A positive mindset

 I love the comments. Someone's Mother used to poke her between the shoulder blades if she was slouching! "Hey, Mom -- why didn't you do that for me?" But it's true -- our society as a whole is slipping into only doing things the easy way! We've lost our ability to cope with any kind of hardship (I'm grossly exaggerating there and generalizing), but you know what I mean. 

I talked to my Dad yesterday, and he was telling me about my brother. Their microwave died. So he took it apart. He found one issue and fixed that, but it still didn't work. So he looked again and found a fuse that didn't work. He changed that, and VOILA -- the microwave still works. Now he does wiring stuff for a living, and like my Dad is a tinkerer, but what if we had a repair shop that could do that. 

Think how many working microwaves have been tossed in the landfill because someone couldn't or didn't know how to change the fuse? I put myself in that category. If someone isn't going to fix electrical stuff for me, I have no choice but to buy new. So why does my brother live across the country from me? 

I also think we tend to complicate our lives - we overthink things, we pack too much into our houses, into our suitcases when we travel, and into our agendas (OK - I'm guilty of that last one). Why do we do that? Because it's expected of us - to have china, crystal, and silverware (well, thankfully not anymore), but people did that because that's what their parents did. Not me! You won't find a piece of china or silver at my house, and any crystal has been cobbled together as needed over the years. 

And it's easy to come up with excuses - I couldn't exercise because of the lockdowns, I couldn't visit because of the lockdowns, I'm too tired, or whatever the excuse is. I just don't buy that. What our world needs is a POSITIVE MINDSET. We can do anything we want - some ideas may need to be adapted, but we can do ANYTHING. 

WOW  -- while Rosyquilter's mom used to poke her between the shoulder blades to get her to stand up straight, my parents taught me that you don't give up, you don't give in, and you DO - all day and every day! Now, if you could just have poked me a bit between the shoulder blades - I'd be darn near perfect! Just kidding! Thanks, Mom and Dad.

Speaking of a positive mindset, hopefully, I'll get a call from UPS this morning. But I'm not holding my breath, so I'll call them around 11 AM. I know why I've had bad luck with this. The darn paperwork was still on the scanner this morning -- I had sent the document but left it on the scanner. It's now in the pending pile. And look at my sweatshirt. It's a darn UPS sweatshirt! That's in the laundry now! The dad of one of M's friends from way back worked there, and I got a sweatshirt. Well, that may just have to be tossed after this debacle. 

The logo on my UPS sweatshirt

You know the saying, "when a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear?" Well, how about when something falls in the studio? Do you hear? I found this in the corner the other day. This is the last of the scraps that I have to sort through for pet mats or other goodies. Those upholstery samples, which are heavy, must have slipped behind the bags and pushed them off the stack! All is back in good order. And one day, hopefully before the end of the year, I'll be able to get through at least two more of the bags. Hey -- it's way better than it was and nicely contained, so I'm Ok with it for the moment. 

Bags of scraps to sort through

I managed to get a quilt quilted yesterday. Not a very large one, but that's OK. One done is better than none! I need to be at the machine every day this week. That's going to be tough because we have a knee replacement (not mine) happening this week, all the preamble to that, appointments for MIL, two different sets of company coming, plus both DH and I are burning the candle at both ends (or so it seems). Ah -- it's going to be a fun week. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I mentioned that we have company coming. Who could that be? A mystery man, and that's all I'll say. 

A mystery guest

We had our handwork group yesterday. It was a nice day, although I thought it was COLD, so many people were outside. I was going to be quilting but decided that I had some handwork and I would do that. I'm glad I did. We got to chat, and it was great to visit with some people we hadn't seen in a while. 

OK -- I confess, I need to be less opinionated! If you don't agree with something, say nothing! That should be a sticky note I leave on my computer screen! So I openly apologize to those on the call for being opinionated about certain topics! 

But this is what I got done. I had these narrow strips of fabric that required hand ruching. I could have probably done this with the sewing machine and in a lot less time, but you know what? Sometimes, you just want to do something with your hands. 

Hand ruched strips

Look at that lovely hand stitching. 

