Cutting it close!

What an AMAZING day yesterday! Some great discussions on tools that quilters buy but never seem to use to their fullest extent! Things like digital cutters, EQ8, and embroidery software! We have enough interest to form clubs for all of them, and I want these groups to be manageable, or we lose the ability for everyone to chat. So we'll see how many people sign up! 

I now have a bit of paperwork to prep for each of them, and I have this afternoon and tomorrow to do so.

The minute that we were done, I was out the door as I had 20 points (I said 10 yesterday, but it was really 20) that I needed to close off the geocaching goal for this session. The clock reset last night, and I made it. 

I got 500+ points! 

It was a much nicer day than the previous day. Somewhere in that parking lot is a geocache! I was going for easy ones. It was a perfect day of the week to get them in an industrial-type parking lot. Not such a good idea to hit a mall on Sunday afternoon. 

A geocache in this parking lot

Then I walked to the second location and had to laugh when I arrived. You are supposed to sign the log book when you find the cache, which comes in ALL sizes and shapes. So the second cache was here. Was one supposed to sign the BIG, very obvious book? No, but I thought it funny that someone left a notebook right by the cache. Intentional or accident? 

Is that the logbook? 

Then I made a quick stop at Micheal's (more on that another day) and spotted this giant ball of yarn. It's HUGE. And huge thick chenille-type yarn seems to be very popular. So you can make an afghan in a day? 

A big ball of yarn!

Two long phone calls, and on those two calls, my phone did not cut out once! I will save money if I pay the penalty and get a new phone, but the current offerings could be more spectacular. It doesn't make sense to get the same phone, and the next one from what I have (S21) is the S22, and all they did more or less is slightly change the size. Why is that? That's the most ridiculous thing EVER! Then your cases don't fit. A MONEY GRAB if ever I saw! I don't want a flip or folding phone, and I don't want a huge note. The only option would be to change the brand. Hmmm!! A bit more research needs to happen. 

Then it was off to the long arm. Another smaller quilt and so much fun to do. OK -- it's not like I don't like the large ones, but nice to change it up. The one for today is small, so I'll load that during Monday's sewing and quilt it when we're done.

Customer quilt - DONE

I dealt with the papers from my screen print design yesterday, and I cut them up into 8 1/2" by 11 and used them to take notes during the discussions. I hate to see things go to waste! 

I spotted this in one of the tubs. MORE designs that I prepped for screen printing, and this was one of my favorites - a  smattering of maple leaves. 

Another design for screen printing

There were three different screens for this one, and I layered them -- just like when the fabric companies print their fabric. Did you know that with conventional methods, you can go as high as 18 screens (each screen is one color)? But with digital printing, there are no screens and no color limit. That's why digital printing is more realistic than traditional screen printing. 

My three designs

Anyway -- the inspiration for this design came from the forest floor in the fall. I printed two different colorways for it. One was on tan fabric with gold and burgundy. Not sure what the third color was. And the second colorway was black with grey and two other colors. I still have the black one, but I didn't want to dig through the fabric pile last night to get it. I will try to locate it today. The original colorway was made into a quilt that got sold. I sure wish I could locate the pictures for that. I might try that because I thought it was a pretty unique quilt. 

I cut four T-shirts in those laundry baskets and stowed them away with other cycling T-shirts to make a memory quilt. 

The start of a T-shirt quilt

I dug out a couple of other things to deal with today, and they are sitting on the cutting table, but I forgot to take pictures last night, so you'll see them tomorrow. A little bit at a time! While it would likely take only a few minutes to empty the bag and put everything away, this is fun. It's like my own advent calendar! Even opening those rolls of paper in the bins is kind of fun. It's bringing back loads of memories. I'm taking pictures and then dealing with the pieces! 

I think there are many rolls of BRAND new paper in those tubs, so I'll have to find a home for those as I haven't touched them in how many years? Do I really need a massive roll of tracing paper? I might look through the supplies and take them to the textile studio to see if any students want them. And there are at least three rolls of brown wrapping paper. Do I need all that? I don't think so. 

I haven't been posting what's in my advent calendars. I just opened two of them this morning. It's been a busy week, and it hasn't been on my radar. This is going to be another busy week. Not stupid busy, just busy. Lots of stuff to prep, which means writing, but not deadline writing, so that's good. And we're going to have a big show and tell of our advent calendars this morning, so I can't wait. 

