Decluttering makes me happy!!!

FIRST -- I stand corrected!!! Yesterday I made a mistake. The interviewees did NOT get paid. That was very clear, but for some reason, I misinterpreted the information. I apologize for that. Thanks to a couple of readers who pointed that out. I've corrected my post from yesterday. What is disturbing is that while these people didn't get paid, the network paid $7 - 9 million for the rights to produce that interview, so someone profited. If you want to live a private life, then you should keep it private. You can't have your cake and eat it too. 

OK -- now onto more exciting things. I'm so excited this morning!! Oh my -- I took my own advice to heart, and I've been organizing stuff. The magazines are DONE!!! 

The floor is clear, and all the books and magazines are now back on the shelves. They are sorted by title. There was a pile of miscellaneous publications which I managed to find homes for some of them, and the rest went in a miscellaneous pile. Yes - the amount is obscene. I'm well aware of that. But I was attracted to the darn things, and many of those were picked up at guild garage sales. Some of them are very old! 

The piles are labeled, and I'm thrilled. As I go through the piles, they'll be dealt with. I figure I have ten years to do it!

The right side of the mess

The left side

Someone asked me why the ends of the magazines and/or books were showing, rather than the more colorful spines. Well, it's all about space. Most of the shelves are too short for the books to stand upright. Magazines are better left lying down. I did rearrange one shelf so some books could stand up. I may do more rearranging at a later date, but for the moment, getting everything to this stage is HUGE. The shelves' height can be adjusted, I just don't have time at the moment, and I've never noticed it before. 

I found ONE cross stitch magazine and a couple of duplicates. The duplicates are in my giveaway box, and if no one at the retreat wants them, they'll get tossed. I was going to give away the cross stitch magazine until I had a quick peek through it, and OH MY - I found something that is so cute. And I was looking for something like that, so I'm off to see what I can do about that. 

Cross stitch magazine

We had a great time at Monday sewing. We've added some dedicated show and tell time, which is great as we now get to see all kinds of stuff that we never saw before. It's almost better than getting together in person. Our topics of discussion are vast! It's so great that we have Zoom to keep us connected. As I've said before, I'll be hard-pressed to go back to sewing in person. 

And you would not believe how many times I get the same thing from the Zoom presentation that I'm doing. People who live in very remote areas can get connected. It's amazing and nice to hear that some positive things are coming from the pandemic. 

I had made this block for Long Time Gone. I wasn't happy with it as I didn't like the light orange. It just didn't go with the other oranges in the block. I decided it was a perfect thing to do while on the Monday sewing call. 

One of the Long Time Gone blocks

I ripped the block apart in rows at the bottom and replaced the light orange squares. 

The light orange is replaced by a darker orange

Then I sewed it back together, and now this block is done! 

The Long Time Gone block is DONE

I still have a few things cut out and ready to sew together. One of them is a quilt backing which should be easy. The other is a quilt that needs to be sewn together, including the backing and then two blocks. So I've made good progress on that stack of stuff, but now it's time to add to the stack as the next homework blocks are coming due. 

My pile of prepped projects

I also managed to get some tidying up done this morning. I'll probably be pulling some stuff today to get ready for this week's presentations, and I was running out of room. I made great progress with the tidy-up, and I'm happy!!!

The tables are almost clear!

Here's some stuff from earlier that I didn't get a chance to post. Yep - working with sequins and found a few on the floor! I love sequins, and I love sewing them on by machine, but they are easy to spill!

Sequins on the floor

I got a customer quilt done. It needs to be trimmed, hopefully later today. And the next one is loaded, and depending on how this morning goes, I might work on it this afternoon. 

Customer quilt - DONE

One other thing I did manage to do was this. 

The design wall is empty

YES - the design wall is clear!!!  Except for those two blocks. 

My pandemic blocks

I made these two blocks at the beginning of the pandemic from my orange and white scrap boxes. I had this brilliant idea that I'd have nothing to do! So I had great aspirations to make a scrappy orange and white quilt. HA!!!! I got two blocks done, and one year later, there they sit!!

What was on the design wall? My Summer Moon quilt, of course. 

