Two halves make a whole!

Thanks for the tips on magazines! And yes, while I love them, I rarely make anything from them. Not that I don't want to, but in the quilting circle of life, I do NOT need another project on my plate. I'll leave those for the newbies!

So, I downloaded the most recent Quick + Easy Quilts issue onto my iPad (through the Libby app) and browsed. OK—so I did NOT browse. If I'm going to read a magazine, I like to read it cover to cover. Don't ask me why, don't ask me to change. If I'm going to indulge in a magazine, I want to enjoy the entire thing! I even look at the ads and check if there is something interesting. 

Reading a magazine on my iPad

I learned two things, and I'm only a third of the way through this issue. First, the magazine is now a quarterly publication, not bimonthly. Hence, the extra pages and the extra cost. The second thing I learned was a tip. I'm sure some of you do this, but it never occurred to me in all my years of quilting. 

When you change your rotary cutter blade, mark the date on a piece of tape and stick it to the handle. Last night, I watched a video about the tools you need to get started. It's in French, so I'm listening to it—trying to get a better grasp of the lingo. They talked about changing the blade after every project, but that's a bit much. 

OH—remember how I said that I would love to live in Montreal for six months to improve my French? You should have seen DH's face when I said I could move into my ex's house (yes—I have an ex) while he and his current wife winter in Florida. Now, wouldn't that be a good solution? 

Back to the cutters. I know I don't change the blade often enough, and I currently have four rotary cutters on the cutting table. So I should do myself a favor later today and put two away, keeping the 60 mm cutter and one of the 45 mm cutters. Change the blades in both and mark the date. That would be a good deed!!

I'm not cutting like I used to—well, I haven't had a large project to cut in a while, but I also know that it's been a very long time since those blades were changed. 

Later today, I'll return to the iPad to finish reading this magazine. Since the price of all of them has increased, I suspect that those issues by that publisher have all gone quarterly. 

The other thing I "like" about a digital copy of a magazine that doesn't belong to me is that I can read it when it comes in and not have to deal with it many years later. 

This is where the larger iPad comes in handy. It's as large as the print page, so no pinching or expanding is required. In fact, it's easy to enlarge slightly to get a better view of some things. OK, so I'm hooked, but what is going to fill the spot of going to the store to check the magazines out in person? 

A very bad thing happened last night, and I am NOT to blame for it. I could NOT get to sleep, and it was all because a "friend" (she knows who she is) suggested an EXCELLENT idea to me earlier in the day. I could not get it out of my head—so much so that I had to get out of bed and work on the idea for a couple of hours. And it didn't help that she was sending me messages late as well! 

Who needs enemies when you have friends like that? Honestly, the idea is fabulous, and I want to see if I can bring it to fruition! 

You'll learn about it at some point, but it spurred me to do something that I've wanted to do for a long time. I might even put it out as a poll for you to vote on! This project could be developed in several directions, and I have to think about each one carefully before proceeding. 

I've meant to finish compiling the list of "$10" quilts I taught since 2003. In the beginning, there was only one quilt a year. Some years, I think there were five. I've never missed a year. Does anyone want to hazard a guess at how many there are in total? 

If I remember, I'll tell you at the end. Let's just say that I started a list a few years ago—OK --- ten years ago. It was two pages because of different stores, and the pages got separated over time. I found one recently in the office, but I didn't have the second half. I might have found that on the computer since it was in a typed chart. 

Then, while teaching a machine quilting class a couple of weeks ago, I found the second half. Now, where the heck is the first page? I knew it wasn't far away in the office, so in the middle of the night, I was shuffling papers, and guess what? I FOUND IT! The two halves are reunited! 

Oh my gosh—what an amazing journey it's been over the years. Some of the people in those classes have come and gone in my life, but some are still very much a part of it. Many friendships, with me or amongst other members, blossomed and grew because of those quilts. 

I should mention that by $10, we took a somewhat daunting quilt and broke it into manageable pieces over one year. 

My blog helped me fill in the gaps. And then I went to bed and to sleep! I should have gotten up a lot earlier to do that. 

So here's a question: Did anyone take this style of quilt from me at Sew Sister's in Toronto? There is only one quilt that comes to mind and it was called Northern Lights by Marti Michele and used her templates. I taught other classes at that store, but I think there was only one year-long one. If I'm wrong, let me know. elainetheriault@gmail.com

It would be amazing to see how many of those quilts got quilted and bound! 

I might ask more questions about some of the other projects, and I'll certainly publish the complete list once it's in better shape. 

Oh, this might be hard to read, but it's all the quilt magazines that come up in our library's Libby when I type in the word "QUILT." There are twelve titles, and I suspect that a couple of them only contain back issues—like the Sampler Quilt. 

