Anger management

I will be the first to admit that there are days when I should be enrolled in anger management training. However, I will say that it's not because of what I do - it's what others do to me. Within the last two weeks, I received SIX requests for information on my personal travel plans from the same person. I'm past the point of caring if anyone else knows.  

I asked why they needed to know that information, and the answer I got was lame. I decided (spitefully—I admit it) that I wasn't going to provide that information. It had no bearing on any other dealings we might have, and in my mind, this person was just being nosey, as usual. It goes a bit deeper than that, but I'm not going there this morning. 

When I was asked a sixth time yesterday, I lost it! You would think that if I haven't already answered the question, the asker would give up! Nope - try a different way, and it's still the same question. I really don't care that I embarrassed myself in front of someone else. But I really do need to learn some witty comebacks, not angry outbursts. 

I have been provoked on many occasions, and I don't react the first time, nor the second, nor the third, but continued digs get to me, and I lash out, especially when I perceive them as intentional. 

What typically happens is the culprit does it in a place where other people are around. The first instances might be quiet, but as the situation escalates, others who don't know the background end up feeling very uncomfortable, and I don't blame them.  

So—the bottom line is—if I don't play the game or I don't answer your question, STOP! It's as simple as that. What I dislike is the INTENT that is often behind these incidents. I feel (I could be wrong) that the person intentionally provokes me and continues to escalate their actions until I lash out. It's happened multiple times with different people. 

The question is how to deal with this? I have to go back and explain the backstory to the others present and tell them why I lashed out, so they don't think they need to walk on eggshells around me. And I have to face the culprit to explain that I don't want toxic people in my life. Or at least, I minimize my contact with them. What it does is heighten my distrust of those people. Sigh...........

Oh well --- that is life. Now to find some witty comebacks! Just walk away!!!! Just walk away!!! Perhaps I should talk to a counselor to get all the anger deep within my soul for these instances out, and then I can let it go! 

Yes -- that was more personal than perhaps you needed or wanted to know, but you know what? I'm tired of hiding the crap that gets dished out to me! My first step is to say that I will make any incident public (without naming names) to ensure others realize this behavior is unacceptable and borders on bullying. We must make it stop for everyone! I have been a target of bullying my entire life, and I always kept it bottled up inside. I'm not going to do that any longer. 

And now onto happier things!!!!

I have the name of the pattern that we saw yesterday. Remember the rose?

English Roses

 

The designer is Eileen Bahring Sullivan (The Designer's Workshop). The pattern is called English Roses, and it was published in 2000. So if you think freezer paper paper-piecing is new, it's at least 26 years old! Thanks for the information, as I had forgotten to look it up. 

Before I forget, let me tell you the app story. I was at the library yesterday, and they have an app that lets you stay on top of your loans right on your phone. I don't think I have that app, but I should download it. WAIT -- I lied. I do have the app on my phone. 

The library app

 

But this isn't about the library app, it's about the app for Tims. I typically don't go to Tim's, only when I'm away. I know - I should be searching out the small cafes, but it is convenient. When I went in to get a tea with my two laundry baskets zipped together, there were two people at each of the two order kiosks. This was when I was at the retreat. I could have gone to the counter, but at that location, everyone seems to use the in-store order kiosks. 

It was obvious from their actions that both pairs were struggling with how it works. Good grief—I wasn't going to wait while they learned how to order at the kiosk. So I opened the app, placed my order, got my order, and was on my way out as one pair was finishing their order. The other people were still there. 

While I'm not a fan of ordering online like that, I'd much prefer to order in person, so I may start doing that in the future! 

And as they say -- there's an app for that! There's an app for everything these days!

Yesterday wasn't my most productive sewing day in a long time. I had Monday sewing, but I also had ultrasounds for both knees. Let's hope that I don't have to go further than that step to figure out what to do with the knees. My next appointment isn't until the end of July. 

But I learned two things yesterday, and I suppose these are things that we may or may not subsconsiously know, so bear with me as I explain. 

I walked to the clinic, which I know sounds like an oxymoron - you have trouble with your knees, yet you walk to the appointment. My knees don't hurt all the time, and I'm really trying to find preventive measures to keep them from getting worse. And yesterday was a good day for my knees! As I waited at a stoplight for the light to change, I realized that when the countdown appears on the other side for pedestrians, the audible beep is timed to it. Each beep is one second. Now I've seen and heard those signs hundreds of times, but it was only yesterday that it clicked. DUH!!!!

