Not to be critical..................

Well, I had a first yesterday, and I got a chuckle out of it! I've presented to hundreds of people over Zoom over the last year and a half. There have been issues - mostly where and how to use the mic and the camera. Yesterday was a first, though! 

Last night, I had a person arrive on the call right when it opened. I always open one-half hour early so people can get connected and ask questions, etc. This person starts out, "I don't want to be critical, but ...." and you think - OK -- where is this going? It appears that "I" control how things appear on her screen, and could I please move the pictures of the people on her screen. I couldn't even let her get the entire sentence out of her mouth before I said that SHE had control of how her screen appeared, not me! OH -- then she pipes up again, "I don't want to be critical, but......" and proceeded to tell me something else about my presentation from last week that I could do better! 

After all, she's a teacher, and she knows! Yeesh -- if she were my teacher, I'd be miserable. She did NOT exhibit good teacher habits, but I don't want to be critical! So I did a lovely little song and dance, explaining that I've been a quilting teacher for over 20 years. And yes -- I'll try to do better next time, but I know that I covered what she was talking about! Anyway, others came on the call, and I quickly whisked the conversation to other topics. I wonder what she will find to be "not be critical" about next week? 

I had a good chuckle over it and moved on! 

I have to give a HUGE thank you to my Monday sewing group. Without them, this would NOT have happened. 

The net step for the feather blocks

All of the four curved sections are now TOGETHER. I was flagging at the end - I wanted to leave them, but I had nothing else to work on. Well, I did, but I also really wanted these sections done. So I confess that I whined a little bit, then sucked it up and continued with the curved piecing. I cut the long skinny pieces that fit in the center of the feather block. 

Now everything is ready for the final assembly stage! There is still a lot of work for these blocks, but the worst part is done. Yippee!!!! That means there is a HUGE possibility that this quilt will get done for the final class, which I believe is next week.

I think that's the last big job of any of the ongoing quilts that need to be wrapped up before the end of the year, so that was a HUGE hurdle. That stack of prepped sewing stuff that's been sitting on the sewing table for MONTHS is rapidly diminishing, and what the heck will I sew on once it's gone? OH -- there is a bunch of new stuff coming, and I still have all those projects on the project table to deal with. But I might have to take some time and prep some stuff. 

Someone came to pick up their quilt yesterday and had two quilt tops that she no longer wanted. Thanks to Sharon for the donation! These are added to the pile of community quilt tops that need to be quilted! 

Two more community quilt projects were donated!

And the excellent news of the day? Look -- the package has been delivered and only one day late! I know it actually arrived as the office sent me a note as well! 

The package has arrived!

I'm making significant progress on my Virtual Challenges, and I have 415 KM to get to Signal Hill in St. John's to complete my cross Canada walk. That's super exciting! I had scheduled to finish on December 31, but I'll be finished early, barring any injuries! Walking has definitely become a habit, and I'm always plotting how to work it into any day! Oh, boy -- who would have thought that would happen? 

I've been busy writing, and all is going well there - just slightly behind, but I hope to get more done today. I have two presentations today. I just realized that Tuesday is software day! One is in French, and the other is in English! But I'm getting great at switching the versions out, so that's not an issue! Did I mention that I love the software? I was so afraid of it in the past, but now I've come to love it, and I have barely scratched the surface of it!

I hope that everyone is taking advantage of the absolutely stunning weather we are having right now. I went out for a walk, then remembered I needed to go to the grocery store - no bananas in the house! I cut the first walk short, did some writing, and then popped out again to the grocery store. It's one of those days where I saw people in shorts and sandals, and I saw people in down jackets with mitts and hats. Yep -- I don't know what those people will wear when the weather gets cold. I swear some people dress for the DATE, not the weather! 

