A PORTABLE sewing machine

 OK -- the quilt is done, but it's still on the long arm. I didn't have time to get it off as I have two more presentations this morning, and prepping them was my priority. I'll take it off later today. 

I'm going to take responsibility for the fact that the backing needed to be fixed ON the machine, and I'll take responsibility for the fact that I should NEVER have loaded this because I should have checked. I made an ASSUMPTION as this customer always provides loads of backing. How did I fix it? 

Well, the first thing is JUST DO IT. It's a dreaded job (yes -- I've done it before), but there's no time to lament about fixing it. 

I started by cutting off as much as I could from the side.

Trimming the side off with scissors

So yes, the entire quilt needed to be unrolled, and I used scissors to trim that excess off. 

Rolling the quilt

The next step was to trim the edges of this piece so it would be smooth when sewn to the existing backing. I didn't need to add a wonky piece of fabric, as I had enough issues to deal with. 

Trimming the excess piece

Then I rolled the quilt partially back in place to keep things neat and tidy. 

The quilt is partially rerolled

Then the backing needed to be unpinned from the roller. I don't use the clamps, and if I did, we would have been in a bigger mess because the clamps require more backing fabric than pins. 

Unpinning the backing

I used scissors to trim the selvage off the end of the backing and then got out my PORTABLE sewing machine. 

A portable sewing machine

I know people use their long arms to do this kind of repair. Alas, I haven't learned that skill, and I don't want to because I hope this is the last one. If I don't learn a lesson from this -- well, then I'm not that smart! 

I put the sewing machine on a rolling chair and slowly sew. Actually, I sew about six inches, then roll the chair. Sew another six inches and move the chair. 

But at last, the extra bit was added. Then I had to repin the backing to the roller. The final step was to get the quilt in position so I could finish the last row. 

The quilt is back in place 

Imagine my JOY when I realized that even with the addition, the top is perilously close to the pins holding the backing, so some of the borders must be trimmed. If I had stitched all the way to the edge of the quilt, the needle would have hit a pin or two, which would NOT be good. 

Even with the addition, it's tight!

I think I'll have to trim 3/8" off the border. It's a huge border, so no big deal. Yes -- the customer is aware of the problem. 

About 3/8" will need to be trimmed

Anyway --- I was happy to get that thing done. It seemed to be one nightmare after another, and ALL because I did not check the backing to see if it was large enough. I KNOW better. Lesson learned. That quilt should have been returned to the customer to get a new backing. My mistake. 

The quilt is done!

In light of the extra time that took me, I've had to abandon plans to get any more quilting done this weekend. I have projects to finish before I head out tomorrow morning, so I'll be doing that all afternoon -- after the two clubs this morning. I'm happy to report that all the homework was sent out yesterday, and all the presentations are done for today (I hope!). I still have some geocaching that has to be done TODAY, so I need to sneak out for an hour to do that. Tomorrow is the deadline. Yes -- I know -- I live to deadlines, and that's the way of life in my world!

We live in a nice neighborhood, but how people deal with their garbage is beyond me. I spotted this couch the other day perched precariously on a snowbank. Sure enough -- it is now in the street when it fell from its perch. How long will it stay there? This particular house is notorious for dumping stuff at the curb and not bundling it properly. If I was on the garbage collection team, I'd be leaving HUGE notes on all unbundled garbage. Do people have NO RESPECT for those that have to clean up these big dumps of crap? Obviously NOT! It drives me crazy!

A couch in the street

Apparently, there was significant activity last night at our house or at least in our neighborhood. At 4 AM, a "pack" of coyotes was howling. Not sure why - well, I just Googled it as I mistakenly thought it meant a kill. That would be bad because it would signal other predators to come and share. It's used to call their "pack" together or communicate with each other. And people often mistake the number of coyotes they hear. It sounded like dozens (OK -- more like four or five), but that is a mistake. Often it might be one or two. Who knew? Anyway, Murphy was alert and wanted to go out and chat. She heard the call of the wild! But she wasn't going anywhere. 

This is Lexi sulking because I tossed her off the couch and told her to go outside and play for a while. Man -- when I let her on the couch, she doesn't MOVE for anything. 

MOM -- I don't want to play outside!

I hate when this happens. The way the pitch and valleys of the roof are designed on this house could be better. And we sometimes end up with this on the roof. Or hanging from the eavestrough. 

A HUGE icicle

We'll be getting some very warm weather over the next few days, so hopefully, it'll disappear. So remember the weather two mornings ago? 

BRRR!

And what is the temperature this morning? 

Break out the shorts!

That is just crazy, and when I went for a walk yesterday afternoon, it was a glorious day! You need to have a positive attitude about everything. If you don't, life will be boring and dull. Yep -- I'm a half-full-glass person, to be sure. 

OK -- so another 14.5 KM logged yesterday, and before bed, I was looking at the Fellowship of the Ring map, which is my current Virtual Challenge. OK -- I'm getting tired of that little red guy following me, and I wanted to know who that was and why their pace was so close to mine. This happened all the way through The Shire as well. 

My on the virtual map

OH -- that's the PACE MARKER. I had a little chuckle over that! No wonder it's on track. So all I need to do to "win" this Virtual Challenge (I have a deadline) is stay a wee bit ahead! Then I'll get to the end on time!

Well, that's it for me. Another crazy busy day, and I must get those girls out for their walk. It's going to be positively balmy out there this morning. I can hardly wait!!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!