What NOT to sew!

I typically stay at Holiday Inns, and when I arrive in the room, it is COLD, so I have to turn the thermostat up a couple of degrees to turn the fan/air conditioning off. I have no issues putting on a sweater, but I am not a fan of cold rooms when I'm traveling, since I don't typically have my warm clothes with me. 

Something very unusual happened on my reading lists. I typically have an e-book and an audiobook on the go at the same time. BOTH books I'm currently reading are related to a long-time family feud! What are the chances? Lots of drama, but now I need to know how the drama ends! Absolutely amazing what can happen when you don't talk it out. Something as silly as a cake can cause a 25-year feud? Oh boy!! 

One book is called Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, and the other is This is Not About Us by Allegra Goodman. Both are good if you are into just following "normal" family lives. It's also amazing how today's generation feels guilted into things or traditions by their dead parents. I thought this only happened when your parents were alive. Yikes!!!

I have loads of books in my hold list, and two are on suspend, which I need to fix soon. I will be able to unsuspend at least one, probably later today. It's when they all come in at the same time that is a problem. But thankfully, you can suspend books if they come in before you can read them. 

So how did the day go yesterday? 

This is how my crazy dogs handle the heat. Murphy is outside lying in the full sun. 

Mom - I'm not hot at all!!! Pant Pant!!!

Lexi is happy to sit or lie in front of the fan. She has the hang of the fan now, and it's her trusty companion. 

MOM - this fan is pretty cool!!! LOL!!

For me? I went for two short walks yesterday. I put my hat on to keep the sun off my head, and with my ventilated Tilley, it worked just fine. That walk to the library was in the morning. Then I walked to the grocery store just before dinner. Not an issue - it's just a pain when you come in the house, and your face takes longer than you would like to stop perspiring! A few dashes of cold water help. 

I had computer work to get done in the morning, and then I went downstairs to see what was in those laundry baskets. Oh my—I'll share a bit more tomorrow, but I also found this bag of hankies!!! To be honest, I forgot I even had this bag. Someone gave it to me, but I don't even remember who. I have a few ideas for making things with these, so they will be set aside. 

A bag of hankies

I had an inkling of where my Goo Gone was, and when I opened the container, there it was. I should have looked the previous day before I borrowed a bottle. It's in a container with a lot of small things that need gluing, so the old glue needs to be removed. I should work on that container during the virtual retreat! 

My Goo Gone is no longer AWOL.

The good news is that after a LOT of hard work, that one rail is clean as a whistle. I ended up rubbing a coat of Goo Gone into the thick gob of glue on the rail. I let it sit, and then I went back with the scraper and scraped it off. It peeled off in long curls for the most part, but it was a slow process. Then I scraped up the little bits left, and I ran Goo Gone over the rail several times before it was clean. The floor is also clean. 

The rail is clean

I need to sew the channel with the metal bits into it, and I'll try to do that today. Then tomorrow, I can get the new leader on the long arm. Slow and steady. I don't need the long arm at the moment, although I do have quilts to quilt. And then I need to find out when the other two leaders will arrive and plan accordingly. It's going to take a long time to get each one on, but that's OK. I can do one at a time and take a break in between. 

I bought a bit of fabric on my recent voyages, not that I need any. However, one can always use white. I often use white as a background, and you never know if you have enough, so I just end up using several of them and make a scrappy background. Guess what? You never run out, and you are using up bits all the time. It's a great way to work with backgrounds. 

More white fabric

I also bought these two teal fabrics. They are gorgeous, and I don't need them, but I don't have a lot of these colors, so why not? 

Two teal fabrics

And then I bought a wide back. I love dandelions, and this one is gorgeous. It's from Northcott's Whisper collection. 

Wide backing

And then I did a bad thing when I was in the store. I was showing a quilt that I made from "vintage" Tula Pink fabric. I am not a super fan of Tula Pink fabric, but I had bought some years ago. I actually have made two quilts, and I'm not a fan of either. The staff gasped (they stock some Tula Pink fabrics), and so I felt compelled to redeem myself, and I bought a bundle of some of the latest collection, along with some "blenders"  

My Tula Pink bundle

You can see the fabrics in the bundle here. 