And when the technician was doing the ultrasound, I asked questions. They now have machines that warm the gel BEFORE they apply it to the area to be scanned. That's neat! But why the gel? It appears that ultrasound waves require a liquid to function. Without the liquid, you would get a black image. And filling the bladder before abdominal ultrasounds? The urine helps conduct the waves and move the organs into specific positions for a better view! 

And there you have it --- two things I learned yesterday!

As I walked back, I walked alongside this new building. I wasn't impressed with the quality of the materials on the undersides of those balconies. The building is NEW, and yet it looked like the material had cracked in several places along the bottom! It's all cosmetic, but still!!!

Looks like shoddy work on the underside of the balconies

And while I was at the library, I spotted this knitting book. Yikes!!!! I think I'll be leaving that behind! 

Knitting anyone? 

But speaking of knitting, I found my book tucked into another bag of knitting. Oh - I guess I need to address that someday. I had a quick glance and didn't see the binding method I used, but I'll check again. And I have to set up a Zoom with someone who can help me. And I'll go back to the person who got me involved in this project, and hopefully, with all those resources, I can figure it out. And once I do, then I MUST get the afghan done so I won't forget again!

I found my knitting book.

It was a nice day yesterday, and Lexi was out sunbathing again! She likes to lie with her head askew, and how can that be comfortable? 

MOM -- I'm soaking up the sun

Murphy is just happy and will lie anywhere where stuff can cling to her fur!

MOM - I'm just so happy you are home!

Our gardener guy was here while I was away, but I find he didn't get all the weeds like he usually does. It wasn't in bad shape because I had already been out doing some weeding. No worries, I did some more weeding and then took care of five bags of mulch. It's pretty thick in some places, but I'm OK with that. 

One mulched area

This is the place where Murphy likes to lie down. Hopefully, the mulch will prevent that from happening, but I'm not holding my breath. The creeping vines love this bed, and the roots are very hard to get out. I'll have to keep an eye on it. 

The next area with mulch

I cleaned more muck out of the pond, the filter, and the motor. There are so many pine needles about 3 inches long, and they get through any filter. A total nuisance, but a fact of life in our backyard. 

And of course, Murphy was up to her old tricks. There is one ball in the pond. 

Ball One!

And then there were two because I wasn't cooperating with her! Intent!!!! That dog throws the balls in with intent! 

MOM -- I can play bob the balls in the pond!!

And after all that was done, I headed for the gazebo. I need to put the frog back in its rightful place by the pond. 

My quiet place

The lilacs are in bloom, and they smell wonderful. I could have sat outside all afternoon, but I had other work in the house. I don't even remember what work it was, but I'm sure it was something important. But by that time, I probably had to get to the grocery store to buy something for dinner. 

The lilacs are in bloom.

I managed to get all those half-square triangles trimmed that I didn't at the retreat. These are now back in the retreat bag, and I'll finish sewing them at the next retreat. 

The HSTs are trimmed.

I'm making great progress on clearing off the cutting table - slow and steady, and trying to find a home for everything! 

More progress on clearing the cutting table

I also managed to draft the pattern for the dog quilt with the panel. There are now three more dog quilts to sew together. One has the panel, but will need coping strips so the blocks fit. That was drafted in EQ8, and all I need is to find some fabric. Then that goes in the bag. Those will get done at the next retreat, along with sewing more scraps. I'm working my way through this, and all will be good examples for my upcoming scrap class starting in the fall. 

By the way, I have settled on the classes for the fall!!! I just need to work them into my calendar, and then I'll post them. I've tried to find something for everyone and tried to accommodate the choices I offered. So yes, there is more than one class. There are more than two classes, but several are short. I'll try not to keep you waiting too long, but I won't be taking signups until later in the summer. And please don't plan to take everything!!! Just because -- take it because you want to learn something or do some of the projects, but I think we are all over the act of just signing up for everything. 

