The big squeeze

I got a letter in the mail on Monday indicating that it was time for my biannual mammogram. UGH. No one likes to go for that appointment. But if I didn't book it, I know that you all would be concerned. I called the clinic yesterday morning and I got an appointment for 3 PM. Well, I wanted to get it over with, but that fast? Yikes! The clinic is not that far away - OK - it's 3 KM away, but that's not far at all. And I needed some extra steps since I hadn't made it to the gym.

I walked without the girls and they were NOT happy. But it was a glorious day and I didn't even need a hat. I saw several interesting things along the way which I'll share in a minute. I arrived at the clinic with 10 minutes to spare. I thought they were going to give me grief about my health card since I still haven't gotten the new one and it's been 20 years or more since they brought in the new photo cards. OK - so perhaps I need to get that taken care of. They did give me grief on the phone which is why I thought they would do so when I arrived.

I waited for one person ahead of me in the line and then it was my turn. No issues with the card. But instead of being asked to have a seat and wait, I was ushered in right away. Barely had time to take my shirt off when I was called into the room. The attendant was efficient - not a chatty lady like I've had in the past. And HOLY - I swear she held that machine in place way longer than anyone else has done. I didn't get the same pulling on my neck skin so I hope that she got good pictures.

Anyway, the four pictures were taken, I was dressed and out the door at 3 PM. Talk about efficiency!

I had to stop for pictures on the way home of the things I saw on the way there. For anyone who has lived in this area and been here for a while, this first one is going to throw you into fits of laughter.

Mini-golf at Erin Mills Town Center

Why is that funny? Because when I first moved here, many, many years ago, there was a mini-golf course in the mall. There was a central clock tower in the mall and the mini-golf went around that clock tower. It was the coolest thing. At some point, the mini-golf disappeared and the area was replaced with shops. Then the clock tower disappeared and was replaced by that giant glass ball and a large open space for community activities.

Just goes to show that goes around, comes around.  Here's what the NEW mini-golf looks like. It's nothing like the old one, but people seemed to be enjoying themselves as they played.

Mini-golf at Erin Mills Town Center

This area is a community activity area. I doubt the mini-golf is permanent. It changes depending on the season. But I had a great laugh when I saw the sign and I had to stop in on my way home to get some pictures. Here's the reflecting pool that's in the same area.

Reflecting pool 

Have you noticed that BIG letters are a huge thing these days? Since Valentine's Day is almost upon us, they had giant letters spelling out LOVE. They've had other letters in the past - can't remember for what. They were filled with big paper flowers in reds and pinks. 

LOVE letters at the mall

Then I was at the gym this morning and remembered the BIG numbers for an upcoming promotion. The 60-day challenge. Since I had my phone with me so I could listen to my audiobook, I snapped a photo. The current audiobook is Radium Girls by Kate Moore. So scary to realize that they (the company owners) knew there was an issue with radium, but choose to ignore it.

Advertising the 60-day challenge at the gym

Don't worry - there is quilting stuff in the blog today. I've always been fascinated by construction and deconstruction. When the mall was replacing the clock tower with the giant glass ball, I was by the mall almost every day to see the progress. Yep - if you search the blog for Erin Mills Town Center, you'll see some of the posts. I'll go back and find some of the pictures. I can't see any pictures of the clock tower and I find it hard to believe that I wouldn't have posted any pictures.

That construction took place in 2014, 2015. Now there's another big construction project underway. I might just be spending a lot of time at the mall. I must have spent 15 minutes watching the deconstruction yesterday. Totally fascinating.

There is a new entertainment complex going into the space that was occupied by the Sears store. They started some deconstruction before the holidays, but it was inside and you couldn't see anything. Yesterday when I walked by, the entire wall was being deconstructed.

That used to be the Sears store

I'm not sure how it worked, but there was a guy in the big crane - well - that's not really a crane. I wonder what that machine is called. Anyway, he was on the ground level and using the arm to pull stuff out of the top floor. I don't know if he could see or was doing it blindly? I bet they have a camera on the end of the arm. Anyway, he was pulling stuff out and the little bobcat was scooping it up and putting it in a big pile in the parking lot.

