I can FOCUS, but I can't PRIORITIZE

The title of today's post says it all! I was very productive yesterday but wasn't working on my next deadline. So why do I do that to myself? I'll work on the deadline today!

I returned to Fabricland on Saturday to get something else to work with, and I had a bit more time. I spotted the two staff members I had sort of ignored the previous day, and so while they cut for me, we had a chat—and I apologized for chatting on my phone! 

I also had time to look around, and wow, some gorgeous fabrics are out there! But I can't just buy for the sake of buying; I need to be making! 

Embroidery on cloth seems to be a big thing and HEY -- I can do that myself., although it would take a long time. It might be easier to just buy and make! 

Embroidered fabric

Embroidery on netting

But we all had a good chuckle as the staff member was cutting for someone else, and this is what they spotted when they unrolled a fabric. Good grief—what the heck happened to this? 

A manufacturing flaw? 

I've been back at work on my Green Tea and Sweet Beans for the last two days. Since I successfully completed the Heartfelt Sampler, with all the embroidery on the border, I decided I MUST complete Green Tea, which also needed machine embroidery on the borders. 

Previously, I had stitched the corner and the middle motif on each side, but I needed to add three motifs between each of those motifs. There were 32 hoopings planned, which is a lot. I had eight of the 32 complete. I made significant progress over the weekend, and only 14 remain! 

The floral motifs had to be strategically placed to hide the joins in the bias tape! 

The motifs are hiding the joins in the bias

All the supplies, including the precut shapes and thread, were together to complete the quilt. It was tucked in a corner, and it was time to clean up that spot. The leftover bits of fabric are still in their project box, and I need to tidy them up, as the box has been sitting around for a while. 

The supplies to finish Green Tea

I love working with pre-cut shapes when doing machine embroidery applique!! It saves so much time from not having to trim. But as you saw on the Heartfelt Sampler, I have some work to do to refine the process. However, these shapes worked out perfectly. 

Precut shapes for applique

And this is what the quilt is looking like. Well, this is at the end of Saturday. It looks different now, but I'll share that tomorrow. The middle motif on the top left is just the paper template. To be efficient with my time, I'm stitching all the motifs with TWO flowers. The corners and the center of each side have a three-flower motif. Then each side of that has a two flower motif and the middle of each half section has a one flower motif. 

The machine embroidery applique borders on Green Tea

While I was stitching away on that, I was busy sewing on the other machine to complete the Heartfelt Sampler. 

Sewing and embroidery 

While sewing the top together, I also managed to sew some enders and leaders, so that was good. They are pressed, and I hope to trim them during Monday's sewing. 

Enders and leaders 

I've been tidying up Studio B a bit, as I need to get things back under control. That's a whole other thing for tomorrow. The binding is cut for the Heartfelt Sampler, and the backing fabric is chosen, so I hope to complete those things today as well. Then, the Heartfelt Sampler can come off the design wall, which it has controlled for several months now. It's time for the next project to get up there!

It's sad to say, but Little Bear will be going home soon. He and Murphy are inseparable! They will miss each other very much, and I laugh when I see them together. They seem to do everything together! I will miss him terribly, but he's also very high-maintenance and requires a lot of time in the day, so I'll be glad to get that time back! 

Murphy and her sidekick, Bear

If you're looking for something to do, I spotted this event near me in May. It reminds me of the old days when there was this massive quilt show with many events in that same area, which shut down years ago. It's called WEFT FEST 2024. 

Weft Fest 2024

On that note, I'm out of here! I'm off to spin class, then Monday Sewing, and then I should be working on my next deadline, but I might sneak in a bit of embroidery to try and finish Green Tea this week, which will be a challenge since I have events this week. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!