Progress with only one SNAFU

It was another good day in Studio B. And Brenda, I'm so excited that you are messing around with the Qult Block Wizard! I did NOT accomplish all I wanted. I knew there was going to be a snag somewhere. Things just take longer than planned, but that's OK. However, I had a very humbling moment. I was all excited about one of the samples - this is going to be perfect. And then BAM! It wasn't perfect. I am not sure I will camouflage what happened. I'm going to finish what I did by binding it, but let's just say that it was a humbling moment. 

Remember all those tools that I said were amazing? They are, but only if the operator doesn't go in and try to do something silly. You see, I had everything lined up perfectly, and then I accidentally touched one of the designs and moved it, thinking I was moving everything, but I was only moving one design, not four. Alas, it stitched out but was not lined up!

However, it was another learning moment, and since we learn from our mistakes, I think I've made all I can with those tools. I'm done now!

Anyway, I managed to get all the stitching done using the Embellishment Attachment and used up three sample stitchouts that were hanging around. Despite my error, the one I goofed on is cute. And it's a teaching moment. Yep -- I'm going to take it to Nashville with me. 

I still have two to clean up, one to bind, and one is done. So worst-case scenario, I can clean up those pieces on the move if I have to. But they are stitched. Actually, I think I need about two hours to completely finish the last three samples. 

It's time to move on to another hoop, and I haven't decided which one. 

Here's the sample that I finished yesterday. And YES -- that is entirely done on an embroidery machine, including the fuzzy bits.

My completed sample

I have to laugh when I look at this one. The fuzzy stuff for the sheep is a tad fuzzier than I thought it would be, and his face and one ear are obliterated. But that sort of fits with the quote. I might trim it slightly, but otherwise - it's done. 

This is another sample I was stitching out, and it is the one that went haywire. 

So cute and before the "storm" hit

But when it was done, I went back to the screen to see what had happened, and that's when I discovered what I had done. It's not enough to make a mistake, but figure out WHY that happened, and then you can move on. Get over it! And never do it again!

I love the project system even in sewing mode. Those projected lines are great for sewing diagonal lines, too. Why mark when you don't have to? I am sewing on the PFAFF creative icon 2.

Projection lines in sewing mode

OH MY -- I may have spoken too soon about the colorways of the 70s and how they would never come back. Look what I spotted on IG yesterday. This is from a fabric company introducing a new line. Doesn't that remind you of the fabrics from the 70s? 

Reminds me of colors from the 70s

Instead of completing the items yesterday, I did something else. I lost a bit of steam when I screwed up, but that's OK. It's good to take a break. And making mistakes is hard work! 

This is the latest puzzle I'm working on. This is another great brand (Villager Puzzles), and guess what? They are also Canadian and use only artwork by Canadian women artists! They make a lot of Canadian landscape puzzles, and I've suggested some for the prairies. Hey, the owner was looking for suggestions! I just realized that this company is based in Comox, BC. 

My current puzzle

You can buy from them online or from Puzzles Canada, and there are many other shops where you can find them. This is the company that Cynthia submitted artwork to and won! It was for a puzzle that will be sold exclusively on the BC Ferries. You will also be able to buy it online at the Villager website. I'm not sure when that one will come out.

And this is what it looks like when you open the box. There's a poster inside, which I never use, and the pieces are already in a bag. That is good -- all puzzles should come with the pieces in a bag. It's a zippered top bag so you can reuse it! That's even better. Hey, the company was founded by a woman! 

Inside the box

She appeared on Dragon's Den, and you can watch it here. The quality of the puzzles is amazing. Check them out next time you're in the market for a puzzle. 

Here's my progress so far. That was HARD, and it took almost an hour just to do that small part. I wonder how easy the rest of the puzzle will be? 

A challenge to do the lettering

I also spent some time weeding in the backyard. It's a mess. This is the before picture. 

Before

And here's the after. I only started with a small section, but already it looks much better. It's hard to see because of the sun and shade, but it looks much better - trust me. 

After

And you will NOT believe this, but when I was digging through that sample drawer, look what I found. I thought I only had one of these Dream Big panels, but NO - I have two. Of course, I have two. 

