The last block for Down on the Farm

Oh my—could I be running out of gas with Down on the Farm? NO -- I must forge ahead - I must get it done! 

One of the things I did was to test a new fabric for the grass. While I won't be remaking the grass section today, I did need to cut grass fabric for the final block. So I dug out something I think will work and cut a piece to see what the contrast would be. 

Well, it looks a bit messy in this photo, but YES—there is enough contrast. 

Testing the new fabric for contrast

After looking at the other blocks, I realized that there is ONE piece of grass in the cow block. Yes - you can barely see it right beside the dark grass beside the pond. 

Can you spot the one stock of light grass?

I decided to switch that one piece out this morning for the new fabric. It's only one piece and at the bottom of the block, so easy to change. I will totally remake the larger grass section for the rooster block. 

The new grass fabric looks just fine.

But neither the grass section nor the turtle is my priority - I NEED to get that final block done. This is what I have accomplished so far. I could have had the entire block done, but I was busy with other things yesterday - I'll share in a minute. I also had a two-hour car errand, so that ate up my afternoon after Monday sewing. I will not show you what I bought. Maybe another day, but I had to stop by the puzzle warehouse to pick up an order. I will NOT buy any more puzzles! I will NOT buy any more puzzles! But I needed one with candy in it! More on that another day!

Working on the final block

Here are the pieces left to sew. It shouldn't take too long to get this done, but it'll have to wait for the afternoon as this morning between 7:30 and 10 is going to be chaotic in the house. I have to take DH to the train at 7:30. The cleaning service and the electrician will arrive around 8:30, and Lexi has a vet appointment at 9:30. It just worked out that way, so getting the girls for a morning walk will be a bit sketchy. 

The remaining pieces in the final block

Here is some advice if you have access to a digital version of any pattern. I loaded the pattern (25 pages) on my iPad and keep it right beside the sewing machine. It is great when you need to see the diagrams a bit bigger, because some of the pieces are teeny-tiny! Or you want to check color placement of some of the smaller pieces. I get it that we are used to paper. But you know what? Get over it! 

Using the iPad to display the pattern

We now have some amazing tools at our disposal, and we need to get with the times. First - this saves a lot of ink and paper, and it just works better. I'm done with paper patterns if I have a digital version. I just wish that if we bought digital, the cost would be somewhat lower. That is NOT the case with Sew Fresh Quilt patterns, as they are already a bargain, but some of the others are very pricey, whether you buy them digitally or in hard copy. 

I did attempt to mark up the document, as in mark off what I have sewn, but I didn't figure that out. So I'll try later. But I will NOT sew a digital pattern any other way. I get the full color version; I save on printing because this type of pattern works best in color, and if there are any mistakes and I get a new copy, I am not throwing anything away. Plus the ability to enlarge the pattern is FABULOUS. 

The only thing I printed was the four pages of cutting instructions. Then I can check that I cut and used that piece. It works for me, and I highly recommend going digital for any of these patterns with diagrams and color. 

I grabbed another small bag of triangles and sorted them. I am trying to have a definite light and dark with the colors, and I found these were too close. They work, but I didn't want to use them that way. I don't even remember making anything from these. But then I also remember asking people for triangles, and I got lots. Don't ask me why I would do such a silly thing, as I was generating enough of my own. But I'm working my way through the remaining three baskets, and I might just spend one or two days just focused on going through the bins and whittling them down into trimmed HSTs. 

Sorting HSTs

It's easy to say, "I'll spend 30 minutes a day working on HSTs," but then how do you schedule that in with all the other things you want to spend 30 minutes a day on? I'll do what I can, but now that I've made these units a focus, they will get done - just not overnight. 

Even though I said I would never do this again, I let it happen, and now there is a huge pile that needs to be pressed and trimmed. I'm OK with that - at least step one of three is done for these |HSTs. 

HSTs sewn but not pressed or trimmed.

And I know --- some of you are scratching your head and asking, "what will I do with them?" I'm sure I've shared my small quilts made with HSTs. I also made a pencil case way back in the day. 

