Quilting resources!

I would say that the bikes in the hotel the night before were very likely stragglers from the World Championships. Two of them ended up on my shuttle to the hotel, and let's just say they were NOT casual tour cyclists. The boxes the bikes were packed in were larger, and they had bags with extra wheels and Red Bull labels on their packs. Yep—these were NOT your ordinary tour cyclists! Good call!!

And yes—there are way too many creepy coincidences. How does that happen? 

Speaking of sleep - I had a good chuckle yesterday morning on the flight. On the way to Montreal (10 AM flight), one of my colleagues was near a fellow who fell asleep before takeoff and was snoring. She was commenting on how anyone could fall asleep that quickly. Yesterday, the second that the other two people in my row were tucked in their seats, I was asleep. I don't remember taxiing to the runway or taking off; I woke up, and we were 30 minutes from landing! 

Yep—I hadn't slept well the previous two nights, and I was exhausted. Did I snore? I hope not, but I know I have a slack jaw when I sleep, and well, you never know! 

I slept great last night, with more than 60 minutes of deep sleep, and I was barely awake at any point during the night. That is great, and I hope I'm back on my regular schedule now. There was no time difference, and while I slept well the previous nights, the last two just didn't work well for me. 

Needless to say, when I got home, the girls were beyond ecstatic to see me, and I immediately took them for a walk. YES - I took them together, which I am not fond of, but since they are now older, they are somewhat tamer. HA -- that's a total lie. 

Both of them were like dogs on the Iditarod and raring to go. I swear if they were attached to a wagon, we would have been flying around the neighborhood! They were literally hopping to try and go faster! Even Lexi was way out front and hopping like mad! 

MOM - we NEED to go faster! 

The biggest issue with them is keeping Lexi on the left and Murphy on the right, and thankfully, they have almost mastered that technique. We don't walk super far, and by the time we are halfway done, they have both calmed down, and it's rather pleasant to walk them. 

MOM -- we are just happy to be out walking! 

When I was in Studio B yesterday, I spent the day sorting samples, and if anything needed repair or something done, I tried to do it before it got put away. I still have a few things to do, but I made very good progress yesteday. 

Things I dealt with yesterday

I have five days of events at the end of this month, and I need to get my act together to make all new samples and sort the existing samples into the appropriate category. I also have two classes and two clubs this weekend, even though I tried to avoid having any classes on a long weekend. So I need to make sure all that work gets done. 

Keeping samples up to date is a never-ending process because you make something, but you want to add to it, or you need to tidy up something that didn't turn out quite right, and well, it takes loads of time, but I'm constantly learning or experimenting, and that's a good thing. A good sample highlights multiple techniques. I aim for at least three things with each sample, and if there is more, that's a bonus!

The night before, I moved to a hotel near the airport with a shuttle, so I was downstairs with plenty of time to make sure I didn't miss it. I swear that's why I didn't sleep well - I didn't want to miss that shuttle. Then at the airport, it was a breeze to get through security and print my bag tags. I use my phone for a boarding pass, but the app is sometimes extremely frustrating to navigate. Why is that? It seems that they keep moving the darn boarding pass. 

The good news is that when I dropped off my bags at the auto bag drop, there were ZERO issues. I was concerned that the one bag might be slightly over the 50-lb limit, and if it's a desk person checking, it's no big deal since I am allowed up to 70 lbs on my luggage. But both bags got scanned and disappeared without a hitch! Yeah!!!!

OMG—this would have been a moment that would have made my Mom proud! Yesterday during Monday sewing, we were discussing binding techniques. Actually, the conversation started out with someone asking, "If you get a quilt quilted by a long armer, do you let them trim the quilt, is it squared up by them, and do they charge for it?"Oh my --- loads of questions. 

Anyway, then the topic came up of applying the binding. And who knew there were so many different options!!! Anyway, one of the ladies talked about something that I sort of understood, but I didn't. So she said she found the technique in a magazine. Specifically, Quilting Today magazine, issue 61, which was on the newsstands in August 1997. 

