Scored on the road (shopping) trip!!!

From the comments, I see I shouldn't save any emails with attachments. And YES -- I agree 100%. However, I have been lax about that, and now I'm paying the price. Well, it just means that I have to do a lot of deleting. 

DH and I chatted about it last night. Why are companies doing this? Changing our phones so we have things like auto-backups, and they don't tell us? Because most people will be lazy and just add more storage (for a price). I refuse to be that person. 

DELETE DELETE DELETE is the new motto!! And it's something that has to be done CONSTANTLY. 

What a road trip that was! I picked up my passenger shortly after 9 AM, and we didn't get home until 5 PM. It took a bit longer than I planned, but boy oh boy—the trip was a total success, and I scored on so many counts!

Our first stop was to drop off a quilt that I had quilted for someone. Her house was along our route, so it was easy. She wasn't home, but that worked out OK. We called her and dropped the quilt off in the garage. We also saved her bacon by turning off the water for their new lawn so her husband didn't think she left it on!

Back on the road, we arrived at our first destination about 11:30. I would not normally drive that far to a quilt shop, but I had left some things behind when I was there a couple of weeks ago. Where were we? Heather Bell's Sewing Studio. She doesn't have a super online presence, but she is a PFAFF dealer, and she also has BATIKS. Lots and lots of batiks! 

A small sampling of the batiks at Heather Bell's Sewing Studio

Except for a few bundles, she sells only batiks! And if you are looking for LIGHT batiks, this is the place to go! 

The cream/white batiks!

The store is attached to her house, and it's not huge, but spread out over several rooms. There were a lot of cars when we arrived, and oh my - we were not expecting that! However, it was all good news since there was a SALE!!!!! A good sale - so that was even better. 

I took the bucket of batiks I sorted the previous night, and with the MUCH APPRECIATED bundles of swatches from my other friend, I found some beautiful batiks to fill the gaps. 

My bucket of sorted batiks

The swatches of batiks

What I added to my collection

OH MY --- doesn't that bundle look yummy! I was so excited that I wanted to dive right in and start sewing last night. But I didn't have time. I had to get dinner ready for the little guy, then have dinner myself, then walk the dogs, take a phone call (while walking all three dogs), and then work on the puzzle. But I'm going too fast. Let's backtrack. 

What am I going to do with all those batiks? I have been a fan of Jacqueline de Jonge patterns for years. I have several that were done before her new cover style. By the way - I bought one meter of each color, except for the remnant. It seems I mostly have stuff from her Rainbow pattern collection. But as I quickly browsed her site, so many patterns are reminiscent of other paper piecing designs!!! I have a lot of that other designer as well. We won't go there! 

My collection of Jacqueline de Jonge patterns

I should have checked the date on the one on the bottom right, but it is definitely one of her earlier patterns. As is the one in the top left. They are also easier than some of the others. The second from the left in the bottom row is the one that I am searching for. Obviously, not the pattern, but the project box. I swear I started it - I remember teaching it, but where is the project box? I'll likely find it and find TONS of batiks. But that's OK. 

Anyway, I would LOVE to start one of these, and two of them are very easy. I know - I know! I said I wouldn't start anything new, but those two are pretty basic and would be fun to have as a new project. Just to "test" out the batiks! I'll see how it goes, as I still have a LOT of sorting to do. And basic things to catch up on. 

With all the commotion and people, we were at that shop much longer than we had planned. I hope to get back and run some classes for Heather. We didn't have time to chat yesterday, so we'll do that on the phone. 

We stopped at Tim's for something quick as we were now running behind. Here's a better picture of the SNITCH (Harry Potter) that you can fill with Timbits. 

The SNITCH box at Tim's

OH MY—the special Timbits you can buy have a golden sprinkle on them. It may not be readily visible in the picture! I must say I splurged and had a tea in the morning, which isn't a big deal, but I ended up eating two of their cookies. OK -- loads of sugar, but it was one day. I can live with one day. 

Golden Snitch TimBits

Our next stop was Ye Olde Fabric Shoppe in Stratford. I had several things that I was looking for, and this is a big shop, so I was hoping we would find what we needed. I knew they had a wide variety of stuff. 