List of quilt-related magazines on Libby (at my library)

That is plenty of reading material, and I do NOT need to buy the ones on the list. OK—I'll confess, there are a couple of other titles that the library doesn't have, but I'll check it more thoroughly, as there is more than one resource, and see what I can come up with. 

I got all the fusible tricot onto the backs of the T-shirts, which are cut out. I LOVE this 20½" square ruler. It's the best thing ever. I don't use it every day, but when I need to cut large blocks, it's perfect. I sorted them into three columns and washed the flannel to go with the T-shirts. 

Cutting the T-shirt blocks

And there's the community project quilt. I'm a bit behind on that goal for the year, but there'll be loads of time between now and the end of the year to complete the ones on the list. 

Community projects quilt

I know that you are laughing when you read that statement above. I have a potential of four weeks of travel or being away from home before the end of the year. Two are guaranteed, and two are maybes. I just need to be productive with my time, and I'm back on track, so that's good. But now I've added this other project and need to work on a project for my Mom. It must be done! It's not just for her - it's for me. 

I chatted with my Dad for a long time, and he told me the story of two people who came to the museum where he "works" and asked for information about the Baljennie Cemetery. Well, one of them was a long-time manager at another branch of the museum, and the other was a complete stranger. My Dad, whose nickname used to be Roadrunner, hopped in his truck on two different occasions and drove the 30 miles to Baljennie and gave them the tour of their lifetime! So much has changed over the years, but my Dad knows where everyone lived even if the house is gone and the homestead is now in the middle of a field. 

When I return, I think it's time for one more road trip before it becomes impossible. The guy is 91! He is fiercely proud (and rightly so) of all that he has accomplished. He never talks about farming—I think he did that just because it was a way to earn a living. His accomplishments are his tinkering and making. And he makes a darn good tour guide! 

I don't even know how you would capture something like that to treasure - it's a memory that will live on in my head forever. 

OH -- and this is how strange things can get. The great-grandparents of the museum manager used to live in the area, and she wanted to see their graves, for which my dad made some markers. They ended up at my parents' apartment for lunch after the tour. My Mom had a small powder box that belonged to this woman's grandmother, and my mom gave it to her. Can you imagine how blown away this woman would be? My Mom had it because it was gifted to my grandmother when the lady died, and my mom got it. One less thing to deal with!

It's tough to see in this picture, but that guy in the white sweatshirt is "walking" his dog. 

How to walk a FAST dog

He's on a motorized skateboard with ONE WHEEL, called Onewheel, and he's moving! I've seen him on numerous occasions, and I keep my distance because I'm afraid of him failing off and hurting himself or the dog. He is moving at a pretty good clip! We've seen him in the forest and on the streets. Yikes—I can't imagine, but the dog seems happy and is well trained to follow along. The dog is on a leash, so that makes it even trickier!

I see my sleepless culprit is up as well! I'll have to bounce more ideas off her today. I'll also write the project out so that it will NOT keep me up tonight. I think a nap might be in order today. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

T-shirts quilt in progress

I finished listening to that supernatural audiobook this morning. OK, so it's a bit farfetched, but it's supernatural, so of course that's going to happen. I'm done, and I will choose the next book wisely!

I also finished the physical book I was reading, and although I vowed NOT to pick up another book, I have another audiobook due in several days, so while I putter in Studio B, I'll listen to that. And I picked from my shelves a Nonfiction book, which slows me down! So all is good! I NEED to have a book to read. 

We had two Zooms yesterday. It's time to get back to work on those projects with MANY blocks. I'm so slow on mine that that 365-day challenge quilt will be going to the grave as a UFO with me. NO—I must spend more time with it, as I really want to move on. 

And for those poor people in Machine Embroidery, I sent MANY emails as follow-ups to our session and gave them homework. Will anyone actually do it? 

Speaking of moving on, I started working on my UFO project, which is due this coming weekend. After getting those two Cabin in the Woods quilt tops done, I moved on to something a bit less challenging, but every UFO has its challenges, which is usually why it ends up as a UFO. 

I'm working on a T-shirt quilt. The front of the quilt is together, except that I will add a border to it. As is the case with many T-shirts, there are things on the back that I wanted to keep. So those were hastily chopped from the T-shirts and left in a pile. My goal is to get the quilt ready to be quilted. 

I don't know what I was thinking when I chopped out the backs, but I left very little room around some of the motifs, and there is ZERO chance of centering them. 

A hacked-up T-shirt

So I'll take what I can get from them. This morning, I finished putting the fusible tricot (knit interfacing) on the back of the dark ones using the black tricot. I trimmed them to a somewhat similar width. 