Summer Moon quilt top

I love the quilt, and the photo doesn't do justice to the greens and purples in it. But that's OK. And I had to use several different shades of solid white, but you can't tell that either. I'm going to call this quilt the picnic quilt. I seem to have eaten a LOT of chocolate as I made the quilt. I think this is the THIRD chocolate stain I found on it. And when I was assembling the final rows, I found hummus that I had spilled on my shirt on the quilt. Sigh........................  I know - don't eat when quilting. The first thing to do when this gets quilted is to wash it!!

A chocolate stain

Then it was quick to search through the labeled backings to find something that worked. 

The pile of quilt backings

As I remove one from the shelf, I have a stack in the stash room that would NOT fit on the shelf. So one by one, those backings are going on the shelf. There are six left to add. Once that is done, I'm sure there are other big yardage pieces in the stash buckets to add to the pile. What's so great about all this is that I actually see HUGE progress. Before, I likely would have gone out and bought new backings because I couldn't find anything due to the huge mess. No longer!!!!

A few backings to add to the shelf

See how all the backings are marked with the yardage? It's super easy to find something. 

I worked on the scrappy binding at Monday sewing, and NOW this one is ready to go to the "to be quilted" pile. YEAH!!!!

The backing, quilt top, and binding for Summer Moon

It feels good to get that one done.  I still have lots more to do - that table of current projects is still piled high, but progress is being made and NOTHING new is getting added or bought, so I'm a happy camper. 

I really can't believe that it took me so long to see what was happening. Like I was totally blind or something. It doesn't matter, I see the light now, and I'm doing what I can to get rid of the stuff, and that's all that counts. And at least when the day comes that I do have to get rid of it in a big hurry, at least I know what's there, and it'll be much easier than searching through tubs and tubs of stuff. 

On that note, I see it's going to be a glorious day today. I can't wait to get out and walk. Yesterday, just minutes before I was to walk the dogs, we had a small ice storm, and the roads and sidewalks were treacherous, so we went out later in the day. Today, the sun is out, and it looks amazing!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Magazine clean up

 

There is nothing like satisfaction at getting things done! And quickly. As you know, our microwave went on the fritz earlier this week. Not that we use our microwave all the time, but well - we do. I like the microwave to make oatmeal, it's great for reheating leftovers, and I like to microwave my Magic Bag to use either just for the warmth or for an aching muscle. 

So, when it went, we needed action fast. Through the wonders of the internet, I researched (a little bit) about microwaves, and bought one, and arranged delivery and installation, all without speaking to a single person. Well, we had some webchats or texts, but that was it. 

The microwave was delivered in an extremely efficient and timely manner. Thanks, Goeman's Appliances. The installer was late, but well - it worked out, although I couldn't be there at the end as I was on a Zoom call. But DH was here. 

I snapped this photo when the installer went out to his vehicle for something. What a mess!!!

Installation in progress

But there was an even bigger mess on the floor after moving the stove out of the way. ICK!!!!

The mess under the stove

We only found ONE beer bottle cap and a plastic thing from the top of a juice container. It could have been a whole lot worse. Not bad, considering that stove had probably never been moved in 15 years. 

It's all clean now. 

And here's the new microwave. 

The new microwave

WOW --- not a whole lot has changed in microwaves, but the lights are LED, and they are BRIGHT—both inside and beneath the microwave. The time button is also much brighter, so it shows up in the dark. The best part? It's super quiet!! So quiet, I can barely hear the darn thing work. At first, I thought - it's NOT working. But it heated up the Magic Bag no problem. And my oatmeal this morning? PERFECT. Zero learning curve!

Yep - I'm a happy camper and glad that it's done. 

Now half of our appliances are stainless steel, and the others are white. Do I care?  It's so not a factor that I didn't even think about it when buying the new one. Our dishwasher is stainless steel.

I finished off my presentation yesterday afternoon, and I was excited about a totally free afternoon. I actually sat down and read for a bit. It was glorious. My Dad reminded me that I shouldn't get so busy that I don't stop and smell the roses. Well - I still walk a couple of hours each day, and I blog, and I do read every day, so I am busy, but I still get my personal time each day. 

I have many things that I want to get organized, and there isn't time to do it all. But I'm also on the hunt for a couple of specific embroidery files. Now when I purchased my first embroidery machine, it used a FLOPPY disk. The 3½" kind. Oh my - that was a while ago. 

Anyway, I dug out some of the floppy disks. 

