The power of a stare!

Only a few more days to get through this crazy schedule. It took quite a while to get the UFO presentations put together --- many group members were very busy over the summer, and we had a lot to see! 

Time was running out, and so I shortchanged the girls on their walk. They were not happy about it. I was about a half hour late in getting out of the house with them, and can you tell they were not happy? 

MOM -- we are waiting PATIENTLY!!!!

Seriously, it's quite creepy to turn around and find the two of them staring at me. They know the power of a stare. There are times when they are beside me and fussing, but the stare I think works much better!

I am still looking for pictures of my quilts that were displayed at the Buckhorn Quilt Show. I will review my emails, as I believe one person sent me some photos, but I haven't opened that email yet. Next week, I'll hang the pieces here and take pictures. What a silly thing to forget to take pictures of ALL the quilts. 

After the UFO presentations, I had lunch, and then I decided that it was such a nice day, and I wanted to just veg, so this is where I ended up. 

The view from the gazebo

I haven't had a chance to sit out there and do nothing for a very long time. Or I haven't felt like I had the time to sit there. I didn't really have time, as I have a lot of stuff to prep, but I just needed some downtime. And I don't regret it!

Late in the afternoon, when I was "bored" of doing nothing - OK, I was reading my book, I came in and got some emails done. It's actually quite nice to get those UFO Club follow-ups done while the information is still fresh in my head. 

Due to the large number of photos included and their size, it's often a lengthy task to compress the presentation to a manageable size for email transmission. BUT with my newfound skill of compressing the photos digitally, it works. However, I had forgotten how to make that happen, but at least I knew I could do it. So I Googled it and remembered, and within seconds, the file was compressed and ready to send. Hopefully, I'll remember that for the next time without having to look up the instructions. 

And that brings me to a good point. I do not know how many times, when teaching, someone will lament that they have forgotten how to do something. Guess what? That's normal. And if you start searching Google and look at the resulting AI synopsis, there are so many ways and tips to help you learn. We all learn differently. 

The bottom line is that you CANNOT learn and remember something new the first time. OK -- some people can, but most of us cannot. You will have to repeat the task multiple times, and then it will stick. 

I remember when I first learned how to put binding on a quilt, and this goes back 25+ years ago. I took a short class with Gail at The Hobby Horse. We each did the final join in the class with two strips of fabric. I had to bring out that sample, which was attached to written instructions, for many, many quilts before that process stuck in my head. 

When I learned a different way to make the join, I also had to bring out the instructions many times before that method got into my head. It's OK and perfectly normal to have to rely on instructions to learn something new. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Yet, people feel they are "dumb" when they need that backup. It's a natural process of learning, and you will catch onto some things much quicker than others. 

NEVER apologize if you are slow at learning -- especially to me. You are learning, and I am here to guide you through that process. If you get so caught up in your "perceived failure to learn," it's only going to make the learning that much harder. Make mistakes, ask questions, and expect to repeat the task over and over again before it sinks in. Also, don't be afraid to muddle for a bit before you ask for the fourth time. You are making yourself so nervous because you can't figure it out. Walk away, take a break, get fresh eyes, and come back. You would be surprised at what your brain knows, but your head is making you feel you know nothing. 

That's why when I teach something, I highly encourage people to look at it later that day, the next day, or as soon as possible after the class. Try it at home, look at my videos or slides, and see where it will take you!

I don't know what Murph's issue was yesterday, but I suspect there was an animal of some kind under this little deck. And she was trying to dig it out. I caught her as I was making my breakfast and looked out the kitchen window. 

MOM -- Dad lets us do whatever we want! 

I dropped what I was doing and went out and had a wee chat with her. I got back into the kitchen and looked out again, only to find her madly digging! Murphy! So I had to put the chair there to discourage her. She promptly lay down to stare at me through the kitchen window! I do not think she was happy about my actions!