Trimming a T-shirt

There are five light-colored ones, and I'll use a white fusible tricot on the back of those. This is a Pellon product, and I buy it by the bolt. Why? Well, it's the same product I use to fuse my batting strips together. It is stretchy, like batting, so there is some give. If you use regular interfacing, there is no give, and that's not necessarily a good thing. 

The darker-colored T-shirts are interfaced and trimmed

I have a huge stack of T-shirts from my future son-in-law to make a T-shirt quilt, and I see that my white fusible tricot is running low. Time to buy another bolt! 

Two of the five light T-shirts already had the interfacing on the back, so that leaves three to do later today. Then I get to assemble the bits like a jigsaw puzzle. I'll have to add some fabric as there aren't enough squares to make the entire back. I'm good with that—I just want the darn thing done. The best part—I'll get to choose a new UFO to work on next month. This is exciting!! BUT ONLY after I get this one done!

And yes, the quilt will be heavy with T-shirts on the front and back, but it's only a lap quilt, and there is some cotton mixed on the front and back, so everything will be good. 

On my walk the other day, I ended up at Indigo. I still call it Chapters, but it's no longer a bookstore like it was when it opened. They sell a LOT of gifts and houseware items. 

For fun, I always check the craft section, which has been moved to a new location. Oh boy—that craft section has sure changed. It used to have a ton of books on scrapbooking, mixed media, and quilting, along with other crafts. Now, it's dominated by crochet! I see books on quilling and origami, along with papers. And I'm surprised that coloring books are still a hot thing! Who knew? 

They are still selling paper calendars! I don't have room to put one up, but I guess for a busy family, it's the way to go. And let's face it—some of those pictures are so pretty!!! 

However, my real purpose was to check out the magazines. It's an old habit, and I'm entitled to browse. 

So I spotted several new issues and browsed them. Here's Quick and Easy Quilts, which has a lot of great ideas for quilts, including interesting colorways and a few interesting articles. And don't forget to check out the ads—that's how we learn about new products! It's not always on the internet!

Quick + Easy Quilts

And then I browsed Quiltmaker. Again, some interesting articles and, of course, some great quilts. 

Quiltmaker

These two, along with Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting, are the publishers I've mainly dealt with in the US. They produce the Love of Quilting TV show. I did not notice at the time that I paid $16.99 for the current issue of Love of Quilting. I was so focused on getting ready for the taping that I missed that detail. 

I was tempted to buy these two issues. OK - I was going to buy them UNTIL I glanced at the price. 

Ouch!!

Double Ouch!

WOWSER --- I will NOT be buying them any longer, not at that price. I think we can get both of these titles on Hoopla through our local library. Hoopla is a great tool, but not every library has the same subscription level. Our city has an excellent subscription, and we have access to so much—it's almost too much. 

I'm going to have to train myself to visit Hoopla online instead of the bookstore. 

Both of those titles are from the same publisher. I checked another publisher. 

Quilter's World

And their prices are almost HALF that of the others. So which one would you buy? 

Still the same price

That's totally insane. I get that paper and shipping are expensive, but that is just encouraging people to use their local library subscriptions. 

Or you could go to Quilting Daily, the publisher's online presence. There is a ton of free stuff on the site, and you can get more with a subscription. I think that might be a better option than the magazines. 

By the way, the magazine's digital version is $4 cheaper than the print. By the way -- I did not buy anything that day!

Don't get me wrong—those magazines' prices are not a bad deal. I've seen basic quilt patterns at almost  $20 these days, and you get many patterns in magazines, along with some articles. The key here is to use the magazine (or the pattern). We can no longer just buy for the sake of buying! 

Oh, I was checking on the status of my classes at The Hobby Horse, and hey, there's a bus tour.  It's on November 9th. I'm stuck at home teaching all day. I NEVER have a free Saturday for fun things! But then I like teaching, so I guess I can't complain!! 

I feel well-rested today. My head is pretty clear, and while I'm not sure my energy is 100% back, I'm in good shape! My body just needs that full 8 hours of sleep, and then I don't need to nap during the day! 

I got lots of work done this morning and even have a community project quilt loaded (after I had to piece the batting). It's ready to go later today. 

So -- it's time to get the day started -- there's a lot to accomplish!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

When men recover from surgery

I am still a slug! Every day is better, but that energy level is still missing. All that travel and carting stuff around took a toll on me. A few more days, I suspect, and I'll be as good as new. I'm much better than earlier in the week, so progress is going forward, which is a good sign. 

As for DH -- let's just say that he has a new appreciation for what surgery means. I swear he thought he would be incapacitated for the remainder of the day he had his surgery, and then he could start working the next day. 

That didn't happen! 

In fact, I think he made a couple of phone calls during the week, and that was the extent of his work! There were a few physical issues to work out, but why would you even consider asking me for advice or taking my advice because what do I know about men or surgery? 

