A GOOD NEWS day!

Oh my goodness — everyone was in such a chatty mood last night, it was hard to get a word in edgewise! But that is great! We had some fantastic discussions, and I always learn a great deal from them. Remember, the Virtual Retreat starts today at 3 PM. Pushing back that start time is another way for me to recover some time for myself! I can always open the call earlier if people want, but I won't be there until three. 

I'm getting back into the swing of things, only to have my schedule turned upside down again in the coming days. But that's OK - the important thing is to work when I'm motivated and relax guilt-free when I'm not! 

I laughed when I wrote today's blog title. I mean MY good news. Is there ever any good news in the real news of the world these days? I'm not sure. 

But let's have a look at my good news. OK - my socks look very geeky at that height, but you can see my new hiking shoes. I LOVE them. They were a bit roomy when I first put them on, which is good because I'll be wearing thicker socks and possibly double socks in them on the hike. But as my feet warmed up, they were just fine! 

Hoka hiking shoes

It just goes to show that your feet expand, and I'll never wear shoes that are too tight again! A big lesson was learned on the Camino. I should have known better, but I digress. 

The other thing I LOVE about those shoes is the Quick-Toggle lacing system. At first, the shoes felt very loose, but then I tightened them up using the elastic laces, and oh my goodness, this is amazing. Everything that I was skeptical about proved me wrong. 

Would it be easy to get my foot in the shoe? YES -- just slide the slider down, the shoe opens up as if it had laces, and my foot went in like Cinderella's glass slipper. Then pull up the laces and slide up the slider; voilà — nice and tight. I LOVE the system and will definitely incorporate that into all my shoes going forward! I will see if I can find the lacing system online and buy a couple to put in my other shoes. 

And they said "old" dogs can't learn new tricks!!!!

Speaking of old dogs, I don't consider my dogs old, but they are certainly older. And it's hot, but not unbearable in the house, although the humidity level is high due to the rain yesterday. Murphy is good to sleep downstairs, where the dehumidifier is working effectively. But poor Lexi, with her big fur coat that I am constantly brushing off her, has some issues. 

Here is a dog who is very skittish about anything, and look at her. I think we need to turn on the AC to remove the humidity for her. Last night, when DH went to bed, he turned her small black fan off! Why??? I turned it on, and that's where I found her this morning. I'm not even going there! 

MOM - that black fan is mine - right? 

Even though it's hot outside, they are never lacking in enthusiasm when it's time for a walk. They both want to go at the same time, and that isn't happening at our house! 

MOM - I'm first, right? 

And can you tell me why Miss Lexi loves bushes? It's not enough to sniff them from afar, but she has to get right into the bush to get a good sniff. I suspect she likes the feeling of the leaves on her coat and might love a rubbing post! 

MOM - I love walking in the bushes! 

And when DH leaves, they flock to the window to see the action! Silly girls. 

MOM - where's Dad going? 

Yesterday was a day of finding things. First, here is the thing I saw at the hardware store that I didn't know I needed. A pantry moth trap! Yes -- we have an infestation of the pests, and I've cleaned and washed the pantry and kitchen shelves and drawers; thankfully, the infestation has lessened considerably. But we still get them occasionally, and it drives me mad. I just checked and there isn't a single moth in either trap, but I haven't seen one flying around or stuck on the wall either. 

Pantry moth traps

Then I needed to find my new fitness tracker. I knew I bought one and I put it in a safe place, but where was that? Then at last, I spotted it under the small shelf right beside the computer, so I must get that organized. Now, why couldn't I see that small box on the bottom right when I was looking for it before? I think I was looking for a larger box. But no worries - I have it, and all I need to do now is pair my current FitBit to the new phone, grab the data, and then switch over. 

The missing fitness tracker

However, something unusual happened with the Fitbit. Although it hasn't synced with the phone for the fitness numbers, I'm still receiving notifications from my phone on it. Could you please explain why that is happening? It just started sending me notifications while I was away last week. Speaking of notifications, I've turned almost all of them off on my phone. Good grief - I don't need to hear that constant pinging! People are too addicted to that ping, and it drives me mad! 

The other thing I found yesterday was the cell phone holder for the tripod. I had taken it off for some reason, but do you think I could find it? Nope -- gone. I searched where it should have been, and it wasn't there. And not on any of the three tripods. That sucks, and I was going to buy a new one. Then, as I sat at my computer last night during the Virtual Retreat, I glanced to the left and there it was. Black, like the stand my laptop sits on, and I couldn't see it! Yeah!!!!! It's now on the tripod! 

Cell phone holder for the tripod!