Someone sent me this picutre - can you believe? I think she said there are 3,276-ish HSTs (1" - just like mine) in this quilt. That is a big quilt!!!! And it's mostly made from 1" finished HSTs - all scrappy. It must be very heavy!

A scrap quilt made from 1" finished HSTs

She also mentioned that it took her 9 months to make and trim the HSTs and then 2 months to sew it together! I don't have plans yet for mine, but I have several ideas sitting in the baskets of finished HSTs, so I will have lots to get my creative juices flowing. 

It was getting late in the day, and I had done nothing to clean up the mess in the house. The furniture upstairs was still in disarray from the electricians, there was drywall dust on the floors, and I needed to get it done. 

So I got super ambitious and cleaned up the guest room. Packed a couple more boxes for my SIL and moved my rack of quilts back into the room. All the suitcases got put back in the closet, and the room looks tidy. Studio U and the other two bedrooms are also back to normal! 

Here is the upstairs hallway—clear! 

The upstairs hallway is empty!

Then it was time to tackle the downstairs hallway and kitchen, which were strewn with boxes. The books all got repacked into smaller boxes - I need to schedule a pickup of them. And some of the electrical boxes got flattened for the recycling cart, and some were moved into the office to be dealt with another day. It gets boring to do a lot of that, and it's hard on my hands. I'm happy with the progress, and that's all that counts. 

The downstairs hallway

All that remains in the main hall are three boxes to be loaded into the car this morning and my stick vacuum, which I love. Every house needs one of those! I wish I had NOT bought the larger Dyson as I only use the stick broom. I think I'll be selling or giving that large Dyson away. 

And on that note, I'd better get myself organized for the morning chaos, then get back to sewing after Lexi's appointment. I NEED to get that block done today, as I need to move on to sample making. 

WAIT --- if you want to watch a time-lapse video of fungi, someone sent me this link. It's absolutely fascinating to watch. There is NO time mentioned in the video, and it would be interesting to know how long each fungus was filmed. Also, take note of the little critters that litter the screens. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Reconsidering the importance of value!

Oh dear --- I may have to switch out the grass on my blocks for Down on the Farm. I will evaluate it this morning and make a decision. I am going to redo the turtle block as well. This quilt is darn cute!!! And I am on the final block!!! This one also has grass in it, and well, maybe I can switch out the green, and if I like it, then I'll have to remake that section of the rooster block. It wouldn't be a lot of work. Maybe that's why I stopped at that point last night in cutting out the next block? 

Cutting out the last block.

 

But here is the eleventh block. It's a dog!!! 

The eleventh block

The dog has a blue eye and a red collar, just like someone I know. Wait - that could be Lexi with the mottled black fur! 

The final block awaits—what animal is it? Do you remember? Once this final block is done, I'll go back to reworking the couple of sections I need to revise. Hmmm -- let's have another look at that rooster block. 

The rooster and chicken

Yes -- I guess I could go back and find something different, as that grass does blend in in spots. I won't change the grass part that fits on the post - well, let me think about it, but now is the time to change for the final block. And do you notice how those teeny tiny flower centers stand out because I switched out that yellow after sewing just one of the flowers? Value does count!

While I have enjoyed working on this quilt, I will be glad to see it end. It has consumed my sewing time for the last two weeks, and I need to move on! So once the final block is done, I'll set it aside while I finish prepping new samples for my travels next week. Then anything that needs to be redone will get redone. Thankfully, the grasses are easy enough to cut and sew. 

Some of the boxes in the kitchen got flattened and are in the garage. I must make it a priority before the nice weather is over to take a load of crap out of the garage. It's not that bad, but a few things have accumulated, and I would like the garage to be a bit neater. I have loads of recycling, but I'm happy to fill our bin and put it out gradually rather than leave unsightly piles of recycling in the driveway. Loads of people do that. They don't break down boxes; they don't separate the garbage from the recycling. It drives me mad.

I packed another box for my SIL and plan to ship those two boxes today. I still have two boxes in the upstairs hallway to bring down. Everything in the main hallway needs to be dealt with today, so the hallway is clear for the cleaning people tomorrow. Worst case, they all get moved to the office as the cleaning staff doesn't come in here. It's too messy. 

