Using a serger to benefit your quilt making

Thanks for your comments about the Facebook Live. OH GOSH -- I wondered if anyone could hear Murphy barking! No one else was home, and I could do nothing - the show must go on! Next time, I'll find a hidey hole for her with NO WINDOWS. I imagine she was barking at the squirrels in the backyard. What a silly girl!!! Thankfully, she didn't go into her full-blown ballistic mode!

For those who missed the session, you can watch it at this link. Knowing when the link went live was challenging, and I was trying to watch the laptop screen at the beginning! Next time, I'll start looking directly at the primary camera a few seconds before!  

If you want a WRITTEN copy of most of what I said, there are two ways to get that!! I know!!!

The first is to go to QUILTsocial and check out these links. These posts were written in May 2023. 

Day One -- Getting to Know the Husqvarna Viking Amber Air s600 Serger

Day Two - Piecing a quilt top on the serger

Day Three - NINE ways to use the serger for quilting

Day Four - Why a Coverstitch is handy!

Day Five - Troubleshooting when things go wrong!

The second way to get some of that information is via the QUILTsocial magazine - Issue 28. It was a free download in January 2024, but now you have to pay ($4.95) if you want to download it. It's free to view online. All five of the blog posts are in the magazine. 

I can't say enough about how valuable a tool QUILTsocial.com is. I've made so many tutorials or reviews of projects and techniques. When teaching a class, I often send the links to my groups because there is so much exciting material, and it's already done! I have lists for many topics!!!

And while I'm far from finishing decluttering my hard drive, the little bit I've done already makes a huge difference in finding things. 

 Another successful Zoom is under the belt! I used to do a lot with slides in a presentation, but for some of these, it's just as easy to do with the real things, and that's what I did last night. 

I got everything prepped; it didn't take long, and I was all set. I LOVE those little orange stools. They are so handy for the tight spots I have to sit in for a presentation. 

The "before" of the Zoom call

See how neatly everything is stacked in the appropriate pile. 

And then when it was over? Yikes -- things just got thrown onto the floor! It's a mess, and I need to tidy it up later today. 

The "after"

And there's another class you can sign up for. The first session was supposed to be this weekend, but we goofed on getting ourselves organized, so the new dates are March 23 and April 20. You can sign up for it through Thimbles and Things. If you already have a Class Pass, all you have to do is send me an e-mail with your pass number to get signed up!!! These dragons are super cute!! Should I make them in Harry Potter colors? Chinese Fireball, Hungarian Horntail, etc. 

New class in March and April

My calm January and somewhat calm February were fun. March will be stupid, and it's time to start booking travel for the year! Yikes!! There goes the peace and quiet! 

My massage was awful. At one point, I almost called "uncle" and was going to beg her to stop! Yes - my shoulders were so tight, I knew it wasn't going to be pleasant, but I needed her to get the tissue moving. I can blame NO ONE but myself for not stretching more and not standing up straighter. I'm better at the posture thing (OK - so that's probably all in my head), but the stretching? What's stretching? I NEED to do it. 

Today, there is nothing on the agenda! I mean as far as appointments or meetings. Lots of stuff on the TO-DO list, though, and I'll spend the morning doing paperwork to clear some of it. And I just dumped a bunch of things on the floor beside my chair that I need to deal with today. I MUST do that. 

I've got to start writing again soon, and well, it's going to be busy! It's March, which will be busy - I still have one week of peace and quiet! 

Remember, it's Virtual Retreat on Saturday and Sunday. Here are the links. 

Saturday, February 24 - starting at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89816483795?pwd=Mjc3M3pvVmZPdjdsQzlHS3Zhck52dz09

Meeting ID: 898 1648 3795
Passcode: 248667

Sunday, February 25, Starting at NOON

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82983517671?pwd=ODdsa1FJenQwdFNaQWFTNGd4bEhPZz09

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

Oh, one last thing -- I spotted this video I posted on my YouTube channel a while back. I always tell people they should use a STILETTO (Quilter's Awl) instead of pins. Check it out.

OK -- time to get the girls and the boy sorted out for their walks, and I can figure out how to spend my "free" day!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

OUCH -- that hurts!

The good news about the blister is it only required one drain, and now it's going into a callus, which will take some time to fall off, but at least the pain is gone, not that it prevented me from walking. Not much would keep me from walking! I managed to get some extra miles in yesterday, so that was good, but I still need to catch up on my virtual challenge. Now that I have some breathing room in my schedule, I am confident I'll get back on track. 