Floppy disks for the embroidery machine

I happen to have a 3½" floppy disk drive so I can read them. I dug it out so I can hopefully transfer these files to my hard disk. Then the question will be - what do I do with the floppy disks? Keep them as a backup? I'll have to think about that. They are neatly stored in the box with the other machine embroidery CDs, so I may just put them back. But the key is to get all those files loaded onto the hard disk and into some kind of an organized program so I can readily have access to them. 

A floppy disk drive

Speaking of organizing, we chatted about magazines yesterday. Oh boy - that's a huge, cluttered area at my house. Actually, it could be a lot worse. It WAS a lot worse, but now, it's not bad. Most of them have been sorted by title and are labeled and stored on my bookcases. I have a couple of piles that are not sorted or not labeled.  

Bookcases with magazines

I got up early this morning and decided to tackle the end section of that bookcase. These two sections are the worse. 

Oh my -- look what I found. Do you think I really need FIVE copies of this magazine? 

Five copies of the same magazine!

I did NOT buy those five copies. These were complimentary copies, but why five? 

So I did a wee bit of rearranging, and I sorted. But only in the right-most section. I have a huge pile on the floor that still needs to be sorted. I would need more empty spots to put each one in their separate stack—something to contemplate tomorrow. 

A bit of sorting and organizing in the magazine area

There are also quite a few "one of" magazines that could probably be dealt with very quickly. 

WAIT A MINUTE -- it's 6:30, and it's LIGHT OUTSIDE!!!!!  WOW - spring is on the way!!!

What are we going to do with all these magazines? 

1. SORT them by title. 
2. Get rid of duplicates.
3. Decide if you can get rid of a particular title or whether you really want to read it.
4. Find a place to store them - in boxes, a bookcase, or wherever. But they must be neat and easy to find. So if you put them in boxes, LABEL them with the title. Sometimes, it best to get things out of sight, so you're not overwhelmed. 
5. Of those you want to keep, do you want to read them and then keep them or read them and get rid of them? 
6. Start with those that you want to read and get rid of. Find a time each day that you can spend a few minutes reviewing/reading a magazine. Find a place to put those magazines, so you don't forget - the bathroom, the night table, the kitchen table, your reading chair. 
7. Make it a habit to read a magazine - EVERY DAY. 
8. What to do with it when you're done? If there is a pattern or an article that you want to keep, SCAN it with your scanner and save it on your hard disk as a PDF. You can create a filing system to sort them or save the documents and tag them. I don't know if you can tag  PDFs, but I'm going to check it out.  
9. When you are done with the physical magazine, put it in the recycling or donate to a friend ONLY if that friend is interested. ASK FIRST!!!
10. Think twice before you buy another magazine. I have no problem buying, as long as you are reading them. 

I found a "few" older magazines that I could probably get rid of fairly quickly. Those will get put into a separate pile, and I'll try to deal with them a bit at a time. It would make good summer reading in the gazebo. Those days are rapidly approaching!

But the important thing is to get them organized so that you know what you have when you do read them. I'm currently reading Cloth Paper Scissors STUDIOS magazines. I had sorted that stack. They are ones that I don't want to keep, so once I'm finished, I have a home for them. I'm on my second title since I started the organizing thing. Yes - it's going to take a long time depending on the magazine. Some are filled with articles, and others are filled with patterns. The ones with patterns only will be a snap to zip through. BE RUTHLESS. 

My love for magazines developed years ago when I started working. I worked in the head office of a large bank and didn't really know anyone. I was terribly shy (I KNOW!!!), and so on my lunch hour, I'd wander the streets and check out the shops, including the newsstand. I've bought a LOT of magazines in my time, but not always to read. Those captions on the front are so enticing! I'm learning to say NO, but it's been hard. The pandemic has really helped!

I also managed to work on my Summer Moon quilt. I got a good part of the third section (columns 5 and 6) together. It would be great if I could get the top finished this weekend. That's my goal because I have another quilt that has to go on the wall. 

I also spent the morning at the computer and made excellent headway in the paperwork that needed to be done. That was a huge weight off my shoulders. There's more, of course, but there are only so many hours in the day. I'm OK with that. 

I have one class and a meeting for the ENTIRE weekend. How did that happen? It's not that I don't have anything to do, but no urgent things because of a deadline. 