On that note, I'm out of here! A busy day is ahead, and the girls are getting impatient! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Tobaggan Hill

It's one of those nights. I have no idea why I woke up when I did. I'm not tired, yet I'm not full of energy. So rather than lay in bed, I'm up and at the computer, which is ridiculous! Hopefully, I'll get a couple of hours of sleep before the girls want me to take them for a walk! I've canceled my reservation for the spin class this morning, which is disappointing, but I don't think I'll survive - I'll need to go back to bed shortly.

Lots happened yesterday, but the best part? It was a GLORIOUS day outside. The sun was out, and it was hot. Our backyard is now shrouded in shadow in the afternoon, so I sat on the front step and read.. We need to rejig that front yard now that those two trees are gone, so we have a small area to sit out front! One needs to absorb every bit of sunshine they can!

On my afternoon walk, I felt sorry for Murphy, and so yes, she came with me. Lexi was outside, and so she didn't know she missed a walk. I warned Murphy to behave, but we had barely left the house when she started to chase leaves blowing in the wind. Murphy tried to be good for the rest of the walk but is still a challenge. She MUST talk (bark at the top of her lungs) at every dog, chase leaves like it's the end of the world, and go after every squirrel! She is more in control of herself these days, but it takes a lot of me talking to her and a LOT of holding that leash with two hands. Sigh........... 

We took a totally different route for that walk - I was going to grab a couple of geocaches, although someone was sitting on a bench right beside where I needed to snoop through some trees, so I'll grab it another day!

However, I got a chuckle out of this sign. 

Toboggan hill

OH -- a toboggan hill. Seriously? 

Where's the hill?

As I walked a little further on and looked back, I saw this. 

Is that the hill?

Hmm -- is this the toboggan hill? There are benches for the soccer field at the bottom, but I bet those get removed when the snow comes. 

And those rules? I know that we've had to dumb things down for our society, but to have to tell people not to toboggan in icy conditions on that hill? OK - whatever. 

When I was a kid, we had this hill that led from the main road to the house. It wasn't a huge hill, but it was big enough. At the bottom, we would shoot right across the main road and into the field across the road. There wasn't a ton of traffic on that road. We often made the road so icy that my Dad couldn't get up the hill, and we were told to toboggan in the field - the same hill, but the snow was never as compact, so not as much speed! 

I'm shocked that we are still alive - No helmets, no parental supervision. But then it's a different world, and we have to protect everyone - FROM themselves! 

So this is what happened yesterday. I got the six arrow blocks done! Here are two of them. This time, there were no mistakes in the trimming. That audiobook was so engrossing; however, when it came to getting a critical piece of trimming information, I did stop the book. 

Two of the six arrow blocks

Here's the quilt with the six arrow blocks in place. All that remains are four more feather blocks. 

Urbanologie

I was still not done with the audiobook, so I plodded ahead and cut out the remaining 4 feather blocks. Loads of cutting! 

The four feather blocks are cut

And there are LOADS of curved seams in those feather blocks. 

Curved seams

And lots of different steps. The first one is to create this long piece of curved seams. 

Step One to making the feather blocks

I think I'll get them all to this stage, and then I'll move on to step two for all of them. It's Monday sewing today, so I know what I'll be working on!

After those blocks are done, I can start sewing the quilt together. I need some more background fabric. I didn't have enough of the one I was using, so I checked my stash. Hmmm -- I found this. It's not a match, but then it's not supposed to be. I'll be at a quilt shop later this week, and I'm going to hold off until I see if I can find something a bit better. If not - then this is what I'll use. It's a quilt top, for heaven's sake - it's not like things need to be perfect on it. Remember, it's better to be done than to be perfect. 

Auditioning fabric for the background

Besides, it'll give people something to talk about on the quilt! I just want it done! 

Hmm - is this an appropriate additional background fabric?

And I got a customer quilt done. The border is super cute, and the quilt is made from flannel. 

Customer quilt

She wanted a windy pattern on it as those fall leaves were swirling around. Where's Murphy? She'd be in her glory to chase those leaves!!

Windy quilt pattern

I have one presentation today, so that's good as I also have some machine embroidery and lots of writing, although one document got sent out this morning. The Saturday Sewing topics (January to June) list is almost ready to be sent for inclusion in the Thimbles and Things newsletter, which should be out in a couple of weeks! 