What have I had to deal with?

Me: Why don't you prop your arm on a pillow to take the weight of the arm and the brace off your supporting shoulder.

DH: I can't do that. Nothing works. 

DH (later): My shoulder (the other one) is killing me, and I need you to loosen the brace. 

Me: Have you considered propping your arm on a pillow to take the weight of the arm and the brace off your supporting shoulder? 

Then I had to show him how to do it, as he couldn't figure it out. I noticed he's been propping his arm on the pillow ever since. But ONLY when he's 'on the couch. So many times, I see him without a prop—seriously? You deserve every bit of pain you feel in the supporting shoulder. 

The painkillers will mess with your intestines, and despite another pill to counteract that, he has had issues. 

Me: Do you want some Metamucil? 

DH: No. 

Later, after consulting his sister, who is a doctor, he asked for the Metamucil and glasses of warm water. Things are OK now. But sheesh—don't listen to my advice. Then you deserve to suffer!

As for the actual shoulder, most of the constant pain is dissipating, and he can extend the time between the strong painkillers, which is a good thing as there are only a few days left. He moved to the couch to sleep (my first suggestion), which was poopooed. He wasn't sleeping well in bed, so he moved to the couch. Sigh... 

He's just feeling some sharp pains occasionally, as he thinks he is trying to move the arm in his sleep. So all seems OK -- except that he doesn't take advice, which is nothing new around here!

I will be glad (and I imagine he will be as well) when that brace comes off. He'll still have to wear the shoulder sling, and the shoulder won't be able to be moved per se for a while, but at least it'll be easier to do things. I think we have a physio appointment at the end of next week. There is a follow-up with the surgeon the week after. 

As for me, I will NOT grab another book when I'm finished with the one I'm reading. I started an Anne Perry, and they are page-turners! This one was published in 1980 but written in the Victorian Times in London. Oh my --- let's say that those upper-class Brits were NOT nice. They had low regard for anyone other than their own class. Policemen were tradesmen and NOT liked. 

Here's one thing that I struggle with, and this is not just the Brits in Victorian Times, but it happened in slavery as well. The master and his family had no or little regard for the servants/slaves as people, but if the master needed relief (you know what I'm talking about), they had zero issues having a "good" time with a young servant girl or slave. Or it could be a servant boy as well. 

If the girls got pregnant, they were dismissed in disgrace or were forced to have illegal abortions. As a result, many of them died. It's shocking to see the double standards that existed, and you can see why, many, many years later, we still have issues with how women/girls are treated and how we struggle in today's society. 

I'm almost finished with the book and will NOT start reading another. The weather is beautiful, and I'm outside reading for most of the day! I'm perfectly OK with that. I told DH yesterday that I should sell off everything in Studio B since I spend little time there these days. 

Just kidding- I did get downstairs and made the backing for the next community project quilt. 

The backing for the next quilt

Then, I did some machine embroidery. I had to use the software to design my project. I was stitching the final part when I realized I should have changed the thread. It looked a mess, so I decided to remove the bad part. Of course, I tore two small holes in the fabric on the last part of ripping out, so I now have to restitch the darn thing. GR!!

Two holes! 

But look what happened upon my door yesterday!!!

The EXIT Game Advent Calendar!!!!

It's the 2024 EXIT Game Advent Calendar!!!!! Thanks for the delivery, Nancy!! Of course, DH looked at it and said, "Oh, it's a beginner level."  Good grief—the Advent Calendars are always beginner levels to pull people in. And we have NOT completed one Advent Calendar without looking at several of the clues. Sheesh!!!!

I have loads more to share, but I don't have time this morning. I have two presentations—both are mostly complete, but I have to walk the girls first. 

I'll leave you with this eye candy. Wally Dion is a Canadian artist who makes quilts with fabric and circuit boards. He also uses other mediums for other artworks. Some of these are beautiful, so be sure to check them out. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I hear it's supposed to rain today. OK -- that's a good thing as I need to stay inside! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

 

Choose the books you read wisely!

It's amazing how many spam comments I get on the blog, and I delete them once a day. Some days are worse than others, and it's amazing how the robots can pick up keywords in my posts and then provide rogue comments. It would be so nice if those robots could be put to good use rather than create more work for everyone. It's not that there are tons, but probably ten per week. I know -- not a big deal, but still one more unproductive thing to take care of. 

Speaking of productivity, I was at the grocery store again and always use the self-checkout line. It's relatively fast, and I leave the three lines with an actual cashier for people with big carts of groceries. 

Some people in the self-checkout will have one or two items, perhaps a small basket of items, and occasionally, you see someone with a small shopping cart. But yesterday, a woman had a full large cart, which she had parked behind her. I'm not judging her, as she is allowed to do whatever makes her happy in the store. 

