I'll do it MY WAY!!!!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who believes that if you fill your retirement with busyness, it's not right! WAIT --- I get it -- it's your retirement, and you can do whatever makes you happy, but why would you want to be filling the days with running around and not have time for spontaneous stuff? Nope --- I will not let that happen to me. 

And I stand corrected, the movie with the book communication is called Interstellar! Thanks for the correction!

Speaking of free time, I sometimes have to double-check my calendar to make sure I don't end up rushing to get something done! Yep -- it's been so full, with always something that needed to be done, that I struggle to realize I'm free! Or much freer than I was, and trust me, I do NOT want to go back. 

I read yesterday, took a walk, and then had a long nap, yet still got my planned work done for the day. That is a huge luxury!

I pulled out all the threads I'll use for the Cherrywood Challenge, and I got all the appliqué stitching done, though I might redo some of it today. I'm not 100% happy with it; some parts look a bit clunky, so I might redo it with a different thread weight or a different stitching style. It's not much to rip out, so it shouldn't take much time. It's something I can do during Monday Sewing. 

Threads for the Cherrywood Challenge

Then I have the next step to do today, which, again, shouldn't take too long and fits within today's workload. I must remember to get to work on my UFO stuff as well. 

Now that we've had our reveals over the weekend, I can share some of the stuff I've been working on. I set myself four goals on the Visual To-Do list for the Many Blocks class. Well, it's not really a class; it's like a UFO group. I have completed Farm Girl Vintage and Vintage Christmas so far this year, and I have even stitched the labels in place. I sort of double-dipped and used these as UFO projects as well. I don't care - they are done! 

Farm Girl Vintage - DONE

 Both of these were taught as a sew-along in recent years. 

Vintage Christmas - DONE

The third quilt on my list in the Many Blocks is Dear Jen, which I taught a couple of years ago. Now, Dear Jen is one of the few quilts (of the 80 in total) I taught this way that didn't make me happy. I don't know if it was the pattern, the style, or the coloring, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Others felt the same about the quilt, and I kept teaching the class. A few students did all or most of the blocks, but many made the quilt smaller. 

I didn't want to have a UFO hanging over my head, so I decided to make the quilt smaller. In total, I made 25 blocks that I was happy with. I added a frame to each block in alternating black and white. The initial frame was wider than this; I have now cut it down, and the top is almost together. 

My smaller than the original Dear Jen quilt

I like the quilt, but the other blocks just weren't cutting it for me. So it will get quilted, and I'll have another quilt to use as a machine cover in Studio B. 

Here are the rejects! I tried making the quilt with a black background, but it still didn't grab me, so I will use the blocks as the backing. 

The reject blocks will make the backing.

And then I can cross that one off my list. The point is -- if something doesn't grab you and you are not enjoying it, then STOP - think how you can use the blocks that you've already made and move on! I did, and I am NOT going to regret my decision. That is part of learning—know when to throw in the towel. Not everything we do is going to work out! 

This is going to be the LAST SAMPLER quilt I ever take on. I've done quite a few, and I'm done with that style of quilt!

When that is done, there is one more quilt in that category, but I suspect it'll take me until the end of the year to finish it. So all is good! 

You know that Dede and I have been working on our Terrifying Tower - the 3D machine embroidery project from OESD. Well, we got together last week to do the final bit - the assembly!

You should have heard us - we were like two kids playing with toys. I'm sure DH was rolling his eyes!!

But seriously, after a bit of sewing and then some hammering as we punched out holes and cut slits, we started. And we had only made the porch and were totally in awe of its cuteness. 

The porch to the Terrifying Tower

It's three stories high, and so we continued. We learned a lot and had to use various tools to assemble the pieces, but oh my - we couldn't stop admiring it as we built!

Here are the two houses from the front. While we used the same black vinyl, we chose different greens and purples, and our thread colors were slightly different as well. 

The front of the houses

YES -- there is a small balcony on the roof of the first level. 

One side of the houses

Some of the windows have "broken" glass, and others are draped in spiderwebs. 

The backs

The other side

But seriously --- that is adorable! It's about 14" high. I was going to take mine apart, but after all the work to put it together, I don't think so. So I'll wrap it in plastic to protect it from the dust and bring it out when the time is appropriate, or I could just leave it out and admire it!!

I had purchased battery-operated tea lights, which make it look super cute!

The houses lit up at night!

I even had time to deal with more digital files. I know - it's going to take forever to get that done, but the more I do, the better I feel, and it's just making me happy. I had to search for a file I'd recently written and saved. Where the heck did I put it? So there are still lots of decisions to make before it's all done. And yes - DELETE is my favorite tool these days. 

What I'm enjoying is looking back and seeing some of the fun things I did. OK - some of them might not have been fun. But I found documentation on the quilt shows that I was part of the organizing team. That show was in 2013 or thereabouts. All that documentation is now gone! 

And I stumbled upon this! 

The logo for Quilter's Quest!

There are a few people around who may remember what this is all about. But in May 2010, a (then) friend and I organized a road rally for our Monday Sewing group. YES -- the same Monday Sewing group that I still run, although almost everyone on the original list has passed, or they are no longer part of my circle! I am NOT going there - it was a messy divorce! 

That road rally was so much fun and brought back some pretty wild memories. I must have blogged about it. Let me see if I can find that. FOUND IT!!! Check this out -- it was a fantastic day!

