Celebrate the small successes!!!!

THANK YOU -- I didn't get a chance to cut up those photos, but I will today! I needed that wee push — I shouldn't even have needed that, with all my newfound philosophy on decluttering and getting rid of things, but sometimes — you just need a push. 

It's Monday Sewing today, and I have a LOT of tidy-up jobs to do, which is perfect to do while chatting. I have quilts to trim and bind, photos to cut up, and I might even be able to remove several items from the Visual To Do list. 

BUT let's talk about celebrations! For those of you who are organized, this is going to seem absolutely ridiculous. Still, for me, who typically has papers scattered all over the office and nothing is filed, it was like winning an Olympic Gold yesterday. DH asked for my paperwork so he could do a preliminary on the income taxes. WAIT — they are not due until April 30, but why not get them done now? I had given him all my invoices the other day, and yes --- they were all in one spot and even totaled. Celebration number one! Or should I say Gold medal Number One!

Then yesterday, he asked for not one, but two utility bills. I would typically say, " Let me find those - it might take some time." Instead, I dropped everything and said, " Give me thirty seconds." I went to the filing cabinet and produced both documents in less than 30 seconds. OK -- that was more than a gold medal win! That was huge, and it felt so good not to put a task on the to-do list. Yeah!!!!  

I noticed all the paperwork back on my desk this morning, and it'll take just a few seconds to file it back, and trust me -- I will do that!

Slowly and surely, I'm working through the paperwork, and each day I pick something. With fewer classes, there is less paperwork, and so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. All in due time!

It was another busy day, and I started by working on the small soccer quilt. It barely took any time compared to that giant quilt I did the other day. By "busy," I don't mean the crazy busy "this has to be done" kind — I mean I just did stuff instead of eating bonbons! I will always be working - I will always be busy, but there's a difference between doing and doing because you have to. 

The small soccer quilt on the long arm

I even put a more intricate pattern on this one since it was small. It's all about soccer with soccer balls on it. 

The quilting on the soccer quilt

When that came off, I put the table runner on. 

Now it's the table runner's turn to be quilted.

And that one got done as well. I used scraps of batting for both, which helps get rid of those piles. 

The table runner is quilted!

And I almost got the backing completed for the Dear Jen quilt. 

Working on the backing for the Dear Jen quilt

It's going to be very scrappy with many different black fabrics on the back, and I'm OK with that. What else was I going to do with all those small pieces of odd-colored black? This is a perfect use for them, and I have one more row to sew together and put on the bottom. Then it's ready to be quilted. Then I want to get back to the constellation quilt, but hey—I can't do them all in a day!! I'm trying to quilt what I finish, but I'm still waiting on those darn labels. I MUST do some research to see how to contact the company. They must be lost in transit, which is a total pain. WAIT — I just found them on Facebook, so I hope to send them a message today. 

After that one gets quilted, I have to get back to a couple of customer quilts and to some community project quilts I've neglected long enough! I have to get working on those and get them out of the house. All the batting is pulled for ten of them, and it takes up a lot of visual room downstairs. 

This was Murphy and me during our morning cuddle time. She is such a goof, but loves the cuddles, so I try to spend some good quality time with her every day! Just her and me!

Cuddles with Murphy

Later in the morning, she was outside in the sun. We had a wonderfully sunny day, and all the snow from the night before is gone and more. With the forecasted very warm weather this coming week, I doubt we'll have much snow left. And NO — I have not broken down to shovel the remainder of the small path in front that leads to the backyard. I'll let the sun take care of it! 

Sunbathing

But man --- Murphy can be a pest. Last night, wouldn't settle. She wanted in, and then she wanted out. Then she wanted to play ball, and then she wanted a cuddle. And if she doesn't get what she wants, she sits there and makes these small, discrete, yet very audible noises. It's almost like a purring sound. She knows enough not to bark, but boy oh boy!!!! After one more time outside, where she was out for almost 20 minutes, she came in and finally went right to bed. Now what was that all about? 

And one more Dowdle FolkArt jigsaw puzzle bites the dust. All the pieces were there for this one. This set with the houses is part of a series -- spring, summer, winter, and fall. This is summer, and I have two more left - fall and winter. I might as well continue working on them - one a night and get them done. I'm enjoying the process and don't rush it. It takes me about 2½ hours for each one. You would think that, being so small, I could just whip them together, but there are some tricky bits. I should be faster on the next two? 

