Trust your instinct!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! It was a very quiet day at our house - just the way we like it. We had popcorn for lunch while we watched the new Star Wars movie. I'm not going to say anything about the movie today, as I know some of you haven't watched it yet. It was an awesome way to spend the afternoon!

After we got home, I took a long walk with the girls to compensate for the popcorn (which had no butter, so it wasn't that big of a deal), but still, a medium popcorn has 430 calories and 20 grams of fat). That's almost ONE-QUARTER of what I'm supposed to eat in a day! It was a treat so I wasn't worried, but imagine if you did that regularly. And if you added butter. Oh boy!

I got myself busy trying to finish that UFO. Here's what happened.

Remember how I did NOT really calculate the measurements. Oh sure - I did in my head, but I wasn't writing them down. Well, after the third row was almost together, I was sure the row was going to be longer than it was supposed to be by one-half inch. So I chopped a half-inch off the last block. Guess what? I was a half-inch SHORT. If I had trusted my instincts, I would have been just fine.

Oops - now the row is ½" too short

So I ripped out one of the red pieces and made it a half-inch wider and all is well in the third row.

The third row now fits

It's very deceiving if things are going to fit - it totally depends on how many sections there are and how they are laid beside each other. See how row four and five do not look like they will fit at all.

Will rows four and five fit?

Wouldn't you know it - I did the SAME thing on row four. I was certain that I was over so I chopped down some of the red inserts only to realize that I shouldn't have chopped them at all. TRUST - where's the trust???

Row four is now too short

Thankfully with the improv style of piecing that I did, it was easy enough to fix. I made the red piece beside the PEACE block larger (after I had cut it down) and then row four fit perfectly.

A larger piece of red was required to make row four fit

Notice how the LET IT SNOW blocks on rows four and five are on the extreme right of the quilt. They're not supposed to be. Yep - made a mistake there too with the piecing! It was just one of those days. And I had inadvertently put some white blocks touching in rows three, four and five and so with a little bit of magic, it got fixed. There's only one small spot where two white backgrounds touch each other and I can live with that. I'm much happier with this improv setting than I am with the original one. I'm happy, I decided to change it up.

Work in progress

The bottom line is that it's all together - the top is anyway.

The top is finished!

I used the leftover 2 ½" wide strips as a starter for the binding. It's now completely made and I found something that'll work for the backing. It'll get made later today and that's going to be one more to cross off the 2017 UFO list. That'll leave THREE items on that list. This is SUPER EXCITING.

The backing (to be made) and the binding

I pulled the backing from this project box. This is one of the three remaining on the 2017 list. It's a red and white log cabin. I'm tempted to start working on it and NO, this isn't the one that Shelly is going to get excited about. That one is also pulled and well - I need to be working on other stuff, but I have a couple of UFO days left this year. Could I get THREE projects completed before the end of the year?? Hmmm - I could try.

The red/white backing was pulled from this box

There are loads of reds and whites in the box. I won't miss the backing that I pulled.

So does that mean the Holiday Redwork project box is empty? Of course not!!!  There was a hunk of white fabric in there that I used for the background. It's now back in the basket of white fabric. The embroidery floss is with the other embroidery floss. The crystals, which will go on after the piece is quilted, are in a plastic bag with the pattern. That bag will stay with the quilt until it's quilted so it'll be easy to make a label.

The bits from the redwork project

Is the box empty now? You'd think, but sadly it is NOT.

OK - so I confess that I'd bring home a stray puppy. Heck, I'd bring home anything stray. Well - I would have in the past. I might still bring home a stray puppy, but I won't bring home a stray project. So during one of the garage sales at The Textile Museum, I came across this.

OH MY GOD - it's the same pattern (by the same designer) as the redwork, but it's applique. I MUST have that. So I rooted through all the boxes that were there and I found patterns 5 - 12.

Holiday Sampler - Applique version

For each of the 8 blocks that I acquired, there is a fabric kit for the applique and the pattern.

The pattern for the applique and the fabric kit

Yep - I've got patterns for 8 blocks and 8 fabric kits. I paid $3 per pattern. Someone out there has the blocks 1 - 4. The scale of the blocks is slightly larger than the embroidery version.

However, it wouldn't take much to enlarge the embroidery patterns to the same size as the applique patterns and find some matching fabrics and finish (OK - start) the quilt.