Well, that's it for me. I've canceled my spin class, and now I hope to get a couple of hours of sleep before I need to get up. E-mails were sent -- please don't check the time! The printer is working at last. It just needed a couple of days to work out whatever issues that it had. But now I see that Libby (the audiobook app) wants me to verify my library card, and it won't work! Hmmm - anyone else with that issue? 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Time to sew!

Super day alert!!! I accomplished a lot yesterday! OK -- not everything I should be working on, but that's OK - all progress is good!  

I tried printing something, and of course, my printer wouldn't work. So I'm going to attempt that again today! I swear, there are days when technology crashes on me, just to keep me humble! 

I am determined to NOT let any of those year-long classes become a UFO so let's see what happened. One of the projects is done, which you'll see when I post the show and tell. But one down, four more to go. 

OH -- rather than switch the order of the pictures, here's what I have to share today. I noticed that the heavy equipment had been removed from the stormwater pond near my house. When Lexi and I crossed the street to have a look, not only were they gone, but there was water back in it. We spotted a large flock of Canada Geese enjoying themselves!! Astounding where all this water comes from. I suspect it is fed from a stream or something as we haven't had a lot of rainfall since they finished working there. 

The stormwater pond

I opened the package that I had received on Friday. Yep -- there are the new leaders for the long arm and a few other small things. 

New leaders for the long arm

Do I need new leaders?? You bet! Somewhere along the line, I managed to rip this big hole in one of them. How? I use a curtain rod to keep the clamps in the UP position, and one day, it somehow ripped the canvas leader. I never even heard it tear - I must have had my headphones on that day! 

 A rip in the leaders

You see, I'm a pinner, and I have some weak spots along the edges of the leaders, so there are weak spots along the edges. Once the new leaders are installed, I will start using my leader grips instead of pinning. Then it will be imperative that I get extra fabric to work with for the backing (almost everyone is very good with this) because if not, I have to add some waste cloth to their quilt backing, and I won't be happy about that! 

Holes from pinning

OH -- for something different, I stopped by the mall on my afternoon walk. I had a couple of errands to get done. Christmas is coming! There's Santa's chair, and that tree is HUGE. Gosh -- I remember when the center of this mall used to be a mini-golf course, and then there were stores, and now it's this vast open area. It's actually quite pretty!

Christmas display in the mall

And here is the quilt I worked on yesterday. Yep ---a huge one, and I hope to get it trimmed later today. 

Customer quilt - DONE

OK -- so then I turned on the sewing machine to see how much I could accomplish. Keep in mind that I'm listening to a thriller - a LONG thriller at 19 hours. It's a pretty disturbing topic and graphic, so I'm not recommending it to anyone. Last night, just as I was trying to finish the chapter, the headphones died! NOOOOOOOO!!!!  So I got my earbuds so I could finish the chapter. I now have 2 hours left to go, so I should finish the book today!! 

It's so disturbing that I want to kill the villain! And make that a slow death!

Now, let's look at the sewing! Here is my barn block for the quilt along at Thimbles and Things. 

Barn block for the sew-along

And I had to lay out my blocks to see what they looked like together. I'm going to use an on-point setting for my blocks. I can see some blocks that I won't use. I don't like the way they appear in this photo. Thankfully, I'll be making more than I need and so I can audition the ones I want to keep. 

All my barn blocks to date

I'm not sure if I posted this, but it's the first set of blocks for the Wanderers Wife quilt, which we just started at Thimbles and Things. 

Block set number one for Wanderers Wife

And I finally finished the set of blocks for this month for Boho Heart. Most of those blocks were done, but a couple hadn't been completed. Now they are done! I'm up-to-date. The next class isn't for two weeks, so I've got some time to get ready for that. But the weeks are super busy, so I'd better get started! 

First block set for Boho Heart

The quilt that I'm struggling with the most is Urbanologie that is taking place at Oh Look Fabric! 