What was annoying was her behavior. She turned around to the cart behind her and took ONE item at a time, scanning it and carefully putting it in her boxes. Then she turned and got one more item. It must have taken a LONG time for her to get through the line. 

Meanwhile, I am pretty speedy through the line, although I never have many items at one time. However, the young store employee must have been beside himself as he supervised this area. One step on the opening screen is annoying, and I always try to bypass it. He was over at my kiosk and had touched that button before I could even register that the screen was up! I didn't mind, but he must have wanted to vent some of his frustration at her. 

The other lines were NOT busy, so the slow bagger could have gone to one of them, and they could have checked her out much quicker! 

I must still be fighting something in my body, as while I'm up and about, I don't have the same energy levels as before. Patience—it'll all come back, but in the meantime, I'm getting lots of downtime, which is what I need. I'm not worried. 

I did make it to Studio B, and I completed the machine embroidery that I wanted to get done by tomorrow. So that was a bonus. I managed to sort out some of the crap on the cutting table, and I'll put it away this morning. 

The best news is that I completed loads of paperwork. All that pending stuff was just building up, and most of it required just a few minutes to verify a date, payment, or whatever. And now there is another pile of paperwork that I must look at today. I just can't seem to get on top of this stuff. How the heck does it build up so fast? 

Part of the problem in the office is that the paperwork that never gets attended to is sitting in boxes, and I must deal with it. I'll eventually figure out a system to see what can be done. I try to deal with it as it comes in, but it has built up with being away and procrastinating in the past! In the meantime, I'll keep chipping away at it! 

In the afternoon, I went to the Oakville Fiber Art Show. Oh my --- I've been to the last several shows, and it's good. There are lots of great ideas, and it's the sort of thing I'd like to give a try, but it's not on my radar screen at the moment. 

On my way home, I stopped at Indigo to check out any new stuff. My first stop was the magazine section. Then I decided to check out other stuff, and OH MY --- who ever thought we'd see this in a store again? 

Vinyl!!!

The next thing you know, we're going to spot CDs, or how about an 8-track? Or a cassette? It's amazing how those media didn't make the cut, but vinyl, yes! 

It was another beautiful day, and honestly, I can't bear to be inside when it's so gorgeous outside. So I sat behind my tree on the front patio. It's amazing how this small tree provides a lot of privacy and will provide more as it grows. 

My privacy tree

I don't mind if people see me or if I see them, but the tree provides just enough privacy so that I don't feel like I'm in a fishbowl. 

So, I have a Halloween quilt on the bed, but I dug out my machine-embroidered one as well. It's hanging on a wall upstairs. It took me so long to finish that I'd better get it out and enjoy it! 

My Halloween wall quilt

However, there is one thing about these heavily machine-embroidered quilts—they do not fold well. So I have a tube from a batting roll covered in muslin. The quilt is rolled onto the tube and stored in a closet. It works for me, and the quilt lies perfectly flat on the wall. 

My storage tube for the quilt

So, the audiobook I'm reading right now is not my favorite genre, and I'm not sure how the heck I downloaded it. Oh -- I know -- I was starting my drive in the mountains a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted something to listen to. I did NOT pay attention to the genre, and this one was downloaded. It's a supernatural/horror. I used to like that stuff, but it's no longer my favorite. I'm over half done, so I'll persevere until the end. Next time -- be sure to check the genre!

I recently finished another e-book about someone's journey on the Camino. While I genuinely appreciate that everyone's journey will be 100% different from the next, this one was a bit much. The author is a best-selling author; she has a PhD in something, is a life coach, a spiritual healer, and much more than she claims on her website. 

I also get that many people may be extroverted but are really introverts and put on that happy face on the outside. So she is out there "healing" the world while she's falling apart inside. 

OK -- so she starts The Camino in a total mess. Every day, something spiritual happens to her. If you genuinely believe in the spiritual world, then that could happen. 

But what bothered me was her reference to various locations on The Camino. They were FALSE! She talks about arriving in Santiago and seeing the massive cathedral from miles away. That is false. Because of the lay of the land, you do not see that cathedral until you arrive at it. When you come to Leon, you can see that cathedral from miles away.

There were other instances as well, and I think she just embellished the story and mixed up the locations to make it look like the most spiritual event that could ever happen. This is wrong, in my opinion. If someone walks The Camino and doesn't feel anything, they are going to feel cheated if they think it's going to be like her walk! Or some of us are less in tune than this person. Also, she said she walked an average of 29 KM a day, when in each chapter, she put her mileage, and her average was 22 KM a day. Just lots of inconsistencies. Not a fan of the book. After reading the reviews, I found that many others were in agreement! 