Two Dream Big panels

I have stitched a teal-colored panel, but I want to stitch another one because with my newfound skills and new tools on the embroidery machine, I think I can do a better job than I did the first time. So—that is something I can attempt to make happen this summer. Nothing like trying to get some of this embroidery done. 

At some point, I need to stop and work on quilt UFOs, not just embroidery stuff! 

This is a quilt that a reader sent to me. It's made from a quilt pattern by a Canadian designer. YES --- we have some great Canadian designers, and we need to make sure that we support them.

A pattern by Sew Fresh Quilts

The company is called Sew Fresh Quilts, and the designer is Lorna. Check out her website, as she has some amazing designs. The link for the fox is here. You cannot beat $5 for a very cool pattern. 

OH - I'm running out of time before I meet Brooke. I have a question to ask about Lorna's patterns. Perhaps we need to do one of these as a sew-along, but NOT for this year. But next. The price is definitely right!!! Which one is your favorite? 

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

Have a wonderful day, and hopefully it will be filled with joyful moments, even if it requires some tough love and learning! 

Ciao!!!!

UFO Club

I want to thank everyone who has stopped by to pick up stuff that I no longer need or want. I had a quick visit with France yesterday as she stopped by to pick up some stuff. There'll be more, in bits and pieces as I unearth the unwanted things. And knowing that I can make quilts tops for Quilts of Valour or Project Linus from the fabrics that I don't need or want is so freeing. The more that goes in those piles, the more I want to get rid of - OK - within reason! HUGE thanks to Diane, who is my quilt top piecing machine. I'm prepping FIVE more kits for her to pick up later today. That's good news. The bad news? There's still lots more where that came from.

It's all about using up, finding a new home, or getting it done! Today it's all about the UFO club. We had our monthly meet-up via Zoom, which is great since one of the ladies is at her cottage every weekend, and she still gets to participate. I think more and more people are getting used to this format!

And I get to sew longer to get my projects finished since we don't need to travel, no worries about the weather. It's a great thing!

Today we have Monday sewing and no need to pack up the sewing machine!

Let's get started on the show and tell because there's a lot. Even though it was summer and no money on the table, everyone was busy.

Dede got the two outer borders on this quilt. It was one of our $10 quilts from years ago. I think it was called The Patchwork Sampler. I love that black and white combination! Thankfully the recipient still is into black and white. One border left to go!

Dede's homework for August

Her homework for next month is to remove some quilting from the outer border of this next quilt and redo it. Don't you love how motivated we all are? That's a lot of work, but hey - if you're going to do something, you might as well be happy with the end result.

Dede's quilt for next month

Jane -- oh, Jane. She's like me - loads of little things to do each month. BUT instead of working on what she was supposed to, she made some placemats.

Jane's placemats

She made masks.

Jane's masks

And she worked out the calculations for a new quilt. This was actually part of her homework for the current month. Oh -- this is why I love EQ8 so much. I never have to worry about these kinds of calculations. But we all have our methods, and this works for Jane.

Quilt calculations

She even got started on some half-square triangles for the quilt.

Half-square triangles for her new quilt

Getting the binding on this quilt WAS on her list for this month.

Jane's quilt with the binding firmly attached

And it's firmly attached by machine. I love how more and more people are going that route!  It really depends on the eventual home for the quilt. A family heirloom? I'd hand-stitch the binding. But a giveaway quilt? By machine!!!

The binding is stitched in place by sewing machine

And she finished this quilt. I think the binding just needed to be put on. Now that's a lot to get done in one month. Go, Jane, GO!!!!

Another finished quilt

Linda got some blocks for the Vintage Christmas quilt done. She was a wee bit behind and is almost caught up now. The person who is behind is ME. I haven't got the homework for Friday out yet. That's a job for today or tomorrow.

Linda's Vintage Christmas blocks

Her project for next month is this quilt. It's gorgeous and definitely a Scandinavian feel for Christmas.

Scandi Christmas

I also got a lot accomplished. I'm only showing you the UFOs that were on my list. I won't bore you with all the other stuff that got done.

First up was my red/white log cabin quilt. The quilt top is together in one piece. No borders.

Red/white log cabin

The binding and backing are also made. Yeah!!!!

The binding, the backing, and the quilt top

Then I managed to get the final border on Easy Street - the mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter.