While I am no longer friends with the person who helped me organize it (not my fault), we had a blast, and it involved finding a castle, interrupting a Mennonite church service, and many other shenanigans!!

So—yes, I could have deleted that folder, since I knew what was in it, but the memory from opening the files—priceless and well worth it. That is why delete is a good tool, but NOT until I do it MY WAY!!!

While it is a lot of work to go through all those files, I'm thrilled. That methodical process makes my brain extremely happy, and I could sit at the computer and do that for hours. Good thing, since I forecast many hours spent sorting files. 

To give you a sense of the mess, here are the stats from my folder titled "Embroidery Designs to Sort."

Look at the SIZE of that folder and look at the number of files!! That is OBSCENE, and it will be interesting to see how many of those are no longer needed. 

I still need to move files between the three hard disks, but I should probably stop and focus on cleaning out this folder, as it's my goal for 2026. But I'll check how many more high-level folders I need to deal with, and I may continue sorting the stuff among the three external hard drives, or I may just stop for now and get into the machine embroidery files. A decision for later today. 

What I am loving is that as a semi-retired person, I have the time to do that at my leisure! I never had time before, which is probably why it's in such a mess. Do you know how luxurious that is? The freedom to finally do the things that I want to do? 

And the ability to travel without having to rejig my entire calendar? Oh yes—NEVER again will I overbook myself. I'm free!!!!!

OK -- enough about that, as I need to get myself to spin class. 

And TOMORROW, it's supposed to be plus ONE!!! What do you think? Will it happen? It's still cold this morning, but two degrees warmer than it was this time yesterday! 

Have a fabulous day!!!!

Ciao!!!

The luxury of free time!

There are no coincidences -- things happen for a reason! I hope you watched the movie! It's kind of freaky when stuff like that happens. Is there a parallel universe? Are you in the past or future, trying to send messages to yourself? It reminds me of that movie about space, but one of the characters was trying to get a message to their family through a room of books. Or something like that. Hmmm -- I think the movie is called Contact. 

Well, I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying all this FREE time! Yep --- I'm not stressed about a single thing, and that's amazing! I have two presentations this morning, and most of the work was done weeks ago, and I just had a few participant photos to load. I've been doing that as I receive them, so adding the last few this morning was a no-brainer. 

I see I have "double booked" myself with two deadlines for next weekend, so I'll have to work around that, but it's all doable. 

And yes -- I'm slowly working my way through this mess of digital files. It's unbelievable that I let such a mess accumulate, but there is no point in looking back—that won't help. I must just take one folder at a time and move or delete the contents. When I'm done, I suspect that I won't have much content left! But that's OK. I didn't find any treasures yesterday, but the files on the old computers (only in the download folder) are now on one of the external hard disks. 

That means that all my digital files are now on the OneDrive or one of the three external hard drives. There are two boxes of embroidery files still to be dealt with, but that will happen only once the current mess is cleared. 

All is good in that area, and while there is still a huge mess to clean up, I feel so much better and that I can actually accomplish that goal. I chalk it up to that visual To-Do list. That's how I roll, and it works for me, but for others, you may need a different kind of motivation! 

My desktop still looks a mess - I haven't wrapped my head around that, and I've let a few things languish on the computer to-do list, and I'm OK with that. I'll get to it - just not at this point in time. 

This week will be filled with completing all the tasks for the UFO Club, and I can't wait to survey the current project table and find other things to fill the UFO blue bin with for the following month. That's the exciting part!

I sure wish those little labels would arrive, as I have a few quilts that need binding, but I'd really like to have the labels first! I have a tracking number, but it's only for this country, and the package is coming from France. I have only found a phone number to contact them, so I must try to find a solution. I could call, but I'd prefer to do it via email. 

I did some sewing last night and made more half-square triangles that still need pressing and trimming! The pile on the left is what I did last night. The pile on the right is from the other day - I'm behind! I cannot afford to let these sit; perhaps later today, I can tackle them. I MUST tackle them. There is no time to be silly and let things pile up!

Half-square triangles that need trimming

I will have a few things to share with you next week that I made in preparation for today's two presentations. I think it's only fair that the groups see my stuff FIRST!!!

The good news is that EVERYTHING I am working on is on a list - the UFO list, the Many Blocks list, a class, or that visual To-Do list. EVERYTHING! I've become so focused it scares me! And what if I run out of things on the Visual To-Do list? I doubt that will happen, but you never know! There is loads of stuff on the current project table to find something new to do! I have no worries about that. I just want to start seeing some open space, but that may take a few months!

I'm also thrilled to say that I accomplished what I set out to do on my Cherrywood Challenge. I took a look at it in the afternoon, and thought to myself, " How the heck am I going to accomplish what I want to do. So I put my thinking cap on, got out a specialty ruler, and soon, I was on my way. I did make an error in cutting, so it's a good thing I had lots of fabric to play with. All is good, and the top is together. And I LIKE IT!!

As I lay in bed last night, I broke the rest of the work into days so I wouldn't spend all day, every day on it. I have about 5 components to do, and if I do one a day, I can finish in plenty of time and still have a day or two of leeway. I'm good!! Is it good enough to get accepted? I don't really care - that would be a bonus, but the process is what gets me excited. And I used some new techniques and more to use, so I'm learning as I go. 

But what was equally nice was that I had to drop that quilt off, and it was an hour drive to get there. Then I had a delightful and leisurely lunch (3 hours) chatting with a friend. It was glorious, not looking at the time to see that I should be getting home. And of course, it was an hour drive home. I didn't care! I listened to my audiobook in the car and finished it when I got home. 