Let's just say that "adulting" is hard work. Just keeping up with the cleaning and tidying of daily life is constant, and the minute you stop? You have clutter! 

The poor office has become the dumping ground for things that have yet to be dealt with. We all know that - I've mentioned it oodles of times. But boy - it would be nice to get the final dregs of the clutter out of this room. All the rooms are now clear of the clutter from the first decluttering round, which took about 15 years! Then it would be easy to start at the top and work my way down again. Let's face reality - I'll never be done. This is a constant part of life and one that some people just can't handle - like my Mom. But that's OK. We're working our way through that. 

I'm afraid that my Mom's days of living in their apartment are numbered. Her mobility is getting less and less, and soon, she will need more help than can be provided in the apartment. My Mom is overweight and hasn't been active for many years. She was happy to sit in her chair with minimal walking and zero exercise, even though she swears to us that she does them every day. 

As a result, she has lost muscle mass and thus mobility. You do NOT want to face this issue, and we are all smart. So, if you can, get up and do something! Chair squats, step-ups, or whatever, but do NOT lose your mobility and hence your independence!! The biggest issue is the use of the washroom - when you can no longer deal with that, you are toast! 

With all the moisture we've been having, the forest is exploding with fungi!! I grabbed a photo of these the other day. 

Fungi in the forest

It would be neat to have a time-lapse of their lifespan. I bet it's fast!

I like to read every day - it's a way to escape to new worlds, learn new things, and well, a good old murder mystery just gets the heart racing! I also read non-fiction, which I love. I have a long list of books on my waitlist in the Libby app, and sometimes, when a book comes up, I wonder who recommended it to me? 

I also get my recommendations from The Globe and Mail review. I think it's once a month and usually reviews 8 murder mysteries. Of course, I put all of them on my list! Although some of them are not out yet, I think all of them were this time. Thankfully, there are some LONG wait times on some of the books, and I'm OK with that. There's no need to be the first to read a new book. I'm past that point in my life where I want everything right NOW. 

The Globe and Mail monthly book review

My walk yesterday took me past the bookstore, so I had to wander in. They have a big puzzle section, but I did not buy any. I still have puzzles to pick up at Puzzles Canada, and they sent me a reminder over the weekend. I need to puzzle faster!! 

I spotted this one with pictures of windows!! 

A puzzle with different-style windows

Which made me laugh because this is my next puzzle. 

My new puzzle - DOORS!

Yep -- those are doors!! I wonder how difficult this one will be? It should be easy, but when I opened the box last night, I noticed the pieces are tiny! 

I also spotted this puzzle. You may or may not know that there is a movie out about The Odyssey. DH wants to go and wants me to come with him. That man just can't go to a movie on his own. The darn thing is 3 hours long, and so we have to go in the afternoon. My body will not deal with a three-hour movie at night. I'll be bored and asleep before the opening credits happen. 

But I spotted this puzzle and asked him if putting it together would substitute for the movie. If looks could kill!!! LOL. 

The Odyssey Puzzle

Good heavens - they even had glow-in-the-dark puzzles. 

Glow-in-the-dark puzzle

And the community puzzle was together! I don't get to the bookstore often, so I miss putting pieces in. But that's OK since I always have one on the go at my house. 

The puzzle at the bookstore was done!

The monthly theme for August was Wild Animals, and I just happened to have this one in the puzzle pile. It was a 500-piece puzzle and actually quite easy. 

The August-themed puzzle

I found the missing border piece - it was upside down and under another piece. I did a little bit of work on it in the morning and then finished it last night. This is much better than scrolling! And I noticed that Kilimanjaro is in the background! It's about this time last year that I was getting ready for my hike up that mountain! That was such a great trip!!!

I have to find the theme list for the remainder of the year and see if I have something that works. One of them was a destination, I'm sure, and I have a couple of puzzles for that. 

On my walk, I also hit the mall as I had something to pick up. On my way out, I saw this kiosk. You can PRINT your custom phone case with a picture. All from a kiosk. 