Pulling the stuff out of the old Sears building

I swear the head of that arm looked like the jaws of a T-Rex. I wish I could have gotten a better picture. Maybe have to go back with the big camera. Anyway, the store wasn't empty. I saw metal shelves coming crashing down. Then some wooden shelving units that looked like they would have been very useful. All totally smashed to bits as they fell into the parking lot.

A T-Rex jaw on the end of the arm

Then they got into pulling out wires and cables, and wall studs and drywall. All totally fascinating! I bet that that entire wall is gone by this morning. It's not far from the library and I go there almost every day. I'll have to take a wee detour. I bet this wall gets replaced by a huge wall of windows.

Ripping out the old structure

Then it was back home and back to work. I'm working on my Stitcher's Garden quilt. I'm so close now that if I don't have it completely done for our UFO class on Sunday - well, then there's no hope for me.

I keep trying to convince myself that I'm OK with leaving the edges of the applique shapes unfinished. Not EVER going to happen.

Raw edge applique shape with the edges not finished (around the purple shape)

But it looks so much nicer when the edges are finished. I didn't want to fuss with a fancy stitch with all those curves and points, so I did a satin stitch. Fast and easy. And it looks awesome.

The edges of the applique shapes are finished with a satin stitch

There are now just two shapes that need the edges finished on the LAST block. And I ripped out the other sashing pieces that I wanted to rearrange. Oh yes - progress is being made and this WILL be done.

The last block to be finished for Stitcher's Garden

I bet that if I really focused that that quilt could be completed in about 4 hours, including the backing and the binding. Well, I have something else to get done today so we'll see how it goes.

Then I was over to the long arm where I had help. Nothing like laying right in the path of where I walk. Yes - I see you!!!!  Murphy doesn't come down often, but I did have cauliflower for a snack and I think she was looking for a handout.

A helper at the long arm

This is the last of the North Star quilts!! I had four of them (besides my own) to quilt. This one also used fabrics from the kit. While I didn't mind quilting them, the border fabric frays so much. Nice for garments, not so much for quilts. And it's stretchy as well, which is NOT fun for borders.

Customer quilt - DONE

And the backing was the yarn-dyed linen as well. With a strip of leftover fabrics. Very cute. It needs to be trimmed later on - probably tomorrow.

The backing for the North Star quilt

I did get some of my paperwork done so that was good. The important stuff got done. More stuff on the list for today. The list is for this week so I'm not worried. But I HAVE to finish my sewing samples for my dressmaking class tonight. That's my priority today.

I'm going to leave you with a FUN thing to do today. Here's the link to a quilting survey. I haven't completed it yet, but I love doing surveys!!

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Sleepless................

I hate it when you wake up and then can't get back to sleep. Why is that? I tried reading - a novel and a non-fiction. Neither worked. I emptied my head of all the things that I need to get done this week by writing them done. That didn't work. I had a wee snack since I was a bit peckish. Petted the dogs. Finally, after a couple of hours, I went back to sleep, but that put my morning out of sorts.

Oh well - thankfully that doesn't happen every night as I'd go mad.

It was Monday sewing yesterday and I got stuff done. Instead of taking a sewing machine, I've been bringing stuff that needed to be done by hand. I'm slowly working my way through what needs to be done. But when I finish up something - something else appears.  I've got knitting and crocheting. I've got some applique and I'm sure there are other things. I'll never run out of things to do. Slow and steady - progress is being made. That's all that counts.

I started by looking through the paperwork for Paula's Double Wedding Ring quilt. I didn't have to look far to understand what her intention was. I found this sheet with the various sizes on it and I think from the highlighting we could see what her intent was.

The inventory sheet for Double Wedding Ring

The original bed runner has 16 circles. The size that Paula wanted to make has 56. Remember - I haven't made a commitment to this project. Just inventorying.