Relaxing hand stitching

And the best part? I finished all the pieces - there were six of them. Yeah!!!! These were the last embellishment for my Hello Sunshine (Kimberbell) machine embroidered quilt. So that has now been moved to the "to be quilted" pile. 

One more quilt moved to the "to be quilted" pile

I swear this bear, or what's left of it, is Murphy's stress release. She's gets wound up, and then that bear gets dragged around the backyard. It's totally disgusting, and I won't touch it. The eyes were long gone, and I'm surprised that she hasn't totally wrecked it before now. It appears that there's a hole in the back, and Murphy discovered that yesterday. Only a little bit of stuffing came out, so I let her continue to drag it around. 

Murphy and her stress stuffie

She has other stuffies that stay in the house, but I'm sure the moment this one disappears, that one of those will become the outdoor stress toy!

Does anyone have a black silk tie - similar in shape to the one in this photo. I have no idea who this guy is -- I just asked for a picture of the tie style. M's friend is getting married this weekend, and apparently, there are no black silk ties to be found. A lot of weddings are happening right now. So I need your help; if anyone has a tie that I could borrow, I'll do a porch pick up. My silly girl thinks we can make one. Not happening!

Is this the mystery guest?

Well, it's time to head to the gym for that spin class. Proper breathing is supposed to increase your output! That's a reason to learn to breathe better! While I haven't pushed myself like the author of that book did, I think I'm in pretty decent shape. Always room for improvement, but I've come a long way with breathing issues in my life. 

On that note, have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Focus focus focus

 Oh my gosh!!!!  A totally random question, but a good one. Who will play the duck? Thanks to someone for posting that on the blog yesterday. If you know what that means - well, then you are a fan of Louise Penny. I bet some ducks have agents! 

WOW -- yesterday was another amazing day. OK -- in the sleep department, it wasn't amazing, but who cares -- naps are always good! OK --  why won't my Fitbit sync this morning? I'll figure it out later. 

I had a super productive day, and then we had the Virtual Retreat from 6 - 9 PM. My friends never disappoint me. They kept me entertained, and I got loads done!!! Let's check it out. 

I started the morning with this. The cutting table was piled high with stuff, and well, I need to get it organized. A lot of this has been sitting on the floor, and I've been walking over it as I walked to the embroidery machine. Time to tidy up!

The cutting table is a mess

And a few extra things are sitting on the left side of the cutting table. I did clean a wee bit of this up, but not too much. Not yet. Its time will come soon. 

More boxes of stuff on the floor

Well, well, look what I found. FIVE more of those tiny pinwheels. This is why one must clean up regularly. You never know what you're going to find. That will give me 82 pinwheels and two half-square triangles left over. Good thing I didn't plan a project yet!

Five more pinwheels

Here are three quilt tops that my MIL sewed together for the community projects. Two of them are string blocks made at some point, and the other one is made from some velvet squares that I had from somewhere. Those quilts, plus the ones that Diane and Rose made, are now tucked into the storage room, and I'll be searching for backings in a bit. Yikes -- so many quilts to quilt!

More quilt tops for the community projects

Speaking of quilting quilts, I got this GIANT customer quilt done yesterday. I'll try to get it trimmed today and load the next one on to quilt it tomorrow. 

Customer quilt - DONE

Yep -- I've started on the customer quilts for September and taking orders for late October/November. If you want something done by Christmas, I'd suggest you book a slot soon. Time goes by quickly, and it seems that many of my customers drop more tops off when they pick up! I love them for that, but the slots fill quickly since it's only one of my freelance jobs. 

Then it was over to the embroidery machine, where I was determined to get those fiddly embellishments done for the Kimberbell quilt. I mean fiddly -- this one involved a water-soluble stabilizer, two layers of tulle, and mylar!

Layers of material to embroider

But look -- the balloons are done. 

Embroidered Mylar balloons

This is the quilt that I'm working on -- Hello Sunshine by Kimberbell. The quilt top is done. 

The pattern for Hello Sunshine

As is the binding and the backing. 

The backing and the binding for Hello Sunshine

And now, all the embellishments are also done. Some of these are still slightly damp - they had to be dunked in water to dissolve the stabilizer. 