Seriously?? Why oh why did I think this was a good idea at the time? The patterns and the fabric kit have gone back into that project box. I don't want to have to deal with this at the moment and my goal was to finish the redwork quilt, not the applique quilt. There is embroidery in the applique quilt as well. Hmmm - it might be fun to recreate the embroidery with the embroidery machine and get it done quick. It would be a great exercise in digitizing. And I could learn to digitize the outline of the appliques as well. Oh, shoot - that would be an awesome exercise to undertake. Ah - maybe that project needs to be pulled back out.

As I was cleaning, I've come across the oddest things. Do you know what this is?

What is this?

Well, it's the purse strap for my orange purse that I bought years ago. It was a "fancy" purse so the thing was completely wrapped in tissue paper so the leather wouldn't get damaged. Normally, I would just whack off the hardware and throw the strap away, but this is too nice of a strap to do that. I put it with the rest of my bag hardware and hopefully, I'll find something that it can be used for.

The leather strap - unwrapped at last

 I HATE straps on my shoulders. Rather, I should say that I can't use a shoulder strap for ANYTHING. My neck doesn't cope well and it's not good. So I refrain (and have for years) to use a shoulder strap for anything. I wonder if the strap is long enough for a crossbody strap? It could be shortened and used for a handle???

I wonder if the company that made my "fancy" purse would offer to give me a new one if they saw how the old one is wearing. Don't get me wrong, it's actually wearing very well as I would expect it to for the price I paid. I was just trying to get a new purse - which I don't need. So I won't even bother!

We didn't move the long arm back into position, but we need to get that done today so I can get back to work. And I was looking for two particular quilts this morning to get quilted. I have a burning desire to quilt them. I'll share them with you tomorrow because guess what? I couldn't find them. They are supposed to be in tub 15, but there isn't a tub 15 in the "to be quilted" pile. Hmmm - what does that mean? And I'm looking for a binding that got misplaced along the way. I think it's time to revisit those tubs and get things in order. Tubs 1 - 14 are in good shape - it's the ones NOT in tubs that have the issue.

I did pull two of my own quilts out that I would like to get quilted as I use them for trunk shows. It's a pain to have to pull from the "to be quilted" pile. They are now in the URGENT pile for me. A job for later today - to sort through the tubs to find the missing quilts and the missing binding. It won't take long - things are in pretty good order. I don't want to buy more tubs - I need to quilt faster!

I'm working on the class list and it should be finished by tomorrow.

Here's something to contemplate as the end of the year approaches. Some people like to make resolutions. How they want to become better or do more things or do better things or whatever they resolve to do. Most don't follow through. So here's something to contemplate. Think about all the GOOD things that you are currently doing. Give yourself a pat on the back for those things and then see how you can add, subtract or modify the good things you do to incorporate something you'd like to change. Be absolutely sure that those changes have consequences, goals, timelines, etc. I'll be chatting more about that in the next couple of days. I'm in the process of evaluating that for myself and I'm also in the process of CAREFULLY choosing my next 12 UFO projects. Two down, ten more to go.

All food for thought as the year draws to a close!!!

On that note, have a wonderful day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

For those of you still following along today - Merry Christmas! It's quiet as a mouse in our house today. Just the four of us for Christmas - even the girls are quiet. They are learning!

What blows my mind is that when I opened my e-mail there were e-mails from companies BEGGING me to buy stuff. Here's an online sale, here's a coupon (a gift), need a last-minute gift? We have a gift certificate for you. Can they not give us a break on Christmas Day? Somewhere along the line, this aggressive marketing needs to stop. I did get ONE e-mail from an online fabric store that was simply wishing me a Merry Christmas. Nothing to buy, no links to peruse. Just a Merry Christmas and thanking the readers for supporting them during the year. Now why the heck can't the rest of them do that?

The e-mails are deleted. I'm so thankful that I'm over that "stage" of my life. I had to laugh because shopping madness is something we instill in our children. I was chatting to M the other day and she was off to Chapters. She had set herself a budget - she could buy two magazines, but if she saw a book or two, she might buy that. Oh, dear......  I feel like I'm the one that instilled that behavior in her. However, she happily reported later that day that she didn't buy a thing! I'm so proud of her! Love her to the moon and back. In case you're wondering, she's spending Christmas in Mexico, while poor Bear (her wee dog) is at the dog sitter - totally not acceptable. I think Bear needs to come and live with responsible people, like DH and me.

It's hard - it's very hard, especially in some small independent stores to walk in and then walk back out without buying anything. We feel guilty or are made to feel guilty because we didn't buy anything. WAIT A MINUTE!! If I don't see anything that suits my purpose at that time (or even something that entices me), then I have every right to NOT buy anything. REFUSE to be guilted into buying something you don't like or don't need!

