Farm Fabric!

I have to laugh at the comments about the higher toilets. I asked DH about it, and I got a typical male response: nothing. How can they go through life with such a lack of enthusiasm??? Oh well -- each to their own. I have enough enthusiasm for two people!

I have good news! All the class emails went out yesterday. And YES, there were a couple of glitches because I used the same information email for all four classes, but changed the dates and links, etc. And of course, I forgot to remove ONE sentence from the last group I sent. Thankfully, someone caught it, and I was able to send a note telling them to ignore that sentence.  

I swear, it doesn't matter how many times I proofread those emails; there always seems to be something I miss! I was worried about the dates and times because they're important, and they're tricky. My schedule doesn't always feel like my own. It would be so easy to say a particular class is always on the third Saturday, but that just isn't going to happen, and I really try to accommodate holidays and other special days. But sometimes? There just aren't enough weekends in a month! 

Thankfully, there weren't more classes. NOTE to self: next year, the maximum I will do is THREE, not four classes. All is good - it just makes it a challenge to schedule these all on the weekend along with everything else that all seems to happen on the weekends.  

WAIT -- there is good news. We have agreed on a SECOND scrap session. The information will be out in the Thimbles and Things newsletter, which comes out TODAY. YES -- it's in the newsletter - I just confirmed it. Be sure to pop over to their website to get signed up. A reminder, the class fee is $50 for the 10-part series. 

It is going to be super exciting and I can't wait to see and hear all the stories about scraps and scrap quilts! I know we are going to have some glorious show and tell. Oh my—I see some people have already enrolled! 

I was flipping through my blog the other day and spotted this picture. This is from 2023, and yes, I was organizing the office.  

An office sort session from 2023

It looks much better now than it did then, and this was an improvement from 2017. So progress is being made. The one thing we must remember about this space is that if there is something that I don't know what to do with, it gets dumped here. And because I haven't given a home to everything that is supposed to be here, it looks junky. BUT leaps and bounds of progress have been made. I'm getting there! 

I went to the gym and spent an hour with Brooke. I'm not sure what we did differently, but my arms are tired today! As a matter of fact, I was tired yesterday, so I needed a nap. And I'm OK with that. I went back to the gym in the afternoon to get my hair cut. They have a salon there (well, an entire spa). I tried to get my hair cut at the local salon, but they were booked up. So I got in the car and went to the gym. 

I had an intersting chat with the stylist. As an employee, she gets access to the gym and she is taking full advantage of it. She just learned to swim, works out with the equipment, and is planning to try pilates and yoga. We had a grand chat about towels and the lack of respect that people have for towels at a gym. They would NOT be bringing five towels to the gym if there wasn't a service. But they are quite happy to use many towels for one visit. It's sad. 

It was a fun haircut, albeit more expensive than the local salon. But I needed it cut! She knows Brooke, of course, so we got to compare notes on her training style and her adventures in these fitness competitions. Suzie was very funny and so enthusiastic!! 

DH was away in the day, but that didn't deter Lexi from protecting his space! This is her favorite spot in the day and lies right outside his office door. Since she is starting to be a little hard of hearing, I think you could carefully walk over her, and she wouldn't notice! But we won't let her know that. She is a good guard dog! 

DAD - I'm protecting your space when you are away!

I sort of got caught up in that audiobook, and I had to finish it. I really liked it. It's called "This Story Might Save Your Life" by Tiffany Crum. If you want to read this, I highly suggest you listen to the book, since it's about two podcasters and it's just better to listen than read. The narrators were excellent. 

In the past, I've read a lot of detective/mystery books, and typically this genre has a serious aspect to it. Lately, I've noticed that a lot of detective/mystery books have added a comedic atmosphere. Of course, that is not new, as we have Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich, who have mysteries but could also be classified as comedy. Now with Richard Osman, Benjamin Stevenson, and others, this is becoming the new norm. I don't mind—they are fun to read. 

And now I'm onto the next audiobook. This one is quite different - "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. I'm not sure how this got on my recommendation list, but I think it's going to be an eye-opener. We MUST NOT take our lives in our country for granted. The main character has just been asked by her new husband to wear a burka when out in public. Sigh.....   Can you imagine? 

This was the girls when I was trying to finish the audiobook. Yes—I am horizontal on the loveseat. It just seemed to be one of those days!!! They had to be close to me - the silly girls. 

MOM - do you need some entertainment? 

I don't know what was with Murphy in the morning, but we have taken the same route (more or less) for years. And yet yesterday, when we got to a split in the path, she NEEDED to go the other way. That threw the entire neighborhood off, since everyone has their routes, and we met so many dogs doing their loop!! 

After dinner, when I realized I needed bananas for breakfast and their walks had been cut short in the morning, I decided to take them both with me to the grocery store. I know -- what was I thinking? 

But they sat quietly outside the store, and then I walked them home. I didn't have a lot to buy, so it all worked out just fine. Despite Murphy slowing down, she just has to be in front when I walk them together. By the time we were on our way home, she had settled down. What a silly girl. 

MOM - hurry up!!! We need to get moving!

Alright—let's get to the sewing part of the day. I managed to get the outer border on Down on the Farm. The top is done!!!

Down on the Farm - quilt top - DONE!!!

I added a 2" inner border of chocolate brown and a 6-inch border (cut 6½") for the outer border. That darn quilt is big!!! It's something like 66" by 77", more or less. Yikes!!!!! 

This is all that remains from that directional farm print. There is one seam in each border, which I would have had to do anyway. It worked out perfectly!!! These scraps went back into the box with the rest of the farm fabric. 

The leftovers from making the border

Oh - I see so many opportunities to chat about scraps in our upcoming class!!! I must send them a note asking for some photos and questions, and I must get that done today. 

Then it was on to making the backing. In that same pile of farm fabric, I had three yardage pieces for backing. I did NOT have enough of any for the backing, so I picked two, and I'm in the process of making that. I hope to get that finished today, along with the binding. 

Backing fabrics for the farm quilt

So that is good, and then I MUST get some work done on that long arm leader! Even if it's only marking the seam lines for the magnets. That has to be done! I need the long arm back in working order. And I need to get to work on my UFO for this month. The entire summer has passed, and I've not done a single thing on it! Now the class is less than two weeks away! It's not that I haven't been working, but the intent of the UFO class is to get us to work on the OLD stuff, not just the new!

Thank goodness for Dillon, who is a movie buff. He alerted me yesterday that a new block of movie tickets for Odyssey in 70 mm IMAX has been released, and I got tickets for Sept 28. The end of September and October are going to be tricky for scheduling, but all is good. Once I told DH I bought those tickets, he said, "What about Spider-Man?" Good grief—I don't have time for all these movies!!! 

And oh my --- a cute little 3-D machine embroidery haunted house just happened to slide into my online shopping cart yesterday. My friend bought two, and I got one, so we are good for a while to keep us entertained. 

Do NOT forget to sign up for the scrap session (the SECOND one) if you missed out the first time. Once people wake up this morning and see that, the class will fill very quickly. There will NOT be a third session. 

So yes, there will be more computer work this morning, but I need to get downstairs and get some work done! I have a few classes to prep for next week! 

And don't forget - it's going to be a good day. And if not, change something to make it a good day!!!

Ciao!!!