I didn't start quilting until 1998, so I wasn't sure I would have it. But I went to my bookcase, and I pulled down the pile of Quilting Today magazines and searched through them - they were NOT in order, and guess what? 

The magazine in question was found! 

Yep—I must have bought the magazine at a local guild member's boutique at some point. 

August 1997!!!

At some point, I will go through these and toss them. Ack—I'm really torn about that because I love having the resource available to me. Hmmm—what to do, what to do! There is no need to cull them at this point, so they will stay. 

I have been contemplating writing some technique articles from time to time and posting them on my blog. And this topic would make an excellent one. Of course, I'll have to make some samples and experiment to see what it's all about, and perhaps I might even change my technique. 

Not sure how to corral this, but there is the "traditional" way of trimming a quilt top after it's quilted: trim right along the edge of the quilt. Then there's the big question of how large of a seam allowance. If you do something crazy with trimming your quilt to get the binding on, I'd love to hear it. And if it's different than the three or four methods I heard yesterday, then I can add it to the article. You can send me an email at elainetheriault@gmail.com

I have TWO logic puzzles left in my book! I thought I was making good progress last night, but I wasn't, so I'll start that one over sometime today. I am chomping at the bit to start a new book, BUT not until this one is in the recycling bin! 

When I arrived home, a box was sitting on the shelf by the front door. Last night at dinner, DH casually asked if I bought another puzzle. Ah no? OK -- so I did. When I was in Saskatoon, I went to Puzzle Master (how could you not - they do free shipping!), and I bought three puzzles, and they arrived while I was away. Like quilting stores that ship, we are going to have to have them change their name on the labels to Bob's Food Emporium or something like that! Busted!!!! But wait until you see one of the puzzles I bought. I can't wait to open it up, but I  must be patient! 

It's going to be a busy day - what day is NOT busy at my house? I have phone calls to make, samples to tidy up, and homework to prepare for the weekend. Thankfully, I do NOT have any meetings or anything. 

And on that note - it's time to get moving!!

It's going to be a FABULOUS day!!!

Ciao!!!

Bikes in boxes

YES  --- using your brain can be a challenge. When I was a kid and well into my teens, I was a voracious reader. I read every book I could get my hands on. Then I became an "adult," and I stopped reading—I have no idea why. WAIT—I discovered magazines and started reading them. While it is still reading, it is NOT the same as reading a book. 

So when I started back to reading novels, it took a while for my brain to process that "new" style of words - longer novels rather than short essays in magazines. 

I can see the same happening with logic puzzles, Scrabble, and other things like that. That's why it's important to keep our brains active all the time. If we don't, then we can run into some serious trouble. Speaking a different language or switching between two languages for four days - well, that was a challenge! Then I had to text someone tonight, and I sent all the texts in French. They would understand them. I can't help myself! 

Today was the final day of Salon Quebec, and it was still plenty busy the entire day. I managed to make a small wall hanging from scraps cut on the Momento (24" digital cutter). 

We have loads of samples in our booth, but can you guess what the most popular sample was that so many people drooled over and several people took pictures? We even had one lady who stood in awe for a very long time as she envisioned this quilt in her living room. 

It's TEN years old. 

My Dream Big panel

Yep—that's the Dream Big panel I quilted with machine embroidery in 2020. You can check out the posts on QUILTsocial. 

If anyone is looking for a tutorial on using the POSITION tools on the embroidery machines, check out that link. 

Anyway --- I will continue to bring it to shows, as it continues to show what can be done with an embroidery machine for quilting a quilt. Actually, I have three other versions that I want to do, and I really must get another one done. One more thing to add to the list. 

But it drives me mad when someone walks in the booth and dismisses the quilt as something that Angela Walters did. Yep—Angela probably did this panel multiple times with freehand machine quilting—probably once with a domestic machine and once with the long arm. Angela is darn good at quilting with both types of machines. But she is NOT the only game in town. But people think that if someone famous did it, everyone else is copying. Sheesh—expand your world, people!!!!

