Three things is back!

Today has not gotten off to a good start. I had a bad night and finally fell completely asleep at about 3 AM, so I'm late! But that's OK. Thankfully, that doesn't happen often. I missed spin class—big deal. 

I will not show you a picture of the office. The new computer is in here, along with a sewing machine box and those two bags of quilts. What amazes me is how much paperwork there always is. I don't even run a business (well, I manage my own things), but it's not like running a company where people need to be paid (oops - I have to make up invoices), and I have to order things, and I need to follow up, but it's just me. 

Anyway, I had a great morning yesterday doing paperwork and following up on the notations in the Notes app on my phone. I have a limit, though -- I work on that until lunch time, and then in the afternoon is sewing and walking time! So while I accomplished a lot, there are still hours of work to get caught up. A little bit at a time-that's all I can do!

I'm trying to figure out why this "new system" of storing the current projects is working. It's not like I've done anything significant. But I suspect the one thing is that the workspaces are clear—the ironing board, the cutting table, and the sewing table. Hmm -- it can't be that simple - can it? I know some of you are in the same boat, and I just piled the stuff up on a table or put it away. It's wonderful to have clear walking and working space. It makes my heart sing!

I don't have any fires to put out, which also helps, but in that case, I would simply have to put the current stuff aside and work on the urgent stuff. It is really helping me, and while I don't always accomplish what I want that day, there is not a lot staring me in the face. 

I am also (finally) learning my limits. LOL - I am trying to be mindful of how much time everything takes, so I'm setting a goal of THREE things per day. That is NOT a fixed number, but a general rule. What that does is make me keep working, rather than caving in and letting something sit until the next day. Although I have no issues with doing that. 

Do you want to see what was on the plate yesterday? There was a quilt to be trimmed, and that got done. I also had a quilt to quilt. And that's done, and I'll trim it later today. 

Customer quilt - DONE

That was TWO of the three things I wanted to cross off the list yesterday. The third was to make the backing and binding for a quilt. The binding got made, and I called it quits for the day. By this point, it was after dinner, so I think I had a decent day. 

The binding was made for a quilt

And before I turned out the lights, I made sure the cutting table was ready for today. There is one more quilt on the long arm and three things sitting out. What's nice is that most of the stuff I'm working on these days is UFO-based -- there is NOTHING new, so when the UFO Club comes around, I will have completed everything on my UFO list and more! Work SMARTER, not harder! Remember - the stuff in the blue box is my "what's next," but doesn't need to be done today and can easily be moved off the table if I need more room. 

The cutting table is prepped for today

But I'm a dolt! I had to go to Fabricland yesterday to find some buttons, and I forgot that I also needed some flannel, so I have to go back today! I need the flannel for a project I want to make for my Dad, and I want to get it done for him later today. DUH!!! 

I hate to say this, but I think part of my sleeping problem was that I was excited to get back to Studio B, and as a result, sleep eluded me!

As a mini bonus for the day, I had four half-square triangles on the cutting table, and they are now trimmed and put away. 

Trimming half square triangles

I thought I would try something different on the long arm for marking the quilt when it's time to advance it. I've got caught, but I know how to recover when my tape marker accidentally falls off or has to be moved because of the pattern placement. When I was at the Saskatoon show, there was an APQS dealer there, and we chatted about that, and she suggested I use the STITCHED marker, so that's what I did yesterday. It takes longer, but is more secure. 

The L marker on the long arm

It works, but I still used a small scrap of blue tape because I can't see the marker at the end of the long arm as the quilt advances. I suppose I could move the foot pedal for that, but instead, I placed a piece of tape over this mark to visually see where it was. Then I can advance to the tape, remove it, and then fine-tune the placement. YES -- these marks will have to come out, but hopefully it will be easy. And I think this is how the embroidery machine should do reference marks, as sometimes they come out way too easily. These ones are anchored in place by a couple of small stitches. 

So that worked like a charm, and well, sometimes change is good. I will NEVER have to worry about losing my mark again if I keep doing this. 

Since I was clearing out the pile of quilts for Project Linus, I decided to clear out the quilts for Quilts of Valour as well. There are eleven quilts there—again, I hoped to have more done, but seriously, get these out of the house so someone can use them and start a new pile for 2026. There are also 12 placemats, but I might hang onto one of the ones with the border print in case I ever need a physical sample. Those quilts are also now in the office, as I must remember to make arrangements to drop them off. 

Quilts for Quilts of Valour

While I was out and about, I stopped in at Indigo - how can I ever pass up a bookstore? I love the title of this book, because that was me this summer. Good lord—I was trying to transfer funds to Kenya, but instead of looking for the COUNTRY of Kenya, I was looking for Africa. How silly of me!!! 

Indeed - Africa is NOT a country

I had to pop into Michael's to pick something up, and OH MY --- remember these honeycomb Christmas ornaments from years ago? They are back!!!! We had big red and green bells, and I remember setting them out each Christmas. I did NOT buy any!

Honeycomb Christmas ornaments

And when I was at the thrift store (did not buy anything), I spotted this project. That's a lot of work to make a quilt - it would probably be faster to sew the darn thing together. But all the squares were tied together, with LOTS of knots. And the fabric was fleece on one side, but very thin and not soft on the other. No wonder it ended up at the thrift store! 

A kids' kit to make a quilt

Well, there is loads to share still, but I've no more time if I want to somewhat get back on track for the day. The key, especially in the paperwork, is to try to end the day on a positive note —meaning I get more done than gets added to the list. That would be a bonus, and since nothing new was added yesterday, I'm going in the right direction!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

PS -- The other reason I think this "new" system is working for me is that I don't have a lot on my plate, but more importantly, I WANT to get this stuff done, I have a plan, and I'm going to make it work! Wanting to get it cleared up and saying I want to clear it up are two different things. Actions speak louder than words—well, it's incredible what one can do in a day with a bit of focus. 

PSS -- And how about those Blue Jays? A very tough win after the long game the night before.