The 3-D embellishments

The only thing left is to finish the hand stitching on the green strips, which will be ruched for the rind of the watermelon. I think I'll get the hand stitching done today, and then they will all get put into a bag and stored with the quilt as it gets moved to the "to be quilted" pile. 

And that leaves an EMPTY project box. 

Empty project box

It's still empty, but I'm sure I'll find something on the current project table that can get slotted in there. 

But that wasn't all that happened. All that happened BEFORE the Virtual Retreat. I was going to stitch another four of the leaf blocks during the retreat, but then I thought -- the machine is set up, you've got people to entertain me, and so I plunged on and did all eight of the remaining blocks. 

Eight more leaves - DONE

And that means that all 18 of the maple leaf blocks are DONE. Completely stitched. Oh my goodness, I was jumping up and down (OK - in my head). This is HUGE. This is one of the two projects I chose for my UFO this month. I've done some work on the other project, which won't take long to finish up. Two weeks in advance of the deadline. Who am I??

The 18 leaves for my UFO project - DONE

Now I'm thinking of what to add as a goal for the UFO for next month. I can do a stretch goal, and I will. Perhaps I'll pick two blocks from the quilt and complete them? I want that quilt done by the end of the year, so I may have to do more than two. 

And I emptied two more bobbins! Someone asked what I do with these bobbins. I toss them. These are the bobbins from the pre-wounds. They technically are NOT made to be reused. I know - that sounds wasteful. You might reuse them, but I have so many bobbins for my machines, so I toss them. 

Two more empty bobbins

In case you think I cheated and used the same bobbins as yesterday, I did NOT. In total, the work from the weekend used up FIVE bobbins. Now not all of these were complete. Some of them were partially used. They may not be appropriate for the embroidery machine (close to the end), but you'd be surprised how long a pre-wound bobbin will last after the "empty bobbin" message comes up on the screen. 

Five pre-wound bobbins are gone!

WOW!!!!  I'm so impressed at what I can do when I focus. Yes -- I went for my walks with the girls and then another one in the afternoon. Hey -- I took the long way to the mall and went to Wal-Mart. I haven't been there in a long, long time. I had a peek at the magazines but resisted buying any. And I've had a hankering for one of those darn pumpkin spice muffins. I know -- Anyway -- I walked past not one, not two, but THREE Tim's on that walk, and even though I had money and a mask, I did NOT cave!  I came home mufflinless, and that's probably a good thing. They are laden with calories that I don't need. 

My disrupted sleep resulted in getting a lot of paperwork done! That is good. Maybe I need to do that more often? NO -- I like my sleep. 

It appears that I've been lax on setting up the clubs for the fall. I'll post more details on that tomorrow. We have EQ8, Embroidery (including Kimberbell), or they might be two different ones. 

Today is also a Virtual Retreat sewing day. The weather is crappy - rain, cool, and clouds, so it's a perfect day to sew. Here's the link. Remember, it's also part of our Monday sewing day, so we have show and tell at 11 AM. I always include an unusual sewing machine in our presentation. Wait until you see what I found! 

Here's the link.

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

Start time: 10 AM!!!!!!!  Goes until at least 8 PM tonight. 

And that's a wrap for today!!!

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!!

The Virtual Retreat

 OK -- I promise that tomorrow, I'll get started on all the homework photos. I have things to share with you from the Virtual Retreat. 

What fun we had! We got to meet Barb from Maryland!  Lots of familiar faces that stretched across the country and over to Germany. We discovered MANY things, including there's an imposter amongst us! That's all I'm going to say about it, except that we had a good laugh over it. 

We talked about everything and anything, including the FitBit and what it tracks and do they do anything with the data. Sheepherding dogs, quilting, tornados, and how to save the world! You had to be there! Because of the widespread heat (at least in our part of the world), it was a perfect day to be inside and sew. 

The next Virtual Retreat is scheduled for July 24 and 25, so be sure to mark that on your calendar. 

I'm happy to report that I didn't need the seam ripper, but that doesn't mean I didn't make mistakes. And the mistake happened for a reason! Well, besides the fact that I was yakking and NOT paying attention to what I was supposed to do. 

One of the tasks on The Task Master list for the week was finishing off these arrow blocks for the Urbanologie quilt. We need to make five of them. 

