Monday gathering, not sewing

Yesterday was Monday Sewing. However, from my point of view -- it was more like Monday searching. 

I don't know how many times I went on a quest to find something for someone. I'm not sure if this was the first thing or not, but we got to chatting about the Piecemaker Calendars. I'm missing ONE -- the very first one that came out in 1988. Hmm --- the collective group has spotted it on eBay. But do I want to pay $40 US for it?? OK -- so I caved and sent an OFFER to the seller. Let's see what she says. 

We learned several things about our phones, and I got to test one of them out while I was having lunch. Did you know that if your phone is set properly and you get a call you do not want to answer, all you have to do is flip your phone over, and the call stops ringing! That works amazing; UNLESS you have earbuds connected, and it kept asking me to use voice control the call  -- IGNORE or ANSWER! My earbuds can connect to multiple devices at the same time. That means if I'm connected to the laptop and the phone rings, the phone takes priority. AHA  -- that's good to know. 

Gosh, I think we learned one other thing, but I've already forgotten it. NO WAIT -- I know what it was. Tracking my steps with my phone. And then to sync it with my Fitbit. Now, why would I want to do that? Well, I got to the gym yesterday and realized that the Fitbit was still on the charger. DARN!!! I missed those steps walking from the far end of the parking lot to the gym. Oh well -- I still did 12.2 KM yesterday without the ones from the morning gym. I can live with that. 

My FitBit does not track my cycle distance, but I get about .5 KM from the movement of my hands and stretching. So it doesn't affect the over total at all. 

See how smart we are all going to be? I swear that I've learned so much from my sewing groups, and a lot of it is NOT related to sewing!

Then it was time to start searching for stuff for people. And soon, the bottom of the stairs looked like this. 

The mess at the bottom of the stairs

Tubs of fabric were pulled from under the long arm. Someone was looking for a northern-themed panel for a quilt. Not only did I have a panel with a polar bear on it, but I also had an entire quilt MADE and ready to be quilted. The panel was in the boxes under the long arm. 

I used my handy list of quilts in the "to be quilted" pile, and within seconds, I had my hands on the quilt. 

My master list of "to be quilted"

It's an adorable quilt -- it was a free download at Northcott, but I suspect the free pattern is now gone off their site. Who cares if that panel is still available? - the quilt can be made with any panel. Nope -- I just checked, and it's gone.  

Flannel polar bear panel quilt

And there's the cute backing fabric. Of course, the binding is made, and we're going to chat later today to see where to go. But I suspect that I just got rid of a quilt from that pile -- after I quilt it, of course! 

The backing fabric

So if ever you are looking for a particular theme or a particular color or style of quilt, I may already have one and might just be willing to part with it!

While I was in the stack of quilts, I took a picture of another quilt that I needed for someone else. This is the 4th of July by Judy Niemeyer. Why? Because we found a pack of the foundation papers on sale for $10, and I made someone buy it. I promised to dig out the pattern, and she can have the pattern -- I'm done with it! 

Here's that quilt. 

4th of July quilt by Judy Niemeyer

I made mine with bright batiks, which is precisely what she wants to use. It's a gorgeous quilt!!

Detail of the 4th of July quilt

And let's not forget the trip down memory lane when someone asks for some bits of Crimplene (or Fortrel) fabric to repair a quilt. I know -- the first thought that comes to mind is why would you need to fix a quilt made with that fabric? It didn't wear -- it got caught on a nail. For those that don't know -- both of those names are BRAND NAMES for basically a double-knit fabric. 

I was happy to dig out that tub of fabrics and find something that would work. The squares are cut and will go in the mail later today. Why do I have a tub of Fortrel? Because it belonged to my mom and I really want to make a quilt from it. Why? Because Victoria Finlay Wolfe has one her grandma made, and I like Victoria! I'm weird like that!

WAIT --- some of the fabric is already cut into squares, which would be the PERFECT project for the serger!!! I may have to dig that tub back out TODAY!!!

A tub of Fortrel bits

And yes -- I did get some work done -- not much, but some! It's all in fun, and I'm pretty happy to oblige!

I'm working on my scrappy green quilt, which I need to get done for the weekend. It's my UFO, and I'm not done. But I'm happy with how the blocks are going together, as those points are pretty sharp!

Sharp points on my scrappy hexagon quilt

 

Not bad, considering I didn't pin anything! I hate pinning and avoid it like the plague UNLESS it's to pin a border. I didn't even pin the LONG strips in my BOHO heart quilt the other day, but I MADE those things match. I'm also using a sewing machine with a built-in walking foot, and that does help enormously with things not stretching. 

I managed to get a few more hourglass units sewn, pressed, and trimmed. 