I once designed a simple quilt for a US quilt magazine. A lady sent me a nasty email saying, "How dare I steal a quilt block from Jenny Doan." Obviously, people think only famous people can deal with public domain blocks. Sigh.....................

We started taking everything down at 3 pm. OK -- we started stacking samples about 30 minutes before that. And then when 3 pm came, we attacked, taking down the booth with a vengeance. We were done by 5:30, and they were shrink-wrapping the skids when the truck arrived. Perfect timing 

My colleague drove me to a hotel that is very near the airport so I could catch my early morning flight. So when you read this, I will likely be on a plane home or already home. 

But I swear -- we almost didn't make it - TWICE. A car decided at the LAST possible second that he was on the exit ramp when he wasn't supposed to be and cut us off. Thank goodness for  Claire's fast reaction, and she laid on the horn. I wasn't really watching, but I did see him cut us off. 

Then a couple of KMs further on, the SAME car cuts us off again. And again it was at the last minute. This time, he was supposed to be on the EXIT ramp, and he was not. So he zipped in front of us. Let's say that I thought his license plate was going to be imprinted on my forehead!!

There is a shuttle to the airport, but I didn't think it would get me there in time; but no - they changed the time for me. I leave at 5 am SHARP, so I'd better not sleep in. 

I checked into my room and then went downstairs for a quick bite. I wasn't too hungry, but I'd best eat something, or I'll be starving in the middle of the night. When I left the restaurant, the lobby was full of people checking in, and they must have done some kind of bicycle trip because the lobby was filled with bikes in boxes. 

Bikes in boxes

I had a few extra things to pack in my suitcase, but I think I am pretty much ready for tomorrow morning bright and early. NO chance of an upgrade, although I was 4th on the list of 12. That is better odds than I have had in a while. Once I make my 50K status for the year, will I get bumped up even further? It so depends on where you are flying, who else is on that flight, and the time of day you fly!!!

I was scrolling through social media tonight instead of tackling some logic puzzles tonight, and I spotted a shop at a yarn festival. OK—yarn festivals seem to have become a huge thing. They are everywhere, and they happen frequently. This one was in Rivière-du-Loup. I won't post the picture I snapped from the video, but I found this online. 

Harry Potter yarn!!!!

Yep --- you can buy Harry Potter yarn!!! Who knew? I seem to be way behind the times. Anyway, this is the link where I found it, although you can find it more locally than on this site. 

I think that's it for me. I didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked last night. Still, in 6 hours of sleep, I managed 1 1/2 hours of deep sleep. I'm not sure how that is working. 

But it's time for bed, as I have an early morning wake-up!!!

It's going to be a GREAT day!!!

Ciao!!!!

A new trend in pants!

Oh—I had a great opening line, and now it's gone! I'm overstimulated from everything I have seen at the show, and my mind has exploded, so I might not make much sense today!

Claire and I have had the chance to review most of the quilts over the last three mornings, and we have pointed out multiple things to each other, and it has been quite the learning experience. The number of pictures I took is, well, there have been a few. And there is ONE section left that I haven't seen yet, so I plan to hit that this morning. I also realized I didn't take pictures of the garments. 

I took the pictures to share with my Monday sewing group and my other classes, since I found some neat techniques/concepts that I think they are going to fall in love with!! 

However, that doesn't mean that I don't have pictures to share with you. 

Yesterday, we talked about the sock thing, and well, guess what? Here are more socks. Two of the ladies working at our booth both walked in yesterday morning with socks they had knitted on their rotary knitting machines. OK—I am behind the 8-ball, and I need to get my machine working. 

Socks made on a rotary sock machine

Socks made on a rotary sock machine 

Do they not look comfy or what? I need to get home, check my machine's brand, find some videos to get me started, and get knitting. It would be nice to show Mom a pair of socks I have made. 

I spotted this relatively large flock of geese on the morning walk. 

The geese are gathering.

I don't think I'll be going for a walk this morning. It wasn't the best of nights, and I got a lot of computer work done, so I don't have time for a walk this morning. 