The final border on Easy Street

The binding, backing, and quilt top for Easy Street

And then there is the disappearing nine-patch. It's ALMOST together. All that's left to sew is ONE seam through the center of the quilt (the diagonal center that is) and add the four corner triangles.

The disappearing nine-patch

I'm going to add a border of some kind. I have some fat quarters, so I'll need to figure something out. But it's on my list for next month to have the top completely done.

Then there's the binding on the inside of the yoga bag. That was to be done this month - it didn't happen. I carried it over for next month.

The yoga bag that needs to be finished inside

There's also the snail's trail blocks. The blocks are all made, but it was supposed to be a quilt top by now. That's on the list for next month as well.

Snail's trail blocks

And I had to bring in a new UFO. This is PRISM squared. My goal is to get all the wedges cut for next month. The fabric strips are sewn together - the wedges just need to be cut.

My PRISM squared

Four projects - how hard can it be to get one done each week until our next UFO meeting?


Sharon got several projects completed as well. The border is on her shop hop quilt, and it's off to the quilter. I LOVE that pop of green with grey, white, and black. It's gorgeous.

Sharon's shop hop quilt

And she got some placemats finished. It honestly doesn't matter the size of the UFO - it's all about finishing.

Sharon's placemats

She'll be back working on her 2000 Piecemaker Calendar for next month. She's so close to getting that quilt done!!! I can't wait to see it done!

Last year, Ronda bought an embroidery machine and seems to be embroidering everything!! This is what she was working on this month. Onesies! The embroidery file is a new one from Kimberbell. But how cute is this, and how simple and fast to make compared to making a quilt for a new baby????

Onsie embroidered by Ronda

Lynne is also doing some machine embroidery. She got more sections of her Dream Big panel done. So hard to see in the photo, but I'm sure that it looks gorgeous. This is a fun panel to quilt or embroider. She'll be working on that this coming month as well.

Lynne's Dream Big panel

I think Laura abandoned her PRISM squared quilt for the summer. Instead, she got this quilt made. It's from flannel, and I LOVE IT!!!!

Laura's quilt

I think it's called Over and Under by Bonnie Sullivan.

Elaine is diligently working on her Stitcher's Garden. Two borders of five are now on the quilt.

Two borders on Elaine S quilt

Here are the other three borders being auditioned. We gave them the green light, and that's her goal for the coming month - get those last three borders on.

Auditioning the last three borders

Shelly is into hand embroidery these days. Her goal was to finish the stitching on this block.

Shelly's hand embroidery

She's started another block and going to try and finish TWO blocks for next month.

Diane is also working on Stitcher's Garden. She got the last set of blocks done!!!

Diane's blocks for Stitcher's Garden

More blocks

The final set of blocks

Some of those blocks are machine embroidery, and some are appliqued. It sure feels nice to get those blocks done! I know - I was in that position earlier this year.

One of the things that I love about our Zoom UFO group is that we get to ask questions like Elaine's border or, in Diane's case - how to finish off this cording.

Cording that needs to be finished off

Katheleen is also stitching up a storm with hand embroidery. This is Snow Days, and she got all her homework done and MORE. The quilt is stunning.

Katheleen's Snow Days

We have others in the group, and some of them took the summer off, but they have homework for September. Susan is going to be working on a Halloween quilt, Liz will be back with her Amy Bradley garden quilt, Diane was doing some repairs, and hopefully, Laura will be getting that PRISM squared done!

It's all fun, and the best part - we are getting those UFOs done. Some are just working on current projects to get some motivation. It doesn't matter - the point of the club is to get things DONE!!!

And it's going to be another busy day. Longarm quilting, making two magazine quilts, and well - that's probably all that I'm going to work on today. And those darn books - I'm reading a book and listening to an audiobook, and both are good! I hope to finish both today!

Hey - it's fun to sew all day, but you gotta take some time to just relax!!!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!

Virtual Sewing Retreat - Day Three

H MY GOD -- we had so much fun yesterday at the Virtual Sewing Retreat. Fran from Sudbury poped in, Mary from Scarborough, Carol from Parry Sound, Susan from London, and many others more local and are too numerous to mention. Sorry!!!  But what a fun time. OK - so I didn't get a lot of sewing done, and I'm perfectly OK with that. 

It was great to actually have a NORMAL conversation with a group. I love it!!!!