I finished the book, but I was disappointed that she messed up the locations to suit her story. But each to their own! 

Well, it's time to start the day, and the girls are waiting. 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Clean up in Studio B!

I went to bed at my usual time, and I did not take any cold meds. Guess what? I got up at my usual time, so that's all sorted out, and I feel fine. I'm probably a bit tired and dehydrated, but I'm trying to fix both. Travel is a big culprit in messing with your health! At least for me. And I mean travel for work, not for vacation. 

But the dreams I had? Oh boy!!! You would think the world is coming to an end, with alien ships traversing the sky and spying on people and, well, all kinds of nasty things. Now, where did that come from? 

It must have been the remnants of a book I finished the other day called Argylle, which is a spy novel. It was a random e-book that I got through Libby. Here's the weird bit about this book - it was released in early 2024, and then there was a movie released in 2024, but it wasn't really about the book. It was about the author writing the book (or a series of books). It's a very convoluted story; you can get all the details at this link. If you read the comments on Goodreads, I don't think anyone liked the book; many believe it was a prop for the movie. 

Did I enjoy the book? Well, it was a bit far-fetched, which is probably where my dreams came from. Yes, it had excitement and intrigue (The Amber Room), but it just seemed a bit over the top. 

Here's the trailer if you want to check out the film. I think the movie might be better than the book. It's long gone from theaters, so I must wait for it to come to Air Canada and watch it on the plane!

There were some rumors that TS (you know who she is!) wrote the novel because of the cat in the movie. But all was revealed in that first link I gave you!

I have another book to tell you about, but not today. I must get on with the rest of the story. 

Yes, I have started to tidy up Studio B, not that I did any of the tidying up yesterday. I had to take MIL to her appointment (2 hours), the dentist for me (1 hour), and walk for groceries, and I managed to get my 12 km in, so that was good. I sat outside on the front patio because it was such a glorious day, and I wasn't wasting any of it. 

It's front patio time!

Yes, I LOVE our front patio. At this time of year, the backyard is in the shade in the afternoon, which is cool, but the sun is the right temperature. Murphy sat with me for a bit, and I read and enjoyed my afternoon tea since I didn't get a chance for tea in the morning. 

Oh boy -- it sucks to get old, and the only thing you can focus on is your health. I'm sure that's the case with my MIL, and she seems to get her fair share of appointments and follow-ups. Yesterday was a follow-up, and everything is OK. But the amount of scent she had was enough to give me a headache in the car. I think that is part of her problem -- too much scent is NOT good for your respiratory system, but she didn't seem to think so. 

We had to go to the One Heart Care Clinic, which is a big place devoted to heart health care. I suspect I might be seeing more of that building in the near future, and it is NOT for me. 

I spotted this car in the parking lot. How many quilters bought it? Do you have the reference? 

KONA car

When I was at the grocery store, I noticed the giant pumpkin on display. Well, I suppose you could buy it if you wanted. I put my shopping bag on top so you could reference the size. I will NOT be bringing that pumpkin home—at least not on my walk! That watermelon the other time was much smaller and almost killed me! 

Big pumpkin! 

While listening to an audiobook this morning, I got the "to be quilted" area back in shape. There are some piles of batting waiting to be assembled for upcoming community project quilts, but otherwise, everything looks perfect! It's nice and neat, and I have a few customer quilts to get started on next week. Also, I'm "behind" on my goal of twenty community project quilts by the end of the year, so I hope to get one loaded later today. 

The "to be quilted" pile is back in order

Then, I cleaned up the two work tables for my sewing machines. It felt very good to get that done. I hope to finish one machine embroidery project today, as I need it for our machine embroidery class on Sunday. Well, I would like to have it done by Sunday. 

The sewing machine tables are in order

My computer desk is also clear, so that's another bonus. 

The computer desk is clear!

The ironing board is a mess with some small projects that I want to tidy up, and the cutting table is a total disaster. I hope to peck away at them this weekend as I plan on attending a fiber art show this afternoon. It closes in a week, so if I don't go now, I'll never get there. The show is in Oakville and called Hanging by a Thread, in case you want to go. It closes on October 18. 

I haven't touched my "pending" folder in months, and a lot of paperwork requires follow-up, so I pulled all that this morning. Yeah!!! It's something that has to be done, or I get way behind, but hopefully, it won't take too long to make that all happen. A lot of it is just looking up an email, marking it complete, and then filing it. Well, I'm adding it to the pile that needs to be filed! 

So, I think I'm back on track, which is great! I have lots of sewing to do and a few samples to tidy up, which I'm going to start later today. I've got three short audiobooks that need to be listened to in the next week, so it's all good!

