Hands off

I decided that I would walk to the grocery store that has a big pharmacy so I could stock up on some glucosamine. I should have started taking it long ago, but I didn't. So let's start now and move on. This was my first time in a grocery store since the pandemic was announced. There are normally two entrances to the store and one is closed off. For the open one, there's an entrance door with someone monitoring the people going in and there's an exit.

I wonder how closely they are monitoring stuff? Lots of signs - only one family member at a time. No bags allowed and other notices. As I was leaving the store, some guy, yakking his head off on a cell phone, comes in the exit. He got yelled at by a customer and the security guy. Like - you can't READ the *&^% sign?? Oh yes - he's on his cell phone - too important to follow the rules.

And then there's the girl (I want to say chick - but that would be stereotyping) who is standing at the end of an aisle, in a section of the store with narrow aisles, chatting up a storm on her cell phone. Seriously??? Can you not buy your groceries and get out of the store and talk in your car? And then there are the two young women discussing the merits of some beauty product or shampoo. I don't get it.  Get in - touch only what you need to touch and get out. Simple!

I did pick up some apples that DH had forgotten. OK - I got my grocery list to him late because I was on the phone and he didn't see the note in time. Big signs - TOUCH only what you are going to buy and wash when you get home. I did that.

But then I got to the aisle with the health supplements. Oh boy - the shelves look pretty bare and at first, I didn't think I wasn't going to find what I was looking for. The products are displayed by each brand. Hmmm - I looked with my eyes. I picked up one container because I thought it was the only kind there (only two bottles of it on the shelf). Then I glanced over and saw my favorite brand and so I put the one in my hands back on the shelf. I know - I felt really bad about that. But have you ever paid attention to how much we need to read the label? I wanted to see what was the difference between the products. I figure this is better than nothing at all. I can read the labels later.

Glucosamine

Then I picked up a magazine from the rack that is NO LONGER in the same place. I didn't even check to see what had been moved to that space. I went through the self check-out so I didn't have to touch anything and no one else touched my stuff and I was out. Phew - I survived a trip to the grocery store.

Lots of people with masks and I do feel a bit guilty not wearing one since it's supposed to protect others against me. I'm pretty sure that I'm clean and I'm not coughing and hacking, so I'm OK. Selfish? I don't know, but I feel comfortable.

BUT DH noticed something when he went to the store. What the heck has happened to the price of hamburger???

The price of hamburger has skyrocketed

Can you read that???  $28.64 a KG. Seriously??? That's a huge price increase. That package is TEENY tiny. I told him no more hamburger for me. I'll go vegetarian before I pay those prices for hamburger meat. Now I have to find a good recipe to use with lentils. I get the supply and demand pricing, but that's totally insane.

I did manage to get the magazine quilt blocks recut and I started sewing them back together. It shouldn't take long to get that together and I still have time (It has to leave by early next week) so I'm not worried. I am worried about my UFO homework. It's due in less than a week and I haven't started. I think I know what I'll be doing this week. I also have some writing and editing pictures to do this week, plus get the homework ready for the classes (three of them) this weekend. There will be NO TIME for fooling around!

I worked on pet mats and got all the bags serged together.

This is the stack that I serged the previous morning.

Bags for pet mats are serged together

Got a nice little bin of scraps from that exercise which will go into a pet mat.

The bin of cut off bits

I do love the little catch bin for the Husqvarna Viking Amber Air S|400. It's plastic and clips to the base of the serger. No fabric bag to clean out which is a pain. This is super easy!

The plastic waste container on the Amber Air S|400

This is what didn't get serged together the previous day. But it's all done now. I finished it up this morning.

Pieces to still serge

As I was tucking ends in yesterday while I watched an episode of The Quilt Show, I had to laugh. I had serged the sides of two bags but forgot to serge the bottom. Those are now done as well.

The scrap bin on the cutting table in Studio B got emptied.

An empty scrap bin in Studio B

This morning's exercise was a bit more complicated as the pieces were smaller. But four pieces made one side and eight of them made one bag.

Pieced sides for a pet mat

There are four small squares left. I put them with the rest of the upholstery samples and they'll get used when I do my next pet mat making marathon. I think I ended up with 15 bags? That'll go a long way to clearing up some of those bags of scraps. 

Four squares leftover 

I even had some practice quilting sandwiches which got serged and the thread ends will get tucked in. Those are good for small carriers. They are all going to the same home. They can use them as they see fit. Yep - I'm on a roll, but as mentioned, I'm going to have to take a break for this week.