However, I must be careful what I wear when walking in the forest. It's been hot these last couple of days, and I was too lazy to find a pair of socks, so I've been wearing my Teva sandals, which, once they are broken in, are very comfortable. However, this is what happens when a stick grabs your foot! OUCH! Thankfully, it wasn't worse than it is, and it was a two-minute pain, and then it was gone. Notice how you can barely see my little toe -- that's the one with the callus!

A stick grabbed my foot!

I must learn how to force my e-mail to sync. It will send and receive no problem, but I need it to sync so that whatever comes in on my cell phone arrives in my inbox. That's critical when we have access to the same stuff on multiple devices -- everything has to sync. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. I need to learn how to force it to sync without waiting for that to happen. If it doesn't, you don't get pictures! 

I also had a bad time getting to sleep, so I slept in this morning. 

I had two appointments yesterday -- a massage and a mammogram. I know that all of you are thinking - WOW -- I would LOVE the massage, but I'll pass on the mammogram. However, I beg to differ. If I had the choice of the two? I'd take the mammogram. Why? 

Pros of the Mammogram to the massage

 Mammogram - 15 minutes with about 3 minutes of pain

Massage -  60 minutes with about 59 minutes of excruciating pain.

Mammogram - free

Massage -- cost a lot of money

Mammogram - no aftereffects

Massage - trouble sleeping, sore muscles the next day

So you see what I mean? The mammogram would have been a none event in my day; the massage was a killer. 

There was one thing in favor of the massage over the mammogram. Free parking!

This parking lot is not far from the hospital, and before it became a paid parking lot, it was FULL. You could never find a parking spot there, which was a pain. Then, they introduced paid parking, eliminating some parking issues. Although you could park at the back and get away with not paying. Not so any longer. I was at the machine getting my parking ticket, and as I walked back to my car, the enforcement person was standing at my car. Yep -- that's my car, and here's my ticket! 

I usually walk there now, but I had to come directly from the gym (for the massage), and there wasn't time to walk. 

Here's the thing -- both are necessary. And YES -- I will contact my doctor at the end of next week to get the results of all my routine tests. I wonder if my iron is low, and that's why I'm tired these days? That's a possibility. I think it's too much running around, and I feel pretty good today. 

Why was the massage so brutal? It's because my muscles are so darn tight! And I do NOT stretch. I know I need to - I do not and need to kick myself in the butt to stretch more. Then, I could actually have a relaxing massage. She worked on my glutes yesterday, which was a killer; my shoulders, neck, upper back, and lower back - all of them were tight and hurt!

After one week, I managed to get Bear his proper food. The poor little guy. He has crystals in his urine, and we found out the day that he left to come to Toronto. I couldn't get the prescription food at the pet store, so we had to get the prescription e-mailed to a vet who had the food in stock. But all is good now, and he seems to like the food, so hopefully, that'll help his crystal issue. 

Bear's new food

I walked later in the afternoon to pick up some cheese for my lunch. Oh boy -- I don't even look at the prices of stuff. The cost of cheese is scary, as is everything else in the store. And I find that Loblaw's is more expensive for some stuff - like cheese. I know better than to buy cheese there! 

However, that store has been under renovation for the last couple of months, and it's done. Imagine my surprise when I went inside to find that about 1/4 of the store has been completely sectioned off. They no longer seem to have Joe Fresh in the store, and there is a wall to the top of that high-pitched room inside. I wonder what will go in there? 

Renovating the unused portion of the Loblaws

It amazes me at all the building going on in the commercial/retail world. There are so many "for lease" signs in the windows of new spaces, yet they continue to build more. 

I walked to the library on my way home, and construction is also going on there. This will become a community plaza in front and along the side of the library. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done. 

Construction at the library

As I turned the corner onto my street, which is way in the background of this photo, I could spot Murphy in the window. Now, from that distance, all you can see is a light blob in the lower part of the window. But the moment I came into view, I saw her get up, and I know she went to the front door to wait for me. 

Murphy's view of the street

Seriously? She looked with that intensity for over an hour to recognize me the second I turned the corner? Or did her internal clock just kick in when she knew I was close? Either way, I was very impressed! 

One must be careful when walking in the forest, not only because of the sticks and open shoes but also because of the RAINING acorns. 

Acorns everywhere

The ground under the oak trees is littered with them. 

Remember to check out QUILTsocial for the first set of instructions to make that project bag. 

And here's the final set of instructions to complete the project bag. 

And on that note, I NEED to get to the computer today. Those e-mails are still waiting to be sent; some must be done today. Plus, I need to get the prep done for two Zoom classes for tomorrow. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!