The size that Paula chose

Besides, I don't think the daughter wants a huge quilt (and did you see the size of this one?  92" by 104") - she would be more than happy with a lap. The next step is to open up all those scrapbook boxes and sort the like components into each. Then count the finished components and decide on the size that can be made with the least possible work. Determine how much is left to do and then decide what to do with the project.

I did find a home for the inner products - the decor bond, the fusible fleece, and a small bit of batting. I'll deal with the tools on the kitchen island today and then just a couple more containers on the table and all of Paula's stuff will be taken care of.

Remember I showed you a pile of plastic bags and said that that was one project. Well, it's super cute and I decided it would be a great thing to work on for Monday. There are 12 small seasonal wall hangings. Each one was a kit, including all the fabric. The pattern was designed by Patrick Lose from 2011. This is the first one for January.

January seasonal wall hanging

I traced all the shapes on Monday and cut them out. Then got home and decided to keep working. I sewed the background together and did all the applique with a satin stitch. Hmmm - that Steam a Seam that she had with the project is pretty thick. It must be the original stuff. The machine wasn't that thrilled with it, but I persevered. This one just needs to be quilted and bound and it's done!

I know - I should have been working on other stuff, but it was a fun little diversion. I'll take the February one next week and I see that she already has the March and April cut and fused. The question will be what to do with them. I thought I could donate them to a senior living residence and they could post the small wall hangings on the bulletin board or something. I'll get a few done and perhaps stop in at the home near me and ask them. Or they could go to a kindergarten class? Does anyone have any other suggestions?

And at last, I got the sleeve hand-stitched to this quilt. It's been half sewn on for years and every time I would pack it for a trunk show, someone would get poked with a pin. I don't know what I was thinking when I had pinned it to the quilt, but it wasn't even by any means. So I ended up ripping out all the stitching and started over. Now it's on - straight and I'm happy.

The sleeve is hand-stitched to the quilt

I was on a roll, so I kept working. It's time to get that Stitcher's Garden quilt done. I got most of the last section sewn together.

The last section for Stitcher's Garden

I couldn't find the last green piece for the sashings and when I found it, I just sewed it in. I hung it on the design wall and realized that I succeeded in sewing two very busy prints together. So I might do a bit of seam ripping to fix that. I should have put if on the wall BEFORE I started to sew. 

Two busy greens in the same spot

 I have to do some applique stitching on ONE last block. I hope to get that done today and well - let's see what happens. I also have a lot of other things to do and those take priority over my UFO.

I notice that the classes I'm teaching in Saskatoon at The Sewing Machine Store are now posted on the website. Check them out and if you're in that area, sign up for one of the classes. The dates are Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14. It's going to be loads of fun as we explore the Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER EPIC 2 and all the PREMIER+ 2 software offerings.

Do you write a lot?? If I didn't have the blog and some of my classes, I'd never write anything and I think that's a shame since writing is a very cerebral exercise. Reading and writing - well, they are going to keep me sane (I hope). I use Grammarly to check my grammar since that's one of my weak areas. I've been using it for several years (the free version) and look at how many words it's checked in almost four years. That's over 1 million words a year. That's a lot of writing!!

Words checked by Grammarly

I've found that my grammar is much better since I started using the add-on product. Not perfect, but better. There are things I don't like about the product. It is constantly encouraging you to upgrade to the paid version but without a trial as to what it can really do. I've contacted them and NO you can't have a trial of the full version. That's silly. Show me what it can do and I'd gladly sign up for it. Oh well.

And then I get notifications from FitBit about my weekly activities. Yep - I'm kind of a numbers-driven person. Steps - you can never have too many steps in a day! I'll have to go for an extra walk with the girls to make up for the lost session at the gym. Although I managed to do my distance yesterday without going to the gym. Oh yes - I shoveled the driveway. No snow to shovel this morning.