I didn't have time to take pictures, but I was looking for a backing, borders, and some background fabrics. And I scored on all THREE counts. I don't have time to share the pictures this morning, but I will take pictures and share tomorrow. Let's just say that it pays to ASK questions when you are in a quilt shop and can't find what you are looking for. A few impulse buys ended up in my basket. Again -- you'll hear all about that tomorrow. 

BUT LOOK WHAT Dede found!!!! 

Adorable mini quilt prints

OH my goodness!!!! There were pinwheels, flying geese, hexagons, stars, log cabins, and probably something else. There were several different colorways, and I wanted one of each! I did not - I got one. I checked my fat quarter to see what collection this is from, and I don't have a selvage edge on my fabric. I quickly tried to find a mini-quilt image on fabric, and all I'm getting is mini quilt patterns. I might have to call the store. 

But imagine what fun you could have with that! The scale might be a tad small for our Show and Tell quilt by Elizabeth Hartman. Those blocks are 12" square, and I'll have to check to see if the scale would be correct. It might work! 

Show and Tell my Elizabeth Hartman

Don't yell at me - I just had an epiphany. I have tried to delete emails in the past, and I never see any of my storage free up. I empty my trash regularly and get rid of spam and that silly Important folder. But I never touch one folder: the SENT folder. Imagine how many attachments are in that folder? I feel protective of that folder and don't want to empty it in case I need to go back and find something, which I have had to do. But imagine if I went in and deleted every email with an attachment? That might quickly free up a lot of space. 

Hmm -- let me check that out. OK -- I just sorted them, and there are MANY. I'll go in later and delete all the class stuff I sent before 2026. That should help. Then I'll keep deleting stuff from my file structure. I'm working on 2025 right now, and everything before 2025 is already deleted. 

Sometimes people come back in a current class and ask me to resend because they can't find the stuff, so I don't want to get rid of everything. Just keep the current one and delete the rest. 

I went to bed a little bit later than usual because I was listening to that darn audiobook! Oh my --- the plot twists keep coming. There was even one point when I gasped audibly at the plot twist. 

And all the while I was working on my jigsaw puzzle. At last—I got over the hurdle, and I made excellent progress last night. 

Excellent progress on the jigsaw puzzle

I now have two windows and a door of books to complete. I love when that happens. And don't worry—the next one is already sitting on the table, waiting to be put together!

Oh my --- too much running around and looking for things this morning, and I need to get to the gym for 6 AM to meet with Brooke. I am feeling much stronger these days. I wish I was a bit leaner, but that will come. Anyway, I think I'm becoming a gym rat again, which I am happy about. I will get to the point where I can easily do 10 push-ups with 90-degree elbow bends from my toes. Hey -- it's nice to have a goal!!! I know -- you are saying - who cares? Well, I care. Because should I slip and fall, I need to get myself back up!

Lots of computer work and phone calls today. As we were driving yesterday, I must have said at least ten times - NOTE TO SELF - you need to do this. I hope I remember everything! I need to take a notebook and have my passenger take notes. I suppose I could do that through the Notes app and hands-free, but then I will forget the note, so that doesn't help me one bit. 

It's going to be an AWESOME day!!!

Ciao!!!

I'm PUZZLED!!!!

Creative block!!! Where do I start this morning? 

Just kidding! All I need to do is write one word, and then the rest just follows. I have more to write about The Artist's Way, but I'm leaving that until tomorrow. 

Lots of things happened yesterday, and they were very exciting. Let's take a look. I recently went through my pending folder, which was exploding, and I did quite a bit of checking things off the list yesterday morning. So that was a positive way to get some paperwork done. There are a few more papers on the floor from that folder that I need to check to make sure things got done, and then I can file/toss the paperwork. It's all good. 

On my Visual To-Do list is a category called "quilts for others," which means that it's a quilt I want to make for others, or someone asked me to make them a quilt. This is the most embarrassing category on the list because I got stuck in a rut. I'll work up my courage and explain them one at a time, preferably with time in between, so I can get over my embarrassment. 

The reason I'm sharing the stories is that you likely have similar projects, and I want to share how I dealt with them. And I might need your advice on some of it, but slow and steady - let's just deal with them one at a time. 