I will say, the people working in our booth are pretty darn creative. One lady wore a pair of light-colored denim jeans (the short sock person) yesterday, and I asked her how she got the embroidery on the back pockets because it looked perfectly in place. OH NO—she MADE the jeans, and I swear they looked professionally made. I'm not kidding. She told me about the pattern, and I think I might give it a whirl. 

STOP laughing because I have so many things on my plate. And I keep saying I can do more! I guess, sadly, I'll cut back on what I teach next fall to make time! 

BUT the big trend here seems to be side insertions in pants. Remember back in the day (1970's) when this was so popular. Everyone wanted elephant pants. I think even Mom did it for my brother, but he wasn't thrilled with the fabric. I don't remember the details, but I had a pair of elephant pants, and only the bottom part was flared. 

Elephant pants have a totally different meaning these days—they are wide-legged and mostly made from lightweight cotton. 

Anyway - this is what I spotted yesterday, and I did not stalk these people; I stopped and had a conversation with them. Of course I did!!!

This first pair belongs to a young woman at the SMT Boutique quilt shop. She and her mom own it, and they are quite the pair. She made her insert from Tula Pink fabric. The legs were quite tight - this happens even to skinny girls, and so, with the insert, the jeans get new life!!!

Pant insert

This was another insert, also on a store employee whose name I have forgotten. Her insert is on wider-leg pants and is appliqued on. 

An appliqué pant "insert"

The third example was this one on a visitor to the Salon. These are also flying geese blocks, and it's an insert. Notice the matching shoes, and she had a beautiful quilted jacket, too. 

And yet another insert

Is it a new trend? No, but it looks like it's making a comeback. I've seen it at other shows, and well, I have a pair of denim pants that fit, but the legs are pretty tight. I was going to toss them, but I think I should take a closer look and see if I can figure out how to rescue them. Yep - just add another log on the fire and jump right in! 

The store that had the appliqued flying geese also had quilted vests, and this logo was on the back of the vests they wore. It is beautiful. 

Store logo on a vest

Here are some photos of quilts for you. This was a challenge, and the topic was puppets - Les Marionettes. I didn't get the full gist of what this challenge was for - something within the guild. I went back to my pictures to see if I missed one that explained what this challenge was all about, and I did not take anything. So here are all the quilts in the challenge. 

The challenge quilts

And I have a couple of close-ups. Oh my goodness, some of them were absolutely adorable, and they are all for sale - $50 each. By the way, because I know you want to pull the puppet strings on the bottom, they do NOT move the puppets—I tried when no one was looking!! 

And one more—this was very cute. Lots of them were 3-D in some form or fashion. 

And this one had finger puppets along the bottom - this one was sold. 

Finger puppets!!!

I spent the day messing around with sewing some things that we had cut on the Momento, and I almost got my little quilt top done. It's a challenge to make HSTs as I don't have a square ruler for trimming and the rotary cutter is a tad dull. So slow and steady wins the race. I might finish it this morning. 

I also went back to the Wonderfil booth—just say NOOOOOOOOOO. All I did was take pictures of other parts of the Halloween banner. The motifs are just so adorable. 

Halloween garland

Look how cute they are. 

More blocks from the Halloween garland

Any of that would be super easy: take a machine embroidery design, attach it to felt, and finish the edges. It will look totally different from those done by hand, but different is OK. The cuteness factor is what matters. Since I have a lot of wool felt at home, I should take a look. One could always do most of it by machine and then add an embellishment of hand stitches. Why not? 

The other thing I have to say is that it is exciting to work with the young people! Several of the PFAFF and Husqvarna Viking local store staff working in our booth this week are YOUNG. Fresh out of school, but both of them know how to sew. And both of them have pretty spiffy sewing and embroidery machines. And BOTH of them know how to use them. I just love it, and I'm sure they are tired of me telling them how excited I am for them. 

Can you imagine starting out with the tools we have and how eager they are to learn? They will be sewing circles around us before long. 

