Spiders are not afraid - are you?

OK -- I see I have some gardening to do in the fall!! I spent another hour yesterday removing more creeping vine from the rocks surrounding the pond. That is always a precarious job because you are standing on the rocks, staring down into the water, and if you slip - well, then it's time for a dip amongst the water lilies! 

I would say that over half the backyard is cleaned up now, but the gardener guy is still going to come this week, as there is the side yard and the front that need to be taken care of. And at some point, I need to go into the forest and trim back the stuff that is attempting to encroach through the fence. 

An hour a day or even half an hour works for me!

We had some bad excitement near our house last night. A house fire quickly spread to two other houses, and they were ablaze. Lexi and I had just walked past those houses yesterday morning! One "elderly senior" was taken to hospital with critical injuries, but otherwise, I think everyone is OK. 

Such a terrible thing to happen and to spread so quickly to other houses. We have had our share of house fires in this neighborhood, and they all seem to start upstairs, although one of them started in the garage. To my knowledge, just within several streets of my house, this is the fourth in the last ten years, which seems like a lot to me. 

I have friends of mine who live in the neighboring city, and they live in a townhouse. The townhouse beside them caught on fire and they escaped unharmed, but that was in September. They are still not back in their house and may never go back. I don't think they have even started to fix the roof. What a shame, and what is causing the delay? 

Speaking of fires, Lexi and I noticed that the fire hydrants in our area (not all, but some) have been repainted GREY. Why is that? To make the neighborhood look prettier? The darn things just blend right into the background. Actually, from where this picture was taken, the houses are just across the schoolyard. As I suspected, this is just the primer coat, and it will be red soon. 

Grey fire hydrants

Well, onto happier news. 

I let Lexi dictate where we walk each morning, within reason. But she hadn't made her way to the forest, and I like to brush her each day in the forest. There are mounds of dog hair in several spots, but when I reached the tree that I attach her to, I spotted this giant Daddy Long Legs spider!!!1 He was big, and he wasn't afraid!!!

Daddy Long Legs

It made me think of my recent little wall hanging that I made. 

I'm not afraid of spiders, so I was OK. 

We had a lot of downpours while I was away last week, and of course, the gravel paths in the forest are rutted once again. The tractor was just there the day I left to grade the previous ruts down. I must dig out my pictures of what they do in Spain on the steeper paths because this is ridiculous. They need to probably rip that hill apart and compact the crap out of it with sand and gravel, or just pave it over. That would be much more efficient than just grading the ruts out. But what do I know? 

New ruts AGAIN on the path

 Oh my god—Lexi is protesting. Murphy knows that Lexi's dish is OFF limits if there is food in it. The moment that the dish is empty, Murphy is there licking it out. Twice yesterday, Lexi left a few pieces of kibble in the dish, so Murphy wasn't able to lick it out! I had a good chuckle over that. 

MOM - tell Murphy to keep out of my dish!

Besides the gardening, I managed to get some machine embroidery done. The tree is felted, and the stars and the presents are stitched with thread. I didn't stabilize it enough when it was time to do the stitching. I hope when the back is cleaned up that it will be OK. I want to add something else to it before I trim the background away. 

Felting with the embroidery machine and stitches

And then I also stitched this one out, which included felting, thread, and ribbon. All done with the embroidery machine. These are designs in the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 3 but require the Special Techniques Hoop. I love this one and need to find a word or saying to add to it. I will Google it!

Machine embroidery with ribbon, felting, and thread

There was an issue with the third design I wanted to stitch out, so I must report that.  

One of the goals on my visual To Do list was to thoroughly investigate felting with the embroidery machine. I think I can safely say that I have thoroughly investigated it, as I had done quite a bit before with designs that can be done in any of the embroidery hoops. 

Before I cross that item off the list, I must finish all the samples. Then it will be done. 

I also managed to get one block and part of another done on the pattern that I'm testing. I saw Lorna (Sew Fresh Quilts) post her progress on Facebook last night, so I'm showing you the pattern. It is adorable. 

Down on the farm

Lorna and I were furiously emailing back and forth as we worked out a few small issues! I love pattern testing but it requires a lot of thought and concentration!! 