However, the adventure advent calendar that I bought? It's HARD!! After looking at all three clues to solve Day One, I'm still on Day Two. I've already looked at the first clue for Day Two. OK -- so that part was OK, but now what? This is the clue --- how do I get three numbers from this? 

The clues for Day Two

I'm going to take it downstairs to think in peace and quiet and see what happens. But at this rate, I'll finish it by Christmas next year!

Well, I'm off to spin class. Last Monday, there was an issue with the sound system, but we all love Joseph so much that no one left. Although I did the same distance I normally do, I have to admit that music is a huge motivator. I wasn't there on Wednesday, but I bet it's fixed now. Yikes --- you could hear every heavy breath and cough! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

A can of worms!

Yikes -- I see Torry is on Book FOUR of The Seven Sisters series! I finished Book Two and needed a break! She will be ready when the 8th book comes out sometime next year. I'll be behind - as usual. But that's OK. I don't mind. 

Having a decent narrator for the audiobooks sure makes a difference. I'm currently listening to an audiobook (more about where it came from another day), but the narrator is literally reading (not narrating) the book. No inflection; she barely takes a breath. The nature of the book is simple, but the way she reads it does NOTHING to the storyline. I will finish it -- it is interesting but certainly different from when the book is professionally translated into audiobook form. 

We had two great classes (via Zoom) yesterday! Gosh -- I LOVE looking at all the homework, and that's the most essential part of the class. It's so much fun to see the choices of fabric the others have made and how each makes the quilt look so different! I've learned so much from my students! I hate to call them students, but you know who I mean!

And then I opened a Can of Worms! Yesterday's classes were hosted by Thimbles and Things, and if you are NOT on their newsletter -- you should be! I'm teaching some great classes in the new year (Free-motion quilting, One block Wonder, and Fab Farm by Elizabeth Hartman!) Yesterday marked the final (for now) Timely Technique session. I would love to do more, but I need more hours!

We chatted about EXCESS in our studios, but the techniques can also apply to other areas of our lives. Over the years since I started cleaning up, I've lifted a HUGE weight off my shoulders. I still have a lot of stuff, but I've also gotten rid of many things. What I have now is organized, more or less. No more hopping over tubs to get to something, no more massive searches to find a particular piece of fabric or a quilt top. No more buying duplicate tools because I can't find the original. No more danger of me being buried alive amongst the fabric! 

It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn good. I'll be refining and culling forever, but it's so easy now that there is less stuff to deal with (and yet I still have TONS of stuff)! 

Well -- the topic seemed to strike a cord in the attendees. I received thank-you e-mails from some of them, including pictures! And someone jokingly asked in the class if I would hold them accountable. And you know what? I AM!! They don't know this yet, but I'm going to ask who wants to check in monthly during 2023 and send photos! Let's see how much gets cleaned up! 

As the new year approaches, people are starting to think about resolutions. What happens is the motivation peters out quickly. Many programs show you how to declutter but give you no resources to make it happen and little support to maintain it. For some reason, I'm a self-motivator (and self-enabler!). I now am meticulous about keeping my space neat and tidy, and every year it gets worse (or is that better?) As I mentioned, I'm now to the point where my three sewing tools and the thread on my machine go into a box at the end of the day. It keeps the space clean and neat, and everything can be moved off the tables quickly should I need it for something else. I am NOT my mother's daughter in that respect. OK -- if you look in the office - I'm following in her footsteps, but not in the studio where it's important. 

Do not ask how many times a day I pass the Swifter! OK -- that's an exaggeration, but I use it every day as the amount of dust and lint that collects is obscene! 

OK, and now for some pictures. After the Zoom classes, I was off to get some points for geocaching. I decided to take the easy route and went on a couple of adventures. While they were 3 KM from each other, they were totally different. 

The first one looked at various art installations in the heart of my city (the sixth largest in Canada). I don't get down this way very often, but this is a happening place in the art world. This is the Pool of Knowledge and is filled with letters. I LOVE it -- and I should have taken better photos. 

Pool of Knowledge

And this is a building I see when driving past this area on the highway. Actually, there are two towers, and they are pretty funky. Looks like someone needed help stacking up a bunch of trays. 

Funky towers

Then I got a bit closer. I'm in denial that I have height issues, but looking at that gave me slight vertigo! If you want to read more about it, check this out.  

