How to shop for fabric!

It feels like I'm on a treadmill, and it's speeding up with no chance of getting off! But there's no need to panic - everything is fine. Just a tad busy. This is temporary, as December will be pretty much dead. DO NOT LAUGH! How do people do this all the time? 

The second day of training went well, and I think everyone walked out of the room filled with excitement, a bit of trepidation to remember it all, and so much work ahead of them to make samples!

I had all these plans when I got home that I'd turn on the machines and start making more samples, and well, I was tired! So, I made some samples this morning. 

But back to yesterday. I went for a walk in the morning. It was like a spring day -- warm but cloudy and windy. The perfect day for a walk. Nothing was too exciting to see in that neighborhood, but I grabbed a couple of geocaches. This first one was easy to spot - there's a small container right by the black post. 

Easy to spot geocache

I can imagine in the summer, with all the leaves on the trees, that this would NOT be so easy to spot. There are advantages to doing some geocaching in the fall!

The area around the geocache

OK -- so what do you think these are? Art? Bike racks? Benches without a place to sit? I've no idea, and they were on a street corner, so not exactly a place to park a bike!

Art?

And this guy was at our hotel. I'm not into selfies, but he was about my height. 

That's a BIG duck!

While I was out walking, I passed two Tim's. I didn't bother to stop, even though I was getting hungry as I had looked, and Tim's was very close to the hotel. However, when I arrived, it was one of those in the gas station, so there was no place to sit down. CRAP! 

I decided to go to the hotel to see what they had for breakfast options. No buffet, no complimentary breakfast. You ordered from an order desk, and they brought the food to you. Hmm! Not what I wanted, but I had no choice. 

I ordered steel-cut oats, which cost $10 plus tax. It better be good because I can buy TWO containers of steel-cut oats for $10. 

The bowl was HUGE. It came with a few blueberries and a small jug of maple syrup. Yes --- it was excellent, and I wasn't grumbling about the $10. If the food is good, I'm OK with the price (most times), but if the food is crappy, then I'm not so happy. This was great!

My morning oatmeal

I wasn't needed for the first part of the meeting, and I needed some fabric. Northcott wasn't too far away, and I still have an account with them. So off I went. I spoke to the warehouse manager when I got there, and before I knew it, a few people came to the back to say HI. It's like they put it on a loudspeaker in the front -- Elaine has returned! I haven't been back since my services were no longer required in 2017! I don't even remember if that is the correct year. 

I was looking at the sale fabric, and I heard that if I buy 25 bolts, I can get it even cheaper. NEVER say that to a quilter. So I looked around, and I evaluated the car space, and I calculated the budget, and well, this happened. 

Oops -- so much for sticking to the budget

I was curious to see if everything would fit in the car on the way home. But I'm good! This was the back of the car. My sample suitcase is on top of the embroidery unit for the Designer EPIC 3. NO -- I could NOT see out the window, but I'm OK with that. 

The back of the car

The side behind the driver's seat was jammed with bolts of fabric and thread. 

Behind the driver's seat

The other side was also jammed with more bolts and the Designer EPIC 3. Notice that it was protected with the cover AND a quilt. You do NOT want to damage or scratch that screen. Thank goodness I did NOT take the box!

The other side of the car

And the front seat was also full! I don't need a bigger car -- I can fit a lot into this one. 

The front seat

Knowing that there are MANY quilts to be quilted for Quilts of Valour, I picked up 11 bolts to help with the backings. I had better get myself organized and get some of those quilts done! That's a job for December and January. 

Bolts for Quilts of Valour quilt backings

And then, I got a few bolts that were not on sale, but I needed some neutral backgrounds to stitch embroidery on. 

Stock up on neutrals

And then, I got a variety of blenders, also to be used for embroidery backgrounds. 

My new blender cache

So that was a great haul! My credit card went OUCH when I checked out, but we had a talk on the way back to the meeting! It's OK! 

I must say that it felt good to be back in the warehouse! But would I still want to be working there? I don't think so. I much prefer what I'm doing now, and there are WAY MORE toys to play with! Yep -- I'm in my happy place. 

I went back to the meeting, and I helped out with the rest of the morning session and then the afternoon. OH MY -- there is so much new on this embroidery/sewing machine. My mind was blown about one hour into the first day! And now I have to pack all that into three hours! Even if you are NOT in the market for a new embroidery machine, why not attend one of the events -- we are going to have FUN!

Hamilton Sewing, Hamilton, Ontario - November 9 - Thursday

K&A Sewing Studio, Ingersol, Ontario - November 10 - Friday

Gem Sewing - North Bay, Ontario - November 15 - Wednesday

Gem Sewing - Sudbury, Ontario (part of a retreat) - November 17 - Friday

Brampton Sew and Serge, Brampton, Ontario- November 24 - Friday (905) 874-1564

Carellen Sewing, Winnipeg, Manitoba - November 27

I couldn't sleep last night. Of course - I'm tired, but I can't sleep. So, I got up and started sorting and prepping all the samples for this morning. That takes oodles of time -- do I have fabric, stabilizer, bobbin threads, top threads? What about the design? Is that ready? Lots of things to get organized. But when I went to sleep on the couch with Lexi, everything was done. 

This morning, I had one embroidery machine working while I stitched on another, and wouldn't you know it --- BOTH machines had issues simultaneously! Of course, they did, because I was in a hurry!

However, I got both fixed and back working and completed almost everything I wanted to get done. The rest will be used for demos! I know -- how clever is that? 

Everything is now back at the front door -- the sample suitcase is rejigged. The machine is by the door, along with the bags of projects and supplies and several bags of technology. WAIT -- do not forget to pack a few clothes. That's always the last bag and the least important! As long as I have something on, I don't really care, but I do want to clean up a bit for the presentations. 

M and Bear made it home safely, and Dillon picked them up. Nothing is sweeter than seeing such a big, happy smile on your kid's face. OK -- Dillon brought flowers - I'd smile as well! And Little Bear was on the floor --- dancing around like a madman! So cute!

On that note, I'm out of here. I'm off to a seven-day quilt retreat. I know -- don't ask. It's going to be weird as I'll be working, and well -- it's just going to be weird. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!