It was an interesting Christmas Eve. DH and I got a wonderful new present, but it took HOURS and HOURS to install. I'm very surprised that they (the gas company) would install something like that on Christmas Eve. The first crew didn't arrive when they said they were supposed to - one guy called in sick - I wonder why. The sales guy was here and said the replacement crew would be here at 10:30. There were bits of ductwork that had to be dropped off, an electrician who had to install a new breaker to accommodate the voltage of the new furnace. They didn't start working until 11 AM. Oh boy - it's going to be a long day.

The long arm had to be moved to make room for them to work. The first line of business was to move all the bags and boxes that reside under the long arm. Thankfully, the scrapbook area was neat and tidy so everything got moved there. Then the long arm got moved.

Nothing under the long arm

While the basement is in pretty good shape, there's still stuff that needs to be sorted through. Like the boxes and bags under the long arm. If the bits could find a home, that would be awesome. That'll be a goal for 2020. But since it's neat and tidy and tucked out of the way, it's not urgent. One bag at a time!

They started by dismantling the old system. This included the air conditioning unit that's outside. Murphy just has to be in the picture! Lots of debris was strewn all over the front yard.

Out with the old

Then it was time to install the new. I snagged a couple of pictures over the course of the day.

Installing the new

Now the furnace it back on its feet.

Installing the new

 And there it is - the new furnace. It's sitting on a small pedestal so it gets better airflow. The humidifier is in a brand new position (behind the furnace) and we have a small air filter that we don't have to replace. It just needs to be washed. Oh shoot - I'm not good with that. I must make a note!

The new furnace

I did learn a few things. There is a MASTER switch for the furnace. This shuts everything down, including the thermostat. Did you know that the thermostat is powered by the furnace? Yep - it's hardwired, but not to the house power, but the power of the furnace. Some little brown wire makes that happen. We've got a new thermostat as well. I'll say that the new furnace is MUCH quieter than the old one was. I can barely hear when it's on. Is it on? Oh yes - the house is warm!

The master switch to the furnace

So that's a job done and we shouldn't have any issues with heat for a long while. All that remains is to program the thermostat. That's a job for later today. The salle guy did turn on my pilot light (an easy job, but I hate touching gas appliances. The fireplace desperately needs to be cleaned so that'll get booked for the new year.

I felt a wee bit guilty yesterday. The electrician came and he was done about 2 PM. But the two fellows who installed the furnace did NOT leave until 7 PM. It's Christmas Eve. I felt bad for them, but the one guy said - they knew it was going to be a long job and they accepted it. They must have made a lot of money yesterday. I hope they did. We didn't even have anything for them. If I were a baker and we had cookies - I could have sent them home with a plate of cookies! Oh well - I thanked them profusely several times and everyone was happy.

While they were working, so was I.  LOOK!!!!!   The Halloween embroidery quilt is DONE!!!!  This is an embroidery design by Anita Goodesign. It's called Halloween Town. I'm thrilled to bits with it.

Halloween embroidery quilt - ready to be quilted

I tried the light green for the binding - didn't like it, so I used the dotted fabric instead. When I went to look for backing in the Halloween fabrics, I found this green spider web which is PERFECT and there was just enough after I joined two pieces. That was meant to be. It's now sitting in the "to be quilted" pile and it's crossed off the Dirty Dozen list for 2019. That leaves 9 more projects for 2019. No worries. That list, if nothing else, is to ensure that these projects do NOT get forgotten. 

The binding and the backing

I did take a quick (well as quick as one can be with two big dogs who are not orderly) walk to the library to pick up a book. Oh shoot - we missed the closing by three minutes! I'll get the book later this week. It's not that I need a book to read - there are many books in this house that need to be read. I finished the audiobook - The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Oh boy - I finished it last night. I was sitting in my chair and couldn't stay awake. Oh, shoot - so I went back and reread the last little bit. Good thing I did because that was the shocker! It's finished and included on my list of novels that I've read. I'm up to 556 (or something like that) since 2007.

I tidied up my audiobook reader - returned some books, placed a hold on a couple of books, and downloaded a new book to "read".

So what else did I do while I was listening to my book? I pulled out one more UFO project. This one is from the list for 2017. There are four projects still on that list and my goal is to get at least one of the four completed by the end of the year. And that's going to happen!!!!

I pulled out the pizza box and peeked inside. Oh boy - what a mess of stuff. OH - I'll have to tell you the story of the bits on the left side of the box. That'll be another day when I can fully evaluate what's there. But it's part of this project - sort of.

The UFO project

 It's a redwork project and all the embroidery (by hand) is completed. It's been done for several years. One of the reasons it got shelved is because I didn't like the layout of the finished quilt.