One more puzzle! 

I laugh when I'm doing those jigsaw puzzles because one of the exercises in The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is to NOT read for one week. GASP!!!! Not read—how would that work? But the premise is that if you are not reading, you are doing something else. OK -- she has a good point there, and for me, that something else is doing a jigsaw puzzle. 

And have you ever noticed how long it takes to read/listen to a nonfiction book rather than a novel? I can listen to or read a novel all day, but I can only read nonfiction in small bits. I have a wee bit of catching up to do, and I almost finished one novel yesterday. That is such a lie -- I listened to 40% of it! I believe it's another Canadian author - Kelley Armstrong. New-to-me author, and one of her books came up on The Globe and Mail list, but I had to go back to the first one. OK -- I have NO idea where this is going because the detectives are also the bad guys? I'm sure there's a reason for this. 

But here's something to contemplate about books, and it shows you where life is headed. There is an audio, nonfiction book on my list. I had to return it many months ago unfinished. I placed a hold on July 30, 2025, to get it back, and I still have over 2 months to wait. When I walked into the library yesterday, there were FIVE physical copies I could have borrowed. I did not because I already have two nonfiction ebooks to read and don't have time for this one. But once I'm done with these two, I will go back and get a copy. 

I'm off to spin class in the cold this morning. Hopefully, this is the last cold morning of this winter! I'm done with the ice and the cold. Fingers crossed --- don't forget that PLUS ONE!!! The forecasters do it so we have hope! 

Have a super day and YES -- I will cut up those photos later today! I can & I will. Watch me!!

Ciao!!!

Be careful what you impulse buy!!!!

I swear this winter is hanging on as long as it possibly can. We had a cool, but sunny day yesterday, and things were melting like mad. There is still some snow on the small pathway that leads to our backyard, and I was so tempted to help it melt by shoveling what's left, but I didn't. What will the neighbors think!!!!

And I spotted a house on the next street over that is the same house as ours, but with a metal roof. It faces the same direction as our house, although perhaps not quite the exact same angle, and guess what? It STILL had snow on the roof in the valleys around that window!! By the way -- before last night, all the snow was gone from our roof. And I need to pursue locating an engineer who can help evaluate the situation. 

The sidewalls were very dangerous in the morning, with a thin layer of ice in lots of places. By the afternoon, everything was dry. And guess what? We had just a skiff of snow last night, so we now have the potential for ice this morning. Sigh...........  

But the days are getting longer, the sun is shining more, and spring is on its way!!!! 

It's March 1, and it's M's 30th birthday. How the heck did that happen? Happy Birthday, M --- love you to the moon and back, even though we don't get to see you that often. Maybe one day, Mom and Dad will pick up roots in a city that really doesn't have roots for us and move. 

Speaking of melting snow, the gazebo is clear of snow. I could get my chair out, sit down, and do some gazebo bathing. Heck - it's close enough to the forest and surrounded by trees, I could call it forest bathing! 

It's almost lounging outdoors time!

We still have lots of snow in the backyard because it doesn't get direct sunlight all day. The girls are having fun romping around, especially if I'm outside! 

Hey Lexi -- you can't catch me!!!!

I have to laugh about this because when we were at the quilt store the other day, I bought an IMPULSE item. I saw this kit to make two bowl cozies, and I have wanted to make one for a long time to use when I heat my bowl of soup in the microwave. For $12.00, you get fabric and the batting to make two of them. 

A kit to make two bowl cozies

So nothing funny about that. Then, when we went to Michael's, we were looking for the fabric aisle, which I hear is at the store in Kitchener. I agree - the fabric is NOT the best quality, and they have a lot of novelty prints, but I did find some funky stuff in North Vancouver. Anyway, while we were there, I spotted an entire bag of the Wrap and Zap batting product for $11.99!!!! With a coupon and my senior discount, I could have practically stolen it, and I have tons of fabric at home. Oh well. 

I don't remember working on this yesterday, but maybe I did. Well, if you've already seen it, here it is again. I now have the blocks in three rows. I've cut some more black and sorted out the other pieces of black to make this big enough to serve as the backing for my abbreviated version of Dear Jen. 

