Grand Opening day at Michaels in Joliette

I'm home!!! Let's just say that travel day will go down in my history books. And it wasn't until I got home and saw a post on Facebook that I realized it was Friday the 13th. Now, given what crazy things happened yesterday to other travelers, my day wasn't really so bad after all! Like, seriously? All US airplane traffic shut down! A cruise ship sank, and thankfully no one was injured or worse. A few minor inconveniences? I can handle that!

But the flight home involved THREE different boarding passes, the final one being seat 1A. Yes—to end my day, I got upgraded! It was a silly day, and I'll share the stories because it's hilarious and it just seemed to go from bad to worse, but again - I wasn't dumped into a body of water, so all was good. AND I never chat with my seatmate, but he started talking and OH MY GOSH --- I may have found something to help Murphy with her legs. I kid you not!!! You have to wait for that story—it'll blow your mind! Well, it blew my mind, but then it doesn't take much to make that happen. No time today!

I finished "working" at 2 PM, didn't get home until 9 PM, and literally had no time between the various stages to stop and get anything to eat or drink. I'm not kidding—it was just one of those days!

I have to say, I was super excited (of course I was!) to demo that new little Singer Smart Heavy Duty 9120 machine at Michaels yesterday. I told you all about the new format at Micheal's, and while it doesn't look too different, there are places to play, so to speak! Of course, the whole idea is to get you to buy more!! More about the day in a moment. 

So this will give you a chuckle. I was sitting at my desk on Thursday morning, chatting on the phone to get more details about the Friday event. And my eye wandered between the two desks. OH MY GOSH --- there is my LOST iPad charger. I NEVER use that plug, but I remember needing the iPad at my desk, and the battery was low!!! At least I have two now, but I will confess that I LOVE the new longer cord, and it came in super handy yesterday. So I'm kind of glad I lost the cord!

The missing iPad charger in the outlet.

And you are going to get the pictures that you were supposed to get yesterday. After Facebook Live ended, I finished the embroidery on the letters of my "in-the-hoop" wall hanging. 

The first part of the JOY wall hanging.

Here is the one I finished completely. I will add something to the one above as well, but why not make it different - because I can!!! I might get to that later today or, most likely, this coming week. 

The original JOY wall hanging.

And in case you think I cheated, took a picture, and then added the holly, nope—there are, in fact, two of those mini wall hangings! 

Two mini wall hangings

But this is the one that I had a lot of fun with. Heck - I have fun with them all. But people are so afraid of making mistakes - I just want to reach out and give them a shake!!! So I made this wall hanging to remind them that mistakes are OK. Mistakes are good. Mistakes mean you are learning! Embrace those mistakes!!!

My "mistakes" wall hanging.

FYI --- for those with embroidery machines and who have access to that Mega Turnable Hoop (Husqvarna Viking) or Grand Turanble Hoop (PFAFF), I made this in that hoop, and the background is quilted!! It worked like a charm, and now I have a list in my head of other things I want to make. It all came from the Creative Embroidery Software! I just assembled the components as they came to my head. I NEVER preplan anything like this. I typically start with a quote or a word and then let my brain do the rest. 

By the way, that hoop size is almost 18" square - it's massive. 

On the way to the airport on Thursday, I had a bit of time, so I enjoyed lunch in the lounge. A new perk of my status, which I will have all of next year. DH says I'll have to keep up the travel, as I will NOT want to lose that privilege. I could buy my way into the lounge, but seriously? I'm not that kind of person. And yesterday at the airport, it was such a disaster that there was no time to get to the lounge. 

Lunch at the lounge

But here is where I was for the day. YUL—otherwise known as Montreal, Quebec. I am always so excited to go there because I get to practice my French. And it's funny because when I arrived at the store, many people spoke English, but yesterday it was almost entirely in French. I loved it!!! And yes, people can tell that I'm not a native French-Canadian, and you know what? That's OK. 

YUL airport

I think I have mentioned this about getting to the rental car area at the Montreal Airport. It's a nightmare because you have to walk a fair distance, then catch the shuttle bus. I wondered about that, and now I know the story behind it, which I'll share when I share the travel story. What a flipping nightmare. All I can say is that if I have to go to Montreal again, I would consider driving. Seriously - think about it. I finished the job at 2 PM. I arrived at 9 PM. That's 7 hours. I could almost have driven home in probably a lot more peace than I had yesterday!

Walking through the bowels of the airport to get to the shuttle for the rental cars

And the car I had had keys that you had to use to start the car! What the heck is that all about? 

Keys for a car? What do I do with those?

This is one thing that I hoped to try out yesterday, but it didn't work. You take a picture on your phone to the Michael's framing department, and then in 10 minutes it's framed! How cool is that? And since NO ONE prints photos any longer, I think this is a great service. I was trying to decide which photo to use, and nothing came to mind. And I didn't have time either. I think this is now part of all Michaels stores. 

A very cool new service at Michaels

This is the fabric department at the new Michaels stores! Yes -- it looks just like a regular fabric store! I was quite impressed, and they have Singer and Brother machines for sale!!!! They are prominently displayed on this counter. I will be providing feedback to the company after the event yesterday - of course I will! 

The sewing machines on display

And look at that cutting table. Oh my—wouldn't that be fun to have in your house!