Holiday Redwork by The Stitch Connection

What I didn't like is that some of the white backgrounds of several blocks touch each other. I know - that sounds bizarre, but there wasn't enough red to balance it out. I wanted to change the layout but knew that it was going to take some finagling to make that happen and I was never in the mood to do that.

Instead of procrastinating (that word is NOT allowed to exist in our house), I plunged ahead and laid out all the blocks on the design wall. As I laid them out, I developed a sort of plan in my mind. The blocks went through several iterations before I was happy.

The redwork blocks

Then I looked at the fabrics that I had purchased to finish the quilt. Purchased several years ago!! I didn't like the third one from the right  - it was a bit too burgundy for my liking so it got nixed.

Third from the right - is an off-color

I debated about the middle red because it had white in it, but it was the outline of two snowmen in a truck. I had to include that!!!!

My reds to finish the quilt

It's been so long, I don't remember where I purchased those reds, but look what they did? They RIPPED the fat quarters. That means I lost ONE COMPLETE INCH (½" on either side). That's a tad annoying.

½" is lost when ripping fabrics

I did a wee bit of calculating on paper and then decided to wing it! I cut strips of red that were 1 ½" wide, 2 ½" wide and 3 ½" wide. All the blocks had to be trimmed and then I started to place the strips of red. If you look carefully, you can see that I've arranged the blocks in five rows of about five blocks.

Starting to lay out the red fabrics

Most of the red is now positioned (more or less). I'm not sure about the borders yet, but I'm certainly NOT doing that sawtooth border in the pattern. Really????? That's way too much work for this quilt. And besides, the math won't work since I'm changing the size of the quilt.  I do have four hand-embroidered snowflake blocks that are supposed to go in the corners of the border. But in the meantime, I positioned the leftover 2 ½" strips around the outer edge of the blocks to frame it. They are NOT sewn in place.

Ready to sew

You can't really tell, but in this next photo, the top two rows are sewn together! And it's working out just fine. I may need to trim a wee bit here and there to make it all fit, but thankfully, I didn't spend a whole lot of time figuring things out. Just go for it!!!  I may have some more juggling to do and there is ONE spot where two of the white backgrounds touch. Just for 1 inch, but I think I can live with that. Can you spot that spot???

The status of the quilt

This is my Christmas miracle! It won't take long to get this quilt finished and that's going to be one more off the UFO lists. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm determined to get this place under total control and it WILL happen.

I think one task for later today will be to locate all the remaining UFOs on those three lists. That way they'll be handy when I want to work on one of them. If I can finish two of these UOFs in two days, I can certainly finish more of them by the end of the year and I COULD have them ALL done by the end of next year.

The best part - I didn't start much that didn't get finished this year. I have one more top of Lilla to sew together (the blocks are all sewn) and I want to finish the quilting on the second Lilla quilt top. I can't think of any large project that I started that didn't get done or almost done. That was my goal! I love having goals!!!

OK -- so the class list didn't get put up yesterday. I was busy! But it will go up tomorrow. I've already got the next UFO pulled to work on and I know that Shelly is going to be ecstatic about it!

On that note, I'm out of here. Have a wonderful Christmas. Enjoy the time with family and friends. Don't overindulge!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!

This is SERIOUS business

Like all days, yesterday was a super busy day. I got loads done. I'm going to share a wee bit with you today - it's already late and I don't have much time.

I'll start by showing you my progress on Monday sewing day. I'm working on the Winter Wonderland - redwork quilt.  I'm going to need to make a decision about the feather stitch that is done on all the seams in the center of the quilt. Hmm - yes or no????

This happened. This is the second to last block. It's done!!!!  Needless to say, I was jumping up and down for joy as I moved onto the last block.

Redwork block for Winter Wonderland

This is what I got completed on the LAST block. Everyone was pushing me to finish it, but I hit a wall (I guess I was jumping up and down in my mind, not in real life). I was exhausted and I just couldn't go on. It took me a couple of hours to get out of that funk. I must NOT sit for so long next time. I have to take something else that requires me to move around. I'm like the Energizer bunny - if I stop or sit for extended periods, I just shut down. It's like the more I move, the more energy is created.

The last block is ALMOST done

I'll finish this block next week and I have a couple of other things already prepped for Monday. But in between, I need to get up and take a walk around the church or something. I can't sit all day. What the heck am I going to do when I'm older? Oh - I'll be racing up and down the hallway with my walker!

I got this small quilt (for me) quilted yesterday. I had started it the night before but got sidetracked when Heather popped over. Now it's quilted and trimmed and waiting for the binding. I know that the quilt itself isn't super spectacular. It's what it represents that is amazing.