Working on the backing for Dear Jen

I was hoping to get more sewing done yesterday, but the quilt on the long arm required a LOT of babysitting. Constant babysitting, and even then, there are a few spots where the fabric went wonky. Don't worry -- it's my quilt. The denim I bought for the quilt was labelled 100% cotton, and 100% cotton denim has some stretch, but this denim had spandex or lycra in it, and, as it was quilted, the fabric wanted to tuck because of the quilting design. It has small tucks, and no one will notice, but I had to babysit to prevent even more tucks. 

My quilt

It turned out way nicer than I envisioned, and I'm really happy with it. You'll see more of the quilt if you watch my Facebook Live on machine embroidery on March 18. Even if you don't have an embroidery machine, I think it's a good idea to watch. You can learn about the technology in the sewing and embroidery world, and someday you may want to do this. You do NOT need a high-end embroidery machine! 

It seemed it was a day filled with laughter, as I had a few small bits of paper that I had pulled from somewhere, and I needed to deal with them. 

At some point, I had purchased a box of small quotes - they were notes that you could slip into someone's lunch box or briefcase. I only found one of the notes; I have no idea where the others are, and maybe I used them all. 

The little notecard

Inside the notecard

Inside the notecard

Isn't that nice? I'm all about celebrating anything! Just like in The Artist's Way -- you need to celebrate everything, no matter how small. It's important! Very Important!!! 

Nothing funny about that, but I also found this piece of paper, and if you're not familiar with the terms, that file listed is the contacts list in Outlook. That was probably me trying to find the file or move it from another computer, many years ago. That paper is gone, but I kept the card because it can be used in a junk journal, which I will get to at some point because I'm feeling so much freer in my time. 

The elusive contacts file for Outlook

So much so that I sometimes feel lost. Am I really allowed to sew on my projects without an immediate deadline? How is this possible? 

I also got some machine embroidery done. While I was babysitting the long arm, I let the embroidery machine run. At one point, I needed to dig out my metal hoops, which I keep stored in their original boxes. They all contain some very powerful magnets. 

The long arm had finished, and so had the embroidery machine. I left the long arm and went to the embroidery machine. I realized I needed more magnets, which were in another box. When I returned to the shelf, I spotted this. 

My "lost" scissors

Good grief — the scissors I use for long-arming got attracted to the magnets in the box and were stuck there. Good thing I did my tasks in the sequence I did, because I would have needed the scissors for the long arm to cut the thread. I would have seen they were missing, but I would NEVER have thought to check those boxes!!! I might still be looking for them this morning. 

While I was watching a video, I managed to get all the letters off one of the borders. One down and one more border to go. 

Removing the lettering from the border

I've been wracking my brain to see if I could do anything with the photo-transferred pictures. Could I make a sample of them? And if so? What? If I were going to make a sample with photo transfers, it would be nice if the people were ones I knew. I thought of making a picture book and giving it to the family member who asked for the quilt. But I think I just need to bite the bullet, cut the pictures up into scraps, and put them in a pet mat. 

Yes -- I can give myself permission to do that. But I can't just yet. Help me!!!

Both of our girls are exhibiting completely different behaviors. While Murphy is still full of vim and vigor, she has become obsessed with sleeping in Studio B. I think I mentioned that, and yesterday I caught her hesitating much longer than usual at the bottom, gathering the courage to go up! I must put those little carpets on the treads and see if that makes her feel safer. She has learned to slow down before attempting the stairs because she slips. But this hesitation to even start is new. 

She won't come upstairs (2nd level) anymore, and if she does, it's just to see that I'm OK, then she goes back downstairs. I know she is slowing down, but it's almost time for them to go outside, and she is nowhere to be found. 

But give her a ball, and well, she reminds me of Chuck and his ball, Wilson (Castaway). I swear she is trying to talk to it!

Hello Chuck (the balls are called Chuck-it!)

But Murphy was a very good girl yesterday. We met up with Suzie, who was walking Dexter, and she didn't bark. Since we were both going in the same direction, we were able to have a chat. I swear that is the FIRST time that Murphy didn't attempt to bark at another dog, and we could walk together. Way to go, Murphy!!!!

After dinner, I got one more of the Dowdle FolkArt puzzles done! Two pieces were missing from this one. 