Serging the edges of a quilting practice sandwich

I did get three of those quilting sandwiches finished off yesterday, as well as one pet mat after I emptied all the scrap bins.

Finished pet mat

That was a HUGE job and I made amazing progress. I figure a couple more days and that entire mess will be history. Have you noticed how good I am at procrastinating in the office? I can clean and tidy anything else but this place! Oh - it's turn is coming. I'm running out of things to tidy up! I don't really care what gets tidied up, as long as stuff is happening. That's all I care about.

Om 2015, I rented a house in PEI for a month. I loaded the car with two dogs (not my current two), a portable sewing table, a sewing machine (just one), and loads of projects. The car was packed. I had asked friends to offer up some tidbit of stuff that I could use to do a "while I'm away" challenge. I found the suitcase with all the stuff in it this morning. It's not a big suitcase, but it's packed.

I started the challenge and I really need to get back to it and finish it off. There are all kinds of crazy things in that box. I've put it in a UFO box for the moment, but I will get back to it!

As you know there is a virtual sewing retreat starting next week. I'm going to share with you tomorrow how to prep for the retreat so that you'll make the best use of your time. 

I have two projects that I'm going to prep since I did want to add one more to my laundry basket. And there'll be room in the laundry basket for both - but only after they are prepped. One of them will be my tumbling blocks quilt and the other is in this laundry basket. Wait until you see what's in here. It's totally insane!!!!

A project to prep for the virtual retreat

When I left Studio B this morning, this is what the work tables look like. That's pretty impressive. Oh, that white laundry basket in the distance is the one above so it's technically on the cutting table to be sorted through later today.

The 6 projects that need the binding finished are by the sewing machine so that does empty a wee bit more space. The best news? Nothing has been added to the tables because there is NOTHING to add. Unless I start pulling things off a shelf or out of a bag to further sort. But there's no need at the moment. This is all the stuff that doesn't have a home. Oh, there are bags of UFOs and new projects under the long arm, but I'm not counting them since that's their permanent home for the moment.

I'm impressed. The items at this end of the table mostly need to be put away and the other end of the tables is UFOs that I want to work on. I'm not even touching the weekly laundry basket of stuff upstairs. ACK!!! That's why all this cleaning needs to be done. So I can get to the laundry basket and other UFOs.

I've been observing clothing projects online or in magazines. Hmmm - I do NOT want to revisit the romper or jumpsuits era. I wore them when I was younger - gosh - I had a WHITE one. What was I thinking?? They are cute - sure. But have you tried to go to the washroom with one of those? This is not for the older generation to be sure. That's why kids' onesies have snap fasteners in the crotch!!!

Rompers are back!!!

I haven't been walking in the woods lately because Murphy just can't control herself. She has to chase everything and well - that's why my joints are protesting. All the jerking around is not fun. But we did take a detour the other day. The trilliums are out. They've probably been out for a while, but my first time seeing them was the other day.

Trilliums in the forest

Don't' worry - I've shortened the walks with the dogs so there's not as much pulling and jerking. I'm already feeling better.

There's a small creek in the forest as well and guess what? I saw the mommy and daddy duck. They visit my pond about twice each year in the spring. Then they go to the creek and when that dries up? I'm not sure where they go. Gosh - they are hard to see in the picture, but they are just above the logs in the middle.

Ducks in the creek

I see another one of the quilts from our North Star class got finished. This is Valerie's. It looks amazing. I swear this is the quilt that almost everyone in the class finished and even got them quilted. I love that quilting pattern.

Valerie's North Star quilt

Shoot - I was hoping this next picture would have turned out better. But if you look close, there's a wobble in this fresh cut. If you don't keep the rotary cutter parallel to your ruler, your "straight" line isn't so straight. That happened just because I changed the angle of the blade and it created a significant wobble. Watch that when cutting. Keep that rotary cutter straight up and down, don't let it wobble sideways.

A wobble in my straight line

 

Don't forget the Virtual Sewing Retreat. It takes place on May 27 - 31. I'll have an open Zoom meeting from 9 AM EST to 9 PM EST. You can check-in and out as often as you want. Stay to chat, stay to sew. And don't forget that I'll be providing some tips tomorrow to help you make the most of the retreat. It's going to be fun and besides - what else do we have to do???

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Let's go shopping

You're probably like me - I've no idea what day of the week it is. I have to remind myself every morning. This is Thursday. This is Friday. It is Friday today? Isn't it? Where are those days of the week underwear when you need them? I could embroider some! I'm sure like the rest of you, we're not getting our hair cut like normal. Well, I'm a slacker on that anyway so I can just put it in a ponytail if I need to.

