On the way I spied.....

I sure wish I were playing car bingo yesterday because I saw lots of stuff on my drive to and from Cannington. 

First, I want to say that this guild is small, but it's MIGHTY. The number of quilts that came in for show and tell and were then donated to their Outreach program was astounding! 

Some members were given blocks or panels and "had" to make something from them, and they were outstanding! 

And they very warmly received me, and I had oodles of great feedback. Of course, I never seem to have business cards with me. So I now have business cards in my little pouch! 

And someone asked me if I knew anyone in the guild. I didn't, until I started speaking and spotted someone from my old guild in the audience. We had a great chat during the break! 

What did I see on my way there? The trip was a bit uneventful, but I did make some observations. Remember, I don't get out much and drive these days, so even the small things were exciting. 

• The number of times that I got an alert on the navigation system about police! Good grief! 
• Passing through a small town (Udora) where my cousin lives. And when I had looked it up on the map a couple of years ago because I had something for them, I said - that's too far out of the way to drive! So I sent it by post. 
• The devastation of the trees near Cannington. They got walloped, and some substantial branches and trees were damaged. Loads of branch debris lined up ready for pickup. 
• I arrived early and spotted an old foundry by the river with a cool stone building, and behind that was a large work area. Anyone into converting it into a massive sewing space? 
• I stopped and took a picture of the high school as one of my Monday sewing group went to high school there. 
• And I stopped to take a picture of a house where another member of the Monday group's grandparents had lived. 
• On the way home, I spotted a grass fire along the highway, and there was a ton of smoke! But traffic didn't slow down. 
• Gas prices were $121.9 a liter - they were practically giving it away!
• I had ZERO pain twinges in my leg and back. A miracle!
• It was a glorious day with blue skies and warm temperatures. 

And there you have it - my trip! I didn't get back until almost dinner time - I knew it was going to take a good chunk of the day, and that was OK. It was very fun that their meeting was in the afternoon! 

But while I was on the road, a single phone call changed something, and well, I decided to go with it. That meant that when I got home, my entire evening was spent on getting things done. More on that tomorrow. Dare I say that I'm caught up on my email? Wait -- that's not true. I'm caught up on the urgent stuff, I hope!

All the follow-ups are done, and the upcoming two significant events I'm organizing are under control. The magazines are still on the floor, and they'll stay that way for a few days.

After I got home, I shuffled off to vote. I don't know all the details this morning, but that was a close election. I'm not comfortable with that, as it could lead to a lot of infighting and a struggle to maintain power, rather than actually governing. Let's see what happens. 

These girls could have the run of the backyard for the entire day, but the walk is the most essential thing in their lives! And Miss Lexi is starting to get aggressive. She is waiting at the front door and is pushing ahead of Murphy. So that's a good and bad thing! 

MOM - we need our walk NOW!

You probably can't see in this picture, but you can. Look at that green tinge! The leaves are here, and soon the coverage will be in full bloom, and let the forest bathing begin! But even the bare trees are calming. 

The leaves are bursting out

During the Virtual Retreat, I managed to take the binding off one of the bedspreads I purchased. I'm going to make a jacket from it. It's hideous, and the batting is very puffy in some spots. But I'm going to use this as my sizing sample. And I'm also going to experiment with seam finishes, etc. So it will be perfect for that. Then, when I get things perfected, I can use one of the nicer ones and make an actual jacket that I'll wear. 

The binding is off the bedspread

I visited the thrift store the other day and spotted a few things that I might like to buy. I didn't have my wallet or my shopping bag with me, so I didn't buy anything. But look what I found!!! Yes - it seems appealing until you touch it. Can you guess what it's made of? 

Pretty to look at, but not to touch

Yep - it's Phentex! That afghan will live forever! 

I found some books that may or may not be missing from my "to be read" collection, but I'm not buying them if I already have them, so I need to do some checking before making a trip back and hoping that no one else buys them. 

Before I left in the morning, I had to collect all the quilts. It's super easy to do that since I have a PowerPoint presentation, and I used that to gather the quilts. To carry them all downstairs would be a tremendous job, so I literally tossed them over the railing. So much for the white glove treatment! Don't worry - I only do that with my quilts! 

And the two suitcases are ready to be packed. 

Packing for the presentation

In addition to those on the floor, I had this pile in the kitchen. 

More quilts to pack

And this pile in the living room. Remember, there is an ottoman underneath all that. 

And even more quilts

And they all fit into the two suitcases! I've got this process down pat. Let's say that neither of those suitcases would meet the weight restrictions on an airplane! I can barely get them in the car, but I do. 

Now to shut them - it's easy!

I also had a tote bag with some books that I used for this presentation. And I pulled one quilt off the wall that I don't like being folded up. And it would not fit anyway. Did you notice that Murphy was waiting by the door? She wanted to come! 

Ready to load the car

When I got home, I unpacked everything, and I need to take some time to put it all back on the shelf in the proper place. I also need to start sorting out what I want and don't want. 

I see Miss Lexi is enjoying the great outdoors. She slept outside all night. I swear she was in the house!