Weekly step count from FitBit

I also got another virtual postcard from the Route 66 challenge. I'm in St. Louis and that's where the postcard came from. It mentions the Gateway Arch which is the gateway to the west and the Chain of Rocks Bridge which is a weird bright with a 2-degree bend partway through the bridge. I was in St. Louis several years ago for a Quilt Market. Now I'm back again but virtually.

I wish we got more postcards, but that's OK. I'm 13% of the way through the walk. Yippeee!!!

On that note, I'm out of here. I've got a ton of stuff to do today and I've got a list. Let's see how many things I can get done on that list. Some of the items are paperwork, some are not. Let's just get it done so we can move on!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

I've been everywhere man..................

Before I went to bed last night, I knew there was going to be snow to shovel this morning. It was coming down pretty hard, but the flakes were big and fluffy. The temperature was quite warm and I suspect it would have been a nice night for a walk. I'd already done my steps for the day - I wasn't going out for more.

I decided that instead of going to the gym this morning that my exercise would be to shovel the driveway. I looked out the window first thing to steel myself for the onslaught of snow, but it didn't look too bad. However, look who I saw walking along.

Can spring be far away when the skunks are out???

A skunk traversing the driveway

He went under my car and then beside the car and back in front of the house.

Skunk path

Then through the front yard. He was moving fast, so I missed getting a picture of him but he was almost right to the step. Brave little soul.

Through the front yard

Across the neighbor's driveway.

Through the neighbor's driveway

And through the deep snow in the front.

He even trudged through the deep snow

The temperature is above zero and that snow is HEAVY. Thankfully I went when I did as it's only going to get heavier as it melts. The snowplow was out and he did an excellent job of not leaving any snow at the end of the driveway. I was out shoveling and if he would have so much as left an inch - I'd have killed him. I gave him a big thumbs up as he gently scraped the snow from the end of the driveway. Then the backhoe came by and he bypassed the end of my driveway completely. Yeah!!!!

No snow was left at the end of our driveway

I hate to say that he left lots in my neighbor's across the way and I saw him madly shoveling so he could get his car out. It was glorious out there this morning. Nice and warm, and I have to confess that I found it very therapeutic to shovel. I didn't get quite as many steps as I would have on the treadmill, but that's OK. I'm miles ahead of my pace on both Virtual Challenges. Pretty much every day, I exceed the limit and I don't find it hard to do that. Sometimes, it just takes me a bit to get on a roll, work out a routine and understand the distances. I'm good.

I'm happy to report that I had an amazing day yesterday. I was listening to a Sue Grafton book - V is for Vengeance. After V, there are THREE left and then I'm done that series. I've so enjoyed her book series. It's a shame that she passed away and there will not be a Z. They were great training for learning to listen to audiobooks. So while I listened, this is what happened.

I got another customer quilt done. Yep - the third North Star quilt. This one used a few of the fabrics from the kit including some of that yard-dyed fabric. But the borders were cotton and that made it a whole lot easier to deal with.

Customer quilt - done

 This was a small one, but it got quilted as well. Also for a customer.

Customer quilt - done

I had to trim all the quilts to get them ready for delivery today. A total of four quilts, but they are all packaged and will be dropped off today.

I also got the binding on this quilt which is slated to be dropped off today for Quilts of Valour.

Binding completed on this quilt

This is my delivery to Quilts of Valour. The one on the left is one that I received from Quilts of Valour that needed to be quilted. I'm going to let them put the binding on. The other three are ones that were made as a result of our Community Project days at my house. The three of them are quilted and bound. Do you know what a good feeling that is to have these quilts go to a good home? I used up some of my stash (for the backings), we had some fun while the quilts were being assembled or the kits made up and now they are gone - out of my house. It's a win-win for sure. The good news? There's a lot more where those came from.

Quilts to be dropped off for Quilts of Valour

I want to thank everyone who has helped out with that project so far. It's been an amazing journey. There are loads more to be quilted and there are kits to be sewn together and then there's still fabric that needs to be dealt with. But we are making progress and that's all that counts.