I was using a pack of 10" squares, and I was running out of some fabrics. I did NOT like this pear, but that's all I could do. Then Diane let me pick through some of her Tula Pink scraps. 

The two-color pear

OH -- I found enough of that same fabric that I could fix the pear. So I did that yesterday. The rectangles were cut, but not the curved cuts - so I braved that process, and it all fit nicely together. I like it much better now. 

The pear after it was fixed!

Then since I was on a roll and trying to listen to as much of that book as I could, I forged ahead with the arrow block. We had to make SIX arrows. I had started them but made a mistake in the trimming process, so they sat for months. 

All the new pieces got cut last night, and since I was still engrossed in that darn audiobook, I kept going. The hard part is done! The units are trimmed and ready to sew together later today. 

Components for the arrow blocks

We had to make two pineapple blocks. One of my blocks was done, and the other block was partially cut. Now it's cut and ready to sew together. I'll have to do some trimming on this one, but that's OK. 

The pineapple block is ready to sew together

That leaves the large feathers. We had to make FIVE of them. I've done one. So hopefully, I can get caught up on all those blocks later today or at least during the coming week. 

The bits for the feather blocks

One border needs to be on a quilt by next Sunday morning and some random blocks. It will be a busy week as I still have serger samples that I'm working on! 

For the first time, I decided to lay out all the blocks for the Urbanologie quilt. Yes -- it's very scrappy, but I had no choice because of the 10" squares that I started with. This was NOT the type of quilt to use 10" squares. Live and learn! I thought I would remake some of the blocks, but I'm not going to. This is the way it is. It'll be a good reminder of how I like scrappy, but not necessarily like this. It's not bad, and once it's all together, it'll look a whole lot better. The blocks are all random things, so it fits that the color is also totally random!

Urbanologie quilt so far

Here is my current pile of stuff to sew. It's under control, and I hope by the end of the day that a lot of that will be gone! 

Stack of current sewing projects

Five quilt classes will be ending at the end of November. Then I have the month of December to ramp up for the five new ones starting in January. I know I keep saying that I'll share them with you, but I also need time to process the sign-ups, which will happen this week. 

I've just had loads of other things to put my mind to! When I put my mind to something, I can get it done! 

The way I write is I spew out a bunch of stuff. Then I go back and refine it. Then I go back and edit it and check the grammar. I'm in the last stage of that for one overdue document! I've still got more writing to do, although I did get some accomplished yesterday. 

Anyway -- it was a glorious day yesterday, and today is going to be even nicer! I'll be out for a long walk in the afternoon. Making sure that I do my stretching every night is making me much more comfortable on the walks! If I don't stretch, I'm not happy. If I stretch, I can conquer the world. Will I stretch? You bet!!!

On that note, I'm out of here because the girls are waiting!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Urbanologie show and tell

 Let's have a look at some show and tell today. This is from the Urbanologie class. We're almost at the end of this project, and I confess that I still have a few blocks to make. In some months, we had to make five or six of the same block, and I got one made to do the homework, but not the others. The pieces are cut out, but I need to get them sewn together. I haven't had a chance to put the blocks on the design wall, so I have no idea what the quilt looks like. 

I'm using a limited and, for me - totally off-the-wall style of fabric. I wonder what the final quilt will look like? 

It's going to be slow and steady to get all the sewing done that needs to be done. Thankfully, I have some time today. There's only one presentation tonight, and the rest of the day is mine. More or less -- a few quilts are begging to be quilted!

Here are the homework pictures from this month. We made two butterflies. The first picture is Cathy's. 

Cathy

And this one is Lorraine's. 

Lorraine

Some people missed the class or didn't get their pictures to me. 


Interesting that they both did positive/negative with the blocks. I suppose that's how the pattern was, but I never noticed that. I must have a look at it and see. 

My blocks are totally different from each other. 

