When plans go awry

 Yesterday did NOT go as planned. Where have you heard that before? I would be embarrassed to check the date the box of long-arm supplies arrived at my house (Nov 21, 2021), but let's say it was a few years ago and it's been sitting there in pristine shape ever since. 

So imagine my surprise yesterday when I opened the box to pull out the leaders, only to discover that I had bought ONE leader, not a set of three. Good grief!!!!! 

Here is the situation with the long arm. You can see that the bottom leader is in bad shape, as with 20 years of repeated use, the right-hand side is badly stretched. The quilts still load OK, but the leader has seen better days. 

The bad shape of the leaders

Thankfully, I had only pulled one leader off the machine; otherwise, I would be in trouble while I waited for new leaders to arrive. I've already put in a request for TWO new leaders. I pin my quilts to the leaders - I do NOT float them. At first, everyone used to pin; then people floated because it took less time. But I think people are moving back to pinning (or attaching the bottom of the quilts somehow) because it is way more accurate than floating. 

But what I found under the leader wasn't good news. Those things are glued on with an inch-wide swath of glue. Oh joy!!!

The leaders are attached with a wide swath of glue.

That means the glue has to be removed somehow. I was going to use my GooGone to make that happen, but when I went to the laundry room to find the bottle, it was GONE! Seriously? I can't even blame anyone in the house for that because DH probably doesn't even know what the stuff is. Obviously, I was using it for something and never put it back. I still haven't figured out what that was. 

As I was sewing in the morning, I decided to try scraping the glue off with my screwdriver. I was changing the stitch plate on my sewing machine and had a screwdriver in my hand. That will work, but I need a wider tool. I opened the door to the cold storage room under the stairs, but it is filled with boxes for the sewing machines, and I had no desire to wade through them to reach the paint supplies and tools at the far end.  

Scraping the glue with a screwdriver

Did I mention that I was exhausted even with a nap and had zero desire to do anything? I contacted my friend and said I had a problem, and we settled on a plan where I went to her house to reload TWO leaders for her! 

When I arrived, her husband had scraped all the glue off her two rails, and they were nice and clean, with a touch-up of Goo Gone to remove the remaining residue. I need a husband like that. I mentioned it at dinner, and I got zero response!

Between what she had seen on YouTube and my tips from Jenny at Quilt Canada, we quickly got those new leaders on!! Yep—it works best with two people, but as we were working, I had an idea, and I will share it with you as soon as I get all the glue off my rail. 

The new leader on the long arm

I brought home their scrapers and Goo Gone in hopes of getting the glue off my machine and then loading the new leader. This will allow me to get back to quilting. That will be my goal for today. 

I found scraping to be a very messy, hard-on-the-hands job. So I'm going to take it in baby steps. 

I managed to get this section done with my supervisor watching. I used the old leader to protect the stuff under the long arm from getting covered in little bits of glue. It's going to be a long slog to make that happen, but I have all day. Then reloading the new leader shouldn't be an issue, even if I tackle it myself. I have a secret weapon. Plus I have an extra pair of hands if I need them. 

MOM - you are doing a great job!

And I still need to sew the metal bits into a channel on the bottom edge, to help load the quilts. It will take all day, but I have all day! I'm OK with that. 

It's just the procrastination that shocks me. I'm happy to wait things out for a very long time. Why is that? However, I am happy in a way because I didn't know about the magnets when I got the new leader, and I was going to install channels for the dowels and plastic clips. So it was good to wait, but I didn't need to wait that long. 

This is how Murphy handles the heat. The second we came inside from her walk, she ran outside and plunked herself in her small pond. We have a larger one, but it's so unwieldy to handle, and she manages just fine in this one. I think she went in multiple times because when I came back from Lexi's walk, there was water all over the floor.

MOM - I LOVE my pool

And then she sat outside with me in the evening. It was beautiful outside, and I was really thinking I should tackle some weeds, but I did not. I had a decent sleep, so I should be good for the day. And when it cools down a bit this evening, I can tackle one section of the backyard and those weeds. 

Murphy and I hanging out in the backyard.

I managed to put together a scrappy quilt backing for one of those eleven community project quilts I promised to do for someone. 

I started off with this stack of fabric and ran out, so I grabbed a bit more from the stack for the next quilt. 