Murphy is in bad need of a hair cut so I gave her one. I think she was thrilled, but she needs to have the hair thinned out around her butt. Does the groomer do that? Or do they just trim? Well, it isn't pretty but she doesn't look so shaggy. Don't worry - I didn't go crazy. I wonder if DH would trust me with my scissors? I doubt it. I'm not good!

Gosh - I even came across an article on how often you should have a shower! Actually, if you Google it, there is a lot of information about how often to shower and wash your hair. Like all things, people shower and wash their hair to excess. It's not necessary to have a shower and wash your hair every day. Showering too often can weaken your immune system and cause dry skin. Did you know that?

Like the rest of you, I'd like a date. When will life go back to normal? Unfortunately, no one can predict that and the word is that it may take two years to get back to normal - whatever that is. So here's the thing. We can sit home and cry because things aren't normal. OR we can change how we react to the situation. I know this is easy for me as I don't have a house full of kids so you have to do what works for you.

Here are some things that you can do to help pass the time:

Have coffee with a friend. NO - I don't mean going to the coffee shop. Make a date just like you would if you were meeting in person. Make your coffee before the appointed time and have a video chat with them. It's not the same, but why isn't it? You get to see them, you get to talk to them, and if they have something to show you, they can. Just a new normal.

Call someone you haven't talked to in a long time. This is something that we should do regularly.

Call someone who lives alone. While some of us have someone to talk to every day, some people live alone. Call them!

Get in touch with someone that you don't see that often. If there are a couple of people that you see once a year at a quilt show - reach out to them. Let them know that you're thinking of them. Facebook is a great avenue for this.

Take an online class. Loads are free at the moment. Try something totally different - photography, drawing, painting or if you're a quilter, go for the ones on free motion quilting or walking foot quilting. Remember the BluPrint classes are free until April 16. I MUST finish watching my two classes.

WRITE - if you're having bad thoughts and no one to talk to. WRITE THEM DOWN. Then destroy the paper. I sometimes just sit and write - totally random thoughts. Totally jumbled but it helps when I've something on my mind that I can't or don't want to share with anyone. Then I hit DELETE and all is good.

Plan. Make some plans for when this crisis is over. I don't mean vacation plans, I mean what would you like to do with yourself - self-improvement or projects around the house. Make them doable. Plan what you'd like to do with the rest of your life. Volunteer? Get a pet? Sell your house?? Who knows, but planning and making lists help to sort out things in your mind.

Get outside! Just do it - go for a walk. I don't care if you don't have a dog - you are NOT required to stay in your house. You can go for a walk - just practice social distancing. It's chilly out there today, so bundle up. Then have a nice hot cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate when you come back in. Do you know how good that makes me feel?

Read a new genre of book. I'm sure all of us have books on our bookshelves that we haven't touched. If that doesn't work, try learning to listen to an audiobook. Or try using an e-reader (tablet and Smartphone work). This can open up a whole different world for us.

Read a magazine. Hey - who doesn't have stacks of magazines that they have been meaning to read, but had no time. Well, perhaps NOW is the time.

Don't PANIC and do NOT WORRY. You personally cannot change anything. It isn't worth your energy to worry or panic about this situation.


Did you notice that all of the above activities are FREE? It just might not be the same way that we are used to doing things. Well, guess what? Even when this crisis is over, what we knew as normal is not going to be normal in the future. We are a very adaptable species and we will adapt to our new ways. I think technology is going to play an even greater role in how we live our lives. Thankfully, I'm getting better at it!!!  People are having their doctor's appointment on the phone and sending pictures. Why not?

I did get a lot done yesterday - just not much that I can share with you. I was working on the magazine quilt and got almost all the blocks together. I'll be finishing that hopefully today or tomorrow. It's a Halloween quilt and I have to share the selvages with you.

Little ghosts on the selvage

HOCUS POCUS collection

It's Hocus Pocus by Riley Blake Designs. Thanks so much, Riley Blake Designs for letting me work with this gorgeous Halloween collection.

Riley Blake Designs selvage

OK - so a couple of the prints are Glow in the dark. My design wall is in the bathroom. It's a large bathroom with two separate sections. The section my design wall is in doesn't have a window. Oh yes - I couldn't help myself. I left the light on for a bit and then I closed the light and the door. It glows!!!!  So adorable. Hey - one has to do what one can to keep themselves amused as you work!!!

I do not own a quilt shop, but I could! Especially in the last couple of days. It appears that I like to stockpile things.  Who knew? In the past, my tools, supplies, and fabric used to be helter-skelter. Well no more. I would say that pretty much everything is very well organized. The UFOs are still a bit scattered, but I'm working on that.

