Do It NOW!!!

 And just like that -- it's a new week. So many ideas and so little time, but the important thing is just to do! 

Speaking of batting bits, it's amazing how many quilts you can quilt with those bits! I've pulled a few pieces from that stack I brought downstairs, and it doesn't seem to have made a dent. I calculate there is enough batting here for about 20 quilts! That should cover the remainder of my dog quilts, and the ten for the favour, and a couple more! This is the last favor job I do! This batting will NOT go back to the closet. 

There is a lot of batting bits

But here's another reason I prefer not to have someone else do the community project quilts for me. Sometimes, there just isn't quite enough batting, and a quick repair is required. Can you imagine having to pay 100% attention to that for someone else? It's not going to happen. And can you imagine what they would think of me? I would not be happy if this were someone else's quilt! 

A quick repair job

In this instance, I was a wee bit short on only one section, but it was easy for me to fix and continue. 

And just like that, another dog quilt is done. 

Dog quilt - Number four

The backing for the fifth one is complete, but not before I had to get somewhat creative with the pieces I had set aside. 

The backing for number five

The batting is made for that one as well, and I'll quilt it today. I need to get these done. But I have to chuckle when I finished piecing this backing. You see, I had set aside pieces from my basket of dog fabric to make a backing for each of them. This is all the brown I had left. Three small pieces -- that was a pretty good calculation! And of course, that's all the blackish fabric I have, but I have one quilt to trim, so there might be a bit more to add; however, it certainly won't be enough for binding. That will have to be Plan B - hit the stash. I had never really thought of the binding when I set aside the fabric for the backings.

The leftovers from my backing calculations

The fourth quilt is trimmed, and I have the components set aside to work on for the sixth one. Can I complete them, minus binding, by Friday? That is the goal! Then I need to work on some customer quilts, and I can bind these while the customer ones are on the long arm. 

The backing for the remaining three should not require as much work, so that's good. I want to get back to the items in the blue box. But can you imagine if I had started to refill that box? I haven't even emptied it yet! Slow and steady! And I knew that these quilts would take precedence over the items in the blue box. 

While piecing the backs, I'm whittling away at the tray of bits to make half-square triangles. I have a bunch to press and trim today. It's always a good idea to have something to use as enders and leaders. These are the cutoffs, resulting from making bindings or borders. And it seems the tray will never be empty! I believe there is a basket, or perhaps two, upstairs in Studio U. However, there is no need to dig into those when I still have these bits to sew. 

The tray of bits for half-square triangles

I pulled out another EXIT Game for some entertainment last night. It is a three-star puzzle, so will it be too much of a challenge for us? 

The latest EXIT Game

I quickly found the answer to the first puzzle, and we decided to forge ahead with the second one. I found something unique, and then DH ran with it and we quickly got the answer to that one as well. Two down and eight to go. That was it for my brain for the evening. 

Walking Bear is a challenge! He is so slow, and he has a lot of pee-mail to catch up on! But all three got walked, but not before this spider gave me a fright! Good grief! 

EKE!!!!! A giant spider on the lawn

But the three amigos are together and happy! One of them found something to sniff in the backyard, and of course, the other two had to check it out as well!

WAIT -- let me get in there! 

It is almost impossible to get all three of them posed for a picture. This is the best I've ever gotten. Murphy was not impressed. For that matter, neither was Lexi! But they are all together! It reminds me of family photos -- no one wants them, so they all have grumpy faces!

We are busy dogs - no time for photos!

The little guy is finally settling down. He didn't want to eat or drink all day and was quite happy in his favorite spot - in the sun in Murphy's bed, watching life happen on our street. He's a bit harder to spot from outside because of the tree in the front of the house, but he makes himself known!

Grandma, please-- I'm busy!

However, I suspect he has an ear infection, which is probably the cause of his not eating, so I need to take him to the vet today. As if I don't have enough money-pit animals in our house! He's better today, but his ear still smells, and he really needs a bath. I almost swear his mom is neglecting him. Isn't that a reason for him to be dognapped? 

Grandma - I need a haircut

Oh well. We do what must be done. 

We had a couple of great show-and-tell sessions yesterday. It's always a delight to see what others are working on, how far they have advanced in their projects, or how much they are learning by using their embroidery machines and software. If only we had an unlimited amount of time!

Speaking of which, here's a story to scare you with. I recently heard of a woman who is a quilter and a teacher. She is a widow and has recently fallen ill. From the gist of the conversation, I suspect she has a limited time and has engaged the help of a friend to help her with the UFOs. 

There is a sense of urgency involved because of the diagnosis (I don't know the details, and I don't want to know). However, it should NOT be a health scare that inspires you to get your UFOs done. 

No, I find that situation a bit selfish (the person they have engaged to help them has her own family and UFOs to work on). This is why you need to work on those UFOs NOW. I've done my share of helping others in the past - cleaning out a sewing room, finishing UFOs, and so on. I am DONE - I will not do it again! Not unless I know you made a valiant effort before you get sick! I will help, but I won't do it alone. 

You need to review your projects and make some decisions - it's called prioritizing what you absolutely want to accomplish. Then you need to stop starting something new (from a class or your kits) and focus on what is a priority. And then do it for the WIN!

Yes - PRIORITIZE - FOCUS - WIN.

Do not expect to drag a friend into the mix when your time is near. That is selfish and totally irresponsible. Do it now! You no longer want something - sell it or give it away now! Clean up the horrible little bits - whatever is necessary, but get it under control NOW! 

This is what I'm doing - it has taken me a long time to come to grips with this, but I'm on a roll now. I don't care how much I get done in a day; I try to tackle some small portion of the overall picture. I do NOT want to spend my last days trying to finish UFOs. I want to spend my last days with family!

Will I ever complete all my UFOs? I'm not sure about that, but the most important thing is that I'm making progress. I've stopped starting new things  - well, there are one or two new things a year, and that's it. That's a massive start and I'm working on completing. I WILL get those current project tables clear!

It's just hard to sew and quilt at the same time! Especially when there is so much prep work for those community project quilts. I'm not complaining - just explaining! But I will do what I can! Thankfully, all of my quilts have the backing and binding done, but I still need to piece the batting. 

On that happy note, I'm out of here - I'm off to spin class. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!