My quilt is done!

SVP (parent company of Singer, Husqvarna Viking, and PFAFF) have on-line technology called mySewnet. I chatted about it on QUILTsocial a while back. One of the features of this technology is the ability to share projects (including embroidery files - if I would have created one). Here's the link to the QUILTsocial blog post on this technology. And here's the direct link to the project. I believe you'll need a mySewNet account before you can access the file. If you're stuck, read QUILTsocial blog post (near the end) where you'll find all the steps involved.

It's the coolest technology and I'm very excited about it. I want to make more projects to share with you, but no time - not until I'm back from our convention next month.

Then I threw a customer quilt onto the long arm and got that done as well. Yep - those are Colonial Ladies!!!  This quilt was started way back when and now it just needs the binding! The next quilt is loaded and ready to be quilted today. It's a Quilts of Valor quilt which is fitting since this is Community Projects day so I don't feel guilty about quilting it while we work.

Customer quilt - DONE

So far - that all seems on par for a typical day at my house. But what did I do that shows how serious I am about getting rid of things? I got a call from the Family Studies teacher at the local high school. Where could she buy flannel? Not just any flannel - she needed orange flannel. OH. I have some and I offered it to her. WHAT!!!!!!!!   Yep - I dug out ALL the orange flannel I could find and I sold it to her. Isn't that just shocking????

Say goodbye to the orange flannel

What did she need orange flannel for??? Read this story. Here's the link to what Heather and her class are making. They are called Attachment Hearts. I need to read up on it a bit more. She now has orange flannel to last for a couple of years!!!!  Hey Heather - just read the instructions - they also make them from fleece. I got LOTS of orange fleece!!!!

I have way more to show you that I got rid of, but there's no time today. That's a job for tomorrow.

So you see - I'm dead serious about getting rid of this stash of mine. I'm not actively seeking to get rid of the main part of the stash, but I do know that the flannel is on the line as we go forward. Today is a Community Projects Sew day and there are tons of tops that need backings and bindings. That's what we are working on today and who knows? More of that flannel might just be made up into backings.

The main stash - nope - nothing is moving there. That's my artist's palette.

Anyway - you'll see tomorrow what else I've been up to. There is NO rest for the wicked.

You MUST go to QUILTsocial this morning to see what I'm making with the Husqvarna Viking HUSKLOCK s25 serger. It's day one of my projects and I'm so flipping excited about this project.

It's time to get the day started!

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!

A progress report

Yesterday was a whirlwind day. I've been slacking off so I had to make up some time yesterday. I'm happy to report that I had a great sleep because I got everything out of my brain before I went to bed! I was experimenting with embroidery yesterday and OH MY - there's so much fun stuff!!! Just need more time to fully explore some of this stuff.

Plus I'm totally packed for my day trip to Orillia. Well - the car isn't packed, but I'm about to do that in a few minutes. It sure helps to get things organized the night before so you're not running around like an idiot and potentially forgetting something!

I still have 8 things on my list to get done - some things are going to have to wait and I'll explain why tomorrow. I don't have a lot of time this morning.

Yesterday was Monday sewing and although I didn't stay long, I still managed to get a wee bit more completed on my embroidery. All that remains are 6 snowflakes. Some are more elaborate than the others. I started with the most elaborate one so as I move through them, the stitching will get progressively faster! That block will be completed next Monday and I can finally move to the last block. I also worked on the largest blocks first and moved to the smallest and least intricate so that one should take even less time than this one did.

Progress on the redwork block

Bottom line - barring any major hiccups, this quilt top should be finished by the end of the year. I'm happy about that! It's one of my UFOs.

Slow and steady - that's what I'm all about.

Here's a giant customer quilt that I quilted the other day. I need to trim it and attach the binding (ready for hand sewing). That's a task for later this week. Hopefully, tomorrow since I need to get it out of the way by Thursday when it's Sit n Sew.

Customer quilt

I also managed to get all the juice pouches cleaned and back in their project container. I hope to do something with them by the end of the year. Now that I can clearly see my projects, it makes a HUGE difference. I still have some stuff to squirrel away in Studio B, but I'm taking my sweet time about it because I don't' want to hide anything. I want to be able to see it. I need to work faster! So many things I've unearthed and some wouldn't take long to finish. It's just getting that many extra hours to make it all happen. Doesn't matter how slow I go - I'm still way ahead of those that are in denial that they have a problem with their projects!