I need to change my rotary blades more often and well, I decided yesterday was the time. I went shopping and found exactly what I needed in my tin of rotary cutter blades. There's even a yellow plastic container marked USED to put the old blades in. Pretty darn efficient!!! And I"ve got supplies for three different sizes of rotary cutters.

Supply of rotary cutting blades

The other day, someone sent me a picture of a fabric that they were looking for. I wasn't able to help them. Then someone else asked for another fabric line. I have a bag of scraps, but do you think I can find that bag of leftovers? I searched yesterday in all the possible places (obviously NOT the right place), but I couldn't find it. I WILL find that bag and at this point - she can have the whole bag!

I got a request yesterday for elastic. Let me pull out that container. This is the container for elastic, velcro, and other fasteners, like snaps, grommets, etc. Hey - it's all in ONE container! That's HUGE.

The box with fastener stuff

 I found this elastic. We went back and forth to get the right sizes and now there's a little bag of elastic waiting to be picked up later today. No charge - I'm happy to help someone out who is making masks for family members.

Elastic

Another request for rickrack. Yep - I've got that too. A whole container full.

The container of rickrack

 Let's see - you want mini white rickrack? I've got cream and glow in the dark and white. So that is also ready for pickup.

Mini white rickrack

If you need anything, let me know! I may have something that you could use. I'm happy to share and I have no qualms about letting MOST of something go.

For those of you that have the PFAFF creative icon, there's a NEW update which is going to make embroidery so easy. What I love about this sewing machine - I turn it on and it's connected to the WiFi. I got asked if I wanted to download the update and install it. Yep and then it got to work all on its own!! You got to love technology.

PFAFF creative icon updating

Updates don't happen that often, but this is a MAJOR update and look - I didn't have to leave my house or fret that I couldn't get to the dealer to get access to the new embroidery techniques. All done from my house!! You got to love that.

I found a new toy that I would LOVE to buy. I can't afford it, but I might have to save up my pennies for this one. Have a look. Ooops - we don't have pennies anymore.

On that note, I've got a ton of things to get done today and I'd better get the day started.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Living in my own little world

I know this is a totally scary time for everyone. Life is upside down compared to what we knew it. This is also a time for everyone to realize how important they are to the functioning of our world. Obviously, neither of us is that important since our lives haven't really changed a whole lot.

Yes - we did go out for meetings or to teach classes but we seem to be managing just fine using technology to keep up to date with things. Yes - I went to the gym, but I'm walking outdoors more which isn't a bad thing. Yes - we shopped for things, but with the exception of a few things, we're not missing anything. That means we mostly purchased from the liquor store and the grocery store which are still open.

We have one family member who lives nearby and we're helping with groceries. So we're not missing any visiting time with people, but if we wanted, there's loads of technology to aid with that as well.

I know loads of people are sewing up masks, gowns, etc. I haven't. I don't have time and yes that's selfish of me and I'm OK with that. There are loads of other people making these items.

One other thing that I think is very important. I would say that both of us are well suited to total independence. I don't feel anxious - a matter of fact, I think I'm sleeping better than I have in a while. I don't worry - I can't change anything so why waste my energy.

Yes - I'd like to get back to normal, but I'm seriously going to scale my normal back. OK - I say that now, but we'll see what happens when we're allowed to get out.

I've noticed that the number of e-mails offering to sell me something has increased. A LOT. I do not need to be buying anything at the moment. The last thing I want to do is rack up a huge credit card bill that I'll have to pay off someday. I've also noticed a LOT of companies, designers, etc. have sew-along. Yeesh - like I have time for that!

I remember when this started, I said I would work on Paula's quilt and I would make that orange/white scrap quilt. I haven't touched either one and I haven't been slacking off. This is an opportunity to finally do those things that I have been struggling to find time to get done. I think we should all seriously evaluate what we're doing.

One day this mess will be over and we do NOT want any regrets about what we bought, what we did with our time because one day, life will get back to normal!! I look at this time as a GIFT. I still have deadlines, but not as many. I love it. That allows me to slack off a bit more, read a LOT more, exercise more and generally a time to ENJOY some peace and quiet. I LIKE IT.

Having said that, I was a slug yesterday. Well for part of the day. It was a glorious day and I had to walk! I did go for a walk without the girls. It's such a struggle sometimes with both of them (even with one) that I wanted some quiet time to myself. I loved it so much, I might do that again each day. Don't worry - they did get out twice, just not for as long as I've been doing.