I'm going to digress for a moment and discuss the media. Please note that this is a general observation and not referring to any specific action that has happened, but it's incredible how the media can add fuel to the fire or calm the storm. 

It's interesting how the media is mentioned in the ebook I'm reading, Angels Flight by Michael Connelly (1999). 

To give you some context for the following quote, it's about Detective Bosch in LA. Like most cities around the world, major incidents (riots, looting, fires, natural disasters, etc.) can get out of control, and many times (I'm generalizing here, so don't yell at me) are fueled by the media.

And it's nothing new. This is how Connelly referred to the media way back in 1999. 

I just find it fascinating and disturbing, and it makes me wonder sometimes who is really in control of people's actions. And the fact that today, with so much AI, it's becoming harder and harder for people to distinguish what is real and what is not. 

I think the only thing we can attempt to do is educate ourselves, listen to both sides of the story, and don't believe everything you read or see. 

Well, I see time is marching on, and even though I only have 50 pages to finish that book, I need to get to the gym. I've been very lax over the last two months with my walking. I need to get myself up to speed on this new fitness tracker. You know me --- I like the old, and this new brand is throwing me for a loop, so I need to learn how it works properly and where to find the data. 

Here is the list of events over the next week. After that - it's quiet!!!! I sent out a group email to the Colour My World group, so if you did NOT get an email yesterday and you are interested, let me know. The sign-up cutoff (including paying) is midnight on Thursday evening. 

September 23 - Stitch by Stitch, Kingston, Ontario, A what's new with PFAFF and Husqvarna Viking. Two separate events. Check for times - one is in the afternoon (PFAFF), and the other is in the evening (HV). 

September 25 - Store Opening - Sewing Machine Magic - Cobourg, Ontario. This store sells PFAFF sewing machines, and I'm excited to present a series of demos that day. It's all about the magic!!!!

September 27 - Colour My World (Online class hosted by me) at 9:30 AM. I need to send out an acknowledgment to those who have paid. But you have all the information you need. No supplies required for the first class. 

September 27 and 28 - Virtual Retreat - the links will be posted on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to sitting down and having some time to do my homework and catch up with friends! 

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the spectacular light show last night. We had thunder, rain, and lightning. At times, the lightning was so bright, it was blinding! I didn't get up to watch it, but spotted it through the window as I was trying to get to sleep! 

I'm off to spin class. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!

The world of Social Media

OK, so I caved and binge-watched all the episodes of that romance scam. Then, I started to do some research. OH MY GOSH --- you would not believe it, but the amount of money involved in romance scams is HUGE!!!! I believe this statistic is worldwide to the tune of $1.3 billion (involving 70,000 people). That was in 2022, and the numbers are probably much higher. And that is of the people who came forward. How many others did not? 

This is just for romance scams, not any of the other types of fraud. It is big business for the scammers! 

However, there are red flags, and you should be watching for them if you're on a dating site. Just Google Romance Scams and loads of information will come up! It's rampant. 

So why do you think people fall for this? We used to have solid communities - whether that was a church, neighborhood, work, or whatever. We had people we could talk to if we needed help. That sense of community has eroded over the years, and it seems there are no longer borders in the social media world. People are happy to hide behind a screen or turn to a screen to get their entertainment, their advice (giving and getting), and their bullying; their world is on a screen. 

Wait a minute! That's just asking for trouble. I don't have time to go into all the details today, but did you know that social media is becoming a huge problem - hatred, lies, bullying, fraud, misdirection, and in the world of politics -- it's becoming a big issue. Politicians worldwide are using social media to get elected in ways we are unaware of. I'm reading a book about the Philippines right now. Scary stuff!

I was never a big poster on Facebook and Instagram (the only two platforms I have accounts on), and lately (probably the last two years, I RARELY post anything! Yes, my life information is on this blog, but that is "less" obvious than putting it on Facebook. 

I take the stance that no one needs to know that I ate hotdogs for lunch unless they want to come to my blog to read about it. To put it out there for the masses? I'm not into that anymore. What's the point?

