Questions about the puzzle

Let's start with the puzzle stores - actually, there are many sources of puzzles, but here are the main ones that I know of. 

Puzzles Canada - Georgetown. A warehouse of puzzles that is open to the public, and they sell MANY brands, sizes, and offer free shipping over a certain amount. You also get 10% back in reward points, which you can apply to any future purchase. They also sell The Occurrence puzzles, which are made in Merrickville, Ontario. HIGHLY recommend visiting the store or the website. Check the website for hours as they do NOT open until NOON. 

Puzzle Nerds - Toronto. I have NOT been to this shop, but they sell many Canadian-based puzzles and have an amazing feature on their website listing where the puzzle companies are located and where the puzzles are made. So if that is important to you (I like to support Canadian brands), then it's easy to find a brand that works for you. 

The Occurrence - This is a shop in Merrickville, Ontario that sells and manufactures puzzles. Lots with Canadian artists! I believe they only sell what they make, and you can also find their puzzles for sale at Puzzles Canada. 

Someone told me about a puzzle store in another location—I think it was Smith Falls, but I can't remember. I'll ask her to provide me with the details again. 

There are loads of places to buy puzzles -- they seem to be popping up all over, and puzzles are a great form of entertainment. Many new puzzles cost around $33 for a 1000-piece puzzle; the entertainment (per hour) for that $33 is well worth it. You can also check out your local thrift shop for deals, though you are at the mercy of what's in the store. Most used puzzles I buy are $7.99, and with the 30% senior discount on Tuesday, they become quite affordable. 

Mix the new and used together, and that evens out the price. Why not find a group of people in your area and create your own puzzle swap? 

And now, let's get on to what happened yesterday. It was a super productive day, and I love it when that happens. 

OH -- before I start, I have to say something about the books on my reading list. I'm now into the third book about women back in the day (1700s and 1800s) when they had zero rights and were their husbands' or fathers' possessions. I need to move out of this genre and FAST!!!! The third, and hopefully last for a while, is "The Secret Book Society" by Madeline Martin, which is quite uplifting and shows there was some hope for these women. But the other two? Anyway, I'm not here to do book reviews this morning. But I need a good old-fashioned murder mystery!

So I don't like to waste supplies and keep pretty much everything that still has some life to it. Like the almost-empty bobbins of bobbin-weight thread, which may not be appropriate for embroidery (too tightly wound), but they work just fine for appliqué. I emptied two such bobbins yesterday. Why let that thread go to waste? I get it that it's a small amount, but I finished all my appliqué yesterday using those bobbins. 

YES -- I know the bobbin thread is low!

The same for stabilizer. I was doing some satin stitch, and that requires tear-away stabilizer on the back. I have a bucket of odds and ends of stabilizer pieces, and I grabbed some. 

The scraps of the tear-away stabilizer

Shoot -- you know what I didn't take a picture of? The two completed blocks! So yes, the appliqué is completed. I'll take pictures this morning. 

Then I forged on to the next two appliqué blocks. I had to piece the background first, and they are done! 

The next two backgrounds for appliqué

The shapes are traced onto the fusible, so I hope to tackle this later today. 

PLUS, while listening to the audiobook this morning, I managed to get the squares cut for the next two blocks. 

The next blocks are prepped.

So that's pretty exciting progress on these two quits. I still have a bit of hand embroidery to do on two of the blocks (technically four, since there are two quilts), and I should try to do it today. Perhaps it's something I can do outside because hallelujah - we had a warm day yesterday!

But when I took Murphy out at 7:30, it was only 7 degrees C. So I had my orange jacket on, and I wore mitts because I hate having cold hands. The sun was out, and it was warming up fast. So at one point, I undid the jacket and took off the mitts. When I took Lexi for a walk, I left the jacket and the mitts at home. Later in the afternoon, as I went to the grocery store, I was now wearing shorts. 

As I passed one of my neighbors, she said she had now seen me three different times that day, and each time I had fewer clothes on! I said, "Let's hope we don't see each other again!"

The backing and batting for the 4th (of 11) community project quilts were made, and I forged ahead, pulling fabric (bits and pieces) that will make the backings for the next seven. 

The fabric is ready to make more backings.

Here's another reason why I can't hand these quilts off to someone. As I trim the excess from one quilt, it often gets used (or could be used) as part of the backing for the next one. So while I appreciate the two offers I had a while back, it won't work for me. Once I start on a batch, it's a rolling progression. And I'm OK with that. I love slow and methodical, which is what happens when I assemble the backings and batting from leftovers. 

