Just an ordinary day! LOL!!!

AHA -- the wasitabands without elastic are yoga waistbands. I should have guessed that, but it's what everyone is wearing to the gym and outside the gym! And yes—buying shorts in the men's department, and even better if they come from the thrift store, probably works as well!!! Thankfully, we have so many choices, we are bound to find something that works for us. 

We have all had those days where we intend to do one thing and something totally different happens. It's kind of like my August - I was supposed to be relaxing the entire month, and well, that wasn't the case. But you know what? That's just how I roll. I'm not a relaxing kind of person. WAIT -- don't get me wrong - I can be a slug in a heartbeat, but I need to be doing something - just not perhaps at every moment. 

If I were to completely retire - would I survive? I'm not sure. I have loads to do, but if I were the one to dictate the schedules 100% - would I be happy? Thankfully, I have friends who take charge of my schedule from time to time to keep me on track. And work does as well. I would be bored out of my mind otherwise, even with all the things I have to do. 

I had some stuff to do in the morning, and then I was ready to go downstairs to start cleaning up the cutting table and get that sewing machine out of the box. DH arrives in the kitchen and asks if I could pick up lunch when I went to the recycling depot. WAIT -- I wasn't exactly planning on going to the recycling depot that moment. I had contemplated doing it today. Then I remembered he was going to be playing golf, and thus I wouldn't have a car. Shoot! 

So I quickly packed the car with easy stuff. I grabbed all the ballast that had been sitting at the curb waiting for the scrap guy to come around, and he never did. So I grabbed some of the crappy outdoor lights and loaded them in the car. I didn't have time to sort things, so I grabbed the big things that didn't need sorting. 

Then I finished packing up the last boxes for my SIL and loaded them in the car since the UPS store is not far from the recycling depot. The UPS store owner knows me from all the quilts I sent to the US, so I get very good service from him. He didn't like the way one box was packed, so we opened it up and added more packing. 

My load of stuff for UPS and the recycling depot

You have to admit there is some satisfaction in tossing this stuff into the bin. Heave ho! 

The white ballasts are now in the bin.

But they will take all the wiring because someone along the way strips the wire to get the copper on the inside. My kind of people. So now I'm going to sort out another load and will take it another day. I don't have time until I'm back from my whirlwind trip. 

I have to say that it is so refreshing to have clutter-free zones in the house. At the end of the day, it takes mere seconds to get things back where they belong. We have a couple of rooms that fit that bill, and there are others in various stages of tidiness. It all works, but the more I clean and tidy, the more I want it clean and tidy. DH hasn't quite subscribed to that agenda. He wants neat, but doesn't know what that means! 

After lunch, I remembered I had purchased a new bra from the lingerie store but never picked it up, and I found out the store was closing. Apparently, they had been trying to contact me at my home number. So I was off on another errand, and at the same time, I was going to stop at the garden shop to get that weeding tool. 

At the lingerie shop, I bought a couple of other bras since they were on sale and I'm stocked up for a long time. I just don't want to add or subtract too many pounds, or they won't fit properly! That's OK - my weight is pretty steady. 

The garden store was a delight to visit, and I hadn't been there in years. Oh my --- look what they sell!

You can buy puzzles at the gardening store.

Yep -- that's a rack of puzzles. The darn things are everywhere! I did not buy a puzzle. 

They also have small needlework kits. I guess this is for the backyard. I mean to do while lounging in the backyard! No kits followed me home. 

Cross stitch and punch needle kits at the garden store.

They had some lovely furniture, and I looked to see if I could find a replacement for my zero-gravity chair, but I didn't find anything I liked. I've thought of this egg chair, but it's so big and, well, I'm not sure I would like it as it would fill the gazebo. So it stayed in the store. 

An egg chair at the garden shop

But yes—did you glimpse that orange bench? 

A beautiful orange bench

It's beautiful, but where would I put that? Actually, I have a spot for that bench. Hmmmmmm

And they also had this orange Adirondack-style chair. It was very comfy, and I contemplated that, but I prefer something I can stretch out in. So no furniture came home with me. 

The orange Adirondack chair

However, something else caught my eye while I was looking at the furniture. Look how beautiful this lawn ornament is! I added it to the collection along the back of the fence. 

My new sunflower garden ornament

And this metal flower as well. 

And a new metal flower for the backyard

They add a bit of color to the backyard. WAIT—did I get the weeding tool? Of course I did. 

