Two steps forward and five steps back!

If you're expecting to see a lot of finished work today, you won't! I spent the morning on the computer, catching up on some paperwork I needed to stay on top of, and guess what? I made a good start on the presentation for the jacket class. When is that? Next weekend. Can I actually be working ahead? 

So, can you tell me why I had a dream last night that DH and I were heading off somewhere, and it was a nightmare? I couldn't find my paperwork or my passport. We were still trying to work things out as the plane was getting ready to board. Now, where the heck did that come from? 

OK - I booked two flights (my last two personal trips of the year) yesterday, but it was a pretty smooth process. They are weeks away, and there shouldn't be any issue about passports or other paperwork! The brain works in mysterious ways!

I accomplished some things in Studio B, but it was painful! The last two blocks for this quilt I'm working on are complete! Well, that's not entirely true. One of them requires a bit of hand embroidery, and the other a bit of machine appliqué. 

I will attempt to get them completed today. I had to laugh because I remember my reluctance to pull something else out. Well, that's a good thing, because it would still be sitting there today. At this rate, it's going to take me years to clear those tables. Tomorrow will be a better day!

I managed to serge the three pet mats that were sitting on the serger table. So that is something at least. 

Three pet mats are complete

Then I attempted to quilt a quilt. Well, that was a disaster. It's not a very big quilt, so it should have been super easy. The quilt was beautifully pieced, and the backing was generously sized. What happened? At one point, when advancing, the operator (ME) touched the wrong button, causing the machine to move at the wrong time. Because I had removed the marker, I had to fiddle with getting the design back in the correct place. No problem - I'm getting good at that. 

Then the bobbin ran out, and I wasn't there at the moment, which isn't a big deal. However, the thread went into the machine and wound around the mechanism that runs the takeup lever, so I had to take some time to dig it all out. I need to find a quick way to access that area so I can clean it out quickly. It's fixed, but what a hassle. 

And as if that wasn't enough, I got a RUN TIME error, which is a dreaded thing to get because I know it's going to shut the program down the second I touch it. And it did. At least I was at the end of the row, but still. I have the pattern for that quilt saved, and it should have been a pretty painless thing to get it back up. I had also removed the marker, so some guesswork was required. But it was about 7 PM when this happened, and my brain was tired by then. I left it and will tackle it this morning with fresh eyes. But seriously? Three major issues? 

I also did some more organizing, so was it a productive sewing day? Not at all. But it was productive in other ways! 

Perhaps today will be better. If I could complete the three small sewing tasks I have planned, I would be grateful. I must remember that everything will take longer than I plan, so I should stop planning. Nothing is urgent at the moment, but I must keep working on the upcoming two classes, so they don't become a rush job! 

Here is one of the small jobs I'd like to tackle today. Once it's done, the items that came in the three boxes the other day will have a whole new meaning. Perhaps today is the day to make that happen! 

A small job ready to sew

Today, I have a side job to do, and I'm not sure how many hours it will take. But this one is measured in hours, not days. If it takes too long, then I'm super slow! I might do one part today, and the second part the next day. 

I'm now in hyper clean mode, and when I went to use the vacuum this morning to tidy up some bits that don't get picked up by the Swifter, I decided to clear the hair and other gunk from the bottom. 

Cleaning the vacuum

I LOVE that cordless Rowenta vacuum. Actually, I guess I love any cordless vacuum, but it helps to clean the wheels and that brush. Darn dog and human hair! 

I took a picture of some of the things I do with half-square triangles. Here's a pencil case I made years ago. I still use it, and I love the cute design. 

My pencil case 

And I've sewn and trimmed more half-square triangles. 

Trimmed half-square triangles

The red and white ones were ones that I sewed while working on those quilt blocks. The other ones came from the container on the ironing board. 

Now that I was done with the red and white triangles, I grabbed some different colors from the tray and worked on browns. I chose two colors with a lot of contrast and went with that. I don't care about the color combination. 

