There's plenty of time!

The best laid plans and then life happens! But yesterday was an amazing day, even if I didn't accomplish anything. WAIT  - I actually accomplished a very important thing -- nurturing a friendship, which is way more valuable than making things, except when you are supposed to be making things for your daughter's wedding! LOL. 

I had planned a lunch date with a friend, and yesterday was the only day we could make it happen this month. That "lunch" date turned into hours and hours of lively, energizing conversation. It was glorious, and I'm surprised we didn't get kicked out of the restaurant. But we were sitting in the overflow area in the mall (my favorite crepe place), and they didn't need the seats. When we finally decided to get moving, a huge group arrived, so that was fortuitous timing!!!

Thank you to my lunch companion. We have both been super busy for so long, and it was so refreshing to just sit and chat. It was worth the "panic" I'll have to do today to finish my wedding things. 

And you'll love this story. I walked to the mall, and my friend drove their two-month-old Tesla. They have the FSD (Full Self Driving - Supervised) software component, which is exactly that—the car drives and parks itself; you do nothing except set the destination and the driving mode—more on that in a moment. You can even fetch the car if you are at the mall door and it's pouring rain. But you can't have the car let you off and then park itself. You don't touch anything once it's set. I had to laugh as she described the FIVE levels of driving you can set it for. The bottom level is called Sloth (drives just under the speed limit, with maximum distances between vehicles and little to no lane changing). It progresses to Chill, Standard, Hurry, and Mad Max. Mad Max, in case you are wondering, is a bit aggressive and goes for bold, lane-changing maneuvers, maximizes traffic flow, and certainly drives over the speed limit. Hmmmm—I'm not sure I want to try Mad Max. They have not tried Mad Max. 

But it all sounds intriguing, although we will not be getting an electric car, and certainly not a Tesla. It's just the principle of it all. 

Anyway, what was hilarious is that since they have had the car (no more than a couple of months), they have had THREE software updates. No big deal. When she got in the car to come to the mall, the FSD feature wasn't working - the latest update had happened earlier in the day. So when she asked if she could drive me home, I said "yes" as I wanted to see the car driving us home. Alas, that feature still wasn't working. It figures—I must have jinxed the car as I approached it!

Supervised means that it will keep you awake or pull over if you fall asleep. It has cameras on you to monitor your activity, and if you are not paying attention to the road, it will remind you. So I get that the car is driving, but it seems silly that I can't do something while it's driving. I guess I'd rather be driving. Most people of my generation have been driving for years, and we have developed coping mechanisms and reflexes. Imagine you are new to driving and have an FSD - Supervised in your car. What skills are you learning? And then what happens when you have to drive a real car? That will be a very dangerous and slippery slope for everyone. 

Something to contemplate as you sit in your supervised self-driving car. 

Trust me - we also chatted about the use of Grammarly to write!! Without it, my writing would likely suck, but I'm hoping that, at least with prolonged use of Grammarly for writing, I have learned a few tricks and rules, so it shouldn't be too bad without it. But it's amazing how quickly we become accustomed to using those tools as crutches, and how we struggle without them. If I don't see the error list, my mind goes blank! 

As a result of that lengthy engagement, not much sewing got done. And I wasn't panicked in the least - my creativity will be fired up today because of the short time available. I still have to make that last item for the wedding today. It's today, or it doesn't get done. And that will be a disaster, so this afternoon, after my two morning Zoom sessions, it will be do-or-die! But it shouldn't take long, and I mean that in the best of intentions. The item is not huge, and I already have it laid out in my head. What I don't have is room to redo any part of it, so I must pay attention!!!!

Plus, I tried on the pants for my outfit -- there is no need to try on the top -- just the pants, which is why I'm always flying by the seat of my pants! Anyway, they are made for someone who is 7 feet tall, so they have to be hemmed today as well. Good thing I checked, or I would be walking around with very long pant legs, and they would be hard to roll up! 

Plus, I have a quilt that needs to be quilted today. Yep -- it will be busy. And I have two Zoom sessions this morning! 

However, I managed to take that small cushion cover apart and turn the backing around, so now the opening is in the correct orientation. The opening should be facing DOWN, not up! 

The opening in the back is now oriented correctly.

I inserted the pillow form, and it's very cute. It's called A Birdie told me so by Kimberbell. 

The completed cushion cover.

I have more pond pictures! It appears the pond is about to explode. There were two blooms yesterday, and it's amazing how quickly those buds appear. 

Two blooms in the pond

The buds are well disguised because this is how the leaves form. They come to the surface rolled up and look just like a bud. Once the entire leaf touches the surface, it unfurls and then lies flat. As you can see, the pond is covered with leaves - or at least the section I want covered- and it provides shade and protection for the fish. Which they seem to be thoroughly enjoying since we rarely see them! 