WAIT --- I heard a really funny thing the other day. We are all familiar with FOMO (fear of missing out). But here's a new one to embrace - JOMO - the JOY of missing out!!! I love it!!!!! As I was walking home from the library, I overheard a man walking in front of me talking about FOMO to someone, and I got a chuckle. It's not just quilters who have FOMO!!!

And oh my -- it doesn't take me long to get into trouble. I have volunteered to work with the Canadian Jigsaw Puzzle Association! I know -- that didn't take long. We are chatting back and forth via email to find something for me to do. It won't require a lot of work, but it helps me to get connected with the puzzlers!! I'll keep you posted because I think it's going to be fun and won't take long. 

Well, on that note, it's time to get moving. I have a bunch of wedding stuff to do today. By the way, I got what I needed done yesterday, but I need a follow-up today. So that's on the agenda, and a quilt has to be quilted today as well. 

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!!

The aftermath of quilt retreat

OH MY --- I was exhausted when I got home. I had a decent sleep the night before, but it was short. Can you believe I went to bed at 6:30 last night and got up at 4:30 AM—that is a rarity for me. I had five minutes of awake time and 1 hour and 13 minutes of deep sleep! Phew --- I feel great this morning, and that was probably my best sleep score ever. Those sleep scores only give you excellent if the sleep duration is long. 

But let's step back and see what happened in the day -- it was jam-packed!

Instead of starting something new, I decided to only work on the scraps from the dog quilts. You know you are down to your last bits when this is what the final block looks like! And yes—those are tiny little seams along the top, but this is what I love doing. 

The last block of the red/white/black scraps

The one above is made from the brights/black/white fabrics. This one was the last in the muted tones, except for that bright blue. I had more blocks made just from that blue fabric, and they got moved to the other pile. 

The last block from the muted fabrics

That piece of brown was the only scrap left when I finished sewing. The rest of the scrap cutoffs were already in the garbage, as I was trying to keep the cutting table clear, even though I was the only one using it. 

Trimming the last block

I had planned to stop at 11:30 or whenever the scrap pile was done. I beat the clock - I finished at 11:26. I felt like I was in a puzzle competition!!!

Finished at 11:26!!!

And there was the entire bag of dog fabric scraps from the cutoff quilt backings prepped into 6" squares to be made into two more quilts!!! There were 56 muted blocks on the left, so I can make a 7-by-8 quilt from those, and there are 87 brights. I'll add something to those and will make a 9-by-10 configuration. I'll lay these out on the design wall before I go. I find the design wall at the retreat house a bit small (wide but not tall) and very hard to lay things out on. If the blocks are labeled in rows, it will be a snap to assemble them. I'll lay them and bag them later today. OH -- and there was a bag of brownish scraps from those quilts as well. They are with the panel that I'm going to design later today. 

The blocks from the bag of dog fabric scraps

One last thing I looked at before leaving was this project, which belonged to Diane. She had all those squares sewn and labeled for a quilt top, but she was going to use light grey for the sashing. I wasn't sure about it, but as soon as I brought it out, the light grey got poo-pooed, which echoed my sentiment. So that came home, and I'll dig out another fabric, and that can go to the next retreat. 

The light grey does NOT go with the blocks.

I had a scrap bag of blue flannel bits with me as well, but I decided to finish using the remainder of my blue flannel pieces for those community project quilts, and THEN I can assemble some quilt blocks, and all the blue flannel bits will be used. One must be sensible about this stuff. 

The bag of blue flannel scraps is with the blue flannel pieces.

So technically, there was ONE project that I didn't touch while at the retreat. Yeah, me for the amazing packing job. It is the Oh Canada scraps, and they are back in the retreat bag for the next time! I MUST work on those the next time. 

And when I got home yesterday, I unloaded the car, brought all the bags downstairs, and left them. I was too exhausted to do anything, so I worked on that this morning instead of going to the gym. I'll do that tomorrow morning. See the freedom I have by NOT being committed to that spin class? I might just have found the silver lining. 

This is my retreat bin, which sits under a table. There are two bags in it, along with a few scrap projects at the bottom of the bin. That pile of scrap projects is slowly decreasing, and there aren't many left in the bin. I added the two extension cords to the pile because we need them, given how we configure the tables. So if anyone said, "Do you want to go sewing today?" I could grab that bin or the two bags in it, and I could sew for at least four days without running out of stuff. I love doing these scrappy projects at a retreat!