Well, the clock is ticking and I must run! The magazines are going to have to wait! 

Subconscious: You are running away from this!

Me: I am NOT! Something else came up!

Subconscious: Denial! You're in denial! 

Me: I am NOT! I didn't give one thought to those old magazines yesterday!

Subconscious: I told you so! 

Me: Take a hike! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Tips to successful decluttering

I had a blast speaking at the Durham Trillium Quilter's Guild last night! They have found a beautiful space in a funeral home! It sounds like an odd place to have a guild meeting, but there are beautiful tables and chairs, a large room, and the guarantee that funerals and visitations are worked around the guild meetings. That was my first thought—what if there is a visitation on the day of the meeting? 

I'm not in the funeral business, so I have no idea how they work that out, but it's a win-win for the space. 

Even more fun was meeting some Zoom participants and seeing that they are real people with bodies, not just floating heads! Debra and Joanne approached me at the beginning of the meeting and introduced themselves. Joanne very kindly sent me this photo when I was presenting. Thanks so much! 

That's me - presenting my Modern Quilt lecture

And I also got to meet Robynn and Kelly.

Here's the thing about Zoom: I open my calls about 30 minutes in advance with the hope of people chatting to each other and getting to know each other better. I've known all four people for several years from various Zoom calls. And you know what? I felt like I knew them last night when we chatted! 

That is the beauty of our world—Zoom has brought us closer together despite being "forced" upon us during the pandemic! 

While I drove there and back, I decided to relisten to Nobody Wants Your Sh*t by Messie Condo. It's only been a couple of weeks since I first read this book, but I decided there was a lot of stuff in it that I wanted to hear again. Oh boy! 

For those on the Monday call, we talked about hobbies we are no longer interested in but have many supplies for. I couldn't remember the term Messie used, so I used stale, but Messi called them stagnant hobbies. Yep—if you have a stagnant hobby, get rid of the supplies. You will NEVER go back to it. 

The advice in the book is outstanding, and I would highly recommend everyone read it, particularly if you are struggling to get started or dealing with some particular aspect of your life related to decluttering. One slight issue with the book is that she swears a lot. While I could keep up with a trucker if needed, I think it's excessive. The book is meant to be funny, so ignore the cursing and read the book! 

I want the checklists at the end of every chapter. They are brilliant, and I want to keep them. I'll just have to break down and buy the flipping book! Even though I probably do not need the book, I'm converted and on my way to clearing things out. 

The book is based on The Swedish Art of Death Cleaning, which you can Google to find some stuff about, including this short trailer. I think there is a TV series? I haven't watched this video, but it relates to Death Cleaning and someone cleaning their mom's home. I think we should all watch it! Shoot—I could have made some amazing videos on decluttering if I had filmed what we went through at my parents' place. 

I think there are several takeaways from all this. 

1. Do not be guilted by anyone into keeping something. I wish I had known this years ago when I sold my upright piano. My grandfather had purchased it for me, and I moved it around. I felt guilty when I sold it, but now that it's gone, I'm a happy camper. 

2. Do not feel OBLIGATED to buy or make a gift for someone. Your gifts are cluttering someone else's home unless they are consumable; think TWICE before you gift anything to anyone. And even better -- ASK them if they still want what you give them. It may sound tacky, but the relief they will get for not having another item to get rid of is a positive for everyone! Giving them a handmade gift is even worse because they will be GULTED into keeping it, which causes clutter in their house! How many quilts do your friends or family need? My daughter has two, and she politely said, "Thank you, Mom, we do not need more!" Smart kid!

If someone asked me what I would like as a gift, I would give them a few consumable items I use regularly, and everyone would be happy. But to get a candle or a book I won't read? CLUTTER. 

3. Get rid of STAGNANT hobby supplies. Pack them up and donate them to the local church, the thrift store, or wherever, but get rid of them!

4. Clothes that are ripped or torn - garbage. Donate those that do not fit, and you will NEVER fit into them again! That's so easy! And what you have left should now have breathing room in the closet. Also, consider how you want your stuff to sit in your dresser. Professional organizers, based on tips from Marie Kondo, are ridiculous. Each T-shirt is folded precisely and put on the edge so you can see what you have. Am I going to take the time to do that? The laundry would never get put away if I were to do that. REDUCE the number of T-shirts you have and wear every single one! They should fit flat in your drawer, so you don't have to spend hours keeping them pretty! 

5. You are NOT just decluttering your home. You are decluttering your soul, physical space, mental space, happiness, and very being. You are making your very short time on this earth much happier because you have LESS stuff to look at. You are 100% in control of your crap, and if you spend so much time managing it - get rid of it and enjoy life! 

6. Don't make excuses! I hear this all the time from people. If you have seasonal decorations that you can't put away, perhaps it's time to toss them. There are many other alternatives to enjoying seasonal decorations that are much easier. Think about a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree, or I have a quilt with a Christmas tree that I hang at Christmas. How much dust is on those seasonal decorations if you leave them out? And if no one comes into your house because you are embarrassed, that's a HUGE red flag, and stuff needs to go! 

