Giving Tuesday

When I booked the pillowcase sewing day a couple of months ago, I had NO idea that I booked it on Giving Tuesday. Yes - Giving Tuesday is a real day! Trying to counter all the hype of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There's even a website for the day!  Who knew? Anyway - it was a perfect time and I think I'm going to book the date for 2020 to do the same. In case you want to book the date - it's December 1st. It's already on my calendar.

Not only was it a day of giving, but it was a day of sharing. We had many laughs yesterday and it's a day I'll remember for a long time. And even better, I (and several others) was able to reduce the size of the stash by a wee bit.

So how did this all come about? A while back, I received an e-mail from Claudia, who is the Coordinator for the Toronto Chapter of Ryan's Case for Smiles. She must have found my blog and noticed what we've been doing for the Community Projects with quilts. She asked if we wanted to make pillowcases. I did ignore the first e-mail. Not really an ignore, but rather no time to answer it or think about it. She e-mailed me again. Hmm - maybe we can do something with this. I booked the date, sent out a notice and I got volunteers.

While I did go through two buckets of fabric, there were fabric donations from Nancy, Rose, Ronda, and Sophie. Jan donated some thread. What a team! Any of the fabric that was donated had to be washed and ironed. Hey - there's only so much prep work that I can do by myself. Then I proceeded to cut 100 pillowcase kits. Once I got into the groove, it wasn't so bad. I ended up with two boxes of prepped pillowcase kits. I had to wash more fabric to help match up some towards the end.

I had Studio B all prepped - two sewing machines, three sergers, two ironing stations, a station for cleaning up the serger tails and several for pinning. The first person arrived shortly after 8 AM and the rest came in when they could make it. I believe there were 12 of us involved in the day.

So what happened?? Have a look....................

It took a bit to get people settled into their jobs and they were told they could switch, but no one did. Once all the stations got filled and no person had to move around, we became a machine!

Here's the pinning area.

Pinning the bands to the pillowcase bodies

Here are the two pinners. This is Sophie's hands. And lovely hands they are!

Sophie at the pinning station

Loretta was the second pinner.

Loretta pinning the pillowcases

We had two sewing machines going. Nancy, Rose, Diane, Ronda, and Shelly manned the sewing machines at various times during the day.

Rose is manning one of the machines

While some of them had serious faces when I snapped the photos. HEY - there was no time for posing with a smile. We had a job to do and if you didn't keep up, the next person was waiting. It was hilarious. I'm not sure anyone even took a bathroom break! But Nancy obviously had time for a quick smile when I snapped this picture.

Nancy at the other sewing machine

Shelly - we would have been lost without her. She was the serger supervisor and well, she's a jack of all trades. Once we had two pinners, the two sewing machines couldn't keep up, so I whipped out another sewing machine for her to operate. She was tucked into the corner with a sewing machine AND a serger. She was happy!

Shelly with TWO machines

Before the pillowcase was serged, the body was pulled out of the band and pressed. Here's John (Rose's husband) doing the honors. He's got a pretty mean ironing hand! DH was shocked that we had husbands here. Perhaps he was a little jealous??? I loved it because as Rose finished sewing, she tossed the pillowcase across the room to John so he could turn it! Very efficient!

John turning the band inside out 

There were three sergers going. Here's Diane at one of the sergers.

Diane serging the pillowcases

Here's Shelly who had nowed moved back to the serger. Great - that thread stand is centered right in the middle of her eyes. I couldn't have planned that any better (or worse).

Shelly serging

So here's a better picture. As I said - we all had many, many great laughs.

Shelly has a good laugh at something

After the pillowcases were serged, they went to Kathi, who tucked in the ends of the serger thread. OK - so that damn efficient Shelly did that too! Of course at the beginning, until all the stations were manned - some of us had to do several jobs. Diane was sewing, then serging and did a lot of pressing as well (as did Shelly).

Kathi - tucking in the ends of the serger thread

Once they left Kathi's station, the pillowcases were turned inside out. Here's Ronda doing a magnificent job of that.

Ronda turning the pillowcases inside out

Then they came to me - I was the final presser! I folded the pillowcases and they got put in a pile on the table. Of course, there's no picture of me pressing because I was taking the pictures.