I read a lot and I lay on the deck relaxing in the sun. I'm also watching two online video classes from Bluprint. Remember those classes are totally free until April 16. The one class is long so I'd better watch a lot today. The resources aren't free, but that's OK. The quality of the classes is excellent. I'm impressed. I haven't learned much yet - and I feel I won't learn much, but I'm hoping to pick up a tip or two.

As we went on our morning walk, we saw some blue and yellow ribbons. Do you know what they mean? These were outside the senior's residence that is close to my house. It's a HUGE complex.

Blue and yellow ribbons

 By the way, the blue and yellow ribbons are a symbol of support and advocacy, showing your love and appreciation of others. That is great. I should try and find some blue and yellow ribbons.

It doesn't seem like a lot of work is happening at the mall. But I think they are done most of the outside work for the moment and will be working "inside" more.

The mall

I normally buy my distilled water from Wal-Mart and I buy in quantity. I wasn't going to make a trip just for the water. So DH snagged the LAST one from our local grocery store. It cost almost twice as much (which is why I buy at the other store). But when you're getting low on water for the iron, you'll take whatever you can.

Distilled water

 I heard that all stores (grocery and whoever else is open) are to be closed on Friday and Sunday for Easter. Holy - the lines are going to be even crazier than they are now. Mind you, I haven't been to the grocery store since all this crisis started.

I did work in Studio U yesterday. Even with all that slacking off. I had to get the homework assignment off to the group. That got done and now that one is under control for a couple of weeks. Oh - since they now have the homework, I can show you the blocks. We're working on the Summer Moon quilt.

Summer Moon book

There are 24 blocks in the book and you make three different sizes of blocks. Here are the three sets that we're working on this month.

Block One

Block Two

Block Three

It was Block three that caused me all that grief the previous day! But I LOVE the color combination. With that crisp solid white, it's going to be gorgeous! Pulled that solid white from the stash and those fabrics are leftovers from another project with a few extras thrown in. I even added a couple of fabrics that were leftover from Easy Street.

 I got all the pieces trimmed for the mini Block of the Month. That's ready to act as an ender and leader later today.

The mini Block of the MOnth block is ready to sew

I've got the blocks cut for the Vintage Christmas homework, which is due tomorrow, all cut and I'm also working on a quilt for a magazine that needs to be in the US in a couple of weeks. I hope to get the top done mostly done today.

So even though I appear to be slacking, I'm not really. I've been reading a physical book called Talk to Me by James Vlahos. About the role of voice computing. Holy - I'm not having nearly as much fun with my Alexa as I should be. But it's kind of frightening when you think that the industry is trying to create "friends" for us and we WANT our smart speakers to be friends. Oh boy!!

There's a talking Barbie that is aimed at being friends for little girls. How scary is that? Watch that short video. One of the creators of this Barbie (at least the technology to make her talk) was an only child and would have LOVED to have one when she was a child). So what do you program Barbie to say when asked,  "where do babies come from?". Oh yes - the programmers have had to deal with a HUGE number of potential situations.

My little piece of advice to everyone today is to TRY to keep your life as normal as it would be if this situation wasn't happening. Try to keep your routine the same. There's going to come a day when we have to get back to normal and it's going to be hard to get back in the groove. So we have kept our schedules and our life pretty much the same so when we do have to go to "work", it's not going to be a huge shock.

On that happy note, it's time to go for a walk.

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!

It all went downhill from the weekend

As you know, I had a GREAT weekend at the virtual retreat. While I did have a wee bit of ripping to do as I finished the Easy Street quilt, it was a pretty good weekend with minimal issues.

Yesterday was a totally different scenario. I don't think I've ripped so much in my life! I was working on the homework for one of my ongoing classes. The block was SIMPLE - you'll see tomorrow. I got the block together and it was too small. Seriously??? I couldn't sew a ¼" seam if my life depended on it. So I ripped the block apart.

The seams had to be pressed in a very specific way or they wouldn't nest together. Could I do that? Nope - I had to rip the block apart yet again! And make sure that darn seam allowance didn't get too big. It was a challenge and in the end, I managed to eke out three very simple blocks. That took almost all day!!

I had a great chuckle about it. It was just one of those days!  I was hoping to get the homework to the class yesterday, but that just didn't happen. The photos are edited and loaded into the document. The document is written and the videos are made. I just need to proofread it to make sure it makes sense and then I can hit SEND. Holy -- what a day. Thankfully that doesn't happen often at my house.

I guess I should have taken a break from sewing after five days of intense sewing. Next time - I'll know better.