7. Those odds and ends that you shouldn't be keeping but have shifted from box to box because you didn't know what to do with them. Get a garbage pail and toss them in one by one. OK - this is one area I need desperately to get to! That would empty the crap that's on the right-hand side of the desk. 

8. Media such as floppy disks and CDs/DVDs. If you watch them, great. If you don't, NO ONE ELSE is going to, as there are so many streaming services with the same material on them. Get rid of all that crap. If you have video tapes and are unsure what's on them, transfer them to a media you can read and then toss them. I took FOUR tapes in the other day. Who knows what's on them. 

9. DO NOT pawn junk off on your relatives or friends. If you have a lovely item you desperately want someone in your family to have, ASK THEM before getting your heart set on them having it. Perhaps they do not want your stamp collection, favorite blouse, or whatever. If they want it, why not give it to them NOW instead of waiting until you're gone? If they don't want the item, think about getting rid of it NOW! Do NOT guild them into taking it. Guilt is a HUGE part of the clutter issue. 

10. COMMUNITATION is KEY. During this entire process, be sure to ASK. Ask for help, but if you ask for help in decluttering, get a NON-sentimental person to help you. Do NOT ask an enabler to help you, as they will just encourage you to keep the crap, and your goal is to get rid of it. Ask people if they still want gifts, ask people if they want your crap, ask people if they will help. But NEVER assume. NEVER NEVER NEVER!!!

Why are those steps so necessary? Because this is YOUR SHORT LIFE that is being ruined by crap. Some of you will say - "I like living with clutter." Messie would say that you are TOO LAZY to deal with it, so you come up with an excuse! I would be more polite but take charge of your life, health, and space. Deal with it now! Baby steps, but you have to start!

11. Here's another KEY STEP to decluttering. STOP BUYING. Stop buying just for the sake of buying. How many of us used retail therapy to get through a difficult time and are now dealing with the aftermath? 

A couple of quilters in the city's east end have recently passed, and this happens ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. They had massive stashes. Now, some very dedicated friends are spending a lot of time trying to get rid of the fabric. The money is being used to offset expenses. This is just the TIP OF THE ICEBERG of what those friends are dealing with. 

A small part of an excessive stash

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE -- deal with the CRAP (and excess fabric now). Your children and friends each have their own lives, and they SHOULD NOT have to be dealing with your crap. You bought it - you acquired it - you deal with it. 

Now, having said all that, if you have something you treasure, then GET IT OUT and admire it or use it every day. But if you treasure something stored in the attic, you do not treasure it!

Last night, when I got home, I had to find a new quilt to put on the duvet cover as the previous one was in my suitcase of quilts parked inside the front door. You know what? That made me smile! So before I give any of my quilts away, as I plan to do later this year, I will sleep with each one for at least a week before it leaves my house. That way, I had the joy of making it, and now I'll have the pleasure of using it, and then it goes. But having it over the back of a couch - I don't get to appreciate what I created. Laying it out on the top of the bed? I can see the entire quilt, making me smile every time I walk into the bedroom. And YES -- I will never make another bed quilt again - seeing the whole lap quilt on the top of the bed is AMAZING!

Well, I'm off on an adventure today—a long adventure—but I'm pretty excited about it, so I'd better get myself together as I have a train to catch. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

A digital hoarder

OH --- so I perhaps found part of the issue with my email. Someone had mentioned it before, and someone mentioned it in the comments the other day. 

I don't have the pictures to share with you this morning, but here's what happened. I did a disk cleanup -- somewhere on my computer, I found that, and it cleared up maybe one GB. That's nothing -- I need gobs of space.

So, I went into the SENT folder in my email. Hmmm  --- I figured out how to sort them by size and got a chuckle. The first category that came up was HUGE (10 - 25 MB). Yep -- that's what the computer categorized it as. That's hilarious. 

And here's what has been happening over the years—yes, I know years! Do people clean out that folder? I know some of you do, but I don't usually. I've been saved in the past by being able to prove that I sent something. The same goes for the files in that IMPORTANT folder. I found very useful information there as well. Things I deleted elsewhere were in the important folder. 

But I started looking at what was in the sent folder, and OK— there were a "few" emails in there. I manually deleted some in that HUGE category, and can you believe that I deleted 25 GB of data? My email is now only using 75 GB of space, NOT 106. But I'm not done yet. 

I've tried to do a general delete in that folder, but it doesn't seem to work. Do I have to manually delete all the messages? I didn't have much time yesterday to play around with it, but at least I have space, and my computer should be much happier. 

Here's what causes the problem -- let's say that I send a message with a 10 MB attachment to someone. It saves that one message in the sent folder. If I send that same message with a 10 MB attachment to a group of 20 people, it saves the message TWENTY times. So, with all the group emails in the last couple of years and sending them my files, the space got eaten up!!! I doubt any of you will ever come close to having that same issue!

I'm unsure if there are any more HUGE files in that folder or if they are now only VERY LARGE (5 MB - 10 MB). Yep -- again, that is the terminology that GMAIL assigns these messages, which is hilarious. Now that I know, I may go in and delete those messages but keep the rest? I don't know. I just need to empty it for the moment. 