Print your custom phone case from a kiosk.

This next picture will make you think. 

YES --- it's hard to believe, but there are some sounds we no longer hear. I'm sure most are related to technology, but who remembers dial-up for the internet? And I'm sure there are a ton of other sounds we no longer hear. I haven't checked out the website, but here's the link. WAIT --- I don't think I found the link - I'll find it and post tomorrow. 

One sound I'd love to go away is the whine of motorcycles late at night. While we are far enough from the highway not to hear the daily traffic, when it's late at night and the sky is clear, we can hear the whine of a motorcycle for 30 KM or so, it seems. Why? Why do they have to make it whine like that at night? 

On that note, I'm off to the gym. I need to keep mobile, and it's helping my legs. I've had no issues or very little with walking in the last week. That could just be a fluke, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to keep going strong for as long as I can. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!

Down on the Farm - Block Ten - DONE!!!!

You are right -- 30 years is NOT old for a house, but the electrical stuff in the house is old! Many of the plugs were outdated or broken. That is not good news for safety and for our environment! Yet again!!!

OH MY -- I never thought about the QUILTsocial blog posts and AI. But you are right—you cannot tell it is AI. The voices and conversation are super smooth and sound just like two people casually talking - literally the way you would have a conversation in a podcast. DH says, I should be happy that it's NOT my voice talking. The feature only seems to be available on the Android phone. 

I'm still dealing with the aftermath of the electrician - pulling garbage from the boxes and flattening them for recycling. I wonder how many screws that are made are never used? All kinds of hardware come in anything you buy, and many times, they don't get used. Yep -- I could keep them, but what will I do with them? 

Then I have five boxes of stuff left over from when M's friend helped her clean the room, and I need to deal with those since I found someone who will come and pick up the books. So that is all in the hallway - either upstairs or on the main floor. And I'm trying to pack at least one box for my SIL, who wasn't able to get everything in her car. I should have checked her car before she left, since I could have packed some of this stuff in there. Take it out of the boxes and tuck it in the cracks! 

The house is in an uproar, and it needs to be tidy by Tuesday when the cleaning people come. I haven't told you the story about why we have cleaning people rather than a cleaning lady. But that will have to wait for another day. 

And it was only last night, when DH said, " Put the chicken in the oven," that I GASPED. I had completely forgotten to get the door fixed on the big oven. How long ago did that glass shatter? Goes to show that we do NOT use our oven often. Instead, we use the toaster oven. And it works for us. 

On top of all that commotion, I'm trying to get the Down on the Farm quilt finished!! I finally have the tenth block complete. My computer is having a hissy fit this morning and will not let me open email. So, before I finish, I'll try rebooting to see if that helps. 

As I've mentioned, I'm not only making the quilt, but pattern testing it at the same time. That means checking the sewing instructions against the diagrams and the cutting instructions. I almost got it right. I am out by two pieces, so I've requested an updated copy and will find those two missing pieces. When each block has 100+ pieces (don't panic - they are big blocks at 13½" by 20½"), it isn't a big deal to be missing a couple of pieces. It's the darn grass -- there is so much of it!!! But since the pattern is being sold, I know that if people find a discrepancy like that, they will not be happy, so I'll find it! 

The first two blocks on the final row.

And I have the next block cut out. This one should be much easier! I need to move on to other things, so I need to get these last two blocks complete ASAP. 

Block eleven is cut out.

Although you can't tell, I was out in the garden on Friday. I spent my half hour or more and did some more weeding. Yep -- as soon as I get the weeds out, they start to grow again! And that darn creeping vine -- you just can't get rid of it, and I didn't do a good job last time because I had run out of time. 

The creeping vine also grows between the rocks at the back of the pond. I don't have a picture for this, but imagine me playing Twister on the rocks as I attempt to pull out the vines. I had my little knee cushion and was facing head down towards the pond. One slip and OOPS - I was going to take a bath. Thankfully, no one got wet, and the weeds are gone! 

The rocks on the pond are free of weeds.

I never see all the fish at once, but they seem to be thriving, and once we get new outlets in the backyard, there should be no danger of them dying this coming winter. I have a new aerator and the heater still works. 

