Spring has arrived

I love Elle's comment about the "screamer" in the spin class. A toddler -- yep -- that's what he reminded me of! 

I try to ignore the noises, but sometimes it's tough. But do you love to watch or observe people? I LOVE it! Especially if they are regulars, like those in my spin class. At any class, there might be 25 - 30 people. And I know most of them by sight and a few by name since our names appear on the screen at the start of the class. But amazing how much you can learn about each person without talking to them -- simply a process of observation! 

I won't go into the details of each, but there's the "social director," the "socialite," the "I'm a "hip" older person, but I want to be part of the crowd," the "get a Kleenix to blow your nose guy," the Italian stud who talks to everyone, and the "kai-ya-yippee" girl. The remainder of the class is pretty silent, but each person has their quirks, like the guy who comes in and says "good morning" to the entire room -- in a very polite way. The woman who NEVER smiles (she's married to the Kleenex guy), but they are always on opposite sides of the room - probably because she can't stand what he does with his nose! 

There are others, but you never hear them for the most part; they don't draw attention to themselves, and I sure hope I'm included in that category! 

You should be sorry you did not sign up for my events at Hamilton Sewing yesterday. One lecture on garment sewing techniques and the other on sergers! You missed out on some great information, and I got rave reviews from all the attendees on how much information they picked up! It was a good day, and we had a lot of fun! 

My next SVP events are in May, when I'll be at Stitch by Stitch in Kingston (May 18 and 19), and then I'm in Regina on May 23 and 24 for some serging and quilting events! And I believe I'll also be in Saskatoon that week - we're still working on the details. So if you are in those areas --- check out the events. There is always great information to be had -- you get to hear the latest information on whatever machines I'm chatting about, and there are loads of tips and samples with loads of inspiration!

But I'm happy to say I do NOT have to go anywhere for 17 days! Although I think I will attend a show on April 21, I'll find more information and let you know. It's an ART show, not a quilt show, and I know this will be good. 

The weather here is incredible, and if I wasn't at Hamilton Sewing yesterday, I would have been outside! The buds are coming on our NEW trees planted in the front yard last year, so I can't wait to see them in full bloom. It's going to be an explosion of PINK!

Buds on the new trees

And Miss Lexi is trotting off like she owns the world, but it was a glorious morning. 

Walking Miss Lexi

When I walked the dogs at 7:30 (start time), I was wearing shorts! And just mere days ago, I was in my winter jacket. However, the warm weather will not last, so we should all enjoy it, which I fully intend to do, but I have one Zoom class today (on sergers), and then I have sewing to do, but I could sew outside!

Shorts! 

New leaves are sprouting everywhere, which is so exciting. 

Spring!

And more daffodils! 

Daffodils

So I've been scouring the house for anything garment-related or serging that's been done. I found this in Studio U, a jacket M did in the Ontario Skills Competition in 2012. While the jacket is finished, some of the seams are a bit - well, they are a bit wonky! I figured this would be a good challenge for my serger and garment skills to tackle. So with her permission, I will take the jacket apart and redo it. But I'll take lots of before and after pictures to show good and bad techniques. 

A serged jacket to revisit

I think the zipper has a few issues, and the jacket fits me! Although once the zipper is in properly, I don't think I can zip it up! I will say that my serging skills have improved 1000% since I first serged many years ago. I can identify stitches by looking at them and seeing if they are right or wrong! How did I learn that? I certainly didn't take a class. Nope -- it was by experimenting and trying things repeatedly until they were right! 

I also read many books; some of those older books that no one wants are the BEST on the market. I have a couple of great serger books with loads of information. Of course, I provide that information to those who attend my events, but only to them! 

So two days in a row, my car has been on the road, and my "old" spare glasses have worked just fine! However, this is what I had left in my gas tank last night, so I did fill up just before getting home. Yep --- I'm definitely a "fly by the seat of my pants" person -- whether it comes to a presentation (although I do spend HOURS prepping) so I can "wing it" in class. 

Almost on empty

I also hate making firm travel plans weeks in advance. What if I decide to change my mind? What if I want to do something else? I rarely book hotels in advance, and if I can't find a hotel? There's always a hotel! Another reason to travel light! You are never in a bind! Self-sufficient!