Spring Dowdle FolkArt puzzle

There is a girl I follow on IG who is a professional puzzler. Anyway, she does puzzle competitions and stuff like that. I haven't seen a post in weeks, but last night, one came up about how to become a speed puzzler. Good grief -- she had a 500-piece puzzle that she assembled in less than ONE hour! This 300-piece puzzle took two hours or maybe a bit more. HEY --- I'm not doing this to stress myself out - I'm doing it for fun!

So I read The Artist's Way the other day. Actually, I listened to it. I had also downloaded the abridged version, which is 3 hours instead of 12. I listened to that yesterday, and obviously it's much shorter, no quotes, and not as many lists! But if you are looking for a quick read, there's some good stuff in it, and obviously lots of the same stories. 

The book is not just about creativity and art. The book is about changing your life, learning to celebrate each and every little thing. It's about decluttering your house and your mind so that you can live without all that baggage. There are many good lessons in the book. 

I thought I was doing well, but the more I declutter my schedule, the office, my life, the better I feel, and I have so much "free" time. I'm giddy with excitement. I'm now free to do the things that I have wanted to do for a long time. And I can do it guilt-free. And when the day comes for me to move, I won't have much crap to move. 

There is one quote from the book that I love, and it is attributed to Miles Davis: "Do not fear mistakes. There are none!"  That is so true. I can't tell you that often enough, and you'll hear Julia mention it multiple times in The Artist's Way. Those "mistakes" are simply steps along the journey. They are meant to happen -- they are part of your journey to learning and finding new ways. 

On that note, I'm out of here to see how icy those sidewalks are. I see the sidewalk plow passed about 6 AM, so they should be somewhat decent. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

I'm PUZZLED!!!!

Creative block!!! Where do I start this morning? 

Just kidding! All I need to do is write one word, and then the rest just follows. I have more to write about The Artist's Way, but I'm leaving that until tomorrow. 

Lots of things happened yesterday, and they were very exciting. Let's take a look. I recently went through my pending folder, which was exploding, and I did quite a bit of checking things off the list yesterday morning. So that was a positive way to get some paperwork done. There are a few more papers on the floor from that folder that I need to check to make sure things got done, and then I can file/toss the paperwork. It's all good. 

On my Visual To-Do list is a category called "quilts for others," which means that it's a quilt I want to make for others, or someone asked me to make them a quilt. This is the most embarrassing category on the list because I got stuck in a rut. I'll work up my courage and explain them one at a time, preferably with time in between, so I can get over my embarrassment. 

The reason I'm sharing the stories is that you likely have similar projects, and I want to share how I dealt with them. And I might need your advice on some of it, but slow and steady - let's just deal with them one at a time. 

As I mentioned, I ran into a lady in the grocery store the other day, and she was on my list of people to call because there was a box with a partially completed quilt in it for her. 

The UFO quilt I promised to make for someone else

I sent her pictures of what had been completed so far and a diagram of where we were going with it. She had already received a quilt I made for her Mom. I called her yesterday, and we discussed it. I had phototransferred 30 pictures onto fabric and fused some lettering, which was to be the top and bottom borders. Here's what I learned in that conversation. First -- she didn't even remember the project when I sent her the photos. OH!!!! To be clear, this project was started in 2002 or 2003? So it's been many years - I don't blame her for not remembering, but I remembered, and it has been a weight on my back for all those years. 

Secondly, she mentioned numerous times that the pictures were very dated. Yep—some of the people in the photos were probably no longer around, and all the children? Well, some of them have children of their own. She felt bad for all the work I had done, but then didn't want to add to my workload. 

Bottom line? We ditched the project. Guilt gone and the next time I see her around, we can just catch up - I don't need to mention the quilt every again!!!

I'm not taking that project off the list yet. I need to sort through the box first, and when it's completely dealt with, then I can take it off the list. 

There was a stack of paper - that's now in the recycling. There were a couple of patterns, which are also in their appropriate place. I found some fabrics, and those are back on the shelf. 

Sorting through the UFO

Look at this gorgeous maple leaf neutral I found!!!

Look at the gorgeous fabric.

And THREE spools of machine embroidery thread, which is now back with the rest of the orange threads. I swear, if I could find all the threads that are in the project boxes, I'd have to buy many more containers! Don't yell at me --- I'm working on this mess!!! Are you working on yours? 

Three found spools of thread.