My butterfly blocks

This quilt is made using the Mini Quick Curve Ruler by Sew Kind of Wonderful. EVERY block has curved seams. The class is getting real good at curved seams! Wow -- check out their website, they sure have some interesting patterns, and I wonder how they come up with the blocks as some of them are very creative with the cutting!

Here's the cover of the booking case you haven't seen it. OH -- I can't find the cover real quick, but here's one version of the quilt from the book. I must make this a priority this coming week. 

One version of Urbanologie

I received a box of fabric yesterday for a new magazine quilt. And it took forever to figure out how to cut the tape to get inside! I swear they vacuum sealed the yardages and the pre-cuts as it all fit into this small box. 

Fabric for the next magazine quilt

And here are my scouts! Do you think they could look at the camera? No -- they looked left, they looked right, but they wouldn't look at me! 

Hey Bear  - you look right, and I'll look left! 

Little Bear walked the entire route of Murphy's walk, which is at least 2 KM. We were a bit slow for Murphy, but it wasn't the pace that was slow because those little legs can go fast. He has to sniff and pee on every tree! Murphy was not impressed. 

There's more of QUILTsocial to enjoy today. 

Today it's all about working with an Endless Embroidery design. This is so much fun, and the top of the tote bag was a great example to complete the stitching. Check it out -- it's pretty cool. 

And don't forget the Facebook Live on Friday. 

It's a great way to check out the stuff I did live, and we're going to chat about tote bags and embroidery. If you read Post One, you would have noted the link to make the tote bag. I wrote a pattern, and the link gives you the instructions and a step-by-step account of how the bag is made. It's a culmination of all the best tips I found for making a  tote bag. It's fast to make and simple. Best of all -- the pattern is FREE. I know it's quite lengthy because it's a tutorial. I should find a place to put the actual pattern, which is only two pages. Then you can refer to the tutorial for the pictures. OK -- let's add that to the list of things to do. I MUST review my website and get it ready to publish!

And in case you are wondering, the next Virtual Sewing Retreat is on October 23 and 24. Just so you can have it on your calendars!

Well, I'm off to spin class this morning. I sure wish the cafe was open at the gym. Then I could get a protein shake once the class is over. I really need to get more protein in my body! I could make the shake when I get home, but it's complicated with the dogs, and I can't get to it until they are walked. Yes -- I could make them wait. Well, I'll get it figured out. I'll take some almonds to help this morning. 

I was exhausted yesterday and required TWO naps during the day. That is so not like me. But this week was a tad stressful, and my body just said, "we need a nap, and we need it now!". Thankfully, I had the flexibility to do that. The stress levels are way down this morning, so that will help!

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Urbanologie show and tell

I almost made my goal yesterday! The quilt top got sewn together. The first border got added. Then I had to deal with a border print. Hmmm -- a bit unusual, but I think I made the best use of it. Just wait until you see what I did! Sorry -- I can't share, and I'm not sure the magazine will show it, but I'll take pictures to share once it's published. 

It required a wee bit of finessing to put the outer border on, but it looks awesome, and I have one more corner to touch up. Yes -- I'm way pickier than I need to be. And one more small seam, and then the top is done. One seam in the backing, and it'll get loaded on the long arm. The goal today -- get the quilt quilted and bound. I won't make the UPS deadline of 5 PM, so I'll add the sleeve and ship it tomorrow. That's OK. 

It turned out way better than I figured it would - just because of the values in the fabric. 

I would have gotten it completed yesterday, but I had two little delays. I had asked Staples to scan a photo a couple of weeks ago. It was a large photo that I can't process on my own. When I finally checked the file yesterday, they had saved it as a  PDF. Good grief --- it's a PHOTOGRAPH!! Anyway -- I had to wait as they were busy scanning other stuff for people, but it's done, and now I can move onto step two of that process. You have to wait for that as well. I'm super excited!