I hope to get another block complete and to finish cutting the next one out. It's absolutely adorable and would make an excellent class for teaching! That makes TWO that I have on the list for next year! 

After gardening, I spent the remainder of the morning in the office clearing up paperwork. I am just gob smacked at how quickly it accumulates if you don't take care of it. At least when I need to file something, that is easy, and I try to do that religiously! 

I'm off to volunteer today, and that should be an interesting experience. I will NOT take my credit card to the puzzle warehouse! I will NOT take my credit card to the puzzle warehouse! OK - I need my card because I have to get gas for the car!

A reminder: if you want to participate in my focus group for machine embroidery, I'm running a session tonight at 7 PM and one on Monday at 3 PM. Send me your email if you want to be part of that. I'm really looking for what kind of machine embroiderer you are. What designs you like to buy/make, what you like to stitch on, and how much hand-holding in the form of step-by-step projects you would like to see.  (elainetheriault@gmail.com)

And on that note, I'm out of here. 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Out with the old and in with the new!!!

Yesterday was a transition day. While I accomplished stuff, I was almost like a slug on a rug! I wasn't going anywhere fast! But that's OK. I don't really have any time-sensitive stuff to deal with, but there are always loads that I want to accomplish. 

I started by spending almost an hour in the backyard weeding and cleaning up! I decided to cave and call the gardener guy, who will come next week, but in the meantime, I'll continue to clean up so it doesn't look like a complete jungle. It's really not that bad at all - the beauty of having a backyard that is devoted to NO grass, and some areas are so dry that NOTHING grows there. It's a great space for dogs! 

Of course, I had a supervisor to make sure that all was going as planned. Why she plunks herself in the middle of the plants is beyond me, but seriously? I don't care. If that is where she wants to lie down, then so be it! I managed to get all the creeping vine (or I hope I did) out of that little space on the left. That creeping vine is the worst, and if you let it go, it just grows like mad. 

My supervisor while weeding

And we still have flowers in the backyard. Whoever planned the plants was pretty good (not me!) because we have flowers almost all summer long. 

Pink Rose of Sharon

White Rose of Sharon

Hostas

Hostas are funny because I have another one just on the other side of the path and it's not doing so well. Of course, I do NOT water my garden, and the other hosta gets more sun, so I suspect it's just too dry and hot in that location. I might think of replacing it with something. But what? Our garden doesn't need watering - it was intentional! 

I wanted LOW maintenance, and the only thing that needs to be done is the weeding and the occasional pruning, which is what will happen next week. I want to be able to enjoy that backyard without spending huge amounts of time maintaining it. And we got exactly what we wanted! 

I should mention that our neighbor got the waterfall in his pond working again, and it's louder than ours, so it sounds like we have this huge fountain in the back! Very hypnotizing!!!!

As I was trying to get myself organized in the morning, I attempted to clean up the remaining items on the puzzle table. I found a couple of containers of half-square triangles that need to be sewn, pressed, and trimmed. While I mostly use them for enders and leaders, I have MANY, so it wouldn't hurt to stitch some of these during the Virtual Retreat tonight. It's a mindless task, and I doubt I could make any mistakes!

A stack of triangles to make half-square triangles

I sewed and pressed two of them. 

Two half-square triangles

They were in this small tin, but the tin is now empty, and it's in the giveaway pile. I don't need cute little tins anymore. Hmmm -- it is cute - it could be used for some small supply. I might just rescue that. 

A now-empty tin

And I sorted some more triangles and put them on the tray beside the sewing machine. Good grief - I found another pile (the light ones in the top left) that are way too small to be spending time on, so they are now in the scrap bin. 

Sorting more triangles for HSTs

I even took some time to work in my gratitude puzzle book. There was a page for writing down the goals for the month, and I listed those. I may not refer back to that list, but it's great to write things down. It just helps to keep my brain in working order! And what I find is that if I am NOT in control (as in having lists), I get scattered and it's hard to function. A list? Perfect!!!

This was the puzzle I did yesterday - a maze. I have no idea why, but mazes are so much easier to do when you start at the end and work your way to the start. Why is that? 

The maze in my gratitude puzzle book

WAIT - I know. Because if you are doodling free motion quilt designs, they work so much better if you start at the bottom of the page (quilt) and work your way back!!! Trust me --- so much easier!!!