I had a few extra moments this morning, so I tackled that pile of HSTs. I had to laugh as I neared the end of the stack. Would it work out to even groups of four? And the answer is yes and no! I discovered two pairs that had not been sewn, so they got set aside. That resulted in the groups of four working out just fine! 

The last group of four HSTs in this group

And here is the last stack of trimmed HSTs for this grouping. 

Trimmed HSTs

And that leaves three groups still to press and trim. But I'll work away at them, and they will be done before I know it. 

HSTs still to trim

I will have to start focusing on my classes for next weekend, as I have the jacket class, which is actually a review of the Grainline Studio videos, and the last assignment for Color My World! It shouldn't take long, but we all know what that means. Instead of one day for each, it'll likely be three days, so I had better get started now so I don't have to rush. I hate rushing! And we have the UFO Club that same weekend, and I want to get some fiddly little things done. 

Is anyone familiar with this book? It's an oldie, published in 1989. Mary Ellen Hopkins was quite the character, and she wasn't shy about telling you how to make a quilt. She had a thing for PPMs, Personal Private Measurement, which was used if you just could not get that ¼" seam right! 

A great quilt book

It's a GREAT book for learning to quilt and for expanding your horizons. Someone asked me if I had the book, and I did. I haven't used it in eons, and I'm letting it go! GASP!!!!! I know!!! I also found two of her other books and was going to offer those as well, but I've decided to keep them, as they will be good reference books for the upcoming scrap class in the fall. 

This one is the first one, then there are #2 and #4. OH -- and 4½, 4¾, and 4 11/12, but I don't think there ever was a three. I can't find it in my books, nor online. 

Yes—I could have kept it, but you know what? I have many other books to keep me entertained, and if this book can bring joy to someone else, then I'm happy to part with it. 

Another quilt was completed yesterday, but I can't share it with you at this point. BUT, it was another example of cutting it close and using up what you have. The quilt top was 60 inches wide, the backing (Minky) was 62" wide. And sometimes that shrinks in a wee bit on the long arm. Let's just say that it was a tight squeeze. 

This is all that was available on one side. 

The excess backing on one side

And here's what was left from the two sides and the top! Not much! 

The excess from the two sides and the top of the backing

I highly recommend that you NEVER do this to your long-arm quilter! They will kill you for it and most likely refuse to do the quilt. Yes, I could have added a waste cloth to both sides, but I was too lazy for that, and besides, I know with a bit of extra time, I can make it work.

All quilts that have been quilted are trimmed, and all the bits are put away. That in itself is a time-consuming task, but it's best to keep on top of it, or the bits will pile up! 

Because it was finally nice, I was able to sit outside in the gazebo. The fish are still feeling their way around the pond, and I did spot three or four of them brave enough to come to the surface to enjoy the sun. But with Murphy looming over them, they didn't feel too comfortable. 

I don't know how much I'll be able to enjoy the backyard this year. Murphy has become a total pain. She loves to clamber over the rocks, although I saw her slip a couple of times. Her legs, like mine, just aren't what they used to be. So we will have to be careful and may eventually have to block access to the pond. 

MOM -- this is my jungle gym!

BUT, she was darn insistent about playing ball, and at one time, she had tossed THREE balls into the pond. They are pretty much in a row from each other in the picture. What is annoying is that she doesn't give up and keeps barking if she doesn't get attention! LOUDLY. 

Three balls in the pond

I guess I'll have to play ball with her and then stop so she can rest, or take the balls away when I'm outside. I was on a phone call with a store yesterday, and I was throwing the ball for her. She is relentless! 

It's amazing to watch the leaves on the trees as they grow. This is a maple leaf, and as it unfurls, the leaf is cone-shaped. As it gets stronger, it opens up flat. It's pretty amazing to watch day by day! 

The maple leaves as they unfurl.

Well, it's time to get started on the day. My knees, thankfully, have been decent. Not perfect by any means, but decent. Slow and steady and shorter walks. It kills me mentally, but I feel so much better physically. And getting a good night's sleep can also make a huge difference in how the day unfolds. I had an amazing and long sleep last night, so it's going to be a good day!

And on that happy note, have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!



























 

It's time to get back to work!

What an insane day yesterday was! I started the day with Brooke, and we focused on the upper body to avoid further knee issues. I took shorter and slower walks with the girls (they were NOT impressed), and Murphy hung around the front door for a good part of the day, hoping to go for another walk. Then it was off to the dentist. I did walk there, but not before icing the knee to keep things under control. It's not that far, and if I walk slowly, I'm OK. 