A leaf is unfurling in the pond.

I looked a bit more carefully, and while you can't see in this picture, a few more buds are coming, and I hope we get to see more today. Just checked, and I see one more bug just poking its head out of the water. It won't open today. 

The lily pad leaves come bursting out of the water!

Then last night, I decided that I needed to fix this frame. Anything to avoid hemming my pants!! 

Time to fix the picture frame

I could not get the small, down-ended piece of metal back into one corner, so I whacked some wood glue on all three broken corners and secured it with some elastics. If that doesn't work, I'll just whack some nails in from the side. I don't really care - what I want is the frame back in working order, so I can hang the picture up! I probably won't have time to deal with it today, so it will have to wait for a bit. But at least this step is done. 

The frame is glued back together.

And then I did something very bad. I opened the next puzzle box - it's actually a tube and started sorting. Thankfully, I wasn't speed puzzling, because I don't think I got the pieces sorted and turned over very quickly. I was listening to the last part of my audiobook, and I wasn't in a hurry at all. This is going to be a tough puzzle, I think, and I started by sorting the pieces by color on the design boards. I have one with blue, purple, green, orange, yellow, and when I ran out of room, I put the remaining mixture on one board! Yes -- some boards have multiple color sections. 

The pieces are sorted mostly by color.

All the while, when sorting, I removed the border pieces. 

The border pieces

And then I sat there and assembled the border. At first, I thought a few pieces were missing as it wasn't going together well at all. And then I rearranged a few sections and VOILA - the border is intact. All the pieces were sorted from the initial sort. Hmmm - the left side looks much longer than the right - it must be the angle of the photo!

The border is together.

My goal is to complete it by the end of this month, which could be a challenge since I'm away for much of the month and have things to prepare on the days I'm home. But I'll make it work as this is for the Canadian Jigsaw Puzzle Association theme of the month - rainbows, colors, gradations. I think this puzzle covers all three categories. There is nothing better than "panic" sewing because you squandered your time working on a jigsaw puzzle. And you know what? I'm perfectly Ok with that! 

I also managed to get a task that I had been procrastinating about off my to-do list. Well, not quite, but it's almost done, and that took a fair amount of time in the morning. But the worst part is done, and all that remains is to update three small sets of instructions, then put it all in an email and cross it off the list! 

As you know, I'm not one to plan far ahead or book things, especially when it comes to travel, but I have what's needed for the first day of travel on the upcoming trip. Lots of emails with names, numbers, confirmations, etc. I have moved them all into one folder so when (and if) I need them, they are handy. Look at me -- how organized can I get!!! 

If you had a peek at those hoarding lists from the previous day, someone mentioned that, in the worst-case scenarios, hoarding is also accompanied by filth. I've seen some pretty bad situations online. We are clean hoarders in our family -- thank goodness for that. But the other day, someone sent me a list of things that accumulate in our house, and I'm going to have fun with that as I share it with you. But that has to wait until July, as there is no time this month to make that happen. But you will want to play along with me, so be sure to watch for that. 

And I have a special event later today -- yes, that wedding item and the pants had better be done by then! I'll share it with you tomorrow! Hey -- if I told you everything up front, what would be the fun in that? What if the event is a dud? I can at least lie about what it was, but if I tell you upfront, then  - well, it's best to keep the options open!!!

I have neatly stacked all the boxes on the floor in the office - it's mostly books that I need to get rid of, and I'll have to deal with them in July. I had a pile of paperwork that was sitting on the floor, and it was getting very untidy, so I shoved it into an empty box in the office (the only empty box - I might add), and that will also get dealt with in July. I must make plans so that July will be to clear everything off the floor in here, hopefully get rid of the old computer, and maybe one or two things off the tabletop or the second desktop. 

You know what they say -- things must get worse before they get better. And I have to call about that oven, but it's not going to happen this week, nor the following week. We are managing just fine with our toaster oven. I just won't be cooking a turkey or cookies anytime soon, not that I've ever done that. Well, cookies, but never a turkey -- too much fuss for me! 

And on that happy note, I'm out of here!!! The girls are patiently waiting, and there is much work to be done! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

It's all about the birds

Don't you feel great when you discover (reaffirm) things about yourself that make you happy? I have always been a neat person. By that I mean, I love having my stuff organized, in place, and readily available. I love organizing. 

However, when I started quilting and had a baby around the same time, my brain went totally mush, and my organizing skills went downhill rapidly. On top of that, I became something of a collector (OK—read: hoarder). And while I had great intentions of getting everything I had accumulated read or made, that wasn't happening. 