Twisted towers

The entire area is cool, with the outdoor park with two big screens where I could have watched the soccer match if I wanted to. But it was a tad chilly for that. Definitely, an area where you could get away without a car! Something to think about when I need to move. But I wouldn't be living on the 61st floor! And if you read the information on the website, they take a dig at the Marilyn Monroe (Absolute Towers) just down the road, which are round, and therefore some of the space is compromised to maintain the outside of the building. 

Once I was done with that adventure, I was off to the second one, a wooded park by the river. Just three KM down the road, and it was gorgeous! Look at the sculpture in the tree. 

Owl sculpture in the tree

I got a chuckle when I saw this sign. I need that on my blog -- the enabling blog! 

The enabling garden

And I spotted this beautiful house nestled in the woods. This is the first time I've seen this house, even though I've been to this park several times. 

Gorgeous old house

It was built in 1919!!! Wow!!!

Cornerstone dated 1919

I'm still short 20 points, and I NEED them today. So, where will I be going after my Zoom discussions? I'll post the links at the end of the blog. We have so many tools, and we don't use them. My goal is NOT to enable anyone to buy or start a new project (OK -- so I'm lying), but I also want to enable people to use the tools they have!!!

Here's what I unpacked from the bag on the cutting table today. I bought this pattern in the US and need to make it, and I can see beautiful embellishments on it, which will be perfect for work. 

Clothing pattern

Here's the quilt of the day. It was so nice to work on a small project for a change! It seemed to take no time compared to the others I've done recently. The next one is loaded, and I might even be able to get two done today. Let's see how it goes. 

Customer quilt - DONE

And what paper did I deal with from those containers? I found another design I created for screen printing when I was in the textile program. As one of our assignments, we had to work with the college theatre program to make fabric for the costume department. So we had a client. My job was to create material for some underwater creatures, and they wanted fish on them. Yes -- I had to move away from my geometric world. 

Here is a small drawing of my finished design. 

My undersea design

Then I had it enlarged onto a sheet of paper four feet tall (the size of the screens we used). This version still needed something. See how flat it looked until the circles got added? A small detail, but it makes a huge difference. 

A version of the design

I even found the actual sheet of vellum used to create the screen for the printing. 

The vellum to create the screen

I don't think I have any of the fabric left, but the material was green - some flimsy stuff and the fish were purple. But everything had to be oversized, so it showed on the stage. I never did see the costumes that were created with this fabric. I don't know why as today, I would have a picture, and I may not have time. But the contract was made once we gave the fabric to the costume department! 

If any of you want to get on my e-mail list of decluttering, send me a note. I want BEFORE pictures. You can only get in if you send pictures! And I'll check in once a month to see how progress is made! You need to only pick one small area. More on that another day! Something to think about for today!

So if you want to attend any of the discussions this morning, here are the links again. 

If you want to join us, just log into the call. All these one-hour zooms are discussions to discover your level, what brand you have, and what you want to learn. There is no cost and zero commitment. 

Sunday, December 4 at 10 AM. zoom opens at 9:45

Digital Cutters  -- Brother Scan and Cut, Cricut, Silhouette

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86553551005?pwd=OERLRVhObTZFRUtLUTlHc0ZLR2RKQT09 Meeting ID: 865 5355 1005 Passcode: 675303

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, December 4 at 11:15 AM. Zoom opens at 11:00

EQ8 (Electric Quilt 8 -- software for designing quilts)

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84750425875?pwd=R015NWkrMURSYXNvQ21HdXRzRG1ZZz09 Meeting ID: 847 5042 5875 Passcode: 388459

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, December 4 at 1:00 PM. Zoom opens at 12:45

mySewnet Embroidery Software

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87534524274?pwd=ZmNiNmFMSUdkVDQvWUM4cjlYZXhIUT09 Meeting ID: 875 3452 4274 Passcode: 355283

And on that note, it's time to get moving! 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Good news/bad news!

Thanks, everyone, for the comments. I will get them answered; I'm a tad busy at the moment. I didn't even get a chance to open my Adventure advent calendar yesterday. 

However, I'm happy to report that I finished everything I had planned, which was good!

I sent Zoom links to everyone who wanted to sign up for the EQ8, mySewnet embroidery software and digital cutter discussions for TOMORROW. If you have yet to receive an e-mail, let me know. Some people put everything in the same e-mail, and it's hard to catch everything. I'm NOT printing anything anymore, and I work strictly with the computer and extensively use the filing systems. But when ONE item needs to be filed in MANY places, that becomes a challenge. 