I still haven't found the plastic templates I'm looking for, and I really thought I should give it a try last night, but I didn't. Perhaps, today, I'll look in the two other spots where I think it might be. 

Speaking of being efficient with errands, I had a list of things I needed from the drugstore and some questions for the pharmacist. I got my questions answered. While they can supply and administer the two remaining shots I want, I have to get a prescription for both. Crap -- maybe if I can call the doctor on Monday, it can be done on Friday. I hate that we have to VISIT the doctor for something like that, and hopefully I can persuade her to do it even if I don't come in. 

I got the other items on my list and came home, only to realize that I missed buying one thing! Crap! I should have made a list, but I didn't think I needed a list. Obviously, I did. But then I already had five things on the list, and DH added one more, and that bumped one thing from my head. FARCE!!!!!

I spotted this detergent while waiting to pay! Everything is an inspiration for a quilt. Actually, this reminded me of the Postcards from Sweden quilt. 

Laundry detergent inspiration

We have lucked out with our backyard. There seems to be something blooming constantly. Here are the two flowering shrubs that are currently in bloom. 

Pink morning glory

White morning glory

I'm not sure if there is anything else to bloom. I think this is it. Our lilies in the pond didn't seem to last too long this year, or maybe I missed it all. Next year, I want to stay home and enjoy the backyard more! 

I finally got this quilt quilted. It's been in the "to be quilted" pile for probably 20 years or more! I know. It's not dated at all, and I have kept pulling this quilt out to use for trunk shows. I won't have to do that any longer. I've crossed it off my master list of "to be quilted" quilts, and it needs to be trimmed and have the binding put on. This is NOT the panel. I cut and pieced that thing! Which got me started on a long and costly journey of collecting novelty prints. 

My I Spy quilt - quilted! 

I have another UFO that I'm working on. These are not official UFOs for the UFO club, but I might substitute these ones for what I put on the list. Anyway, there's a long story behind this quilt. It was a group quilt, and I had shuffled it around for eons. I had the top done, but I wanted to do more with the top, but it never happened. It's going to be at the Buckhorn show in September, so I figured I had better get to work on it. Some of the quilts at the show will be new, and some will not. But you need to come and see WHY I chose those quilts for the show. There is a theme!!

Thankfully, after meeting my friend last week, who participated in this group project, I remembered that I had made a book for the quilt, and I remembered during our discussion where the book was. It was right where it was supposed to be, but I had forgotten about the book. But I laughed when I saw the cover. There are TWO notes on saying, "the finished quilt pix goes here!"

I suppose a picture of the finished quilt would be appropriate here. 

I took a look at the book to determine the date we worked on this. OMG!!!!!

OHHHHHHH

TWENTY-FIVE years ago!!! That's bad!!! The quilt is still current (no dated fabrics), and I'm anxious to complete it. I even found a label in the book with the signature of each participant. WOW!!!!! 

I was about to press the quilt top when I remembered the temporary hangers on the quilt. For anyone who remembers this far back, I really wanted this quilt to hang in the Mississauga Quilters' Guild quilt show many years ago. I would say that was 2004 or 2005 when I was the show convener. The quilt never got quilted, but I hung the quilt top. I'm sure many guild members were mortified! I didn't care. 

Temporary quilt hangers for a quilt top!

So I made the backing yesterday and loaded it on the long arm. When I went to press the quilt top, I discovered that several appliqués were fused on, but not stitched. Hmmm - can I live with those appliqués not stitched in place? I could have, but I didn't want to, so last night during the virtual retreat, I appliquéed two shapes. I found another smaller one, so I did that as well. 

Stitching the appliqué in place

As I scoured the quilt top, I discovered FIVE more appliqués with no stitching. DRAT!!!!! So last night, I grabbed the five thread colors I would need and left them out. I've already stitched two of the shapes this morning, while the other machine did embroidery, and all is good. I'll easily complete the remaining three this morning, and I might even get it quilted today. I'll share the top with you, but you'll hear a lot more about this quilt later on. 

Thread colors for appliqué

Between the embroidery and the appliqué, I have many boxes of thread piled on the table. I LOVE these storage boxes for thread. When I want a color, I grab a box. I can't imagine having my thread in a drawer or cabinet where it couldn't be removed. That's not efficient in my books. But we each work to our own agenda. 

Some of my thread boxes

The big topic of discussion last night was the towel on the ironing surface! When I first spotted that at a quilt retreat on their ironing surfaces, I thought the owner was trying to protect her ironing covers. But NO --- this is the best discovery in the pressing world! 