And then the clutter began. And it grew and grew until our house was overwhelmed. NOT like some of the places you see, but on the firemen's scale of 1 to 10, our house was probably a five. WAIT -- I just Googled a hoarding scale and OH MY --- I think we only qualified for a level 2. Check this out. It's pretty scary, but we were never beyond level 2 - thank goodness. 

Yikes—in some of those areas, my parents would have qualified as level 9! Not all areas, but a couple of them for sure!

Anyway, more than 10 years ago, I saw the light of day and realized that things needed to change. 

And, in particular, I realized that, for me to function well —OK, in Studio B at least —I need to be neat and tidy. The cutting table, the puzzle table, the ironing surface, and the sewing tables need to be clear. The projects table can be a jumble (it's organized chaos), but I can work with that. 

In the last couple of days, things have gone awry, and there was stuff everywhere, so I spent a few minutes this morning tidying it up, and I feel ZEN!!!! While I'm OK with having multiple projects on the go, I also feel at peace working on one at a time or finishing one at a time. YES --- I have found my groove, and I need to keep it maintained! 

There are a few things still on the puzzle table, and I need to repair that frame today, so I can hang it back up. I haven't been puzzling the last couple of days as I sat outside in the evening, enjoying the weather and reading.

The puzzle table is almost clear again!

And in case you are wondering about the puzzle table, let's just say it will definitely be busy tomorrow evening. I'll share that with you later. 

In addition to keeping things organized, I keep finding things as I go through some of the piles, which is great, except there is one small thing that I had recently, and I put it in a safe place, but where? I'd really like to find it, but it will come one day. 

I started the day by washing the suet feeder and restocking it with one suet bar. I need to buy another one and put that in the feeder. The cardinals were on my case, and hopefully, they will be back this morning to get their fill. I really love this Brome squirrel-proof suet feeder. It wasn't cheap, but I've never seen a squirrel hanging off it. They don't even bother it. 

The suet feeder is restocked.

That should make the Cardinals happy. I need to get my new bird feeder out as well, and then the rest of the birds will be happy, and I'll have removed one more thing from the office. YES -- while I have gotten control of my working environment in Studio B, I have NOT accomplished the same thing in the office. I'm close -- the supply cabinet is organized, as is most of the filing cabinet. I just need to permanently clear some flat work surfaces around and deal with some excess. I'm getting there - slow and steady is better than not tackling it at all. 

I had an appointment for a mani/pedi yesterday. I hate colored nails, so I just got things tidied up for the wedding.

That is relaxing!

 DH dropped me off as he needed the car, and once I was done, I walked home. There is a shortcut from the parking lot to the road, rather than walking completely around the block. 

The shortcut through the ditch.

As I approached the shortcut and was pulling my camera out to take a picture, a red-winged blackbird appeared from nowhere and attempted to divebomb me. The bird was hanging out in the air and was not happy at all. I snapped the photo and took off into the shortcut as quick as I could!

It's about a 40-minute walk back from the spa (at the gym) to the house. One day, I might get brave enough to try out an e-scooter since there are so many around. You just need to set up the app (of course!) to unlock the e-scooter. Hmmm—I may continue to walk—I think it's much safer! 

Lots of e-scooters! 

Here is the pond and all the lilies. They are growing like weeds!!! 

The lilies are growing like mad.

And OH MY -- I see the first bloom!!!

The first bud!

It's not quite fully open yet. Interestingly, these blooms close up at night and reopen during the day. Do you know why they do that? For survival and protection. By folding up, their delicate pollen is protected from early-morning dew and prevents the flowers from being eaten by bad bugs. It also helps them to conserve energy! 

Almost open flower

I don't plant annuals, but I try to help the bees with my lilies, lilacs, landlocked lilies, and peonies, which will bloom later in the summer. I think I need a couple more peonies in the area by the gazebo - it's a bit bare, so I must tackle that job. 

By the way, in case you are curious, that pond is quite old. I must dig out the original pictures of our backyard. Most of what you see (shed, pond, gazebo) was here when we moved 23 years ago. BUT we have enlarged the pond and changed the deck, etc. 

And of course, Murphy is never far away when I'm outside. 

MOM -- do you need help?

In an effort to get a handle on the stuff hanging around Studio B, I trimmed the community project quilt. 

Community project quilt is trimmed!

And these are the cutoff edges, which will go back into the pile of blue flannel that I'll use to make the next five quilt backings for that group. NOTHING goes to waste at my house. Don't worry  - the use of scrappuy quilt backings will be discussed in the scrap class in the fall. 