I also found two oraganmi boats that I made with fabric. I'm not sure why they were in the box - perhaps there was a lake behind the tree, and this boat was going on it. I know I made these as samples for another quilt, where I made an origami boat. Hmmm -- I should take a picture of that quilt. It's finished and hangs over my front door. I'm not sure where to put those, but I'll find a home for them, perhaps with my fusible supplies, because I needed a fusible to attach the two pieces of fabric. This technique would work a whole lot better these days with the much thinner fusibles!!

Two origami boats made from double-sided fabric

The stitching had NOT been done on the two borders, and I decided to try to rescue the fabric and perhaps the letters. I know—it's the pioneer spirit within me, and trust me—I LOVE doing this recovery work. I almost find it more satisfying than making something from new stuff. Plus, I have two YouTube Videos (informative) that I want to finish watching, so I can pull letters off while doing that. 

Oh shoot—I didn't seem to take any pictures of that process, but it's working. Some of the fused appliqué is stuck pretty well, but I'm persistent and have been able to remove about 1/3 of one border. That's pretty good considering I wasn't home yesterday afternoon. 

The moral of this story is- if you commit to making a project for someone, do NOT abandon it. I seemed to have gone through a period when I just couldn't wrap my head around finishing things, which has left a few things sitting here. I'm all grown up now and facing those awkward situations. Get it over -- live guilt-free! 

And the bonus lesson is that if you have a UFO, you do NOT need to finish every one of them. Abandon the project, shelve the material, cross it off your list, and call it a day. DO NOT leave it sitting around. MAKE A DECISION about it. 

Then we got ourselves ready because KU and I were going on a road trip. My brain kicked in, and I realized that while we were on our mission, we could drop some things off for the Pony Express. This is what we dropped off. Two quilts and three pet mats were dropped off at the first stop, and I picked up one quilt for quilting. The second stop involved dropping off some odds and ends for someone, and I didn't pick up anything. 

Items to be delivered on the Pony Express

The second stop was to the Springhouse Retreat house, where the person was currently enjoying a retreat. So, of course, I had to snap a picture of the red lawn chairs. 

The red lawn chairs at Springhouse Retreat

They were just not as nicely arranged as when we took our "famous" picture in them. I don't know where that picture is at the moment, but I'll find it for tomorrow. 

This is what remains on the Pony Express at the moment, which is not too bad. I'll try to drop that bag off today if the weather is nice. Two of the three remaining items are for me to drop off on my travels, and the bag of cars is for someone to pick up! All is good! 

What is currently waiting to be delivered/pick-up

After we did our two drop-offs, we were on our way to the Ye Old Fabric Shoppe. We found a fabric in the theme we wanted, but it was not suitable for our needs. So we looked at other things, and we got what we needed. I even picked up a few things which I'll share tomorrow. Oh boy -- I have a lot to share tomorrow!

WAIT -- there was one thing that I spotted. I did NOT buy it, but I took a picture of it. 

Ways to keep track of your pieces

Remember my picture from yesterday? 

Ways to keep track of your pieces

And that's all I'm going to say about that. 

I had wanted to check out the dollar store to see if they had any of those felt folders or laptop cases. And oh my—there was a thrift store and a Michael's right beside it. So we parked the car and went to Michael's first. The goal was to see if they had gotten their fabric aisle yet. Nope --- just the small pieces that they've always had. I first spotted the fabric aisle in North Vancouver in the fall. Nothing here yet, but I know that feature has also been implemented in part of Atlantic Canada. I don't know about my local stores. Too bad there isn't a Michaels within walking distance! It's within cycling distance, so once the weather is nicer, I must get that bike out! 

We checked out the dollar store, and they did not have the felt cases. BUT I scored big time at the thrift shop. We went in simply to check for jigsaw puzzles. I KNOW—I don't need any more, but just to check. OK — I checked the other departments but found nothing of interest, and we had a deadline to meet. 

Look what jumped into my shopping bag. 

WAIT --- first look what I spotted on the way to the puzzle section. Who remembers these tins? I was not a smoker --- EVER, but my Dad bought tobacco in these tins. He stopped smoking years ago. 

That brings back memories.

And doesn't this look nice? As Julia would say in The Artist's Way, inspiration can come from anywhere. Look at all the different reds, and they all look amazing together!!!

A display in the thrift store

OK -- so I have a thing for Dowdle puzzles. I have no idea why, but I like them. So I scored TWO of the bigger puzzles, and KU picked up a Diane Phalen quilt puzzle. 

