The great quilt sort

 Oh, I see I have two leads on used bookstores. I'll check those out later today. Thanks!!! 

Although it's Wednesday, I did NOT go to spin class. I was out late last night, and even though I woke up at the same time, I decided to continue sleeping. And now I'm up—obviously! 

I spoke at the Quilting Corners Quilt Guild in Alliston last night, and the topic was scrap quilts. What a fantastic guild! They produce a lot of quilts, they have a very active community quilt program, and when some work needed to be done to finish those quilts, all the quilts disappeared within seconds into the hands of someone who would finish them and bring them back next month. 

It's a small but very active and mighty guild! I was very impressed. And OH MY—I knew a few guild members and didn't even know it! I got to meet Sally from my Zoom classes. I had dinner with Liz, who used to be in many of my in-person classes (thank you, Liz; it was great to catch up!). I saw Susan and Sandra from other guilds that I belonged to in this area. Wow—it was like homecoming week!

I want to thank ALL the guild members for their fantastic welcome. I've never received so much positive feedback on my quilts, speaking ability, and presentation. I said THANK YOU many times last night! Thanks again to the Quilting Corners Quilt Guild for a wonderful evening. They have a quilt show coming in June 2025. I'm unsure of the date; I'll try to find that out. 

Now, it took a little bit of work to pull that presentation off. The last time I presented the scrap quilt lecture was on Zoom. So as not to forget any quilts, I opened the presentation, and one by one, I pulled them and loaded them in the suitcases. HA!! Can you really take 75 slides and pop them in two suitcases? I think not! There were NOT 75 quilts - some of the pictures were close-ups! 

I ended up with two large suitcases and three large tote bags. Some of the quilts in the presentation are no longer with me, so there could have been more! But that's OK. 

My scrap quilt presentation

But to get all those quilts together, I had to go through all my quilts to find the appropriate ones, resulting in the great quilt sort. Not only did I have to pull for the scrap quilt lecture, but I have another lecture tonight (Zoom) with the Limestone Quilters in Kingston. That topic is Modern Quilts, and well, I have to pull those as I do not have a presentation for Modern Quilts. 

The great quilt sort

Thankfully all the quilts are stored in the spare bedroom, so it wasn't hard to find them. I LOVE having that metal shelf to store the quilts. Well worth the $100. I created piles for each topic and then carried the scrap quilts downstairs to load in the suitcases and others I left upstairs, and I'll deal with them today. I probably have pictures of some of them. I must search for the modern quilt folder today, and others will require photos and then be placed in the presentation. I see lots of physical action today as I sort, refold, and put the quilts back on the shelf! 

But I also found a lost sample. I could not find this darn cushion cover, and imagine my surprise when I moved a quilt and found it there. Now, why is a cushion sample on my shelf of quilts? Only I could have put it there. There is no one else in the house to blame! I even asked my colleagues in the event the item got mixed up with their samples!

My lost cushion cover! 

I'll deal with the "mess" another day. Now that I'm finished with the other presentations, I need to sort and tidy up anyway, as many quilts were thrown in a pile on the bed. Now, they can be sorted into the appropriate categories and put away. As I do that, I need to identify those that will never be chosen for a trunk show and those will go in the giveaway pile. I did that with some of the quilts but never the entire collection. 

I'll do one shelf at a time as it's a LOT of work to refold all the quilts and put them away. 

When I got home last night, I had to unload the car and bring everything into the house. I remember coming home from a trunk show and leaving everything in the car. I also think I left the car unlocked, and that night, someone decided to check out what was in the suitcases. The next day, they were partially opened in the back of the car. Thankfully, nothing was stolen - I was so lucky. If the person had dug deep, there was a couple hundred dollars in one from selling my Tech Tip book. And they could have taken the suitcases! Although if they were on foot, they wouldn't have gotten far quickly. So I always unload the car now and make sure the doors are locked. 

I did sit outside for a bit in the afternoon, as it was a nice day, although a bit chilly. The girls didn't care—they just love it when Mom is outside. 

MOM -- I LOVE you!!!

Murphy - sitting in the dirt

I got a chuckle at the church when the meetings are held. I found this in the washroom! This is what you will need if you don't do those stand-up/sit-down exercises!!! Those exercises make a difference! They really do, so be sure to get doing them. And try to push up with both feet. I have a tendency to use my right foot first when getting up! 

Assistance in the washroom!

There is a lot on the agenda today—I've got a couple of challenge quilts to work on, my homework stuff for the weekend classes, a jacket to make, more writing to do, quilts to quilt, a presentation to assemble, and some paperwork! Remember, this is a full-time job for me; it's way past the point of being a hobby! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Mobility keeps us young!

Well? How did you make out with the chair squats? I quickly whipped off a few before I started to write this morning. You know what? It gets the blood flowing! 

I once talked with someone who insisted that an elderly family member was healthy (for their age) but had never exercised or gone to the gym. Guess what? The idea of working out or going to the gym is relatively new. Well, it's not as new as we would think—it dates from 1827! An almost 200-year-old concept!

I want to point out that you do NOT have to "exercise" or go to the gym to keep healthy. If you are an office worker, do that chair yoga movement several times an hour. Go to the photocopier/printer, washroom, water cooler, or whatever. 