Here's the main set of work tables. Notice that there's nothing extra on the table. We were very focused.

Pretty intense assembly line

As we worked that pile of pillowcases grew. First, there were five.

Five completed pillowcases

 Of course, at any given, the actual number was always higher because there were many in various stages of completion around the room.

Then there were 45 completed pillowcases. I think we hit 50 right around lunchtime.

Forty-five pillowcases are completed

 By this time, we were a full complement and everyone had the full hang of their job. The rest went fast.

72 finished pillowcases

Then there were ninety finished pillowcases.

90 completed pillowcases

As we drew near the end, we decided to follow the last pillowcase through the various stations.

Here's Sophie opening the LAST pillowcase kit.

Opening the last pillowcase kit

It got pinned and was waiting to be sewn together.

The last pillowcase waiting to be sewn

Here's Nancy sewing up the first seam on the band.

Sewing up the first seam on the pillowcase band

 I think it went back to Loretta to pin the second seam of the band. That's a tricky one so best to pin it to avoid any issues. 

Pinning the second seam on the pillowcase band

Rose then took over and sewed that second seam.

Rose sewing the second seam

Ronda turned the band inside out.

Ronda turning the band inside out

Over to John to give that band a press.

John pressing the pillowcase band

 Then it got bounced to Shelly for the serging.

Shelly serging the last pillowcase

WAIT!!!!!  Shortly before this point, we took a count of what we had done. I knew we had 100 kits, but Pat (from Orillia) had given me a bag of finished pillowcases and I thought there were 17 in the bag. Rose brought two completed kits and we had pulled one more kit that Rose had brought so we could make the total donation equal 120 pillowcases. It was discovered that there were only 16 in the bag that Pat had given me. So we very quickly had to make up one more pillowcase BEFORE I could press this last one! It was hilarious as most of the machines had already been turned off. HEY - who turns off a sewing machine? I leave them on all the time. Well - when I'm working. I guess they thought we were done!

Anyway, we were soon back on track and at last, I could press the LAST of our 100 pillowcases.

That's me pressing the LAST pillowcase

There it is - the 100th pillowcase in one day. FOLDED and FINISHED. We finished at 1:30 PM.

The last pillowcase - DONE

There they are - all 100 pillowcases that were sewn in one day (actually, we sewed 102, but who's counting).

100 pillowcases

OMG -- it was the BEST day ever!!!!  A HUGE THANK YOU to all who came out or donated items. The day was perfect!!! One that I'll remember for a long time.

Here's the gang (or most of us) in front of the total donation of 120 pillowcases. Thanks to Pat for donating 16 and Rose for her two pillowcases and with our 102 - that rounded out to 120.

What a TEAM!!!!!

Claudia, the rep for the Toronto Chapter of Ryan's Case for Smiles showed up and she took all the pillowcases with her. They'll be donated soon to the local hospitals in the GTA.

Pillowcases packed up and ready to go

I want to thank Claudia for being persistent. It was so wonderful to be able to give back to the community in this way and knowing that we'll bring a smile to a child who is stuck in the hospital. Well, it doesn't get any better than that.


After everyone left I took stock of the situation. You see, Rose and Nancy both brought kits. And I have a tub of fabric to be cut. I counted - there are TWENTY-FOUR kits ready to go for the next session and I must have enough fabric for another 25?????  That's a huge start for the next session. I did say June, but I like the fact of doing it on Giving Tuesday.

Pillowcase kits and fabric for the next round

As I was working at the cutting table this morning, I saw this magnet on my board. Actually two magnets. I think they are very appropriate. While I'm won't forget self completely, I look at this process in several ways.

Magnets on my bulletin board

Think of your stash. Think about how long it takes to make a project. A LONG TIME. Think about how much longer you're going to live. Do you have time to use up all your stash? Of course, you don't! That's how I'm now looking at my stash. There's way more fabric there than I'll ever use even if I sewed 100% of the time until I can no longer sew.

I have certain parts of the stash set aside for the community quilts that we're working on, but I've decided to dig through my stash and remove what can be used for pillowcases. I'm not going to go through the entire stash NOW, I'm going to work my way through it. But this is a FAST - I mean FAST way to make a dent in your stash.