Can you believe I got a reasonably good bill of health from the hygienist? Gums are in better shape than they have been on previous visits, and she even said that, while I could clean more, there was less buildup on my teeth. WOW!!!!! Now that makes me want to floss every day!!! I like using those little floss things—they are on a handle, and you can floss with one hand. So much easier and less messy than the string. 

Home with a bit of time to catch up with KU, comparing notes about our travel after the wedding. Then it was off to lunch with the Monday group. And while I was waiting for my dentist appointment, I called the doctor, and she could see me at 3:15. 

So I drove there after lunch. We had a great discussion, and I am finally getting what I want! Some follow-up. I got X-rays done yesterday on BOTH knees because both have various ligament issues. How do I know? I can FEEL the side ligament on the right knee snap into place when I get up - not always, but often. It has stretched over time, so it's not nearly as painful as when it first started. Sounds gross, and that is probably not what is happening, but I can feel it. 

Then I have ultrasounds booked for both knees in three weeks (could have been two, but I'm at retreat and didn't want to come back for that), and then I'm getting a referral to a sports medicine clinic, which is the perfect spot to figure out the issue. 

The doctor was reluctant, of course, but I told her I was tired of self-diagnosing and treating myself to get some relief. So this is the plan, and I'm OK. If the sports medicine team decides an MRI is in order, they will request it. I'm OK -- I need some direction --- more stretching, less stretching, what kind of strengthening exercises or not. How bad is the tear? and lots of other things, and hopefully, they can guide me to getting some answers. Hopefully, the sciatic issue will resolve itself in the process. 

I came home from the X-ray place, was exhausted, and didn't do much for the rest of the day. It was already 4 PM. I went to bed at 7 and slept, except when I was awakened by the pain in my knees. But what else is new? That's what medication is for. 

I feel great now and will probably need a nap later today, but that's OK. 

I've been so focused on dealing with those books that I haven't had much mojo for sewing. But today? I feel much better today. 

Here's what happened in Studio B and what it looks like. 

This is the quilt side of the bookcase, and almost all the books are back on the shelves. There are a few open pockets here and there, and I'm going to find a home for everything that remains on the floor. I know it's not ideal, as there are many more books that I don't want. But my brain is so tired of dealing with the books that I can't, and don't want to, process any more at the moment.  

The bookcase is almost done.

I'm perfectly fine with the books the way they are. They are sorted into categories and on the shelf, and all the spines are visible. That works for me and will make searching for any book so much easier than it has been. 

I do want to catalog them, and I know someone mentioned LibraryThing for cataloging books. It's a free app, and I may investigate it. Just not at this moment, I'm done with books!

This is what got culled and is still downstairs. I need to address all this before I even consider moving on. This has always been a big issue of mine. I get started on something, and then I don't finish, and it becomes a huge mess. So I am trying to learn—get this step done first; then you can make another mess. The books in front are spoken for, while the books on the steps and the post will be donated to the thrift store. There are a few more to add to this pile, including a nice pile of beautiful books on appliqué - complex appliqué that I will never tackle. If anyone is interested in seeing those, please let me know. 

Some of the culled books

The magazines that were on the floor are now on shelves, and there is only this pile left to sort. I've done a pretty good job, and I need to set aside some time every day or every week, or whatever, to start looking through the magazines and tossing them. I do NOT need all those magazines, yet I hate to just throw them out without at least looking at them. That's my way of handling it, and I need to do it before we move. I do NOT want to move all that stuff. This is my wake-up call, and I must NOT miss the train! Doing it now will prevent huge issues when we decide to move. 

Magazines to sort and put on the shelves

The sewing machine tables are clear of projects, except for two mending jobs for DH. Good lord --- he buys all this fancy clothing, and it always needs some kind of repair. I hope to at least get the pants fixed today. I haven't looked at the seam finish yet, but when you buy an expensive pair of pants, I don't expect the crotch seam to come apart. Isn't it sewn with a safety stitch? I'll let you know what happens. 

The sewing tables are prepped and ready to go.

The puzzle table is clear, and the next puzzle is waiting to be set out. There's also a box of things that need to be repaired - i.e., glued back together, including the two missing magnets from the fridge. I might tackle some of that later today. 

The next puzzle is ready to sort

This is some other work that I need to tackle - the jacket on the top needs some hand stitching to finish it off. The jeans (from my Dad) need to be cut apart, so I can make something with them. I thought of a duffel bag for the gym. And a garment in the blue bin for my Mom, since it's next to impossible to buy caftans online in polyester fabric. Why is that? And the bottom bin is photo transfer stuff because I need to print a picture, and our printer is acting up. I need to resolve these items.