Then I was off as I had a couple of errands to accomplish. 

The first stop was to pick up my package that came from the US. This is a Dowdle Puzzle commemorating America 250!!!!! It was only available in the US, and so I had it shipped to my US address. Once it arrived, I filled out the paperwork and paid $20, including the HST (tax), to have it shipped across the border. No duty - just tax and shipping to Canada from Niagara Falls, NY. 

The America 250 Dowdle Puzzle

It is a beautiful puzzle, and I really wanted it. I haven't had a chance to really focus on all the detail, but there are loads of special items in the puzzle. That will be for the winter! 

I don't use that service much, but it's so convenient. What's even more convenient is that they now have a second pickup location in my city, and it's even closer to my house. It's right in the area where I shop! Perfect!!!

The next stop was Fabricland, and they were having a sale, and the place was PACKED!!!! What are all those people making? I wanted to ask, but there was no time. I let one person get her cord measured in the middle of getting my stuff cut. Then I was folding my fabric while the ticket got written up, and I helped with the large rolls of what I was buying! I can't share yet!!!! 

BUT as I got to the cash register, I saw something I NEEDED to have. I have found these burlap shopping bags to be the best bags ever. I had one from Stonehenge that eventually wore out, and now my Longo's bag is starting to see better days. 

My Longo's bag

The inside of all these bags has a plastic-coated surface adhered to the burlap. They are the right size, lightweight, and fairly inexpensive. I'm sure I paid less than $10 for that bag several years ago. I just love them. They are not worth trying to repair. I also asked at the grocery store if they still sold them, and the answer is NO. 

The plastic is breaking down.

Not only is the plastic coating breaking down, but the burlap fibers have broken down. And I'm afraid I may lose small things or that the bag will split open when I'm on the way home from the grocery store. I have one street to cross to get to the store, and I can imagine that it would be during that crossing that the bag would split! It was time to do something about it, but what? 

The corners of the bag are almost toast!

As I approached the cash at Fabricland, I spotted burlap bags!!!! No WAY!!!!! It's so pretty, and the price was right - it was on sale at $14.00 or something like that. SOLD!!!! 

My new burlap bag

The handles are a bit different from the Longos' bag, but the bags are roughly the same size. I was pretty excited, and I have retired the Longo's bag, although I am going to rescue the handles. They are like a soft rope and are very comfortable!! 

The new and the old

How was that for a great find? I'm good for the next couple of years, and then when I need a new one -- it will appear. It's like being on the Camino - when you need something, it will show up. You just have to be patient!!

Then I was off to Michaels, where I was stunned to see the Halloween stuff. Actually, I knew the Halloween stuff was out because I had been there last week or two weeks ago. BUT the amount of space the Halloween stuff took up was unbelievable, and there is every kind of thing Halloween-related you could possibly want, including an entire shelving unit with tarot cards and astrological stuff. 

One section of the Halloween decor

And so help me god, but when I saw the assorted collections of ribbons and trims, I caved. This is one of my favorite things, and OK - I confess, I bought a book of Halloween paper. I am not a Halloween fanatic, but I love the colors, and well, I just had to have the stuff. I hope to spend a bit of time this summer playing around and making a book or something and embellishing it with the ribbons, or I'll find something to make on the sewing machine! 

Halloween trim collections

WAIT -- that reminds me that I have three witches stitched out on the embroidery machine and they need to be made into something. I need to dig those out so they will be ready in time for Halloween and I can embellish them with the ribbons. I only bought two of the six collections. But I did find the other things I was looking for, except for the tool to set my snaps in my shirt! So I'm going to have to buy that online, and I found a store in Chatham that sells the tool. 

I'm also on the hunt for 100% cotton denim. Dark on the outside and light on the inside. NO SPANDEX please!!! I have a bit more investigating to do, but 100% cotton denim is becoming a very hard thing to find. Spandex messes up the felting process big time, so I need 100% cotton.

Then it was time to get to work. My brain wasn't quite functioning up to its normal speed because when I did some machine embroidery, I goofed. The first part of the stitching is felting and doesn't require a stabilizer. But once the felting is done, you need to flip the hoop and do the embroidery. AHA --- that is what is possible with the Special Techniques Hoop. It's a flippable hoop, and I LOVE it. 