So when I went downstairs this morning to do some work, this was the state of the cutting table. UGH!! That wasn't pleasant, and I had to move some things before I could cut! 

What a mess!

But I got some of the homework cut for the three classes tomorrow, and I'll be sewing later today. Hm -- I could move outside to sew, but I don't think I will. I'll just take frequent breaks! 

It will be a busy weekend, with two Zooms (I said one earlier), three tomorrow, and two UFO clubs on Sunday. I think I have a wee bit of prepping to do. 

This was on the doorstep when I got home late last night! My NEW door handle. But instead of sending me just the part that needed replacing -- it looks like they sent an ENTIRE new handle! I'll open it up later today. 

My new door handle

Thank you for that, as it's getting old to have to lock the door all the time as the latch bolt is worn, and the door won't stay shut. The girls love it! Murphy thinks she should go in the car with me whenever I put the suitcases in! I would NEVER trust them before, but I think they would be good now, but I still won't trust them alone outside if they are not on a leash! 

Before, I could drop the leash (in the forest), and Murphy would run like mad from one end to the other, with the leash dragging. I tried it the other day, and she ran about 50 feet, stopped, and looked at me. "What? - Mom, you're not holding my leash! I'll just wait until you catch up!" She's so sweet. 

The bone of my finger where Murphy tried to "attack" me is sore, but it will be fine! 

As I was cutting for one of the sew-alongs tomorrow, I quickly counted the number of sew-alongs I had recorded in that book. OH MY!!! If my count was correct -- there were 46! YES -- forty-six "complicated" quilts that I've done over the years, and I didn't write the earlier ones in the book, so I'm guessing there were at least 60!!! 

Well, I have to run --- there's a lot of stuff to do today. 

Have a super day, and if you are experiencing this weather  - GET OUTSIDE!!!

Ciao!!!

Around the neighborhood

The serger event in Hamilton is NOT hybrid, so if anyone wants to hear it -- you have to attend in person! But I believe it's in the evening. And I spent the day sorting, organizing, and putting everything in order. I still need to pack and unpack suitcases, but since I need them tonight, I have no choice but to do it today. 

There seems to be so much I want to do, have to do, and I hear the call of the outdoors and well -- you know what happens. 

However, I'm happy to report that I finished the customer quilt of the day by dinner time! That was a nice change, but I was at the serger until late! Again, a NO drama day at the long arm! 

The end of the quilt before dinner

Customer quilt - DONE

I won't have time today or tomorrow for more quilting, but I aim to get the next one loaded! 

As I was going through the serger stuff, I came upon a project I had finished making the top, but it wasn't completely together. I didn't like the way it looked or the color of the thread I used, so I decided to take it apart. At first, I was tempted to cut the serged seams off, but then I tried ripping it apart, which was super easy. YES --- you can easily take serged seams apart. I don't recommend it, but you can do it if you know how! 

All the thread bits

And so, with little effort, the entire project is apart, and I hope to put it back together again. Some of my serger stitches require a little bit of practice, and like everything, one needs to try different stitches and thread combinations to find something you like! I have to say that I'm so comfortable with the serger now -- OK -- so I still have loads that I could probably learn (or at least become more comfortable with), but I am in good shape! Heck -- I'm comfortable with an embroidery machine, but I'm still learning all the time. I won't go into detail, but you would be SHOCKED at how much you can learn by reading the User's Guides! 

TWICE yesterday, I went into various User Guides and found information for people. I don't usually do that, but I wanted to double-check the information (and I was right!), but when it's something I'm not super familiar with, I always check!

I needed some elastic for another serger project I want to finish today. When one needs elastic, you go to the fastenings tub to find it, and yes -- I had exactly the color and type I needed. Having a stash of stuff and being organized is a great thing! Who knew? 

My tub of fastenings

Our next-door neighbor is home for two weeks and seems intent on trimming and tidying up his yard, which is great. It was not super bad, but it was starting to show four years of neglect. I had mentioned to him the COMPLETELY dead cedars along the fence that I had our landscaper cut down. No big deal. Imagine my surprise when I saw this. 