Juice pouches ready to go

But that wouldn't be any of you - none of you are in denial about the mess in your sewing spaces. Right? I'm so happy to hear from many of you who say that I'm an inspiration to you to declutter. Well, it works both ways! You're my inspiration as well! I heard from Vivenda over the weekend and her decluttering unearthed something TERRIFYING in her studio. I'd have freaked out and never gone back. It was a snake. Yes - how the heck did that thing  - well, we know how and we know why (winter is coming), but NO NO NO!!!!!   That's just wrong. I know that she was waiting for her husband to come home and get rid of it. But - well - we won't go there. I can't think about it.

I found something much less terrifying in my studio. I have this HUGE ball of twine. What the heck should I do with it?? It's not coiled tight enough to make a rope basket. I don't even remember where I got it or what it was for. It's somewhat coarse. I'm thinking it could be crocheted up and made into pet mats. Any other thoughts???   Any takers????

A big ball of string

That could be my next road trip project. Crocheting pet mats from this twine.

On that note, I need to get my recycling bin to the curb - won't the neighbors hate that noise at 5:31 AM. OOPS - forgot last night. Sorry. It has to go today as it's full and that's one of the reasons why I can't complete one of those 8 items on my list. It's about recycling and the bin is full.

And I need to get the car packed so I can be on the road.

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!!

It's my birthday!!!

Birthdays come and go and some are important and some are not. People tend to shy away from them, ignore them or be in denial about them. I say - what the heck - it's part of life. It's my birthday today! No - you don't need to know how old I am. I don't act my age, I don't feel my age and that's very important to me. Hence the need to "celebrate" today!

As I was digging through stuff in the basement, I found this which gave me a chuckle.

A note from M

I'm not sure how old she was but I think she about 15 or 16. I do have a card and a gift from her for this year and I'll open that later today. For some reason, this makes me think she was sucking up for some reason!!! Sorry M!!

I know I promised you homework pictures this morning, but well - it's my birthday and I can do whatever I want! Tomorrow - I promise. They are edited and waiting to be uploaded.

I've received some additional reasons why we buy fabric and I thought of one more. I'll be adding those to the list and letting you know when that gets posted.

There's a saying out there - "doesn't matter how slow you walk/cycle/run, you'll still circling those that are sitting on the couch".  That's my paraphrasing of the saying, but you get the idea. That's how I feel with my handwork projects. While I could be way more productive if I took my sewing machine to Monday sewing, I wouldn't be touching these HUGE handwork projects that have been languishing for years.

I finished one more embroidered block yesterday. This is from Winter Wonderland by Crabapple Hill. 

One more block is done!

I started another block. One day a while back, I got myself in gear and traced all the remaining blocks. That was a great thing to do. There is this one and one more - both are relatively small. To say that I'm excited is an understatement. I hope that is right! I'd better dig out the rest of the project and evaluate what's left.

The second to last block is started

 The old me would have done a few stitches, then got distracted by something else. It happened all the time. I can't (don't want) to do that anymore. I have those darn lists I made and I'm respecting them. On my Dirty Dozen list for 2017 (there were 13 items on the list), there are 4 projects left. All of them are sewing projects (one does have some fusible applique).

On the 2018 list, 7 items are remaining. One is laid out on the tables in Studio B to add the 5 borders and then it'll be done. One is the Gingerbread quilt which just needs to be sewn together. One is Winter Wonderland - the redwork quilt. One is my monthly UFO project. That leaves three quilts on that list which require a bit of handwork and they'll get added to the Monday sewing days when I've completed the second redwork block.

On the list for 2019, 11 items are remaining. All of them are strictly piecing or embroidery machine work. Those will start to get worked on now that my schedule is calming down.

I feel very happy with my accomplishments and I'll be adding 10 more projects to a list for 2020. I've also completed a lot of stuff that wasn't on those lists. Bottom line, I'm happy - I've got a system that's working and I'm good with that.

We have a road trip coming up soon and last night, we were discussing what to bring along to work on in the car. I have a couple of rugs that need a bit more crochet on them and they are finished. Then I dug out this bag from the corner of Studio B. I knew it had a knitted afghan project in it. Oh my - look what I found in there.

Unfinished knitting projects

It's mostly the afghan, but I found some yarn to make dishcloths, half-finished hand warmers and a couple of other small projects. Hmm - that afghan will be a good project to take along and I really need to finish it. I might take everything - it's a LONG road trip.

It's just crazy to find all these half-finished projects. It would be amazing to walk downstairs and say "what shall I create today" instead of saying "what shall I finish today". But I'm not begrudging finishing these projects. I think it builds personality, it shows me that we can change and well - all around, I think it's a good thing. I'd rather have finished projects for someone to take away when I'm gone than to leave a bunch of half-finished projects. I'm working on it!!!