OH -- when I was at the grocery store the other day, I ran into Pauline. Well, she recognized me and called out my name. When was the last time you were recognized, or you recognized someone while out shopping!!  Good to see you in person, Pauline!!  

I'm off to do errands this morning. I hear that our area is finally coming out of lockdown on Monday, but my normal shopping area has been open for a while, and I need to get some stuff. I have a list, and I'm excited!!! I'll be in and out as I need to get home as there are quilts to quilt, a class to teach, and quilt tops to sew together. 

I'm so excited that it's getting light in the morning. When does that time change happen? But at least, it'll be light later into the evening! Spring is coming!!! Now, all we need is a bit warmer weather. The last couple of days, the wind has been quite cool, but that hasn't stopped me from walking. I'm still out regardless. Got to get that fresh air, got to clean the cobwebs from my brain. The apple has fallen far from the tree in that respect as my mom has NOT been out of her apartment in over two years. Not even to go into the hallway of their building. Not even on the balcony! I would die!

Well, it's time to get the day started!!! I'm off to find out what time the stores open. 9 AM!!!!

And if you're wondering what the decluttering task is today? It's a continuation of the magazine thing. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!

Sunshine!

 

The sun was out in all its glory yesterday, and I took full advantage of it! I moved a sewing machine upstairs to Studio U. And after I finished my project for work (on the laptop), I moved over to the sewing machine. I can't share what I'm sewing with you - well, not yet, but what fun to sew in the sun! 

It was so warm in that room, I thought it was summer! I finished the one quilt block that I was working on and even cut out and sewed part of the next one! How about that? I just took one project up - no sense in bringing up more than I can handle. 

Besides, if I wanted to stay there, I could always work on sorting out those bags of scraps, and that's exactly what I did!

I went through that entire huge box. Some of the scraps were a bit large, but I didn't care - I just stuffed the pet mats and didn't keep ONE thing! Shocking! But we have to get over this hoarding thing. 

I filled 10 pet mats. 

Ten pet mats ready to be sewed shut

The serger is in Studio B, so I trundled them all downstairs to serge them up at some point. Seriously?? Why not do it now? So I did. I serged them all up and then trundled them back upstairs to my cozy spot so I could finish off the serged seams by inserting the thread back inside the seam. 

I know - you think that's a lot of up and down the stairs. I'm OK with that. I have a very aggressive walking goal this year - I need an average of 11.5 KM each day for 365 days to make the goal. That's a total of 4,200 KM (walking) for this year. Call me crazy - but I want to finish my virtual walk across Canada. 

I'm happy to find steps any way I can! That means - I've already walked over 100 KM this year! Yep - I can't get behind, and with the weather the way it is? I'm taking full advantage of walking outside, but my two walks each day are not enough to get the 11.5 KM, so I need steps in the house. 

Two more things I HAVE to change. I need to stretch EVERY DAY, and I need to eat more protein EVERY DAY. 

Anyway - after dinner, I finished off the pet mats, and they are ready for delivery. I'm going to have to do that soon as there is now a bit of a pile in the living room, and I need to get them out of here. 

There are still a few scraps in Studio U that need to be dealt with, but I'm making good progress so far. I just wonder what the heck am I going to do with all my "free" time when I no longer have to manage my possessions (mostly junk!). Oh - I'm sure I'll find something to keep me entertained. 

Here's the status of the table in the office. OH MY GOD - there's an actual surface under all the garbage that's been languishing there for years! I need to go through this stuff. I might just walk it upstairs today and do it there. I think it will be another sunny day, and I'm taking advantage of the light in that room. It makes me feel happy. 

There is an actual surface to the table

I did get a bit of work done in Studio B this morning. I'm making progress on the Christmas Fig quilt. The top half is now together, so that's a good thing. Just need to sew the bottom half together and add a border—my goal for later today. 

Progress on Christmas Fig

And I started to sew the binding (by hand) on one of my quilts. This has been sitting around long enough - it's time to get it done. I got about half of one side done. That's OK - I'm slow at hand stitching - the big thing is progress is being made!! Just so you know, this is the ONLY quilt of mine that doesn't have the binding on. Oh - I lie. That modern scrap quilt I just quilted needs the binding on as well. 