Where did we go for lunch? OH MY GOSH --- you do NOT want to go to this place. It's bad!!!! Just kidding - there better not be one near me. The food was terrific, and everything looked so yummy!

A box from Paris Baguette

I had never heard of the place, but I found it with ease on Google Maps, and it was NOT where I expected it to be. Let's just say that Newmarket has expanded across the highway on the west side. 

They offer regular sandwiches and croissant sandwiches. OK - I had one of those. But the desserts? OH MY!!!!

The cakes in the display case

Let's just say that one of those cakes will set you back a bit. But they sure looked good! In case you can't read that sign - that cake was over $60!

Ouch!!! $ 

I caved, and I bought a treat for us. Good grief - we are all trying to be good and cut out the sugar, but I couldn't help myself. I bought a chocolate croissant for myself, and while it was good, I don't think it was as good as those in Spain. I think it's the guilt-free attitude one has after walking 30 KM in a day and then having a chocolate croissant, versus walking only 6 km with the girls and then having one! But they are very flaky and very airy inside. 

My treat last night

Like I said, you probably do NOT want to go to this place. OH GOSH - I just checked, and there is one near me. I will NOT go there! It was a treat, and I'll leave it like that! It is a chain owned by a South Korean company. I'd not heard of it before. 

Well, it was cool walking with the girls yesterday! Minus 20 with a wind chill of something. But I was dressed for it, though my feet were getting cold toward the end, because I did NOT have my wool socks on. It's almost as cold this morning, but we got this. I'm not a fan of constantly checking the weather app, and I mainly use it to figure out what to wear when I go outside. But they "promised" that yesterday was the last cold day, and it would be warmer today. Not so. Now they say the cold won't lift until tomorrow. And you know what they say - tomorrow never comes! 

I posted this skit last year, but it is so funny, I thought I'd post it again. It's hilarious! 

I find it funny that people say they're busier in retirement than when they were working. That is NOT going to happen to me. I WANT to enjoy my time as a semi-retired person. I do NOT want to fill it up with all kinds of things, and especially not to be doing things for others. Nope -- I'm going to be extremely selfish with my time, so if something comes up - like that extended lunch - I have time for that! 

So I have another full day of sewing and stuff lined up! I'm also getting a lot of reading done, which is good as I need to clear that mess of books in my audio and ebook reader, and a few physical books are hanging around! I'm loving all this FREE time!! By the way, the books are in good order - I have to create some chaos around me. There are only three books on my shelf, so I'm good! 

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

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!

The Olympics have officially begun!

FOCUS --- it's a tricky thing! But I have my visual list and my blue UFO bin, and I refuse to let anything get in the way of finishing those projects. Oh -- there are loads of things to do, but I know I can't do them all, so I picked a few, and that's my goal! It has taken me a very long time to get to that point, but I refuse to get sidetracked!

Just a teaser: this is the project Dede and I worked on. Wait—soon you'll get to see it yourself. Absolutely stunning and totally worth all the time!

Some assembly required! 

As part of my goal for this year, I was back at the computer, trying to sort the THOUSANDS, dare I even venture HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of files that need to be sorted. OH my --- what the heck is this? It's a picture of a letter A, but for what purpose? Let's just say that I've found a few other odd things, but this is gone, as are many others. 

A picture of a letter A behind bars!!

What I don't understand is why my brain was so muddled that I didn't create a folder, and then when I needed that file, it would be easy to locate. I had the resources and most of the knowledge. No - I went and downloaded the files again, and again, and again! And each time, they went somewhere different. It is a massive mess, but I have to say that once I got over that first day, it's getting easier. 

I tackled the Fabric Download folder yesterday, and I'm happy to say it's done! I kept two folders of fabric, as I still have yardage of those and can use the photos to create something in EQ8. The rest - gone! BUT it's a good thing I went through the files one by one, because I found more embroidery files in that folder, as well as stuff for the longarm. Do not ask - I don't have answers!!!

But the sorting process continues, and I try to do a little bit each day. It seems that within each high-level folder, I find one or two subfolders that are titled "to file" or "to sort," and I'm tackling those. My goal was to get all the embroidery files in one folder this month. I still have the old computer to grab files from, and then I'm done! Hopefully, it won't be too bad, but if memory serves, the download folder is filled with stuff!

OH - I got the binding on that quilt, and it was hilarious because I was also listening to my audiobook while doing it. I can tell you that the quilt has some words on it, and can you believe that the SAME WORDS were put together in a very similar way on that audiobook? I actually had to stop for a moment to appreciate that coincidence!!! What are the chances? 

Speaking of audiobooks, I know why this Canadian author (Carley Fortune), who was on the top ten most circulated library books list that I happened upon recently, wasn't on my list. It's a steamy summer romance, and well, they aren't my go-to books. But now I want to know what happens, so I have to keep reading. The book is due tomorrow, and I have about 3 hours left. I should be able to make that happen. This book is set by a lake near Barry's Bay, Ontario. 

While I was sewing the binding on, I used up another spool of thread! 

Another spool of thread - gone!

I also got some binding made. And I could kick myself. I measured and cut the three strips, only to realize I needed bias binding, not straight-grain binding. Good grief, so I had to cut a square and make bias binding. DUH!!!!! But it's ready to sew on, so maybe later today. 