Yet, I like the good side of Facebook and Instagram. I like the ability to stay in touch with people without it being a big deal, but the bad side of these platforms is taking over! And people have become addicted to them. How many LIKES did I get? Who cares!!!!

I've noticed lately that the number of people who attempt to friend me is insane, even without much traffic on my pages. I get loads of friend requests, and you no longer know which ones are legitimate, as many of the requests are from hijacked accounts. I delete on a regular basis, and I need to do a thorough cleanse one day. 

So yes, it's a crazy world out there, and I'm an intelligent adult, but I can still become a victim, as we've seen smart people become victims of scams. What about the elderly? What about those in vulnerable states of mind? It's terrible, and we need to start checking on people—IN PERSON—to ensure they are OK. We must put ourselves on our parents' bank accounts (as a trusted person) to prevent money from being scammed out of their accounts. 

Social media can be fun, but be careful!!!! Even in the gentle world of quilting, the amount of crap that I see from quilters is - well, it's embarrassing. Everyone wants to sell me something, or friends want to tag me so they get the chance to win something that they will likely never use. I ignore all that - so PLEASE NEVER tag me for that. 

I guess I would be remiss if I didn't post something about the eclipse. Honestly, I couldn't really care less about it. So the moon covers the sun—big deal! I took a picture of the sun early in the morning—here's my "eclipse day" photo. 

My sun "eclipse day" photo at 9:20 AM

It was pretty cloudy here, so I wasn't expecting to see anything anyway, and I certainly did not buy glasses to watch it. I went out for my walk shortly after 2 PM, and there was total cloud coverage. As I was nearing home, the clouds did part, and yes - you could see a partial eclipse happening. What was hilarious was when I arrived home, my neighbors, who do not speak much English, were outside in their driveway. They came running towards me, shouting - "we have glasses!" and indicating for me to look at the sun. So I got a quick glance at the sun - that was enough for me, and I'll probably remember that story much more than I would remember some more elaborate escapade. 

What I found fascinating was the darkness. It was almost like twilight, and you could tell something was shading the sun. Yet there were still shadows, unlike if the sun was obscured by clouds. 

The twilight zone

Then it got very dark in the house, so dark that the streetlights came on, but only for a few seconds. That was sometime shortly after 3 PM. 

The streetlights came on briefly

If watching the eclipse brought you closer to a neighbor, or a friend - then that's OK. I wasn't too worried about it - I had work to do. I don't care that this is the only total eclipse that'll happen in my lifetime. There are many things that I won't get to see or do in my lifetime -- I don't think I'm a different person today because I didn't watch it like most other people. 

That's the other thing we must stop, and social media is a HUGE culprit. It's called FOMO -- the fear of missing out. Social media (and media) hype about anything makes people feel they should be doing that as well, even if they don't want to. You should have this toy or do this thing because everyone else is doing it. I'm sorry -- I'm not a sheep! I'll do what I want and buy what I want -- not because someone else has it!!

Oh my—I almost sound bitter this morning. Nope, I'm not bitter; I'm just sad that so many people live their lives FOR social media and not for themselves!

I won't mention social media again today! 

I made good progress on my Heartfelt Sampler. I think I have enough squares cut to finish off the borders, and the center part is together! Yeah!!!!

Squares for Heartfelt Sampler

Remember my winnings with the Roll Up the Rim? I thought I'd better cash them in since there was an expiry date. I had to take the little guy for a vet appointment, so on the way home, I stopped in. I managed to get a large London Fog tea and one of the specialty cookies for my free coffee and donut. Thank you, Tim's. I had a pleasant time in the gazebo, relaxing with the girls and the boy while I enjoyed my afternoon snack!!