The cutoffs from the flannel backing

A few more half-square triangles were trimmed. I only have a few more to trim to be up to date with my current sewing, and, of course, there is that bag of a bit smaller ones that I'm whittling away at. 

Trimming HSTs

This large snowflake, cut out with the Singer Momento (24" die cutter), was finally fused to the background fabric. It's sure nice to not have to trace and cut out something that large. It was super simple. Now to do some satin stitching around it! 

My large snowflake is fused to the background.

I finished the little cushion cover, except that I put the envelope backing on upside down. GRRRR -- that is going to bug me, so I'll likely take it apart later today. And now you know why it takes me so long to make anything! I am constantly taking it apart to make it right. What I needed to do was check it before I pinned. Sigh..............

The complete cushion cover

Then, instead of working on the remaining project for the upcoming wedding, I decided to figure out the puzzle that was Tequila Lime. Once I got things laid out, I realized that the large pieces of the 8 sections are assembled, but the large pieces (4 per section) need to be stitched together. Two sections are already together to make one quarter of the quilt. 

Anyway, I managed to get one section done - three down, and five to go. 

One section of Tequile Lime

It was just the figuring out that needed to happen, but after spending a few minutes, it all worked out just fine. The pieces for each section are pinned to the design wall, and I'll grab what I need as I sew a few more sections. The sections need to be sewn in a specific order because of the coloring of the petals in the center. So I must be careful how I start the sewing process. I do NOT want to rip this out. 

Progress on Tequila Lime

I did some embroidery and loaded a quilt, but I can't share that with you. OH -- so many secrets!!! But all will be revealed in due course. For sure, by the end of the month, you'll see everything that I've been working on. Some of you will see it sooner! 

I also did some tidying in the furnace room. I will admit that tidying up is way easier and faster than a deep clean. The furnace room is in order, so it was just a matter of putting a few things in a better location, and all is good. That took all of a few minutes, but I see DH has some excess golf things, so I'll have to ask before I toss! 

And on that note, I'm out of here. I'm still working on that very long To-Do list I created a couple of weeks ago. It's much shorter now, but there are still things to address. 

Do I need to remind you how important tidying/decluttering is? If you have time -- grab a drawer and start decluttering. And if you have been decluttering, are you able to maintain it? That is hard, but in the areas I have decluttered, I can keep things super clean. My "junk" drawer is as neat and tidy as when I organized it many years ago! 

Have a super day!!!!

Caio!!!!

Multi-tasking at its best

My brain always seems to be working overtime, and yesterday was no exception. I'm sure you all have your favorite people that you follow on Facebook or IG. You know the ones that are either building/renovating a house/castle/chateau or own pets (goldens, huskies, or other breeds with a few cats thrown in. And as they reach their various milestones, they post the numbers. 

But have you noticed how the number of content creators has exploded? Everyone thinks they can be a content creator because how hard can it be? And some of them are definitely better than others, but have you ever considered the competition between them and the pressure to produce more and better videos than the others? More exciting videos and they get a bigger share of your time, and thus money. 

And all it does is make us spend more time online, and we get nothing done. Putting those videos together is a lot of work and can be extremely intrusive to the content creators' lives, but a number of them have given up good day jobs because the videos (and your views and likes) are more lucrative. 

But here's the thing—if you think your day job is stressful, what about constantly being on camera, thinking about the next topics, and editing? And you can't complain to your boss because you are the boss. 

And you are setting yourself up for a lot of criticism. When these content creators first came out, I thought it was very cool and subscribed to several of them. I don't watch them as much anymore. Why? Because what they are showing has just become silly, and, in some instances, I find it wasteful to see so many dollar-store props end up in the landfill. 

Or to be told by a young couple, "you probably don't understand our vision, just wait for it to be finished," when it's perfectly clear that whatever they are talking about is NOT new. We understand perfectly what you are saying because we already have that feature in our house or whatever. And many times, in house building, I see people adopting trends because they're trendy, but they're certainly not practical. The worst offenders are the "smarter" ones who install some feature because it's going to be maintenance-free. HAH!!! Owning a house, no matter the features, requires maintenance. Sorry! 

Will these content creators ever go away? I'm not sure, but just be mindful of what you watch. 

It was a crazy day, as I have a few tasks to finish before next week, and I don't want to fail at them. Do you know how hard it was to find a dog sitter for one day in a different city than where you live? 

It was insane, and I swear I spoke/texted/emailed every dog sitter in Nanaimo to find someone who would even answer me. I started by leaving phone messages, then realized these people were probably younger and only had cell phones, so I could text them. But the number of people who never responded is obscene. 

Anyway, I was on my phone and computer a lot yesterday as I tackled that task. I had another task that needed a lot of attention with multiple phone calls and emails, but it was accomplished as well. Fingers crossed that it all works out. It's out of my hands now. 