Where did the tops of the cedars go?

He literally chopped the LIVE and in-good-shape cedars in half! Yes -- he cut the tops off of them. Now I appreciated seeing those cedars from my computer and the fact that birds made their nests in them, and they love the cedars for nest-making. Sigh -- so, while I appreciate what he's doing, he went too far!!

He did clean up the half-dead cedars so they look tidier, but those will have to go in a year or two. Why didn't he chop those entirely down and leave the live ones alone? 

The half-dead cedars are intact! 

And it was recycling day in our area. I don't get it --- people have ZERO respect for how recycling is picked up and zero respect for the people that do the job. It was windy yesterday, so that's even more reason to flatten those boxes and tie them together so they don't blow around. It's a disgrace. Even throwing an unflattened box in the recycling bin -- the bin fills up much faster and then overflows! Don't be lazy; flattening a box takes a few seconds! If I were the pick-up people, I wouldn't touch this mess! 

Recycling pick-up nightmare

We have the large cart and put it out once a month - when it's full. What's the point of putting it out every two weeks if it's not full? If you've correctly recycled your stuff, this cart shouldn't smell; since it's in the cart, it's out of the way. And I get that some families are larger than ours, but I see overflowing recycling bins every two weeks. What the heck are people buying? Oh --- I forgot  --- TONS of packaged food, which I won't go there. 

So I went for my walk, and while I'm still slightly behind, I'm making up ground. Then I was outside enjoying the warm weather. Of course, I had company, and look at the two of them! What silly girls! So they were NOT howling, although it seems like it. They were "fighting" with each other! They are NOT interested in being outside alone, although Lexi slept outside the night before. Nope -- they just want to entertain Mom!

Mom -- we love YOUUUUUUUU!!!

And I'm leaving the door open for them since the weather is so mild. Not wide open, but open enough for them to come in. So why does Murphy sit outside the second patio door beside the open one and gently bark that she needs to be let in? And I thought she was the smart one!

But when the day was done, here they were. Lexi was on the couch with DH, who had left to do something, Murphy tucked in the tiny bed, and NO one in the big bed. 

MOM -- let sleeping dogs lie!!!

Those girls are hours and hours of entertainment, for sure. 

I didn't want to write my list of three things before going to bed, but I did. Which was a good thing as it made me think hard about what has to be done today! Then I had one of those restless nights, which is never good before spin class. I see a nap in my afternoon! 

I stopped by Indigo at the request of a friend and picked the remainder of those weekly planners! Let's say there are no more at my local store! 

And I just looked at my May schedule - OH -- it's another silly month, so I've got to keep that in mind as I'm planning! 

Speaking of planning, if anyone wants to get in on the quilt Advent boxes, the time to preorder is now. I won't promote any specific one, but they are on the appropriate social media sites. Do NOT wait, as once they are sold out -- they are sold out! 

Well, on that note, I'm out of here! 

Have a super day! 

Ciao!!!

Getting organized!

It was another late night, but only because I was outside for most of the afternoon. It was too nice to be inside, and I'd rather take advantage of the fantastic weather! 

We had a great time at Monday sewing, and it's been a while since I haven't had to zip out prematurely because of a work commitment. I got to stay until the end! 

Lots of stuff happened in Studio B, and I knew, with all my tidying, a couple of scenarios would arise - not being able to find something and refining already sorted areas. 

For the most part, everything has a home, making it super simple to tidy up! However, several almost-finished things are hanging around, and I hope to get to work on those. I bet, in many cases, that ONE hour on each project and it would be done! So I will try and work on those in the next couple of weeks, in ADDITION to everything else I need to get done. 

In my efficiency of tidying, I could NOT find a few things. So while I was quilting, I was determined to find them. What was missing? Stuff for the serger! I was missing feet that I was sure I had received. I had samples that had gone astray and a couple of projects that needed to be serged. Where could they be? 

AHA -- I found everything. They were in a tub under the long, and it was LABELED, no less, but I had forgotten that I put the stuff there. 