Making a scrappy quilt backing

And here is the scrappy backing. 

The scrappy quilt backing

I still have this blue flannel to use on the remaining quilts. It's the small stack of blue on the left, as I had to use the piece in the middle for the backing above. After this one, there are still four that need backings. I may or may not have enough blue flannel for them all. And if I run out, then I'll grab another color from the storage room. 

The remaining four quilts

My goal is to use up all the blue flannel. The small bits go in the white bag and will be used to make scrappy quilt blocks for another quilt. Then the blue flannel will be used up! I'm getting there, and there are still several baskets of flannel in the storage room. Slow and steady, and it will get used up. 

But as I was looking around Studio B, with no immediate project pending, I spotted this. Actually, I was looking for something specific, which prompted me to go into this laundry basket. 

Two laundry baskets of clothing for T-shirt/memory quilts

Actually, there are three laundry baskets of T-shirts for three different people. If I were smart, I'd start by hacking off the bits I want to keep and get rid of the bits that I will not be using. That would reduce those baskets to possibly ONE. That would be a good mindless thing to do. I may do some of that in between scraping glue off the long arm. 

One more basket of T-shirts

And this was my quote in my morning tea. Yep --- so true!!!

Quote of the day

Oh my -- I have a date with Brooke this morning, and I'd better get this post edited and scoot out the door. 

Have a wonderful day. Stay cool - however you manage and travel safe, wherever you go. 

Ciao!!!


PS --- There is a Virtual Retreat on Saturday (starting at 6 PM) and another on Sunday (starting at 3 PM). I'll post the links on Friday. 

On ordering food

Happy Canada Day!!!! Look—I found a new pattern yesterday, and while I won't have time to make it for this year's Canada Day, it would be simple to make next year. I got it at Stitcharie, but I think I bought the last one, as someone else in the class purchased the second-to-last one. And we can celebrate Canada Day any day of the year! It will be great to use up some red and white scraps. 

New Canada pattern

I'm home! It sure feels great to be home, and I didn't find the drive that bad last night, though I did stop at one of the OnRoutes for something to eat. AH -- there is a Booster Juice at this location (Woodstock). I swear the two girls in front of me, one of whom was chatting merrily on her phone instead of with the person she was with, took forever to place their order. I had no idea what they ordered, but seriously - pick a flavor and be done with it. 

The world is getting so fussy, and there is a certain coffee chain that caters to this. The orders are so long and so complicated that you wonder why. If you want a coffee, then just order a coffee, and maybe you put sugar or cream in it, but all these options? Some of those "coffees" are laced with hundreds of calories, and then you wonder why our society is so unhealthy. But I digress. 

Wait --- while the staff member was preparing my Berry protein drink, the lady with the phone came back (still on the phone) and asked if she could have her smoothie thinned out as she couldn't drink it through the straw. It was a slow process to get my smoothie! When she first came back and asked for the drink to be thinned out, I didn't hear what the staff member said to her. The customer's response? "I don't have time for that!" 

My smoothie was the perfect consistency. I have no idea what the other lady's problem was. There are just customers like that, and there is nothing that you can do to please them. 

Anyway -- I digress. I will admit that I am tired this morning and will probably need a nap, and then we are on to change the leaders on the long arms - mine and hers! I'll remove my leaders this morning and clean the rails. WAIT --- I have to sew the metal bits in for the magnets. Yikes -- I completely forgot about that. Hmmm -- there might not be time for a nap!

We had great sessions on software at Stitcharie yesterday, with loads of questions, and many people went home with their heads full of information. Now it's up to them what they do with it. 

I wish I had access to a session like that when I was new to software. At least when I would have opened it, I would have had some idea of where to start. 

When I left the hotel in the morning, I decided to use the luggage cart instead of making several trips. It worked very well. 

Using the luggage cart

It was so cold in that hotel, I almost froze. The first thing I did, and I do in all hotels, is turn off the AC. It is set so high that I'm about to freeze to death. The lobbies and hallways were like ice boxes. I get it that people are hot, but the more you are used to the heat, the less it will bother you. We are NOT AC people at our house, and with a couple of strategic fans, it's just fine. 