I can't believe how dark it's getting outside these days. It's 7 AM, and it's DARK! Even the girls are not anxious to go outside. 

OH—before I go, here's an article about Thimbles and Things' 25th anniversary. It's rare that a quilt store lasts that long, and this one, which changed ownership, is still going strong. 

Speaking of which -- for anyone in Spice Market, Dear Jen, and the Saturday Sampler (the later two at Thimbles and Things), I hope to get all confirmations out this weekend. So sorry for the delay. There is NOTHING that anyone needs for the first class except the pattern. 

On that note, I'm out of here! Got to get the girls walked and then downstairs to get some work done. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Thrift store finds

I must start going to bed earlier (at my usual time) instead of later because my body wants 8 hours of sleep. So I'm losing my two productive morning hours because I'm going to bed later and getting up after 8 hours! I will say that when I go to sleep, I'm out like a light, and I have never slept so well! 

I had two big adventures yesterday, which didn't allow me to touch much in Studio B. I had to move stuff off a table so we could work, but it still looks like a disaster and is very uninviting to work. I think that's the problem—it's now so uninviting that I can't motivate myself to get there. But hopefully, I can get something done later today. 

I have to drive my MIL to an appointment, which will take a while, and then I have a dentist appointment, so I don't expect to get much done today. 

Someone came over yesterday, and I helped her learn her "new" embroidery machine. She had purchased it from someone else, so we had a lot of stuff to dig through to understand whether it was useful or not. We sorted the good from the not-so-useful. The previous owner bought EVERYTHING. She had all the feet, lots of embroidery software, magazines, hoops, etc. 

Then, we tackled the machine itself. Oh boy --- at first, I thought we might have a serious problem when only ONE hoop could be selected. Then I remembered that you can set that feature on this machine. So can you tell me why, when she had at least 7 hoops, she only had ONE active in the machine? That doesn't make sense. 

We got that straightened up, and everyone felt much better! That's enough to freak you out when you buy a machine, and you can only use one hoop size! 

With her help, my Pony Express staging area is almost clean. 

The Pony Express area is almost empty

After she left (thanks for the brownies!!!), I decided to go for a walk, and the thrift store just happened to be on my way. No - it wasn't seniors day and I forgot my 20% coupon at home! 

I love to check out many areas, and this was one of the first things I spotted: some plastic placemats with machine embroidery on them. 

Plastic placemats with machine embroidery

I don't know if they were done commercially or by someone, but my first comment would be that the designs are a bit small. And my second is—look at the back!!! That's not pretty. 

The back of the embroidery

I forgot to take pictures of the ones I did, but I'll dig them out for tomorrow. My backs are as nice as the fronts! Learning how to make the backs look good is one of the things that I pride myself on. 

I'm always on the lookout for quilted bedspreads, which are commercially quilted with an overall pattern. Yikes—I found three of them yesterday. Two of them were priced at $20.49. 

Pricey bedspread

And another

While potentially reasonable if it's senior's day or you have a 20% coupon, I wasn't paying that. However, if you're buying it to cut up to make a jacket, $20.49 is very cheap, considering how much you would pay for fabric and batting if you were going to make it yourself. So, it's not a bad deal. I did like the grey one. 

However, I found a pale orange one for $11, so that one came home with me. It's enormous, so I might get two items out of it. And if I buy another one of these covers without making something from the two I now have—well, you are allowed to yell at me!!!

My thrift store haul

I got two large BLANK cushion covers (IKEA brand) with a zipper in the bottom. They are brand new and will make good samples for large embroidery with the new turnable hoop. They cost $10 for two. I could NOT make them for that price. 

Brand new IKEA cushion covers

I spotted this, which is really just a hemmed piece of fabric. It was so bright and cheery that I could NOT leave it in the store, even though it was $11. It has a slight flaw on it—nothing that a marker can't conceal. Now, I have to figure out something to do with it. It's a coarser material, but I should find some project to make with it. 

A piece of fabric

And then I found this, which was a bit surprising. It's an EXIT game, which is usually a one-time play only. 

EXIT Game

The box contains four small jigsaw puzzles. I checked that all the other game materials were in the box. Fortunately, this one didn't get destroyed or cut up when played. For $3.49, I couldn't resist. Two of the puzzle bags weren't even open. 

Everything is in the box

Without any discounts, my haul, including taxes, was $45. Oh, I forgot to mention that I got a quilt book as well. It was definitely my lucky day! If I had had that coupon with me, I could have saved $8 —next time! So while some people lament the higher prices at thrift stores, if you are careful in what you buy, you can usually get really good deals!!! I was happy with my treasures of the day. 

And honestly, I don't shop at a thrift store to get a bargain. I shop to find treasures that others don't want. It's a good place to find older or partially used things, which would cost much more in a regular store. The thrill of the hunt is the fun of going to a thrift store - you never know what you'll find.

