Leaky irons

Before I forget, here's the latest development on the Gordie Howe International Bridge: The gap is almost closed!! It's been fascinating to watch, and it will still be approximately one year before the bridge opens. 

Much has been happening here, and getting work done is hard! But I did. 

The quilt back is finished. Yes, I was short fabric by a smidge, so I added another piece. No big deal! That got rid of the remainder of a bolt of fabric. 

A quilt backing

So another quilt got moved to the "to be quilted" pile. 

This quilt is now in the "to be quilted" pile

I'm trying to tackle the simple projects that are still on the cutting table. I must deal with them once and for all. This was a project that I took to the quilt retreat. I had made good progress, but the blocks needed good pressing and verifying their size. The smaller pieces in the bag needed to be trimmed down. 

Everything is up-to-date on this project

All is done, and it's back in a bag and sitting in the retreat box. I'm all packed for the next quilt retreat! 

It took me all day to quilt this quilt (T-shirt quilt), and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it—it was just my crazy schedule and what else was going on in the house. So I'll trim that later today and hope to be back in business with the long arm. I have a few customer quilts, some QOV, and some of my own. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I have a small applique quilt that needs to be done quickly, so I worked on it this morning and made good progress. Sometimes, tracing applique shapes and cutting by hand is way faster than using a digital cutter! 

My iron has started to misbehave, or more likely, the operator isn't using it correctly.

A leaky iron!

 I keep getting water spots on my fabrics. 

Water leaking onto the fabric

It's not like I don't have other irons around the house. I think there are two new irons in this box. 

A box of ironing supplies

And here are FOUR that need to be checked. 

Four irons that need to be checked

Part of the problem with irons is they leak. Why do they leak? Because the operator doesn't operate them properly! I plug it in and set the temperature, but I cannot wait until the iron is heated to use it. And since I use steam, that is a bad thing. It causes the iron to leak. 

I tested the iron by leaving water in it overnight. There was zero leakage. When I tried ironing with it cold, it leaked like a sieve. The moral behind that story is PATIENCE. So, before I toss these irons, I'm going to do some more testing and see what can be rescued when I apply some patience. 

So here are some tips to prevent your iron from leaking: 

1. NEVER start to iron/press until it has reached the desired temperature.

2. Turn the steam to OFF when filling the iron with water

I can only think of two tips this morning, but I thought there was something else. So, I'll keep an eye on all those irons so I can clear out the junk and keep those that work properly—when the operator is doing what is right! 

It seems like we had loads of rain later. The garden WAS weeded, but the weeds are growing like mad. I must get some mulch and the hoe and get to work. 

Raining in the backyard - AGAIN!

Look at that rain teeming down, but it filled the pond, which was needed. Our water supply to the backyard is compromised at the moment - more on that another day, so the rain was much appreciated, and the fish are happy again! 

The pond is filled with rainwater!

Remember when I mentioned that the city had brought in some equipment and some gravel to try to prevent the rain from eroding some of the small hills? Well, they failed yet again. 

Erosion on the paths

There was a rut after the first major rain a couple of days ago, and now it is even deeper. This has happened in multiple spots. 

Murphy and the rut

I must find the pictures of the spots along the Camino where they have put small channels in the path to move the water off the main path and into a channel along the side. The city needs to address this issue. I don't care that the path is rutted, but to keep fixing it, and the fix doesn't work? They need to try something else. One of the other small hills is paved. They NEVER have to maintain that! So why don't they pave these two areas? Do it once and be done with it!

I've been watching this huge tree for a very long time. I'm surprised it's still standing. The center of the trunk is entirely hollow. 

Inside the tree trunk

I notice some cracks in the front of it, and I'm not sure how much more it can withstand. 

The front of the trunk is cracked to the base

The tree is a glorious big tree, and you wonder how the heck it is still alive. I don't know how long this trunk has been like this, but I don't remember the one side being cut down, meaning it's been many years like this. But the front of the trunk is deteriorating! 

That's a big tree

It's the circle of life. There are many new trees in the forest, so at some point, the old has to go to make way for the new. But it's not gone yet!

While at the library the other day, I spotted this book. Now all I have to do is read it!!!

A great book to read!

And I found this decal you put on a car - it says Run with Scissors. If anyone wants it -- it's yours! I always wanted to get a tattoo with that saying on it. Maybe I should still go for it! 

A car decal up for grabs

Here's the latest QUILTsocial post. I had never sewn a flat-felled seam, but it's so easy!!! Remember, at the bottom of that post are links so you can read the posts from the previous two days. The final reveal is almost here! 

QUILTsocial Wednesday Post -- All about sewing a flat-felled seam. 

The calendar looks pretty open for today—there is a meeting that I can sit in on, and I might just do that, and then the day stretches out before me! I said this yesterday, but I'm going to say it again today. And I swear I would NEVER say this before, and I can't believe I'm saying it now! 

I used to be able to multitask, and I still can, but I'm finding it super therapeutic to take one thing at a time and work until the assignment or the next step is done. Then, I'm happy to put it away and get out the next thing. 

Having messy work areas now drives me crazy, and I'm almost to the stage where that entire large room has NO PROJECTS in it, except the one I'm working on. Everything else has been tucked away or is on that rolling cart, which thankfully is an industrial strength cart! I'll show you a picture one day. 

But having so much space to work in and clear everything makes my brain very happy, and I have zero distractions. 

Yep—I'm a happy sewist, and I need to try to keep it that way, even when things get crazy. Wish me luck!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!