So when I get home again, I'll be able to tackle that folder once more and try to get rid of all those messages with attachments. OK -- I'll just empty the folder, but like I said, I can't just delete the contents as it seems to reach a limit and then stops. So, it may take several deletes to completely empty the folder. Then I'll check again to see how much space that freed up. Then, I still need to go through the inbox and delete more messages! I think I'm good with all the subfolders. I've gotten rid of quite a bit of stuff. 

I guess you could call me a digital hoarder! I collect stuff and don't even know that it's there until I hit a wall! 

Yes, I'm not home again! But this time, it's only a couple of hours by car. I spoke at the Georgian Bay Guild last night, and I'm doing a workshop today. Then I'll be home and no travel for a few weeks. Yeah!!!

Poor Murphy was beside herself yesterday. She was clingy and didn't know what to do with herself because there was no one to share the front window with her! What? Why are the stairs gone? Where's the little guy? And then, when I got the suitcases out to pack the quilts, she was even worse! What is happening? What about me? 

Lexi? She couldn't care less! 

But it was nice when I walked them in the morning because I was in the house before 9 AM, and both dogs had had their long walk. Yeah, high Maintenance—he was high maintenance!!!

Other than packing my quilts and the workshop supplies and reading a book, I didn't really do much. Gosh, all this traipsing around is exhausting. 

I keep forgetting to mention two things. YES, there is a virtual retreat this weekend. It'll be on Saturday evening and Sunday starting at noon. I'll put the links in tomorrow when it's easier. I don't have a mouse right now to cut and paste. How lame is that? 

Secondly, I have a REAL retreat at Springhouse (near New Hamburg), which is a beautiful facility. If anyone is interested in attending for a day or two or all five days, let me know, as I have a few spots open. The dates are May 17 - 22 . Send me an email if you are interested. elainetheriault@gmail.com

No one should be afraid to send me an email for fear of clogging up my space when it's the emails I send that are doing the job. But I now have LOADS of space, and I'm not done yet!!!

Well, I guess I should get myself together. I'm staying at a beautiful house on Balm Beach! I've been here before as when Kim originally bought the house, she used it as a quilt retreat house, and I stayed here twice before. I should get my butt in gear and walk down to the beach, but I don't think I have time for that. Yep -- I'm becoming a slug for sure!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

How to write a novel

I often wonder what it would be like to write a novel, as I can quickly crank out words - I do it daily for the blog, but each entry is completely unrelated. There's no character development to manage (well, maybe Murphy and Lexi), but there's no plot line to abide by and no details to pay attention to. 

I'm also good at writing blog posts for QUILTsocial, but they probably don't make sense to anyone. At least the first draft! I cranked out 1,600 words this morning, but it needs significant editing before I can hit send! That could be how the novelists do it -- they write out a lot of gibberish and hope that something transpires from it all, and after so many days - they have a book! 

The bottom line is that I'm progressing on those commitments and deadlines. I will have to find a way to get them done. They cannot slip, so I'll have to find the time to complete them. I have a relatively easy day today -- only one Zoom call this evening, and I believe the presentation is ready. I'll check it this morning to make sure. But that leaves the entire day to write and sew. 

And here's one thing to note as it came up in my memories last night on Facebook. I've been wondering about my current desktop computer. It's getting old, but how old? Apparently, it's NINE years old -- it's practically an antique in the world of computers. But I love it. I was thinking of taking it in for a tune-up and to check the memory. But I don't have time for that right now, so maybe in a couple of weeks. I know -- it's best to do it while I'm away, but who has time to do that when prepping is of the utmost urgency. 

My computer was bought nine years ago

There is no "computer" - just a screen, and I LOVE it. I still think I need two monitors, but this desk has no room. One day, the office will be clean enough to rearrange the furniture, but that's NOT a priority right now. 

I was off to speak at a guild last night. And I should have mentioned the name of the guild. DRAT --- Anyway -- it was the Niagara Heritage Quilt Guild. Oh my goodness, they were a very helpful group, and they had my suitcases in and out of the car before I could even say boo! Thanks so much to Pat and all the helpers!!!

But first, I had to pack. A certain someone was NOT happy to see those suitcases out. She plunked herself right in the middle of the packing, and I swear she would jump in if she could fit! She was very happy when I returned last night. 

MOM -- are you leaving again? Don't go!

But there I am with two giant suitcases and a bag of quilts. It was so much fun to get out and speak in front of a guild, and they had to cancel their last two meetings because of the weather, so we were all happy to be out. 

Thanks again to the Niagara Heritage Quilt Guild for hosting me! I had a blast. 

Packed for a guild presentation

As I was waiting for the meeting to begin, I always take a peek around the room. Oh my -- a FREE table and I spotted this giant bag of half-square triangles. I took a picture and chuckled, but I wasn't tempted -- not one bit. I noticed someone picked up the bag! 

Free half-square triangles

I spotted a bunch of AQ magazines from the last couple of years, so I grabbed a couple and browsed while waiting for the meeting to start. Oops - one of them got slipped into my bag! 