If you sew - get up to iron, cut, or walk around. 

The important thing is that you must move! We are all about being super efficient and productive but losing our mobility. Don't let that happen to you. 

Stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down. It's as easy as that! 

Well, I didn't make out well yesterday, and my holiday mentality did me in. Christmas Day is a holiday - right? So stores are open on Boxing Day - right? Wrong! 

I wanted to send a package by courier, but I could not print a label for the box. Why? So I got in the car and drove to the UPS store, only to find it closed! Seriously? I saw FedEx trucks on the road, but not UPS trucks. 

I wasn't happy that I kept getting an error message online: " Please try again." Could they just have said, " Stores are not open?" I only wanted to drop the box off, but I suppose they don't allow drop-offs if UPS doesn't pick it up that day! 

Well, I tried again this morning, and the label is printed. So that'll be my walk later today - I have to get it to the drop-off location. 

Then I thought I'd go to the grocery store to get some veggies to cook with my turkey carcass. Good grief - our local grocery store is also closed. So much for paying attention to the signs on the door! But it doesn't matter; the carcass can wait until today. 

What I also wanted at the store were bran muffins. I have a thing about them these days. One a day, and well, it just makes me happy. Where could I get a bran muffin? Tim's have bran muffins, although they are often out. 

So Murphy and I snuck out of the house, Lexi was fast asleep on the sofa with Dad. We won't go there, but it's incredible how dogs pick up the traits of their favorite parent! 

We had to return a book to the library, go to the bank, and then, on the way home, we stopped at Tim's. I wasn't sure if it was open for foot traffic, but it was. So Murphy had to wait outside. 

MOM -- Hurry up!!!!

She hasn't been in a situation where she has had to wait for me in a while. When I had her outside the bank, she barked like mad as I approached. I simply stopped and turned my back until she stopped barking. It took several tries before I could approach her. At Tim's, it happened once. So I'm just going to have to do that more often. I hate when she barks her head off, even if she's happy to see me. 

I got my bran muffin, and we made it home. Lexi was NOT happy when I arrived because she thought it was now her turn, and I had no intention of going for a fourth walk in the day! 

In the morning, I got all of M's stuff in one spot. This is what is left. It all fits along one wall in the guest bedroom. Oh, wait—I forgot the clothes in the closet. But you get the picture. There isn't a ton of stuff, but it's more than needs to be here, especially if someone else can use some of those things. It has sat for ten years—how much does M want to keep? 

The last of M's stuff

What is funny is that when she left home ten years ago, her car was packed to the top! She mentioned this past year that she didn't have much left of what she took in the car with her. Sigh......

Yagana is coming over today to make a start. She reminds me of a go-getter, so let's see what happens. 

While looking at the Storage magazine, I almost choked when I saw this photo. Those pretty metal bins on that shelf are for sorting mail, and it seems like a lot of mail is in those bins. 

Another unrealistic storage solution

The old me might have gone for that. The new me says NO, NO, NO. Take the mail and deal with it immediately. Toss, keep, file, or whatever needs to be done. But do NOT put it in pretty bins. If this had been at my house before, those bins would soon be overflowing, and it would have been a disaster!!!

All those pictures in magazines, on Pinterest, or on Instagram are pretty, but they have been staged. They are NOT practical or realistic; sometimes, they are not even real! Do not fall for those pictures!

Stand up, sit down. Stand up, sit down. Stand up, sit down. 

The more you do it, the easier it becomes! And then try to do it with a nice straight back to keep that posture in check! I think holding the weight in your hands acts as a counterbalance. Weight or not, stand up and sit down! Standing up and sitting down several times an hour also helps prevent super-stiff knees. 

Mobility!!! That's just as important as keeping our marbles! You CAN keep your mobility in check! 

When I wasn't out walking searching for bran muffins, I was downstairs working. I was listening to an audiobook and happily working on my UFO. I made significant progress yesterday, and hopefully, all the "quilting" and cutting will be done today. Then, it's on to sewing the ornaments together, adding the cuffs to the mitts, and adding embellishments where necessary. 

Working on  my UFO

I have plenty of time, but we all know what happens when we think we have plenty of time! Before we know it, the deadline is tomorrow! I'm going to work on them for one more day, and then I need to move on to start prepping classes for next year and finish some writing. 

The EXIT Game puzzle last night was easy, although DH said I didn't follow all the logic. When I saw the pattern emerge, I used spatial recognition, and he was right. But I don't care how you solve the problems—it's all about getting the answer. 

I sent out more emails this morning, and I still have a few more to go. Gosh, there is so much to organize at the end of the year. I should be done in a couple more mornings! 

And one last time for now - stand up, sit down! 

You know how we look at more "experienced" active people and say to ourselves, "I hope to be like them when I'm older." I would bet they were active when they were younger, which allows them to be active when they are older! 

There's a virtual retreat this weekend!!!!  

Saturday, December 28 - Starts at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89816483795?pwd=Mjc3M3pvVmZPdjdsQzlHS3Zhck52dz09

Meeting ID: 898 1648 3795
Passcode: 248667

Sunday, December 29 - Starts at NOON

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82983517671?pwd=ODdsa1FJenQwdFNaQWFTNGd4bEhPZz09

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

I'm off with big plans to accomplish lots today! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Stand up, sit down!