Then I got on several phone calls that took up some time, but that's OK. I'm not really behind on that quilt. I'm focused! I'm also listening to a riveting audiobook. OK -- here's the deal with the audiobook. I've listened to it before. As I come to each part, I remember that, but I can't remember how it ends, so it's keeping me entertained, and I'm OK with that. What's the riveting book? It's a Jack Reacher by Lee Child -- Worth Dying For - not rocket science by any means, but riveting and mindless so you can easily sew and listen at the same time. It would appear that I FORGOT to log it on my list, so that's why I ended up rereading it. 

And what's with the weather? We go from crazy hot and humid days to days where you need a sweater. There's no in-between! However, I'm not complaining - I just put on a sweater, and I'm on my merry way. No need to put the hair into a ponytail, and I LOVE that. 

Let's not forget the paperwork. It's really administration stuff that I'm dealing with. It just seems to pile up without me even doing anything! But stuff is getting done, and I've almost got all the stuff for the fall organized. Almost, but not quite. Maybe today. 

We had a class on Urbanologie earlier this week - that's the last class for August, and now it'll be time to start the process all over again! And NEW classes are starting this month. If you haven't already signed up - well, you just don't follow the right circles! 

Let's have a look at the homework for this month. This is the book, and the pattern is from Sew Kind of Wonderful. It uses the Sew Kind of Wonderful MINI ruler. All the blocks have curved seams. The group is doing great!!! I purchased my book when it was first released at Quilt Market several years ago. Well, the number of errors in the book is crazy!! How does this happen? OK -- I know --you're rushed to get a final product out, but they should have waited. No worries - it's all good. 

I've kept up pretty well with this quilt, but I still need to make nine blocks that have already been assigned, and I can't really lay it out until I do that. They are cut out - I just need to sew them. It's also a quilt that I started to make from a layer cake, and well, I'm NOT happy with my fabric choice. It's one of the "modern" fabrics (Tula Pink), and well, I'm not fond of it. BUT -- is the quilt a failure? Nope -- it was a good learning experience! 

What did I learn? That I can tolerate the modern prints, but not when there are MANY of them. Better to pick a couple and put some monochromatic prints with them. They are hideously busy if you put too many of them together. Second, the layer cake didn't offer me the flexibility that I needed for cutting larger pieces. While the layer cake will work for other patterns, this was NOT the quilt to make from a layer cake. All totally my choices, but I'm glad it happened. I've since added some other fabrics to it, and I may end up remaking some of the other blocks. 

I'll see how time goes. OK -- so let's look at the blocks from this past month. We made the antlers last month. 

This first one belongs to Gisele - this block missed the show and tell last month. And she didn't make the antlers. Some people didn't like them. 

Gisele

These antlers belong to Dana. I love the scrappy background. 

Dana

Lorraine had a LOT of fun this month. Did you notice how she coordinated the fabrics, so they match on the left and right? I LOVE that look, but it took a lot of trial and error. The pieces are not clearly laid out which section goes where (during the cutting stage). 

Lorraine

This is Cathy's set of antlers. Love the subtle colors, so it doesn't matter if the pieces aren't matched. 

Cathy

Here are all of Cathy's blocks laid out! We've almost got an entire quilt! The quilt looks awesome!

Cathy's quilt

Here is my wild and crazy set of antlers. The coloring is very eclectic, to say the least. 

My antlers

Now that I think about it, I might just leave all the blocks the way they are, and this will become a teaching quilt - a good lesson on choosing fabric. Yep -- I love the quilt, but I don't love it enough or have the time to remake it. Move on!!

I have to figure out a better eating plan for the days with that spin class. Yesterday was better, but it's a challenge to do 30 KM on the bike and then come home and walk the dogs for another 6 KM. Murphy didn't get a walk until the evening. My legs just said NO! I might walk both of them after lunch on spin class days. I'll have to see -- they will NOT be happy, that's for sure! I still got in my regular distance. It was a stupid day. I went to spin class, then walked Lexi. Then went for a long walk by myself in the afternoon and walked Murphy after dinner. 