So as Christmas is approaching, why not think about how you can give back to your community and DESTASH at the same time. What I love about yesterday - it was the most fun I've ever had to get rid of fabric. I could have donated it, but big deal. Surrounded by friends and sewing and destashing - it just doesn't get any better than that.

Here's your homework assignment. Think about your stash. If you have pieces of fabric that would work - (check these guidelines), and you do NOT want it, think about donating it for a cause like this. If the print is directional - you need 43" of fabric before washing. That will yield one band and one pillowcase body. If the print is non-directional, then 1 meter (39") will yield one body and one band.

Even better - why not volunteer a couple of hours so you can see your fabric being made into pillowcases. I heard so many "oh my - that's so cute" during the day, I thought I was going to have to frisk everyone as they left to make sure that no pillowcases went missing. I'd be happy to help out. Got a group and have no space? Talk to me - I could provide space if you're interested.

I must say that after everyone left, I kind of felt empty! It was such a whirlwind day! I can hardly wait until the next time, but until then, I'll be destashing and cutting!

Again - a HUGE thank-you to everyone who came out yesterday and those who donated finished items or supplies. All of it was very much appreciated!



Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Monday sewing

I've been taking applique or embroidery to Monday sewing and frankly - I can't do it all day. I get bored and that makes me sleepy. I thought it might be the sitting all day but nope - it's the applique. Note to self - try to avoid ALL hand applique in the future! Unless the project is small. I have a couple more hand applique projects to finish and I might just switch to machine applique. I can do the prep there but stitch at home. Something to think about as I get stuff organized for 2020.

So for the next FIVE weeks, this is what's on my schedule.

Number of speaking engagements: ZERO
Number of classes to teach: 2 (short ones), possibly 3
Community projects sewing days: 2, possibly 3 (including today)
Number of Sit n Sews: 2 (that's the official sit n sew days)
Road trip: 1 (it's just a one-day thing)
UFO club: one time (includes pizza lunch!)
Dentist appointment: 1
Monday sewing days: 2 (one includes a pot luck lunch)
Customer quilts to quilt? LOTS


That's it! There are no Christmas dinner parties or running around like mad for shopping. The rest of the time is mine to do with as I please. That doesn't mean that I don't have a lot of things to do, but it means that I actually have the time to sit and do them at my leisure. I also have time to just relax. I so enjoy the Christmas season for that very reason. Around our house - all things are calm and quiet.

Speaking of calm and quiet - Studio B is ready! The pillowcase kits are cut. All is calm and quiet at the moment.

Studio B is ready

This is the prep area. The pillowcase bodies will be pinned to the bands at these two stations.

Prepping stations

Then the bands will be sewn to the bodies. I must find two more pincushions which I don't think I have so the pins can go in and back to the prep area. Oh yes - those lucky volunteers get to sew on those top of the line sewing machines today!!! The machines are turned on, threaded and have extra bobbins wound. Thanks to Jan for donating some thread to the cause! Much appreciated.

Sewing machines ready

This is the serging area where the side and bottom of the pillowcases will be serged. There are three sergers. All are threaded and tested, ready to go. Two are air threading sergers and one is not! Guess which one I did NOT like threading. But I'm getting good at threading so within a half-hour (more or less) all three sergers were ready to go.

Three serging stations

And last but not least, are two ironing stations.

Two ironing stations

And there's a finishing station where the ends of the serger thread will be tucked in. A bit overkill perhaps since there are 10 stations and about 12 of us in total, and not everyone will be here at the same time, but I wanted to have a place for everyone in the event, everyone is here at the same time - which is likely to happen between 10 and 12. We'll be rotating the jobs so no one gets bored.

How long will it take to make 100 pillowcases???? I have to say that I'm kind of excited about the day. And we MUST MUST MUST remember - this is about quality, not quantity. If we don't finish in one day - we don't finish.