My Tim's winnings

Here's something else we don't do often enough: We don't thank people enough or provide positive feedback. The service at this Tim's used to be good, but then it got new management, and it was HORRIBLE—so horrible that we no longer went there. The lines were long, they mixed up orders, etc. The management/staff has changed yet again, and the service is AMAZING. And I told the very friendly ladies who served me that! They felt good, and so did I!!

Someone has contacted me about the code for the Sirius radio, and I'd like you to send me an email (elainetheriault@gmail.com) so I can forward the code to you. I thought about using it, but I know I never will, so someone else might as well use it!!!

I have a dentist appointment this morning, and afterward, I'll be downstairs working! I have stuff to finish for classes and some tidying up as I need room to work. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Time wasters!

 Did any of you watch that Seinfeld episode about NOTHING? I watched it years ago, but there are some days when there is NOTHING to talk about. That's today! 

Well, it's not exactly about nothing, as I am ripping through lots of projects that need to be sewn - I just can't share any with you yet. That's so ridiculous! I cut and sewed, cut and sewed, and cut and sewed some more, and I FINISHED the homework for today. There is still a bit to do with one of the quilts, but it's done enough to show the block construction. Phew! 

And I have to say that I'm pleased with the results of all the quilts. This weekend there are THREE Jen Kingwell quilts that I'm presenting. Thankfully, one is a repeat of last year, so the top is done. WAIT -- that's a lie -- the border isn't on, and I vowed to finish with the group. So I have until June to decide on the border and get it on! There should be no excuse for not getting that border on. I've had loads of time, and it would help clean up the area where the ongoing projects are stored. 

Let's just say that those Jen Kingwell quilts are HUGE -- well, not huge, but the amount of work in them is incredible, and the instructions are less than desirable. While I'm enjoying making them, I will be happy when these three are done. The fourth Jen Kingwell quilt will go on for the rest of the year, but it'll be only one at that time, so that shouldn't be too bad to deal with -- I hope!

Starting in January, there will be one HUGE project that I'll work on, but I won't be teaching it -- there'll be a group of us who will motivate each other, but I will NOT be prepping notes. And you have to have started the project as there will be ZERO teaching. There are three quilts (well, four) on that list, and I'll be sharing that list after I get the Jen Kingwell stuff done. Or maybe I already shared it -- I don't remember, and it's not important for today anyway. 

There's one more assignment for the Kingwell quilts, and then in June, we'll have the reveal -- I can't wait to see them all, as the colorways that each person has chosen are so unique! And I think that ALL of our quilts are nicer (or easier to visualize) than those made by Jen, as she really likes busy prints for the focus fabric and the backgrounds. 

I had to laugh because, at one point, I realized I was walking around the house with a huge long strand of thread hanging on my sock! 

Long threads!

So there are tons of time wasters in this world. I get spam comments on my blog that you know are put there by robot spammers. They pick up keywords and throw in a comment or two or three. It's all autogenerated, so DELETE, DELETE, DELETE. But what a waste of my time to do that. 

SPAM!

The number of SPAM comments that I get isn't that bad, so I can't complain, but there were six this morning. 

The area where the timewasters come is those small videos that are everywhere. People put reels (short videos of about 1 minute) on their social media platforms. I used to watch some of them because - well, because they were there. And I've realized that most of them are such a waste of time that what's the point of watching them. The "humor" in many of them is degrading to someone, and what people find funny isn't funny. 

Don't get me wrong, but there are some cute ones, but they are getting to be so few and far between, and besides, do I need to see every "funny" moment in someone else's life? I like to see the short videos of MY friends -- I've seen someone's grandchild take their first steps - cute! Or their puppy has the zoomies with the grand puppy. Those are cute and are relevant because I know the person, and my friends are smart about what they post. 

But some of that other stuff? Why? Why is it on social media? Because everyone wants their minute of fame (it's no longer 15 minutes of fame). I just don't get it. 

And don't get me started on click-bait. I used to get sucked in from time to time, but I just look at it now and sigh. Do people not have anything better to do with their lives? Because it will make you go deeper and deeper, and all that is happening is the person who posted it is making money because you clicked on the post. And have you noticed that the pictures they use to suck you in are NEVER in the photos shown? Just say NO!