Perhaps by the fourth day of this heat wave, we will turn on the AC just to get rid of the humidity in the house. But the basement is like a refrigerator, and with the dehumidifier going, it's comfy once you start moving. 

Before "work" yesterday, I went to Tim's, and this sign is located on the side of the building. 

Outside the Tim's

Other provinces have similar signs with their own provincial symbols. Wait—after a little bit of research, I found the artist and some other information. Here's a screenshot from Cindy Scaife's Facebook page. 

The art at Tim's

I see they also have magnets for various areas of Canada. I am NOT buying the magnets. 

Tim's magnets

Nor did I buy a donut. 

The donuts stayed at the store.

But one thing that I noticed is that the person who comes into the store is THIRD in line to get served. What do I mean by that? Well, Tim's has always had a drive-thru. Well, maybe not at the very start, but it's known for its long drive-thru lines. And many staff members are assigned to fulfilling the orders from the drive-thru. 

A few years ago, they introduced mobile pickup ordering on the app. That has now taken second place for fulfilling orders. I watched a guy walk into the restaurant and step in front of me. He was older; I didn't argue, but I was standing at one of the order counters, and he went to the other one and got served first. 

He got his coffee and left, and I'm still standing there. So I moved to that order desk. The staff member said, "Wait a minute," while he fulfilled a few orders and placed them at the Mobile Order Pickup spot. That location is for any orders placed on the app or at the in-store kiosk, which this store didn't have. Or at least, I didn't see it. 

The mobile order pickup 

This reminds me so much of being with a person, like the person at the Booster Juice stand. It's more important to talk to the person on the phone or to fill the order for the unseen person than to deal with the person standing in front of you. I felt invisible!!!!

One day, I will get the ordering right! But now that I am home, I don't need to worry about ordering anything. If I want a tea, I just go to the kitchen and get it. 

I had taken a drive around Petrolia earlier, and there are some amazing old Victorian houses. Some made from brick and some made from wood. All are beautiful, although some of them needed a bit of TLC.

But as I was walking back to the store from Tim's, I spotted a giant Canadian flag on top of a building. Hmmm—can you tell me how they get the flag up there? It would weigh quite a bit, and well, now I want to know!

How did this flat get on top of the building?

When I got home, I unloaded the car and unpacked the suitcases. I was tired, but not so tired that I couldn't at least empty the suitcases. I hate having my samples crammed into them, and when I pack up wildly as I did, I'm not always neat. So the two big suitcases got unpacked, and the items moved to their respective locations. Upstairs for finished samples, downstairs for working samples. 

This is what I faced this morning when I went downstairs. Of course,  Murphy was there to assist. It was more like supervising than helping. 

Mom - I'm here to help if you need me!

And there was a stack of items on the chair that needed to be dealt with as well. 

More items to sort

There were items on the cutting table, but as I made progress, they were put away. With the two trips back-to-back, there was no time in between to deal with stuff. I now have a handful of thread to find a home for and then to tackle putting away the remaining things on the right-hand side. I have one urgent project to work on, and I have two weeks to make that happen. The items I need are in that envelope. Stay tuned! 

The cutting table is almost clear.

I'm happy to report that the items on the table and on the floor around it are put away. Yeah!!! I now have room to move the stuff from the chair to the table. That will leave my chair free to operate the sewing machine, which I will need as I sew the metal for the magnets into the leaders. 

Good progress on tidying up!

There is a pile of samples beside the sewing machine that I want to tidy up. 

Samples that need some tidying up

I love making technical samples. The ones that show you the good, the bad, and the ugly. But often the edges of the single fabrics go unfinished. It would take no time (yeah right!) to trim them to a nice size and serge the edges. 

Samples need to be upped in finished quality just a bit.

So I set those samples aside, and they will look a bit more professional the next time I pull them out. 

I also have a pile of things on the stairs to bring up. Don't yell at me; this is a good place to put them, and they never stay long. I have already brought up a fair amount of it. I am super careful of stairs, both up and down. I am very aware of that stuff, and since I am the only one who does the stairs, I'm not worried. By the time my helper comes for the long arm, this will be all dealt with. 

Things to bring upstairs

And that's it for today. I can't wait to see how this leader thing goes. I have THREE leaders to sew the magnets into. That means marking the stitching lines and then sewing. Neither should take too long, but there are three of them! 