Yesterday was all about Bob Ross and there's one thing I forgot to mention. You can buy just about any kind of Bob Ross merchandise. Go ahead - do a Google search on Bob Ross merchandise. OK - I saved you some time. Just click on that link! There's tons of stuff. Anyway, at the retreat, Lynn was telling us about a Bob Ross item that her daughter had purchased. How cute! And so guess what? I now have my own Bob Ross Chia Pet!!!!

Bob Ross chia pet

Isn't that hilarious!!!!  Thanks, Lynn - I have it out now and hope to get it going! I'm not the best with live green things but I'm willing to give it a whirl. I'll keep you up to date on its progress.

I shoveled the driveway yesterday morning and while I was doing that, I warmed up my car so I could chip the ice off the windows. There was almost a ½" of ice! Thankfully, it didn't take long to chip it off after running the car for a wee bit.

I did chip all the ice off the front steps in the afternoon when I got home from Monday sewing. The driveway is still snow-covered, but not icy - I already checked this morning, so the sewists should be just fine today.

I took some non-applique handwork that needed to be done. During the remainder of this year, I'm going to try and finish things. As many things as I possibly can. So that means, I'll be focusing on small things. And I've got a LOT of small things. Zippered pouches, bags and who knows what else I'll unearth. I can't wait to have my own private Sit n Sew days! I love my friends, but I also treasure my solitude.

I started by taking the two placemats that I bought at the dollar store apart. I like the inside of my zippered pouches to be finished so by taking them apart, I can add a bit more interfacing and have all the seams inside. The placemats are the perfect size for a zippered pouch. And there's NO waste. I've got to find zippers.

Two placemats are taken apart 

I trimmed all the thread and removed the stabilizer from my 3-D gingerbread house. Now my PRE-FAB gingerbread pieces are ready for assembly next week. Oh yes - I have to tell you the story of the gingerbread house, but not today.

Gingerbread house components are ready for assembly

I have to say that I'm very happy (and getting very comfortable) with using my iPad as my manual and instructions. The instructions for the gingerbread house? They're on the iPad. The manual for that non-air-threading serger that I had to thread this morning? It's also on the iPad. Now here's the beauty of that. When I had to see the diagram up close to identify the thread path - it was super easy to enlarge the diagram on the iPad.

I'm so glad that I've moved over to the iPad for as many things as I can. And I'll continue to do so. Guess what? It cuts down on the amount of paper that I print. It cuts down on the amount of paper that I can lose. And it cuts down on the amount of paper that becomes precious to me and that I feel compelled to save in a pile in the office.

Using the iPad is a win-win-win for me. I truly wish there was a better filing system though. It sucks and I'll be writing a letter with suggestions to Apple soon. Seriously - ask people who use the darn thing and NOT just for books. The stuff I'm saving is .pdf files. They need a good filing system for .pdfs!

The last thing I accomplished yesterday on Monday sewing was to get these two geckos trimmed and stuffed. (Not an easy task!) They are an in-the-hoop project done on the embroidery machine. They're super cute. All my other ones ran away so I needed to get these two done. All that remains is to sew up the seam along the tummy area (by machine) and I'll try to get that done in the next couple of days.

Two geckos - almost done

So you see - I'm being super productive with my time. That doesn't mean that I don't spend the evening being a slug in my chair reading. I do every single night (that I'm home) and I love it!

I think I mentioned this craft case last week? It's a great case and Lynn managed to snag one for me. Thanks, Lynn!!!!  These were at Wal-Mart, but not my Wal-Mart. For some reason at this particular location, the cases were $2. Yes - someone made a goof because Lynn price-checked another location and they were $10!!!!  I think I'm getting another one from Liz - that's OK - I think it's going to make a great travel case for sewing supplies and I might just keep one for home as well. Sorry - if you're looking for more - Lynn bought the last two on the shelf at the lower price.

Great sewing case

I'll be filling it next week so you can see it in more detail. But I think it's great and a HUGE thanks to Liz who alerted us to the case and to the special price.

On that note, I'm out of here.

We've got pillowcases to make!!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Slow and steady

With the crappy weather we had yesterday, it was a perfect day to sew. And indeed, I sewed and quilted the entire day and I was happy as a clam. I'm going to have to name those sewing machines one day so I have "company" in the studio. Otherwise, I have the radio going in the background and life couldn't get much better.