I am going to try to stick to my 30 minutes once a week to maintain and repair a few things in the backyard. If I'm in a good mood and the weather is decent, I may spend more time. I also need to find one of those hand-weeding tools -- it has a curved blade and looks mighty dangerous. I could buy it online, but I want to buy it in person. While I hand-pick the weeds, some have tough roots, and the tool will help pull them out so they don't start regrowing immediately after I yank off the top. 

I am also trying to clean up the bedrooms, which are in a bit of disarray after the electricians moved furniture to access the outlets. I decided to start in Studio U, which is quite a mess, because I had cleared a table for my SIL to work on. OK -- so she did jigsaw puzzles! But all my quilts have literally been stacked in heaps in that room, and it is time to get it organized. 

This isn't quite the before picture, but there was batting all over the room, quilts and samples everywhere, and well, I need to get it organized. It's been a long time since I've done anything in that room. 

An uproar in Studio U.

The sewing table looks marginally better, and I've started pulling samples for my upcoming trip; the items on the left are the ones I'm taking. 

The after, which still looks messy.

The cutting table needs to be put back in place. I've moved a fair amount of stuff to its proper place in the guest room where there is a big black cubby bookcase. I have sorted the table runners, and they are in their proper case. I found some linen storage bags at the thrift store, and they work perfectly for table runners. Now I need to assemble all the small wall hangings, and they will go in another linen case. Hopefully I can find space on my rolling cart, which has resided in the upstairs hallway for a year. It needs to be put back in the guest room, but I have to finish packing my SIL's stuff first. 

What I need is to sort the samples into what I want and what I don't, and find homes for what I don't want. It sure would make life a lot easier. I'm going to have to do that with the quilts. There are so many that I will never use for anything. I've got to get that under control and soon!

All the batting bits got stored back in the closet. I swear that I emptied a lot of that out and was using it for that group of community project quilts, but more has come in!

The batting closet

I store my trimmed HSTs in that room. And there were stacks of them strewn around the room. So I gathered them up and put them away. 

HSTs to be sorted and put away.

I'm not going to go into much detail because I'll be covering this in my scrap class, but this is a tin of trimmed HSTs. 

A tin of trimmed HSTs

I got a chuckle because the box is so full that some of them seem to be exploding out of the bottom. 

HSTs trying to escape

Others that no longer fit in this tin are in plastic bags, stored by size, and yes, they are labeled. I found another tin while going through some stuff, so now I have a new space to store those HSTs. WAIT -- I also have a couple of tins in the basement, so I could easily pull one of those back into duty. 

More bags of HSTs

I am determined to get those triangles under control - just like I have with the rest of my scraps. It's the final frontier of the sewing space! So I sorted the triangles on the tray by color, and I'm working my way through them. 

Triangles ready to sew into HSTs

There was one basket of unsorted triangles, and I'm slowly sorting them and adding them to the tray. 

Triangles to sort 

I also found a basket of triangles, along with two other containers, in Studio U, and my plan is to sort through them all. Can I deal with them by the time I touch on this in my scrap class? Time will tell. 

Another basket of triangles to sort

Every day, I spend a bit of time dealing with a bag or a handful of the triangles and sorting them. 

Sorting triangles for HSTs

BUT --- this is the question. How small is too small, and that's all I'm going to say about this. 

How small of a scrap will you keep?

The tray looks a bit fuller now, although I've been sewing, so it looks much different this morning. 

Lots of triangles on the tray, ready to sew.

And when I got bored of sewing, I would press and trim a few. It doesn't matter what you keep, as long as you have a home for it, or you are working on it, or have plans to work on it. Hmmm --- could someone define that phrase - "plans to work on it!"

Trimming HSTs 

I have had to ban myself from going to the thrift store. The lure of finding some amazing puzzles at reasonable prices and having coupons to use is just too much! If I take two bags, I can bring home twice as many puzzles. Sigh.................. My name is Elaline, and I'm a hoarder. Let's just face reality. 