But I better only purchase something else once I use up some of what I have here!

I had the weirdest dreams. Tons of quilters came to my house just to visit. And then my basement was having water issues, but I was NOT in my basement, but some unfinished place. And there was water on the floor—perhaps I should stop checking the weather app and see Milton's path. 

I checked out my walking challenges for the remainder of the year, and I'm back to needing 12 KM each day until the end of the year. I managed to get that yesterday.

So, I'm off to get to these appointments and complete some paperwork. I touched NOTHING yesterday, which is not good. My body is still craving sleep, and I'm giving in to that, but I did not need a nap, so that's a bonus! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

A new respect for caregivers

I have a new appreciation for caregivers! Especially those looking after a loved one in the house! 

I got absolutely nothing done yesterday. I didn't even make it downstairs except to find a bag to put something in and add to the stuff on the cutting table. 

I had an appointment first thing in the morning, and the doctor was on time and I was out of there before I knew it, so that was good. 

Then, because DH had some issues with the pre-op tests, he needed to get to his doctor, who is also my doctor. So, in the afternoon, I had to drive him back to that medical building and make that happen. The one thing I'll say about our doctor is that when we want an appointment, there is ZERO waiting. He called in the morning, and he got an afternoon appointment. When I dropped in with DH, I got to see her as well—basically without an appointment. 

The good news is that my shoulder (yes, I am very behind in getting that information) is relatively fine. There are NO TEARS in the rotator cuff, so that is good. The bad news is that there is some calcification (is that the right word?) from overuse and minor injuries (like falling when climbing a tree), and it could use some physio (specialized exercises and limiting lifting heavy things) to let it heal properly. 

I don't understand how the doctor works, but I feel that the receptionist is very good at scheduling and doesn't overbook the appointments. That is done, and now we are waiting for the calls to see the specialist. 

Then it was the pill dispensing! DH has six different pills that have to be taken at different times, so I was in charge of that. The nerve blockers wore off in the afternoon, and that was a game-changer. I think he now has a bigger appreciation of the magnitude of the surgery and the fact that he can't move that shoulder for three weeks. 

What he had was actually NOT a new shoulder, but a reverse total shoulder replacement. They reversed the shoulder socket and ball. Even when I look at the pictures, it still doesn't make sense to me. 

I have to make lunch, dinner, and whatever else he wants! We haven't even moved on to the hygiene part yet, and I can't wait! NOT!

This is a temporary thing - hopefully, just the three weeks he has the immobilizer on. I can't imagine having to care for someone who needs constant or almost constant care and there is no end in sight. I spoke to a neighbor yesterday, and her husband is not well. He doesn't have long to live and he seems to be in constant pain. I feel for her as she is frustrated with the medical system and dealing with too many people. 

I took time to read my e-book, which I really need to finish, but then he started talking to me. Oh boy! So it was an interesting day. I hope he feels good enough to work even for a couple of hours each day soon (he's on the phone a lot), but the doctor told him to take the week off. Personally, if it were me, I'd be sleeping and reading all day. 

There are appointments on Thursday and Friday, so the entire week is gone! I'll just write this week off as well. I want to get to a local fiber art show, and hopefully, I can do that on Saturday. 

I managed to complete part of one important piece of paperwork, so that was a bonus, but there is much more that needs to be done, and I have to start working on classes for this year since we are now in October, and they start this month. 

It doesn't help that I'm still not 100% myself. I am still sleeping in and losing two hours each day because of that and another hour-long nap, so a huge part of my productive day is lost to sleep. But my body is telling me that I need it, so I'm not worried. I love this change in weather and could stay in bed all day with lots of quilts and just relax.

I now need to catch up on all my errands in the neighborhood. I made it to the grocery store yesterday, and the girls got their walks, so all is good in that department. I'm not even checking how many KMs I'm walking each day. I'm in the ballpark of what I need to end the year's challenges, but certainly not like I was doing there a while back. That's OK -- it's good to take a break! As for spin class? It's not even on my radar at the moment. I'm hoping by next week, things will have settled down. 

Oh boy -- here's a picture of Murphy. I swear, when I get my camera out, and we are in the forest, she refuses to look at me. Everything else is more interesting. If I change directions, so does she! She is trying to tell me what we are doing is NOT interesting. We need to be on the move - that's where the interest lies!! Silly girl. 

MOM -- STOP taking pictures - let's GO!!

Pictures never seem to do justice to the changing of the colors, but I noticed the trees in the area are starting to turn. These will be spectacular as they go through several color changes. 

Leaves changing color

On that note, I had better try to make today as normal as possible. But it's totally beyond my control! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!