The girls are happy that I'm home because that means they are going to get a walk despite the heat. I might make it a bit shorter, but they will tell me what they want. They don't care about the heat, at least when it comes time for a walk. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

NO more donuts!!!!

What will I do with two weeks at home? I should be answering some of those comments! Your comments always make me smile. 

And yes -- those unruly kids? We were saying to each other at our table who would sue whom if that kid fell while playing fireman on the patio umbrella pole. Those parents would be quick to sue because the kid got hurt, completely forgetting that they were not taking care of their kids - it's always someone else's fault. Sigh......... It's a very sad world we live in. 

Victorian houses being a money pit -- you got it. I can't imagine the heating bill for a house like the Fairbanks Mansion. 

But I took a picture of it yesterday. Well, there are big NO TRESPASSING signs on the tree, and you know the morals in me would never let me cross that property line. I remember another instance a couple of months ago where a single sign refrained me from crossing a property. Hmmm -- I think that was the golf course near a quilting retreat. I was going to cut across it, but I was deterred by the signs. 

Signs work for goodie two-shoes like me, but not for others. 

The Fairbanks house is huge, and there are a lot more trees around it than in the picture I posted yesterday. I bet that originally, it was sitting on a huge piece of land with nothing for miles! Now it is just steps from Stitcharie and the town of Petrolia. 

The Fairbanks Mansion

According to the floor plan I shared yesterday, that turret is the library on the ground floor and a bedroom on the top floor. Right beside the turret is a large window in the den on the ground floor. Hmmm -- why a library and a den? Yesterday, the ladies guessed that one might be for the gentlemen to smoke in after dinner, while the ladies shared the library. 

A bit closer on the house

But doesn't it make you want to see inside the house? And that massive veranda on the front of the house? How fun would it be to lounge out there on a summer day? The back of the house is where the kitchen is, with a maid's sitting room, and upstairs in that area are sleeping quarters for the maids. Just fascinating how ornate they built those big fancy houses, and I can only imagine the millwork on the inside.

The rumor is that there is a ballroom on the third floor. And yes - that rumor is true; however, there was a major fire in the house in 2002, and it sounds like a lot of the interior was damaged. OK -- I still want to see inside!!! Do I dare just go and knock on the door and ask for a tour? Of course, I won't do that, nor do I have time. 

I might have to come back, do a bit more exploring, and look for a house! Just kidding -- we are not moving, but I am enamored with this quaint town. Plus it has a quilt shop! That's a bonus. 

OK -- so I said, "NO MORE DONUTS!" However, it seems the world wants me to eat donuts. This is what I spotted at breakfast yesterday morning. 

Mini donuts

The donuts weren't very big, and how many calories can be in one donut? So I had one! The hotel chain I stay at includes breakfast, so I always have breakfast there and then get Tim's tea to start my day. The tea is purchased on the way to work. 

When I was finished yesterday, I went out for dinner; more on that in a moment, and since the dinner was light, I decided to stop at Tim's on my walk back to the hotel. I wanted a muffin. Imagine my disappointment when I saw this. 

The muffin side of the baked goods shelves was empty. 

No more muffins

But the donut side was still stocked. NO...................................... I don't want to eat another donut. 

Of course, there are still donuts!!!!

Thankfully, I asked, and they had removed the muffins from the shelf and still had bran muffins, so I was able to get what I wanted. Phew!!!! I wonder if they will have donuts downstairs this morning? I have never seen donuts at the breakfast bar before. 

While I'm talking about food, let me tell you about dinner.  I decided to explore the local restaurants, and since I had eaten at a dockside restaurant the night before, I checked out a brew house this time. Yes - I had one of their local offerings. They had minimal offerings for dinner - hot dogs- but that's OK, since it was the picture of the hot dog on Google that intrigued me. 

My hot dog for dinner

It was very messy to eat, but it was good. That's why I had to stop at Tim's for the muffin. I'm hungry now, so I'll soon be scooting down for breakfast, and I'll let you know if they have donuts this morning! 