Nope --- I am very selective about how I spend my time on social media. I scroll through Facebook and IG for about 5 minutes a couple of times a day. I rarely post pictures -- not because I don't want to, but because I don't have anything exciting to post! Well, I do, but not stuff that everyone needs to see. 

And how many ads do you see every day? It's hugely overwhelming, and I've heard that social media creates feelings of FOMO, anxiety, and depression. Why? Because everything is PERFECT, and that's just not real. If we don't get likes, we get depressed. I don't have time for that! 

Oh god -- I sound like my parents and grandparents! But it's true -- I'd rather do stuff that I like to do and not watch all the silliness that others post. And then to get upset because my life isn't like someone else's! 

I worked all day and listened to a lot of the audiobook (it's very long) and didn't need a nap. Now, why is it that when I get in a car, it lulls me to sleep? Thank goodness I'm not a truck driver!

I had another crazy dream and one that I swear I've had before. Massive planes are flying overhead with bizarre cargo strapped to them, and one of the planes falls from the sky. Now, why is that? 

The only thing left to do today after the presentations is to attempt to get my UFOs completed for tomorrow. Yikes --- I might need to be up all night as they got put on the back burner. They did not need to be, but I sort of forgot them. I didn't, but I wasn't smart about working on them. But the Cherrywood Challenge is almost 3/4 quilted, and I'm delighted with the results. I can't wait to share it with you when the opportunity arises. 

Well, it's time to get the day rolling. I still have four seams to do, take pictures and put them in the presentation for the lectures this afternoon. Piece of cake!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Don't forget to put the Hamilton Quilt Show on your calendar -- ALL of you should have the dates by now - June 3 and 4. 

Moving on................

Before you get in a panic!   I'm not moving - but wait and you'll see what I mean.

I thought I'd start by sharing my office space.  I'm always posting pictures of my studio and it's a near write off - but looks much better these days.  So my office?????  Well you decide!

One side

The other side

Yep - "my" office couch is buried under quilts that we've received for Quiltcon. Sneak peeks of those later this week. The desk is littered with paper - reading materials, projects, patterns to write and much much more EXCITING stuff.    I LOVE LOVE LOVE my inspiration board - I must tidy it up a bit as it is getting out of hand, but so many cool things to save!!!!

But here's what I think.   Don't forget that today is Bell Let's Talk day - the awareness campaign for mental illness.  We are all wired so differently - some of us can handle and thrive on the mess above - others would be totally incapacitated.  There are days when I feel overwhelmed with the enormity of the situation, but most days - I'm loving it!

I think we all need to find that comfort zone so that we can work comfortably.  And one thing and I truly believe this - we need to find the root of the problem.  Oh in this case - STOP buying stuff - that would fix the problem!!!!!   And that's going to happen!  HA HA HA HA!!!

I firmly believe that much of the mental illness situation today is that we are overwhelmed with e-mail, our stuff, social media, advertising, family, hobbies, demands of everyone.  We don't want to cull things, we only see the GOOD stuff posted on-line - people rarely post their mistakes and we start to feel like a failure because we can't do everything.   STOP - PRIORITIZE - FOCUS - WIN.  It has a lot to be said for everything that we do!!!!!!!!!!!!   And LET IT GO!!!!!    If things aren't perfect - I don't care any more.  I don't have time nor the energy!!!  Well I do, but I don't want to waste it on silly things.

OK - so here's the moving deal.  I watched a webinar last night about Social Media.  Hmmmmm - while I'm somewhat knowledgeable about social media - there are people that social media is THEIR JOB.  Wow - I guess people would look at me like that and say - how lucky I am. And yes - I am truly blessed with my job!