Things to deal with

Of course, the debris got put onto the cutting table, but at least half of it is clear as I prep the blocks for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. 

The cutting table needs some work.

I even managed to trim some half-square triangles that I found on the ironing board. 

Trimming half-square triangles

And then, as I was prepping stuff for the upcoming quilt retreat at the end of this month, I found this box of half-square triangles. They are sewn, but not pressed or trimmed. So I started trimming them this morning. They are not a priority, but it's a mindless task I can do until I wrap my head around sewing. I'm in a bit of a slump since coming back from vacation. 

Half-square triangles that need to be pressed and trimmed

And here's everything I've prepped for the quilt retreat. 

Quilt retreat prep

YES --- it looks like a ton of stuff, but there are two totes and two tubs of fleece scraps that are either already cut into 6½" squares or need to be cut and sewn into 6½" squares. If I take my chair risers, I can raise my table to cutting height and cut with the others while they sew. It's a mindless task, perfect for a retreat. YES -- I will take my cutting mat because cutting fleece can crap up a mat, and I'll take my old one, which is perfect for this kind of job. 

So Murphy is pretty smart. I spent a bit of time sitting in the kitchen icing my knee and reading some magazines while she was outside. She likes to sit near the gazebo because she can see me through the window. 

MOM - I can see you!!!!

And since I wasn't going outside, she thought she would encourage me to play with her. I felt really bad - a short walk and no playing ball. I must step up my dog mom game today! We'll try a bit longer walk, but slow! 

Anyway, I looked out the window, and there she was with the ball in her mouth, standing right on the edge of the pond. And she was looking right at me. When I said, "Do not throw the ball in the pond", she immediately dropped it in and looked right at me! That little devil!!!

MOM - the ball fell into the pond

While Lexi is an intelligent dog, she is nothing compared to Murphy. Murphy does things with intent! She's like a child, and she tests all the time! They have been very agitated this morning, and I just spotted lightning immediately followed by thunder. AHA -- now I know why!!! Now I'm the Mom sandwich with a dog velcroed to each side of my chair. And it's raining sleet at the moment. 

OK—so let me tell you the story circulating at the gym. After my class on Wednesday, I bumped into one of the ladies from spin class, and she was quite upset, like everyone else. She reported a separate incident to the manager regarding her daughter, and the outcome wasn't positive. Basically, she was told that her daughter was at fault. Then I saw one of the other ladies from class come down, and she had her cycling shoes on, so I chatted with her. It's funny because this lady is a complainer - she even mentioned it, but I've had dealings with her in the past, and I have never found her friendly. I thought long and hard (5 seconds) before I spoke to her. By the way, there were only 5 people in the spin class compared to about 25 when Joseph taught it. 

Anyway, she actually talked to me! In the past (a couple of times), she's been super snarky! I was prepared to be snarky in return, but we had a lengthy conversation about the situation, and apparently, the manager is pretty incompetent. I've heard that from other people I know as well.  

The bottom line is that the gym's manager is not performing well, and we have seen the gym deteriorate during her tenure. 

So that's an incentive to write a letter to the US office and cc the manager, who is not doing a good job. 

It took me a long time to get out of the locker room that day! 

Well, it's time to take the dogs for their abbreviated walk and hope that it's enough - perhaps they can get two short walks in a day. I'll see how things go. 

And I'm excited (finally) to get to work in Studio B. I think I have to make that list of THREE things to do and focus on them so I don't overdo it and kill my enthusiasm. It doesn't help when I don't have any major deadlines! Those deadlines were a major push in the past, but I have things to get done this month, so I need to get to work!!

BTW -- the Featherweight book went fast, so if you didn't hear from me, it's because it already has a new home. 

And if there is any book you'd like, or if you are a heavy-dutyappliquéé person, I might have a book(s) for you. 

If you are interested in attending the free two one-hour Zoom sessions on making quilted jackets, check out this blog post for details. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

What I learned about my books!

I'm so glad to hear that I am not alone in getting books. And Sharon mentioned something extremely important yesterday. So many books are no longer relevant because technology has changed, and the information in the books is so outdated that no one wants it. The only thing to do is to put it in the recycling bin. And that is hard. I have a few things around here that should go in the recycling bin, but I'm not there yet, either. 

However, I spent quite a bit of time in Studio B yesterday, and I learned a few things. No sewing was done, and I'll share that with you in just a few minutes. 