We had a great day yesterday, with everyone learning what Creativate is and how to use its various components to be creative! I know many people went home extremely excited about what they can do in the embroidery/quilt world! I'm excited and can't wait to be home. What will I do first? Unpack? I have a few things to repair. I have a puzzle I want to start. I have samples to finish. But first, I need to get that long arm ready for its spa day, and then weed the garden. With this heat, I'll be out there with a flashlight in the middle of the night!

While I think we are in a very safe area here, I was leery about leaving all my suitcases in the car. What if by some weird occurrence, one of my suitcases disappeared? That is hours and hours of work that would disappear, and I would be devastated. So I lugged them all into the hotel. And now I have to lug them all back out this morning. 

All my luggage on the left 

I had to resort a few of the bags this morning to add a few things to what I'm showing today. And we have some great demos on how the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 3 works with all its amazing placement tools. Be sure to come by Stitcharie if you are free. 

Last night when I was approaching the hotel, I spotted "sun dogs" in the sky. Now I have seen these in the winter, but never in the summer, and it's hot outside. Well, it turns out that they can be visible in the cold and the heat. Where the ice crystals form, allowing the sunlight to refract through them, is always very cold. 

Sun dogs in the heat

And that is our science lesson of the day!

Can you tell me why that hotel in Winnipeg had the controls on the opposite side of the shower from the showerhead? I have NEVER seen that anywhere in my life, and this hotel is back to normal with everything on one end, so you have to stand out of the way while the water heats up. It's just weird. Something as simple as splitting the components on two sides makes life easy, BUT I bet it would drive the plumber mad with all the extra plumbing required. I bet that is why it isn't common—it's much more expensive! 

I had some extra time yesterday morning, so I scheduled all the classes for 2026/2027. You know what that means  - I'll be able to post them soon. Expect that to happen later this week. And there's no need to rush to sign up - the first classes don't start until September. I just want you to make wise choices as you start seeing which classes other teachers are offering. 

The last thing we want is for you to be overwhelmed by the offerings and get so bogged down that nothing gets done. Remember that quilting is our hobby, and we need to have fun with it, or we are in big trouble. While there are times when I get stressed by sewing, machine embroidery, and all my technology woes, it's usually my fault. I didn't plan well enough, and I'm very good at procrastinating. Or I struggle because I can't find the correct tools. However, I am much better than I used to be, which gives me more time to enjoy my hobby at my own pace. 

But I have so much more I want to learn - software, embroidery techniques, and the long arm. I will never stop learning stuff. How could you not? 

I just can't imagine getting up each day and NOT having something or some purpose in life. Being retired and only being there for my children (well, child) and grandchildren would be the most boring thing in my life. Don't get me wrong -- I think it's a good reason to get up, but they won't be around forever. Nor could I read all day. It sounds so exciting, but I would be bored as well. Learning is a way to expand my horizons, and new stuff keeps coming out!

I am not a soccer fan; I don't watch it, but OK -- even I am excited for Canada. This is a historic moment that they have made it to the round of 16 in the World Cup. Go Canada Go!!!!! If you look at this chart, I wonder why it takes so long for these games to be played? I must ask DH when I get home. I could learn it, but there is no room in my brain for the details of soccer! I have more important things I want to learn!

Can you believe it's June 30th today? Where has HALF of the year gone! Make sure you are taking advantage of every day!!! I know someone (no need to mention names, as they know who they are) who is counting the days to Christmas!!!! And before we all know it, it will be Christmas! 

And on that note, I'm out of here!!

Have a super day!!!!

Quaint Ontario towns

I'm so glad I'm not alone in using edge-to-edge designs on a pieced quilt. I'm prepared to put edge-to-edge designs on any quilt unless it is something super special. 

The more I thought about custom quilting on Color My World, the more I realized that you won't see the quilting. While the quilting style isn't really important, it's the texture it creates that matters to me. And it's also the density. If you look at some of the photos of quilting for Color My World, the windows might be heavily stitched or with an X, while the building itself has no quilting on it - just stitched in the ditch. 

I don't like that! And there are many quilts that YES, the quilting is exquisite, but I don't care if that is on my quilt or not. Thankfully, there are designs and styles for all of us! But it brings to mind a story from many years ago. I was a member of a quilters' guild, and we had a lady who did custom quilting for people. She used a computer and would often create special designs that looked great when appropriate. Her work was excellent. 