BUT - I am working on them, and my intent is to give them away. I now have three in my giveaway box and gave a couple to my SIL. All were ones that I had finished. 

I spotted this little gem, which looked intriguing. It wasn't expensive, so I bought it, and it only has 100 pieces. Thank goodness for that. 

An IMPOSSIPUZZLE

The pieces were fairly large and cut into two different shapes. Hmmm -- the shapes were the same, but the orientation was different. Each piece had two holes and two knobs, but half were horizontal, and half were portrait. I'll take a picture so you can see what I mean. 

Anyway, there was no way that you could identify which parts of the candy cane fit into another, so this is one puzzle that I tried every piece in every place. I started by making the border and then worked row by row. And yes, once or twice, the piece that fit was the LAST one I picked up. 

Working row by row

Thankfully, each piece clicked properly into its rightful place, and I could then verify the pattern. It didn't take that long, but it's the first time I've had to do that with an entire puzzle. 

Just the middle is left.

And there it is -- done!!

The puzzle is done!!!

And there's a random picture of Lexi sleeping. This is one of her favorite places. WAIT --- where the fan is sitting is her favorite place, and I think she is making a point - move the fan!!!

MOM - move the fan!!!!

I'm well on my way with the next puzzle. This month's theme for the Canadian Jigsaw Puzzle Association is wild animals. I bought this one because it reminded me of the safaris we took last year. It's only 500 pieces, but the shapes are very weird - a lot of circular ones with four holes, and ones with four tabs. It's good to have variety in shapes, pictures, and the number of pieces.  

The next puzzle

Do I have a technique? I usually start with the border (one piece is still missing) and then by color, but after that? Well, I will go piece by piece if necessary. 

The weather is totally wacko! Yesterday morning was cool but humid, so it felt clammy. Today it's cool and dry, so it feels cold. And then it heats up in the daytime. I'm OK with the weather, but it changes so frequently, and one day it's very humid, and the next day it's dry. I prefer dry over humidity. I think the girls do as well. 

We tried to keep Miss Murphy in the house last night, but she wasn't having anything to do with that. So we let her out, and she slept like the dead. I went out at 11 to bring her in, but she was dead weight, and I couldn't lift her up, and she wasn't moving. She came in about 6 AM and is fast asleep in Lexi's raised bed. I hope to take her off the meds on Tuesday, so we'll see how she reacts at night then. 

I'm madly listening to audiobooks while sewing, tidying, and cleaning. It's the e-books that I'm struggling with. That requires some dedicated time, and when I try to read before going to sleep, sleep comes quickly! Perhaps today, I can spend some time in the gazebo. 

On that happy note, it's time to get moving!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Out with the old and in with the new (electrical) Part Two

Every day is a new day! I think that was what Alex and Ricky say at the end of every episode of The Quilt Show, and it's true! So much is happening, and some days I don't even know where to start. 

I walked to the grocery store and on my way back, my phone started pinging in my pocket. PING PING PING PING. There were so many pings I decided I needed to stop to see what the heck was going on. It was M, alerting me to something extremely creepy, yet extremely hilarious. 

I had set my bags on the sidewalk and was there for at least one minute. A woman and a man walked by and asked if I was OK. Isn't that amazing? I think we need to do more of that - communicate with everyone. Ask how they are, or ask if they need help. Or simply to wave!

Case in point, a gentleman that I see from time to time was walking towards me, but he hadn't crossed the street yet. I was going to turn the corner on my morning walk with Murphy, so our paths wouldn't directly cross. However, I waved at him across the street, and he waved back! That brought a smile to my face, and I'm sure it brought one to his! 

OK -- so now back to the pinging and what that was all about. It seems that AI has taken over my life without me knowing a darn thing about it. I think this only works on your Android phone, as I couldn't find it on my computer. It is generated by Google Chrome. 

So go to my blog on your phone. Then, in the top-right corner, select the THREE DOT drop-down menu. Scroll down until you find "Listen to this page." OMG --- AI turned my blog into a podcast!!!! I am not kidding. And they were pretty thorough, covering all the topics in a conversational style. It's hilarious, but it's creepy at the same time. 