ACK -- forgot the stabilizer

So while the arm wasn't so bad, I didn't like it, so I had to rip out those stitches, add stabilizer, and redo it! Sigh.................

No stabilizer - not good (not good enough!)

I'm doing some more of the same type of designs today, and I'm leaving the stabilizer right beside the embroidery machine!

I'm testing out some techniques with the felting, and I ended up stitching THREE of the snowmen in total. One you already saw, as I finished it and took it with me to Nashville. So I stitched two more of them yesterday. I will finish them off later this coming week, or I might even do some of it tonight. 

The snowman I finished last week

I have three more designs to stitch today, and I really hope to stitch a fourth one, but that might be pushing my limits. Well, not my limits - but these designs take time, and I only have one embroidery machine that will stitch them out. 

I'll do what I can! 

So while the embroidery machine is madly working away, I'm getting ready to test that quilt pattern that I promised I'd do as a favor for someone. OK - I wanted the pattern, and this is a good way to get it in advance without paying for it. OK -- that's a totally dumb excuse because the pattern isn't expensive and I will easily spend a lot of time testing it!! 

The pattern is on my iPad, but I had to print out the cutting charts. I'll have to ask if I can share the picture. You have already seen it, so it should be OK. 

The iPad is sitting there with the pattern.

This is some of the fabric I pulled for the pattern. I'm going to need loads of little bits as I work, but I'll pull them as I need them in the pattern. 

Fabrics pulled for the pattern testing.

And the cutting process has begun. There's a lot more fabric on that board right now, and I hope to get at least two blocks sewn by the end of the day. I dare not use up many of those design boards - those are what I use for my jigsaw puzzle as well. But I should have enough to share between the two tasks!!!

The cutting process begins.

I think I mentioned that Steve Summers (Dolly Parton's Creative Director) stated that he and his small group all had dream jobs. I have to echo that - I'm so dang passionate about what I do - I don't really care if I work 24/7 (I told my boss that and she thinks I'm a nut), but I'm so excited to get up and start to work every day that I'm beside myself!! And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Now don't get me wrong - I don't sew all day or sit in front of a machine all day. Hardly. I have the garden; when I remember to give it some attention, I love doing paper puzzles and jigsaw puzzles, and I read a lot! I've already read 50 books this year, both fiction and non-fiction. I'm excited to see that M has read 32 books this year. The apple didn't fall far from the tree!!! And I'm at the gym or walking to try and keep my body in shape. 

I love reading! So I get a variety of activities in the day, and there is the dreaded paperwork that takes up precious time, and often we don't have anything to show for it, but it must be done! 

Two things before I go --- 40 Shades of Grey. If you want to sign up for the class, please call the store (Out of Hand) or email them. I touched base with them yesterday, and I'm going to regroup on Monday, and then we're deciding on the number of patterns to order, with a few extra just in case someone missed the boat. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE --- if you are intending to sign up for that class, or you know someone who may be interested, send this information to them so they will not be without a pattern. 

I can provide you with the necessary information for a month, but I will NOT share the pattern, as that would be a copyright violation. It will be a great way to use up scraps or find a dedicated colorway. I can't wait to get started!!!!

40 Shades of Grey

And there is a Virtual Retreat TONIGHT. There is NO Virtual Retreat tomorrow because I'm off to wrap puzzles for the upcoming fall speed puzzling events that are held online. I think we have something like 1,100 puzzles to wrap and prepare for shipping!!! Oh my --- what have I got myself into! Of course, I will be excluded from the wrapping session for the three puzzle events that I signed up for. 

I hope there is NO opportunity to purchase puzzles tomorrow. Going to the Puzzles Canada warehouse is like letting a child loose in a candy store!! So many puzzles and so many new ones coming in all the time. ACK!!!!!! 

Here is the link for the Virtual Retreat. We start at 6 PM tonight. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89610782501?pwd=7dCrhiL5t8Xa4TVwZPvhL6cOymbcjK.1

Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311

And on that exciting note, I'm out of here. I have a date with the girls and then my cutting table and the embroidery machine. I can hardly wait to get started. WAIT -- I started the day hours ago - I can hardly wait to continue!!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!