So I have to say there is a lot of eye candy around at this show. It may not be huge, but it's big enough. It's taken three days to see most of it. I'm determined to see this show this time round, as I usually wait for the afternoon and then I'm tired, so I don't care. I've taken hundreds of pictures. My Monday group is probably rolling their eyes at this, but it's not all for them. And I'm sorting them by type and style, so it's all going to be very entertaining for them. Plus, as mentioned, some of the other groups will profit from the pictures. 

Let's just say if you are in my scrap class, you are going to be whipping out your scraps faster than you can say BOO because I have loads of ideas, found some incredible examples, and can't wait to share them with you. 

But back to the eye candy. On our short walk to the past restaurant last night, we spotted a REAL candy store, and one of the ladies wanted to go in. It was literally wall-to-wall candy. 

A LOT of real candy to eat

They even had Harry Potter Beatie Botts. 

Any Harry Potter fans?

Check out all the flavors!!!! Who knew that existed? 

The flavours

And there was a large station for the Jelly Belly candy. I haven't seen that in a long time. 

Jelly Belly

And look at all the flavors, and they had recipes where you could mix the candy - I didn't really understand that part. 

Loads of flavors

So while my credit card did get a bit of a workout, I did NOT buy any candy. I bought a couple of patterns and some fabric for a jacket. STOP laughing!!! 

I am leaving this hotel this morning and will be dropped off tonight at the hotel near the airport because I am on a plane early tomorrow morning. I want to get home and get to work. I have a lot to do this week. Before I go down for breakfast, I need to finish packing, but I'm pretty fast, and it's mostly done. 

I am almost finished with my logic puzzle book. I'm on puzzle 47 of 50. Number 45 was a stinker, and it took me several days of trying to figure out who did what and when. I finished number 46 in a few minutes. Now, why is that? 

Hopefully, I can finish it off this week, and I have another one lined up at home. They are a good NON-SCROLLING diversion!!!

Well, that's it for today. I'll try my best to get a blog to you so you have some entertainment tomorrow morning. The show ends today at 3 PM, so we should be able to pack up quickly and then have some time after to relax and write the blog. 

It's going to be a WONDEFUL day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

It's all about the socks!

Oh my --- working on my projects at a quilt show -- yep - it works, but since I don't have all the tools (like an iron), or I like to take my sweet time to line things up properly, etc., it's not always conducive to working on my stuff at a show. And let's not forget that I have the gift of the gab, and when I'm at a show, there are MANY people to chat with, so I don't focus like I should! 

It all works out. I have to get some new quilt designs in order this morning, and I think I'm at the point where I want this quilt done, so if some of the designs are off because I'm still learning, then so be it!!!

Don't forget that all the gab is mostly in French! Yep—I didn't know French very well when I moved here back in 1978. I lived and worked in the Montreal area for 12 years or so, and I did a not-so-bad job learning. I was never super fluent, but the chance to switch from one language to another in a second was one of the things I LOVE about this province. 

Getting to do that while here at the show is fabulous. All the machines have been set to French, so that throws me for a loop from time to time, but for many functions, I'm so used to it- I go for the position of the function on the screen, not the words! I still struggle with a few French sewing terms, but it all works out. I might need twenty words when five would have sufficed. I don't care—only ONE person switched from French to English with me, so that is a positive!

I am NOT my father's daughter after all. If Dad wants to learn something, he goes to YouTube. Well, never in a million years did I think I would find videos on rotary sock knitters. But after chatting with some ladies in the morning, OH MY --- there is a ton of information on rotary sock knitters. I have one - it's a gift from Mom - my brothers got the coin and stamp collections, and I got the sock knitter. Hmm -- who got the better deal? I'm happy with what I got, and I already have it. 

So when I get home, I need to carve out some time to watch a few videos to see how the thing works and get mine set up! 

Claire and I went over to the show early again so we could check out the quilts. I'm determined to see them, and we have almost seen them all. So many are original, which is very interesting. Many are in the hand-quilted category. I have taken loads of pictures with the labels, so I hope to add a few more to the blog over the next couple of days. Today, there are no pictures of quilts, but lots of quilt-related things to chat about. 