I had signed up for a free conference over the weekend on machine embroidery, and while the way the classes were made available (the schedule) was a bit convoluted, I managed to watch all the videos. That was about 6 hours of video, but I finished the last one last night. Did I need to? No, but I learned something about the history of machine embroidery, gained some inspirational ideas, saw ways of how not to present stuff (I know - we are all different), and I did pick up a couple of tips which I'll use in my work. 

It was worth the time. While the conference was free, there was a massive push to BUY access to all 11 videos to have forever. I forgot the cost - something like $69 US. OK -- I get that those designers need to be paid, but seriously? The upgrade thing was way over the top, and you couldn't do anything without being reminded of that upgrade. Personally, there was nothing that I wanted to see again! BUT I am glad that I watched the videos. 

This morning I was listening (again) to The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson. Oh boy --- as I was listening, I was in over my head dealing with my quilt library. I started this task yesterday, and I thought listening to this book was very appropriate. I laugh because in the "what to do with your books" section, there I am standing with piles of books in my hands. Her suggestion? Invite your friends over and let them pick what they want. 

Hmmm --- that doesn't sound like a bad idea. The big question is—where to host an event like that? I don't belong to a guild, so I can't do this at a guild. The only thing I can do is post the books online, and if you see something you like, it could be yours. 

You remember that two days ago, I said I would work on one shelf in the bookcase. Then it expanded into one section of the bookcase, and, well, all hell broke loose! I tackled the ENTIRE bookcase.  

That included this one that I had started on. 

The left side

And this one is on the other end of the room. This set of shelves is an odd duck, and you are NOT allowed to yell at me. I have already confessed that I have significant hoarding tendencies, and I am trying desperately to get things under control. I have already stopped buying, and that is the first step. Everything you see here is a magazine. GASP!!!!! I know—I couldn't help myself. 

The magazine section of my crap

Because the other side was full, books were stashed between the two piles of magazines on each shelf. That made it a challenge to find a book because you couldn't see the spines. It was "fun" to locate a book if I didn't find it in the first set of shelves. 

I've decided that I need to make some significant changes, so I unloaded all the books from this side and will deal with them on the other side. I also found one shelf with more scrapbooking magazines. ACK. Those were on the shelf just to the left of the orange bag on top. So those got removed from the space as well. 

The piles of scrapbooking magazines

There are two shelves that I need to go through, as there are a couple of binders - hmm, what is in those binders? And the shelf below that contains all my sewing machine and serger reference manuals. It could be tidier!

These two shelves need more care.

There is one stack of magazines that needs to be filed, but the rest of this set of shelves is in good order. The magazines are sorted by title and in chronological order. As I go through the stacks, I recycle the magazines. I'm very slow and need to step up my game! 

Then the great sort began. The books were removed from the shelves, which were dusted and flipped upside down. 

Books to sort

And I'm sorting them into categories. Holy ---- I wasn't happy to just buy one book on Sashiko - I needed 7 or however many there are. I have no idea what was going through my head when I saw some of these books. 

Books are sorted into categories.

Now I have to make some decisions, so this is what I'm doing. I have someone interested in any books about dying fabric, so I'm culling those as I sort. Someone else is into intricate appliqappliquéI'm making a pile for them. Someone else asked about simpler or learning to appliqappliquéthose are going into a pile. Before I let them go, I will flip through them to make sure there is nothing I want to keep. 

This is what I still need to sort. It should take about 2 hours. The sorting is easy. And I'm sure there are one or two that will get changed to a new category as they go back on the shelves. I'm OK with that. 

Books still to sort

As I sorted, I put books back on the shelf that were about embellishment, fiber art, and stuff like that. Currently, there are three shelves filled, and I know there will be one more. Those will have to be sorted again once they are in the same location. 

As for the history books? Oh my --- I am STUNNED. Currently, there are SIX shelves of books. I cannot believe that, but I shelved them myself. And I could guess there will be at least one more shelf in the books I still have to sort. So much for thinking I'll just have a few boxes of quilt history books to move when I downsize. The quantity is significant!

My goal is to rearrange the scrapbooking magazines to accommodate the ones I found, and I'm going to try to keep that stuff on the bottom shelf. Or, now that I've moved some books from the right to the left, I may put all the scrapbooking stuff on the right and keep only the quilt books on the left. 

I need to cull more! 

Which brings me to my dilemma and what I learned yesterday. 