However, a lady brought in a quilt that had been custom quilted by this person. She was so proud of that fact. I don't even remember the quilt top, but the fabrics and pattern were super busy. During her show-and-tell, she said, "It was custom quilted, but you can't see any of the quilting from the front." She told us you could see the custom quilting on the back. However, the back was pieced with very busy fabrics except for one section, about the size of a fat quarter. She proudly showed off the custom quilting on that fat-quarter-sized piece. 

That was a total waste of money for the owner, and a total waste of time for the long armer, who should have encouraged that lady to save her money and do an edge-to-edge. 

When I first started quilting years ago, I thought everything needed custom quilting. Nope -- it does not. Edge-to-edge works really well. The quilt gets finished; the cost is reasonable for the maker; the long armer can get it done in a day; or, if you have an embroidery machine, you can do it on your embroidery machine; and you can even free-motion edge-to-edge on your domestic machine. There are so many options - the key here is to get that UFO done!!!

I'll be doing a session on edge-to-edge quilting with your embroidery machine today at Stitcharie in Petrolia, Ontario, so if you are around and interested, be sure to pop by. I'll also be reviewing how you can incorporate machine embroidery into your quilts. It's so much fun and makes buying an embroidery machine a no-brainer - at least for me. 

Tomorrow is all about machine embroidery software. It's amazing, and there are so many cool things you can do! 

I bought my first embroidery machine in 1998 when I had no idea what machine embroidery was; the machines were so small, and I had never done it. I was a quilter. But I never regret that purchase and will never be without an embroidery machine. Embroidery machines were NEW at that time. 

I am always leery about travel days - will I be in good shape to drive? Sometimes I get sleepy during the drive that I need to pull over for a nap, but I had zero issues, which was great. I arrived early and walked around this quaint little town. Holy --- if anyone is looking for a place to retire to - this might be the place. I have no idea about doctors and such—who needs a doctor? (Kidding, of course!). 

But seriously—Petrolia, Ontario, is a quaint town with a pretty vibrant downtown, and guess what? There is a quilt store here, and they are a Husqvarna Viking dealer. It doesn't get any better than that. Now if I could persuade DH to move. The cost of houses is pretty decent as well. I know -- I already checked that out. 

There are lots of murals around town. This is one that was near the train station. 

Mural near the train station

The old train station was turned into a library! How cool is that? 

The library

And this is the war memorial. They have a large walkway leading to it from the street. This is the end of it. 

The end of the walkway to the war memorial

And this is the main path. 

The path from the war memorial to the street

I didn't get a picture of the storefront - I will today, but it's right in the downtown area, and it's so quaint!! The store used to be in the little strip mall at the outer edge of town, but now they get a lot of walk-in traffic. 

Petrolia used to be Canada's Victorian Oil Town and has quite the history. What I love are the beautiful old houses along the main street. They are absolutely gorgeous. And then there is this mansion. It's called the Fairbanks Mansion or the Sunnyside Mansion. The house is huge, and I would love to see what it looks like inside. 

I know this is totally silly, but wouldn't that be a fun house to buy and fix up? It would cost millions of dollars and is something to contemplate should I ever win the lottery, which is unlikely since I never seem to buy tickets. 

It's just sad to see some of this old historical architecture fall into disrepair. I shall try to get a real picture of it myself. It's a very imposing building, and I noticed it as I drove into the downtown. It was used as a movie set - obviously for a scary movie several years ago! 

I am staying in Sarnia, which is about 30 minutes away, and I spotted this in the restaurant. 

A sign in a restaurant

Seriously? They shouldn't have to post a sign like that. However, the other night when we were out to dinner at Boston Pizza, they could have used this sign. There were two women, and between them they had five kids, ages 3 to 8? They were done eating, and the two women were deep in conversation over a couple of beers - not sure who was driving. The kids were bored by this time, and they were wild. We were on the outdoor patio, and the one young boy was using the umbrellas as a fire pole, walking on all the furniture and tipping over chairs. They were extremely unruly. 

The kids had thrown stuff on the floor, were using the water hose, and through it all, the moms NEVER said one word to the kids. NOTHING. I was shocked. We eventually said something when they started walking onto the table where the fire pit is. Apparently, other people (from the same nationality) have been banned from the restaurant. I hope these ones are banned as well. We have never seen such rude behavior before. 