The fabrics on the right side

And here are the fabrics on the second side. 

The fabrics on the left side

The big question now is what the heck am I going to do with it? I need a pattern that will accommodate those larger prints, or do I just cut it up and make something? I'll need to think about that. 

As I was unpacking my samples, or should I say, putting them away, I hung up my "goals" sign. This is my word for 2026. Now that we are in the second half of the year, I still have a lot on the Visual To Do list, and I need to make sure I am on track to get them done. 

My word of the year for 2026

And you also get to see the state of my Tequila Lime quilt. I had 3 of 8 sections done. I decided it would be a good thing to work on, so now there are only two sections left to sew. 

Progress on Tequila Lime

But it wasn't without its issues. I sewed the two sections of points onto the center diamonds, and then I needed to add two pieces to make the 1/8 triangle. Well, I sewed one piece on and realized that it was on the incorrect side of the diamond. So I took it off and sewed it on the other side and then added the final piece, only to realize that what I had originally sewed was correct, so more ripping! But at least three more sections were completed, and the top half is all together, as is the bottom-right corner. 

I should be able to finish today. 

However, there are some pins in the edges as markers. And I was remembering to take them out as I stitched. One was hidden, and I couldn't figure out why the sewing machine was veering off the ¼" seam allowance. I pushed ahead instead of checking, and it was only when the machine went into high gear that I realized a pin was there. 

And the sewing machine needle went right through the center of the pin. 

Oops -- I sewed right through the pin!

What are the chances of that happening? And that is what they mean when they talk about penetration power on the PFAFF creative icon 2!!!!! 

I'm not sure if you have seen the ads, but the PFAFF creative icon 3 will be released this fall, and they are releasing teasers. It seems to have a very interesting quilt feature, and I hope to have more information later this month when I get to see a working version in person. Software is a huge component of our sewing/embroidery machines these days. As we know with all software, it takes time to get all the components working correctly. 

I was clearing off the puzzle table from all the stuff I had brought home, and that was done, although I still have loads of things that need to be tidied up - i.e., serging the edges of samples. 

But since that table was clear and I haven't done a complete puzzle in a while, it was time. After all, look what this puzzle box says. 

So true!!!!

It is so true - you can mindlessly scroll for hours. And what do you have to show for it when you are done? Nothing! Probably not even any new knowledge, since there are a lot of political reels these days, and a fair amount is just for entertainment, but the bulk of it is just rubbish!!! But gosh -- they know how to make things that make you want to click!!!!

So I placed all the puzzle pieces (even for a 500-piece puzzle) onto my design boards and kept the border out. This puzzle is wicked, as there is one corner at the top where the pieces are very hard to place. There are no identifiers along the edge, and I had to leave the pieces out until I had the inside done in that area. 

The next puzzle is prepped.

I will share the puzzle with you tomorrow. I finished it this morning while listening to another chapter of the audiobook. Hey --- now that the child is old enough to participate in the story and the mom has fed her lies about her father - I want to know what happens!!!! 

I also dug out my UFO commitment for June - we had to delay the session for one week because of my travel, and now I need to finish that off today. So lots to do and that's OK by me. I have a very interesting audiobook to keep me entertained while I sew. 

And on that note - I'm out of here. Let's hope the heat breaks after today, and we have a bit more reasonable temperatures so that walking outdoors isn't a killer. Thankfully, my body is happy with the heat, and it's all about taking it easy. 

OH—the links for the Virtual Retreat. 

Here they are:

Saturday: July 4th from 6 PM - 9 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88967393876?pwd=vcTbpbd0PF0zZYrL5D8XH5jaRAugPg.1

Meeting ID: 889 6739 3876
Passcode: 753764

Sunday: July 5th from 3 PM - 9 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84936943764?pwd=F4GB0CFWZUDAukXjGmbNLR1GS6CreN.1


Meeting ID: 849 3694 3764
Passcode: 777609

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

When plans go awry

 Yesterday did NOT go as planned. Where have you heard that before? I would be embarrassed to check the date the box of long-arm supplies arrived at my house (Nov 21, 2021), but let's say it was a few years ago and it's been sitting there in pristine shape ever since. 