Hand stitching the binding

What I need to do right NOW - is to stop pulling anything further from cupboards or piles. This is what happens. I find a new book to read, and the one that I'm currently reading gets abandoned. Not with novels, but with non-fiction. As I mentioned, I'm browsing through the one on machine embroidery. I must NOT start another one until I'm done with that. This is what gets me into trouble!!!

Speaking of reading, Linda asked how many books I read last year. I set my goal at 50 as I had no idea how many books I could read in a year. I read 72. I might have forgotten one or two non-fiction books in that count. That's both audiobooks and physical books. I would love to read more, but I don't have time with work stuff, and there are times when I just don't want to listen to an audiobook or don't have to sit with a real book. And I HATE to listen to anything when I walk. That's just FREE time to do nothing but walk. 

It's important that we give our brains a rest and just use our imagination and think about stuff. I solve a LOT of problems and deal with many issues when I'm working away, not listening to anything. So I only listen to audiobooks about half the time when I'm sewing. I'm pleased about that. 

I did set my goal for 2021 at 75. That'll be a stretch, but I've already read four this year, so I guess I'm well on my way to reaching that goal!!!

Speaking of goals - I came across this quote the other day. Perfect. 

I've got a couple of finishes to share with you. The first one is from Aviatrix Medallion - a quilt that we did last year with Oh Look Fabric. This quilt belongs to Gisele. She quilted it herself, and now it's bound and on the bed!!!!

Gisele's Aviatrix Matrix

HEre's a detail of the quilting that she did on her domestic machine. I love it when the students tackle their own quilts!!! 

The quilting on Gisele's Aviatrix Medallion

This next one is Jana's Summer Moon quilt top. The quilt top is DONE!! I love the color on this one - very unique. 

Summer Moon quilt top by Jana

Cathy sent me pictures of her Summer Moon, and they were ones that got lost in the e-mail fiasco. I must ask her to resend them. 

So if you were in one of my classes and managed to finish a quilt or the quilt top, send it to me. It's never too late to ooh and aah over them!!

On that note, I must buckle down and get the last of my group e-mails organized today. No more slacking off, and I need to start the homework planning. Sadly, my free time will be gone this next week as I buckle down to work, but that's OK - I had a nice couple of weeks off, and I'm looking forward to classes again!

Have a super day and if the sun is out in your area - get out!! Even for a few minutes or a walk down the block and back. It's so important in this crazy time. We need to get outside - if for no other reason than to change your view!!

Ciao!!!

Summer Moon Show and Tell

 It doesn't look like summer outside, so it's a good day to talk about Summer Moon! This is one of the ongoing classes that we ran through The Hobby Horse this past year. The book is by Carrie Nelson. 

Summer Moon by Carrie Nelson

The concept in the book is quite unique. Take 24 blocks. Make three blocks of each, but in different sizes - a 5", 6 ½" and 8" - these are unfinished sizes. Then you add framing to make the blocks the same size! It was a challenge, to say the least, and LOTS of little pieces. 

Some people didn't start but just collected the notes, and a few started, but, well, I haven't heard from them for a while. I'll be following up with them, and hopefully, they'll make a project out of what blocks they did make. 

But just over half the class ended up with a finished or almost finished top, and that's a good thing! I noticed from my blog this morning, that I didn't post many of the pictures as we progressed throughout the year. Oh well. 

Sophie only made one size of the block as she added to a Christmas themed sampler that she had already started. Here are a few of her blocks. That fabric combination is gorgeous!

Sophie's' blocks

Heather used one of the fabric collections shown in the book. It's the "modern" version of the two quilts in the book. I see that Charlie has approved the quilt! 

Charlie approves the quilt

Here's the quilt without Charlie. It's beautiful, and I think she's contemplating adding a border to make it a wee bit larger. There's always a problem with fabric requirements when the author works for a MAJOR fabric company. Heather bought what was listed in the book, and of course, there's a lot of fabric leftover. These designers don't care about fabric requirements at all. 

Heather's Summer Moon

This is Anne Marie's quilt. It's beautiful and all ready to be quilted. And yes - it was "fun" to arrange those blocks so that you didn't end up with all the small ones next to each other. Or that you didn't put the heavy blocks together.

Anne Marie

Another rebel in the class. Val decided to only make the large blocks. Then she got creative with the sashings and the layout. She used 30s fabrics for the quilt, and her goal was to use them up. It sounds like she had only a small amount of fabric left. YEAH!!!!!   And it's quilted, and all that's left is to put the binding on. 