I mention nationality, but I won't post what nationality. I've heard a lot of people say, "What does it matter?" And it doesn't, because rude behavior crosses many borders. But apparently there is a group of people from this country in our area, and they are quite rude. That was according to the server. You know they are not from here by their heavy accent. 

The kids were obviously bored, and you can't blame them. The Moms gave them no attention - not a single word. Then they ordered a second beer and moved to the couches. Seriously? So now you think the entire outdoor patio is yours? We know the owner very well, and he didn't say anything, but he should have. We shall chat with him this coming week. Apparently, others of this same nationality were banned for similar behavior. I think it's time these two families were banned as well. 

After eating, it was beautiful out, so I took a walk along the waterfront and spotted this sign. Actually, I spotted the sign from the restaurant on the other side of the bay, so I walked over. There's a sign in every city, it seems! 

Hello Sarnia!!!

And there was this weird structure along the waterfront, and as I got closer, I realized it was a fountain. 

It's a water fountain!

This is the view from the end of it. 

The side view

And as you see in many places, there were beautiful benches along the waterfront with memorial plaques on them. That would be a nice place to have a plaque if you won't be interred in a cemetery or a niche. I still have NO clue where I want my ashes to reside. Probably scattered in the wind since that seems to be my life! A whirlwind of activity. Perhaps outside a quilt store? Or on a bicycle path? 

Memorial plaque on a bench

But this granite bench was a sobering one. It was dedicated by MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) in dedication to all those who were killed by drunk drivers. I just don't get it --- why do people have to drink and drive? I just don't get it—you can get a taxi, an Uber, sleep it off, or whatever, but who the heck do you think you are to get in a car? 

A memorial to those killed by drunk drivers

As I walked through the park to get back to the hotel, I spotted two of these very gnarly trees. I'm not sure what type they are, but it looked like the trunks had a rough start in life and then grew a bunch of branches! 

Knarly trees

And that path is part of the waterfront trail that goes along parts of the Great Lakes. It's time to get the bike out and see where those paths lead!

The Waterfront Trail

I realize we are heading into a heat wave this coming week, but it's cool here at the moment. But I can't stand air conditioning. It is so artificial and so COLD!!!! The first thing I do in any hotel room is turn it off. It's unbearable. I think the heat even came on last night and there I am with my big heavy quilt on the bed. It's great to travel with quilts - you are never cold!!!

A quilt on my bed

Well, on that note, I'd better get myself organized for the day. It's fun to be in the same time zone. I have two days of events, then I'm home for TWO entire weeks before the next trip. I'm so excited, but I have so much work!! The first line of business will be the spa day for the long arm. I was hoping to get the old leaders off before I left, but that didn't happen. Oh well. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Finished is better than custom quilted

Oh gosh -- my washer isn't working, and I needed to do laundry yesterday! It has been acting up recently: the door catch doesn't always recognize when the door is closed and locked. So if you wiggle the thing, it would work again. Yesterday? The wiggling didn't work. Oh well -- I have enough clothes to make the next couple of days work. 

When I'm back in three days, then I'll have time to try and get some things done around the house. Like weeding the backyard, fixing the washer, and giving the long arm a spa day. And so many more things!

Thankfully, the rest of July is pretty wide open, so I'm looking forward to that. 

I had forgotten to mention that there is no virtual retreat this month. I simply wasn't home enough to make it happen. And while I could let the retreat run without me, I would prefer not to do that. I am the host, and I don't like leaving the ladies unattended! Not that I don't trust them - I just prefer to be there when I have an open call. So there may be TWO retreats in July, as I have a lot of hand stitching and sewing that I can do, and why not? 

So I'm going to host a Virtual Retreat for July 4 and 5, and then I'll figure out the date for the second one. 

I have to leave shortly for my road trip, so I don't have much time to post, but I want to share my version of Color My World. We had an amazing show-and-tell of the Color My World quilts. I will sort through the pictures and post the quilt tops as they are finished. There are quite a few that are done, and many that are almost done; once people got into the process, many started customizing the four corners. I will post finished tops, but that won't happen until later this week.