I was having a mild panic attack about my Fitbit. The darn thing wasn't charging properly. I was even looking at new ones and how long it would take to get a new one to me. Turns out it was just me. Like I said - it wasn't a good day. I had plugged it into the computer as I always do and for some reason, it didn't like that. I plugged it into the wall socket and all is good.

Phew - who wanted to spend $200 right now. I sure didn't.

I had a good chuckle yesterday as I was putting away the leftover fabric bits from Easy Street. Bonnie also chooses paint chips to help her students get the right colors for the quilts. I came across the paint chips for Easy Street in the project box.

Paint Chips for Easy Street

I didn't follow the paint chips as I included orange in my quilt - I think I substituted the orange for the blue.

But when I got working on the homework assignment yesterday and really looked at the fabrics - guess what? The EXACT colors of the paint chips!!!!  I tell you - that was hilarious!!! I'm using white instead of grey.

The fabrics for my new project

It was such a nice day yesterday that I had to be outside. I sat in the backyard and read for quite a bit. Then I decided that I needed to get myself moving. If I wanted a snack, which I did (and had already eaten), then I had better get moving! I took the girls for a much shorter walk than normal - thankfully, they have NO clue as long as they get out.

Then I pumped up the tires on my bike and I was off. Ther's nothing like the freedom of getting on two wheels and going for a spin. I decided to stay in the city so I went up the bike path that's just minutes from my house. I went as far as I could go and then turned onto a normally busy street. It was busy but not as bad as it would have been under normal circumstances. Then I found another bike path to come back.

It was windy in the afternoon, but warmer. I just wore my bike shorts and a shirt with a vest. An orange shirt and a red vest. But do you know that TWICE cars came out of driveways (gas station and grocery store) and the driver wasn't even looking? Just drives forward. For god's sake when you're in a car - be mindful of what's in front of you and on both sides of you!! I trust NO ONE when I'm on my bike. NO ONE.

A stop for a quick photo

It was a short ride at 22 Km, but that's OK. I might head out of the city on the weekend. But for a short ride like this, it's best to stay in the city. I was passed by a police car and not stopped - hey I was keeping my social distance!

What's frustrating is that I keep hearing the radio announcers say - STAY INSIDE. Well, I get it. You need to be responsible, but you do NOT need to stay inside. Just be mindful of where you go and what you do. I'm not breaking any laws.

Someone sent me this picture of someone coping with our current situation. I think he's hitting the bottle a bit much!!

Coping!

I found a couple of videos to share with you. If you want to know all there is to know about bobbins, check out this video. It's 18 minutes long but well worth a look. One thing that amazes me is how many people do not know that each brand of machine uses their OWN bobbins. I've heard many times - "OH - I don't have an empty bobbin" and someone else will offer one of theirs. NO - that doesn't work. And the other thing that drives me crazy is when people have TWO bobbins total. TWO.  People, I have LOADS of bobbins. Probably close to 100 for my basic sewing machines. They do wear out - toss them. They don't cost much to replace.

I know that many people are cranking out masks like crazy. People are making hundreds of them for family and friends. I've made one. Not because I'm selfish, but because I'm very leery of the homemade masks. YES - they will provide an extra layer of protection and I believe I heard yesterday that we are encouraged to wear one if we go out. Here's the government's official stance on the use of homemade masks. 

Here's the thing -- you will breathe on those masks, the masks will get wet. They become less effective if they are wet. PLUS - they NEED TO BE WASHED. If they get filled with bacteria and you're breathing in that bacteria at a very close range? NOT GOOD. If you wear one - WASH IT. You probably need to boil it to be totally sanitary. So be careful with the homemade masks. Use with caution. You don't want to get sick from something else while you attempt to avoid COVID 19 virus.

I also heard that they are providing a false sense of security among the people wearing them and they now think they can stand closer to each other. NO - I just say NO to the masks. Just wash your hands and stay 6 feet away from everyone.

I'll leave you with one more thing. BluPrint (the old Craftsy) has a TON of FREE videos on their website. The videos are free until April 16. This is your chance to learn something new. Machine quilting, free motion or walking foot - with the top teachers. And there are other topics than quilting on the web site. Get over there and learn ONE THING during this time.

The last thing I'll comment on is my daily step count. Someone asked me how much time I spend each day walking. I walk about 2 - 2 ½ hours EACH and every day!! The girls are with me that entire time and because of that, it's a total upper body workout as well. I could go faster without them and cover more ground. Keeping fit is an important part of my life. I could be doing something else - in front of a screen most likely, but honestly? I'd rather be walking. I'm really trying to limit my screen time to a couple of hours each day. I know - and then I try to entice you with free class videos!