The weeding tool and new garden gloves

I also picked up a new pair of garden gloves, so I'm all set to do my gardening clean-up this morning. That weeding tool works amazingly to clean between the boards on the deck. That was one of the reasons I bought it. It wasn't expensive, and I should have bought two, but they only had one. Now to see if it removes those errant weeds along the edges of the gardens and rocks. 

At last I made it downstairs! And I cleaned up several more bags of triangles. Thankfully, a few more held triangles that were no longer on my radar screen. So they got tossed into the scrap bucket. 

Triangles that are too small

I even found a couple that had been sewn together, and those got tossed as well. We all know that with anything, you must set boundaries or guidelines - what do you want to keep, what will you use, etc., and then you need to stick to that. Don't second-guess yourself because someone else does things differently. Make your rules and then stick to them!

Some of the now too-small triangles were sewn.

While I have made inroads into clearing those bags - I'm aiming for at least 4 a day, there are a lot of bags, and this could present a tripping hazard, so while I'm trying to clean the floor (vacuuming), I picked up the bags and put them in a bigger bag to clear the floor. Safety first!!!!

Still a lot of bags of triangles

I got the grass section cut to replace the one I made in the rooster block for Down on the Farm. I was hoping to get that sewn, but that didn't happen. It's on the agenda for today. 

The new grass section for the rooster block

The pile of scrap was exploding out of the box, and the two pet mats got filled and serged shut. 

The pile of scraps

The serger is now on the floor, and the new PFAFF creative icon 3 is sitting on the table with its embroidery unit. I can't wait to sit and play with it today. It's an amazing sewing/embroidery machine with so many cool features. I'll be doing a Facebook Live on it on September 9th, so be sure to mark that in your calendar so you can watch. 

Although I have an appointment with the physio today, I hope to get some serious sample making done. 

I still have so much to clean up - the shed, the garage, and the office; however, I don't have time at this moment. I hope to take two more loads of crap to the recycling depot before winter, and that will make me happy. I have boxes of books to schedule a pick-up and just so many other things. The hardest part of the clean-up is finding places to take things, and now I have enough places to take things that I can focus on clearing it all out, and then I'll have space to deal with what is left. 

While I keep saying I think we have everything dug out from the deep corners of the house, I keep finding other things. However, I think this is it - I honestly think we have hit all the areas at least once. But I notice that it's time to start at the top and go through the closets again, and this time, I need to be even more ruthless than last time. When the drawers don't close properly, it means you have too many clothes. 

While I was placing the new lawn ornaments in the backyard, look who plunked herself down and looked like an ornament. She looks so beautiful in that picture. 

MOM - can I be a lawn ornament? 

She is no longer on the pain/anti-inflammatory meds and seems to be doing just fine. She is still freaked out about staying in the house when we go to bed. If we try to force her to stay in the house, she goes mad and wants to sleep on the leather media chairs, which I don't really want her sleeping on. She's allowed to sleep on the loveseat in the living room, which is bigger and softer. But NO - she wants to sleep in that chair. 

MOM - I need a bigger chair

And last night, I got up at 2:30? and noticed her in Lexi's raised bed. Of course, I disturbed her and then shut the door, and she wasn't happy. The next thing I knew, she made it up the stairs by herself (GASP) and then slept in the bedroom for the remainder of the night. I should pay attention to that saying - let sleeping dogs lie! 

For my downtime last night, after I pulled the machine out of the box, I dug out the next puzzle. OK—I have a stack on the table of what is next, so I just pulled the top one off the pile. This one is doors and should be somewhat easy since it has big patches of bright colors, but there's lots of grey, brown, and black filler on the tops and bottoms of the doors, so I'm sure it won't be super easy. Can I finish it by Monday night? 

The next puzzle

I got this in a recent email. In case you are wondering what I will do with all my HSTs—there are LOADS of blocks you can make with them. Yes - mine are small, but does that matter? Absolutely NOT! And if you add sashing (or not), you can get some cool patterns. I have books just for HSTs, so it won't be difficult to find a pattern. The issue will be the color and value!! And deciding on one! Or two or three! 

As you can probably see, that came from the Quilting Daily people. 

As you know, we get all kinds of crazy things in our feeds, and this one came from "thought.minds" on Instagram. Oh my goodness -- they have so many of these mindsets, or philosophies, or whatever you want to call them, and they are wonderfully illustrated. But this one? This was how my day went yesterday!

Of the 15 included in this set, I think I concurred or followed all of them. Most of them were awesome life lessons; however, there is one I would like to change. I feel like I spend a bit of time on each line, but too much on the longer lines on the left and not enough on the lines on the right. What are they? 