 We went through the trials and tribulations of designing our corners with buildings that are meaningful to each of us, and wow - the participants went wild with that task. I am so darn proud of all of them for stepping out of the box and making this happen. 

This morning, I'll share my quilt with you.  

I decided to change two of the four corners, so I had the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben, which were patterns included with the quilt. I switched out the Sydney Tower for the CN Tower, and the One World Center for a grain elevator. 

You can't have a grain elevator without identifying its location. This is the name of the tiny village near where I grew up. It shows up on Google Maps - seriously? I can't believe it - it's been a ghost town for quite some time, and there were two elevators in that village. Like almost all elevators in Saskatchewan, they are history. 

Machine embroidery on my grain elevator

Then came the decision of how to quilt the quilt. It is not typical of me to have one of our projects completely done by the end of the class, but I needed to take it to Quilt Canada with me. I thought long and hard about how to quilt it, and many of the ones spotted online were custom-quilted, with many lines of stitching in the ditch. 

You know how that is -- when I was a new quilter, 28 years ago, people used to say - just do "stitch in the ditch!" Well, I have since learned that stitch in the ditch is very time-consuming to do right, and it is NOT easy. I could have chosen to do it on the long arm or the domestic machine. It would have taken a long time to make it happen. Barbara Black said it took her six days to quilt the version she had done for The Quilt Show. 

I did NOT have six days, nor did I have any interest in all that stitch-in-the-ditch, so I decided that finished was more important than custom-quilted, and I loaded it on the long arm and did an edge-to-edge pattern with it. 

This is the pattern I chose. 

Edge-to-edge pattern on my Color My World quilt

And there it is, with an appropriate thread (color and weight), the thread and quilt design take second place to the houses. 

Color My World fresh off the long arm

If I remember correctly, that got quilted before I left for the wedding, and it got trimmed and bound on the "free" day I had between the wedding trip and Quilt Canada. 

I threw it in my suitcase, and when I arrived at the hotel, I had two quilts that I put out on the queen beds. 

Color My World on my bed in the hotel

I forgot how big the quilt is, but it fits beautifully over the top of a queen bed. I much prefer to make toppers for the beds rather than make a full-size quilt. Why? I don't need a full-sized quilt - a topper over the duvet works just fine for me. It takes less time to quilt, less fabric, less time to bind, and is smaller. Plus, big quilts just don't hang well on the corners of a bed, and there's the decision about what to do with the pillows. No more giant quilts for me.

As I lay in the other bed, I could admire the texture of the overall quilting. The quilting pattern was obvious, but it doesn't detract from the houses. I know I already said that, but it's so true. I do NOT regret my decision to do overall quilting on it. That is going to make me rethink many of the quilts I have waiting to be quilted. It will be better to have them quilted than to leave them as UFOs in a pile. 

The texture of the quilt is amazing.

And there it was hanging up at Quilt Canada, and you can see my wildly coloured CN Tower. I didn't want to make it black or grey, as there really wasn't any black or grey in the quilt, aside from the roads. The bottom part was hidden, and many people asked what buildings I put on the bottom - Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower. 

My quilt is in the booth at Quilt Canada

Here is the entire quilt. It looks like there is a ripple near the bottom, but that's because there's one near the top. I hung it up with some clips, and well, even if there is a ripple, it's good enough for me. Notice the orange trees? It's fall in my world - the original had green trees. 

My version of Color My World

And as you can see, the overall pattern does NOT detract from the quilt one little bit! I'm thrilled with the quilt and so happy that it is finished. I must get a label on it as well as several other labels on quilts, and I hope to get that done in July. Hmmmmm—there are a lot of things I hope to get done in July. 

Slow and steady will be my game. 

As a reminder, if you want to see what I am teaching in the fall, you can check out this blog post. I also hope to get the dates worked out in July. And I pray that I do not have another month like June. I have no issues with being busy - it's a stretch for me to be away for so long. I really haven't had time to recover from the wedding before it was time to take off again. That part I don't like. Give me one trip per month, and I'm happy. 

By the way, there will also be a scrap class starting in the fall that will run for 9 months. It's all about how to cut, store, save, and use scraps. More details when I'm back. 

On that note, I'm out of here as I need to get things organized for today. I have many suitcases to load into the car, finish packing the backpack, and hopefully get the girls out for a short walk. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!