When I went for a walk in the morning, it was misty, but it was fine. I didn't get wet, and all was good. There is this sculpture in front of the hotel, but what the heck is it for? 

A sculpture in front of the hotel

Inside, there are names on pieces of metal. No sign, nothing. I checked online and couldn't find anything about it. I should ask at the front desk. 

Inside the sculpture

AHA—I went back and looked at the name on the very top. Here's a link to the information about the sculpture. 

And every time we come here, which is every two years for Salon Quebec, there are always these buses of tourists. There are two vans, and they have tons of luggage, all of which fits in the back. I don't know how, but it does. But it's funny that they were here two years ago and they're back again! I wonder if they are from a cruise? It seems far from any port. 

Tourist buses

OK—I must confess that I have set my phone down several times in our booth and then forgotten where it was. Thankfully, the others are on alert, and someone finds it for me. I need pockets! Or I need to make a tool belt, so I can put my bottle of water and my phone in it! 

Of course, I'm looking at all the garments that people wear, and look what I spotted. These two beautiful skirts. They even had retro sweaters on!! I said it was nice to see "younger" people wear these kinds of things, and they replied that they were not as young as I thought. My response? You are younger than I am!!

Patchwork skirts

And I will say that I followed them and got this picture, and then I thought - how silly. Just ask them. 

Creeping a lady in a patchwork skirt

We are demoing all day long in our booth, and someone was cutting snowflakes on the Momento 24" digital cutter. Look how small those snowflakes are!!!! They have fusible on the back and look amazing!! Imagine them on white fabric? 

Small snowflakes cut with the digital cutter

And here is me giving a demo on the PFAFF creative icon 3. 

Doing a demo on the PFAFF creative icon 3

I had a chance to walk around a wee bit, and I spotted some quilt-related goodies in some booths. Of course, there are jigsaw puzzles. I did NOT buy any of this stuff, but I wanted to show that if you are looking for quilt-related gifts, there is a lot out there. 

Jigsaw puzzles

How about some quilt-related spatulas? You can make a quilt for your kitchen and then have some fancy spatulas to match your fabric. 

"Quilt" themed spatulas

Of course, there are socks!!! 

Quilt-themed socks

Speaking of socks—we've talked a lot about socks today. But here is a mystery, and only certain people will get this. A sewing machine brand recently released a Harry Potter-themed sewing machine, and this was hanging near it. If you know your Harry Potter, then you'll get this. If not, don't worry. 

Socks for ????????

For the paper puzzler, there is a book of various puzzles. This is volume 3. I might have one of these at home. 

Quilt-themed paper puzzles

Charms made with metal—these are absolutely stunning, but again, I did not buy any. I have so many already at home that I don't need more. 

Metal charms

And then I went to the Wonderfil booth to look at things for my upcoming wool appliqué class starting in January. I'll be advertising it again in a week so we can get everyone signed up and get their supplies organized. While I am good at handwork, it's not something I spend a ton of time on, but every time I go into that booth, I want to buy EVERYTHING. The things they made are absolutely adorable, and look at this little square, which is part of a Halloween garland. 

Part of the Halloween garland

And thanks to Pauline, who recently rode the BC Ferry and spotted the Villager Puzzles in the gift shop. Thank you so much. Pauline has taken numerous pictures for me when she was where I wanted to be, but couldn't make it. 

The gift shop on the BC Ferry

And there it is—the new puzzle, available only online (Villager Puzzles) or on the BC Ferry. The artwork is by another friend of mine, Cynthia Frenette, who painted the picture for the puzzle at M's wedding. 

Cynthia Frenette's new puzzle for the BC Ferry

I got Pauline to buy the puzzle for me (more meaningful, even if I didn't buy it, than buying online), and I'll get it from her when we are both home. 