1. I do NOT need or want all these books. GASP -- I cannot believe I just wrote that, but as Margareta wrote in her book, the less you have, the simpler your life! I think she said "cleaner living." 
2. Some of these books are just pamphlets for making one quilt or project, and some are so old that NO ONE will ever want to make them. Those should be put in the recycling bin. GASP!! I cannot believe I just wrote that! 
3. I do NOT need to keep books that contain only one quilt, and I have already made it. Why? I just need to make sure I retain the information for the label, which in most cases isn't made, and then the book can be given away. Many of those are popular quilts I have recently taught, such as Long Time Gone and Chatsworth. Why would I keep the pattern - I will NEVER make it again. 
4. I thought I was DESPARATELY attached to those books. BUT, after going through them, touching and evaluating each one, I realized I'm totally delusional, and I do not want that many books. GASP!!!! 
5. Plus, I found so many duplicates! I'll be posting more of the duplicates from scrapbooking and quilting. How did that happen? Obviously, my brain remembers many books, but not all! 

So, as a start, I'm removing all the books on dying, duplicates, appliqué (some of them), and quilts that I've already made. I'm probably removing one, possibly two shelves of books. That is a far cry from what I need to cull. BUT --- it's a start! 

There are books about color theory (many), and designing quilts (many), Celtic quilts, stained glass quilts, and the list goes on and on. If ANYONE is interested in some quilt books, or you know a beginner quilter who might want some learn-to-quilt books, I've got a book for them! 

But it brings up a dilemma like this. Look at the leaflet I discovered!!! An Activity Quilt for children. We would call this a fidget quilt today. I told you—what someone "invents" today is NOT new, and I have the documents to prove it! The copyright date is 1999. 

Activity quilt booklet from 1999

This is where my Mom and I are the same. She likes to produce information about certain things - dates, etc. And well, that is part of my problem with keeping books. Who knew they were making fidget quilts almost 30 years ago? They were probably making them anyway before that, which is why someone wrote a pattern!

I need to document some of this stuff and then toss it. What kind of visual database could I make? I guess I could scan some of this older stuff and then recycle the original. Then file it away with tags so I could find it again? Will I ever go back? You see the dilemma. That's why people just put it back on the shelf!


Someone wanted to see the 24 small projects I'm working on for my machine embroidery goal. They are Kimberbell patterns, and they are absolutely adorable. I've no idea what I'll do with them, but perhaps if I have grandchildren, they can go there. There are two per month, and these are the January projects. One is a small pillow (the pillow form is not inserted), and the other is a door-hanger pillow. 

Two of my 24 projects for machine embroidery

I have a busy day today—OK, it's not busy. The only thing I have is the movie this afternoon. Doesn't one thing make a busy day for an almost-retired person? LOL. 

Speaking of retired, there is a gentleman who is ripping around our neighborhood in this little car. I think, but do not know if it is considered a wheelchair car, although it has a handicap sticker on the back. It looks like it has doors on the side, not the back, as would be for a true wheelchair car. 

Our neighborhood Casanova!

But I've seen this guy whipping around the neighborhood for weeks, and the other day he passed Murphy and me on the multi-purpose path. Hmmm --- is that allowed? Anyway, the guy is having fun with it. 

The girls were in their glory yesterday. It was finally warm enough to leave the door open all day, and they came and went as they wanted. I was also in my glory!!!

MOM - we love being able to be in or out as we want!

Here are the duplicate books that I didn't get a chance to post yesterday. I just shake my head about this. 

Here is one book that I think will be very interesting. Wouldn't it be nice to have a nice (digital) book about yourself with photos of all those memorable moments in your life that you can pass along to your children? What were your hopes and fears? What was life like (as someone said to me yesterday, I'm traumatized about books, as I didn't have access to a real library until my 20s)? I really must start working on the documentation side of my life that I want to do. I get that from my Mom as well. 

Freebie

All I know about my parents is what they have told me, which, unless you ask questions, is very little. This kind of thing has a deadline, so I must get myself together. But first, I am trying to get a handle on decluttering a little bit more. 

I know some of you don't have this issue, and I wish I didn't, but I do. So the first step is to take stock of what you have. Put all like things together. That is step one. Then you need to start sorting to see exactly what you have, and that is where you need to start making some decisions. I'll continue this process as I move to other areas of the house. But doing this much has advanced me by leaps and bounds. Getting started is often the hardest part, and I'm not even sure why I started this now. 

WAIT --- I know why. I was looking for a book to do with an upcoming presentation, and that just got the ball rolling. It doesn't matter what the catalyst is - what's important is to get started. 

And one takeaway from Margareta's book is, why should we ask our children, who are probably more strapped for time than we are, to deal with our mess? And it's better to deal with it before we become unable to handle it physically. 