Easing into the home routine

I am definitely a creature of habit, and if I go outside that world, I'm in big trouble!!!

I had pretty much packed my suitcase the evening before, so not much to do in the morning except have breakfast. But I thought I would give the wardrobe one last look. I checked the drawers - nothing. But when I opened up the hanging clothes area, there were THREE of my things in there. Good grief!!!!! 

I never, never, never unpack my suitcase, and so all my clothes are hanging around or in the suitcase in the room. That would not have been good if I left those behind, but guess what? I got them, so all is good. 

It was a bit squishy in my suitcase to put those last three items in, but it all worked. 

Getting that zipper closed!!!

And when we got to the airport, and I weighed my luggage, it was 45.4 lbs, about 10 lbs heavier than when I left. Yikes!!! I did buy 13 yards of fabric after all, plus a book, and some swag and three new T-shirts from the conference. It all adds up, but I was well within the 50 lb limit and certainly not even close to the maximum of 70 lbs. All was good!!!

45.4 lbs of luggage

Getting to the airport was uneventful. Someone else paid, so I didn't have to worry about getting my money out. And just for the sake of keeping up with previous pictures I've taken, this is the tile in the washrooms in the Nashville airport!!!

Washroom tile in Nashville

As we walked through the airport, I spotted this fake orange guitar in the candy shop. I didn't stop for candy, but I got a picture! 

An orange guitar! 

The flight was uneventful and on time, so all that was good. It was easy to get through customs with a NEXUS card; it really is worth the cost. No fuss, although with the ArriveCan app, it isn't a big deal to get through the other line either. Unless you say you are bringing a weapon across, but that wasn't my issue to deal with. Let's just say it is important to READ the questions and answer properly. Don't just assume they all need the same yes-or-no answer! 

And then the wait for the luggage. Air Canada now has a tracker on your luggage so you can see its progress through the various stages of loading and unloading. I arrived at the carousel, and some luggage came, and then nothing came. As one of the people standing around said, it was almost like they had one-armed luggage handlers! It was hilarious! NO, it wasn't! 

Where is the luggage?

My bag, which was tagged as priority, wasn't coming, and yet my two colleagues got their three suitcases out way before mine did. Hmmmm......... I wasn't impatient, but I really wanted to get home. 

It's hard to read the times, but the bag was unloaded at 1:12 PM. But it wasn't delivered to the carousel until 1:53 PM!!!!! I get that it takes a few minutes to get from the plane to the carousel, but almost 40 minutes? And the issue was that the luggage was coming, but extremely slow. Perhaps they did have one-armed baggage handlers. Something was amiss for sure. 

The history of my luggage! 

But I got the bag - that's the important thing- and then I was on my way home. Let's say that there were two very happy girls when I arrived. Lexi was very affectionate and wanted to be close to me, and Murphy wanted to be even closer!!! This was while I was having a late lunch. 

MOM - Don't ever leave again! 

Then I got the whole raccoon story. Apparently the darn thing was sitting on the little railing right outside the back door. It obviously wasn't well and was in trouble. No one thought to get a picture!! They had called animal services to pick it up, but it had ambled away by the time they got here. 

I decided to unpack the suitcase and the portable office because what else was I going to do? You have this restlessness when you arrive in the middle of the day. What to do - should I just dive right in and start to work, or do I ease myself in? I was feeling a bit out of sorts, so I decided to finish listening to my audiobook while I worked on the jigsaw puzzle. 

Another jigsaw puzzle bites the dust!

It's done, so later today, I'll pull it apart and get the next one started. HEY -- I have a lot of puzzles to do, and I might as well keep at it. If I can get two or three done a month, I'd be happy. I love putting them together, and now that I have a bit more time, I'm going to take advantage of that. 

Here is the yarn-dyed fabric I purchased in Nashville. I love the color, and I love the pattern. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but I have 10 yards of it. It was very inexpensive. 

Yarn-dyed fabric

And this was the piece of orange plaid cotton that I bought. I have 4 yards of that, and I envision GREEN on it. Not sure in what capacity, but I'll make something where I can add green. 