I have goals to meet each day, and I can't afford to get behind, or I won't get to Newfoundland by the end of the year! And that's my goal -- I think I have about 1,300 KM left to walk, and there's no time to slack off. My spin class adds NOTHING to my walking goal. It senses steps but doesn't translate them to KM, which is the measure I'm using for my walking challenges. I've been keeping an eye on it. I have no idea how that FitBit works, but don't touch anything -- it's working just fine for me. 

Speaking of walking the girls, it's time to go! They are not as happy as they could be. With the cooler temperature and it getting darker much earlier, the back door isn't always open when they want it to be! Not happy!!!

WAIT --- I keep forgetting to remind you that this weekend we have another Virtual Retreat!!  It's Sunday evening from 6 - 9 - that's September 5.  

Here's the Zoom link for SUNDAY night. 

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88510520090?pwd=WHZPMmNFWTlwc3RaZ3MzOXJQaXordz09 Meeting ID: 885 1052 0090 Passcode: 897479

And we're going to sew all day Monday as well. If you stop in, you get to meet the ladies I sew with on Monday. A great group!!!! That runs from 10 AM to 8 PM.

Here's the link.

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85132911786?pwd=T3EyMjh2UnJndUZ3eG1ld0lEdHAyZz09 Meeting ID: 851 3291 1786 Passcode: 073041

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Urbanologie Show and Tell

 I'm not even sure where to start with the show and tell. I seem to have problems remembering if I posted the homework or if I didn't. I checked the blog, and I see that April was the last time I posted homework for this group. Sigh..................

Well, that's the bad news. The good news - you get two months' worth today. It's a small group, so there's not a ton of photos. 

These are the dreaded feathers! They were a lot of work, and I'm still working on mine. However, I LOVE this block, and the participants have chosen some amazing colors!!!

Gisele

Lorraine

Cathy

Here are more blocks from this quilt. These are my blocks, and YES - I ran out of fabric to finish making the pear. I did what I could with what I had. I do not like it, so hopefully, I can find that same fabric and remake the outer edges of that pear. 

My pear blocks

And I swear I was trying to get that face in this next block to appear UP, but it ended up sideways! In hindsight, it actually looks neat like this. And I almost like the pink stripes in the top half of the tall house block better than when I tried to use the same fabric in the bottom half. But, yes - I ran out of that fabric as well. Hmm - I MIGHT substitute that pink strip in that block. It adds a bit more interest. Oh boy -- and this is why I don't get things done because I go back and change them. But I'm OK with that. It's how I learn. 

My house block

I think that I just don't like all those super busy prints. They don't do a thing for me. OK -- enough about that. Lesson learned, and move on!!

Oh -- here are more feather blocks. These ones are from Dana. She's a wee bit behind, but not by much. 

Dana

And her trees are done as well. 

Dana

Now let's look at the blocks from this month. 

Gisele

Have a look at Gisele's houses and then look at mine. Those busy prints are "cute," but as far as value and contrast? They are a nightmare! It's a challenge to work with them. I guess that's why one is supposed to add solids and such. Maybe that's what I need - I need to get a couple of fat quarters of the solids to make this project work. OK - another lesson learned. Well, I knew this lesson, but PRE-CUTS suck! I know that many people have made quilts with pre-cuts, but it sure helps if you add a lot of other stuff to it to get the contrast necessary so everyone can appreciate what you're making. 

Gisele

Oh, shoot - Lorraine's houses are sideways. You can't see in this picture, but she's added some stitching in the windows and doorknobs!! I love it!!!

Lorraine

These are Lorraine's pears. See how much nicer they look with the SAME fabric for the entire pear. I MUST change mine. 

Lorraine

And these last two pictures belong to Cathy. She's mostly using solids and has wonderful contrasts happening with her blocks. 

Cathy

Cathy

I think I need to put all my blocks on the wall and see what's going on. Then I will cut everything I can for the future blocks to see what I'm missing to make this quilt better than it is. Now that stores are more open, it's time to do something about this quilt. There's a shop not that far away that sells a lot of Tula Pink. I shall be paying them a visit next week. OH -- maybe not next week, maybe the week after. I don't know - I'll see how the schedule goes. 