More half-square triangles

These actually got trimmed last night as well. So other than the container on the ironing board, I'm pretty much up to date, which is exciting. I was trying to finish the chapter in my audiobook, and didn't want to start anything. So I puttered around, sorting through my buttons to find two that would work for my project, as well as presser feet and thread. I also gathered anything else I need to finish those three tasks today. 

As I was swiftering around the room this morning, and because I had moved all the tubs, I was able to retrieve the Quilt Police from under the table. She is now back in her place on the wall to survey the room, but we won't be hearing too much from her. And if she does manage to say something, I'm not listening! 

The Quilt Police

OH -- this just came to mind. Remember when I talked about the word "confluence" and how I had only ever heard it mentioned in relation to the rivers in BC. As I was finishing up "The Wager" the other day, they mentioned confluence in regards to the Strait of Magellan and the Atlantic Ocean. Now that I'm aware of the word, it comes up everywhere!!! 

This is how my world feels these days! Quiet and peaceful. This is such a happy place to walk! But sadly, the leaves are so dry that they are being crushed to bits by people walking. That's not a big deal, but some of the leaves aren't even changing color because they're just too dry. I'll enjoy the forest for as long as I can! 

My quiet place

Can you believe that it's the weekend and I have no Zoom calls? WOW!!!! 

Here are a couple of things that were recently addressed during the organizing process. These are the paper fall leaves that were on the design wall. I called up the local school and gave them the leftovers and the leaves (cardstock positive and negative). Every time I go in now, they say, "Oh, you brought in a bunch of stuff before." Yep - that would be me. Trying to find a home for things that I don't need or want and that might be useful to someone else. 

My drop-off at the local school

I found this book at the thrift store, and I have a thing for group projects revolving around quilts or picture books of historical quilts. Those will be the books I carry with me when I downsize. This one is for the quilts that were made for the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgie. Apparently, a group of quilters made two quilts per participating country. One for the flag bearer and one for the committee (I think that is right). So they made almost 400 quilts, and all of them are in the book. Some appear to have been specially designed for the Olympics, while others are more basic quilts. But it's fun to see what people did nd let's face it -- that was in 1996. I bet the quilts today would look completely different. 

A book on quilts made for the 1996 Olympic Games

I may have shown this before, but it's a magazine that I found when sorting through the office. It was on the computer table downstairs, and I hoped to use it for topics during Zoom class. Good grief - I should know better. I don't need a list - I just come up with topics in my head! So, the magazine is in the recycling bin. BUT do you see who is on the cover? Prince George - he's still and will always be famous. Taylor Swift - even more famous, and Oh dear - the New York Yankees. Sorry guys - this is not your year! 

February 2015 magazine

When I was at Indigo the other day, I spotted this game. 

A party game

Maybe I should get that for the Zoom calls. Again, I don't really need any help! One thing I've noticed is that a Zoom call only works if you keep the chatter going. OK -- that's not entirely true, but you can't go for hours without chatting. So, someone needs to keep the conversation going by suggesting new topics to discuss, without delving into the banned ones, which could easily consume hours. No, we need to keep the conversation clean! The attendees do a pretty good job when I'm not there, but on longer calls, it helps to keep people engaged if there are interesting topics. 

By the way, the next virtual retreat is October 18th and 19th. 

Speaking of Zoom - I will be hosting a one-hour Q&A session on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 3 this coming week (Thursday, October 16th at 7 PM). I will NOT be teaching anything, but I'll be there with my machine to answer your questions. This is a one-time thing unless we need to have another later on. Let me know if you are interested, but please note it's for EPIC 3 owners only. It doesn't make sense to attend if you don't have one. elainetheriault@gmail.com

And on that happy note, I'm out of here! I've got some creative thinking to do about that long arm and getting the pattern back onto the quilt in the correct spot! And then I can tackle my little side job and hopefully finish those three sewing tasks. Wish me luck because that's a lot to accomplish in one day!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!