OK -- so I promised to show you what was in that big tub. Are you ready??? And you can call me an idiot right upfront. I'm good with that.

This is ONE UFO. She had it packaged into NINE of those scrapbooking boxes. Holy!!!!  None of the boxes are full, but she had things very well organized (I think).

One UFO in nine separate boxes

So what is the UFO? This is where you can call me an idiot for even thinking of taking this one on.

It's a Double Wedding Ring with a twist!

But WAIT - there's more. I remember Paula buying extra of the paper piecing sheets so she could make her quilt larger. I know - you're saying - DON'T DO IT!!!

Extra foundation sheets

I haven't made any promises. My commitment at this point is to take inventory of the project and understand how much is completed and how big it could be. NO commitment at this point.

I also found an e-mail dated 2012 that I had sent to the students to get their fabrics ready. With my phone number on it. Oh, dear......................

Today, I'm just reviewing the pattern and seeing how many of each component is needed to make the original size. I've already mentioned to the daughter that it would be better to make a lap quilt than the bed runner and she's good with that. So I did set some expectations right up front. We'll see how the rest goes.

But I wasn't done. I went through some of the fabrics that came in the pile. As I mentioned, there wasn't a whole lot of fabric.

There was a box marked white material. I found one large piece of beige that has gone into the community projects box.

White material

 Then I found a bunch of quilt sandwiches already sandwiched and ready to practice free motion quilting. I'm going to use them for practicing quilting on the embroidery machine so they have already found a good home.

Quilt sandwiches

I found a bundle of flannel already cut into squares. That has gone into the community projects box to be dealt with when we get to the flannel.

Flannel squares

 I found a bag of ribbons cut into short pieces. I will bet that these were to make one of those tactile toys for children. I should know - I have a bag of them set aside for that very thing - actually I have ONE small bag (it's a kit) to make. I added these to that bag so I can make two.

Ribbons

I added the freezer paper and stabilizer to my stash. I'll be using the tear away when I finish off one of the projects and so it'll go to good use as well.

Freeze paper and stabilizer

 Then I went through more of the fabrics. A bag of pre-cut squares. A pile of flannel scraps and some fat quarters. All of that went into the community projects pile. The denim went in my basket of denim that I need to deal with. There was a small piece of velvet and some leatherette scraps which I added to my collection of odd fabrics. They will get used to make or embellish a project.

Fabric that was sorted and has been put away

What I love about this process is that I have a home for everything. And once I sort through the stuff, if I don't want it, it'll go to someone else. Like the denim. I explained to the daughter what I was going to do with it and she was fine. There are some tools to deal with as well. That's for another day.

There's still a lot sitting on the kitchen table and the island. However, I was informed that I need to get it off the island as it's encroaching on the cooking surface and the chef couldn't be responsible if something got food spilled on it. OK - got the message. I'm focusing on clearing the island. That's for later today.

So - it was a great day and I'm excited about today. More good stuff because it's Monday sewing. Once I get everything packed into the car.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

And so this happened................

I'm behind this morning. I say - get over it! I've been to the gym and then - well, I'm just behind.

I did get things done yesterday, but not necessarily all that I wanted. I knew that was going to happen. I need to buckle down, but part of me says "I don't want to buckle down." And the weather was so glorious yesterday that the girls and I went for a LONG walk.

I popped off to the grocery store with the girls - who, while still naughty at times, are becoming somewhat behaved. So there's a HUGE side bonus to all this walking. My baby toe is not perfect, but feeling better and well - I'm miles ahead in both of my virtual challenges. The best part? I'm done with Illinois for my Route 66 trek. I've crossed the river in St. Louis and I'm officially in Missouri now. One state down and six to go.

The homework assignment for Christmas Fig went out. A day late, but the e-mail I sent them was chock a block filled with tips on quilting so hopefully, 

Rolling Stones block

that compensated for the tardiness.