A beach towel on an ironing surface

You want a beach towel with no ribbing or fancy stuff on it! I would love to find a plainer one because I often take pictures on the ironing board, but no worries! Bright it is! And it looks way more cheerful than the stained one that was there. However, I think I'll try to wash that stained one today. Just to see what happens. It is just a canvas cover that is NOT attached to the pad. 

At some point, I'd like to add elastic to the corners of the towel to prevent it from curling up when ironing large items, such as my quilt backing or a quilt top. But otherwise? I wouldn't press anything without it! Try it and see!!!!

Additionally, I completed one writing assignment and began the second. Yep -- I'm on a roll and this one should be much faster. 

On that happy note, I'm fired up and have already had two machines up and working this morning. I have laundry to do and a lot of work to complete before the Virtual Retreat starts at 3 PM. See you then!!!! There were many interesting discussions and a lot of fun!

Sunday, July 27 - Starts at 3 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073536036?pwd=uxRqMnK1aSKrmrcSO78w8QQs5g44eA.1

Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

A plan is needed

As of this morning, at 6 AM, I have not touched ONE project I brought with me. WOW—can you believe how well I packed? It was another very successful day, and I'm excited. However, I'm also learning (well, I know this) that having a plan is vital! 

In the past - long, long ago - I would flit from project to project. In my "new" life, I'm pretty good at sticking to one thing. I don't get distracted by what others are doing. I'm focused. There has to be a plan, or I will never get close to finishing these UFOs. Now, with my year-long projects, I work until my monthly assignment is complete - I don't have to work on JUST one project until it's done. 

That means that when I'm at a retreat or even at home, I work on a project until it's done, or I can't go further. I've got two projects laid out over the tables—no one needs them anymore, and there's still that one left, which I may touch before I leave after lunch. Just for the sake of bragging rights! 

Let's see what happened yesterday. 

I worked on this quilt and sewed as much as I could. It's the same pattern as the one with the orange and gold sashings. The fabrics in the center are black-on-white. A section of it was already completed at another retreat. This time, when sewing it together, I started by making it wider—10 blocks. It was only eight blocks wide. 

The start of another quilt top

At this stage - it's 10 blocks wide by 8 rows. I want it to be 12 rows long to make a lap quilt. I had some extra pieces of the white and black, so I pieced what I could. 

Then, I pulled out the next project, which used the same fabric. So, I stole from that one and got the center of the 40 remaining blocks together. I added as much sashing as I had. I now need sashing for 36 more blocks, and then I can sew the top together. 

Partially completed blocks

I'll dig that out when I get home, and it can come back to the next retreat. It's a simple, mindless project. My counting skills were not good when I cut the extra rectangles to make the blocks. I had extras. That's because I forgot that I had some blocks already together. DUH!!! These will go in the box of black-and-white scraps. 

Extra rectangles

Then, I pulled out another project I inherited from that donation. It's a small table topper, but I discovered there wasn't enough fabric to make it. I thought it was partially completed. So this went in the bag to take home, and that fabric will get put on the shelf in the appropriate place. The pattern will be recycled, and it's done! Getting something done does not always mean making it! 

A non-complete kit

I went back to working on the second black-and-white project. What was I thinking when I started this? I think it was a project to use up the strips from the other two. Anyway, I had begun to cut the shapes, so I soldered on. After I stole from this one to finish the other, I cut as many pieces as possible. There are only scraps left. 

Cutting for the next project

It's a split 9-patch block. I love the look. But some fabrics just don't fit on either side, like the one at the bottom of the photo, although it looks darker than lighter here. 

The split 9-patch block

I managed to complete 13 blocks with the fabric I had. I'm using the Easy Angle ruler to cut half-square triangles from these 2 1/2" strips. It works super easy!

13 blocks of split 9-patch

Getting enough contrast with these fabrics is tricky! After I took this picture, I thought I should have put a pop of color in the offset half-square triangle. Hmmm --- what do you think? I've done thirteen blocks, and all of them would have to be completely disassembled to put the pop in. It's a donation quilt, and I think it looks OK. It would be BETTER with the color, but it seems OK like this. 

I'll cut more strips, and it'll come back to the next retreat. 

By this time, I had rescued the bag of 6" novelty squares from the car and laid out the quilt top. 

Adding the final row to the I Spy quilt

It didn't take long to add that extra row; this one is ready to be quilted. It's now 8 squares by 10, which improves the proportion. 

A novelty quilt top - DONE

At some point in the day, I heard a crunch and flipped open the lid of my machine to find this! 

ACK - I ran out of thread!

It doesn't surprise me—I've been sewing like mad! Thankfully, someone beside me came to my rescue, and I am good to go. I made a note to return the thread when we leave! 