An arrow for the Urbanologie quilt

I had already made an error when trimming the units for the point, so they are not as pointy as they are supposed to be. I decided that I could live with that, so I sewed the points together. 

The points for the arrow blocks

Then I was making the feathers for the ends of the arrows. I sewed the squares on one set of components, trimmed and pressed them. Then I was onto the second set. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Ooops -- this is NOT right

A miscut!! OK -- so this calls for drastic measures. I've decided to redo the darn components for the ends of the arrows. It shouldn't be that big of a deal. I was avoiding doing that because I have limited fabric resources to finish the quilt. I think these mistakes call for cutting all the focus pieces for the rest of the blocks and see how much I have left or not. Then I found a shop that carries a lot of Tula Pink, not sure if they have Elizabeth or not, and if not, I have a friend who has some of the Elizabeth. I'll make this quilt happen!! As someone pointed out, probably ANY Tula Pink fabric can be substituted. And she's right! Get over it!

After that little fiasco, I decided that I needed to work on simple things, so I got the shaft part of the arrow done. That was easy - two straight seams!

The shaft of the arrows is done!

The backing for the redwork quilt (Winter Wonderland) is now done, and this quilt got moved to the "to be quilted" pile. 

Backing, binding, and quilt top - DONE

Then onto the next simple thing - the borders on the Kimberbell, Hello Sunshine. I do LIKE that yellow/green border fabric. So that top is done - well, not quite. I'll explain in a minute. OH - and because the cutting table is pretty clear, it was easy as pie to cut and pin those borders on. 

Hello Sunshine by Kimberbell

I went through my stash of backing fabrics and found something that was appropriate. It might not have been a perfect choice, but there was JUST enough fabric on this bolt, and now that bolt is gone off the shelf. That was perfect enough in my mind. 

An empty bolt

These flowers are for the All in a Row quilt. I'm making two different quilts from the rows. The instructions said to cut the background for those flowers' outer and inner parts, but that looks silly. So I cut brown squares, and this new version looks a whole lot better. I managed to get ONE flower done, and all the leaves are done. So that was good. 

Flower blocks for the All in a Row quilt

Wait -- I'm not done! It was a very productive retreat. I finished the applique on the owls. This is also a row for the All in a Row quilt. Yeah!!! All the stabilizer is off the back, and I LOVE the owls. They are adorable. 

The owl row is also done!

As I shut things down last night, this is how the cutting table looked. It doesn't look like I got anything done, but this is "new" stuff. 

The cutting table last night

But the sewing table and the ironing board are in good shape!!!

Look at those empty surfaces!

But I tidied up a bunch of stuff on the cutting table this morning, and this is all that's left. These are the items that are going on The Task Master list for this week. I know it doesn't look like I'm making progress, but I am. I am closer to finishing all the prepped stuff, and none of these tasks will take that long. Each one could easily be finished in a day. The largest thing is putting a border on a quilt, making a binding, and the backing. That's easily done in a couple of hours. That might be a good task for Monday sewing this morning. 

The "list" of projects to be completed this week

There's still some prepped stuff, and this will take a while, but I'm using it mostly as enders and leaders. 

The last of the prepped stuff

So back to the Kimberbell quilt. Once the quilt is quilted, there are some embellishments to be added. This is the project box that was filled with tools and supplies for the Hello Sunshine quilt. No wonder I couldn't find my chenille brush in the box of chenille supplies. It's now put away. 

The project box for Hello Sunshine

Finishing the embellishments is on the list of things to do this week. I have some embroidery to do and some other fiddly stuff. But good grief -- why didn't I finish it before?? 

This is all that's left after I put stuff away

No worries - it's getting done now, and that's all that counts. 

And once all this stuff is done, there's still plenty waiting on the current projects table to keep me busy for the rest of the year. Isn't that crazy? All that stuff, and it's going to take at least ONE year to clear it all. And there's plenty more where this came from. Now I must admit that a few things did get added to the lists, and they were NOT on this table, but they got finished and put away. That's important. I AM going to make this happen! 