The cutting station at Michaels

The machine I demoed was also displayed on an endcap. My station yesterday was right across from it. 

The new Singer Smart Heavy Duty 9120

The other thing is that the fabric department is RIGHT inside the front door. You can't miss it!!! 

The fabric department is right inside the front door.

Another unusual thing is that they had a couple of spots with lower countertops. I'm not sure what this one was for - maybe showing a table set for Christmas rather than items on a shelf. But other areas had activities you could do—big sheets of brown paper on one so you could experiment with the pens; another had a charm bar to make garlands or something like that. All geared toward buying more, but let's face it—that's what a store is all about. And I would much rather shop in person than online. That's so boring!

New lower display areas

I arrived at the store bright and early on Friday morning. The store was buzzing with activity as employees and executives bustled around, putting the finishing touches on everything. It was insane!!!!

This was the entrance to the store. A food truck, balloons, a ribbon-cutting ceremony—the whole thing! They gave a speech to the employees before everyone went outside for the public speeches and ribbon-cutting ceremony. It was a bit cool (I had to scrape the frost off the car), but it was glorious!

The new Michaels store in Joliette

I have to say I was super impressed by the whole situation, especially by David Boone, the CEO of Michaels. Yes -- the whole Michaels. He was there, and he said some opening words. BUT he spoke in French, and I had to ask the staff if he was THE CEO from the US. Yes --- that was him. His French wasn't perfect, but he made the effort, and I could have hugged him for it!!! But hey—if you are going to open a brand-new flagship store in an area where French is the dominant language, you'd better give your speech in French. Kudos to Micheals for making that happen. I was duly impressed. He has ties to Canada, so French wouldn't be new to him. 

Throughout the day, I spotted other executives from Canada shuffling carts back to their spot and tidying up, and it was refreshing! I remember one situation where I was setting up a booth for a major show, and we had a VP who was not my favorite person. I remember him trying to sit on the sidelines and NOT helping the rest of the crew set up. He was quickly told to get his butt in gear and help! Seriously? Because you are an executive, you are too good to get your hands dirty? I could have killed him! 

I met a number of executives from both countries and was asked if I was going back next week - well, to a different new Michaels that is opening next week. Oh my god --- so exciting! I may end up going - I'll see what my boss says. I'm sure she is tired of me and my crazy ideas! I know—just say no, but it's hard when it's so much fun. And no planes would be involved in this event. I'll see. The other thing is that many of those executives stopped by to make sure I was OK and to see how things were going. I know this is a new venture for them, and of course they were interested in protecting their investment, not in me personally, but it was nice to see their interest. 

My display at the Michaels store

So many consumers stopped to look and get my little explanation. They were amazed to see this little machine stitching away all on its own! I wasn't sure about using my phone for the controls, but you know what? I'm really liking that concept. I'd like a bit more time with it to really understand all the capabilities, but it was a super fun day!!!

WAIT ---- this happened a couple of times, and if you are the spouse that does this, then STOP doing it. A husband and a wife would walk by. The woman was so not interested in the sewing machine, and I totally get that - not everyone wants to sew. But the MEN were interested in the technology and wanted to stop to look. I can just hear what the women said: "That lady is just trying to sell you a machine, and I am NOT interested." For God's sake—if you want to stop and look, then stop and look. If DH did that to me, I would let him continue walking, and I would stop.

But seriously—your spouse has interests too, and you never know when something might tweak his interest. Let him look!!!!! 

They had beautiful, vibrant FELT yardage, so I got some, but it ended up taking up a ton more space than I thought. OK—I did NOT think about how much space it would take. Once I got to the airport, I had to repack, and well, it was hilarious. Most of it fit in my suitcase and backpack, but I also had to carry a small box with my display stands because it just wouldn't fit!! I'll take a picture later. 

They had those carts you can drag behind you, plus baskets, and I spotted all kinds of stuff in those baskets as they passed me by. It was totally crazy!!!! Yep -- you can have a Harry Potter village!!! 

Harry Potter village

And let's not forget the Elf on the Shelf is everywhere! I'm sure that Shirley has her out, or he is getting ready to escape??

The Elf on the Shelf

I wonder if this little clip would keep him or her under control. Not likely!!!!

Watch out!!!!

A quick note about the hotel, which I'm sure was filled with Micheals people as well as me. The shower was bizarre. The door was right by the spout, so you had to walk into the water to get into the shower. I've seen enough hotel showers to last me a lifetime, and I've only seen a smart design ONCE. But it probably cost twice as much, which is why I've never seen it again. The spout and the controls were on opposite sides of the shower. 

The doors are backward in this shower.

And if you want to make breakfast, there's a toaster and a microwave in the hallway, but don't use them at the same time, or they can shut off a breaker!! 

Breakfast anyone?

I had great intentions to work on my two presentations on Thursday evening and completely forgot. I remembered them when I was on the plane. But when I arrived home, I was exhausted, so I got up VERY early this morning. One is done; the other has all the pictures. I just need to review it to see if it makes sense!!! 

And on that note, I'm out of here. The girls are prancing as they need a walk, and they are not afraid to tell me so. 

This afternoon? I hope to get to Studio B, either to sew or to attempt to tidy up a bit. I have no idea even where to begin. I might need a nap to compensate for the very early morning. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!