The pets rule our house!

I took my SIL with me on my trip to the Kawartha Quiltmaker Guild! She said she got to learn a lot about quilting, and a lot about me! We had a great conversation, the driving went by in a flash, and the weather was decent!

However, a great deal of fun was had at the guild meeting. What a wonderful group of ladies, and there were a lot of them! They will be hosting their quilt show on May 8-9, 2026, so be sure to put that on your calendar! I'm sure with the talent we saw in the room, it'll be a fantastic show. And I am always astounded at how much work goes into their community projects, quilts! 

I received great feedback from many ladies, and one comment that stood out was, 'These are doable quilts!' (The topic was scrap quilts.) These are quilts that anyone can make. And she meant that as a compliment. It was in comparison to people who come with the most beautiful quilts, but they are beyond the reach of many people for various reasons. 

I couldn't agree more! I love seeing other people's work, but I also want to be inspired by the guest speaker, so I'll go home and try something new!

Thanks to everyone for your kind words -- I had a blast! 

It was great to catch up with Nancy, with whom I've been friends for ages, but don't get to see that often anymore, as she now lives far away.

And there is good news! The sixth dog quilt is done! 

Dog quilt - Number six!

When we got home, we had a late lunch, and then I decided I needed to deal with that quilt as it can't stay on the machine. So I ripped out the last bit of stitching - I didn't even take note of how long it took. Lined the pattern back up - I am getting very good at that, so I do NOT begrudge those ripping sessions - I've learned how to get myself out of a jam, and that's a very good thing. Wait -- I begrudge the wasted time ripping, but I do NOT begrudge the opportunity to learn. The ball is now in my court to prevent future issues arising from that situation. 

I lined the pattern up very well, I thought. Can you see the double stitching? 

Can you spot where I restarted the pattern?

If you look really, really close, and I've sort of isolated it - you can tell, but otherwise, you wouldn't know anything happened. 

And now the stitching extends all the way to the edge, as it was supposed to.

The correct way the edge should look

The moral of that story is - babysit every quilt past that spot until the new leaders get put on! I don't have time, nor do I want to spend five hours ripping out some quilting! 

Another thing that was quite evident yesterday was the bobbin situation. I have wound my own bobbins for 20 years and have had no issues with it. But I quilted three of the dog quilts using prewound bobbins. Hmm --- I could get almost THREE rows from a prewound bobbin and only one from the ones I wound. So which would I prefer? Prewounds -- that's not even a question! 

I haven't had time to set up the account, but I will try to add it to the list of paperwork to complete this morning. Then I have the fun of ordering colors, but Cathy has already provided me with the colors she uses, and they are all neutral, which should work just fine for most backings. Neutral threads on a quilt go a long, long way!

I think this picture was taken after lunch. Bear was sitting on my lap, and the other two were very close. It's all one big happy family! At least they all get along just fine, but Murphy is so clingy these days. It doesn't matter if I go up and down the stairs five times in a row; she is right on my heels. I don't think it helped that I had those big suitcases for the presentation, and she isn't happy when I go away. The poor thing has separation anxiety pretty bad! 

MOM --- we ALL need you!!! NOW!!!!

However, I must also be mindful of this. When I'm on the long arm, Murphy is also pretty clingy, but this is the first time I spotted her sleeping here. When the long arm is in use, the cords are pulled along the floor. I don't want her there, but of course, she didn't listen. I had to shoo her away. 

MOM - It's very comfortable to sleep on those cords

I had a peek at the new fish, who hadn't really moved from the spot where they were dumped in the pond. I think there was too much debris (leaves) for them to move, or they were lazy. Lots of big fish! I  moved some of the leaves, but by the time I got out to do that, the fish had found their way down into the murky depths. I'll need to remove some more leaves today and figure out why the bubbler stopped working. The motor is working, but no bubbles. Something must be disconnected. I'll bring it inside and test it. 

The new fish

There is always something to fix, something to buy, or paperwork to catch up on! It's a never-ending circle of life!

I went to the gym this morning, but Brooke and I must have got our dates mixed up because as I was coming out, she was coming in. But no worries - I did some weights and stretches on my own, and I feel great. I had a decent sleep last night, so all is good today!

I've got loads to work on, and I'm not sure what will get done, but I'd really like to push to complete those last two dog quilts. I need them done, so I can work on the bindings. 

And on that happy note, I'm out of here! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!