So imagine my surprise yesterday when I opened the box to pull out the leaders, only to discover that I had bought ONE leader, not a set of three. Good grief!!!!! 

Here is the situation with the long arm. You can see that the bottom leader is in bad shape, as with 20 years of repeated use, the right-hand side is badly stretched. The quilts still load OK, but the leader has seen better days. 

The bad shape of the leaders

Thankfully, I had only pulled one leader off the machine; otherwise, I would be in trouble while I waited for new leaders to arrive. I've already put in a request for TWO new leaders. I pin my quilts to the leaders - I do NOT float them. At first, everyone used to pin; then people floated because it took less time. But I think people are moving back to pinning (or attaching the bottom of the quilts somehow) because it is way more accurate than floating. 

But what I found under the leader wasn't good news. Those things are glued on with an inch-wide swath of glue. Oh joy!!!

The leaders are attached with a wide swath of glue.

That means the glue has to be removed somehow. I was going to use my GooGone to make that happen, but when I went to the laundry room to find the bottle, it was GONE! Seriously? I can't even blame anyone in the house for that because DH probably doesn't even know what the stuff is. Obviously, I was using it for something and never put it back. I still haven't figured out what that was. 

As I was sewing in the morning, I decided to try scraping the glue off with my screwdriver. I was changing the stitch plate on my sewing machine and had a screwdriver in my hand. That will work, but I need a wider tool. I opened the door to the cold storage room under the stairs, but it is filled with boxes for the sewing machines, and I had no desire to wade through them to reach the paint supplies and tools at the far end.  

Scraping the glue with a screwdriver

Did I mention that I was exhausted even with a nap and had zero desire to do anything? I contacted my friend and said I had a problem, and we settled on a plan where I went to her house to reload TWO leaders for her! 

When I arrived, her husband had scraped all the glue off her two rails, and they were nice and clean, with a touch-up of Goo Gone to remove the remaining residue. I need a husband like that. I mentioned it at dinner, and I got zero response!

Between what she had seen on YouTube and my tips from Jenny at Quilt Canada, we quickly got those new leaders on!! Yep—it works best with two people, but as we were working, I had an idea, and I will share it with you as soon as I get all the glue off my rail. 

The new leader on the long arm

I brought home their scrapers and Goo Gone in hopes of getting the glue off my machine and then loading the new leader. This will allow me to get back to quilting. That will be my goal for today. 

I found scraping to be a very messy, hard-on-the-hands job. So I'm going to take it in baby steps. 

I managed to get this section done with my supervisor watching. I used the old leader to protect the stuff under the long arm from getting covered in little bits of glue. It's going to be a long slog to make that happen, but I have all day. Then reloading the new leader shouldn't be an issue, even if I tackle it myself. I have a secret weapon. Plus I have an extra pair of hands if I need them. 

MOM - you are doing a great job!

And I still need to sew the metal bits into a channel on the bottom edge, to help load the quilts. It will take all day, but I have all day! I'm OK with that. 

It's just the procrastination that shocks me. I'm happy to wait things out for a very long time. Why is that? However, I am happy in a way because I didn't know about the magnets when I got the new leader, and I was going to install channels for the dowels and plastic clips. So it was good to wait, but I didn't need to wait that long. 

This is how Murphy handles the heat. The second we came inside from her walk, she ran outside and plunked herself in her small pond. We have a larger one, but it's so unwieldy to handle, and she manages just fine in this one. I think she went in multiple times because when I came back from Lexi's walk, there was water all over the floor.

MOM - I LOVE my pool

And then she sat outside with me in the evening. It was beautiful outside, and I was really thinking I should tackle some weeds, but I did not. I had a decent sleep, so I should be good for the day. And when it cools down a bit this evening, I can tackle one section of the backyard and those weeds. 

Murphy and I hanging out in the backyard.