We got to see other people's sewing rooms, projects, pets, and a whole lot of stuff. We got to sew some blast from the past projects. Shoot - I didn't ask Carol to send me pictures of her stuff. I'll do that today! Oh, what fun!!!!

Fran has been working like mad during the shutdown, and her stuff is gorgeous. She sent me some pictures to share with you.

I love this one. It's made with hexies that are "floating" on the surface and get tacked down during the quilting process. I'd like to make one of these quilts someday!!!  Did you notice that it's quilted and bound??? I don't think she has any UFOs.

Fran's hexie quilt

This is a paper pieced project. I CANNOT remember the name, but I believe it was a sew-along. Look at the colors. This is just stunning. You know me and scrap quilts - I love them.

Fran's scrap paper pieced quilt

And then she showed us her Dream Big panel. It's gorgeous. This was done FREEHAND on a domestic machine. We saw her quilting at her sewing machine, so we know this for a fact. The quilting is fabulous! I bet one of the hardest parts was choosing the design to go in each petal. Oh, shoot - I didn't ask how many thread colors she used.

Fran's Dream Big panel

I have a couple more of her quilts to share, but they need to be rotated, and I don't have time for that this morning. Fran -- it was so lovely to chat yesterday, and thanks for sharing!!!!

I started my day off by making up some tea bags for the week. It made me think of people who rolled their own cigarettes. I dumped the bag of loose tea into a bowl, got out the tea bag filters and the spoon. Soon enough, I had a stash of tea bags to put in my small tea chest.

Making tea bags

I don't usually make tea bags, but I have no problem doing it. We have a "few" small containers of loose tea. Now for the tea snobs amongst us, they would probably tell me that the tea is too old and stale. My palette is NOT sophisticated enough for that, and the tea tastes just fine by me. The trick for most of these teas - DO NOT use boiling water. I love the taste of the teas, and I'm using up the stuff in the cupboard. I'm happy. It won't take much to keep me happy in that nursing home.

 Then it was down to work. I was determined to finish those bags if it killed me. I started off by going on a shopping spree. I have THREE boxes of accessories for bags. Clasps, handles, and other stuff.

Three boxes of bag accessories

What is nice is that now that everything has a home (more or less), I feel confident that when I shop through these boxes, that I see everything I have in this department. Just like in a real store!!!

Oh - the things that I found! I found another set of beige handles that will work perfectly. So I scooped those up before anyone else could!

A stash of handles

I even found handles with the bill still attached. Note the date on the receipt - April 4, 2009. I just shake my head! BUT it's all good because I have handles to use for my bag, although I could have made handles from fabric. I did NOT use the handles attached to this receipt.

A receipt for bag handles from 2009!!!!!!

This is a view inside the other two boxes of handles. Holy - there's a lot of stuff in there. A while back, I did put like items in plastic bags, but a few more bits have been added since. It would take about five minutes to dump all three boxes and make sure that everything is in the appropriate plastic bag. Then it would be even faster to shop.

Inside the other two boxes of bag accessories

Look what else I found in there. These are the plastic bag bottoms that were designed for the company whose pattern I'm using. Well - I might as well use those. I had one already with the unfinished bags, and I found one more in the right size. The two smaller ones went back into my supply box.

Plastic bag bottoms

I did have to make one more bottom out of corrugated plastic. Now here's the thing. I much prefer the corrugated plastic over the purchased bottoms. Why? For one thing - they are much LIGHTER. Second, I found the bag bottoms could have been ½" longer to fit perfectly in the bottom of the bag. I find they shift around because they are slightly too small. And I find they are very slippery, so when you make the fabric envelope to cover the bottom, it's too slippery. That doesn't happen with the corrugated plastic.

I'm so glad I found that solution, and it's free - I just walked to the garage store and selected a piece of corrugated plastic and cut it up to make my own. Now, I made it the SAME size as the purchased ones, and I could kick myself that I didn't measure. Live and learn!!!

By the way, those purchased bottoms were $11 EACH!!!!  My corrugated plastic? Free!

The price of the plastic bottom

While I was searching, I also found two packages of interfacing, specially designed for bag handles. Hmmm - those packages were $9 each!!! The old me would have put them back in the box, and I decided NO - it's time to use them.