The bias binding is made

Then it was time to stop procrastinating on the next project. The clock is ticking, and I don't have a lot of time. It's the Cherrywood Challenge, which is due February 15, and it's the 7th today!! Don't ask!! I like the last-minute pressure, and this is my sole focus for the next week. The theme is StoryTime. 

Fabrics from the Cherrywood Challenge

I'm happy to say I made good progress on it yesterday. I hope to have the top completely done by tonight. No excuses, no distractions!! The top has to be done! 

There is a lot of appliqué, and I want it all in place by the end of today. And then I have to figure out a couple of components for the border - that also needs to be done TODAY! The embroidery (machine and hand) and other embellishments will be the focus of the next couple of days. 

And while I traced and cut, I watched the Olympics!! Well, the opening ceremony, which lasted almost four hours!! It was amazing, and they did a great job at incorporating all four sites. Although the athlete parade was almost over before I realized there were FOUR locations, not two like I initially thought. I was totally confused by that!! Go Team Canada!!!!!

Streaming the Olympics on my computer

I have to say that I was highly impressed by the Olympic Cauldron. WOW --- that is pretty spectacular, and there are two of them!!!! In case you missed it, here is the lighting of the TWO cauldrons. Stunning, and I find that ceremony emotional. Why? No idea!!!!

So what's this all about? My two girls are hanging out at the back door. One is ready to pounce on the door, demanding to come in; the other has snow on her face and lies in the snow. 

And what's with the weather? Last night when we went out, the temperature was minus 2. This morning, it's minus 20!!!

I have to say our house is ideally situated on the street and gets the most from the sun. However, that doesn't mean that our roof is clear of snow yet. Nope --- we had so much that it's going to take a while for all the snow to melt. Because of the crazy roof line, this is the house two doors down from us. We have the same roof line, but ours is pretty clear. I thought I took a picture, but I can't find it this morning. We have a few small icicles, but nothing like this. 

Nasty ice build-up

We've had ice like this on both sides of that peak in the past, and it's not good. The interior walls are damaged, and the drywall tape has come loose. It's a mess, but until we get the roof issue fixed, I'm not touching the inside. I bet there is water damage behind the drywall, and well, it's going to be a job to fix! So I'm thankful this year that we haven't got to this stage, and I hope we don't. 

Why do we have barely any ice, and two doors down, they have this mess? We are on a curve, and there is a big tree close to the front of that house. So the slightly different angle and the shade from the tree don't allow the ice and snow to melt as fast as on our roof. Thank goodness we are where we are. Our driveway dries much quicker, and we just get more sun! We love the sun!

Well, I'm off to brave that cold temperature, and looking at the forecast, this is the last (LOL) cold day for two weeks? I'll believe that when it happens! The girls will be happy, they are frisky when the temperature drops!

I have two short documents to finish writing for the quilt I am delivering today. One is almost written; it just needs proofing, and the other should be pretty simple. I must get those done this morning. Then one more thing can come off that visual To-do list. While it's not directly in my face, I can see that list whenever I'm downstairs, and I go over to look at it occasionally, and from that, I pick the next thing to work on. My blue bin for UFOs is also a daily reminder of what I need to be working on. It's better to get four things completely done than advance 8 things, and nothing is complete!!

OH -- and here is the final post about the newly released Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3 Nordic Frost Edition. It's all about yarn couching. I LOVE this design and need to do some more work on it!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Conquering GOALS one at a time!

I won't bore you with the details, but I LOVE cleaning up the digital mess. In a way, it's the same deal as with a physical mess. The task is daunting, and you have no idea where to start. But once you make a plan, then it starts to fall into place. I find I'm spending a little more time than I have at the moment on this task. It's therapeutic and FUN!!! OK - I must be mad!

I can see there's a lot more work ahead of me. Duplicate and triplicate files, stuff in randomly named folders, and well, it's going to take a long time to clean this up. But now that I'm MOVING, not copying, it's going to be easier, and I'm learning a whole lot about DELETE. OK - I already knew about that, but I'm being ruthless. Well, I haven't got to the big, ruthless part yet! I'm mostly still sorting. 

My first priority was to get the files somewhat organized into three spots. I have three external hard drives: one for sewing, one for photos, and the third, which I wasn't planning to use, will become the admin drive. That may change over time, but I think that's a good split. I managed to get all the unfiled items in that one folder taken care of - they are now in a folder. It may not be in the right spot, but they are all corralled. 

Here's an example of my previous file folder names --- Stuff from the USB drive, Things to deal with, and to be printed. Seriously? And if I print something, I never go back and delete it!! Oh my ---- what a mess an unfocused mind can make! 

Random file names

Next up: move the files from the photo hard disk that shouldn't be there. And I'm starting to deal with the stuff on OneDrive, too. 

I have almost accomplished one of my goals for this month: corral all the Machine Embroidery files in one spot. Mission is nearly completed. I still have to look at my old computer, then double-check through OneDrive. That task will be done unless I find a rogue file here and there. So that was HUGE, and it only happened because I have goals!!!!

I cleaned up the Admin Hard drive, but don't be fooled. Within each of those categories is a HUGE mess. Even though I have plenty of room, I think I'm going to delete the Fabric Downloads folder. That was mostly for when I was working at a fabric company and doing a lot of quilt designing. Now that I don't design much for magazines and such, there's really no need for that folder. And most of the stuff has been downloaded into specific EQ8 files. If I need something, I can always download it again! And I'm not touching the OneDrive folder, as that is the backup. I need to learn more about that. 