Free magazines!

But this brought back memories. Does anyone remember the liquid embroidery paints? Yep -- Tri-Chem and Artex! Holy!!! Who knew this stuff was still around. 

Instructions for using liquid embroidery

Anyway, FIVE large tablecloths were waiting for someone to pick them up. They were still waiting on the table when I left. This is a reminder that if you have stuff like this around --- you had better think of getting rid of it or using it! Are those paints still around? 

Liquid embroidery tablecloth

Those paints were a total pain because the tubes would dry up around the tips and were horrible to unclog. 

I'm trying very hard to clear my space and hope to find some fabric to walk to Diane's house, as I know she has run out. I hate to do anything quickly, but I might need a mental break later today. Too bad I couldn't go to the Etobicoke Quilt Show today! 

Anyway --- remember the Etobicoke Quilt Show is happening this weekend. March 24 and 25. It's always a great show, and there is loads of stuff there. Good thing I can't go -- they have thousands of used books (OK -- so about ONE thousand), and I'd be in there like a dirty shirt, and I do NOT need more books. But some older books that most people do not want are the BEST. 

There are NO new techniques -- just old ones revised, and sometimes the older books are better as the technique is better explained -- not some crazy way of doing the old stuff, just to make it new. 

And it's Virtual Retreat this weekend. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to participate as I have so much work to do, and some of it involves being in front of a computer. I'm good, but I can't do Zoom and make presentations simultaneously! But I'll be there as much as possible. 

Here are the links

Saturday, March 25  -- Starts at 6 PM EST

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89254233911?pwd=VGQrTnFybW1HMWpleHA4M2Q2NGVwZz09 Meeting ID: 892 5423 3911 Passcode: 982797

Sunday, March 26 -- Starts at NOON EST

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86119598156?pwd=ZDFxcElxS0NmeTRjczdSR2FXd3N2Zz09

Meeting ID: 861 1959 8156
Passcode: 053861

I had a great drive to and from the event last night. Oh boy --- I can see that I don't get out much in the car! I see changes in my neighborhood, outside my walking range! But I don't care! And when I got home, it was warm and dry -- almost like a summer night! Yeah!!! Could the worst be over? Where's that egg chair? 

I'm off to walk the dogs and then hit the computer to start a major rewrite of that blog post!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

My BIG Adventure

A HUGE thank you to the Stratford Quilter's Guild for letting me be their guest speaker last night. It was so weird to be standing in front of a group of people and showing physical quilts! And I got to meet someone I hadn't seen in a LONG, LONG time, so we had a few minutes to catch up.  Hello Miriam - so good to see you last night. And I got to meet someone new. Well, not exactly new, since I met Pat on Zoom and feel like I know her very well. But I got to meet her in person! Good morning Pat!

I will say that it's a bit weird because there are no snacks, no coffee, nothing is laid out on the tables. It's a pretty austere meeting, but let me say that the show and tell by the members more than made up for that. The show and tell was incredible. I didn't take pictures; I didn't think it was my place. But the quilts and other projects were amazing. And it's nice to know that some other people are obsessed as well as myself! 

So a huge thank you again -- that was a breath of fresh air to be back out in the real world!

I left a bit earlier than I needed to because I thought I could do a couple of geocaches in that area before I needed to be at the meeting. It was a gloomy day, and there was rain (or mist) on and off. I got partway there and realized that it would be too dark to geocache by when I arrived. So I stopped along the way, and I lucked out! Despite the mist (rain), the temperature was glorious. I didn't need an umbrella for my little adventure. 

I found the first cache. And this is a FIRST for me. I've heard of these little caches, but I'd never seen one. Very clever. 

The geocache container

And when you open up that "bolt," the logbook is inside. OK -- so I need to start taking the proper tools to make removing and replacing those log books a bit easier!

The logbook

I was in a beautiful spot that I'd never been to before. I have been to New Hamburg before, but I'd never been to this park. I decided to see what else was close by. OH -- there's an Adventure Lab (part of geocaching and is like a bit of a treasure hunt). OH MY -- it started exactly where I was standing. How could I say no to that one? 

There is a series of murals in New Hamburg, and I was off to tour them. The following two pictures are the ones on the bandstand. 

Murals in New Hamburg

Murals in New Hamburg

These murals depict all the activities that take place in this park. Well, have a look at the first one on the left. 

A QUILT mural

YES -- that's a quilt! This is where the Mennonite Relief Sale happens. I've never been to that event, but they have raised many, many dollars for their cause. That was so cool to bump into this. The wonders of geocaching! You never know where you are going to end up!

So two of the five questions were in this area. Then it was time to walk. I had to walk downtown to find three more murals. All very interesting. 

The Firehall mural

The next thing I knew, I was beside the river, so I had to stroll over to have a look. WOW  -- this was a beautiful spot. 

The Nith River

This is the Nith River. 

A plaque for the river

By now, I had answered all five questions, and I was done! I had enough points for the month!! And right now, that's my goal -- reach the number of points necessary to get the badge for the month and leave the rest for the following month. Note the time -- it was 5 PM, and it was too dark to do anything else, so I headed back to the car. 