More stuff on the current projects table

Thanks to the support team at The Virtual Mission, I changed my route through Eastern Canada. I'm still walking through Nova Scotia, and it only added 20 extra KM to the total. I'm now going to take the bridge to get to PEI and the ferry off the other side. I won't get to Halifax, but I'm OK with that. 

The last 25% of my virtual walk across Canada

Don't forget to join the Facebook Live event tomorrow for the Spectrum Quilt A Long. There are PRIZES!!!!!   You can check out the rest of the details in yesterday's post. But here's the time and the date. 

And that's it for today!!!!  It's Monday sewing, and I'm going to tackle some of those projects on The Task Master for this week. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!! 

Noah, build me an ark!

WOW --- if you lived near me, we had a wicked storm last night. It rained on and off with lightning and thunder, and then at 1 AM, the heavens opened, and it was crazy windy with buckets of rain. The lightning was crazy. Murphy was not too happy, but she was OK, as she cuddled on the floor beside the bed. Miss Lexi - well, if she was scared, it wasn't enough to brave the stairs to be with her peeps! I can't imagine being in a tornado as the trees were being whipped around, and it was very noisy - a tornado would be 10 times worse. That intense storm lasted 15 minutes and then it was dead calm. Mother Nature is very strange in the way she works. 

I took my time working yesterday. I listened to Quilt Canada demos and sessions while I was prepped for the Tula Pink class last night. 

Cutting and watching Quilt Canada

I have to say that by having the cutting table in a fairly good situation, it's easy to spread out when I need to cut something. I'm using my scrap boxes, and well, I'm getting down to the small scraps for these green blocks. I even had to piece some 1½" squares. But I'm OK with that. I didn't take a picture of the cutting table this morning, but several small things need to be put away or dealt with, so that's on the agenda for later today. 

After my Long Time Gone class this morning, I have a free afternoon! Although I should be doing some sewing to catch up on some of the other stuff that is a bit behind. Actually, I think I'll get some writing done, so I'm not quite so far behind on that. 

Diane dropped off  FOUR quilt tops for the community projects. WOW -- she is going gangbusters. These are all lap-sized quilts, so they can be donated to Quilts of Valour. Way to go, Diane!!!

Quilt tops for Quilts of Valour

While I was sewing my Tula Pink blocks, I used the Hello Sunshine (Kimberbell) as my ender/leader, and the quilt top is now together. It's missing the borders, and I hope to resolve that issue today. At least what fabric to choose.

Hello Sunshine, quilt together minus the borders

That allowed me to cross TWO things off The Task Master list for this week.  Seven tasks got accomplished, six to go. I have until Sunday evening to finish the other six. I won't get them all done, but that's OK - there's always next week. 

As I mentioned yesterday, the coloring of Hello Sunshine was an experiment. I won't say it's a fail, but it's so not me. And for some reason, I don't feel it's that cohesive in color. However, I'm going to finish it and move on. It's a good experiment - I'm learning what I like and what I don't like. The white backgrounds are small multi-colored prints (blue/green/red/yellow), and then I picked coral and grey to go with it? I think that was my first mistake!! All in a day's learning!! 

Have a look at my Tula Pink blocks - now that's ME. Bright and bold. The green blocks on the right-hand side are the new ones that I made yesterday. They are now distributed with the others. I have to start thinking about the sashing. I know it's going to be black. The question is - will I make it a 2" sashing, like the book, or will I reduce it a smidgen. Decisions, decisions. 

Tula Pink

I'll share the homework with you later this week. 

That is going to require some audition time. I had to laugh last night as, over and over again, I heard people say, "I need to get a design wall." And I couldn't agree more. This one is portable that is made from three pieces of 1" thick insulation (the blue stuff). It's been leaning against the wall for months. I don't need it other than to keep these blocks in order, so I'm good with it sitting out. The other wall, where the Kimberbell quilt is currently situated, is permanently attached to the wall. So nice to have two bigs ones. 

If I start sewing the blocks together with sashing, I won't have to keep this quilt on the wall. Oh heck - there's no reason to take it down, so it'll probably stay that way until the end of the class in November. 

Today is our last class for Long Time Gone! So sad! It's an amazing group, and we've learned so much from each other. But never fear - we're going to do another quilt along in the fall with Gypsy Wife and Boho Heart. Both patterns by Jen Kingwell. I can't wait to get started!!! Just kidding -- I can wait!