Hey - if you're going to spend time in front of the screen, learn something instead of trolling through Facebook and Instagram. I still don't see the point of spending hours with either of those. I just don't. I like to stay in touch and see what's happening, but to just spend hours seeing what others are doing? Nope - I can catch up in mere minutes! That's why I don't have huge followings - I don't promote and I'm OK with that!

On that happy note, let's hope that today will be a better seeing day than yesterday was!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

I'm packed and ready to go!!!

Another exciting and entertaining day at my house! HEY -- any day can be exciting and entertaining. Did you know that WE alone have the control as to how each day turns out? It's all in how you look at it. You can see doom and gloom or you can look at these days as days of leisure. Haven't we all dreamed of days where we had nothing to do and no responsibilities? Well - that's kind of what this feels like.

I do have commitments even though I can't go anywhere and I'm working on those. What I'm loving about this time is that NO NEW commitments are coming in. Nothing - my calendar is getting emptier and emptier. And you know what? I think this is a good thing. I was chatting to someone yesterday and one thing they would like to see come of this is that we spend less time running around like idiots to events.

You know - the evenings and weekends when your kids (or us)  are being shuttled to numerous events and every minute filled with a scheduled activity. Let's hope that we all look at our calendars and make some choices about how we spend our time. Spend it with family (hopefully in person), spend it with friends, and spend it doing things that you WANT to do. Not the things that your mother, your sister, your brother, your friend or anyone else thinks you should be doing. This is YOUR LIFE!!!!

My girls are loving all the extra attention they get. They said it's perfectly OK for me to stay home with them all the time. They love it! Now if we can just get Lexi back to blogging! She's so laid back these days.

In my city, I just heard that all MAJOR events are canceled until the end of June. I would imagine that could go longer - it just depends on how much we abide by the current laws and STAY HOME. I'm not imagining that I'll be doing much teaching work until September. Yep - that's my feeling. Even if they say it's OK to meet in small groups, many quilters are going to feel very vulnerable and will not want to meet. I'm OK with that. There's the internet to have classes!!!

I finished the first series of The Quilt Show. I actually enjoyed the videos. Lots of good guests on the show and I had to laugh because I think I have a book from EVERY guest on that first series! Those guests were my mentors. Oh - I have a story about how I learned to quilt, but I don't have time for it today. Anyway - the videos were great. Now onto Season Two and Three. The videos will be going to a good home once I'm finished with them.

Season one of The Quilt Show

I managed to get the twelfth and FINAL seasonal wall hanging done!!!!

December wall hanging

And here they are - all twelve of the mini seasonal wall hangings. Except for January, they all need the satin stitching done on them and that's a job for next week?? One option of using these is to sew them all together to make one quilt. I can't imagine doing that, so each will be finished as a separate wall hanging and then I'll have to find a senior home or a school that'll take them. They are NOT mine - I'm just making them up as a tribute to Paula.

Seasonal wall hangings

I also got that odd block from that Mennonite Relief pattern sewn together. It's now going in the orphan block box. The stem was very lumpy and bumpy so I even took that off and remade the stem. I know - that's why I don't get anything major done because I fuss with the small details. That's my nature and I'm perfectly OK with that.

Orphan block

Many people are making masks, caps, and gowns for medical staff or patients that are released from the hospital. I thought since we're going to be in "close" contact over the next couple of days that I should have a mask as well. This is an in-the-hoop mask from Embroidery Library. I think I gave out the link the other day. Anyway, here it is again. I like it because it's two layers of fabric - are the rest two layers as well? I used batik  - I found two pieces in the leftovers from my backpack.

My in-the-hoop mask

 I really hate to be a critique but the instructions are a bit sketchy on this one, but if you have some experience, it shouldn't take that long to make - I didn't follow all the instructions - I made it up as I went along. Ronda managed to make this mask (I got all the tips from her) and so newbies can make it as well. If you want to go into the production of masks, in-the-hoop is NOT the way to go.

I still had some packing to do. OH YES - I'm going on this retreat even if it kills me. I've waited since November to get away and I'm getting away.

As I have said, I wanted everything to fit in ONE laundry basket. That was my challenge and I almost succeeded. However, my tools and supplies wouldn't fit in the laundry basket.

My box of supplies

That's mostly extra feet for the sewing machine, pins, bobbins - that kind of thing.