The retreat bin is ready for the next retreat.

This was the mess before I went to bed at 6:30PM!!! There was also a huge pile of tubs and such on the floor, but there was no way I could cope with it. 

Unpacking from retreat

Here are a few other projects from the retreat that others were working on. If you think freezer paper paper piecing is new, think again! This is from a project dated in the early 2000's or even earlier - I don't have time to fact-check that. Nor the designer, but I'll dig it out later today. One of the ladies is working on this rose, and it's stunning!!!

 A paper-pieced rose

She also showed us her Love Entwined (Esther Aliu) quilt that I remember she started MANY years ago. The finished quilt is much bigger than this, but she decided to finish this center block and stop. All that is hand-appliqué, even the zigzag border. Yikes!!!!!

The center of Love Entwined

And someone else was knitting these poppies for a Remembrance Day art installation hosted by her local Legion. They are stunning, and I can't wait to see what they do with them. 

Knitted poppies

OK -- I'm allergic to dogs or something in my house. When I woke up at the retreat house, my nose was perfectly fine. I wake up here, and my nose is itchy like mad!!! Murphy? Lexi? Thank goodness I love you lots!!!!

Let's take a wee break from the tidying up in Studio B and share the puzzle competition with you. 

It didn't take long to get from the retreat house to the puzzle competition in Georgetown. In the past, this competition was held in a community center, but it has grown, and they filled the arena (Mold Masters) with 100 tables, with a bit of room to spare, but not much! Can you believe? And I would bet that this particular event is small compared to the US or the World events. Unbelievable!!!

Canadian Jigsaw Puzzle Nationals

I don't know what "social puzzling" or "puzzle chess" is. Although I suspect social puzzling is just assembling with friends. Puzzle chess? I'll have to look that up. I would have loved to stay for the entire event (it started on Friday), but I was at the retreat. Anyway, I went up to the stands to watch the next event start. The timing worked perfectly, so I got to see the start. 

The puzzle boxes are opened and then closed again by the volunteers. I don't know if the plastic bag is open. The boxes are then put into a red cloth bag. I watched part of the pairs event, and it was intense. And it was LOUD as people were chatting. But imagine 100 tables, all but one filled, and these pairs were madly flipping pieces and finding homes for them. And there were a lot of volunteers and spectators, who were most likely family members of the puzzlers. 

Let the pairs event commence!

As I was leaving, I snapped a close-up picture of one of the teams. Most started on the border, but not all. I found out after I got home that the DIL of one of our Monday group was competing in one of the events - could have been the individual events the previous day. How fun, and I knew NOTHING about this before. I feel like a kid in a candy store. 

Talk about intense!!

Speaking of candy stores, I did go to the puzzle store around the corner, and the darn place was hopping!!! All these puzzles for this competition have never been released before and bear a label stating they were for the Canadian Nationals. How fun!

I came home and got distracted by watching the livestream of the event. I cannot believe how quickly the participants finish these puzzles. It's totally insane. I went to bed watching the teams (groups of 4) and fell asleep. I would have fallen asleep regardless of how exciting this or any other event was. 

And now back to unpacking, which I did more of this morning. As I was madly sewing the scraps together yesterday, I needed a few HSTs but didn't have time to trim them. I'll trim them this morning, and then the remaining ones to be sewn can go back into the retreat bag. 

A few HSTs to trim this morning

I pulled out my zipper box and found TWO more appropriately sized and colored zippers for my two projects that I had to stop because of zipper issues. 

Better choice of zippers

But as I dug through the zipper box, I realized that while all the zippers are in one big container, they need to be sorted into "like" families and then into plastic bags. It didn't take long to find the zippers, but what a mess. 

OH - I guess I didn't send myself the picture of the zipper box. But that's one thing about sorting and organizing. If you put all the same things in one spot, it'll be much easier to sort and bag them. 

One of the best areas I sorted out quite a while ago was my supply of plastic bags. I had tons of them and gave a good part of them away, but what remains is sorted by small assorted, snack size, regular size, and large. It is so easy to find a plastic zippered bag for anything I need. 