So if you think you are saving me time by putting everything in one e-mail, you are NOT! And most of you are very good at placing the topic in the subject or at least in the e-mail. I get some e-mails that say "block 3". For what?? 

My e-mail if you need to get in touch is elainetheriault@gmail.com. 

The discussions tomorrow are NOT the actual class sign-up, as they are strictly a discussion -- the official sign-up will be again put on the blog shortly. I put all the links at the end of this post. 

So what happened yesterday? Well, there was good news and bad news, and the good news is that another giant customer quilt is done. 

This one was very wide! 

That's a big quilt

But the quilt is beautiful, and the colors are stunning in real life. 

Customer quilt - DONE

However, we had a little problem near the bottom. 

Oopsy!

This wasn't a case of the seam not being sewn, it was a case of NO seam allowance in that area, and the machine just pushed into that opening. I stopped it as quickly as possible, but the quilt will need a minor repair when it goes home. You CAN NOT sew a seam and not have a seam allowance. I checked the rest of the quilt and found another spot in the same block on the other side, and there is ZERO seam allowance there. I watched the long arm, and it went right over that spot, but I held the fabric down, so it didn't catch. 

NO seam allowance

This is not just for the quilting process but for the integrity of the quilt. The moment the quilt gets washed, that raw edge will start to fray! And if you know you did that and are hoping it will work, then at least let me know so I can watch that spot. 

So fixing that delayed my timing, and I went to dinner and said I would finish the last row when I got back. 

I returned to find this on the screen. 

What? The program closed down! 

Sorry -- so much reflection, but the program basically shut down! And I still had one more row to do. I don't know if the power flickered when we were out. Sigh.............

However, the good news is that I had saved the design for this quilt when I started. You get prompted, and I never used to use that feature. Most quilts are smaller and easier, so I never saved the quilting setup. But I'm trying to get in the habit of saving, especially for the larger ones. So within mere minutes, I had the program opened, the file loaded, and the registration marks positioned the design, and I was back in business. 

What the screen should have looked like

So that was a good news/bad news kind of day for quilting!

More good news -- I found another storage spot I could take over. This wine fridge no longer works and should be moved out! That would give me room to store those plastic containers of paper! 

A storage spot!

Although they are too tall with all the paper sticking out, but I can fix that! Because of my schedule for the next week, I will have little time (well, I could make time) to sort through them. But I started today and grabbed one item. Remember, this is stuff from when I went to the textile program at Sheridan Collage --- in 2001~~~ Here's the printing for my selvage! 

The selvage of my fabric design

Here are the acetates I used to create my screen to print the fabric. 

Acetates for creating the screen 

OK -- so that's hard to see. Here's what the design looked like. Yes -- I'm not a good artist for freehand, so all of my stuff is somewhat geometric. 

My fabric design

And I still have the yardage!!!

The yardage that I designed and printed

I was going to use it for a quilt back at some point, but a chunk had been removed, and it wasn't large enough for that particular quilt. I'll move it to the backing section. 

However, all the acetates are gone. I threw them out. I will never use them, so why keep them? I've documented it all here, and that's good enough for me. 

I plan to grab one or two more pieces during the day and quickly deal with it. Some of the stuff is design stuff, and others are brand-new rolls of paper. 

I will do the same thing with the laundry baskets of clothing, and I'll take a couple of pieces a day and deal with them. YES -- I know it would be better and faster to just focus on it, but I don't really have time to focus right now. I need to get customer quilts to them so they can be bound for Christmas. I should have everything out of the house by the end of next week!

Here are the four T-shirts to work on today. I may keep one or two of the backs to use as practice for machine embroidery. 

T-shirts to be cut up

Here's one more item that I bought when I was in the US. I know -- I do NOT need another Kimberbell project, but this was adorable!!! And this was why I wanted that small pie dish -- someone had made a pincushion with the pie block as the top. So technically, you just need a small dish -- it doesn't have to have anything written on the bottom! 

Kimberbell embellishment kit

Now let's look under the table. OK -- so this is the long arm. This is what it looks like underneath while quilting a quilt. The top part moves back and forth, and the bottom section moves side to side! And that's how the quilt gets done! 

Underneath the long arm

But now, let's look under my sewing table. Remember, I wanted a drawer, and a drawer won't fit as a bar is under the table. 

A bar under the table

However, I found a drawer that works with that kind of table. 