Yes—you can buy online, but buying it yourself, or having someone buy it in person, makes the story way more interesting and therefore makes the puzzle more interesting. I shall think of Pauline and Cynthia as I assemble that puzzle. 

My rib is feeling much better, and I decided to try a night without painkillers. It's still tender, and I can still feel the pain, but the biting edge is gone. I'll take one today since I'll be moving around, but I can lie down and get up without feeling like someone is stabbing me in the ribs. All progress is good!! And I'll keep up the healthy eating and walking. I feel so much better, and I must keep it up as I go on future trips. I got lazy, and it wasn't good. 

Well, I'd better get myself organized, as I have some computer work to do. Last night, I spent some time getting my flights organized for the rest of this month. I didn't catch it at first, but my flights were booked from MONTREAL, not Toronto, so I had to change everything. Sigh...............

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

It is going to be a FABULOUS day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Jigsaw puzzles and bridges!

Oh—of course—I MUST walk or cycle over the Gordie Howe Bridge—how silly of me to think I should drive a car. That would be a waste. If I walk or cycle, I can go slowly, stop, look, and take pictures. I must give my head a shake on that one!! 

And if you are interested in other bridges, here are pictures of the Jacque Cartier Bridge in Montreal, which I have driven over countless times. It seems that it was also built from both sides. 

The Jacque Cartier Bridge in Montreal

That bridge was built from 1925 to 1930. So yes—even way back in the day, how the heck did they figure out how to make the bridge meet in the middle? I know it was the wonders of engineering and all that, but it still amazes me. 

Someone sent me that picture -- I won't mention names. But THANK YOU. 

Here is a picture of the entire bridge. It goes over a lot of water to connect Montreal (an island) and the south shore. Two other islands are involved in this bridge: Île Sainte-Hélène and Île Notre-Dame.  

Jacques Cartier Bridge

Imagine quilting a quilt, starting at the top and the bottom, and hoping it meets in the middle. Slightly different medium, but still! 

OH MY GOSH -- who the heck is above me because they love to stomp in the morning!

And look at those jigsaw puzzles. Not only do we find them in garden shops and pharmacies, besides all the usual places for gifts, but now in a WINERY!!!! I think this person is in BC. Jigsaw puzzles are everywhere! 

Jigsaw puzzles spotted in a winery

I have previously mentioned that jigsaw puzzles were "invented" around 1760 by a cartographer. Jigsaw puzzles really took off in the United States around 1907-1910, then in Europe a year later. 

In the 1930s, jigsaw puzzles became popular again because they were a cheap form of entertainment for people who didn't have much money. 

And of course, the pandemic, which kept many people at home, is the reason jigsaw puzzling became so popular again. Competitive puzzling also started to be a thing in 2019. 

As we always say—what comes around goes around. I'm sure at some point jigsaw puzzling will fall out of favor, only to be brought back again sometime in the future. It's pretty fascinating, and you can read more about the history of jigsaw puzzling at this Wikipedia link. 

Oh my --- near the end of the day yesterday, I decided to wander away from the booth, and I got only as far as the second booth before I stopped for something. I took pictures, and I'll support the booth by buying the product I saw. It will work well in a class of mine, but I also realized that I have the same product at home in a different form. OH - and I was going to give that away! Isn't that what our mothers always told us—don't throw that away; you may need it for something. So I can go home and dig that out. 

So sorry—no picture of that until I share it with the class. And in the same booth, I spotted the cutest pattern, which I think I can make on my own, or I might buy it so I don't have to figure the darn thing out. It depends on what else I spot; in the same booth, I also saw some quilted jacquard that would make a beautiful lightweight jacket. The problem is that I already have material to make jackets, and I haven't made them yet!!!!

Here's a photo of the quilted jacquard. It's beautiful, but do I need it? 

Quilted jacquard

Here is the best-of-show quilt designed and made by Collette Dumont. 

Best of Show by Colette Dumont

The workmanship on this quilt is stunning, and I have no idea how many hours it took her to complete, but it's a work of art. The center, outlined by the darker blue below, is all lacy with fabric appliqués and thread lace. She has used machine and hand embroidery. It's exquisite. 