The Admin Hard Drive

OK -- I hear you --- ALL of those fabrics, except the blenders (and even then) are NO LONGER available, so what's the point of keeping a digital file to design a quilt? I will take a quick peek after walking the girls and then delete the entire folder! 

As for the pictures, that stuff will eventually all be moved to the other hard disk, so all the photos will be together. But there are folders and folders of pictures. As there are folders and folders of stuff in the MyDocuments. I'm getting there. And I'm doing it MY WAY!!!!

Speaking of goals, I can now share this with you. So not only did I pick a word for 2026, which was GOALS, but I wanted to have a visual reminder of the word, so I can hang it up and be reminded each day that I have a word for 2026. Check out this QUILTsocial blog post to see what I did. I LOVE it, and the whole thing just fell into place without much planning on my part. 

I often design with my gut, and for the most part, it serves me well!!!

And if you want to check out the edge-to-edge quilting with the new Husqvarna Viking Large Magnetic Hoop, check out this site!!! Oh my --- I will NEVER do machine embroidery quilting, edge-to-edge in a traditional hoop again! EVER!!!

Dede came over in the morning, and we completed a UFO. OH MY -- I can't share it with you yet, but it's stunning, and we are both thrilled with the result. But we did have an accident. This is what happens when you apply too much hammering to a small rotary cutting mat! The mat appeared to have a lot of cracks - was it cold? Was it old? Or did we do all that damage? 

The cutting mat split!

After she left, I consolidated items that needed attention and set them on one of the worktables. I put away the things that had been left out. 

Stuff to put away or deal with

And then I got to work on one of the projects that had been sitting on the current project table for a while. 

This is my Barn Star Sampler quilt that I taught a couple of years ago. It is a giant quilt at 80 by 100 inches. I had already made a quilt back and binding for it. You can see the yellow background in the photo above on the top left. 

Barn Star Sampler quilt

But then I found this fabric in my stash and decided I like it better. I don't think I have ever done that before - switch out a backing when it was already made. While it doesn't really show in the photos, the colors in the quilt are exactly like the new backing fabric, and there was JUST ENOUGH. So that quilt has a new backing, and it's off the current project table, and back in the "to be quilted" pile. 

The new quilt backing

From time to time, I receive random pieces of fabric. They magically appear along with other things I said I would take. I could pretty much tell by the feel of this one that it was NOT cotton. Then I ironed a small piece of it, and, yep —you can smell it's not cotton. But to be 100% sure, I did the burn test. My pie candle was burning, so I decided to burn a wee bit of it, and it didn't burn; it just melted and became a hard, lumpy mess in that spot. This piece of fabric is now in the bag of textiles that I'm saving to give to one of those places that recycle textiles. I must get cracking on finding out where that is, as that bag is getting full. 

The burn test resulted in melting!! Not ash --- this is not cotton

And look at the cartoon I found when sorting through files!! Most of the files I did not open, as I could tell by the folder or the file name where they belonged, but there were several that I had to open because they were randomly named. I got a chuckle. The file is now deleted! I would like to say that my junk drawer was cleaned out years ago, and it is exactly the same as it was after I cleaned it! That's a huge positive. I'm learning as I go, and not regressing into old habits!!

How appropriate

I did some other work, but I haven't gotten that binding on yet. The quilt is trimmed, and the binding will be a job for today. But now I must switch gears and get to work on that second quilt. The days are quickly zipping by, and before I know it, the deadline will be here, and I won't be done. I can't have that, so after binding that quilt, I need to focus on meeting another goal!! Meeting those goals is hard work! And no rest for the ambitious!

So far, I seem to be good at adding things to my digital To-Do list. And I love the fact that it's available to me on all platforms. What I need to be better at is scheduling the due dates and actually getting the stuff done! That will come, but I think I like it and will use it!! There's a learning curve to everything, and I'm perhaps biting off a bit more than I can chew at the moment. 

On that happy note, I'm out of here!! Lots to do, and I see we got some snow overnight, but not much, so it shouldn't take too long to shovel. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Learning to create MORE digital files!

Regarding my parents' anniversary (72 years), my Dad is 92, and my Mom is 90. Married young! 

I have to tell you a story about my Dad. For the most part, he has been getting around pretty well - no cane, a replaced hip, and a knee, but lots of aches and pains - darn arthritis. And he still drives himself to "work" (the Museum), where he volunteers rebuilding stationary engines. If he can't find the part, he makes it. I see him slowing down and often does the supervising rather than the work, certainly anything heavy. 

Before Christmas, he started having some severe back pain, as he had had occasionally in the past. He went to a chiropractor and a masseuse, but nothing helped. He got pressure point therapy, and that seemed to be the trick. 

Yes - he had an X-ray and some other scans, and finally a visit to the doctor - long wait for an appointment. Anyway, he was NOT going to work during that time. BTW - one doctor he saw in the clinic told him, after looking at the X-ray, that he had arthritis and that was part of growing old. My Dad was furious. How can you have no back pain one day, and then suddenly you have pain? That is NOT arthritis! He must have pulled a muscle badly, causing a pinched nerve or something. 

But there is my Dad, walking in the garage of their apartment building EVERY DAY to get some exercise. He even walked with a cane, standing UPRIGHT, not slouching. Four lengths of the garage in the morning and three in the afternoon. I guess a length means to the end and back! Why not the hallway? It doesn't matter - he is exercising!