From the left: to criticize, to gossip, to get involved, to encourage, and to help. 

Well, there you have it - another crazy day in my supposedly simple life. How does this happen? It's just me, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

But now I must focus and get some major accomplishments under my belt today! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

What's your waistband made of?

OH - it was a slug on the rug kind of day! Well, not exactly. I went to the gym this morning, and instead of using the spin bike, I am trying something else. It's a sideways elliptical - I must check the name because I don't think that is what it's called. 

I do fifteen minutes - it gives me cardio, and you can change your position so while you can stand, you can also do a squat while still moving sideways. OK - that sounds bizarre, but it's challenging, and my legs were rubber after 15 minutes. Well, I didn't think they were too bad, and I stand for 2 minutes, then do the squat for 1. So in the 15 minutes, I don't do much squatting.

Then I spent the next 45 minutes doing some stretching and some of the exercises recommended to strengthen my legs. WOW -- these are just the chair squats, the step up and step down, plus a few core exercises. My legs were tired when I was done; I even got my heart rate up while doing those, and they are SIMPLE. 

The icing on the cake was I also had a massage a couple of hours later, and I was done for the day! 

I needed a good nap, but that wasn't happening because we had a massive rain storm, and the girls weren't too happy, so I got up to be with them. But I did have a better nap later. And I did NOT have enough water throughout the day! 

I feel OK today, but I'm off to meet with Brooke, so perhaps we can work on the arms. My legs don't hurt - they are just tired. 

I also went to the mall for lunch with a friend, and well, we have a new project to work on, but more about that another day! 

I tidied a wee bit in Studio B, and that was it! I was too tired to even start a new puzzle. Let's hope that today is going to be a super productive day.

Here is the mess on my cutting table. There were a lot of scraps from the stitch-and-flip corners on the Down on the Farm quilt, which I have been trying to keep corralled in the scrap bucket at the end of each day or block. But a few other shapes, overcuts, and pieces I miscut have accumulated, and now it's time to deal with them to make the cutting mat usable again. 

The cutting table is a mess.

I even attempted to recut the grass section for the rooster, but it started pouring rain again, and the girls were quite agitated, so I came upstairs to be with them. While DH tries, he is not the comforting parent in our house. As I lay on the loveseat in the living room, I even contemplated moving my jigsaw puzzle table there so I could be with the girls while I worked. 

Hmmm —that's a possibility—there is room. 

I still have the grass fabric to cut for that replacement section, and I hope to get that done today. I don't know if I'll sew it, as I want to start making more samples. I'm now down to five days before I leave, and while that is plenty of time, we all know things can happen, or plans can go awry. 

I sorted through another four or five bags of the triangles that I pulled from that basket. Thankfully, a couple of the bags contained pieces that were way too small to deal with. Let's be realistic - many people wouldn't even touch the triangles that make the 1" finished HSTs. 

Another group of triangles that are too small

So the goal today is to finish cleaning off the cutting table—OK, just half of it. See how quickly that extra stuff accumulated on the other half of the cutting table. I didn't do anything, and BAM—all that stuff appeared! I have two pet mats partially filled, and clearing out the scraps on the cutting table will finish both. Then, once they are serged shut, I can move the serger off that table and set up the new machine. 

Then we'll see how I make out with samples. 

Someone asked me to guess how many HSTs are in that basket. OK - since they are not HSTs, let me guess how many are in that tin I have. Remember this tin? Maybe that is what she asked me. Hey -- it's early!

One tin of completed HSTs that finish at 1"

The one where the little devils are trying to escape out the bottom. How is that even happening? 

How are they even trying to escape?

Hmmm --- how does one even go about guessing? I'm going to use that quilt I shared the other day as a reference. 

A quilt made mostly with HSTs

That's a pretty big quilt, and there isn't much white in it, so it's mostly made of HSTs. They are 1" finished, and I believe she said there were close to 3,300 HSTs in the quilt. That quilt top wouldn't fit in that box, so there can't be 3,000 HSTs in it. I'm going to guess there are 1,000 units in that box. 

I am NOT counting them!

I am going to take one day in September to spend the entire day sewing them and trying to sort them into two groups. You'll have to wait for that - actually, I probably won't share until I've shared it with my Scrap quilt group. 

And yes, sadly, that class is filled, and it only took three days. At this point, I'm not planning on running a second session, UNLESS there is a lot of interest and people didn't get signed up. I will have my material prepped, so I could run it again if there is enough demand. 