I haven't forgotten our art project. I didn't have time to work on it yesterday. But I'll have pictures for you tomorrow. It seems that I have a LOT that I want to get accomplished today. And the best news is that starting next week, my schedule is pretty relaxed for the summer. How did that happen? I'm looking forward to it and I better not squander the time. I'll enjoy each minute, whether I'm in the gazebo reading or hitting the sewing machine! 

I've got so many samples that I want to make, and well - I need to make a list, so I don't forget them!

That's it for today. My presentation for Long Time Gone is done! Unless there are a couple of last-minute pictures. I can't wait! And it's the Barn Quilt quilt along this morning. A busy morning and then the day is mine. I MUST remember to watch the closing ceremony of Quilt Canada, and I haven't checked out the quilts yet. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Virtual Quilt Canada - a BOOMING SUCCESS

 

I'm like a dog with a bone about the windows. I happened to run into my neighbor while walking the dog and their patio door with the integrated blinds/shades? It's a Pella with the "bottom stack." That is what the blinds that open from the bottom up are called. Elle commented that they also have some Pella windows with the same mechanism, which is the same brand that I'm looking at. 

I was back to the showroom yesterday, and GRRRRRRRR   - they no longer make the bottom stack windows. Why not??????  I've spoken to two different people in the showroom. The day before, I was told that customers weren't interested in the bottom stack. The person yesterday was perhaps a bit more honest and said that there were too many issues, so the bottom stacks were discontinued. And this happened only within the last two years! I should have ordered windows before! 

I've been searching the internet for comparable windows and have found nothing. I do not want to pay for the integrated shades when I doubt that we'll use them. I HATE the top to bottom - it's either all open or all shut. I want it for the privacy part and still, keep some light in the room. I think I've eliminated the integrated blinds from my quote. So all the fancy stuff is gone! Now we're down to bare windows. Sigh. That is still going to cost a lot of money. 

Now that I think I have all my questions answered, I need to request another quote. OH -- here's the thing, and I'm not sure if I mentioned this already. The government has a rebate program for making your home more energy-efficient. I've heard from TWO different sources that the requirement for windows is a TRIPLE pane with krypton gas, not argon which is the most common. So the extra money you pay for that triple pane in no way compensates for the rebate money. If you're thinking of renovating to get the rebate - read between the lines. 

I will investigate that avenue a bit closer as there might be other things that we could qualify for. But why pay $600 to get an inspection, only to be told that we wouldn't qualify for the rebate. I'll save my $600. 

I wore my new walking shoes yesterday. I love the black - they don't look nearly so big on my feet. These were LONG overdue to be changed. The heels on the other ones were gone or almost gone. It seems like such a shame to throw them away since they are not that old. But they are gone. I put a note on our Conquerer Facebook group to see how often others change their shoes. OH MY GOD - this is going to cost me a fortune. The "consensus" ranges from 300 miles to 600 miles PER pair of running shoes. OK -- by those standards, I was way overdue. I won't tell you how many miles I logged on those shoes. Perhaps that's why my knee is bothering me so much. Or why it started to bother me last year. Anyway - onwards and upwards!

One person suggested alternating running shoes daily. I'm not sure I'm into that, and not sure I want two different kinds. I do like these ones, and I've got two more pairs sitting in my cart. I need to get them ordered later today. 

But I'm making great progress and getting down to the final states/provinces for my two long treks. 

On my cross Canada walk, I'm just at the Quebec/New Brunswick border. That's exciting! I forgot to include PEI on my trek, so I need to get through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, and we're taking the long way around Newfoundland - across the top. I should be in St. John's by the end of the year! 

Welcome to New Brunswick

On the Appalachian Trail, I've just entered Vermont. That leaves three states - Vermont, New Hampshire, and finally into Maine. That'll take a couple of months before I arrive at the end. I find it amazing that people shy away from the long trails because they will "never" get to the end. Well, it's not about the end; it's about the journey. And if it takes two years or more, then it takes two years. Just enjoy it.  