Points needed for the month - DONE

On my way back, I "had" to walk by the quilt store in New Hamburg. Even though it was open, I didn't go in. I had no money and no mask, so I couldn't go in even if I wanted to. That's the thing about the mask -- sometimes, you might just pop in to browse, but no - you need to make sure you have a mask! That's an excellent way to save money!

Hearth N Home quilt store

As I was packing up the suitcases in the afternoon, I discovered something, and I've no idea how it got there. Wait a minute! There's a ruler in the pocket of this suitcase. I'm not missing any rulers, and it's a 6" by 14", which I've never owned. Does it have a label? Have I been hoarding someone's ruler? Have I become my mother?

A ruler in the suitcase

There WAS a label on the ruler. But what a shock when I saw the name. 

That's NOT my ruler

It belongs to the woman who has passed, and I made the Double Wedding Ring quilt for her daughter. Seriously??? Her daughter had given me most of Paula's tools when cleaning out her mother's house. Most of the tools were donated to others, but for whatever reason, this ruler got stuck in my suitcase. I have zero memory of this. 

I meant to take a better picture of my two giant suitcases, but here they were as I was packing up. 

Two suitcases filled with quilts

OK -- so I haven't had to lug a HUGE and HEAVY suitcase in a while. How does one load those giants in the car? Oh yes -- an extra lift with the leg helps! 

Before I went anywhere yesterday, I had to fill up my car as I was pretty much driving on fumes. Good grief -- this is the MOST I've ever put in my car and the most expensive! Well, I must have paid more than that at some point because while our gas is 141.9 a liter, it's been more costly in the past. 

Filling up at the gas station

Another reason I left early yesterday was to not get stuck in the traffic. There are two sections of the 401 that they are widening, and the construction is totally crazy. They were still working last night when I passed at 10 PM. The sad thing about this is that it doesn't matter how many lanes of traffic there are; if drivers do not know how to merge and drive properly, there will always be traffic issues. Yes - I get that volume can be troublesome, but it's a lot due to the drivers!

And what was with the police last night? As I got off the highway and approached an underpass on the major street to get home, there were at least a dozen if not more police cars on both sides of the road. Lights ablaze! I was going to turn around, but then they seemed to be letting people through. They were checking some cars and not others. Hmmm..............

When I did finally arrive home, I thought - oh shoot, I didn't feel my FitBit buzz at my daily goal for the day (11.5 KM), and I did not have time for a real walk. Yes - I went geocaching, but that wasn't a very long walk, or was it? I was shocked when I looked at my Fitbit to see that I had clocked almost 14 KM in the day. 

I guess that was all the running around packing and prepping that I had done during the day! Yikes!!! 

Well, that's good. And now I'm just over 300 KM to get to Signal Hill in St. John's. Wow -- the days are marching fast!!!

So a bit of sad news in the quilt world. Does anyone remember the Infinite Variety: Three Generations of Red and White Quilts held in New York City in 2011?    It was a gift to Joanna S. Rose from her husband. He arranged to have her entire collection of red and white quilts hung in a FREE show. I kick myself that I never got my butt to NYC to see this. That was a once-in-a-lifetime show. Well, she apparently has passed.  You can read all about her life. That's very sad. I did buy the book, but it's not the same as having been to that show. 

Well, that's it for me. I have three presentations today, and all of them are ready to go! I polished off the last one this morning. One day at a time -- that's how I'm rolling this week and next! 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Baby - it's COLD!!!!

 I confess that my mornings are so routine, you could set the clock by me. Well, almost. But once 9:00 AM arrives and the chores are done for the morning, the rest of the day is crazy! 

Yesterday, I presented my Group Quilts presentation to the Kanata Quilt Guild. What a fun guild, and they are HUGE - there were over 160 people on the call! They seem to have taken to Zoom, like a duck to water. They were great!!! So much fun, and I've got an excellent record of ALL of the group quilts I own. There is probably a raffle quilt or two that didn't make the presentation, but that's OK. 

Next week, I'm doing two presentations for scrap quilts. I'll have to dig out the information so you could sign up as a guest if you're not a member, or you could pass my name to your guild, and they could hire me to do the presentation for your guild. 

OH -- I forgot to mention that the latest issue of A Needle Pulling Thread is now available, and I've got an amazing article in the magazine. Can you tell by looking at the pictures which face I used?? 

Table of Contents for the current issue of A Needle Pulling Thread

Here's the link to the magazine webpage so you can see a preview of the magazine. It's not expensive to buy, loads of great ideas. 

Speaking of pianos, look what I found online. An idea to convert your old piano to a sewing desk. I'd change it up a wee bit more, but it's a start. 

A piano made into a sewing desk

I sorted through that pile of paper from the box. Oh boy --- what treasures I'm finding. There's that darn blood pressure card that I lost so long ago. I put it in my purse so whenever I can get back, I can use it again! I don't have high blood pressure - quite the opposite. I'm on the very bottom of normal. 