And let's not talk about passwords or phone verification issues. I swear that is going to be the death of me. I got booted out of a site for exceeding my attempts at phone verification. I get it that these steps are there to prevent AI from encroaching on websites, but it has become absolutely crazy!!! 

I want to go back to a simpler time when we didn't have cell phones! OK - I might not be that crazy, but all these security levels are insane, and it's only going to get worse as AI becomes smarter. Sigh........

I managed to get one more of the community project quilts done. This is number six of eleven. I'm on the other side of the mountain now!!!

Number six of eleven of the community project quilts

As I was buzzing around Studio B looking for something that I never found, I discovered the kit for this small pillow. All the fabrics were in the kit, and I had pulled thread for it. Good grief—if all my threads were pulled from all the projects, I might need to buy a new cabinet to store them! 

A kit I found 

All the embroidery was completed yesterday. I didn't put a red tail on the bird, but in hindsight, I should have. I am NOT ripping that out. It is what it is. You know what? He looks just fine the way he is!!! A bluebird doesn't have a red tail. By the way, this is a free download if you want. It's on Kimberbell's site and called A Little Birdie Told Me. 

The embroidery is complete.

I just might forge ahead and finish the pillow today. It's small and very cute. 

Then I needed to get the backing prepped for a quilt. OH MY --- I bought this fabric recently, and its quality is amazing. It's thick, and you can't see a single thing through it. That's pretty unusual these days. 

Incredible quality (excellent) on this fabric

I laid out one more of the dog fabric quilts on the design wall and arranged the squares. They are now in labeled rows and tucked in a bag for the next retreat. I had to add two squares, but quickly found an appropriate print in the still-full basket of dog fabric in the stash room. 

This dog fabric quilt is ready to sew together.

That left the design wall empty, so I dug out the next large project that I want to work on. It's part of my 2026 UFOs and is on the Visual To-Do list. OH MY --- I thought it was more together than it is. Only one quarter of it is intact, and the rest is in pieces. 

Tequila Lime quilt top

I'll have to sort that out later today so I can start to sew it together. I see I still need to do some trimming, but thankfully, all the paper piecing is done. This was Tequila Lime that I taught in 2023. Oh my -- how quickly time flies! 

I was given a few other tasks for the upcoming wedding. Things that I had to make or alter. Thankfully, none of them were too complex, but some required a bit of ingenuity. In total, there are five things I was asked to make or wanted to make. Four of the five are done, and I have all day to work on the last one. 

Of course, I'm still in the process of making travel arrangements. So help me god, but I have nothing on the calendar, and then everything hits at the same time. Sometimes, the only thing required for travel is booking a plane ticket. But this time, I need multiple planes, cars, hotels in various cities, and multiple dog sitters for various dogs! I'll make the final arrangements later today, and then I think everything will be done. I'll need the weekend to finish some packing for when I get back, as I have back-to-back events this month, and it's going to be fun to keep everything straight. 

As I find or remember things, I'm setting them out in piles so it won't be a mad scramble when it's time to pack them. 

Does anyone have any experience with this tool for setting snaps and rivets? VARIO creative tool by PRYM. I spoke to Emmaline Bags the other day as I was contemplating buying the big table press. But they said they are moving to this lighter tool and mentioned that unless I was riveting into thick leather, this one was likely suitable for all my needs. 

On that note, it's time to get moving on the day. Lots to do and hopefully today will be stress-free!!! Yesterday was a bit more stressful than I would like! OH -- just made the final travel arrangement. Well, that is, until we need to come home! 

OH MY -- I have the back door open, and the smell of lilacs in the house is almost overpowering. I can't imagine what it smells like in the gazebo!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Don't give up -- just learn and try again!

OK --- you know how it is when you come across a new word, and you wonder about it, and then POOF -- that word comes up again! In this instance, the word is actually a name - Eilidh - pronounced like Hailey, but without the H. I thought it was a strange spelling, but it popped up this morning on something I was researching, and what are the chances of that? I'll probably see that name and that spelling in many more places now. That's so weird. 

It was a decent day - I managed to solve some of the problems that are on my to-do list. Things that need to be done in a relatively short time. Slow and steady! 

Here's one thing that has eluded me for a long time, but I'm happy to report that it's finally finished (again!), and this time I'm very happy with the results. OK -- so I'm very picky, but if I'm going to take samples on the road, I want them to look amazing, and I'm willing to rework them to make that happen. By reworking them, I'm learning methods that work for me. 