Sorted plastic bags

I'm running low on large bags, so I may have to crack open a box if I have any left. I think I must have kept one box of large bags. I'll have to check it out, but no need to open the new box until I need it, because the minute one bag is empty, it goes into the appropriate bag. And notice, they are labeled!!!!

The poinsettia blocks are now on the design wall, and I hope to get to work on finishing the sled blocks later today. That will leave a section of flying geese to make, and if I had been smart, I could have taken that with me to the retreat, and they would be done! And there are three bell blocks to make for each wall hanging. 

An update on the winter quilts

There was a book on the coffee table at the retreat house in the giveaway pile, and it's one I LOVE, so it followed me home and is now on the appropriate shelf. 

A new book for the collection

One of the ladies at the retreat house loves the dollar store and made several trips during the retreat, and found some treasures. This was one of the treasures - actually, this one she found a while back. Normally, I wouldn't have gotten excited about these baskets except for what she used them for, as she had several at her house. I'll tell you in one minute. 

Once she told us what she used them for, I decided that two of them would work perfectly for me. That was the morning that we walked to town for breakfast. I decided that I hadn't gotten enough steps for the day, and I would walk back to town and get two baskets. I had many offers for someone to pick them up in the car. Silly them—a true walker doesn't care what they carry home! 

Hmmm --- how to economize on carrying them back to the retreat house. You could NOT stack them and carry them as the handles didn't work that way. Originally, I was going to carry one in each hand, but I also wanted to stop for tea (that might have been why my sleep the night before was short!). How could I manage a basket in each hand and a tea as I walked along the highway? People might think me a bit strange. OH -- I must tell you the story of the tea, but I'm running out of time at this moment. 

So while browsing the shelves at the dollar store, I spotted zipties, bought a pack, ziptied the two baskets together, put them over my arm, held my tea in the other hand, and it worked just fine! I love problem-solving!!!! I should add a couple of zipties to the retreat bag. 

The two baskets are zipped together.

Now, where do they work well? Take a look at this in the stash room. 

Bolts on the floor with quilt backings balanced on top

Bolts of interfacings on the left

I have two spots where bolts of fabric sit on the floor. While it's not an issue, there are times when I've kicked the bolts in the top photo, toppling everything onto the floor. Extra quilt backing sits on top, and when the bolts go, so do the backings. 

In the second photo, I have bolts of interfacing and fusibles, and they are very light and are prone to sliding all over the place. 

However, a bolt of fabric fits perfectly in these baskets (40 L Laundry baskets), and now look. 

The end of the row of bolts is now secure.

I don't need all the bolts to be in the basket, just the ones at the end where they could slide forward, toppling the contents sitting on top. 

And even more compact is the area of interfacings. 

The end of the interfacings is now compact as well.

Not all the intefacings are in the basket, but that end is now solid enough that nothing is going to slide away, and it keeps the floor cleaner. Thank you to my retreat friend for that wee organizing tip!

Here is the state of the cutting table as I left it this morning. There are still bags and projects to deal with, and I plan to finish tidying up later today, though it's going to be a busy day. 

The state of the cutting table

I have an ultrasound scheduled for both knees, and I have to be there at 11:15. My knees were totally fine all week, and then the tendons in the right knee? Since I got home, I can feel them shift in and out of place, and they hurt when they do so! It's the most bizarre thing. Thankfully, they have stretched a bit since this started, but it's still not a pleasant experience. This is probably NOT what is happening to them, but that's what it feels like. I'll have to come up with a better explanation before I go to the sports clinic in two months. 

I also have a meeting at 4 PM, Monday, sewing, and some wedding stuff that has to be addressed TODAY!!!


As I was unpacking my retreat bag, I spotted a couple of postcards with some quotes on them. This will be me today!! 

A quote for the day

Of course, the girls were very excited to see me, but I was so tired, I just wanted to bring everything into the house. But then they got some cuddles, and OH MY, Murphy has a boobooo on her head. I suspect she was trying to cram her huge body under the gazebo to catch a rabbit, but she just didn't fit. Thankfully, she didn't get stuck and had no more than a superficial wound on her head. Oh Murphy!!!

MOM - Look at my boo-boo

Oh my—I have to run. I'm running late, and there is so much to do today!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Taking stock of the coincidences!

 You guys are the best—so many good comments and suggestions. 