Hourglass units 

None of them finished at 5", so I'm still missing NINE before I can start piecing my scrap quilt. 

And a few sets of half square triangles got completed and ready to sew the second seam. 

Ready for the next set of seams

We also chatted about the flooring for our sewing rooms. Gosh -- I hate dusting and sweeping floors in general, but I'm forever running the Swifter over the floor in Studio B. It gives me great pleasure to capture those dust bunnies as they attempt to escape. I moved this cabinet this morning and expected to see great giant dust bunnies, and nope -- NO bunnies. That's because I was in there with the Swifter last week.

No dust bunnies are safe in my studio

This is a vinyl floor, and I have zero regrets about having that installed. I love it. If you can -- this is an excellent alternative to carpet. I can't imagine having carpet in the sewing room, and that would be a HUGE dust collector and challenging to keep clean. 

And if you were astute -- you would notice that the top of the baseboard does need a good wipedown! I didn't do that!

Well, it's going to be a bit warmer today than it was yesterday. That was a bit nippy. DH went downtown yesterday and decided to walk OUTSIDE from the train station to the office. NO hat, and probably no scarf. He said his brain froze, and I believe it. I tried to walk the girls in the SUN, and you could feel the temperature difference between the sun and the shade. 

Since I wasn't too productive yesterday, I have a LOT of work to do today. There are no imminent deadlines, but the weekend will be here before I know it, and I have classes to prep for. I've got THREE presentations this week, and one of them is in French, so I need to brush up on serger terms. But I like busy days -- I must NOT turn on the laptop to watch the baking show. DO NOT turn on the computer! 

Anyway -- -on that note, I'm out of here. Lots to do and so little time to get it all done. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

It's all about the Polar Bears

What a great day!!! I presented my session twice yesterday. We had loads of people in both sessions and that was very exciting. It's super fun to share samples with people, provide tips and also to showcase the incredible new sewing and embroidery machine - the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 2, the Husqvarna Viking Amber Air S400 serger and the Husqvarna Viking Platinum Q165 quilting machine. I haven't had a chance to play with the Platinum Q165, but I can't say enough about the other two machines. So MUCH FUN!

And there's so much new technology integrated into the Designer EPIC 2 that - well, it just blows my mind. The improved apps, sending files wirelessly, the new embroidery design library - well, I could go on and on.

One of the presentations was in the morning and one was in the evening leaving a couple of hours in the afternoon with nothing to do. Christina, the shop owner, took me to the Polar Bear Habitat.  There are currently five polar bears at the habitat.  If you check out the website, they have live cameras in each of the three enclosures so if the polar bears are out, you can see them.

When we arrived, we saw two bears in one of the enclosures. Both of them were being pretty lazy and just hanging out doing nothing.

One of them was hanging out at the fence while the other was back near the trees. We went inside the building where you can view their swimming pool, but obviously, they weren't in the pool

The polar bears

Here's a picture of me all bundled up against the cold!  Notice my northern themed jacket! That fuzzy jacket is made from recycled pop bottles!

Me with the polar bears

I snapped this picture of the other polar bear from inside the building. All this guy would do is wiggle his butt and lift his head. His back legs were totally splayed out so he was lying right on his tummy. Murphy does that too!!!

Having a look around

Then the other one by the fence started to get frisky and was moving around, stretching out on his back, grabbing his back paw with his front paw. So darn cute! So we went back outside.

Having a good stretch

The size of their paws is unbelievable. They are huge!!!  And they are so huge and furry. They look cute and cuddly although that is hardly the case and much care is taken to prevent any mishaps.

Then the other bear finally got up and lumbered over to the bear by the fence. Next thing we knew, the two of them started rolling around on the ground and wrestling. It was so fun to watch. I have to say that they reminded me of Lexi and Murphy. They played exactly like those two silly girls of mine. Grabbing each other by the neck and snapping with their teeth but all the while knowing to play gently and not kill each other.

Polar bears playing

I think we were there for an hour and well worth the visit. This was my first time seeing polar bears in real life. Did you notice that they are far from being white? They are a definite cream color.

The polar bears are from other locations and have been orphaned or born in captivity. They can never go back to the wilderness.

I'll be sure to check out their activity later today.

Driving back to Timmins this morning for two more sessions and then flying home tomorrow. I need to get better at scheduling my flights. I could have flown home tonight, but originally I thought the timing was too tight. Now I realize I would have had enough time. But the cost to change is way too much for my liking so I'll get a hotel tonight (it's way cheaper than the cost of the flight change) and leave in the morning. Shoot - next time - do NOT be in a rush to book a trip. Think it through and then book.

It was almost 10 PM by the time I got to bed last night which is super late for me! But I had a great sleep and ready to hit the road soon.

On that note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!