I managed to put together a scrappy quilt backing for one of those eleven community project quilts I promised to do for someone. 

I started off with this stack of fabric and ran out, so I grabbed a bit more from the stack for the next quilt. 

Making a scrappy quilt backing

And here is the scrappy backing. 

The scrappy quilt backing

I still have this blue flannel to use on the remaining quilts. It's the small stack of blue on the left, as I had to use the piece in the middle for the backing above. After this one, there are still four that need backings. I may or may not have enough blue flannel for them all. And if I run out, then I'll grab another color from the storage room. 

The remaining four quilts

My goal is to use up all the blue flannel. The small bits go in the white bag and will be used to make scrappy quilt blocks for another quilt. Then the blue flannel will be used up! I'm getting there, and there are still several baskets of flannel in the storage room. Slow and steady, and it will get used up. 

But as I was looking around Studio B, with no immediate project pending, I spotted this. Actually, I was looking for something specific, which prompted me to go into this laundry basket. 

Two laundry baskets of clothing for T-shirt/memory quilts

Actually, there are three laundry baskets of T-shirts for three different people. If I were smart, I'd start by hacking off the bits I want to keep and get rid of the bits that I will not be using. That would reduce those baskets to possibly ONE. That would be a good mindless thing to do. I may do some of that in between scraping glue off the long arm. 

One more basket of T-shirts

And this was my quote in my morning tea. Yep --- so true!!!

Quote of the day

Oh my -- I have a date with Brooke this morning, and I'd better get this post edited and scoot out the door. 

Have a wonderful day. Stay cool - however you manage and travel safe, wherever you go. 

Ciao!!!


PS --- There is a Virtual Retreat on Saturday (starting at 6 PM) and another on Sunday (starting at 3 PM). I'll post the links on Friday. 

On ordering food

Happy Canada Day!!!! Look—I found a new pattern yesterday, and while I won't have time to make it for this year's Canada Day, it would be simple to make next year. I got it at Stitcharie, but I think I bought the last one, as someone else in the class purchased the second-to-last one. And we can celebrate Canada Day any day of the year! It will be great to use up some red and white scraps. 

New Canada pattern

I'm home! It sure feels great to be home, and I didn't find the drive that bad last night, though I did stop at one of the OnRoutes for something to eat. AH -- there is a Booster Juice at this location (Woodstock). I swear the two girls in front of me, one of whom was chatting merrily on her phone instead of with the person she was with, took forever to place their order. I had no idea what they ordered, but seriously - pick a flavor and be done with it. 

The world is getting so fussy, and there is a certain coffee chain that caters to this. The orders are so long and so complicated that you wonder why. If you want a coffee, then just order a coffee, and maybe you put sugar or cream in it, but all these options? Some of those "coffees" are laced with hundreds of calories, and then you wonder why our society is so unhealthy. But I digress. 

Wait --- while the staff member was preparing my Berry protein drink, the lady with the phone came back (still on the phone) and asked if she could have her smoothie thinned out as she couldn't drink it through the straw. It was a slow process to get my smoothie! When she first came back and asked for the drink to be thinned out, I didn't hear what the staff member said to her. The customer's response? "I don't have time for that!" 

My smoothie was the perfect consistency. I have no idea what the other lady's problem was. There are just customers like that, and there is nothing that you can do to please them. 

Anyway -- I digress. I will admit that I am tired this morning and will probably need a nap, and then we are on to change the leaders on the long arms - mine and hers! I'll remove my leaders this morning and clean the rails. WAIT --- I have to sew the metal bits in for the magnets. Yikes -- I completely forgot about that. Hmmm -- there might not be time for a nap!

We had great sessions on software at Stitcharie yesterday, with loads of questions, and many people went home with their heads full of information. Now it's up to them what they do with it. 

I wish I had access to a session like that when I was new to software. At least when I would have opened it, I would have had some idea of where to start. 

When I left the hotel in the morning, I decided to use the luggage cart instead of making several trips. It worked very well. 

