Progress on the UFOs

I love how we are all working together to keep our houses neat and decluttered. YES—I have an older laptop and a desktop that both need cleaning up; it shouldn't take too much time (right?), and then we can donate them. There is no sense in keeping them. I also kept my desktop "just in case." Actually, the old desktop was needed to print things, but the new computer prints just fine now. So both can go. They are in the office and will have to wait until I can get there. 

Elle - you can continue to regale us with your decluttering stories! Somewhere along the line, you got it right from the start. The rest of us are playing catch-up! It's "nice" to know even you struggle to get rid of some things. You are human after all! Thanks for the stories -- no need to stop!

But here's the thing—once we let go, we don't regret it. We relish the new freedom, the new table and chairs, the new empty space, or whatever it is, and then we know how good that will feel next time, so getting rid of things becomes so much easier. 

I spent a good part of the day working on some homework for an October class. If I showed you, that group would eagerly jump in to start sewing. And well, the purpose of the class is to show them the trouble areas—oh yes—a seam ripper was required, along with a few other tips. So those homework pictures are safely stored in the appropriate folder for October.

I needed some show-and-tell for you, so I finished off the two winter quilts. Remember, these are relatively small - they are wall hangings. 

Quilt number one

Quilt number two

And so you don't think I cheated (LOL) and used the same picture twice, or the same quilt with two different pictures, here's a picture of both! 

YES -- there are two quilts!

I even made the binding for both. 

Binding for the two quilts and the pattern

But then, do you think I could find the backing I pulled the other day? Absolutely not! It was nowhere to be found. Then I opened the project box to find some 3D bells to put with this quilt, and VOILA - there was the backing - in the project box, where it was supposed to be. Funny, I didn't find the 3D bells in this box, but I found beads I can use instead. I will put them in a small bag and attach it to the quilts, but not stitch the beads on until they are quilted. 

The missing backing

I'll organize the backings later today. One pattern, the summer one, remains in this box, and I would like to make that (two of them to keep the sets) happen in 2027. In the meantime, I'll put away all the bits and bobs I won't use for the winter quilts, then keep the summer pattern and a few buttons in a smaller basket. I can reuse the project box for something else on that table. 

I started these quilts in 2004, so they definitely qualify as UFOs; I had one made (or parts of it), and I used the other to demo the parts while teaching them in person. I think I did that for two years (five quilts in total), and I never did that again! 

I didn't take a picture, but so far, the only things on those two extra tables are the current projects for classes - that are three of them. The scraps are on a different table. And on the second current-project table are the T-shirts for those quilts, plus a couple of tubs of things that could be easily accomplished in 60 minutes. Funny—since I set those out, I haven't had a spare 60 minutes to make one. 

There is still some stuff on the floor, and I won't have time to deal with it for a while. I'm OK with that. 

Murphy is often the one you get to see, but let's not forget our beautiful Lexi. She loves to sleep in her bed beside her DAD while he watches TV. I think she would still like to be on the sofa beside him, but it was looking pretty bad, so it's been gone for a couple of years. This works just fine! And yes, she is a cutie, and she knows it! 

MOM - no pictures, please - I don't want someone to steal me! 

Do you get Country Living? There was an article about quilting in the June/July 2026 issue. 

Country Living June/July 2026

The article is actually a bunch of snippets about various things related to quilting, celebrating the United States' 250th anniversary. Quilting came to America from Europe, but the US has definitely made a huge mark on quilting's success and progress. 

Quilts carry a lot of heritage and history, and here is one of the more famous quilts. 

Reconciliation Quilt

OMG—I went to find a link to that quilt, and the first thing that popped up was a 300-piece jigsaw puzzle. Do you think my search engine knows me or what? It's amazing how quickly those search engines (and even quicker if they have AI attached) learn your habits. So even though you are doing the searching, you are not really. And then are we only getting to see what the algorithms want us to see? That's the scary part. When we did manual searches in a library, we were 100% in control - we are no longer in control. 

I did a second search, and here is the information about the quilt. 

There was a brief timeline over the last 250 years, and this was the final entry. I'm hearing this over and over again from lots of different sources. I can only hope that this is happening, and I applaud the younger generation for stepping away from their screens. If you have ANYONE who even breathes the words, "I want to learn to sew," grab them and sit them down with fabric and a sewing machine! 

Can it be so? I sure hope!!!

Since I brought puzzling back into my life, I am scrolling less, and I'm loving it! I'd rather be an active participant in something (solving a logic puzzle or putting a jigsaw puzzle together) than mindlessly scrolling. 

Now here is something else that warms my heart and makes my head happy. Now that I'm seeing the cognitive issues in my family, I'm not worried, but it does give me pause to think. And this is certainly NOT a scientific test. There are five children in Mom's family - she is the eldest. Four girls and the last one is a boy. They are between the ages of 83 and 90 - I think that is right. 

All of them know how to use their hands, but only one of the girls became a quilter. A true and true quilter like myself needs to figure out patterns, cut small bits of fabric, and then sew them back together again. Of the five, she is in the best physical and mental shape, although I didn't get a chance to see her these past two trips. Life was not easy on our aging bodies in my family. Knees are the worst!

The moral of this story is: become a quilter, and you won't lose your marbles! OK -- so I love to generalize like that. BUT wait -- have a look at this that I spotted when I did take a few minutes to scroll through social media. I think you can click on the pictures to enlarge them. If you can't read that, there is a link here to the same kind of information. 

Seriously? If I were of any age and I spotted that, give me a rotary cutter and some fabric. I am quite happy to be a quilter, and if it's going to help prolong my mental health, I couldn't be happier. So the next time your family says, "Mom -- why do you keep making quilts? You tell them that not only is it your therapy for your peace, but it's your therapy to keep your marbles! And then offer to teach them to sew! I would hand out copies of the above so they get it! And then tell them, it's none of their business how you spend your time. 

One other thing I want to share this morning. I also spotted this on social media. There were many other pictures, but this is so true. What the heck is happening to our society? 

While I'm not sure I want green fixtures in the bathroom, you can add color with accessories. But this neutral business is a bit much for me. We have a red car, and as long as we can buy a NON-neutral car, we will. I really need to wear more bright colors, as I tend to wear black a lot, but I'm not afraid to wear color and can sometimes be seen in the summer with orange shorts and a pink top or vice versa. Why not? 

I typically wear my orange flowers in my hair. For the wedding, I wore pale green that matched my outfit, and I look like a washed-out old lady. I'm OK with it - it can't be changed, but I wish I had not changed the color of my hair band! It was for M that I did it, but I won't again. I'm OK with it - but drat -- the pale flowers in my mousey hair? Boring! Looking at the pictures, I see that pale green is not my friend! I need bright colors to make my hair and skin shine. We do things for our kids, but now that she is married, I can wear whatever I want, when I want! 

I must get myself organized for the day. I did NOT get to the gym - there is a good reason for that, and I'm not prepared to share with you this morning. I have a doctor's appointment today, and all will be revealed. It's ridiculous. 

Plus DH and I have a BIG adventure this afternoon. I can hardly wait to see what all the hype is about. We have Dillon (new SIL) to thank for that. I'll give you all the details tomorrow. 

It's going to be a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!!