This was a cushion cover that I embroidered last year, and I wanted to use an invisible zipper in it. Well, I just whipped that zipper in and then turned it inside out, and the bottom corners were bulky. I know I can do better than that, so I took it apart, and it has sat for a long time. I cut parts of the zipper tape to reduce bulk, but it didn't work because part of it was in the seam, and the bulk wouldn't go away. 

This is not the first time I've inserted an invisible zipper!

So, while at the retreat, I reinserted the zipper, leaving the ends free at the corners. Yesterday, I serged the sides back together. 

The cushion has been serged.

And now, when I turn it inside out, all four corners look amazing, and there is no bulk at the bottom where the zipper is. YEAH!!!!! I learned a valuable lesson—if you do something wrong, study it and think about how to do it differently. Check out a purchased pillow to see how they insert the zipper, and then just do it, and you will have a great-looking sample. I absolutely love this saying, and it's something we need to keep in mind whenever we pick up a book. 

The cushion cover is done!

Here is one of the corners. OK -- so it's one of the top corners that never had an issue with bulk, but all four look like this. 

One of the corners

And for those who want to know the "secret," leave one inch at each end of the zipper when inserting the invisible zipper. Then, when sewing the sides together, keep the zipper ends out of the seam. I'm sure you all knew that, but I goofed. I now know a great way to insert the invisible zipper in a cushion.  

The bottom of the cushion with the invisible zipper

I managed to put one of the dog fabric scrap quilts on the design wall and place the pieces. It's not a very big quilt, but it's large enough for a child. 

The scrappy dog fabric quilt

Yes, it's very scrappy, and I tried to position the blocks with alternating light and dark squares, except for the top and bottom rows. It is what it is. 

Then I removed the blocks by row and attached them together with a label and a clip. All the rows are in a bag and ready to be stitched at the next retreat. I have two more sets of blocks to lay out, and then I'll be ready to sew and won't have to deal with the short design wall. Preparation is key!

Tagged and bagged!

Amongst my unfinished projects is this jacket. It was technically a prototype, using a quilted bedspread (thrift-store find) and a new pattern. It is cold in Studio B these days, and I had forgotten to bring down a sweatshirt this morning. So I grabbed this jacket. The bedspread had been washed many times, and when I put it on this morning, the first thing that came to mind was how SOFT this was and how comfortable the fit was. That's all the incentive I need to finish it off properly, so I can wear it all the time downstairs. 

My jacket prototype - soft and comfy

To finish the seams, I like to grade the thicknesses, but that is a challenge on this one because of the TRIPLE chain stitch used to quilt it, likely on a large industrial flat-bed quilting machine. The thought of unpicking those stitches doesn't thrill me, so I may end up binding the seams. I don't have any matching fabric for the lining, but I might grab some bright fabrics to liven up the binding and the seam finishes. It's got a boring and dull paisley print on the inside. But comfy? Soft? Oh yes—this is a great jacket. 

The Pony Express is alive and well, and I will have a doozy of a story to tell you in a couple of weeks about it. For the moment, we will focus on what happened two days ago. I got a delivery of three puzzles. I tried to trade the one puzzle in my trading pile, but I didn't find a taker for it with this person. These first two puzzles have very nice pictures, and I will likely pass these along when I'm done. 

Two new puzzles

But the third puzzle was intriguing. This is the picture! I did NOT mirror the image, so is that a problem with the picture, or is the puzzle totally backward? 

The picture on the third puzzle

And it comes in this drawer pull box. Hmmmm --- what a unique puzzle. I may ask my new puzzle peeps about that. I can't find anything about this on Google. All I get are instructions on how to make a puzzle tray with drawers or links to buy one. That's not what I want. 

A drawer pull on the puzzle box.

And yes—I hope to have new puzzle peeps soon. I'm slated to volunteer for a couple of hours at the end of July. I can manage that!! And, sad to say, I've been watching a few YouTube videos about the competition this past weekend. There is one young adult who is the queen of speed puzzling. She won the individual and pairs events and earned a third medal as well. It might have been in the team event, but she didn't come first. She looks very young, but I Googled her, and it said she is an adult (no birthday information). But can we trust Google?

I also received a penny in the year that M was born, so I'll give that to her when we see them. It's supposed to be good luck on your wedding day. 

And there was one more delivery to my door that same day, the puzzles came. I got a box of old quilt books. I know -- do not yell at me. I requested them. Some of them are to be given to others, and a few are to add to my stash. I'm OK with that. I have a wee bit of room left and will start to cull when the shelves won't hold any more. I need to sort through them and put them in their respective places. 

A box of books

The puzzle got picked up by the person who dropped off the books! Good luck with that tough one! 

We have a pair of cardinals in our backyard, and Mister Cardinal was pretty visible yesterday. I first spotted him on the gazebo railing. 