Using the luggage cart

It was so cold in that hotel, I almost froze. The first thing I did, and I do in all hotels, is turn off the AC. It is set so high that I'm about to freeze to death. The lobbies and hallways were like ice boxes. I get it that people are hot, but the more you are used to the heat, the less it will bother you. We are NOT AC people at our house, and with a couple of strategic fans, it's just fine. 

Perhaps by the fourth day of this heat wave, we will turn on the AC just to get rid of the humidity in the house. But the basement is like a refrigerator, and with the dehumidifier going, it's comfy once you start moving. 

Before "work" yesterday, I went to Tim's, and this sign is located on the side of the building. 

Outside the Tim's

Other provinces have similar signs with their own provincial symbols. Wait—after a little bit of research, I found the artist and some other information. Here's a screenshot from Cindy Scaife's Facebook page. 

The art at Tim's

I see they also have magnets for various areas of Canada. I am NOT buying the magnets. 

Tim's magnets

Nor did I buy a donut. 

The donuts stayed at the store.

But one thing that I noticed is that the person who comes into the store is THIRD in line to get served. What do I mean by that? Well, Tim's has always had a drive-thru. Well, maybe not at the very start, but it's known for its long drive-thru lines. And many staff members are assigned to fulfilling the orders from the drive-thru. 

A few years ago, they introduced mobile pickup ordering on the app. That has now taken second place for fulfilling orders. I watched a guy walk into the restaurant and step in front of me. He was older; I didn't argue, but I was standing at one of the order counters, and he went to the other one and got served first. 

He got his coffee and left, and I'm still standing there. So I moved to that order desk. The staff member said, "Wait a minute," while he fulfilled a few orders and placed them at the Mobile Order Pickup spot. That location is for any orders placed on the app or at the in-store kiosk, which this store didn't have. Or at least, I didn't see it. 

The mobile order pickup 

This reminds me so much of being with a person, like the person at the Booster Juice stand. It's more important to talk to the person on the phone or to fill the order for the unseen person than to deal with the person standing in front of you. I felt invisible!!!!

One day, I will get the ordering right! But now that I am home, I don't need to worry about ordering anything. If I want a tea, I just go to the kitchen and get it. 

I had taken a drive around Petrolia earlier, and there are some amazing old Victorian houses. Some made from brick and some made from wood. All are beautiful, although some of them needed a bit of TLC.

But as I was walking back to the store from Tim's, I spotted a giant Canadian flag on top of a building. Hmmm—can you tell me how they get the flag up there? It would weigh quite a bit, and well, now I want to know!

How did this flat get on top of the building?

When I got home, I unloaded the car and unpacked the suitcases. I was tired, but not so tired that I couldn't at least empty the suitcases. I hate having my samples crammed into them, and when I pack up wildly as I did, I'm not always neat. So the two big suitcases got unpacked, and the items moved to their respective locations. Upstairs for finished samples, downstairs for working samples. 

This is what I faced this morning when I went downstairs. Of course,  Murphy was there to assist. It was more like supervising than helping. 

Mom - I'm here to help if you need me!

And there was a stack of items on the chair that needed to be dealt with as well. 

More items to sort

There were items on the cutting table, but as I made progress, they were put away. With the two trips back-to-back, there was no time in between to deal with stuff. I now have a handful of thread to find a home for and then to tackle putting away the remaining things on the right-hand side. I have one urgent project to work on, and I have two weeks to make that happen. The items I need are in that envelope. Stay tuned! 

The cutting table is almost clear.

I'm happy to report that the items on the table and on the floor around it are put away. Yeah!!! I now have room to move the stuff from the chair to the table. That will leave my chair free to operate the sewing machine, which I will need as I sew the metal for the magnets into the leaders. 

Good progress on tidying up!

There is a pile of samples beside the sewing machine that I want to tidy up. 

Samples that need some tidying up

I love making technical samples. The ones that show you the good, the bad, and the ugly. But often the edges of the single fabrics go unfinished. It would take no time (yeah right!) to trim them to a nice size and serge the edges. 

Samples need to be upped in finished quality just a bit.