It may not work, as the lip under the table is further back than shown here. But the concept is pretty cool. 

I love putting my stuff away every night. Well, the machines stay up, but I just tuck things away, making the space look neat and tidy. I can't wait to get the space completely in order. So close now! But I didn't make a mess overnight, so I don't expect it to be cleaned up overnight!

My three presentations are done for today! How did that happen? 

To make my life easy and not miss anyone, I will post the Zoom links for the three discussions HERE. 

If you want to join us and haven't signed up -- just log into the call. All these one-hour zooms are discussions to discover your level, what brand you have, and what you want to learn. There is no cost and zero commitment. 

Sunday, December 4 at 10 AM. zoom opens at 9:45

Digital Cutters  -- Brother Scan and Cut, Cricut, Silhouette

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86553551005?pwd=OERLRVhObTZFRUtLUTlHc0ZLR2RKQT09 Meeting ID: 865 5355 1005 Passcode: 675303

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, December 4 at 11:15 AM. Zoom opens at 11:00

EQ8 (Electric Quilt 8 -- software for designing quilts)

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84750425875?pwd=R015NWkrMURSYXNvQ21HdXRzRG1ZZz09 Meeting ID: 847 5042 5875 Passcode: 388459

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, December 4 at 1:00 PM. Zoom opens at 12:45

mySewnet Embroidery Software

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87534524274?pwd=ZmNiNmFMSUdkVDQvWUM4cjlYZXhIUT09 Meeting ID: 875 3452 4274 Passcode: 355283

On that note, I'm out of here! Another busy day and I need to get 110 geocaching points by Monday, so guess what I'll do later today? And I have another quilt to quilt, but it's much smaller than the ones I've tackled the last couple of days!!!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

A slow return to normalcy

Yesterday was a nice relaxed day and although I have tons of stuff to do - I'm not stressing about it..... yet!

I am very happy to report that Sparky is feeling better. She is not out of the woods yet, but the fact that there is improvement is an AWESOME thing. Sometimes dogs do not completely recover from vestibular disease and she may have that head tilt forever, but at least she can get up on her own, she went on a reasonable distance for a walk (although very slow), made a feeble attempt to chase a rabbit, she is eating (more or less) and all round - seems to be improving. I am very cautious with her - she is still unstable, but nothing like on the weekend.  Yeah Sparky!!!!!

Here is a picture of her from the weekend.

Sparky and M!

While at the bicycle show back in March, I had purchased two pieces of art.

The bike tiles

 I was too cheap to pay for the shipping and hoping to pick up the pieces at the Mississauga Campus. That could not be arranged and I had to go to the Oakville campus for pickup and I just hadn't made it there yet.  At last - the other day - I managed to go and pick up the art work.

Quilt Bike by Rachel Kochany

I mean it doesn't get any more perfect match than that!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the second piece I purchased was this one.

Orange bikes - no idea who the artist is

They were both wrapped in this goregous paper which looked like a poster advertising the illustrators of the 2011 class at Sheridan College.

illustrated wrapping paper

I am thrilled with both pieces and the proceeds went to a worthy cause!  A win win for everyone!

Since the location of pick-up was VERY close to where I went to school at Sheridan, I had to stop by and have a peek.  Ah!  The print tables - I remember spending MANY MANY MANY hours in this room  (at all hours of the day and night) printing MANY MANY yards of fabric!!!   I loved that time at Sheridan and there are many days when I wish I could go back. I think I would enjoy it so much more now than I did before.

The print tables at Sheridan College Textile Studio

While I was there, I got to chatting with one of the students and when I asked what she was doing now that she graduated, she told me about her fabric license plates. Well my ears perked up at that. So I got her information and this is what she is making.


Her name is Rebekah Senko.   Check out the Canadian provincial patches she is making. They are very basic, but very nice.  Many of us so wanted patches of every province when we cycled across Canada and most many provinces had nothing to offer - at least that we could find. I may have to get a set of Rebekah's patches and figure out something!!!!


It was a great trip down memory lane, got two great pieces of art work and perhaps a new project. What more could one ask for!!!!!


Yesterday was Monday Mania!  I did get a lot of sewing done - I haven't taken pictures yet, but I will later today.  This is what Krystyna was working on.

Krystyna's critter block

She is almost done!!!!   Better be because that baby of hers is due soon!


Better get to work - the house is a disaster zone, there is tons of work piled up and I need to make a big effort to clear up some stuff.


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!