If you are still wondering about the other classes, they are listed here, and while I haven't checked yet, I believe there is still plenty of room in all of them. 

OK -- let's talk about shopping for shorts. I live in shorts in the summer, and it's always hard to move to pants at the end of the season. 

I am not a fan of "dressier" shorts that have a waistband like jeans. Aren't most waistbands these days moving to elastic? 

But here are some things to consider. OH -- let me specify that my shorts are probably more athletic-type shorts. And remember how I said I can't stand exposing my neck (no V-necks) or wearing sleeveless tops, but I'm happy as a clam to wear short shorts. Go figure. I do not have long lithe legs, but I like shorter shorts. 

Here's the waistband on one of the shorts I bought for the Camino. And rather than saving them only for my hikes, I've decided to wear them as everyday shorts. I love them because they have a side-seam pocket that fits my cell phone perfectly. And the sides are open and don't adhere to your legs, so on a hot day, they are very cool, which is why I chose them for walking in Spain. 

The waistband on my Camino shorts

But we are here to talk about waistbands. The waistband is wide, which is much more comfortable than a narrow waistband, but then the elastic will roll over and twist as you pull them on and off. And let's face it, none of us has that perfectly flat belly, so you know that waistband is going to roll. So I add an extra line of stitching to help prevent the elastic from twisting, and it works. 

This is my other pair of shorts that I purchased for walking/vacationing, and they also have a wide waistband, but the manufacturer put in a couple of rows of stitching to prevent the elastic from going crazy. They feel good and again, big pockets in the side seam to hold the phone. 

More lines of stitching in the waistband

I would NOT wear either of those to the gym, as the legs are very open, and when you are on the floor doing stretches and such, it probably doesn't give you much privacy! But for walking and standing, they are great. That sounds a bit weird, but trust me - they are not workout shorts - running, yet, but not stretching. 

But when I went shopping for shorts the other day, things have changed. I don't think I mentioned the "new" gear that people are wearing to the gym. I don't have time to chat about that today, but look at the new waistbands. Instead of elastic, which can break down, these shorts are strictly made from fabric - including the waistband. I will admit they are super comfy - no elastic cutting into your waist and they don't really roll down. Although I have not yet worn these shorts. Notice that the waistband is the same color as the shorts. These are good for working out at the gym - the leg is tight. 

Fabric for the waistband - no elastic

Now look at these shorts. Again, these have a looser leg, so they will probably be just for walking, and not for working out at the gym, but look at that waistband. What does that remind you of? 

A waistband on new shorts 

Yep -- that reminds me of maternity pants! The band is stretchy and made of a different fabric. 

I will say they are super comfy. You barely know you have those shorts on! 

There is only one issue with these. You no longer have that elastic at your waist to remind you NOT to have that extra donut!!! However, I have gotten myself into a good routine with food, so that will not be a problem, but it would be easy to grab that extra donut and not feel like you need to pop a button to accommodate your expanded/bloated waistline!!!!

I know -- the silly things that cross my mind! I did buy several shorts as they were on sale, and some of them are for the gym - I have NOT bought new workout wear in MANY years, and I deserve a little treat. I'll still wear my older ones - there is nothing wrong with them, but I was having to do laundry a bit more frequently than I wanted! 

On that note, I'm out of here. I have a date with Brooke, and I don't want to be late!!!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Done, done, and DONE!

As for the boxes, I told the electricians to leave them. Yes - I know! But they will just dump it all in the garbage, and I can't live with that. So I separated all the junk into the garbage and put the boxes and packing foam in the recycling! I can't help myself! I hate when people just throw everything away without sorting. I am my own worst enemy! That's why I'm so slow when I'm tidying up!

However, there is quite a mess in the garage at the moment, after all the garbage was removed from the backyard. While it looks a mess, it's not that bad. And I plan to take a trip to the city's waste area, as I have other things in the garage that need to be dumped off. 

The mess in the garage

Again - I know most people just leave it at the curb, and when you do, it all goes in the landfill. But I have wood, metal, electronics, and some old appliances that should go in the proper bin, so I'll pack up a carload this week and make that happen. DH wanted to go see a movie, but I might forgo it and get more of this cleaning done. I am not around all of next week, and I'd like it done before I go. We can wait two weeks to see the movie. I also have samples that need to be made. 

If I'm lucky, I can fit it all in one load and be done with a lot of crap. But I suspect I have a lot of sorting to do in the garage before it's all dealt with. That's OK. Even in its current state, our garage looks way better than most in the neighborhood. 