I'm taking a break from the audiobooks for the moment. I'm finding the listening and working is too much or too - I'm not sure what word to use, but I don't want to have to backtrack because I missed something in the book and I don't want to slow down the sewing because of the book. And I find that standing next to the long arm or sitting in front of the embroidery machine - you can't hear a thing without blasting your ears so best to just find peace and happiness within my own head!

In my humble opinion, this is a huge issue today. People can't be content with just their brain to entertain themselves. Why do we need white noise? or background noise? or music? or an audiobook? I have loads of thoughts in my head and I might as well use those thoughts to solve the world's problems. Keep things simple and that includes the stimulus around us. I'm so thankful that I kicked the TV habit years ago.

So yesterday was an incredibly productive day as there was NOTHING to disturb or distract me. Imagine my surprise when at noon, DH came down to announce that he had made omelets for lunch. We never have lunch together even though we both work from home. Thank you, DH!!!!! I almost finished proofing the instructions for my colleague. While I'm proofing them, I'm actually making the item. I don't want to share it since it's not mine to share, but I'm learning so much by proofing these things. I've got a few more to do (not really proofing, but making for our events next year) and those instructions are going to come in over the next couple of weeks. I'm learning tons of things and so it's all good.

BUT I did things that I can share with you. I got this customer quilt DONE. It's custom quilted which I do very rarely for customers. But I got into my happy place and had loads of fun while I did it.

Customer quilt - DONE

Here's a couple of detail pictures of the quilting.

Detail of Santa's quilting

And one more picture.

Detail of the background quilting

So while I was doing that, the embroidery machine was chugging away. I got all NINE pieces of my 3-D gingerbread house finished. Let's just say that I learned a few things during that process as well. Life is a never-ending learning experience. Bring it on! The more mistakes I make, the easier they are to work around them. I don't shy away from mistakes anymore! I relish the mistakes because they make me much smarter than I was!

Pieces for the gingerbread house are stitched out

I don't have time this morning to share the learning experience with that, but I took pictures so I'll share another day. Let's just say that I got lucky - very, very lucky! I can't even call it skill - well, I could, because it did require a bit of brainpower.

I did three loads of laundry yesterday and it wasn't just clothes. Guess what? The ONE HUNDRED kits for the pillowcases are DONE!!!!!   They are bagged and boxed and waiting for tomorrow.

100 pillowcase kits

I had to wash some solids to make up some of the kits. I think I have 15 bands cut for the next sewing day (that's for next year). And I still have a big tub of fabric to cut. There's more coming tomorrow so that'll make a good start on the 100 for the next time. I'm going to try over the holidays to go through some bins and take out stuff that'll work for the pillowcases and start prepping for the next time. This is an EXCELLENT way to get rid of fabric. I'm jumping up and down at how easy this is. And my stash is slowly - VERY SLOWLY being reduced. This is stuff that's been on the shelves for years and I haven't touched it. It's been waiting for this very moment. So if you have child-friendly COTTON prints that you no longer want, e-mail me so we can chat. DO NOT just donate the fabric unless you've read the requirements.

Remember this huge bag of batting and how I said I wanted it taken care of this year.

A big bag of batting bits

Well, guess what - it's done!!! And I didn't have to cut anything. When I was at a local guild meeting the other night, I was asked if I still had bags of batting bits. "Matter of fact I do", I quickly said! She wants the bag - I used to give her my scraps several years ago. Guess what - the bag is now being pony expressed to her. I'm thrilled. I have tons of 2 ½" strips of batting in my other bag that if I wanted to make more rugs - I'm good. I'll also be quilting more quilts and that'll generate more strips. If she wants, I'm going to save her another bag with the larger bits.

OH - yesterday, at the request of a friend, I started to log my food (again) into MyFitnessPal. Not that I need to lose weight - I've maintained my weight for months (but not my body fat content). So yesterday, I was afraid to eat! Well, not exactly - but I CANNOT cheat the app. If I eat something, I have to put it in the app. And I would NEVER, NEVER, NEVER go over the number of calories I'm allowed to eat in a day. I have no idea why, but I'm perfectly OK with that. I don't even get a gold star if I stay below the suggested calorie intake for the day. My brain works in mysterious ways! This is the best way (for me) to monitor what I eat. I do love it.