Package of bag handle interfacing

So while it was super easy to use, there were a couple of things that I did NOT like. Of course - I'm such an old dog - you do NOT want to try and teach me a new trick. Unless I'm the one who wants to learn the new trick. I"m just like my MOM!!!   😃😃


There must have been 6 feet of interfacing in each package. So you fused it to the wrong side of the 2" wide strap for your handle. Big red flag - two inches is NOT wide enough for a decent bag strap. But I was following the directions. Then I folded the long edges in. I will admit that it was a HUGE time saver. But then what???  There were two raw edges down the entire length of the handle. That is NOT a sturdy handle. Nothing gets me going like a WIMPY handle on a bag. Oh - I should do an entire blog post about wimpy bag handles. Here's a heads up - I'm going to do an online class on making bags. But I digress.

You're supposed to sew some trim over the two raw edges. Well, I don't have trim -well, I might have trim that would have worked, but I didn't want that. So instead, I took another 2" strip and created another handle and topstitched the two pieces together. One package was NOT enough to do the two widths of fabric. I was short by this much, so I dug into the other package of bag handle interfacing.

Making handles with bag handle interfacing

I have enough for one more pair of shorter handles, and that's it - I won't buy that stuff again!!!  Great concept, but not practical. And I like a wee bit wider strap and MORE substantial than I got even with doubling it like I did.

Look what else I found in the accessory box - a gorgeous orange shoulder step that matched the fabric, but I wasn't going to use that strap on those bags. That's for another project!!!!

Orange leather strap matches the fabric perfectly

So what did actually get accomplished amidst all the chatter? 

Here are my three bag bottoms.

Three bag bottoms - DONE!

I topstitched the tabs for the purchased handles for two of the bags.

Topstitching tabs for the purchased handles

I'm sewed the tabs on the bag. Yikes - that is a LOT of layers to go through. But the PFAFF creative icon went through with no problem. That's something like 24 layers of fabric at the highest point. I might rethink how those tabs fit on the next time. I may have used a WEE bit too much interfacing.

Stitching the tabs in place

I don't know how many times I had to sew on the tabs or the handles. I sewed them to the inside of the bag when they should have been on the outside. And then one of the handles was twisted. Oh yes- it wasn't fun, but I was chatting so much, it didn't surprise me!!!

Honestly, I was OK with not getting a lot done. Quilting is a social hobby, and well - we've been missing the social part of it. I'm in catch up mode!!!!

Here are my THREE almost completed bags.

Bag number one with purchased handles

Bag number two with fabric handles

Bag number three with purchased handles

And what was I thinking because I already had a finished bag kicking around!!!!

Bag number four with purchased handles

I mean - I had some serious issues back then. One was never enough. I needed MULTIPLES of everything!! Thank goodness those days are behind me.

So what didn't get done? The flap on the bag that you can see above. The Velcro is already in place on the other three tote bags, so it's not like I can leave the flap off. But when I went to my box where the Velcro is stored, I couldn't find the box of beige Velcro. It looks like this one, but this one is for the black Velcro. That means the box of beige Velcro is in the house somewhere. I did search last night but haven't found it yet, so I'm going to do a wee bit of searching today to see if I can unearth it. It's likely in a box with another bag project. GRRRRRRR   - why did I do that????  I also have a box of white Velcro, and it's also missing.

Box of black Velcro

This is the pattern I used for the bags - The Miranda Bag by Lazy Girl. It's a great bag.

The Miranda Day Bag

A bunch of us were yakking past 8 PM last night, and I finally had to shut the call down at 8:30, so I could get my steps in. I got a little over 6 miles in for the day. I'm behind, but I'll make it up next week.

Here's the shot of Highway 16 east of the Battlefords.

Highway 16 east of the Battlefords

 And here's the map view. I'm making progress. It's a long road!!!

My position on the map

Phew - well, I see I'd better run. I can't wait to see who pops into the Zoom Virtual Sewing Retreat today. Remember, it's open for ANYONE. I love meeting new people, and I was so glad to see some new faces. Quilting is all about socializing, and since we're social distancing, this is a GREAT alternative.

Here's the link for today - SATURDAY, May 30.

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82735643607?pwd=NGw5YmxPRkxsUWpuLzBadjJDeERNQT09 Meeting ID: 827 3564 3607 Password: 277672


Have a super day, and see you on ZOOM.


Ciao!!!!!