The electricians (2) spent the entire day in the backyard, and it looks amazing. Some old lights hadn't worked in years, the gazebo plug wasn't working properly, and it was an issue keeping the heater and aerator running in the winter. We ran an extension cord across the backyard from the house. Lots of small niggly things that had just been left over the years. 

Look at one of the plugs on the side of the gazebo. No wonder it didn't work - an entire hole had blown in the back of the plug. How safe was that?

A hole in the back of the electrical plug

I happily wound up the extension cord and brought it into the house. 

Winding up the extension cord

As predicted, the morning was chaotic. I drove DH to the train, and on the way I explained the morning and said (jokingly), "How will I ever cope with all the chaos? I'll be frazzled." His reply was, "You will do just fine; you can handle the chaos," or something to that effect. I believe that was a compliment, and that's why he trusts me to do all this stuff without any interference from him. First, he can't be bothered to deal with any house-related things, and second, I am calm and can handle the chaos. 

Once I was back, I managed to sneak in a walk with Murphy, and she wanted to sniff everything, especially this giant branch, which she attempted to bring home. 

MOM - can I bring this stick home?

Silly girl! Then the cleaning people arrived, and I was still buzzing around trying to put the last of the misplaced things away and put the recycling out, etc. Yes -- isn't it strange how we tend to clean before the cleaners come? I'll tell you all about that story another day. And for me - it really isn't about cleaning - it's about tidying, so they can clean! 

I managed a quick walk with Lexi and happened to meet our landscaper at a job site down the street. Perfect timing, so I asked about the path light in the front that wasn't working. They had installed that light when the front was done. Turns out the units are not under warranty, but the bulbs can be replaced, so he is now in charge of that. 

The electricians arrived just as I was about to leave for the vet with Lexi, so I spent a few minutes getting the lights organized in the backyard and checking what they needed. 

Then Miss Lexi and I were off to the vet, and she was so happy. The first thing she did was walk up to the scale, which was in front of the window, and she could have stood there all day! 

MOM - the view is amazing!!!

But when I went to take her to the examination room, she wasn't too happy about that. She got a good check-up, and all seems to be OK, although, like all older dogs, her hind legs are weak. Aquatherapy! I guess we need to build one of those small pools with the built-in wave flow so the dogs and I can swim in a very small space. I am not a swimmer, so it would mostly be for them! I think they are called swim spas. I just checked the price - on sale, the cheapest - $30K. I think we will pass on the swim spa!!!!

While I like the new vet very much, the technician is very timid (she's very young) when it comes to taking blood. Just find the vein and jam the needle in - OK - so that sounds a bit harsh, but you know what I mean. She hesitates. It took 20 minutes to get bloodwork from Lexi, and I decided to leave the room in case she was more comfortable without me there. Of course, they got it when I wasn't in the room! Lexi is such a princess! 

Back home, the cleaners were gone, but the electricians were still here. Theirs was an all-day job. 

I think they left around 3:30 PM. That was a total of 7 days of electricians, as we had two people working yesterday. The invoice was within my budget, so I was OK with that. I have two lights to return, which is pretty good considering the way they were purchased, but everything I did purchase was amazing. One light just wouldn't fit where I wanted it, and we didn't need the second one. More on that light another day. 

I forgot to take pictures during the day, but I got a couple in the night. OK -- so I was waiting with anticipation for the lights to come on last night, but they didn't! However, when I got up early this morning, the lights were on. I think we need to have a look at the timer to see how it was set. 

Here's what the pond now looks like at night - well, technically, it will be only the evening, but for last night, they came on sometime during the night. 

The new lights in the backyard

And there's my resident frog who has been hiding in the gazebo all summer. He is now sitting under one of the lights. 

The backyard frog!

The gazebo also got some work done, but I didn't manage to get photos. Hopefully tonight, but the floor looks so much better without that massive extension cord sitting there. I just need one more thing for the gazebo, and I think I have no place but to get it from my favorite online store. I must order that today. 

I have already started a new list for the next round with the electricians. A new outlet in Studio B, a lighted house number, and some small things. So I will have my list handy, and if we think of something, we will add it to the list. No MORE waiting! 

What's left? I need to clean out the shed - I've been meaning to do that for a while, and the electricians needed to get in there - there's an electrical panel in there for the backyard, and so lots of stuff got pulled out. I shoved it all back in last night, but I need to get it organized and buy an outdoor box for the cushions. I'll put that in the shed, but I need to get one. It might be a runaround day today. I can't afford the time, but I might take the time to get everything done. I'll see how it goes. 