Orange plaid fabric

So Studio B is in pretty good organizational shape. Well, if we ignore the white elephant in the room, which is the three tables heaped with things to be done or finished. I'm very good at ignoring it, and when I need something to work on, I'll pull from those tables. 

But I had left some stuff that was still sitting out from my marathon of working on the samples to take with me. I had this pencil case filled with marking devices, and it needed sorting. Do all those markers even work? So I went through that and got things organized. 

Sorting markers

And I spotted a Singer-branded marking pencil! 

Singer-branded marking pencil

I'm happy to report that the table is now clear. The garments that need to be finished are hanging on that decorative rod on the tables. 

The work tables are clear!

I cleared some of this stuff off the cutting table and created a wee spot for me to work. I had some small items on the puzzle table that needed to be taken care of, or that needed to be done, so those got shifted to the cutting table, and I'm going to spend the next two days clearing that up. 

My assignment for the next couple of days

While I have some time, it's the perfect opportunity to work on clearing up some of those little items that won't take long, and that will be good to get done and put away. I will also need to focus on the office stuff for a day or two, but for the moment, I'll work downstairs. 

While I was away, I was getting notifications that things I had purchased had arrived. Two of them were delivered to the mailbox, and the third I have to pick up today from the CrossBorderPickUp depot. That's the place I ship things from the US when the shipping cost is exorbitant, or they will not ship to Canada. In the case of that one item, they would NOT ship to Canada. 

I had to pay HST on getting it across the border, so excluding that, the shipping was about $20, which isn't actually bad! I'll show you the item tomorrow. 

I got the rest of the wedding jigsaw puzzles as well. Well, some went to M in Vancouver, and those slated for people who live around here came to me. I have two puzzles to deliver. 

But I also got my copy of 40 Shades of Grey. I was one of the lucky ones who got a copy from Out of Hand. BUT I will be calling the store today or tomorrow to discuss the situation and figure out how many more copies we need. 

40 Shades of Grey

So if you are interested in taking this class from me, starting in September, be sure to send me an email (elainetheriault@gmail.com) and get your name on the list at Out of Hand. They have a NOTIFY ME when the pattern is available. Be sure to get your name in ASAP, so we will have the patterns in time for the class. If you don't have your pattern right at the beginning, don't worry. I'll make accommodations so you have access to the information, but I will NOT be handing the entire pattern out because that would violate copyright! 

Remember we have a Virtual Retreat tomorrow evening. That is Saturday, July 25 starting at 6 PM. Here's the link. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89610782501?pwd=7dCrhiL5t8Xa4TVwZPvhL6cOymbcjK.1

Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311

I have one other note --- if you are a machine embroiderer and want to participate in a focus group led by me, let me know. WAIT --- if you are already on my machine embroidery list, I'll be sending you the information. It will be via Zoom, and I hope to host it on Sunday evening at 7 PM. I don't even know if that's a good time, but I need some information ASAP. 

So if you are interested, this is the type of information I'm looking for: what type of machine embroiderer are you? (As for the type -- we're going to make up categories -- casual, hardcore, occasional, etc.) What type of designs do you like to stitch, and what do you like to create with the embroidery designs? I'd love to hear from you. And if that timing doesn't work, we need to find another time or day. But I need it to happen fast. And if you can't, then send me an email and we can try to gather the information that way. (elainetheriault@gmail.com)

And a reminder that if you or anyone else is wondering what classes I'm teaching in the fall, be sure to check out this blog post. And I can confirm that the scrap quilt class at Thimbles and Things is a go!!!! Please forward that link to the class information to your friends if you think someone else might be interested in one of the classes. 

On that note, have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

PS --- Oh my --- we've gone from extreme heat to cool weather! But I'm not complaining!

Do what you love!

And just like that - it's a wrap! It's amazing how quickly the time goes by, but I try to make the best of it. 

The day started out with something pretty exciting. We got to spend some time chatting with Dolly Parton's creative design team. By design team, these are the people who design and make her outfits, of which they make about 300 in one year!! 

Their stories of how they got their jobs were pretty inspirational. 

Before I get into that, here's what happened. When I walked into the room, there were lots of empty seats in the front row - again! I'm no idiot - I'm going to scoop a front row seat. I love not having anyone in front of me, and I don't care that they have big screens projecting what's on the screen; it's good to be right up front. 