I am trying! Yes -- I could just go in and just throw the whole lot into boxes, but I like Marie Kondo's approach. I want to thank each book, and sometimes thanking the book just takes a wee bit longer than what she does! I'm certainly getting my weight training in today!

And on that happy note, I'm out of here!!!

Ciao!!!

It's all about the books!

OH MY GOSH!!!! Irons from The Devil Wears Prada? How cool is that!!!! I never watched the first movie until the other night, but after all the hype, I'm obsessed and just watched Meryl Streep on Jimmy Kimmel. She is such an amazing actor (are we allowed to say actess?). And I even purchased a ticket for Tuesday to see the film. Holy cow -- I'm excited!!!!

That was in response to Barbara's comment!!!

I went to bed at my regular time and woke up 1 hour earlier than usual, but that's OK. I had some last-minute things to prep for the two presentations. I swear the SAME people send their stuff late at night, the night before. Why is that? 

Anyway -- everything is prepped and ready to go for the two presentations. I have so much fun putting them together. I love the research, and well, I just love the process. 

And OH --- I have the most amazing quote for you today. This came from James Clear's newsletter. I love it!!!!

That is a super motto for me because that's the only reason why I know as much as I do. It's because people have asked me questions, and I'm prepared to find out the answers. I love teaching only because it helps me to learn. The next time someone asks you to show them how to do something, take your time and show them. Don't do it for them. It's so rewarding to teach! And you'll be smarter. We need to tell that to the young people who would prefer to just do rather than show us older people how to make technology work. 

By the way, and I think I mentioned this before, but the day I was introduced to the library card system, I fell in love. I think I was about 22 at the time, and it was at Concordia University (Montreal). I had never had access to a library before, and I was mesmerized!!! Typing in a request on the computer is not nearly as fun!

OK -- enough about that. WAIT—I do have a story about a book today. Actually, MANY books. 

If any of you have been on a Zoom call with me, you know there is a wall of books in Studio B. I am embarrassed to say that the wall is about 20 feet long and is floor-to-ceiling. Of course, there are a few magazines on those shelves as well. I NEVER want to part with my books. BUT - I know that I must start the culling process. 

Plus, I see that some of the shelves are starting to sag, and the last thing I want is a collapsed shelf. It has happened once before when the small shelf support gave way. An entire unit of books cascaded to the floor. OH MY—when I moved the portable design wall, look what I found on the floor. Now, why is that still on the floor after how many years? Anyway -- I'll substitute this shelf support for one of the plastic ones. 

A found shelf support

I decided it was time and emptied one entire shelf. Doesn't that shelf look like it's sagging? I flipped it upside down (yes -- the same wood on both sides), and that will help with the sagging. 

The shelf is sagging.

I stacked the books on a table - that's a lot of books on one shelf, and they weigh a lot. 

The books from one shelf

And then I started to cull. I should have been doing this years ago, but it doesn't matter. I have started now. I will quickly leaf through the books I've pulled in case I've pulled something I may need/want. I doubt it, and that process will get faster as I move along. 

The culled books

By the way, I chatted with my mother yesterday, and she mentioned that she is cleaning out her filing cabinet of old expired subscriptions. WHAT????? How is this possible? While I'm stunned, I'm also very grateful, and how the heck can I get her to see that more of her crap isn't necessary? I'm also not very happy about the physio they set up. She will see the person TWICE, and then they (parents and physio) think everything is fine. Good grief—I will look into that when I'm out there next. The same goes for the medications -- they think everything is fine as is, and I'm sure they could make some changes. It's so darn hard to stay on top of things when you are not there to supervise the appointments. They (parents) will just listen to what the doctor/banker/accountant says, and then say, "Everything is fine." ACK!!!!!!

The reason that I was even looking at the books was that I wanted to find a particular book. I was about to give up, but then I found it and another one of the same genre. WOW!!!!! I can scan the spines of the books very quickly, but wouldn't it be so much easier if the same topics were grouped together? 

So, as I continue with the great book purge, I need to sort the books as well. And oh my—there are so many books I bought with great intentions, and yet I never did anything with them. I have new knowledge, new skills, and I think I might find a new use for a couple. But so many will need to go!!! 

How the heck am I going to get rid of these books? I can save some for the various book sales (Mississauga Symphony), and donate some to the thrift store, and there will be certain ones I'll offer to you! They are great books!!!! Just not something that I need. 

And I was flipping through the second and third shelf and found this!!! OMG—I have been looking for this for quite some time. I swear - I need to make a list of things that are lost in Studio B because it would be so much fun to cross them off. 