And here is the border - sorry, the pink and black behind it is another quilt - I will try to get a better picture. 

The border

Wouldn't you say that that yellow border is tatted? Yes—I just checked the label, and it is needle-tatted. 

So the quilt is exquisite in its workmanship. And you may consider me uncouth to say this, but I don't like the colors. For some reason, the teal and the darker blue are jarring to me. And the yellow? I love blue, white, and yellow quilts, but I think the teal doesn't cut it for me. 

I always tell people that if you dislike something, you should identify what you don't like, and I realize it's the teal. My eye is not happy with that color. So I appreciate the workmanship; I'm not a fan of the colors. 

I went to the washroom, and this threw me for a loop. The entire wall of stalls has advertising on it! It's all about WATER, which is very appropriate in the bathroom. 

Advertising on the washroom stalls

Coincidences are just too uncanny these days. Am I tuned into something? I was walking yesterday morning and wondered if I would see any Quebec flags, as this province is very patriotic, and BANG—within a minute, there was a flag. It was the only flag I spotted on my entire walk. 

A Quebec flag

I seemed to have "failed" on photos yesterday. The flag was flying, but not when I took the picture. I got the pink background in Collette's quilt. I shall try harder today!! LOL. 

I NEVER work on my personal projects at any show, but I decided to bite the bullet and work on this quilt, which I need to get quilted. It's been hanging around on the sample table far too long. 

Using the embroidery machine to custom quilt my quilt

So I set it up in the metal hoop, but the design fit EXACTLY, and I didn't have the time or patience to make that happen, so I moved to the MAGNETIC hoop, which is bigger, and it was a piece of cake. OK -- I confess I LOVE LOVE LOVE that large magnetic hoop. I have already sent my order to the R&D team; they need more sizes. We want more!!! And let me say that all the positioning tools on the PFAFF creative icon 3 (and on other machines as well) make this process so simple. We can scan the hoop, move the hoop with the projection, project the design right onto our fabric, achieve exact positioning (now with scaling - creative icon 3 only), and there is no end to the level of precision we can accomplish. 

Our group went out for dinner last night, and the place we went to gave us popcorn instead of bread. I like that idea, and it did NOT stay on the table long. 

Popcorn snack before dinner

Then I had an apple and chicken salad, which was to die for. The vinaigrette was quite spicy, and it was very good. I'd have that again in a heartbeat. 

OK -- I must tell you about my dream. I had woken up a bit early, but went back to sleep since I didn't really need to be up. I was somewhere, and someone called me out because my embroidery piece (to me, it seemed I was making a Noah's Ark machine embroidery piece, but I can't be certain) wasn't politically correct. I think the premier of my province was there, and I don't know who else, and they didn't like the wording on the project. 

Needless to say, I wasn't happy, and when I woke up with the issue unresolved, I thought I needed to just grab the project and RUN!! What are they going to do? Put me in jail? What jumbled thoughts produced that dream? It was so vivid when I woke up! 

An update on the rib thing. Someone mentioned that it might be costochondritis, which is like an inflammation of the ribs and can be caused by trauma - i.e heavy compression on my back when lying on my tummy. It sounds exactly like what I have, and it explains why the X-ray came back negative. This is the same thing that can happen when you have a major coughing fit, and you think you have broken/cracked ribs, but in fact, you have costochondritis. Who knew!! 

So it is better, and I even contemplated NOT taking any meds last night, but decided that it wasn't worth letting the pain get ahead of me. So meds it is. Heat and/or cold is a good treatment, and I didn't do any of that, so that will just take longer to heal. 

It's time to get moving - I need to get out for my walk, and so far, I'm doing OK on the eating healthy, and I feel so much better for it!! We went to the grocery store in the morning and bought salads for lunch, and I even bought bran muffins for my snack - just like at home. I really need to start making my own to cut out the sugar! But not right now. I need to get the darn oven fixed. 

It's going to be a glorious day!!!

Ciao!!!