Val

Kathi has all the blocks made. They are laid out, and the rows are sewn together. It's almost done! It's so darn hard to get good pictures, but hopefully, we'll get one when she can hold it up! Again, a soft and pretty quilt. Although she does have some neat fabric choices in there. 

Kathi

This is Carol's version. The fabrics are a bit brighter or more value contrast. It really is a sampler quilt, and I love how your eye travels over the entire quilt - looking at all the detail. 

Carol

This is Cathy's quilt. She ran out of the fabric she was using for the sashing, so not all of her blocks are the same size. So she's putting this together with all the blocks that are the same size. She'll have to come up with another project to use the other blocks. Again, a few darker fabrics, but it looks awesome!

Cathy

This is Lynne's quilt top. Look at that great combination of blues/teals/purples—a very cohesive coloring. I'm going to throw a challenge to Lynne. The next top she makes has to be outside her comfort zone! Of course, not being able to easily shop for fabric doesn't help the situation. 

Lynne

Jana's quilt has a totally different colorway, and it's gorgeous. It's a muted grey and burgundy. I might be off with those colors, but it looks so different from the others! She's in the process of sewing it together. 

Jana

And here is my quilt. The lighting makes it look much darker than it really is. I've got two sections on the left sewn together and need to get to the other two sections as I really need that design wall. I'm thrilled with the results. 

My quilt

And there's our show and tell for Summer Moon. These classes are so much fun. I have all the pictures and blurbs ready to go later this week so you can see the offerings for next year. Some fascinating options, and ALL of them will be on Zoom for the entire year, so no need to worry about attending. Even on a snowy day, we can have class!!  If you want to see what The Hobby Horse is offering without waiting, check out the link above and go to the $25 Zoom Club for 2021 tab. 

I did get out and get a good number of errands done yesterday. Yep - the day that we get snow. But the roads were in good shape, and people were driving with caution. And I guess with fewer people on the road, it made for easy getting around. Still, those errands took THREE hours. Imagine if I did that every week? I'd never get anything done! 

I plowed through one stack of paperwork. I didn't quite get everything done but made great progress, so I was happy. And if I owe you an e-mail or a quilt, I'm behind. Way behind. I'll be going full speed next week, and my plan is to get everything done. It just might be a bit late. 

I was a little miffed at one point as I had to pick some quilts up from someone to quilt them BEFORE Christmas for her. We had set a date and time for yesterday. She doesn't have a car, and I thought I'd be nice and pick them up since she doesn't live too far away. I was running a bit behind and called to tell her that. She's NOT even home. Could I come back in an hour? I said NO and hung up. I was a bit disturbed that I go out of my way to do her a favor, and she's not even there. I'm going to charge her to pick up the quilts when I do so next week. 

All she had to do was pick up the phone and say, - can we change the time. I'd have been delighted with that!!

Sigh..................

Don't forget that you can read all about the new Husqvarna Viking EPIC 95Q on QUILTsocial this morning. Check it out.   These are some pretty amazing functions and features, and I LOVE them all. 

Well, I'm out of here. Another crazy day!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!

Winter Wonderland

 

What a difference 24 hours can make. I snapped this photo when I was returning from our morning walk. I think there's a bit of a mixed message here. 

Let's get both meanings of Christmas in the same scene! 

The meaning of Christmas

It's a bizarre display, but if it makes the owners happy, then it's their right to put this on their lawn. Just wait for the "after" pictures of outside at the end of the blog. But notice how green the grass is in this picture.  

As I searched for something the other day, I found this small quilt that I had made for a challenge several years ago. The theme of the challenge was Gone Viral or something like that. I think the theme was related to quilting on the internet. I think it's appropriate for our current situation! It's a bit difficult to read the word, but there's a word on it. 

My Gone Viral challenge quilt

When people saw it, it reminded them of a virus, so they didn't like it. Well, it works now! I was ahead of my time!

OH MY GOSH -- we had so much fun at the Virtual Retreat yesterday. We had some new people join us, and well - the day literally flew by. I'm not kidding - do you know how much more fun it was to sew with everyone than it was to sew alone!  Some people stayed most of the day, some people popped in to say HI, some people popped in and out as it suited their day. We got to see some amazing show and tell, answered some questions, solved the problems of the world, and just had FUN!!!! A HUGE thank you to everyone who logged in. 