It turns out that his muscles are so tight (where have I heard that before?), and he is trying to keep things loose. Instead of throwing in the towel, this guy does not want to give up his independence!! So I believe his goal is to be back to work on Monday! I have a good role model to follow, and thank goodness for pressure point massage!

But there is an essential lesson in there, especially for me. Posture is important!! As we grow older, gravity wants to make us shorter, and all that compresses on our backs. Stand up!!! Oh god -- I need to remember that each and every minute of every day!

I did a bit more in the digital clean-up aisles and am making good progress on sorting a folder called "download from laptop." 

You always get some idea of how many files by the little scroll bar on the right-hand side of the Windows file manager screen. Well, the little bar was so little, you could barely see it!! It's a bit bigger now, but there are still many files to delete or move. 

I can barely see the little scroll bar

It's actually kind of therapeutic to work on those files, and my goal now is to empty the external drive on my main computer and, in the future, only work from the two smaller hard drives. The other hard drive has been around for a while, and it's probably time to retire it! Then I'll continue separating the files on those two new drives into their categories (photos and sewing), which could take a while. Then it'll simply be a matter of taking each folder, sorting it, and deleting it. But first, I'll work on my embroidery files. 

I am STUNNED by the number of embroidery files that I'm moving. Random ones -- what are they? Anything I need/want to keep? I'm not dealing with that at this point, but will open up the software at some point and start looking and probably deleting! 

Then I went downstairs to quilt that quilt of mine. It was a quilt from hell, or at least it was at the beginning. 

I went to advance the quilt to get started, and NOTHING. The motor, operated by this foot pedal, was dead. WHAT? OH -- the plug was partially out of the wall, and then it worked! 

The motor that drives this foot pedal was not plugged in properly

 I'm using Minky for the back, which is 62 inches wide, and my quilt is 60½" wide, so I had to babysit the thing - at least along the edges. Oops - a wee bit of selvage got in at some point, but that's OK. It's polyester and isn't going anywhere! 

A very tight fit!

Then I had issues with the thread breaking. The long arm handled the first two rows without problems. I started the third row, and the thread broke. WHAT? We can't have that. I was using a thicker-than-normal thread, so the tension wasn't quite right. I loosened it a bit, and that worked. But why did it work on the first two rows? It didn't break after I loosened the tension. Thankfully, my machine and I have a good relationship regarding tension. I simply go by how it pulls through those tension disks! An acquired skill to be sure! 

And then my machine seems to struggle to move on rare moments. I think a belt needs tightening. Anyway, it didn't move properly in one spot, but I was right there, so I fixed it and was on my way. There is one small glitch in the quilt, but I doubt anyone will notice it. What I hate is that I questioned the glitch, and I could have fixed it right there, but I didn't. It had to do with not moving properly. Oh well, it'll be fine!

But after those minor issues, the rest of the quilt, except babysitting those edges, went like a charm. I didn't get the binding on, as I decided to hand deliver the quilt on Saturday, so it'll get there before it would if I mailed it. I'll bind it later today. 

It was such a nice day, and Senior's Day at Bulk Barn, so I took a walk to the mall. On my way, I stopped at Homesense because someone had told me they are selling Tupperware now! And yes -- they are.l But where are the old colors? Where is that harvest gold? 

Tupperware at Homesense

I was on the lookout for a specific container, but I didn't see it. So I didn't buy anything. I'm getting so good at walking into a store and not buying anything! 

The real deal!!

But seriously - that weather was terrific. It was still cold (minus 8), but with the sun, it felt warm, and I even took my hat off!!!

The public library offers many free programs, and I went to one last night. I actually discovered a whole lot of stuff at the library last night. But I didn't bring anything home because I have an overdue book, and I can't use my card right now. YES - I need to get that book back!

Anyway, this was all about converting different types of media into digital formats. Yep -- so I can fill that hard drive with photo stuff!!! We learned how easy it is to transfer VHS, DVD/CD, slides, and negatives. Oh - we also talked about audio cassettes and video camera cassettes. 

Transferring slides into digital

When I got home, I realized I'd forgotten to ask about scanning photos. I have a lot of that to do, and I need to figure out the best way to make that happen. 

But it was hilarious because I had mentioned using a 3½" computer disk, and I still have that drive at home and am not willing to get rid of it yet. I still have some embroidery files on 3½" disks and need to transfer them, but not at this point. 

There were four of us in the room, an older gentleman and I. There was another person, and a library staff member, both younger. I'm not even going to guess their ages. So the staff member got out the 3½" drive and put a disk into it. He said, "I have no idea what type of files these are", and he couldn't open any of them. 

The younger guy, who kept repeating himself but was obviously a gamer/geek, spotted a file called SimCity, and we noticed the extensions were PSN. Oh yes—then we went down the rabbit hole of computer games, and the younger ones couldn't believe this was how games used to be sold! The older gentleman, probably around my age, and I had a good discussion about games. Anyway, we finally got the young guy calmed down because he was convinced it was a pirated copy. It turns out the disk was labeled "SIMCITY". It was a legit disk. 

So now that I know those resources are there, I have stuff to transfer, but I'm not going there yet. Some of my videos were transferred from VHS to DVD a while back, but even those now need to be transferred to those external hard drives. That's part of the office clean-up, as those are sitting in a box on the desk. 

