Show n tell

We've all had them - days that just do go wrong from the moment you get up. That seemed to be yesterday. However, that was yesterday, today is a brand new day and it's going to be a good day! Why? Because I'm going to make it a good day!

I didn't get as much done as I would have liked yesterday, but that's OK. I learned some lessons so, from that perspective, it was a good day.

One quick note about our Virtual Challenges. Ronda had mentioned that it would be nice if we could see places of interest along the way. It doesn't need to be every point of interest, but just a few to make the trip a bit more realistic. 

Well, I got a postcard in my e-mail yesterday. I'm currently in Springfield, Illinois and I got a postcard with information about Springfield. That was interesting. I wonder if the others will get the same postcard when they pass through?

My Virtual Postcard

Can you believe that January is almost over? Where the heck did this month go?

I did manage to get to Monday sewing, although I was doing computer work. But I was OK with that.

I snagged some show n tell photos from the group. This is Summer Moon, made by Diane. This is the quilt that we'll be starting in March at The Hobby Horse. I'll be providing loads of tips as we go through this book so you should get yourself signed up! The store is closed for holidays right now so I'll remind you again.

Summer Moon

Sheila was a wee bit behind with her blocks for North Star. This is her owl block. It's adorable and I love that busy print she used for the background. I need to break out of my shell and make a quilt with a busy background.

Owen the Owl

Heather has been working on this Block of the Month for a while and it's now together! The colors are totally stunning. She can no longer call herself a beginner quilter!!!

Heather's Block of the Month

OK --- so I learned something about zippers. The zipper number refers to the width across the coils. AHA -- I never knew that. I found this site with incredible amounts of zippers, but don't forget - if you're local, you can find all kinds of zippers at Nova Sewing Center in Hamilton. And I have still to check out Len's Designer Fabrics in Toronto. I learned from chatting to people yesterday that when Designer Fabrics (Parkdale) closed its doors in 2018, Len's bought some of the stock and converted their traditional store on Orfus Road into only sewing (garments, quilting, home dec.) and craft store. That's ONLY for that one location. Hence the new name - Len's Designer Fabric Store. Boy - I'm totally out of the loop. I've visited both of those stores on numerous occasions, but just not lately. And by lately - I mean NOT in the last 4 years!

Since neither of those stores was a quilt store (although they both sold quilt fabrics), I didn't keep up. Hey - you CANNOT keep up with everything. So, if you know of something important happening in the garment/sewing world, send me a note so I can keep up and I can share.

I've been doing some research on this whole slow fashion, slow quilting, slow sewing movement. It's all about sustainability. Buying less of everything, but buying better quality. Using decorative stitching for mending rather than discarding. I think it's fabulous and it's about time that we started to take a better interest in this as the landfills are overflowing with textiles of all kinds. 

I also noticed that several designers are bringing their manufacturing process back to Canada. Yeah!!! There's a lot of information on the internet that discusses all that. It's fascinating and it means there is hope.

I started to read another book last night (The Warehouse by Rob Hart) and I found this quote in the front of the book.

"I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth or shapes it into a garment will starve in the process."   U.S. President Benjamin Harrison, 1891.


HOLY --- doesn't that speak volumes!!! I can't wait to read the book - it's kind of a spoof on that big internet retailer and how it becomes an entity that DICTATES our entire lives.

Don't forget to check out QUILTsocial as I explore the PREMIER ECQ (Embroidery Cut Quilt) software. Just wait until you see what I've created with it. It'll blow your socks off.

On that note, I've got loads to get done today. I'm supposed to be working on community project stuff - like making pet mats and cutting more fleece. I might do that this afternoon after I get my two deadline projects completed. Oh, shoot - I'll move the community projects to tomorrow so I'm not stressing myself.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!