As I mentioned, I ran into a lady in the grocery store the other day, and she was on my list of people to call because there was a box with a partially completed quilt in it for her. 

The UFO quilt I promised to make for someone else

I sent her pictures of what had been completed so far and a diagram of where we were going with it. She had already received a quilt I made for her Mom. I called her yesterday, and we discussed it. I had phototransferred 30 pictures onto fabric and fused some lettering, which was to be the top and bottom borders. Here's what I learned in that conversation. First -- she didn't even remember the project when I sent her the photos. OH!!!! To be clear, this project was started in 2002 or 2003? So it's been many years - I don't blame her for not remembering, but I remembered, and it has been a weight on my back for all those years. 

Secondly, she mentioned numerous times that the pictures were very dated. Yep—some of the people in the photos were probably no longer around, and all the children? Well, some of them have children of their own. She felt bad for all the work I had done, but then didn't want to add to my workload. 

Bottom line? We ditched the project. Guilt gone and the next time I see her around, we can just catch up - I don't need to mention the quilt every again!!!

I'm not taking that project off the list yet. I need to sort through the box first, and when it's completely dealt with, then I can take it off the list. 

There was a stack of paper - that's now in the recycling. There were a couple of patterns, which are also in their appropriate place. I found some fabrics, and those are back on the shelf. 

Sorting through the UFO

Look at this gorgeous maple leaf neutral I found!!!

Look at the gorgeous fabric.

And THREE spools of machine embroidery thread, which is now back with the rest of the orange threads. I swear, if I could find all the threads that are in the project boxes, I'd have to buy many more containers! Don't yell at me --- I'm working on this mess!!! Are you working on yours? 

Three found spools of thread.

I also found two oraganmi boats that I made with fabric. I'm not sure why they were in the box - perhaps there was a lake behind the tree, and this boat was going on it. I know I made these as samples for another quilt, where I made an origami boat. Hmmm -- I should take a picture of that quilt. It's finished and hangs over my front door. I'm not sure where to put those, but I'll find a home for them, perhaps with my fusible supplies, because I needed a fusible to attach the two pieces of fabric. This technique would work a whole lot better these days with the much thinner fusibles!!

Two origami boats made from double-sided fabric

The stitching had NOT been done on the two borders, and I decided to try to rescue the fabric and perhaps the letters. I know—it's the pioneer spirit within me, and trust me—I LOVE doing this recovery work. I almost find it more satisfying than making something from new stuff. Plus, I have two YouTube Videos (informative) that I want to finish watching, so I can pull letters off while doing that. 

Oh shoot—I didn't seem to take any pictures of that process, but it's working. Some of the fused appliqué is stuck pretty well, but I'm persistent and have been able to remove about 1/3 of one border. That's pretty good considering I wasn't home yesterday afternoon. 

The moral of this story is- if you commit to making a project for someone, do NOT abandon it. I seemed to have gone through a period when I just couldn't wrap my head around finishing things, which has left a few things sitting here. I'm all grown up now and facing those awkward situations. Get it over -- live guilt-free! 

And the bonus lesson is that if you have a UFO, you do NOT need to finish every one of them. Abandon the project, shelve the material, cross it off your list, and call it a day. DO NOT leave it sitting around. MAKE A DECISION about it. 

Then we got ourselves ready because KU and I were going on a road trip. My brain kicked in, and I realized that while we were on our mission, we could drop some things off for the Pony Express. This is what we dropped off. Two quilts and three pet mats were dropped off at the first stop, and I picked up one quilt for quilting. The second stop involved dropping off some odds and ends for someone, and I didn't pick up anything. 

Items to be delivered on the Pony Express

The second stop was to the Springhouse Retreat house, where the person was currently enjoying a retreat. So, of course, I had to snap a picture of the red lawn chairs. 

The red lawn chairs at Springhouse Retreat

They were just not as nicely arranged as when we took our "famous" picture in them. I don't know where that picture is at the moment, but I'll find it for tomorrow. 

This is what remains on the Pony Express at the moment, which is not too bad. I'll try to drop that bag off today if the weather is nice. Two of the three remaining items are for me to drop off on my travels, and the bag of cars is for someone to pick up! All is good! 