It was nice to see all the things we can do, and it's better to get them into digital format sooner rather than later. And for me, it all needs to be in two spots! Either one of those hard drives. Then I devise a backup plan, and I'm good to go. I asked, and both other customers suggested OneDrive and syncing. NO FLIPPING WAY -- that's part of my problem, not understanding it and having everything sync back to my hard drive. Perhaps I need to learn how to use that correctly, but I prefer to keep my stuff offline, except for the immediate working files, because of Microsoft's autosave function. 

I had a chuckle when I got a note from OneDrive saying they'd noticed I'd deleted a lot of files. You bet and more to go!!!

Anyway, I'm not going down that rabbit hole. The bottom line is that there is still a lot of work to be done!

And on that note, I'm out of here. I have a date with Brooke this morning, and my knee is a bit sore. Not sure what's going on there, but I'm sure she'll figure out some form of torture for me. And by the time I get there, I'm sure it'll be loosened up! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Clean up in digital aisle B

Well, I'm determined to make those visual TO DOs happen this year, and one of them is a dosey - cleaning up my digital machine embroidery files. 

Since I only needed to keep an ear open to what was being said in the meeting yesterday, I sat in the back of the room, and I focused on cutting and pasting FILES! All I can say is that over time, I have created a massive mess. I had files scattered across multiple USB drives, external hard drives, online locations, and the internal hard drives of multiple computers. It was a digital disaster! 

Yep - I was the queen of making a mess, and I wasn't so great at organizing those digital files, nor did I delete, and hey - why move a file when you can copy it! 

I must admit that when I opened up the external hard drives yesterday, part of me just wanted to throw in the towel. Where does one even begin? Some of the stuff was somewhat organized, but most was not. 

So I started at the beginning. I made a folder and started cutting and pasting. Then I would make another folder and cut and paste some more. 

I will not bore you with all the details, but let's just say that it was an interesting exercise. And I am learning a ton about myself. When something doesn't work, you can throw in the towel, or you can learn to find a spot to start. Patience and persistence are all good things to learn, and just throwing in the towel would NOT have taught me a thing!

A mass of files to deal with

Yep—I bet I'll end up deleting many files, since I don't need to keep everything, and I did my fair share of deleting yesterday. But it's like anything in your house - you need to get it organized into folders (like things together) to truly understand what you have, how many multiple copies, etc. It's insane!

OH MY --- I found TO DO lists from 2015. So much for trying to put something on a computer. Obviously, that didn't work. I didn't get a chance to open this, but I will because I want to have a laugh at what might still be on that list that never got done! My goal was not to look at stuff, but to move it! 

To Do lists from 2015!!!!

This really all started with my wanting to put my embroidery files in some sort of usable order. In the past, I've heard embroiderers brag that they have THOUSANDS of embroidery files, and yes, so do I. But do you have them in a usable format that you can find a specific file? Someone suggested deleting everything and then just redownloading the files from the online ordering sites. AH -- I don't think that is going to work, since 99% of my stuff was NOT ever downloaded from a website! And it was just a total mess. I had a quick peek, and there are 10 GB of machine embroidery files to deal with, and I'm not sure I have everything yet! 

So I'm going to use two external hard disks, one for photos and one for sewing. Since they look alike, I have now put a physical label on one of them and renamed it digitally as well. That's a start! 

It will take another couple of days to get those files onto the correct external drives, and I am trying to move what's on my day-use external hard drive to either of them as well. I went through all the USB drives yesterday, and they are now all empty except the last one, which I found last night. It was white and flipped upside down in a clear container, so I couldn't spot it! I think it is almost empty. 

We are talking thousands of files! 

A mass move of embroidery files

But I found old patterns -- OH MY GOD --- can you believe that I found the digital copies of those patterns I was missing. But since I wasn't very good at computer stuff at the time, the visuals were added by hand, so thankfully, I was able to get the full copy from someone else. 

There are hundreds of old presentations, and while I could just delete them, I went through some of them and will combine my work into one presentation. Then, when I need that information, and I know I will at some point, it'll already be in a mostly usable digital form. 

This is a massive task, but I am going to be so happy when it's done because I'll be able to find anything! For the moment, I can truthfully say I have made significant progress toward my goal for my embroidery files at the meeting this month, so that is good. I won't have time to continue working on it for a couple of weeks, as I need to finish those two quilting projects. But now that I have the basic structure and a plan in place, it's going to be a lot easier. My goal for Sunday is to have looked in all the places where I stored stuff and have all the embroidery files in two folders - one that is sorted (at this time, small), and that needs to be sorted (HUGE). 

I think the only place I haven't checked yet is the old computer, which I might do later today for a break. 

OH MY GOSH - I even went into DOS to try and fix a USB that seems to be corrupted. Did you know that there is a command somewhere (right clicking, I think) that takes you to TERMINAL mode? Who knew? 

But thank goodness for Google, because I learned how to do that, but the process didn't work. I know there is a ton of information on that USB, but it's corrupted, and I can't delete the massive file I put it all into. I'll take it into the Geek Squad to check what can be done, but I think I just bite the bullet and toss that USB. What was on it will just have to be lost forever. What you don't know you had, you won't miss!

So enough about that, but I'm doing OK in the file clean-up! OH -- I just had to cut and paste another folder to the right spot. I'm addicted to this clean-up!

An interesting conversation arose in the last couple of days. It was mentioned that some people are unwilling to order online with their credit cards. Hmm -- I get that. Things were once insecure, but with so many encryption tools out there, fraud is still rampant, but not as bad as it used to be. OK -- maybe I'm deluding myself, but wait until I explain my point. 