The tub of serger stuff

I must move the tub to the first spot I looked at yesterday. It's OK under the long arm -- it's just on the wrong side! 

And guess what? I found the missing cover stitch hemmer that I swore I already had, but now I have two. One will be returned. 

Two cover stitch hemmers

I found all my samples and many more feet for a different serger and more duplicate feet. It really needs to be sorted and neatened up, so that is on the agenda for today. I also found serger thread in the tub, which has a home, and it's not in this tub. So that resulted in a tidy-up of the serger thread, all stored in one plastic rolling bin. 

Colored serger thread

Decorative serger thread

White serger thread

Grey, cream, and black serger thread

I found the serger projects that need to be finished, and I plan to work on those today, so I have a few more samples for my serger class this week at Hamilton Sewing. I'm also running a lecture on garment sewing techniques, so I'll also be working on a few samples for that. 

Serger projects to finish

And here I am with the tub opened and sorting. 

Sorting through the tub of serger stuff

Even with all the sorting and tidying I've done in the past, some pockets in Studio B still need attention. And that's what I'll be working on when I'm in the mood and have the time, like sorting through the books and this tub of serger stuff. 

I also attacked the Current Projects table -- I mean, how many current projects does one need?

The Current Project table

A few of the projects were moved to the ironing board, where I hope to refine them today. If they can't be done quickly and in the next week, they must find a home on a shelf! 

Projects to sort through

I should resign myself to the fact that the cutting table will likely NEVER be completely clear. As I ended the day and with a few minutes to spare, I put stuff on it in preparation for today

The immediate stuff to work on today

There was ZERO drama when quilting the customer quilt of the day. It's done and needs to be trimmed later today. The other two quilts I quilted earlier this week are trimmed and ready for pickup! The next one is loaded; hopefully, I can work on it this morning rather than late in the evening!

Customer quilt - DONE

But I did cut it close with the bobbin thread. I still had an almost full bobbin and this, so there was more than enough to finish the quilt!

Bobbin thread chicken!

It was HOT yesterday, and I could have worn shorts when I walked in the afternoon! But even in the morning, it was hot, and look at poor Murphy! She can't handle the heat, so she won't be happy for the remainder of this week! 

MOM -- it's HOT!!

But look who I spotted in my pond! A cardinal was having a grand time bathing! What fun to watch him as he sputtered around. 

Cardinal in his larger personal birdbath

And, of course, Murphy was out there with me. However, I had left the door open, and the next thing I knew, an INDOOR toy was outside. 

An indoor toy that is OUTSIDE!

And yes -- it ended up in the pond! She has a fascination with water! 

MOM -- the toy jumped into the pond! Help!

Someone asked me the other day if I had a favorite colorway when making quilts. Hmm -- not really, but I love this quilt's PINK/ORANGE combination. And look, it matches the pink and orange on my sewing machine! 

Binding a quilt

But that quilt got bound, and I met a commitment for this week. 

The quilt is bound!

Remember that I was making a priority list of THREE quilty things per day that needed to be done. I stopped at Indigo on my walk and spotted this in the discount bin. 

A weekly "to-do" list

This will be perfect. I can write the week at the top of the page in the spot indicated. Then in the top left box, I can list all the commitments/classes for the week. Then per day, I can list the THREE priority things that must be done. And if I need to make notes, I can put that on the right-hand side. 

I read a quote the other night in my Happiness Journal about "tidying up" before you go to bed. And this can be part of that process. Before bed, I can check that the three priority things got done (and yes -- they got done yesterday), and then I can decide, based on the weekly requirements, what the priority is for the next day. I will NOT fill this at the beginning of the week as I may get more done in a day or whatever. 

I think this will work, and if I like the system, I can go back and buy a few more! This was the only orange one, but I can live with another color. I think there are 52 pages in the pad, so it'll work for the year. At the end of the week, I'll rip the page off and start a new one! Let's see how the system works. I like the idea of consciously picking three things that are a priority - rather than thinking they are a priority! 

With the amount of stuff that I have to do, it can be overwhelming to write it all on a list -- I think the three priority things per day will help me, and trust me -- I got way more done than just those priority things, but I need some structure in my day, and I think this little bit will help. Plus, the five minutes of reflection on the week every evening will help to avoid those panic days. At least, I hope so. 