Hey, lady—fill the feeder! 

Then I spotted him taking a bath in the pond. WOW --- what a cool picture!!! Would that make a puzzle? It would make a challenging puzzle with all the rocks! But look at the reflection! 

Hey—a little privacy, please —I'm taking a bath!

One of the readers just got a new pond, and there is no end of fascination with birds and fish. I spotted four of the seven fish yesterday. Two were hanging out in the empty spot in the shade, and two were among the lily pads, checking out the sun. They are not used to us yet and scitter away faster than a speeding bullet. We don't feed the fish - we used to, but there is so much algae and such in the pond that we haven't fed our fish for years. Now with the new ones, let's hope they learn the same thing. 

Of course, Murphy had to be in the picture as well. That dog just runs hot, and since it's relatively hot outside, she was trying to find a cool spot to sleep. She loves to sleep in these bushes, even behind them, right beside the house. This area never gets sun, and the ground is damp.

I dug out her small swimming pool and filled it with cold water. She was a bit hesitant and put her feet in, but was not ready to take the plunge just yet. She will. I have a larger one that she can lie down in, but if she wants, she can curl up in this one to cool off. The big one is so cumbersome. I also bought her a sprinkler that I may bring out later today. 

MOM -- it's hot!!

I have loads to do, so I don't have much time to spend in the backyard, but I try to grab a few minutes in the gazebo every day. 

Remember that plant I rescued from its dead leaf trap a few weeks ago? Well, in case you think one small act doesn't make a difference, look at the plant. It's smaller than the others, but it's thriving. It probably would have forced the dead leaf off at some point, but I'm happy knowing that I helped it along. 

Small but thriving!

That brings to mind the story of some scientists or nature photographers (I've forgotten which), who were studying penguins somewhere. They realized that the penguins were in a spot that they could not get up the very steep, slippery slope of some ice floe, and if they remained where they were, they would die. The dilemma was that the scientists were not allowed to help the animals but were to leave them in their natural habitat untouched. They were torn, so they carved mini-stairs into the slippery slope, and the penguins made their way up to safety. 

I think that's a beautiful story. Should humans have interfered with Mother Nature? They did, and yet they didn't. If the penguins hadn't figured out the stairs, they would have died, but survival kicked in, and they problem-solved, and the group of penguins was freed. 

OH --- if you think I'm bad about puzzling, you should see some of the pictures I've seen online. These puzzlers are just like quilters. They have rooms filled with puzzles, and they thrift them all the time; one person thrifted 37 puzzles in one month. Oh gosh—did I do a bad thing by picking up this "hobby"?

It's good to branch out and just a fun thing. I won't go crazy. Says she who has a stash room. 

Well, it's going to be a crazy month. I haven't had one of those in a long time, and I look forward to all the packing and unpacking! There are lots of fun things coming up, and not much time for puzzling or sewing. I'll do the best I can. 

On that note, I'm off to see Brooke to see what torture she can find for me. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!

Fixing a problem is easy if you have the skills

THANKS to all who gave me great suggestions about the witty comments. I will reread them and memorize them because they were great!!! You are the best, and thanks for putting up with my little tirade yesterday!

And yes -- it was just a question of time before I approached the CJPA (Canadian Jigsaw Puzzle Association) to help. I love helping out, and used to help a lot with the quilt guilds I belonged to in the past. Then, when it became too political and cliquish for my liking, I stepped away, and I don't regret that decision. 

Thankfully, there are workarounds for all of us, and we just need to recognize them and move on. 

Someone asked a question about the lilies in the pond. When we first set up the pond many years ago, we planted three lilies at the bottom. Since they were new, I bought a bunch of floating plants to provide protection (sun and predators) for the fish. That included floating lettuce and other plant varieties. 

Within a short time (well, more like a couple of years), those lilies grew huge, and if they were outside the pond, I guess we would call them invasive; they seem to grow like weeds. The pond is about 3 feet deep, but with all the accumulated dirt and debris, I bet that section is probably only two feet deep. In the fall, the lilies are cut back somewhat and left in the pond. 

Spring barely arrives, and those lilies are already growing like mad! We've had amazing blooms throughout June and July, and I look forward to them every year. 

I had asked the pond people (who open and close the pond) to clean up some debris and lilies from the pond, as I want some open space. They did, and I continue to remove debris from the pond when I get a chance. I even attempted to pull those loose roots out the other day, but I could only get so much. If I really want to get to the "root" of that matter, I need to reach in with both arms, while lying prone on the side or step right in! 

I was kneeling on my little foam pad and reaching into the pond, and had visions of being pulled into the pond headfirst by tough roots, so I only pulled what I could!