I packed up four boxes and took them to UPS to ship to my SIL. I was able to get two boxes for some of the specific items I had (I needed certain sizes), and I now have those, so I hope to pack another three boxes today and get those off as well. I'm striking while the iron is hot, and I am ready to get rid of things. Two trips to UPS and it should all be gone. 

But the big question, I know, is: what happened in Studio B? Did the final block get done? With all the phone calls and such, I wasn't sure that the block would get done. I don't think I have ever ripped out as much as I did on this block. I just seemed to make mistake after mistake. My head just wasn't there, yet I needed to get that block complete. 

By lunchtime, this is all I had accomplished, which was slightly more than half. 

What was completed by lunchtime

I stopped to mess with some of the triangles in that basket that was on the floor. I decided to pull out all the plastic bags filled with triangles. How many could there be? 

OMG -- I think I pulled over 40 small bags of triangles from the basket. Those would be bags that someone else gave me, or bags where I put the cutoffs from a specific project. 

Over 40 bags of triangles for HSTs

And of course, when I took all that out, the basket wasn't nearly as full. 

The basket is practically empty after removing all the bags.

With this Down on the Farm project, I have managed to sew quite a few HSTs, so that is good, and there's a lot more to sew. 

I sorted through a couple of the bags, and thankfully I found a few that were too small. 

Triangles are too small.

I found a bag that would give me 3/4" finished, and then I just gave myself a lecture and said, "You do not need to rescue every piece of fabric in the world. Let it go."| And these are now in my overflowing scrap bin. 

More triangles that are too small

It was only after dinner that I could get back to the block, and I literally had to force myself to finish it. Not because I didn't want to, as I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. But I needed it done, so I kept looking at the clock, and by 6:30, I was done! And here it is - the cat block!

The last block

And yes, I used the new fabric for the grass, and you can see it just fine. The grass gets a bit lost in the post, but guess what? You can still see it just fine, and I'm not changing it. I pulled the three fabrics needed to replace the grass section in the rooster block, and I might just redo that section today. I won't have time for the turtle, but it sure would be nice to be completely done with this quilt. At least get all the blocks done. I have the grass in the rooster block and the turtle to redo because of contrast issues. 

Now here's the thing - as I was sewing this block, I thought to myself how much easier this would have been to sew the quilt during a sew-along. Then I would only have to deal with one or two blocks a month. I would feel like I'm making progress, and if there were any frustrations, it would only be one block. I would also be getting other things done! Hmmm -- there's a lot to be said for sewing in a sew-along! 

And don't forget that I am very thorough in my pattern testing, so I was looking for consistency in the cutting instructions, the written directions, and the diagrams. That takes a lot of time, and if there is an error, then I flag it and have to go back and double-check. Plus I wrote it in an email to the designer. 

All is good. I'm waiting on a new, clean copy because I have two things I want to recheck, and I need it to do that. 

I think I've been working on this thing nonstop since July 25. And nonstop is an incorrect term, as there were a few days when I didn't touch it. It was an intense 20 days, and I feel like I have got nothing else done, which is exactly that in my sewing world. 

I swear technology just hates me. I had something to scan yesterday - 15 pages- and when I went to scan in the afternoon, the scanning app on the computer just looked at me and said, "I don't think so." I found something else to do, but I checked a couple of times during the day. 

Finally, when I was about to sit in the backyard and enjoy my book and some watermelon, that's when it decided I could scan. So I took the time to scan the document. And of course, when I went to send it, my email said it was too big. So I had to zip the file this morning and send it. 

Sigh..................

But everything is coming together. The entire upstairs is looking pretty spiffy. One bathroom is completely empty. Studio U needs a bit more work, but it's mostly sorting quilts. It's just looking good. The only problem is that now -- everything needs to be put away immediately! But that's only the rooms where everything has a place! One day, the entire house will be like that. And I LOVE IT!!!

Now I need to tackle the office, the shed, and the garage. Which shouldn't be too big of a deal. I might handle the shed today and get everything organized in there. All this decluttering takes time! But it sure feels good when it's done. This will be the second go-around for the shed, but when things don't have a home - well, you'll see what I mean. 

On that note, I'm off to the gym today. I didn't have time for any stretches or exercises yesterday, and I need to make that happen today. But I was lugging boxes and moving around, so it's not a big deal to miss a day!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

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!!!!