It was another amazing day of progress. And guess what? I have worked on almost all my projects - there are two bundles of scraps that I have not touched, and one quilt top! There are a few projects that didn't get finished, but they got advanced, and that is all that counts!

Here is the plaque from the BMO Museum in Montreal. What a hoot to see that. Thank you so much, Daphne, for spotting that and sending it to me, as I had no idea. I don't think I was ever in that museum, and I worked in that building for at least 10 years! I'll share that story and pictures with you when I get home. 

The writing about the scholarship

For something different, we decided to head out for breakfast, and this was one of the breakfasts. This was not mine, but it sure looked good. Let's just say that we did NOT need lunch. However, to help digest the goodies, four of us walked to the breakfast restaurant and then home! It was about a 30-minute walk each way. 

That's breakfast

Then it was back to the house to get some of those niggly little projects done, or at least advance them as much as I could. 

I'm happy to say that I got the invisible zipper back into that cushion cover. Good grief -- that job took all of 5 minutes, but it has sat on my sewing table at home for months. All that remains is to serge the edges together. 

Inserting the invisible zipper

I think I have now perfected how to put the invisible zipper in, especially how to avoid twisting the darn thing and get nice, neat corners at the edges where the zipper is inserted. That should be an easy finish when I'm home. 

A neat finish for the invisible zipper

I had attempted to cut away the zipper tape on the previous attempt, and with both zipper stops cut away, I had to use a clip to prevent the head from coming off!! But it worked, and I'm happy. 

Some of the zipper tape had been removed to reduce bulk.

Then I tackled this small binding sample. It had been turned inside out through the seam in the backing, and I wanted to add a few quilting stitches. 

So I added some stitch-in-the-ditch around the center part and top-stitched close to the outer edge. How long did that take? And yes—that has been sitting on the sewing table for eons. 

The front of the binding sample

The back of the binding sample

Then I grabbed this next binding sample. I wanted to put prairie points around the edge, as I didn't have a sample of that technique. I pulled out the fabric I was going to use, only to discover there wasn't enough. OK -- seriously? Why didn't I figure out how much I needed before I pulled out some black fabric? I wrote myself a note, and when I get home, I can pull the appropriate amount and either continue to work on it or bring it to the next retreat. 

Not enough fabric to work on this one

Then I needed to take a break and was going to check out the Canadian Jigsaw Puzzle Association on YouTube. They had planned to livestream the events this weekend. Imagine my joy when I found the live stream just ten minutes after the individual qualifying event started. So yes—I watched for about 40 minutes. Good grief - those puzzlers are intense, and the first puzzle was assembled after 38 minutes or something like that. That was a 500-piece puzzle - these guys are good, and I'm nowhere near that level! 

Watching the livestream of the jigsaw competition

The number of coincidences happening right now is incredible. I made a comment on the livestream that I was excited to watch and mentioned that I would be there today. Shhhh—don't tell DH that. Anyway, shortly thereafter, I got an email from a friend of mine who used to live in this area. They packed up and moved to PEI many years ago, and I saw her in person in 2015. I haven't really had contact with her since then. But she saw my post and emailed me right away to ask if I had switched from quilting to puzzling! 

She used to be a long-arm quilter and sewed quilts. She has given up quilting, and now she's a puzzler! It sounds like she keeps her puzzles, as she said they have close to 700!!! I don't plan on keeping mine. I'll be in touch with her—lots of questions, and it might mean a trip back to PEI. 

Then it was time to get back to work, and I had several pouches to work on. I had brought this pattern with me, but I wasn't all that excited about the construction method when I read through it. Hmm --- there is another way to construct these bags, but could I remember? 

Supplies to make a zippered boxy pouch

I got some information from one of my Monday sewists, who is in Europe at the moment! But I was certain there was a different way, so I got out some newspaper and cut some rectangles in the shape of my pre-quilted fabric. Yes -- it wasn't enough that I needed a pattern, but I would have to rejig it to match my shape. 

I had to make several iterations of my paper pouch, but I finally remembered the concept I used when making the bags in the past. It was quite the puzzle!!! But I didn't have the ratio of the cutout sections to make sure that all the seams would match up. 