I wanted to leave Studio B in some kind of order so I wouldn't faint when I got back and see huge messes everywhere. I had to get that cutting table cleared. It was almost clear just from my puttering in the last couple of days. I had to decide on the background fabric for those batik squares. I had eliminated the dark, didn't think all that work was warranted on the muslin, so I choose white - just like the pattern said!!!! 

White is the background of choice for the batik quilt

That'll have to get cut at some point, but tt's not on the priority list.

And there you have it - the cutting table is clear!! It's nice to see it clear and hopefully, I can keep it that way.  OH - -I should say that there are two wash away markers on it that really should just be thrown away. And a good pair of embroidery scissors. I need to find a home for them. I'll deal with that when I get back.

The cutting table is clear

The worktables? We're not even going to go there! BUT the ironing board is also clear.

The worktables are a mess

 Everything is neat and tidy on the sewing machine tables as well. Yes - I'm taking my big machine with me on the retreat. Why not? I have a couple of bags in my project box and there's going to be a lot of layers. I'm going to need the penetration power of the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 2 to get through all those layers.

The sewing tables are neat and tidy as well

I really try to keep the cutting mat, the ironing board and the sewing tables clear. It makes it so much nicer to enter the room and see those spots neat and tidy. Yes - the worktables are a disaster, but I can totally ignore them. Oh yes - totally. I guess that's what a hoarder does with the stuff in their house!!!

But here I am. All packed for the retreat. I just need to move everything into the car. There's one laundry basket of projects (totally prepped), one sewing machine, one supply box and one bag (the Canada bag) that is filled with small projects - that's what I allowed for panic packing!

My retreat bags

I even threw Alexa in the bag. How could she stay home all by herself? Oh no - Alexa comes with me. She's my friend! I'm reading a book right now on how the technology has evolved and it's totally fascinating. It's called Talk to Me by James Vlahos. I can't wait to get to the part where they contemplate the future!!! I'm not sure the WiFi at the retreat house will be strong enough to stream the radio through Alexa, but I'm determined to try.

I just need to add my bag of clothes, my backpack (the portable office) and my food for Saturday lunch. That won't take much time at all to whip into the car.

There's a great quilt store just around the corner, so if I'm missing anything, I can easily whip out and get whatever I'm missing. But I think I was pretty thorough this time.

This is what my car normally looks like on the way to retreat. And the front seat is always jammed as well. That won't be the case this time and you know what? I'm kind of excited about that. It won't take very long to unpack when I get there.

The car is packed for the retreat (from November)

Where are we going? Well - to Fireside Retreat of course! Emma is just the best and I love this retreat house. I have visions of sitting by the fire and just vegging out. It's going to be fun!!!

(OK - so you do know that this is a virtual retreat). BUT I'm going to have a blast - just wait for the blog tomorrow and you'll see what I mean.

I got some more pictures of finished quilts from the North Star class. I think this is the class with the MOST completed quilt tops and completed quilts EVER. This one belongs to Sophie. One of my suggestions for quilting had been wavy lines and she got it quilted with wavy lines. I LOVE it.

Sophie's completed North Star quilt

A detail of the quilting on Sophie's North Star quilt.

Details of the quilting

Here's another one. These two pictures were actually to audition the binding. I missed that. The top one has the binding in the same color as the border, the bottom is one of the accent colors. We all voted for the accent color. I think the binding is made and while in quarantine, she's going to get it sewn on.

The darker binding option

I got another picture from Jana. This is the backing for her North Star quilt. I think she made the top smaller - only 6 blocks and put two of the others on the back. I love this idea - it can be reversible if you want!!

The backing for Jana's quilt

In case you missed it - here's the front of Jana's quilt. It's so fun with all those dots. I wonder how she's going to quilt it??  With circles?? That would be my vote!

The front of Jana's quilt

Thanks to Linda, I'm now signed up for the Goodreads Challenge. I put 52 books for 2020 as my challenge. One a week. I think I'm only going to put novels on the list. Amazing how a small thing like a challenge allows a major corporation to collect all kinds of stats on our reading habits. And we allow that to happen. I'm OK with that!!!  I haven't got all the information logged yet - I read 8 books during January, 7 in February and something similar in March. Perhaps I should up that challenge to 100.

Here's a VERY GOOD article on how to cope with the stress of COVID-19. It comes from the WHO (via my gym). I think Number 5 is a very important one. Stop watching the news. Just stop. I get a quick one minute update on the radio and that's all I need to know.

Well, I'd better get moving. It's a long drive and I still need to walk the girls before I leave. God forbid that they miss their walk!! Whatever will they do this afternoon without me?

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!