My blood pressure monitoring card

I found the receipt for an order I placed for novelty fabric from eQuilter.com. That was my thing for a while - I NEEDED to buy all kinds of novelty fabric. I have boxes of the darn stuff. I need some material with keys on it, and well, I have to dig the boxes out and sort through them to find that. I'm sure there is fabric in there. At least, it's all in one spot, and it's neat and tidy, and I no longer have to jump over the baskets in the stash room. 

An old order for novelty fabric

Oh boy - a notice from the library for an overdue fine for M. How can one accumulate a fine that high?? 

An overdue notice from the library

A receipt from a local running store (now closed or moved). I tried to take up running at one point but didn't remember the date. Look - that was in 2006. I'm not a runner, so I didn't last too long, and I gave all my running stuff to someone. 

Receipt for running gear

My boarding pass from when I flew home after my cross Canada cycle trip. 

An old boarding pass

An order for pizza for the group on the cross Canada cycle trip. I know -- why??? 

Pages and pages of a group pizza order

And there's Mator!!! I found him on a shelf. Sadly, he's in the garbage. Do I need this? No - it seemed like a cute idea at the time, but I'm over it. OK - I might move him to the giveaway box. They do sell bags of this stuff at the thrift stores. He's happier now that he's moved. 

Mator

I even dug out a second handful of paper and went through part of that yesterday. And there's a new stack on the floor for this morning. I hope that M appreciates all that I'm doing for her. She may not realize the mess that she's not going to have to deal with. 

Someone commented yesterday on the blog about finding "treasures" in old estates. Drawers filled with old, rusted, twisted bread ties. Why?? My Mom used to save them. She probably still saves the plastic clips. Even though they are in a lovely apartment, she has managed to make it junky. And I'm sure the drawers are filled with stuff. Thankfully, she can't reach the top shelves in the kitchen, and they are totally free of stuff!!! 

Right after my presentation, I was off on a long meeting for work. And then prepping for another presentation in the evening. So I didn't get too much sewing done. I did manage to get a bit more paper piecing done. Slow and steady - that's me these days - I'm the turtle. Remember what happened to the hare - that used to be me!  

My paper piecing station

Here's another reason I love Zoom. Last night my presentation was in Northern Ontario, where the temperate was COLD. Look at that: -24 without the wind chill. BRRRRRR!!!!

The group laughed when I told them what the temperature was here. Positively balmy in comparison!!!

And when I finished the presentation, I didn't have to pack up the suitcase of samples and head out to a cold car. That was a nice feeling!!  I know what -24 is, and it's cold!

I see it's going to be another day for flannel lined pants! 

On that note, I'm out of here. WAIT!!  What's your assignment for today? Let's get back to the sewing room. What about your scissors? Are they all in one place? If not - that's your mission today. Find a home for them and get them all together! You must have a nice container/box of some sort. 

Have a super day and stay warm!!!

Ciao!!!

Loads of fun!

I'm so not good at letting you know where I am and what I'm doing. I'm not sure why - I must try to be more open about that in the future.

Last night, I was the guest speaker at the Paris Bee Quilters in Paris, Ontario. As I drove through the downtown, I remembered that I'd had lunch with my friend Robin years ago and we shopped in the little shops along the street. Last night, the downtown area was decorated to the nines for Christmas.

What a FUN night. The topic was modern quilts and I had filled my giant suitcase (not the traveling by plane suitcase - this one is even bigger!) with modern quilts that I had made. Hmm - as I did the presentation, I realized that almost all the modern quilts are my own design. Funny - I have tons of patterns and while I do make quilts from patterns, it appears that most or none of them are finished.

Doing a guild presentation can be a bit scary although I don't let that bother me anymore. But you never know the crowd. Well, this group is a FUN group. They asked tons of questions which made me go way over the time limit, but we were having fun.

Then they did their own show n tell. OH MY. It was amazing and they had a challenge which I didn't catch all the rules, but it sounds like they were to take a panel and do something with it. What a totally creative idea. I swear - even though the guild members think they walked away from the meeting as the winners (in terms of learning something new), I walk away with way more than they do! So THANKS for the lessons.

I was on the opposite side of the room to take some decent pictures, but I think they'll get posted on their Facebook page. Then the class results from a recent workshop were presented. They had used the Sew Kind of Wonderful Ruler - the mini one. I was totally blown away by the number of finished projects. I was holding someone's project so they could get a picture. I wanted to count how many finished projects there were, but it was a LOT. Way to go ladies - that's awesome. Thye made the tree pattern which is a free giveaway at that link above.

Speaking of links - I goofed yesterday when I added in the link to the Catalog Living blog. I changed the blog post yesterday (thanks to Torry for alerting me to that) and here's the link again.

I did manage to take a picture of the quilts that came in for their Community Projects. Holy - there were a lot of quilts and I think more were placed on the table after the show n tell. This is a great way for quilters to give back to the community. And it's a great way to DESTASH. It's a great way to finish UFOs in your house and get rid of a quilt. All around, it's a WIN-WIN-WIN.

Quilts for Community Projects

The other thing I noticed was the little zippered pouches. Those were also being donated to the Community Projects. Imagine getting a colorful little pouch when you have nothing. You can put toys in it, toiletries or any number of other things.