I was dreading having to change my e-mail address - not for any bad reason - just consolidating services and that means my e-mail account will go away.  ACK!!!!!!   Now that will set me in a panic for sure. BUT after watching the webinar - I now see it as a great opportunity and I'm pumped to get started. .  However I've already got a NEW e-mail set up this morning and I'm pumped and ready to tackle SOCIAL MEDIA.

Stay tuned for that!!!!!   I will be sending out notices to everyone about the change of e-mail within the next couple of days. Trust me - it's very easy to remember!

Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Social Media!!!!!

I've been investigating social media the last few days. Twittering, Facebook, blogs, web sites - on my - there is a LOT of stuff happening on the internet.

While we all follow blogs, I do not know of anyone else in this area who blogs.  And then have you ever Googled your name to see what comes up????   The internet is a fascinating place, but I RULE it - (timewise) - it doesn't rule me!!!


Anyway - I did a Google search - Quilting - Mississauga.  Ruti's Needlebed came up first, The Mississauga Quilt Guild came up second and guess what came up THIRD?????   Yes - MY BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!    I was very excited to see that!!!!!!!

But there are NO other stores in our area, there are no museums or other businesses related to quilting in the area and as I mentioned - no one else is blogging.   There is SO MUCH more that I want to do (only because I think the technology is so cool) but two reasons I don't. I don't have the expertise and I don't have the time.

The ideas are there!

While many of you do not comment or send me pictures, I get comments (in person) all the time about how fired up people are about tidying up the sewing room or the rest of the house.  It is spring and people have caught the fever!!!!!!!!    That makes me very happy!!!!    Don't forget that I am quite happy to pass on information or pictures or whatever so don't be shy to send me stuff - not that I don't have a ton of ideas of what to blog about.   There are too many and I can barely keep up!   And of course - it will make a difference when I get my organization system set up for the pictures.  You DO NOT want to know how many pictures we are talking about - TENS of THOUSANDS!!!!!!   Oh yeah - a lot of fun that is going to be.


The other problem I have is MY MIND - it is going a THOUSAND miles a minute - there are just so many ideas floating around in there - I just can't keep on top of them all. Yes - I should be focusing, but how can you focus when you are a kid standing in the middle of a candy store and it is all FREE.   Well that is my brain these days!   I did manage to finish something this morning and as soon as I finish its companion, I will take a picture.

We had embroidery club yesterday. Oh my - I have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this group of ladies. The discussions (and they are REAL discussions) - the topics are diverse, exciting, creative and positive. It is funny how a group comes together and it is not always the same group of people every week, but they really work well together and I am so happy that we got this started. And I am going to blame them for getting my brain so fired up!!!!!


I would also say it is all the fresh air I am getting.  Those dogs keep looking at me with their puppy dog eyes PLEADING to go out for a walk and well - I just can't say no.  We've been to the library, the bank, Tim's (their favourite spot), the hardware store, Mary's house and probably way more places. The best thing - these are all so within walking distance of the house. I just love going for a walk with them.

Here are a couple of pictures of the mall roof.  I know - you will see lots of these I am sure until that clock tower comes down.

Panels being removed

Other side of the tower

We did walk to Mary's house so I could get a better picture of her Block of the Month. This is the best we could do.  I JUST LOVE LOVE LOVE this quilt.

Mary's Block of the Month

Mary and I collaborated on the initial concept.  I fired up EQ7 and got to work.  It is all made of 2 inch finished squares (some are half square triangles).  It was done as a Block of the Month (now called the chunk of the month) for the Mississauga Guild.  The instructions are SPARSE - there is NO colour scheme - just a value schematic.  The guild embraced it with a passion. We are going to have an exceptional show n tell in June.  The pictures will NOT be doing justice to this quilt. Therefore I want to invite you to come as a guest to the guild that night.   They meet the first Thursday of the month, so that would be June 5. Check the link above to get the location details.   I am SO EXCITED!!!  I wonder if I should package it and sell it as a pattern?????  


Anyway - it is time to get to the events of the day!  


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!