So I set those samples aside, and they will look a bit more professional the next time I pull them out. 

I also have a pile of things on the stairs to bring up. Don't yell at me; this is a good place to put them, and they never stay long. I have already brought up a fair amount of it. I am super careful of stairs, both up and down. I am very aware of that stuff, and since I am the only one who does the stairs, I'm not worried. By the time my helper comes for the long arm, this will be all dealt with. 

Things to bring upstairs

And that's it for today. I can't wait to see how this leader thing goes. I have THREE leaders to sew the magnets into. That means marking the stitching lines and then sewing. Neither should take too long, but there are three of them! 

The girls are happy that I'm home because that means they are going to get a walk despite the heat. I might make it a bit shorter, but they will tell me what they want. They don't care about the heat, at least when it comes time for a walk. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

NO more donuts!!!!

What will I do with two weeks at home? I should be answering some of those comments! Your comments always make me smile. 

And yes -- those unruly kids? We were saying to each other at our table who would sue whom if that kid fell while playing fireman on the patio umbrella pole. Those parents would be quick to sue because the kid got hurt, completely forgetting that they were not taking care of their kids - it's always someone else's fault. Sigh......... It's a very sad world we live in. 

Victorian houses being a money pit -- you got it. I can't imagine the heating bill for a house like the Fairbanks Mansion. 

But I took a picture of it yesterday. Well, there are big NO TRESPASSING signs on the tree, and you know the morals in me would never let me cross that property line. I remember another instance a couple of months ago where a single sign refrained me from crossing a property. Hmmm -- I think that was the golf course near a quilting retreat. I was going to cut across it, but I was deterred by the signs. 

Signs work for goodie two-shoes like me, but not for others. 

The Fairbanks house is huge, and there are a lot more trees around it than in the picture I posted yesterday. I bet that originally, it was sitting on a huge piece of land with nothing for miles! Now it is just steps from Stitcharie and the town of Petrolia. 

The Fairbanks Mansion

According to the floor plan I shared yesterday, that turret is the library on the ground floor and a bedroom on the top floor. Right beside the turret is a large window in the den on the ground floor. Hmmm -- why a library and a den? Yesterday, the ladies guessed that one might be for the gentlemen to smoke in after dinner, while the ladies shared the library. 

A bit closer on the house

But doesn't it make you want to see inside the house? And that massive veranda on the front of the house? How fun would it be to lounge out there on a summer day? The back of the house is where the kitchen is, with a maid's sitting room, and upstairs in that area are sleeping quarters for the maids. Just fascinating how ornate they built those big fancy houses, and I can only imagine the millwork on the inside.

The rumor is that there is a ballroom on the third floor. And yes - that rumor is true; however, there was a major fire in the house in 2002, and it sounds like a lot of the interior was damaged. OK -- I still want to see inside!!! Do I dare just go and knock on the door and ask for a tour? Of course, I won't do that, nor do I have time. 

I might have to come back, do a bit more exploring, and look for a house! Just kidding -- we are not moving, but I am enamored with this quaint town. Plus it has a quilt shop! That's a bonus. 

OK -- so I said, "NO MORE DONUTS!" However, it seems the world wants me to eat donuts. This is what I spotted at breakfast yesterday morning. 

Mini donuts

The donuts weren't very big, and how many calories can be in one donut? So I had one! The hotel chain I stay at includes breakfast, so I always have breakfast there and then get Tim's tea to start my day. The tea is purchased on the way to work. 

When I was finished yesterday, I went out for dinner; more on that in a moment, and since the dinner was light, I decided to stop at Tim's on my walk back to the hotel. I wanted a muffin. Imagine my disappointment when I saw this. 

The muffin side of the baked goods shelves was empty. 

No more muffins

But the donut side was still stocked. NO...................................... I don't want to eat another donut. 

Of course, there are still donuts!!!!

Thankfully, I asked, and they had removed the muffins from the shelf and still had bran muffins, so I was able to get what I wanted. Phew!!!! I wonder if they will have donuts downstairs this morning? I have never seen donuts at the breakfast bar before. 