What do you think of this for the binding? It's rather dark - it will work, but I might put a slightly lighter green on my shopping list for the road trip - just so I have something to buy!

A potential candidate for the binding

I was back at the long arm last night and completed this quilt for a customer. It's trimmed and ready for pickup later today.

Customer quilt - DONE

I didn't get another one loaded - I was tired by the time I finished this one. I'll load one today and then quilt it tomorrow. I hope to be back to my schedule of one a day starting tomorrow. Now that the magazine quilt is gone, I have other stuff to work on - I actually have computer work that needs to be done. That's going to be the focus of the rest of the week. Yeah!

On that note, I'm off on an adventure today - well this morning. OK - it's not that huge - just meeting someone for coffee!

And a HUGE Happy Birthday to my aunt who also celebrates her birthday today. And to anyone else who has a birthday today. Celebrate each one with relish. Having a birthday means you're still alive and in my books - that's a great thing. I hope to celebrate a whole lot more of them.

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Be careful what you eat!

Mondays are just the best. I know that I say that every week, but it truly is an inspiration to be among so many talented women. Best of all, we learn so darn much for each other or as a result of research based on the conversations. Did you know that while a Tesla car might be a super cool car to drive, it's not a very practical car? With a fully charged battery, it has a range of 220 Miles. And it takes 1 ½ hour to get a full charge? That full charge costs about $13 US. Hmm - I think I'm very happy with getting over 700 KM for approximately $50 with my car. Sorry Tesla - while self-driving might be cool, the battery thing is not. Yep - I could charge at home, but seriously? What a pain that would be. I guess I'd better wrap my head around that because cars in the future will be like that. But not for many years.

One of these days, I'm going to post a few tips in case you're buying a new car. Let's just say that cars have changed!

I also learned about chia seeds. I put chia seeds on my oatmeal every morning, but did you know how healthy this food is?? It's a superfood. Good for weight loss, digestion, lowering blood sugar, high in fiber and much, much more. Actually, I put several things on my oatmeal in the morning, but did I think of premixing those items? Nope - well, I'm going to make up a mixture now and then I only have to scoop from one bag, not several. Thanks, Nancy!!!!

However, whatever you put on your oatmeal, it's a good idea to check the labels. When I took my first mouthful of oatmeal yesterday, I knew something was different. I checked the labels of the packages in the spice drawer. Oh dear.

I did NOT taste the cumin in my hamburger the previous night, but I sure tasted it in my oatmeal. Hey - those packages look IDENTICAL and so does the color of the spices. DH left it sitting on top and I normally check the label, just in case, but I did not. Oh well - it was interesting tasting oatmeal. I'm off to find myself a container for the cinnamon today which will then reside right beside the oatmeal.

Cumin and cinnamon look very much alike

Live and learn!!!!  DH asked what I did when I realized that I'd made a mistake. I ate it of course. It wasn't offensive - just different.

Not only was yesterday fun with friends and learning, but I got a lot accomplished. The sleeve got sewn on the POSH Santa sample and the samples were delivered as were several customer quilts and remember that stack of boxes in the basement? Well, I found a new home for the boxes. I didn't take the entire stack but got rid of a lot of the boxes. I did come home with four more customer quilts to add to the list. And something for Lexi which is still in the car. I just love the exchange of stuff that happens pretty much every Monday.

Besides the quilt sleeve, I finished the last block for the gingerbread quilt. That was HUGE. It's only taken me since January to get all the blocks completed. I'm slow and I didn't work on it every Monday as I wasn't there for all Mondays. Doesn't matter - the blocks are DONE.

The last block for the gingerbread quilt - DONE

I need to trim the applique blocks and then it's going to be put on the design wall and will be sewn on the Sit n Sew days later this month.

Time to figure out what else to take for handwork on Mondays. I could take my machine, but then the handwork will NEVER get done. This way, I'm "forced" to do the handwork.

I looked at my list of Dirty Dozen (some still not done from the 2017 and 2018 lists) to see what else is on the list that needs handwork or prepping that can be done on Monday. Hmm, there is Winter Wonderland - that is the redwork embroidery project. I think there are three blocks left to stitch. Here's the block that I'm currently working on. It's almost finished!!!!

Redwork embroidery block - almost done!

Then those blocks need to be trimmed and there's embroidery over the seams. That'll keep me busy for a while, but I need to find something else as it gets boring to do the same thing all day. I'm sure I'll find something that needs to be stitched or prepped. NO worries in that department.