There was a LOT of stitching and flipping in this month's homework. But the blocks are gorgeous.

Bowties block

Yep - my Christmas quilt is going to be blue and white. Actually, I'm not sure that I'm going to make the sampler quilt. I'll see what happens as we progress through the year.

I did get another customer quilt done. I know you saw this quilt already, however, this is NOT the same quilt as last week. And I have two more North Star quilts to quilt! These quilts belong to the students who were in the class and they trusted me to quilt their quilts for them. This one was also made from the kit fabric with that challenging dyed yarn fabric. If you are ever contemplating buying it - yes for clothing, NO for quilts.

Customer quilt - DONE

Last week, I received a call from a lady who wanted a quilt made. Well, that's not entirely true. Her mother passed and she was looking for someone to finish a particular quilt (double wedding ring - GASP!!!) that her mother had started. My name was amongst her mother's quilt things. She got my number and we chatted and arranged to meet yesterday. Note to self - do NOT have students write my name down in their quilt stuff!!!!  I'm chuckling as I say that!

The daughter called me yesterday to arrange a time to meet. I happened to be out walking and we set a time for later in the afternoon. As I walked, my mind turned to the conversations I had had with the daughter. Hmmm - I know someone with the same last name. She was a quilter and she lived in the same town. Could it be her? When the daughter arrived, I asked the question (I felt bad that I had not asked what her mother's name was during the first conversation). Anyway - my suspicions were right. It was the same person. Oh dear - this woman was so full of life and laughter and she was a hoot in classes. When Paula was in the room, the entire room shone.

She arrived with a HUGE tub and a bag. I knew before the tub was opened what the project was. And yes - I was right. This was a class that I had taught. I'll share the project with you later this week as I take inventory of what's in the tub. OH - don't worry - it's super organized. Just wait until you see.

One UFO is in this big tub

The family is currently in the process of cleaning out the house as the husband had passed several years ago. What was she going to do with the rest of the quilting stuff? It didn't sound like there was much and I volunteered (do NOT criticize me on this!) that we could use it for our community projects. DONE - she was gone and back within the hour to deliver the rest of the stuff.

It was basically the equivalent of three more of those tubs which, when you consider some of our sewing rooms, isn't a whole lot. I haven't gone through it all yet, but this stack is one project. A cute little project that I don't know what we'll do with yet as it's small, but I have an idea. Don't worry - I'll be sharing more of this stuff as I go through it.

One project

There wasn't a whole lot of fabric. There's a small stack of it on the left. There are stabilizers, battings, foam and other bits of inner lining stuff. Some tools - cutting mats and rotary cutters and other stuff which I hope to use when we do our community projects sewing day. 

More stuff 

And lastly, there's this pile. That long tub I suspect has more fabric for the project in that great big tub. It sure looks familiar. Maybe the backing?

More stuff

She was organized as products were labeled. 

Products are labeled

I'm going to sort through a wee bit of it today. She used to come to Monday sewing and some of the stuff might be useful to the group supplies there and there are a few patterns that maybe someone wants. I don't think it's going to be a big deal to go through all of it. As you can see, there isn't a whole lot. Trust me - I asked very careful questions before I agreed to take it.

But there are NO scraps, no small pieces. She wasn't a prolific quilter so I don't know if she threw that stuff away or her family did. Not my business - just makes things easier to take care of.

There is a lesson to be learned here. It was a pretty easy task for her family to get rid of the quilting stuff because she didn't have a lot. Look around your sewing space and start getting things done or get them organized. Wait until you see what's in that big tub!!!

I have to confess that this is NOT the first time that I've acquired stuff because a student/friend passed. I keep saying it'll be the last, but here we go again! Thankfully, this time, it's not going to be a huge deal, although that quilt is - well - we'll just see how much of it she had completed.

Now here's the kettle calling the pot black. Instead of working yesterday, I decided that I needed to sort through the quilt magazines. What an idiot I am for buying so many. I couldn't help myself. I've been a magazine junkie my entire life.