On top of that, I got this beautiful thank-you card. Not sure who made it, but it's a handmade card and I love it.

Handmade card

So a HUGE welcome to anyone from the Paris Bee Quilters who decided to stop by and see what my blog is all about. OH - I should mention that there'll be a quilt show next year, so we need to watch for those details.

I also committed to the group something - I won't share it with you at this point, but let's just say that all that extra time in December? I just filled it!!

Before packing and leaving, I had work to do. I had a small make-up class for someone who missed one of my classes two weeks ago. We got everything squared away and that was good.

I finished this drawstring gift bag. Isn't it just the best? Seriously - these are so simple to make, but if you don't know how - well, I'll be teaching a class at Oh Look Fabric TOMORROW evening. Get yourself signed up. I've decided to take my serger along - maybe - as it's even faster with the serger and all the edges in the bag are finished and they look beautiful.

Reuseable gift bag

This is a great way to use up fabric - HUGE amounts of fabric. If you can't make the class, here's a link to the free pattern.    Hmmm - this pattern was written by ME, but I see that Northcott took my name off it. Pretty cheeky if you ask me. I know that they did add one paragraph and a picture, but the rest of the words are mine. Heck - the format is mine. They've been good to me, so I'm going to let it go, but seriously????

NO - I decided to not let it go. I wrote a letter to the culprit and the President. I know they will just roll their eyes and call me an idiot and nothing will happen, but there is way too much copyright violation going on and for a company to be the culprit - I can't accept that.

I'm happy to say that the picture above is the RIGHT picture if you follow the instructions. The picture on the pattern isn't even the right picture. It's complicated, but I made the sample in the picture (from gray fabric so any new fabric could be mapped in place) and I was pressed for time. Have a look at the cording - it's not the same as above. Oh well - there are other things to worry about than this. But this makes me even more determined to follow through on what I talked to the quilting group last night.

I wonder how many other patterns on that website were changed ever so slightly so they could take my name off. I don't have time to check, but it irks me.

I got one more quilt quilted for Quilts of Valour. Well, not completed, but the quilting is done.

Quilts of Valour quilt - done

So here's a very important lesson. I was running around trying to get things accomplished yesterday. I had two gift bags to make. I threaded the serger - super easy. On my other serger, I would never dream of changing thread color on the fly, but the air threading is a dream. Should I do a test? No need. So I just serged up the edges of that gift bag. Oh shoot - this isn't looking right. What's the matter? This is supposed to be super easy. Well, after a bit of puttering around, I decided to rethread. OH - the lower looper thread was behind the bar, not in front of it. Totally my mistake. But I'm very excited that that happened. Why?

Well, if I did it when I was in a hurry, guess what? A customer will do it as well. Now I can tell them very quickly how to fix the problem. I love mistakes!!!  One more piece of knowledge in my brain that's almost filled to capacity.

Speaking of learning, I was chatting with my parents yesterday. Oh god - I'm just like my mother.

"Hey, Mom - what are you working on these days?" My Mom almost always has some craft thing on the go.
"Oh, I don't have time to make things these days."
"Why is that, Mom?"
 "I've got my nose in a book and I can't put it down".

My Mom was never a huge reader, but she did read. I said she's going to need a library card. Oh - they could never do that. They are so afraid of anything they don't know about.

In chatting to my Dad, he arrived home early from "work". He volunteers at the local Museum. Five days a week, from 8 - 4:30. EVERY DAY!!!  He's 86. He'd work at the museum 7 days a week if they'd let him, so he has to taken Monday to Friday. He plays in the machine shop making stuff like missing tractor parts that they can no longer buy and fixing stuff for the museum as well as making stuff for himself.

Last night, he was going to continue his learning about CNC (and CAD/CAM)  technology which is used in 3-D printing, routers, embroidery machines, plasma cutters, long arm quilting machines, etc. And he was also trying to find a new security camera that operates through the internet. Don't ask!

So you see why I'm like I am?? It's all my parents' fault. So even though I "hated" living at home as a child, I have pretty cool parents that instilled the love of reading, learning, and high levels of curiosity. I'm grateful to them for that.

Here's one more picture that I took at the guild last night. This caught my eye as the owner walked in the door. This is the Mondo bag pattern. Some people call it a schlep bag. But she had collected bits and pieces of wool (from items she purchased at the thrift store) and made her winter bag. Then she used bright pieces of cotton and made the summer version. I thought that was a brilliant idea! See how easy it is to customize a pattern and make it your own???

Summer and winter versions of the Mondo bag

Today is going to be another crazy day. It's Sit n Sew at my house. We'll be seven if everyone comes. I can't wait. I don't have anything urgent to sew and I hope to finish that community project quilt that was on the wall. You don't want to see the corner of Studio B. It's a bit piled up with stuff - there are quilts to trim and bind and a few other things that I was working on. It appears that I need a total confined area for "dumping". But then I need to keep things moving through that area so it doesn't get too crazy. I'm working on how I can make that happen. Things have a home, but not the immediate working on them right now projects.

Have a super day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!