Making pouches from newsprint

I remembered another friend had made a pouch in what I thought was the style I was looking for, so she sent me the cutting diagram, and DRAT -- it was the same one I had gotten earlier. But there is a different way. 

I have left that project out in case I get time this morning. I may decide to make several pouches using both methods. I'll have to find the pattern I'm thinking of when I get home. Then I can judge which one is easiest to modify, since I have quite a few pieces of pre-quilted fabric to turn into pouches. My sizes do NOT match any of the patterns. 

As the mother of the bride, with sewing skills, it's my job to fix this bowtie so a certain little Mister can wear it to the wedding. It had a huge buckle. I took the strap apart and will remake it with a velcro fastener. I managed to find a very similar colored fabric and will be making him another one that will be smaller -- this one is HUGE, and he's just a little guy. But don't tell the bride!!!! We'll have options, and I'm bringing a small sewing kit with me - just in case! And safety pins!

Deconstructing a bowtie

I pulled SIX raindrops off the Cherrywood challenge and WAIT --- someone suggested I use one of those shavers! I have one!!!!!! I'm going to try that when I get home. Thanks, Shirley, for that suggestion -- it's in a drawer of notions and I never even thought about it. That's why together we are a team!!!!!

More raindrops have gone from the Cherrywood challenge.

And someone has an answer for my three-needle bind-off, so I'll be checking that out as well. You guys are the best!!!!

There was one other project that I worked on - another small pouch. There is some appliqué to do, and I didn't have the right thread, and for some reason, I brought an invisible zipper. WAIT --- that was the zipper that came with the kit. So I'll get a regular zipper when I'm home, and they used snaps on it, which I didn't bring with me. So that can be worked on at home. 

Another zippered pouch

By this time, I had run out of things to do, including all the panic packing I had done. That left three bags of scraps and an entire quilt top to be sewn together. I grabbed the bag of scraps with all the leftover backing trim from the eight dog quilts for the vet and his staff. 

I had sorted them into bright colors and the muted ones. And I started making blocks. This process puts me in my happy place, and I just LOVE doing it. It's like a puzzle, and my brain is happy. 

Making fabric from scraps

I did a pretty good job at using up small pieces and cutting from the small yardage pieces. 

Making a scrappy block

OK -- this picture would NOT cooperate when I tried rotating it. But of the bright colors (a lot of them had black backgrounds), I have made/cut 82 six-inch blocks!!!! That's pretty exciting. 

I have made 82 blocks so far.

And this is all the fabric bits that remain for the bright colors, laid out to make one last block. That will be 83 blocks, which doesn't work well in any sort of configuration. I may have to add a few more solid colors or something. 

The last block

I'll work on the muted colors and see how many blocks I can make. I don't think I'll mix them, as they are quite different and will make the very scrappy quilt look even scrappier. WAIT --- that's a good teaching opportunity for my upcoming class in the fall!!! 

Here are a couple of pictures of what some of the others are working on. Look at all those beautiful colors of felt!!! Those came from Creekbank in case you covet them. 

Beautifully colored felt

Someone else bought a bucket of scraps and proceeded to cut them into squares of various sizes. Doesn't that look yummy!!! And she finished going through that scrap bucket!!! Yeah!!!!

Scraps in storage containers

And if you want to see something very crazy, these diamonds are hand-pieced. 

Hand pieced blocks

But she loves hand piecing, which is good because there are lots of diamonds to make (Quilted Diamonds by Linda Franz) and some of those pieces are tiny!!!!

Last night was the second full moon this month, so we kept an eye on it as it rose above the trees and risked life and limb (mosquitoes) to get a couple of pictures. The second full moon each month is called a Blue Moon (I'm sure you all knew that), and this one was supposed to be extra special because many planets were aligned!!

The Blue Moon

Well, I'm off to work on the rest of the dog fabric scraps, and who knows - I might be sewing those quilts together at the next retreat. But I have a bag of Oh Canada scraps in my retreat bag, and I NEED to get those sewn because they have traveled back and forth quite a few times. 

It's the last day of the retreat!!!!! I'll be leaving shortly after lunch and taking a bit of a scenic tour home, and then I can unpack and try to prep a few things to get them sewn this week. I feel quite energized and ready to tackle a lot of things. But I have quilts to quilt this week and a few things to finish or start for the wedding. 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!