Then, I pulled out another project. OK—seriously—what the heck am I thinking? This was a kit I had prepared when teaching a paper piecing class many years ago. I had one extra kit. I do NOT need to make this. 

A paper piecing kit

It's a small snowman. What would I do with it? So it all went in the bag to go home. The fabrics will go in the appropriate scrap boxes, and the paper will be recycled. As mentioned, a project does NOT have to be done! If it's started, I'll likely finish it, but if it's not started, I'm thinking long and hard (OK—only a little of either is required). Let's move on!

I did have a small kit for a snowman with me, and all the pieces were precut. That might as well be done - it's pretty easy. I just need to applique the wool felt on for the nose and hat or something like that. It won't take long to finish, and it's cute. I might be able to finish that one this morning. 

A LONG snowman wall hanging

Then I pulled out the big bag of scraps I brought. It's all the leftover Canada-themed fabric from the Quilts of Valour quilts Diane had made. The bag has sat on those tables at home for a long, long time, and it's time to make a plan. 

Just like anything, if you don't know what's there, it can be daunting. So I emptied the bag on the table. No one is going to need those tables! I found two rows of log cabin blocks sewn together. 

What was in the bag of scraps

The rest was a pile of scraps. Oh boy, so I started sorting and found these pieces left over from the Northcott panels from 2017. 

Canada-themed panels

And all these Canadian flags. 

Canada flag blocks

There were two provinces like this. Is anyone from Nova Scotia interested in this, or can anyone use it? 

Nova Scotia theme

I also found this one, and there is a lady here from NFLD, so I'm giving her first dibs on it whether she wants it or not. 

Newfoundland theme

I'm in the process of ironing and sorting the remainder of the scraps. I have three piles: fabric that would work to finish that log cabin quilt, one of non-Northcott Canada-themed fabric, and one of the scraps of Northcott fabric. My focus will be the log cabin quilt, and it may come back to the retreat because once I have everything sorted and ready to go, finishing that quilt top will be easy as pie!!!

Then I'll take stock of what's left and maybe make a quilt from non-Northcott Canada fabric - if there is enough. I think I'll create a scrappy frame around the Canada flags and add a cream sashing (I've got loads of strips of cream). The one thing that I didn't like when Diane made those Canada quilts was that she cut up the neutral (cream) and made binding out of it! ACK!!!!! I would never have done that. So I didn't use that for the binding, and now I have yards of 2 1/2" strips. But it would make good sashing between those Canada flags. 

WOW --- see how much easier it will be to tackle that bag and get rid of it when you have a plan? OH MY GOSH -- I feel so much better about that bag now, and I KNOW I can get it done. That's one more thing off those tables in Studio B!!! 

So, if you are overwhelmed, I bet many times it's because you have no idea how to tackle the problem. Lay it out—see what you have, and then go from there!!!

Three people left yesterday, so we are down to seven. When I entered the sewing room this morning, I saw that half the group was packed, so they will likely leave early! I'm leaving after lunch as I'm on a roll. Hey, I have one more project to work on!

Speaking of that, I had better get going - I'm super excited to finish the ironing and sorting. Again, guess what? They are tedious, methodical jobs, but honestly, those are the BEST parts of quilting. And to me - that is what quilting is all about. It's not about ramming fabric through the machine at breakneck speed to make the latest and greatest quilt. It's about letting the fabric talk to you and letting quilting be your therapy. It's our hobby, after all, and if we aren't happy with what's happening, then maybe we need to find a new hobby!

I'm all about cleaning up; slow and methodical is the way to go. I'm thrilled to death about all I accomplished during this retreat, and hopefully, that means I'll be more thoughtful about packing in the future. I get an A+++ for packing this time!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

A balancing act

I'm happy to report that my neck is feeling better. It's still sore, but it really only affects me when I first get up or when I put my head down, like on the pillow or lying on the floor to do my exercises. I just support my head, and all is good. 

YES - I've been stretching with the foam roller before bed, and I'm feeling much better. I've barely scratched the surface of what I will get into with the new exercise regime. I''m pretty excited about it. It's the bloating in the gut that drives me crazy! 

Now, here's something that you can quickly try at home. As we age, balance is critical and will prevent falls and all that fun stuff, but only when you have proper footwear! Can you stand on one foot? And if so, for how long? You should be able to do that for at least 30 seconds (eyes open). And if you can't, you need to practice. Easy peasy to do 30 seconds on each foot. The hard part is when you close your eyes - I'm good for about 10 seconds with my eyes shut! 

So, while brushing your teeth, waiting for the kettle to boil, or whatever, try that balancing act!!!