One of the SVP employees was hovering nervously, hopping from seat to seat, so I figured she was trying to save seats for others. Nope --- it turns out she was the person responsible for making the Dolly Parton part of the show happen. Of course, I had to chat with her, and she gave me the inside scoop. Which is between her and me! Nothing big - she just shared some of her experiences in the process. 

It's incredible to think that only THREE people make all those outfits for Dolly. They have a couple of sewists who pitch in to help with some of the sewing, but it's mostly this team. 

Dolly Parton's creative design team

The woman on the left (in the picture below) is Riley Reed, and she is such an incredible talent. Steve Summers is in the middle. He started off at a very early age as a dancer for Dolly. Can you believe he is a grandfather of four? And yes -- he looks exactly like that photo. Check out the short video above -- it's fascinating. He is in his early 60s and doesn't look like it! 

The design team

He had on the most amazing pair of jeans—you can't see it in the photo, but they were very sparkly. But when you saw them up close, they were jeans, but with some dangling sparkles. I should have asked to take a better picture, but well, that's a bit awkward! 

And the third person, Brittany Church, is the most amazing artist. She spends a lot of time embellishing the outfits. Can you imagine being known as the person who bedazzles Dolly Parton's outfits? Well, that's what she does all day. 

The one thing she mentioned when I chatted with her (of course I did, as well as Steve!) was the wall of crystals. If you watch the video about Steve, you'll see the wall of Swarovski crystals in all colors and sizes that get put onto the garments. How fun to have all that at your disposal!!!

One of the things they did was have Brittany decorate a Singer sewing machine, which they gave away at the conference in the afternoon. It was only for attendees and not for employees. Darn - because everyone there coveted this sewing machine. 

A blinged-out sewing machine

It was so beautiful - I wouldn't be able to sew on it! And yes -- it was bedazzled both front and back! 

Blinged out machine

You had to be present to win the machine, and when they drew at 3 PM, the winner was ecstatic. 

BUT, they had a second giveaway: this guitar Dolly had signed, and the decorations were all done by Brittany. 

A blinged-out guitar

All those decorative elements were either fabric scraps (from Dolly's outfits) or crystals!!! It was stunning. And Brittany had placed crystals on the side of the guitar as if it were a whipstitch. The guitar strap was also made from fabric scraps from the outfits. The buttons were stitched, but obviously not to the guitar. They were stitched and then glued on. 

Detail of the guitar

And to go with the guitar was this sketch featuring design elements Steve created for the guitar strap. WOW!!!!

Sketch of the guitar strap

That was such a beautiful prize, and the lady who won it was also extremely excited. I heard from the teacher whose class she was in that the woman was a fairly quiet person, but when she came back to class, she was a bit excited!!!

What fun to see how it all came together, as they showed a short video of Brittany decorating the guitar. 

They also had a couple of Singer chain stitch machines. I had never really heard of a chain stitch machine before, but we had seen them in Sicily. 

Chain stitching from Sicily

I didn't really know what kind of machine they were using to stitch this, but it's a popular thing to do. 

The company that was at the conference was called RangerStitch, and it's fun to have your name stitched on something. We were all given a bandana as part of the conference, so I had my name stitched on it by Brittany. She is so sweet - just a lovely person. 

Britanny stitching my name on the bandana

And there is my name on my bandana!!!!

My name on the bandana

And they do it freehand!!! Wow—it's pretty impressive, to say the least. 

What was amazing were some of the words of wisdom that these three gave us. First off, they all LOVE Dolly Parton as if she were their family. And when you work with someone for 30+ years (Steve), how can you not? Apparently Dolly is a very sweet and very wonderful woman with not a bad bone in her body!

It was funny because my roomie was watching 9 to 5 the other night! Now that's an old movie!

But the design team was also so trusting of each other and worked so well together - it showed in how they answered the questions and how they looked to one another as they spoke. Imagine being somewhat new to the team (Brittany at 5 years) and trusted to put the embellishments in the right place without micromanagement. That would be a dream job, and they all said that—they are living in a dream-job world!!!!

