TEAM work!

For our American friends who celebrated President's Day yesterday, we got to celebrate FAMILY Day! I don't even remember when they started that day or why. Was it because we needed a stat holiday in February, and Valentine's didn't cut it? 

AH -- If you check the history, it started in the province of Alberta in 1990 to recognize the importance of the home and family of their founding pioneers, and it has been adopted by most other provinces since. We've had Family Day in Ontario since 2008. 

Oh, you will be sick of me talking about the EXIT game, but we solved the puzzle last night! It was a team effort, to be sure. I got the first part of it -- super easy. But now, what the heck do we do with this? I had a brilliant idea, and that got us one step closer. Now what? We were still perplexed. Then I discovered the next step- this is a process of talking aloud and hoping something will pop out of your head!

OK, so I got the "sentence" code, but what do I do with that? Then DH came to the rescue and solved the final part! A total team effort!!! We would NOT be able to do these on our own. I can't wait until we start the "hard" ones! 

It was a bit of a puttering day while I listened to the ladies on Monday Sewing. By the way, even with all the puttering, that section of the cutting table is CLEAR!!!

Messing with quilt backs while on Monday's Zoom call

I had been determining what backing I would use for that large play-panel quilt. Now that it has a home, I wanted something somewhat nice and consistent on the back. Thanks to the group, I found what I was looking for online, and it was ordered. I have two panels left over, and they found a home yesterday, along with the fabric I was going to use for the backing for this one. I didn't have enough, so that was the problem.  

I would NOT have been able to do that on my own. It's TEAM work. So that was a very exciting moment when I got that problem solved. 

I was also looking for a backing for that bicycle quilt, and I dug through my two (shhhhhh!!!) baskets of bicycle fabric as I knew I had a couple of large pieces. I found this in flannel. Hmm -- that's pretty bright and doesn't really go with the front other than it has bicycles on it. So I returned to the two baskets, and YES -- I found another piece of flannel bicycle fabric that was more suitable.  

Flannel fabric for a quilt back

I didn't take a picture of that. Because it's flannel and the top is cotton, I washed it and just heard the dryer shut off! Done!! I may have to do some fancy piecing to make it fit, but at least it's not directional like the orange one is. 

Since I was on a roll, I searched for another UFO I'd tried to find. I was pretty sure I knew where it was, but I hadn't located it the last time I looked. This time, I looked HARD, and guess what? I found it!!

Another UFO surfaced

This also has a home now, so it's time to work on it. Those are HAND-EMBROIDERED (by me) blocks that I did YEARS ago. 

Then, it was time to trim some HSTs. I don't know why that came up, but it seemed the right thing to do. And they have to be trimmed at some point. 

One basket of HSTs to trim

I need an electrical outlet at my cutting table. I had to cut on this table,, which is way too short for me, but it was OK for just the few I trimmed at that point. I lost power to my laptop with no warning. I saw a message: "battery is low," and poof - it shut down! 

Trimming HSTs

But even after the call waoverne and I had a few minutes, I continued to press the little things. 

Pressing HSTs

And during the day, I managed to get quite a few done. This is only part of what I accomplished. 

My trimmed HSTs

In the future, my goal is to trim as I sew, and that's what I've been doing with the Barn Star Sampler HST leftovers. So, no more accumulation. That seems to be a significant problem for quilters. We prepare things for a rainy day, and that rainy day never comes, and then we end up with a HUGE mess!!!

In my sorting, I unearthed this little bag. It's a fishing tackle bag, perfect for hand work. Since I'm not doing much of that these days, I decided to empty the bag. 

Time to empty this bag of handwork supplies

I found needles, buttons, a seam ripper, floss, and an OLD $20 bill!!

OH -- a found treasure!

I'll hang onto the bag as it's an excellent little travel case and quite sturdy!!

Then, this was also sitting on my cutting table. 

My Laurel Birch hand bag

I have used this bag for many years,, and it's starting to look sad. It's been put away somewhere and I dug it out the other day. 

The corners are worn out

DO NOT yell at me, but I hate to throw it away!!! I've considered taking it apart and rescuing the front, even though it's faded. But then what would I do with it? So help me, but I'm a hoarder for this kind of thing. Partially worn out, but I hate to throw it away. If I throw it out, I WILL keep the wooden dog tag. 

Speaking of dogs, look at Lexi! She is shedding hair like it's the middle of July! I brushed her daily for a while, and she looked pretty spiffy. Now? She looks like a molting chicken! I must get back to the daily brushing, but I hate doing it in the house, and it's cold outside! 

MOM - I need some grooming!

OH -- speaking of outside, have a look at this! Can you figure out which footprint is mine? 

Who owns that giant footprint

Yep -- that would be mine on the right! Those HOKAs are WIDE. Well, the sole is wide, but the actual space inside isn't quite that wide. But these shoes are perfect for people with feet issues like mine (and mine are mild). I've almost lost the little mohawk calus on my right baby toe. Yes -- they look like boats on my feet, but if they do the job, I couldn't care less!!

Even with all the puttering in Studio B, I managed to finish my tasks for the day - well, almost. I set up my equipment for my Facebook Live tomorrow, and I HAVE A PROBLEM. So, I need to resolve that today. One piece (the MAIN) piece isn't recognized by my computer. Sigh!!! But the rest of it is fine - I have all the cables and whatnot, so I should be ready once I get the computer to recognize the switch box. 

There are so many cables on that table - there's barely room to put a sample! 

While I could say there is a lot of the schedule today, there is only ONE critical thing, and that's to solve that technical issue. If that gets solved early, then I have a "free" day!

On that note, I'd better get moving as I have the girls and a boy to walk this morning. OH -- I should mention that all the snow we had received in the last couple of days - just a couple of snow squalls, really - it's all gone! The sidewalks are BARE, which I love for walking. It is not so good for moisture in the ground, but it is great for walking!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!