Crossing into Vermont

I know that the challenges are a HUGE motivator for me to get out and walk. I didn't get out until just before dinner, and I wouldn't have gone if it hadn't been for logging those daily miles. The best part? I felt so much better after I got back. In my mind and my body! 

OK -- so if you didn't sign up for Quilt Canada, you are going to be disappointed. I "went" to the awards ceremony last night. What fun!!! It was so well organized, I can't think of one thing that needed to be improved upon. It was easy to log into the site. It was easy to find the ceremony, and there was a countdown clock, so you knew something was "happening" while you waited. There was a chat room, and I said HI to several friends. 

Then, Jane, the President, came on, and she went through the agenda. We got to hear the sponsors - they flipped to them live wherever they happened to be, some from Canada, some from the US. It was glorious. When the winners were announced, we got to see their quilt, and then we were whisked to their location to see their beaming faces. There were a few moments where the switching took a moment or two, but for the most part, it was SEAMLESS. I've sent them a note showing my appreciation for what they've done. Jane was brilliant - I don't think she stumbled on a single name, and well - she was just the perfect host! 

Watching the Quilt Canada awards ceremony

I have a tour (en francais) this morning at 8 AM, so the girls will go for a walk later this morning. I haven't had a chance to look at any quilts yet, nor visit the vendor's mall. But WOW!!!!  The show is amazing. Just goes to show that you can have a virtual quilt show and it can be well done. KUDOS to the entire Quilt Canada team for an amazing start to the show. 

Back to The Task Master. It's a brutal reminder of what I want to get done this week! I'm so motivated by numbers and lists. I went through the fabric buckets, and I found stuff to make up another 8 pillowcase kits. That's exciting. The fabric is now washed and dried - I'll be pressing it later today and getting those kits prepped. 

Fabric for more pillowcase kits

I finished the applique on this block, so that was great to get that done and out of the way. YES -- I am motivated, and what will I do next week when I have a pretty wide-open schedule? I'm sure I'll find something to keep me busy. 

My applique block for the barn quilt label

When I was listening to Quilt Canada, I was sewing! I mean, how can you not like that! OK - so it would have been nice to see the quilts up close, but we'll get a closer view over the next couple of days. We would NOT have seen the quilts up close last night, even in person. I think they should move the awards ceremony online ALL the time. People are tired from set-up day, winners can't come because of costs, and it would just be amazing to do this virtual to have more people appreciate the quality of the quilts. 

Anyway, I was assembling my Hello Sunshine (Kimberbell) quilt. I didn't bother changing any of those troublesome fabrics. Good grief - life is too short to worry about that. But I did pull that bottom green/yellow/white block apart and will make it into the pinwheel. The pinwheel has much more movement to it. 

Now comes the process of selecting a border. The original one in the bottom left has too much blue. It would be perfect, but just not the right color. I looked through the fabrics I have leftover, and it looks like it will be pink or coral for the inner border and a darker burgundy for the outer border. OK -- I will admit - this is NOT my favorite quilt. I love the techniques, but I'm SO NOT KEEN on the colors. But I learned. I tried something different, and I don't like it. 

Auditioning fabrics for the border

Now that I've "chosen" those colors, I will check my stash to see what I have. If there's nothing appropriate, I'll be out shopping. But I think I'm good. 

And now I have all this fabric to put away. I just changed the ratio of my pictures on my phone. Somehow it was set to the wrong setting, which is easy to do. BUT, I was able to change it back very quickly. Oh yes -- I'm getting to know my technology!

Leftover fabrics

Actually, all the fabric is now put away, and I now have an empty orange container. What will I put in here? I'm sure I'll find something. But, for the moment, it's floating. 

An empty container

On my way home from the window place, I stopped at the pet store to get food for a certain girl. And while I was there, I spotted this pink dish. She was very suspicious of it, and I'm not sure she likes it. Well tough! She inhales her food, and this does slow her down a wee bit! I can actually hear her crunching the food rather than swallowing it. How does she do that? Her kibble is large. 

MOM - What's with this pink dish???

Well, that's it for today. Yesterday was a busy day with appointments and presentations. Today, I have one appointment, one presentation, and the tour. So still a busy day, but spaced out nice. I hope to get to the long arm this morning after the tour! You have to LOVE the commute time!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!