Hey --- I need the serger stuff for Thursday, and I was working on it on Monday, so that's a start! 

Only one of the suitcases got unpacked, but I'll have to focus on the other one today and get it repacked for tomorrow night. I'll be at the Grand Quilt Guild, so you can stop by if you're in the area. They do their meetings hybrid, so you can get the link from them ($10 fee) and watch my scrap quilt lecture!!! 

On that note, I'm out of here! I walked 15.5 KM yesterday and am on track to finish my Virtual Challenge in 14 days! 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!

I'm strapped

 Oh my gosh --- what a wild night we had. I'm unsure if I'm sick, but I didn't feel well when I went to bed. I was up several times but seem to be fine now, so let's hope all is well! I have no time to be sick!

I am definitely sewing in slow-motion mode -- since I've arrived, I've finished serving one T-shirt and made two small backpacks! Let's say that the backpack was a challenge! It was not a commercial pattern which is OK, but the person who wrote it could have been better at communicating, or perhaps it was an operator error. More likely that. But also, the style of the backpack needed to be changed somewhat. 

And I swear those straps were going to be the death of me. 

I was so happy when I got the bag together and turned it inside out, only to discover that I had twisted the straps. Seriously????? OK --- that was definitely an operator error. 

The straps are twisted!

So I ripped out the seams at the bottom, twisted the straps around properly, and finished that bag. 

The bag is finished

For whatever reason, I ended up with Margaret's kit, and so I decided to test my knowledge and how I would improve the assembly method. The second one went much faster, but even then, I had goofed on one side of the straps when I turned it inside out. ACK!!!!!!

The second bag done

But the good news is that both of them are complete, pressed, and look pretty spiffy. I hope to make a third one today, and that better go smoothly! 

We went to Creekbank Sewing, my favorite store in this neighborhood. There's always something interesting there. And boy, those Mennonite ladies know how to soft sell. We were NOT templated to buy a Bernina machine while we were there! But the last time, yep -- we almost caved! 

And they have loads of samples, and this is a blanket they made with the serger and Minky. I plan to make lots of these as I have scraps of this fabric, and serging them up will be perfect. 

A serged blanket

So I'm doing great on my walking. I'm keeping up with the daily requirements. When I was here last time, Helen Anne and I would walk together. I have to walk on my own, and it's BORING! I must find my earbuds and listen to an audiobook. I just threw things in bags when I left, and I can't find a thing!

We found a great used bookstore in Orangeville, but they only took CASH. Who carries cash anymore? I bought the cutest little sewing book, which I thought was $8.50 but was .50 cents. I didn't take a picture, but I'll try today. So much and published in 1958!!!!!

Well, another short and sweet day -- I have two zoom calls, and I need to get one more bag and one more T-shirt sewn. I'm NOT going to bed until that is done. 

Thanks for the clarification that it was wild turkey tracks. That's what you get when you take a city girl to the country! No clue what tracks are what! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Building a T-shirt

 I'm here at the retreat! We're back at Retreat at the Farm in Shelbourne. I arrived at 7 PM, and it's good to be back even if I have to work most of the week. Hey -- I have presentations to prep and samples to sew, but I can have more fun doing that while visiting with friends than being at home. 

I brought most things I need, and whatever I'm missing, then we'll make it up! There is one thing that I have a big issue with my phone charger. I have two, but again, I've misplaced the spare one. Now, how the heck can I do that? So I threw the main one in my bag, only to discover this morning that it was the charger for my headphones. Are you kidding me? 

However, I brought my data cable for connecting the phone to the computer, and with the block from the headphone charger, I'm in business. OK -- so this is ridiculous, and when I'm back home, I'm finding that spare charger, and it's going in my office backpack, and it will stay there. I'm also labeling the darn thing. It's a pain with all these chargers, and those ends look so similar, but they are not! 

However, I brought enough stuff to make it work! 