I tell you, it doesn't get much better than this. Even though I'm now off to shovel the driveway which is filled with snow and ice. Oh yippee!!!!  This is winter in Canada. I have to say that it looks absolutely gorgeous outside and I'll try to snap a photo or two.

Have a super day. Stay warm and drive safe wherever you are.

Ciao!!!

Bob Ross

Bob Ross - who is this guy? I'd never heard of Bob Ross before the Cherrywood Challenge 2019 theme was announced last November. Turns out, he's a pretty famous painter even though he died in 1995. Funny how people become even more famous after they die! Or that their legacy lives on forever.

If you want to know all about Bob, here's an hour-long documentary about him. And if you want to know what happened to all his paintings - have a look at this incredible video.  That second one is only 10 minutes long. Even Ronda's 17-year old son knows about Bob Ross. I want to know why he knows of Bob Ross.

I think you all know what happened. The Cherrywood Challenge theme (Bob Ross) was announced in November. My fabric mule (Shelly) acquired a bundle for me from The Cotton Harvest Quilt Shop in Seaforth as they carry the complete line of the gorgeous hand-dyed Cherrywood fabrics. Then the thinking cap went on with a July 1 deadline to submit photos. Here's more information on my blog about the previous challenges.

I made the piece with a few days (or perhaps minutes) to spare. The photos were submitted. Hmm - there are things I would change, but it is what it is. I awaited the day when the finalists were to be announced. Oh - I see people posting on Instagram and Facebook - they got in. I did not. But I hadn't received a rejection notice either. Oh well - rejection letters will likely come the following day.

Then I received a couple of congratulatory e-mails. WHAT???  I didn't get in - or did I?? After I checked through my JUNK in-box, there was a happy e-mail.

Tish, whose piece also got accepted, and I mailed them off together. They became part of the traveling show for this year. The entire show was in Houston and I've seen my piece several times from photos. But this was the first (and only) time I'll get to see it in person.

Ronda and I met up early in the morning and we were off to Shelly's house. Then we headed to Seaforth to have a look. Note - Ronda was driving - just in case you think I'm breaking the law with some of the pictures I'm going to show you.

Bob was up early as he was waiting to greet us as we walked in the door.

Bob Ross

Well, I just had to have a picture with Bob. He's much taller than I thought he was. Notice the slimming effect of wearing all black and half hiding behind Bob? I brought my Finalist ribbon with me as I had just received it in the mail a couple of days prior.

Me and Bob

Trina (the owner of The Cotton Harvest Quilt Shop) was there - what a fun person she is! Anyway, any of the finalists who got to see the show in person also got to sign the back of the Bob Ross pop-up. I know - he isn't real. But he looks good.

The finalists got to sign the back of Bob's pop-up

Where's that darn Sharpie when you need it! Anyway - a pen will do. I've now an official finalist in the Bob Ross challenge.

There's my signature - up top

There are a total of five traveling shows. All the Canadian finalists are in the Green Show (there are 9 of us). You can check out the various shows (whose quilt is in which show) and where each show will be shown.

There were over 400 entries and 200 were selected for the show. The competition was TOUGH and I'm honored to be a finalist. I couldn't care two hoots about a ribbon - I'm just glad to have been accepted.

There were also ten vendors at the show so we could spend money if we desired. I have to be honest, I didn't spend any money. I was looking for a particular fabric but none of the vendors had it. I told you, the economy will tank on my spending habits. When I see a new pattern, I think of how many "new" patterns are languishing in that stash room. It chills me to even think of buying more. Same thing with fabric. Don't get me wrong - I'll buy, but only if its something I need or absolutely can't live without. I did see a pattern that I'm going to teach this year because I want to make the quilt. It's something I've been wanting to make for a while. So watch for that. I didn't buy the pattern yet.

My budget yesterday was for the new kit and the book so it's not like I didn't buy anything.