The next one is scheduled for December 19, and 20 so get it on your calendar so you can stop by and say HI!!! 

What's even better is that I accomplished a TON of work, and I was a happy camper!!!

I started the day by going shopping. I needed some backing fabric for those two small red/white quilts that I finished a couple of weeks ago. I dug out the basket of red fabric and searched through them for something that worked. 

Shopping Chez Elaine

I found some red and white striped fabric, and that works for me. So this is the small quilt that I made with the four leftover blocks. The binding and the top were done, and now the backing is ready as well. So this got moved to the "to be quilted" pile. 

A mini-quilt ready to be quilted

I had enough of the striped fabric to use for the backing of the larger quilt as well. Hmm - that high-contrast could be a problem in those white setting triangles, but I don't think it'll be that big of a deal. The striped backing stays, so one more got moved to the "to be quilted" pile. This quilt is only 23 by 27 or something like that. 

A second mini-quilt ready to be quilted

I see that I"m missing a few pictures this morning. I was so focused that I didn't snap a lot of pictures as I was sewing. I must do that today!!! I need credit for everything I do! I was just so happy to have a day of personal sewing that I completely forgot to take pictures!!! But I swear I took pictures. 

I got quite a bit of stuff put away as well, which was GREAT. I have all the other Art-To-Heart books, so I had to have it when I saw this latest one. It's now on the bookshelf!

New Art-to-Heart book

All of the thread that I purchased this past week got filed away into a drawer, so that was good. I hope to fire up the embroidery machine this week, so I can get started. 

New thread purchases stored away

I also had some other spools hanging around, and now everything is in the same cabinet. Yeah!!

More thread

Even though I said I wasn't going to sweep everything off that cutting table, that's what I ended up doing. I got a block cut out and sewn together, so that was a huge thing to happen. You can't see the block, but you'll see it later this week. I love having the Zoom link on my laptop because I can move the group around as I need to in the studio to keep talking to them. 

Cutting out a block

Oh, for gosh sakes - I just found the four missing pictures. I finally emptied the scrap box, which was a little bit overflowing. I filled two small pet mats but haven't dug the serger out to close off the end yet. 

The overflowing scrap box

I had a customer who wanted me to add the border to their quilt before I quilt it. So that got put on as well. It's a GIANT quilt. 

Adding a border to a giant quilt for a customer

Here are the two Halloween quilts that I finished off a couple of weeks ago. Now the backing is ready, and I made the binding for both of them yesterday. Two more quilts get moved to the "to be quilted" pile. I have to confess that I've not been filling out the book but just stacking them in a pile. I'll deal with that once my time crisis is over. 

Two more small quilts added to the "to be quilted" pile

And speaking of the time crisis - yes - we all know that it's never going to get better at my house. I'm just a busy person - it's my nature. I knew November was going to be a crazy month, and it didn't disappoint. However, I'm happy to report that December and potentially January will be "quiet". They'll be quieter, so that will give me a bit of breathing room to catch up on some stuff. I'll be busy, but with no deadlines, it allows a lot more flexibility. 

Oh - I even handstitched a snap onto my jacket. Well, half of it had come undone, and I stitched it back in place BEFORE it fell off. Wow - that never happens.

My snap is now securely stitched in place

As if that wasn't enough, I also got half of my Summer Moon quilt sewn together. There are two columns on the left and the blocks still to sew together on the right. I'm happy and hope to get it done today as I desperately need that design wall for the next quilt that has a deadline. 

Summer Moon is half sewn together

Shortly after I got back to the house in the morning, it started to snow, and it snowed most of the day. It was so weird to chat with the others here in Southern Ontario and see the snow's progress as it moved east. It was like the day we had the thunderstorms when we were on a Virtual Retreat. 

This is the backyard at some point during the day! A LOT of snow fell. 

The snow in the backyard

But it sure looked pretty last night with the Christmas lights on in the neighborhood. 

A winter wonderland

I'm working on three documents that NEED to be finished off today. I made good headway this morning and hope to finish off later today. So progress is being made, and that makes me happy! 

This week, there are five presentations and four classes, and most of the prep work is done or almost done. Still busy, but a bit more relaxed! 

On that note, I'm out of here! It's Monday sewing, and that's always a good day!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!