Yesterday was a lot of fun! Dealer training is always an interesting experience, and there are a lot of "COVID" dealers. These people came on board during COVID and have done exceedingly well in getting their businesses off the ground. That is super exciting to see. 

So we went through all the NEW products that are coming. Sorry --- not going to talk about it in more detail, but LOTS of cool new things and some of the exciting things we currently have and that you love are being brought to lower price points, which is VERY exciting. 

And then there is some BRAND new stuff and one of them we chatted about it Ditto. I love it but haven't had time to play with it. In case you don't know what it is -- it's the garment projection system. I won't have time to do much this month as my laptop, and I will have developed quite a relationship by the end of this month. I only use my laptop when I'm away, which should tell you about my schedule. The girls are NOT going to be happy. 

Neither will my steps. Oh boy -- I didn't make my steps yesterday. I still managed about 8 KM, but well below my goal of 12.5 KM or 13 if you go by my current virtual challenge. I'll try to make up some of that today, but it will be hard as I have two presentations to prepare and give. And I have to make a trip to the grocery store. 

However, one of the presentations is almost finished, and the second is well underway. I won't need much more time to make it happen. 

I'll be able to get out bright and early this morning to get in the first walk, so that'll be good. Two months make a big difference in the lightness in the morning, although that will change this coming weekend. 

Back to the dealer meeting. It was great, and hopefully, after they see the samples, the dealers will want us to come to their stores for events! Yep --- it's going to be a fun year. Oh shoot -- I'll have to share a photo of one of our projects. I'll add that to the blog tomorrow, as I'm not downloading another picture this morning. 

This was my car when I left the house. At the last minute, things just randomly got shoved in there. I had stuff for the dealer meeting, so that bag is gone. I have some things to give to others here at the retreat, so I'll have a lot less stuff on the way back and pack a little more carefully! 

Packed for retreat

Even the front seat got filled with stuff. OH -- see that bright turquoise color? That's part of the project that I'll share tomorrow. 

The front seat is also full

Yep -- I was full up. I need a NEW BIGGER car! I wasn't all that happy with all that stuff because I didn't really have a clear view for shoulder checking, so I had to be careful. 

Packed to the top!

When I walked into the sewing room this morning, it was BRIGHT. There's a full moon outside, and it is beautiful. 

The full moon

However, I've no idea what happened to my sewing table. It looks like a hurricane blew threw. I'm not usually that messy ever! But that happens when you randomly pack and then randomly unload the car late at night. I've got a few things to serge, so I'm starting with that. Then I'll put the serger away and dig the sewing machine out of the car. 

My sewing table - a MESS

So what am I serging? I'm finishing off my T-shirt. It was mostly done, but I needed to hem the sleeves and add the band to the top. I added the band last night, and I'll finish the sleeve hems this morning. 

My new T-shirt

I've made T-shirts before, but I'm still learning some of the ins and outs of the serger. I confess that I've had a serger for many years but never a cover stitch, which is new to me. This PFAFF admire air 7000 has a cover stitch, and it's a BREEZE to convert from cover stitch to overlock. And it's a breeze to thread with air threading on all three loopers. 

Plus, I've added the cover stitch hemmer attachment into the mix. But my cover stitch hem on the bottom looks pretty decent. Can you tell that's my first attempt? I know!!!!  OK -- I confess that the hem could be better where I went over the seams (more practice needed), but I learned a ton putting that on. 

The cover stitch hem

Even the neckband got a coverstitch treatment. I see that some commercial t-shirts have a band that covers the back neck seam. I've always wondered why, but it's to cover up the messy start and stop!!! Who knew? Now that's my guess, but it sounds good to me. My back neck seam is a bit messy. 

The cover stitch neckband

You can learn so much by taking things apart -- well, most times, you just need to look at the garments to see how they were constructed. You don't even need to take them apart. 

So it was a great day, and we're still missing one person, who will arrive on Wednesday. It was just a crazy week, but it couldn't be changed. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I need to get out for that morning walk to clear my head, go to the grocery store, and finish the presentations. Then I can sew. I won't get much sewing done today. But I'm OK with that. I knew that was going to happen. Today is probably the only "tough" day, and after that, the presentation prep is much easier or already complete. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!