While I'm talking about food, let me tell you about dinner.  I decided to explore the local restaurants, and since I had eaten at a dockside restaurant the night before, I checked out a brew house this time. Yes - I had one of their local offerings. They had minimal offerings for dinner - hot dogs- but that's OK, since it was the picture of the hot dog on Google that intrigued me. 

My hot dog for dinner

It was very messy to eat, but it was good. That's why I had to stop at Tim's for the muffin. I'm hungry now, so I'll soon be scooting down for breakfast, and I'll let you know if they have donuts this morning! 

We had a great day yesterday, with everyone learning what Creativate is and how to use its various components to be creative! I know many people went home extremely excited about what they can do in the embroidery/quilt world! I'm excited and can't wait to be home. What will I do first? Unpack? I have a few things to repair. I have a puzzle I want to start. I have samples to finish. But first, I need to get that long arm ready for its spa day, and then weed the garden. With this heat, I'll be out there with a flashlight in the middle of the night!

While I think we are in a very safe area here, I was leery about leaving all my suitcases in the car. What if by some weird occurrence, one of my suitcases disappeared? That is hours and hours of work that would disappear, and I would be devastated. So I lugged them all into the hotel. And now I have to lug them all back out this morning. 

All my luggage on the left 

I had to resort a few of the bags this morning to add a few things to what I'm showing today. And we have some great demos on how the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 3 works with all its amazing placement tools. Be sure to come by Stitcharie if you are free. 

Last night when I was approaching the hotel, I spotted "sun dogs" in the sky. Now I have seen these in the winter, but never in the summer, and it's hot outside. Well, it turns out that they can be visible in the cold and the heat. Where the ice crystals form, allowing the sunlight to refract through them, is always very cold. 

Sun dogs in the heat

And that is our science lesson of the day!

Can you tell me why that hotel in Winnipeg had the controls on the opposite side of the shower from the showerhead? I have NEVER seen that anywhere in my life, and this hotel is back to normal with everything on one end, so you have to stand out of the way while the water heats up. It's just weird. Something as simple as splitting the components on two sides makes life easy, BUT I bet it would drive the plumber mad with all the extra plumbing required. I bet that is why it isn't common—it's much more expensive! 

I had some extra time yesterday morning, so I scheduled all the classes for 2026/2027. You know what that means  - I'll be able to post them soon. Expect that to happen later this week. And there's no need to rush to sign up - the first classes don't start until September. I just want you to make wise choices as you start seeing which classes other teachers are offering. 

The last thing we want is for you to be overwhelmed by the offerings and get so bogged down that nothing gets done. Remember that quilting is our hobby, and we need to have fun with it, or we are in big trouble. While there are times when I get stressed by sewing, machine embroidery, and all my technology woes, it's usually my fault. I didn't plan well enough, and I'm very good at procrastinating. Or I struggle because I can't find the correct tools. However, I am much better than I used to be, which gives me more time to enjoy my hobby at my own pace. 

But I have so much more I want to learn - software, embroidery techniques, and the long arm. I will never stop learning stuff. How could you not? 

I just can't imagine getting up each day and NOT having something or some purpose in life. Being retired and only being there for my children (well, child) and grandchildren would be the most boring thing in my life. Don't get me wrong -- I think it's a good reason to get up, but they won't be around forever. Nor could I read all day. It sounds so exciting, but I would be bored as well. Learning is a way to expand my horizons, and new stuff keeps coming out!

I am not a soccer fan; I don't watch it, but OK -- even I am excited for Canada. This is a historic moment that they have made it to the round of 16 in the World Cup. Go Canada Go!!!!! If you look at this chart, I wonder why it takes so long for these games to be played? I must ask DH when I get home. I could learn it, but there is no room in my brain for the details of soccer! I have more important things I want to learn!

Can you believe it's June 30th today? Where has HALF of the year gone! Make sure you are taking advantage of every day!!! I know someone (no need to mention names, as they know who they are) who is counting the days to Christmas!!!! And before we all know it, it will be Christmas! 

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

Have a super day!!!!