So you are afraid to use your credit card online. But when you go to a store and use your credit card on one of the machines, where do you think your credit card number goes? Into a paper file? It goes ONLINE!!! It goes online to Visa or the bank and is processed digitally. So why would you be afraid to put your information online, yet you do that every time you use your card? Am I missing something? 

OH -- one bad thing happened in all this file sorting. I found an EXCEL spreadsheet I started many years ago, with a list of books I wanted to read. There were three authors on the spreadsheet, each with a number of books. Well, I had read all the books listed for one author, and all but one for another. So of course, I downloaded that book. I had not read any of the third author's work, so I saved the updated file and can deal with it another day. 

I will say that I had a chuckle over many of the files I found, and it will be interesting to go down memory lane. Could I just delete? I could, but like my paper files, I NEED/WANT to go through them. That's just how I roll. My big push will be to get these files onto the two appropriate external hard drives, so I can travel with them and work on them at my leisure. 

What I need to do is develop a solid backup system. I have a third (and fourth) external hard disk, and I need to use one as a backup. And how often I will do that backup, and how. So there is still a lot of planning, but if I can get these files in the appropriate spot at a high level, and then work through the folders one at a time, I will get this done, and I can see myself reaching that goal for all files, not just the embroidery files, by the end of the year!! Yeah, that will be a huge relief!!!

It was my parents' 72nd wedding anniversary yesterday! That's a pretty impressive feat and not something that will happen to many people these days unless they are in the same age bracket as my parents. 

I downloaded the Olympics app, and I'm all set to cheer on the teams!!! Well, the Canadian team! I don't know how much I'll watch, but I'll see what happens. 

WAIT -- I have a QUILTsocial link to share with you. What did you think of my videos from yesterday? Pretty good!! I'm impressed, but I want to get better. 

So here is Day two, and it's all about a NEW hoop for the Designer Epic 3. I love this hoop and will likely rarely use a traditional embroidery hoop again!!

And on that note, life is back to normal today, and I'll be quilting and binding that one quilt, so I will only have one small project to focus on! And my little labels have still not arrived! ACK!!! But this quilt can't wait!

I'm off to spin class. 

Have a great day!!

Caio!!!

Nothing to see here!

It was a great day at the Product Showcase for work, and no, I did not need a nap, but I was so tired when I got home that I wanted to go to bed. I did not, but I did absolutely nothing after dinner. And I doubt I'll get anything done tonight either! 

But I got to meet friends at the meeting and learned a few things. Alas, there are no pictures to share today! Nothing! 

However, there is a QUILTsocial blog post for you to check out. 

Day One --- the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3 Nordic Frost Edition and the revised embroidery arm. 

I made several videos for that post, and I have to say my video skills, while far from perfect, aren't bad!!!

I don't have the link yet for the post for today, but for anyone with a Designer Epic 3, you are going to want to see what's on the agenda for today! NEW NEW NEW and it's super exciting!

I have been going on about how I have everything prepped for this weekend, and technically, I do, but one thing that I haven't gotten done is more work on organizing my machine embroidery files! I had better get myself organized and at least make a step in the right direction, or I'm never going to be able to cross that one off the list for this year. 

My goal for this month was to check TEN places where I may have stored those digital files. I'm happy to report that I just cleared two locations. The hard drive on the new computer -- there is NOTHING personal on this computer, and the download folder is EMPTY. Check and check! So only eight more spots to go. My goal for the weekend is to clear all ten spots and, hopefully, have EVERYTHING transferred to one hard disk. Shoot -- I should have worked on that last night!

There is other very exciting news! The weather! When I took the girls for a walk in the dark yesterday morning, before I left for the meeting, even though it was still minus 15, with a wind chill, you could feel a difference in the air. Not spring -- not yet, but there's a difference. And I see that it's only minus FIVE this morning. WHAT? That's almost spring!! The air just feels fresh, not brisk. I'm not sure how to explain that, but it feels different. 

I wish I could have been home; I would have tackled a bit more of the snow. But that's OK - I see we are going to have some light snow in the next day or so, and I can deal with that and the rest of the snow on the front patio!!

I just checked my calendar, and I have SEVEN trips planned this year. OK - of those, three are quilt retreats, so I'm not technically travelling anywhere, but it's a vacation away! And I'm excited about every one of them, although NONE of the four trips were my choice - two involve work, and two include weddings! 

Next year had better be quiet, because I have two trips I want to take on my own, and I don't think I'll have time for them. I still need to work in some non-wedding personal travel, so I must check the calendar and make that happen! Remember—we all have our own priorities, and I make time for some time away. Yes, I am fortunate to be able to do that, but there are ways to get around it if you have a strict budget. Ask around, check out guild retreats, or friends' cottages, or whatever. 

So that was short and sweet, but you can always read/watch the information about the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3 - the Nordic Frost Edition. And OOPS—I made a mistake: I wrote that the extension table fits on the same side as the embroidery unit—NOT!!! It fits on the side with the hoops. I'll see if I can get that changed. 

So on that note, I'm out of here and off to walk the girls. Murphy is pretty excited because she gets to cover new territory. It's dark, and I'm not walking in the forest on that narrow trail in the dark. One day, she will learn that the faster she walks, the less time she spends outside. I doubt it, but one can hope! Lexi is the total opposite - if I keep sniffing at every tree and leaf, the walk will take longer! You can see why I do not walk them together! 

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!