A book I didn't remember buying.

And there is the elusive set of templates that I SWEAR I had purchased. EXCEPT—do you see that the templates have a different name than the book? Can you tell me why I did that? But it doesn't natter -- I found the darn templates!!!! I knew I bought them, but where did I put them? In a book that they don't even belong to, on a bookcase! Sigh....................

The missing templates

My favorite books, which I have NOT taken the time to read (so why do I call them my favorites? - I know you're asking that question!). These are books about quilts from other regions, historical quilts, and basically just picture books featuring quilts. These are the books I'll take with me when I downsize. I won't need the rest. 

HMMM --- an old book on historical quilts

But that brings to mind another quote by Henry David Thoreau, which I've made into a reading pillow for adults. I'll have to find a picture of the pillow tomorrow (if my pictures were all tagged, it would be easy), 

OK -- I may need to change my perspective on reading books, but I LOVE them all!!!

I found this price tag on that book. Oh my --- it's been a while since the book was originally purchased. For those who don't live in Canada. Eaton's was an iconic department store for 130 years, but it didn't keep up with the times and eventually declared bankruptcy in 1999. 

The original price tag

But look at the year it was published! This book is a keeper. These are the books that I want to keep. They provide so much history, and I'm afraid that no one cares about quilt history. It's just about MAKING as fast and as many as you can. I was just a babe!

Published in 1965

And I got a huge chuckle as I flipped through the book. Look at this quilt!!!! Does anyone recognize this quilt? 

Ii swear it was in the display at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) a few years back. Yep ---- check out this website!!!! The exhibit was in 2024. We need to go to these exhibits not only to support the Museums but also to understand our quilt history. NOTHING that anyone creates today is new. NOTHING. And if you can show me something new, I bet I can find a book on my shelf where that idea came from. And then if you think that's something, I bet if we go back in history, you're going to see a TON of stuff that makes what people produce today pale in comparison. I'll share what I discovered with you next week, along with the reason I went searching through my bookshelves. 

So this is one unit of the shelves. The bottom row is books about scrapbooking, which I seem to have amassed quite a collection of. I couldn't even sell them for the paper's value! I need to purge those, which would make spreading out the remainder easier. BUT I had such high hopes for all that material!!!!! This job is going to kill me!!!

My week's goal - to cull and sort

But if I can find someone else who can use the books, I'll be happy to pass them along. I'll be sure to post them on the blog to see if anyone wants some. Watch for the culled books tomorrow - at least some of them. 

I spent most of the day sewing or working on the presentations. And I did watch some YouTube videos that I had access to until 6 AM this morning. I did NOT like the way the material availability was presented, but so what. Let's move on. And most of the material, while interesting, wasn't necessary to watch. But that's OK. I did get a couple of inspirational ideas, so it was worth my time. 

However, as I worked, I had help. Of course I did. 

MOM - I'll press the pedal while you sew

And when she looks up at you with those eyes -- your heart just melts!!!! But it's a challenge to sew with a dog right in front of your sewing machine. I didn't post that picture, and I'm sure the ergonomic people would be yelling at me to move her. 

All dogs have a front and a back, so while practicing slow stitching on my sewing machine, this was the view from behind. 

Wedged in between the tables

I mean, seriously --- how can you move her? She is so dang cute and adorable, and she knows it!!!! The two girls had fun asking to be let in and let out all day. I'd love to leave the door open, but can you believe there was frost on the car when I took Murphy for a walk at 7:30 AM? 

Of course, we had to play ball, and when she couldn't find it or get it since it was sitting on top of the bushes, she just sat there and waited. I did NOT go get it for her. She's smart enough to figure it out. 

MOM -- do you see me? See how cute and patient I am?

I'm home alone until tomorrow afternoon, so I took full advantage of the opportunity to make a mess in the kitchen. At one point, it looked like this. 

The kitchen looks a bit disheveled.

My gosh -- it looked like a couple of teenagers live here. Doors open, a chair hanging out by the stove, and crap everywhere! It doesn't look nearly as bad when I got disgusted and took a few minutes to tidy up!

I did not need a nap yesterday, so fingers crossed, I won't have jet lag to deal with. Drink lots of water. I had lots of catnaps during my travel day home, but not enough to interfere with my sleep pattern. The time difference was 6 hours.  

It's going to be another exciting day! I must find some boxes for those books, and I'm only going to focus on that one set of shelves until I find a home for everything. I do NOT need to have a huge mess in that space. Which reminds me that I have a few boxes of books still upstairs that belonged to M that I must process as well. 

On that note -- have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!