My calendar is much more open this coming month, and I'm afraid I'm going to fill it with stuff. But I need to get my nose to the long arm. There are a few customer quilts, and I have to get some more community project stuff done. And let's not forget my MIL - I haven't had a chance to do anything about prepping stuff for her. 

I have to share this with you. Google Maps is EVERYWHERE. I'm near Killington Ski Resort in Vermont (on my Virtual Challenge on the Appalachian Trail). I always take the little Google avatar (the yellow guy on the map) and see the terrain near me. 

Killington Ski Area

HEY -- the ski hill is mapped. Seriously????  Yep --- I'm guessing this is a ski trail as there can't be that many roads on the hill. 

A ski trail from Google

And how did they map that? Why on a snowmobile, of course!!!  Was that Google or someone else who did that? Google maps are incredible - EVERYTHING is mapped. 

Mapped via snowmobile

I got a lot accomplished yesterday on Monday sewing. I added the sides to this background for the art quilts. I MUST get myself back to that. OH - that task is NOT in The Task Master, so that's why I keep forgetting it. I'm so focused on that list. 

One more background ready for embellishing

I got the second row of trees completed for the All in a Row quilt. I'm determined to get caught up on that quilt. 

The second row of trees for All in a Row

I'm making two quilts, and I have four of nine rows complete. The other rows haven't been assigned yet, but this gives me hope that I won't fall behind! 

And these blocks are for my second quilt. I'm almost done with the small flowers. 

Small flowers for the second of the All in a Row quilts

Yes - one of the leaves is going in the opposite direction. Actually, there were supposed to four going left and four going right, but that didn't happen. So seven will go left, and one will go right. There's one in every crowd!!!

And the large flowers are partially cut and organized on the mini design board to make sense of it. 

The bits for the large flowers

I have to say that it feels good to get that somewhat organized. I still have to cut the flower fabrics, but they are already sitting on the cutting table. 

Oh my --- there's a lot of FOMO (fear of missing out) in the quilt world. One person used this book to make the final border on their Long Time Gone quilt, and I think everyone went to look for it. Unfortunately, the book is long out of print. It was going for a ridiculous price online, and I don't know if any copies are available other than used. 

A book on borders

I searched through the ENTIRE length of my bookcase, trying to find this book. And YES -- it was in the very last section that I looked. I thought I had missed it, but I rarely miss a book when I scan the titles. It just takes a few minutes because there are so many. I really do need to get them grouped by category. 

And I knew I had other border books, so I pulled all of them so I could have a look as I'm still trying to figure out what to put on my Long Time Gone quilt. I don't want to fuss with it, and I don't want something that's going to detract from the quilt. So it's going to be randomly pieced but very subtle colors, so it's not noticeable. Well, I might change my mind too - no idea. I'm waiting for it to tell me what it wants. 

A quilt border book

Another quilt border book

And yet another quilt border book

A quick note about books - I'll take an OLD quilt book any day over some of the new stuff. A lot of what you see today is NOT new - it's just regurgitated from some of these old books. And the old books gave you options; they showed you how to resize and change things. Today - it seems to be all about buying the SAME line of fabric as the designer and making the same quilt that they did. That's not me! So thankfully, I learned to quilt at a different time. Much more options. 

HOWEVER -- if making the same quilt as the designer encourages people to sew and keeps them sewing, I say GO FOR IT!!!  The beauty of this hobby is that we all have our levels of what we want to achieve, how we want to learn, and what we want our quilts to look like. Thank goodness the quilt police are extinct. 

The bottom line -- KEEP ON SEWING!

And on that note, I'm out of here. Today is wide-open EXCEPT for the Facebook live event tonight. Be sure to stop by and say hi as Claire, Paul, and I chat with Carla about the Spectrum Quilt A Long. 

How do you access the live event??  Go to Facebook and search for the Quiltsocial page. Then click MORE on the tabs, and you should see one marked LIVE. That's how to get into the LIVE event. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!