But those lily pads are pretty indestructible and have embedded themselves into the liner. I don't think we could get rid of them without removing the liner. 

As for the fish, they are certainly shy. I almost thought they were all gone, but I spotted one the day I cleaned the filter and pump. The rest are probably still hanging out in the below-water jungle! 

It was a weird day yesterday. I had tons to do, and while a lot was accomplished, I was out of sorts. There was a quilt that needed to be quilted, and I was getting some help with it. The first issue was that the backing was too short. Are you kidding me? The worst part of that scenario is that I bought the backing or was responsible for how much was purchased. Unbelievable, but it was that kind of day. 

I found another piece of the same fabric (Fireside), but not the same color, and you know what? It works! I serged the two pieces together, and it got loaded on the long arm. Then I realized that the top wasn't finished - a few embellishments (machine embroidery) needed to be added before it could be quilted. 

What the heck was I thinking? Anyway, that was a fun exercise and turned out fabulous, BUT - it took most of the day to make that happen! Silly me --- I take a week off, and my brain goes to mush. 

However, the good news is that the quilt is loaded, minus the batting, and it will be quilted today. PHEW!!!!

But not before I had TWO hiccups with the embroidery machine. Sadly, both issues were my fault. However, my skill level at fixing these things is pretty decent, so I was able to rip out, unstick, and repair, and no one is the wiser that anything happened. 

A wee bit of a thread jam in the embroidery machine

Because of the types of designs I was stitching and the frequent use of the automatic cutter, I should have stopped at some point to clean the loose threads that can sometimes accumulate in the bobbin area. I did not do this, and as a result, I got this pretty significant jam. But I fixed it! No damage done to anything. 

I can't share that with you at this point in time, but you'll get to see it in a bit. By a bit - I mean a week or two. 

The one thing I will say is that if you have a PROJECTION system on your embroidery machine, make sure you know how to use it. I used the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3 with the projection system, and it is the absolute best. You can precisely place any embroidery. If you have this tool on your embroidery machine, please do yourself a favor and learn it. The more you use it, the better you get and the easier it becomes. I would be hard-pressed to live without that feature!

Then I had some flowers that needed to be embroidered, so they got done last night as well. These will be free-standing, so they got washed last night and are ready to be turned into something beautiful later today. 

My embroidered flowers

Since the serger was out, I got three pet mats stitched up. They had been sitting on the table, well, one of them had, and the other two came from the recent retreat. They are done and ready for delivery at some point. June will be an interesting month to get through, but then I'll have time to make deliveries and clear the Pony Express area. 

Three pet mats are ready

This was a pair of scissors I recently purchased - actually, they are not scissors, but a clamp to help with assembling things like 3-D machine embroideries. I don't know where to store them, so I took this picture in hopes of remembering where they are when I need them. I have put them in my scissors drawer. 

My new clamp for assembling machine embroidery bits

And the girls were outside enjoying the warm weather. While it's warm outside, but not overkill warm, it's like an ice box in the house. I'm still wearing a big fleece most of the time at home. 

I will say that being back on dinner duty is cutting into my sewing time! The biggest issue is what to make, since I haven't really had time to shop or plan a weekly menu. I've run to the grocery store each of the last two days to get something. But we are thriving, and it's just a matter of rejigging time. 

DH actually went and sat outside while I finished cooking, which is probably a good thing. I mean, it's good that he had some downtime at the end of the day instead of having to cook for me. I was spoiled for a while, but now back to reality. And I must get that oven fixed (I found the serial number) so I can use it instead of relying solely on the toaster oven. 

Wait -- here are the girls outside enjoying the backyard, but why they think it's fun to lie in the sun is beyond me. They with their big fur coats!!!

MOM - we're just hanging out

But I am not a fan of them hanging around when people have food. I don't give them stuff, but others do. Oh well, the girls are getting older, and I guess we can live with it. 

MOM --- we are waiting for handouts!

I made phone calls, transferred large computer files, and sent emails, all of which were necessary to cross things off my to-do list. The file I tried to send was so large that I had to reboot my computer to clear the memory because it wasn't happy. But that got done. PHEW!!!! Thank goodness that process was NOT new to me. 

And today? Well, more of the same, except I'm off to the gym - I almost wrote spin class. I just checked the app (yep—there's an app for that) to check availability, and they no longer require you to register a spot. Hmmmmm --- I wonder why? 

Well, not my concern, and I'll do my thing on my bike in the corner on the second floor. Then some stretching and I'll be back at work before you know it!!!

Have a wonderful day, and thanks for being YOU!!!! I have loads to share with you, but I can't at this moment, but it's all coming together! 

Ciao!!!