I got another quilt quilted last night. This one belongs to my Mom. Yes - I've had it for several years. I didn't know what to do with it. I finally decided that an overall pattern would be just fine on it. She made the Dresden blocks from scraps of clothing fabric. Could have been her fabrics or more likely the scraps belonged to my grandmother. The background of the blocks is bleached sugar bags.

The quilt is done for my Mom

As I was loading it, I thought I could have done myself a favor and took the six blocks apart, squared up the blocks and then sewed it back together, but where's the fun in that? It was actually not bad except for one corner. Anyway, it's quilted.

I dug through my 30's fabric bin (which I could actually just walk right up to instead of navigating an obstacle course to get there) and found this blue floral for the binding. 

Fabric for the binding

Now the binding is made and ready to be attached later today. I need to call my Mom and get all the information so I can make a label. I think I'll be doing some hand stitching next week while I'm visiting. Labels and sleeves.

Binding is ready to be sewn on

As promised, here are the small projects that I finished the other day. These are for my classes in Saskatoon at The Sewing Machine Store. These two projects were designed (not by me) on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC using some of the builtin specialty stitches.

This is a little book bag that is very cleverly assembled - I had never thought of making a bag that way. Sorry - you have to take the class to find out the details!!! But it's very cute and I found those primary colors in my bright stash basket.

Bookbag

Here's a group of greeting cards. These are stitched directly onto card stock. Again, they use the specialty stitches that are builtin to the Designer EPIC. I still have to color parts of them with markers. They are very cute and you get to learn a lot about programming on the EPIC, sequin stitches, and a whole lot more.

Personalized greeting cards

Those samples are put to bed. I'll be working on more samples for the remainder of the week. As I start to pack, I'll share with you what goes in the suitcase - keeping in mind that it needs to weigh less than 50 pounds. That's going to be tricky. I have four quilts to take with me as well - all for family members and how the heck will I get that in my own suitcase and still have room for a few clothes. Oh yes - who said traveling is fun?

Now that I've got two sewing spaces, there are things that I like to have in both spaces - like a radio. I'm not about to purchase a new radio (do they still sell radios?) so I've been using my iPad as a radio in Studio B. I use the Radio Canada player app and it works like a charm. You can get many different radio stations on it - never any static. I LOVE it.

iPad used as a radio

And I could use Siri to help me find things if I needed. I'm trying to use Hey Google (on my phone) instead of typing. It seems to work pretty well. I use Alexa when I'm home. I'm pretty geeky!

I doubt, that I'll have much time before I leave to do more organizing. I'm OK with that. As I'm working down there, I'm trying to visualize what the next step will be and how I'm going to make some of the other stuff find a home.

Look at what else is in that stash room. There are FOUR HUGE tubs of Minky and fleece. Yep - how does one accumulate that much???  This is going to be moved to the large storage area where it'll become backings for community project quilts. That's just obscene.

Four tubs of Minky and fleece for quilt backings

 This is my current ender and leader project in Studio B. These are the triangles that are created when I make borders and do the join on the diagonal. I laid the triangles out and will match them up in pairs. From there, I'll make half-square triangles and then turn those half square triangles into hourglass blocks. I've got a basket filled with sewn ones, ready for the next step. But I want to finish these off first.

Triangles ready to be paired up and sewn

This bag of leaves has been sitting on the work tables for a while. Hmm - what to do with it? There are LOTS of leaves. The leaves are double-sided (made with Northcott Stonehenge Maplewood). You should check out the pictures of quilts on that link. I took them - some in my backyard, some in the forest behind my house. That was a fun day!!!!  The leaves were die cut. Any ideas what could be done with them???  Because they are double-sided, I don't think they would be good for applique, but they might be good for pillows. Anyone want them???  They are free if someone has a good idea for them. Hmm - they would be good for 3-D applique. Anyone want to make a large tree applique with 3-D leaves????

Double-sided maple leaves - up for grabs

We often hear people complain - of aches and pains or frustrations with family or friends or sewing or whatever. But how often do we hear people say LIFE IS GOOD?  Well - I just want to say that LIFE IS GOOD. While I'd like to have more stuff cleaned up, I finally feel like I have a handle on life. I'm learning to finish things, I'm learning to say no and I'm truly very content. LIFE IS GOOD - That's Bill Stearman's line, but I like it. Thanks, Bill.


On that note - I'm out of here. It looks like it's going to be rainy today. Shoot - I wanted to walk or ride my bike to the mall, but since I need to stock up on distilled water, it might be best to take the car. Can you see me carrying 6 jugs of distilled water home on my bike? I don't think so!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!