But there was something else Steve mentioned—to do a great job, you need to be in the right job. I couldn't agree more -- I absolutely LOVE what I am doing now and wouldn't trade it for the world. I think all the educators feel the same way. The opportunity to access all these amazing tools of our trade, create whatever we wish, and use those talents to inspire others and teach them how to sew? That is incredible!!!!

Speaking of that, we got to hear a success story the day before - The New York Sewing Center. Imagine a sewing school that has expanded to FOUR locations, and it all started in New York in the basement of an apartment building. They only offer how-to sew classes, mostly for garment making. What blows me away is that that idea isn't happening in other cities. People want to learn to sew, so why don't other studios open up? It's not cheap, but perhaps that is the reason—if it doesn't cost much, people don't value the service. I don't know, but it's an interesting thing to consider. 

Hmm -- maybe I'd better up my prices!! I won't - don't worry. 

I spent the morning assisting in a classroom, and that is always fun. Can you quickly address all the questions/issues that arise? I managed to do just that. But several years ago, the thought of problem solving on a PFAFF was out of the question. I'm now an "expert." Hardly, but I know my way around those machines a bit. I can't wait to get my hands on the new PFAFF creative icon 3, but I am going to be hard-pressed to decide which one to embroider on and which machine to sew on. 

It's like when I chatted with the fellow from R&D about the large magnetic hoop. He asked me if I liked it better than the projection system. Are you kidding me? DO NOT make me choose between those two items - I want (need) both! 

I had some free time in the afternoon, so I was able to chat and visit with more of the employees, and I learned a lot, provided feedback, and got some answers. Let's just say that some exciting things are coming down the pipeline. They even felt sorry for me for hanging around the booth and showed me some of the new designs! 

So lots of new!!! I just hope that the dealers did the same thing. It's a busy time for them here, but if they ask questions, they can get answers. There was one dealer who ended up hanging around me and listening to my questions, and I think she enjoyed the conversations! 

And then the fun began as we tore the show down. That is always the "best" part of the show. There were many hands on deck, so it went quite smoothly. Although it's always a challenge at the end when you have a machine with no box, and then you find the box (I'm a fast walker and take action rather than waiting for someone else to find the solution), and the serial number doesn't match the box! Oh well - not my problem. It was tagged and went back to the warehouse, and let them deal with it! 

The idea is to be helpful, fast, and efficient and to be noticed!!! You don't just want to be the person who "complains" about what we should be doing; when I want something, I want people to remember me and that I am a hard worker as well. Mission accomplished!!!

When we had some embroidery units to box up, some of us tag-teamed it and made it a science, boxing them in less than two minutes! It's just that the darn cases and boxes are huge, so it's hard to make that happen in a room with not a lot of space. 

Some of us went out for dinner last night and had a grand conversation about everything and nothing, and then it was off to bed. 

I did buy some fabric, and that was a hoot. There was some fabric here, and they were trying to get rid of it, but they would only sell it by the bolt and would only take cash. As I watched, one of the educators grabbed a bolt of beautiful orange plaid (cotton), so I struck a deal with her and got half the bolt. There was another bolt that I thought would be amazing to have some of, but not 30 yards of yarn-dyed fabric. So I struck up another deal and managed to get 10 yards of that. The price was right, and I had room in my suitcase! 

Now I owe Margaret some cash because I never carry any. It's all fun and games!!!

I'll share those with you when I get home. Our flight is this morning, and I know already that I'm not going to get upgraded. I'm at the bottom of the list of five people, and there is only 1 seat. It's only a 2-hour flight, so it's really not a big deal. 

My stuff is all packed, and I just have to close up the office, and I'm ready to move on!!!

The girls have had quite a traumatic week with all the storms and the raccoon. I'm sure they are going to be super excited to see me home this afternoon!!

On that note, I'm out of here! 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

PS --- there is a virtual retreat this weekend, but ONLY on Saturday evening starting at 6 PM. The link will be posted on Saturday, so I don't throw the ZOOM team into a security breach tizzy!

PSS - again - if you want to take the 40 Shades of Grey class, please contact the store (Out of Hand) so they can get the patterns ordered. I will be touching base with them early next week to see where we stand on the patterns so we can determine a number to purchase.