While we have the THREE DOT menu on the computer, I could not find the "listen to the page" option. I think this is something brand new. Anyone heard of this before? Should we be alarmed? Darn right!!! Can I stop them using the content that way? I don't know, but at least it's linked to my page. 

Besides that excitement, a lot happened in the house. I have made and received so many phone calls over the last week; it's insane. I have tried all week to contact the vet to make an appointment for Lexi, but each time I called, another call came through, and I had to close the vet call. They have a long message when you call them. 

However, the good news is that my phone (knock on wood) seems to be back to normal. I can make and receive calls without my voice dropping. I have changed NOTHING!!! It just happened. Can you tell me why that is? My only guess is that what they told me about a misconnection between my phone and the local tower is true, but doesn't that seem far-fetched to you? 

I have no idea, but I'm still tentative about making and taking calls. But now that it seems to be working, the floodgates and phone calls are pouring in!

I'm in the process of making travel plans—yep—so much for it being a quiet August. I will be presenting the NEW PFAFF creative icon 3 at the following stores. If you want to get in on the action, be sure to call the store and get on the list. BTW - the AI didn't know how to pronounce PFAFF, so they just said P F A F F. 

August 19 (Wednesday) - Castle's Sewing Center - Langley, BC

August 22 (Saturday) - Northgate Sewing Center - Regina, Saskatchewan

August 24 (Monday) Heather Bell's Sewing Studio - West Lorne, Ontario

I will also be doing an event at Northgate Sewing Center on August 21 (Friday) on Creativate (embroidery software, quilting and crafting software, and the technology that ties it all together) and the Momento (24" digital cutter). 

So if anyone is in those areas and wants to attend, please call those stores. I have flights booked, but need hotels and cars. It's a crazy trip, but I'll make it happen. 

We had two electricians in the house for a good part of the day. I'm happy to report they have finished inside the house and will be back next week to deal with the backyard. 

This is one of the two old sconces in the living room. They were original to the house, and while they were decent lights, they didn't do much for me. 

The old sconce in the living room

These are the new lights. I LOVE them. 

The new sconces

And they seem to set off that window/space a lot nicer than the old ones. 

I LOVE the look!!!!

I will say that for shopping from what they had in stock, I did a darn good job and I'm happy! No need to dither about making choices! 

And now let's see what happened in the basement. There were nine fluorescent ballasts in the basement. The middle three have been dead for several years. Don't yell at me!! 

The dead fluorescent ballasts

And of the remaining six, I bet there was only one fixture that still had two working bulbs in it. It was time to do something. 

Some of the bulbs in the working ballasts were toast.

They replaced a total of eleven lights; there are two over the long arm. When I walked downstairs, I was blinded!!! It's like night and day. OH MY --- there really is a lot of stuff in that basement. 

The new lights are blinding!!

But here's the thing about the lights. We had a discussion about the lighting. This is the THIRD lighting setup for that space. I started off with pot lights, but didn't like them as they created many shadows; those were installed in 2004. They were replaced by the fluorescent light fixture) and I'm not sure when that was), and as the bulbs burned, I've been replacing them with LED tubes. So it was decent light. 

These new ones are LED closed light fixtures. No maintenance required. Here's the very sad part: when a light goes out, the entire fixture needs to be replaced. They are supposed to last for 78,000 hours. That is the equivalent of leaving the lights on 24/7 for almost 9 years. Hmmmm --- do I believe that? 

Anyway, the reason for moving to these kinds of lights is maintenance. The lights are used in buildings, homes, etc., and to cut down on the maintenance of buying and replacing bulbs, these fixtures are used. Great for maintenance, not so great for the environment. We have become a throwaway society. No one wants to fix or maintain - just buy new. 

I didn't really have much of a choice - three of those units needed to be replaced, so I replaced them all. But working in that space? WOW!!!!! 

Then it was time to move outside, and the two electricians got lucky that it had rained a wee bit, but they were able to work.  

So the lights outside our house are also original to the house, which is 30 years old. They are dated, dirty, and don't work. 

We have one at the front door, two on the garage, one on the side, and one at the back. 

