be unlocked—that I learned many years ago —but you also have to allow it to transfer the data—that setting is new. Once I did that, all was good again! So if you want to watch the video and haven't seen it yet, here is the link. It's the video of my quilt show as the featured quilter at the Buckhorn Quilt Show back in early September. It's all about machine embroidery on quilts—from embellishing quilt blocks to making entire quilts with embroidery, quilting, and making labels. It's a great show if you want to check it out. 

The bottom line is that I fixed a problem I was going to need an answer to next week, and another crisis is averted! 

I also had some paper from packaging that came in the last couple of days that I wanted to cut up, so it was on the cutting table, and it's now cut. I want to try my hand at making this IdeaBook, and they used brown paper for some of the pages. 

Some of the pages for my IdeaBook

I ironed the pages after cutting them to remove some of the wrinkles. No steam!

The pages are ironed

If you want to know what I carried home in that suitcase of mine, I dug it out yesterday. When I stopped by the farmhouse, I had a quick peek in my old room, and there was the FORTREL (crimpoline) quilt on the bed. I had planned to make one, but why make one when there is one that is just going to be left behind? 

With a sleight of hand, I removed the quilt from under the crap that was on the bed. ICK!!! It smelled like a non-housebroken animal had slept on it, and I found a mouse nest with skeletons in it. They were probably smothered by the polyester! I found a plastic bag to put it in because not only did it smell like urine, but it also had that musty, old-house smell. GROSS!!!!! I was NOT putting that in my suitcase unless it was encased in plastic! 

I laid it out in the backyard yesterday, and of course, the girls were extremely curious to see what it was all about. I checked it, and there are NO holes front or back—the mice probably broke their teeth trying to chew through it. It's back in the plastic bag, and I'll wash it this weekend. I will likely never use it, but it's a good quilt to have -- these were keepers back in the day. And besides, Victoria Finley Wolfe has one that her grandmother made! My mom would have made it. 

My crimpoline quilt

My girls are too funny—they do NOT want to be caught sleeping together. Lexi is outside, Murphy is inside, and they are happy. 

This is how we sleep close to each other

When they were both out at the same time, Lexi was sleeping by the door, and Murphy was by the gazebo. You would think they didn't like each other. 

When they sleep outside together

Look what I found at the dollar store - those sheets of laundry soap! I didn't check the price against what is in the grocery store. Are these the same products? 

Sheets of laundry soap

And OH MY --- GO JAYS GO!!!! They won last night, which is very exciting. I was listening to a group of employees from the radio station, and many of them had NOT been born when the Jays last won the World Series. I can't say the same thing! 

And that's it for today -- the pile of paperwork to process is set up, and the list of things in Studio B is ready to go, and I'm fired up!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!