THREE new puzzles

And then I found FIVE of the Dowdle FolkArt puzzles. 

OH -- five Dowdle FolkArt puzzles

And what the heck --- I bought them all! Eight puzzles for $40 inlcuding tax, because I had a 20% coupon with me. It's time to make another donation to get another coupon!

After we got back from dinner, I decided to tackle one of the small puzzles. It's so easy to lay out 300 pieces. Why does it seem to take forever when there are 500 or 1000 pieces? 

Laying out the pieces

Then I sorted out the border pieces. 

Sorting out the borders

I worked from the top down, and even with that, I was finished by 9:45 PM. You know what? I really enjoyed making that puzzle. It was fast, yet not super easy, and the pieces are small like a regular-sized puzzle. No missing pieces!

The puzzle is complete!

What was interesting was that the last one of the Folk Art series I did, the entire box cover was the picture, including the border on the box, and the name. I expected the same thing here, but nope—it was just the picture. Then I realized that the remaining four puzzles are the four seasons—one for spring, summer, fall, and winter. It was cheap entertainment for the evening. I might just do one a day until those are done. Then I'll let KU do them, and then they go in the donation box. I certainly do not want to keep them. 


We stopped for a snack at Tim's, and I won a coffee!!!

Winner!!!

OK --- this was Murp[hy yesterday morning -- back to lying on the pond. 

MOM --- something is here!

 I just let them out, and they were both by the pond. Murphy almost went on the pond, but the ice is almost gone. There must be something in the pond that is making them curious. Now I have to look, but I'm afraid of what I'll find. It's likely a rabbit or something. 

Look at Lexi! She is soaking up that attention like no tomorrow. 

I LOVE KU!!!!

This is why she hangs out with DH, although I don't know why, because he never gives her an ear rub like that! But KU knows where to hit all the good spots. It was hilarious. 

Today is going to be my last day —no, wait —Sunday will be my last day of goofing around with my projects, then I need to get heads down on stuff for my upcoming Facebook Live. WAIT --- they have the date as March 18!!!! 

Oh well—I'll evaluate my schedule and then move on to other projects on Monday. 

On that note, I'm out of here. So much to do! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

The Artist's Way

I fell into bed last night, totally exhausted. After the heavy upper body workout with Brooke in the morning, working with the embroidery machine and the giant quilt, plus a walk to the dollar store and the grocery store, I was done! But that's OK -- it was a productive day! Plus, I finished listening to a book, which I have to share the details with you. 

Let's start with the giant quilt! It is 109 by 109 inches. It is done, almost trimmed, and ready to be dropped off later today. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I am leery of larger quilts because they can go on the machine wonky (my doing), or the borders are wavy or whatever. Lots of things can go haywire with a large quilt. I'm happy to report that I got it loaded straight through to the end, and the piecing was bang on. I had no issues with quilting it, other than it took a long time! And now it's done!

Then I decided, why have one automated machine working, when I can have two!! And there is no longer any procrastination in my house. Make a decision and get it done! I sent the Zodiac constellations design to the EPIC 3, and it happily stitched for a good part of the day. 

Ready to stitch the constellation designs

What was even more helpful was that the design looked like it was made especially for that large hoop—260 by 465 mm. I mean, the design literally filled it. Otherwise, I would have had to hoop the fabric several times. Oh my—I planned that perfectly! OK — I got lucky: I designed based on the size of fabric I needed and was not restricted by the hoop size. It was my lucky day, as they were essentially the same size!

I considered using white thread, which would have looked amazing, but I was thinking of the gold thread on the border print, and I didn't like the two together. So gold thread it was. My machine wasn't particularly happy with the gold thread. It didn't break - the needle just kept coming unthreaded more often than I would have liked. I'm not sure why that happened, but it didn't matter - I was downstairs anyway, so I just kept rethreading the machine when it needed that to be done. YES -- I slowed the machine way down, and other than the needle coming unthreaded, it stitched out beautifully. Patience is a virtue -- no need to get frustrated - just slow and steady, and it all came together. 

The completed design

I forgot to take a close-up, so I'll do that later today, but I love it! I trimmed all the threads and removed the stabilizer last night while I waited for the giant quilt to finish. All I need to do is give it a good press and cut it to the correct size. I didn't trust myself last night to do that task. Perhaps this morning. 