The quilts were hung in two rows on either side of the vendors. I believe there were 60 quilts along this wall. This is where we started. I took a ton of photos. I'm totally blown away by the creativity and the techniques that everyone incorporated into their pieces. Just stunning!

Side one of the exhibit

Here's the second side. There were also 60 quilts on this side of the hall. Meaning that we got to see about 2/3 of the total exhibit. Hmm - do I find a location near to me with the missing two exhibits?? Hmm - the Brown exhibit which is the larger of the two exhibits that didn't make it to Seaforth will be in Grand Rapids, Michigan in August. Something to think about!!!!

Side two of the exhibit

My quilt was on the second side. OH MY  - there it is!!!!!!!!!  OK - it doesn't look like I'm going to my quilt, but it's right there!!!

My quilt!

Here's a better picture of me with my Bob Ross Challenge quilt. I called it The Bridge. Notice it's on the bottom, so I had to get down on my knees to get a photo beside it!

Me with my Bob Ross Challenge piece

As we were admiring my piece, I met up with Sheila and Edna. Sheila follows my blog and so I asked if they wanted to be on the blog today. Why not???  So good morning to Sheila and Edna. It was great to chat with you yesterday and thanks so much for following along with my crazy days. I appreciate it!!!!

Me, with Sheila and Edna

 Alas, it was time to leave! What a fun exhibit to see and so much talent and so many amazing ideas. My head is spinning. If you didn't make the show, that's a shame as it was well worth the drive.

I also got a copy of the Bob Ross Challenge quilt book. All 200 of the finalist quilts are in the book. I'm published!!!!

The Bob Ross Challenge 2019 book

 Here I am!!!! I don't even remember what I wrote about the quilt. I should read it!

The Bridge by me!

Of course, I had to buy the challenge kit for 2020. It's PINK in case you couldn't figure that out. The theme is Diana as in Lady Di. An FYI - if you were thinking of buying a kit and gasped at the price, the price includes the cost of registering for the challenge and helps to offset the cost of shipping the show. Challenges are the best thing in the entire world of quilting. I've done many challenges over the years and I've learned so much from each of them. Some have been "fails" - some have been total learning experiences and well - I wouldn't NOT do a challenge. It has broken my shell of being afraid to try new things. There's more coming on that soon!

The Cherrywood challenge kit for 2020

Here's my entry to the Van Gogh challenge in 2017. My Prince challenge isn't quite finished! I should get that done in the next couple of weeks. This piece didn't get accepted, but I still feel like a winner as I learned a lot from it. And I'm really happy with the final result.

My Cherrywood Van Gogh challenge piece

So keep in mind, I wasn't driving when I took these pictures. I was the passenger.

Yesterday was November 30. And as we passed the ski hill at Kelso, they were madly making snow. For those of you who live near the mountains, please excuse our little bunny ski hill!

Making snow

Then on the way back, I noticed on several occasions that farmers were actually out working the land. I thought that was hilarious when the ski hill was making snow. So then my goal was to snap a picture of a working tractor. I swear - we passed at least five of them. The first three, I wasn't thinking of getting a picture and the last two - well, let's call it operator error. But I did at least capture a field of corn. This was the LAST field as we neared the city. DARN!!!!!

So you have to pretend that you see a tractor working in that picture!!

A field of corn

We saw a sign alerting us to freezing rain later in the day - thank goodness the roads were absolutely dry and relatively good traffic all the way to Seaforth and back.

Freezing rain warning

There's this group of townhouses (I think) that has a very interesting paint job.  You could make a quilt out of that!!!

An interesting paint job on a group of townhouses

We passed a car that was on fire. Thankfully, that happened when there were six traffic lanes near Kitchener so when they went down to two lanes, we still got through fairly quickly.

A car on fire

 And when we passed the ski hill on our way home, they were still making snow!!!!

Still making snow at the ski hill

All in all - it was an awesome day spent with good friends, met new friends and had a small love fest with my quilt!

I have the ENTIRE day to myself today. I don't need to go anywhere, I do need to do a couple of things, but nothing difficult and nothing urgent. How cool is that?  I can hardly wait to get started. Oh heck - I've already started. Six more pillowcases are cut and one piece of embroidery is finished!!! Bring on the rest of the day!!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!