Soring the magazines

I'm not done the sorting process, but at least it's better. I have to put that all away today and get back to work. I've a lot of stuff that needs to be done. Trust me, I am reading them, albeit slowly. That doesn't matter - I have room to store them. I have time to read them and when I'm gone, the whole works (what is left) can be trashed. Let's just say that the intake has slowed almost to a complete stop. That's good news. The bad news, I need to speed up the outtake process. But there is only so much time in a day. Some of the magazines are easier to get through than others. Depending on the type of magazine, some are being donated and some are being trashed. Hey - I bought them - I want to read them. Don't judge me!!!

I don't have plans to keep anything that's in the magazines. Everything is on the internet and I don't need another pattern to sew. There might be a few things that I'll consider keeping - I'll see when I get there. One magazine at a time.

Needless to say, another day went by without looking at the postcard basket. I MUST do that today.

On that note, I'm out of here!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

A slow day

Yep- it was a slow day yesterday. Not even sure why. No, I know why. I volunteered to help someone because the task they have at hand is very important - at least I think so. That errand took over 6 hours and I can't say that I came away with a warm and fuzzy feeling that things will change. I got home after 2 PM and I wasn't in the mood to do much after that.

I feel now that I should have taken a wee bit more control to ensure that we maximized the time, but we can't go back in time. Let's just move on and see what happens.

As a result, I didn't get much done. I did finish the two blocks for the Christmas Fig sew along, but I didn't have the energy to send out the e-mail. That's the FIRST thing on the list to do this morning. Sorry to all who are waiting with great anticipation to get that homework assignment. I'll share the pictures of the blocks on the blog tomorrow.

I did finish The Warehouse by Rob Hart. Hmmm - not sure I liked the way the book ended, but it sure gives one food for thought. I'm almost afraid to tell you what book I'm reading now, but the title brings to mind some very interesting concepts. It's called The Cult of Trump by Steven Hassan. I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with the concept - it's just very thought-provoking and I'm going to leave it at that.

So has anyone completed a postcard yet? Remember for the Postcard Challenge for the Canadian Quilters Association. Sadly, my basket of stuff is still sitting on the table - untouched. But I have high hopes for today. There's a lot that I want to accomplish and I'm fired up. Take advantage of those days. The only thing - everything takes longer than you plan so what I want to get done and what I'll actually get done won't be the same, but as I said yesterday - ANY progress is better than no progress.

I did manage to get to a quilt store that on my route yesterday and I got fabric for the borders of my Stitcher's Garden quilt. I'm hoping those bright saturated greens are going to tone down the rest of the bright colors in the quilt.

Borders for Stitchers Garden

It works for me.

Back to the decluttering thing. Maybe I'll throw something on my want-to-do list today that has to do with decluttering this office. Or try to get a few more things arranged in the studios. I don't know if you followed that habit link I posted yesterday, but I followed one of the links to this decluttering site.   I watched the short video and I've pretty much got all the areas that he talks about under control. The junk drawer, the bedside table, etc. It's the office with its paper that is my downfall. OK - I'll try to get a bit done here today as well.

There are so many books, magazines, videos, etc. about decluttering. We KNOW what we have to do. So instead of watching videos or reading books - why not take the same amount of time and actually do some decluttering? Go for it!!!

I'm not sure if anyone participated in the Celtic Solstice challenge hosted by Northcott last year. Here's a link to the quilts that were submitted. Some of them are pretty darn creative! If you click on the first picture in the top left, you get the written comments submitted by the maker. Then use the arrows to flip through the quilts one at a time.

I shall leave you with that as I run upstairs to put on my cold weather (fleece-lined jeans) as it's coolish out this morning with a wind chill. But since I didn't go to the gym this morning, I need to get those steps in. And to keep you in the loop - I'm heading down that big hill into Kamloops on my Cross Canada walk and I'm on the outskirts of St. Louis for the Route 66 challenge. Progress!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!