And here are some half-square triangles that I trimmed the other day. All up-to-date on those. Just lots more of them to sew!

Trimming half-square triangles

I had some time to spare (GASP), so I dug out the scraps of solid black I had discovered while finishing that table runner. It's hard to believe, but all of these are sold as BLACK!!!! I'm going to make the pieced backing for my Abreviated Dear Jen quilt. I don't care if the blacks don't match—I just want this fabric used up!! I cut the first pass and will potentially sew the rows together this morning. 

The many colors of black

This is my next machine embroidery project, and it's much smaller than the Zodiac, but it's going to be fiddly, I think! The first step is done. YES --- those rings are all machine embroidered - the last step is to assemble them, also on the embroidery machine! 

The next machine embroidery project

I'm taking KU to a quilt shop that is some distance away, so the afternoon will be a lost cause for getting work done, which I'm OK with. It's good to take a break. However, the Pony Express will be active this afternoon, as I have two drop-offs near our destination! But I have the morning to get some stuff done, although I should be focusing on some paperwork. I'll see how I feel after walking the girls. 

Speaking of the girls, we now know who the culprit is who thinks that walking on the pond is a good thing. 

MOM - I'm ice fishing!!

And it's not enough for her to walk on it, I spotted her in the afternoon like this. 

MOM - nothing to see here!

Yep -- why just walk on the pond when you can have a ly-down on it! That dog is nuts about the pond and water. It's supposed to be warm today, so hopefully she knows enough (she does) to stay off the ice! 

I got a chuckle from her in the morning because she "accidentally" tossed one of her balls under the desk beside me. And she tried desperately to get it. She must have found this position comfortable because she stayed there for a while. What a silly girl!!!!

MOM - just hanging out!

And then while we were having dinner, Lexi rescued me again from Murphy begging to play ball. They had a good tussle, and everyone was entertained and happy. 

MOM - I'll keep Murphy away from you!!
MOM - HELP!! Lexi won't let me play ball!

Wait -- Murpy "broke" her ear!!!! Well, Lexi probably did this to her, but it was so cute. Every once in a while, that happens, and I managed to get a picture! 

MOM -- Look at my ear - Lexi broke my ear!!!

KU and I walked to the dollar store in the afternoon—it was a glorious day. She may regret living with us because I walk everywhere. No going by car to do errands! Anyway, we were looking for these felt portfolios. Which we found, thanks to KU. We at last found the right department, and I didn't see any, but KU moved a book and VOILA -- there was ONE left. 

The felt laptop bag

Hmmm—I think I need better friends, or more explicit friends. Whenever someone finds something at the dollar store that others in our group might be interested in, we NEVER get the right department. "OH - I think it was in the office supplies" section. So I went and couldn't find it there. Turns out it was in the ELECTRONICS section because it's a tablet case. Sigh......

So the bottom line is that if you find something you think someone else will like, PLEASE take a picture of it on the shelf or note where you picked it up. People then say, well, they could be in a different department. NO --- when you see the folks at the dollar store unpacking boxes, they have a MAP of the store in their hands, and each product in each store goes in the same department. It might be slightly different, but the employees do NOT make those decisions. 

I'm not sure if I should go shopping with KU, as she could cost me a lot of money! We were also looking for this - not to buy it, but just to check it out. This was in the crafts section. So if you want inexpensive markers for your blocks or rows, you could use this. And if the letters come off, get out your hot glue and glue the letters back on!

Letters and numbers on clothespins

When we were at the mall the other day and waiting for the movie theater to open, we had popped into one of my favorite clothing stores, and here is the pair of jeans I bought. KU found them. They are so not like a pair of jeans I would typically buy, and certainly a lot more money than my $6 thrift store find. HEY -- I LOVE my thrift store jeans, and they fit like a glove! 

OK -- I finished The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron this morning, and I can finally cross that book off my list. I never need to get it from the library again. 

It was a very interesting book, and I'm glad I finally had the chance to read it. To clarify, by using the term artist, she refers to anyone - whether you are a painter, a quilter, an office worker -- anyone. So don't think the book and its methods won't apply to you. Secondly, the book is based on many spiritual teachings, which is OK, and she addresses those who don't believe in a higher being at the beginning. She has MANY lists in the book—I mean, MANY. And she quotes a ton of people. So be warned. She also talks about the "recovering or blocked" artist and rarely mentions those who would like to become artists. But I guess those people are considered blocked because they can't make the first move. 