There are a few things I need to learn about this new laptop—well, it's more about how Windows functions than the laptop itself. The biggest one is saving pictures from an email. I have to save each one individually rather than batch save, but I can manage. 

Yesterday was super productive, so let me show you what I did!

Here's the quilt top for that black-and-white fabric. Half of that top was already sewn together, and I decided it was a useless size, so I made it larger so it could be a lap quilt. 

Quilt top

However, I don't know what I was thinking, as it's now 8 blocks by 12, which is a ridiculous size. So I'm going to add two columns, and that will make it a perfect lap size—60" by 72". I have leftovers of orange and gold for the sashings and loads of black and white. I might even have some with me. I have one project in that stack that needs some evaluation. More on that tomorrow. 

This next project is an adopted project from that donation. I was all prepared to sew the Halloween squares together, but I saw the pattern she had in the bag was to cut them in half—just like I did with mine! Oh yes, this was another fabric exchange from many years ago, and I see MANY of my fabrics in that bundle!! I've decided to do the same thing, as it's much more interesting than just sewing the squares together. 

Halloween squares

I'm sure I have some black or other color in my Halloween stash that would work. So I'm not even tempted to go to the quilt shop to find something. 

The next project was an I Spy quilt. Again, this was the result of some fabric exchanges many years ago. Be careful what you participate in!!!! It also came in the donation. 

The first thing is to take stock of what's in the bag. There were loads of squares already cut, and I thought they were all 6 1/2" inches. There were some pieces of fabric, so I cut enough squares to make a quilt top and some 6" squares for another quilt. 

Cutting fabric

I swear this kind of project is so relaxing and meditative. I do NOT want your crap to deal with, but I feel so excited working on this kind of thing. 

When I was done, I had enough 6 1/2" squares to make one quilt top, some extra 6 1/2" for a second top, and some 6" squares for a third top. I'm aiming to have no duplicates in each quilt. There were a couple of Halloween pieces that will go in my Halloween bucket, as well as one piece of flannel. There is some yardage, and that will go with my other novelty prints.  

The bag is now sorted

Did I mention that I LOVE unpacking when I return from a retreat? Yes - I love putting everything away and getting prepped for the next retreat. It's crazy but fantastic therapy!!!

I laid out the 6 1/2" squares this morning to sew the top together. 

Laying out the blocks for the I Spy quilt

I realized that some of the squares were only 6". Good grief—obviously, I didn't look too closely the day before. But no worries. Rather than go to the car—hey, it was 4 AM, and it was COLD outside—I decided to trim everything down to 6". 

Trimming the squares down

And before I knew it, the quilt top was together. 

The I Spy quilt

However, what was I thinking when I laid that out? It's too small. Well, not so small that it's out of whack, but the proportion is out of whack. So, I need to add one more row to the top or bottom. When it gets light, I'll rescue the 6" squares from the car and sew that last row on. Then I'll be happy. 

It's always amazing at a retreat that if you need something, someone probably has it. We needed two small mirrors for a stack-and-whack project. YEP—someone had them!!! They are cosmetic mirrors, but they worked for what we needed. 

Testing fabric for stack-n-whack

I had brought an embroidery sample to stitch out. Before I could do that, I needed to do some cutting on the digital cutter. I didn't bring my digital cutter, but two other people did. I provided some micro lessons and didn't feel guilty borrowing one to cut my images. 

Then, I got to play with my old embroidery machine. Yep, this is my pink and orange machine, and I got all my embroidery done. I did another test this morning, and it's stopped, so I'll go rescue that later. 

Embroidering samples

I still have some more experiments to stitch out, but that's all the fabric and supplies I brought for this retreat. Plus, it's super noisy to do embroidery in this room. You can't hear the music, it's hard to talk. I don't want to discourage people from bringing the machines, but it would drive me nuts if it was all day. 

I also finished these blocks. Well, the block centers are done, and I've added as much sashing as I had with me. I need more (lots at home), and I suspect I'll find the same thing with the size. No worries; I have lots more fabric where this came from, and I'll make it into an actual lap-sized quilt, and it'll go in the donation pile. 

Blocks are done!

I emptied the second project bag onto my table. I'm doing exceptionally well this retreat. I have some small projects and think I'm down to less than double digits. I'll see how well I get through these last ones. 

The last of my projects for this retreat

I'm also madly working through the enders and leaders pile. If I run out of things to do, I can always trim these little guys!

My enders and leaders

I also hope that I don't run out of thread!!! I didn't bring any more, so I'd better remember to stock the retreat supply box when I get home!!!

Almost out of thread

Well, that's it for today. I have things to sew, and I need to get to it!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!