What is currently waiting to be delivered/pick-up

After we did our two drop-offs, we were on our way to the Ye Old Fabric Shoppe. We found a fabric in the theme we wanted, but it was not suitable for our needs. So we looked at other things, and we got what we needed. I even picked up a few things which I'll share tomorrow. Oh boy -- I have a lot to share tomorrow!

WAIT -- there was one thing that I spotted. I did NOT buy it, but I took a picture of it. 

Ways to keep track of your pieces

Remember my picture from yesterday? 

Ways to keep track of your pieces

And that's all I'm going to say about that. 

I had wanted to check out the dollar store to see if they had any of those felt folders or laptop cases. And oh my—there was a thrift store and a Michael's right beside it. So we parked the car and went to Michael's first. The goal was to see if they had gotten their fabric aisle yet. Nope --- just the small pieces that they've always had. I first spotted the fabric aisle in North Vancouver in the fall. Nothing here yet, but I know that feature has also been implemented in part of Atlantic Canada. I don't know about my local stores. Too bad there isn't a Michaels within walking distance! It's within cycling distance, so once the weather is nicer, I must get that bike out! 

We checked out the dollar store, and they did not have the felt cases. BUT I scored big time at the thrift shop. We went in simply to check for jigsaw puzzles. I KNOW—I don't need any more, but just to check. OK — I checked the other departments but found nothing of interest, and we had a deadline to meet. 

Look what jumped into my shopping bag. 

WAIT --- first look what I spotted on the way to the puzzle section. Who remembers these tins? I was not a smoker --- EVER, but my Dad bought tobacco in these tins. He stopped smoking years ago. 

That brings back memories.

And doesn't this look nice? As Julia would say in The Artist's Way, inspiration can come from anywhere. Look at all the different reds, and they all look amazing together!!!

A display in the thrift store

OK -- so I have a thing for Dowdle puzzles. I have no idea why, but I like them. So I scored TWO of the bigger puzzles, and KU picked up a Diane Phalen quilt puzzle. 

THREE new puzzles

And then I found FIVE of the Dowdle FolkArt puzzles. 

OH -- five Dowdle FolkArt puzzles

And what the heck --- I bought them all! Eight puzzles for $40 inlcuding tax, because I had a 20% coupon with me. It's time to make another donation to get another coupon!

After we got back from dinner, I decided to tackle one of the small puzzles. It's so easy to lay out 300 pieces. Why does it seem to take forever when there are 500 or 1000 pieces? 

Laying out the pieces

Then I sorted out the border pieces. 

Sorting out the borders

I worked from the top down, and even with that, I was finished by 9:45 PM. You know what? I really enjoyed making that puzzle. It was fast, yet not super easy, and the pieces are small like a regular-sized puzzle. No missing pieces!

The puzzle is complete!

What was interesting was that the last one of the Folk Art series I did, the entire box cover was the picture, including the border on the box, and the name. I expected the same thing here, but nope—it was just the picture. Then I realized that the remaining four puzzles are the four seasons—one for spring, summer, fall, and winter. It was cheap entertainment for the evening. I might just do one a day until those are done. Then I'll let KU do them, and then they go in the donation box. I certainly do not want to keep them. 


We stopped for a snack at Tim's, and I won a coffee!!!

Winner!!!

OK --- this was Murp[hy yesterday morning -- back to lying on the pond. 

MOM --- something is here!

 I just let them out, and they were both by the pond. Murphy almost went on the pond, but the ice is almost gone. There must be something in the pond that is making them curious. Now I have to look, but I'm afraid of what I'll find. It's likely a rabbit or something. 

Look at Lexi! She is soaking up that attention like no tomorrow. 

I LOVE KU!!!!

This is why she hangs out with DH, although I don't know why, because he never gives her an ear rub like that! But KU knows where to hit all the good spots. It was hilarious. 

Today is going to be my last day —no, wait —Sunday will be my last day of goofing around with my projects, then I need to get heads down on stuff for my upcoming Facebook Live. WAIT --- they have the date as March 18!!!! 

Oh well—I'll evaluate my schedule and then move on to other projects on Monday. 

On that note, I'm out of here. So much to do! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!