Anyway, despite some of the things mentioned above, which are NOT negative, but a lot of filler, perhaps the filler is necessary. Anyway, I highly recommend reading the book if you haven't. 

WAIT --- before you jump into your library app to find it, here are a couple of things. First, the book didn't really help me. WHAT????? Why am I recommending it? Because I've already done most of what she said to do. I am NOT a recovering or blocked artist. The ideas are flowing out of me faster than I can write them down. BUT I did learn a few tips from the book, but I mostly got 1000% affirmation that what I'm doing is the way to go! And sometimes we need that. 

Things to keep in mind before you start to read this book: 

1. If you are serious about unblocking yourself, get the WRITTEN copy of the book, and I think there is a workbook to do the exercises. 
2. It's a 12-step program—do each step over 1 week. I think it's harder to do the exercises in audio form, and you won't have time if you have the book on loan for three weeks.  
3. It will be a lot of work, but it's good work. It makes you think deeply about what you want to do in life, how to get out of a rut (art, love, travel, daily living, health, etc)
4. Try to find a group or a buddy who can help you. Someone who will support you, not cut down what you are trying to achieve.
5. Believe in yourself- you are creative - everyone is creative, if they let the creativity out. 

OMG -- I just created a list. But there are only five items on my list. Julai's lists have twenty items on them!!

What are some of the things that I already do that she mentions in the book? 

1. Make mistakes! They are good for you! 
2. Affirmation of who I am. Yep — I'm not afraid to call myself an artist with a studio and toot my own horn about how good I am. 
3. Find your passion. I was fortunate to have found my passion almost 30 years ago, and I have never looked back. 
4. Teach others—yep, I've been doing that for 25 years. You will learn from teaching, not just about the subject at hand, but about yourself. I've learned so much from teaching - it was the best thing I have ever done!
5. WRITE --- it doesn't have to be a novel, but even nonsense, as she talks about for the Morning Pages, is good. Get your brain working, get that crap out of your head that you are struggling with. Get rid of it by writing it down. Never to be read again! I've been writing the blog for almost 20 years! Some good days, some not so good!  
6. Don't be afraid to do what you want, even if it means doing it by yourself. Yep --- riding a bike across Canada (with a group), walking across Spain on the Camino, climbing Kilimanjaro, etc. Many more adventures await me, and I wait for no person. If I had to find someone with similar interests to do those adventures, I'd still be waiting. 
7. LOVE yourself and be selfish a little bit. You need time for yourself, you need to learn to live with yourself, and to entertain yourself. I am the most important person in my life, and I'm proud to say it out loud. 
8. Stop procrastinating. This one is fairly new to me, and it took a very long time for me to get to the point where I just make the decision and go with it. No regrets -- just decide and move on. Life is too short to let details get in the way. For me, it was my visual to-do list and the desire not to leave this creative mess for someone else to clear up. 
9. Find a support group. Can you believe that I have found that in my Monday Sewing group, which has been going for almost 25 years? There were issues -- MAJOR issues, and the group got ugly at points with back stabbing, a police complaint filed against me (YEP  - that is not a lie), and moving from in-person to going online. It doesn't matter; the backbone of the group has held together like glue. Can you believe there are still three people from the original group (including myself) who started in 2001 who are still participating? 
10. Don't be afraid! While you probably can't do everything you want to do, don't be afraid to try new things or do things alone if no one is around to go with you. I used to be the most shy person you could imagine, and I have gradually cracked that shell. Thank god for that! START SMALL on this. 

OOOPs -- another list!!! 

But you get my point—I didn't need to read the book because I'm already there. But WAIT --- you are never there --- life is a constant journey, not a destination!!! Learn to make the most of it - stop and smell the roses along the way, take what comes with a grain of salt -- why let someone else ruin your life because they make silly choices? Nope --- your life is all about YOU!!!! 

OK -- I have to run, but seriously, if you are in a rut and want to make changes, the book is good. BUT WAIT --- here's another thing to keep in mind. You HAVE TO WANT TO CHANGE. If you think the book is going to help you, it can only do that if YOU ARE WILLING to change. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!