The light by the front door

The light on the garage

And this is what I replaced them with. 

The light by the front door

At first I wanted something a bit less angular (i.e. modern), but seriously? I love them. And I realized that the little path lights in the front are very angular, so these fit right in! I don't know if you can see in the photo above (two photos up), but the massive amount of unsightly caulking they used is very different from the thin bead on the new lights. 

New light on the garage

The only thing missing from the front is a new LIGHTED house number, and we should be good to go. That will take some time to order, so it won't happen this time. I have one other (possibly two) things for them to do in Studio U, so those will happen later. 

I dare not think of the bill I will get when this is all done. Even replacing all those switches and outlets will be costly. But I had a budget, and we are well within it, and one must maintain the house! They found multiple broken and cracked light switches, so it was definitely time to replace them. 

As they were moving their tools out of the house, they left the door open. Look at that, Lexi. She warily eyed the front door, but didn't move towards it. When she was younger, she would have been out the door without hesitation. 

MOM - the door is open - that's not right!

The same goes for walking on the leash. If I had dropped the leash years ago, she would take off. Now, she just stops - MOM - something isn't right! 

And look at that Murphy! It's been a long time since she ripped a toy to shreds. 

MOM - I'm feeling pretty good!

However, she started barking shortly after midnight, so I ran outside to get her. She was groggy as all get out, but staring at the forest and barking. She came in and settled down right away (thank goodness), and I found her this morning sleeping in the family room where the plug-in pheromone dispenser is located. So I think it's time to start bringing her in at night. I can't have the neighbors calling and complaining about her. 

In all the chaos, I managed to get the rooster block complete for the Down on the Farm quilt. 

The rooster block

It never ceases to amaze me how a few diagonal seams using squares and rectangles can lead to something like this! 

But I still have many pieces left for the second block.

The bits for block ten

Then I was onto the next block. Oh boy—that is going to take some time to complete, but the worst is over. There is a little mouse in the block, and he was very time-consuming. BUT OMG --- he is adorable!!!! 

Squeak squeak!

There are still a LOT of pieces remaining for the remainder of this block. 

Still loads of pieces

Now it would not take you as long to sew the block together as it is taking me. I am pattern testing it, and I am a dog with a bone. As I complete a section, I send an email with any changes I feel might need to be made. I would likely skim the writing and only look at the pictures, but I am doing both. Checking the writing is hard for me, but I'm doing what I said I would. 

I am NOT changing the style in which the pattern is written. I'm just looking for labeling issues, missing instructions, or whatever. That is a very time-consuming job, and at the end of each block, I count the pieces in each block and compare them to the cutting instructions. I'm trying to be diligent and check off each piece as I sew it, but sometimes I forget. That's why I do the double-check at the end. 

I love this quilt, and I think it would make an excellent teaching quilt. But I will say that if you decide to tackle this quilt on your own—I do NOT recommend it for a beginner. Maybe an experienced beginner, but I would say it's more an intermediate pattern. Why? Some of the pieces are tiny - the smallest I've worked with are 3/4", which is small when you consider you are using ¼" seams. There are many pieces, and the instructions are clear, but you have to think as you work through them. 

When I am sewing, I can listen to an audiobook, but when I need to select pieces and read the instructions, I turn the book off. And I've had to rip because I grabbed the wrong pieces! 

I highly recommend the pattern, but be prepared for a challenge. The rest of this block should be fairly easy - I think I am done with the tiny pieces. WAIT -- I am not, as some flowers are coming up and the centers are 3/4" pieces. 

The house is still filled with boxes - I need to break them down and put them in the recycling. I got about half of that done yesterday. And the floor needs a good vacuum and wash. I'll vacuum today, but the cleaning people can do the washing on Tuesday. 

So much more is going on, but that is it for today. BTW -- the scrap class is FULL. I'll work on a distribution list and then send out some information, but since the first class isn't until September 19, we still have loads of time. And there really isn't any homework or things you need - you just show up on September 19. But I do have one small assignment to hand out before the class starts. Don't panic—it's not mandatory, and it won't take much time. 

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

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!