Christmas in July

Thanks for the comments! Yes --- other crazy people like me love scraps. Most people love scraps to some degree, but the definition of scraps to some people kills me. It still blows my mind, and let's face it, people have no patience, so they toss what they don't want. NO - give it to us scrap users! There's a good story coming about some scraps. I got a note yesterday, and I'm unsure how to respond. I must look at that later today. And then I can tell you the story!

It makes me laugh, but as I press those green scraps, I contemplate what to do with them. The thing is, I have no more room for another scrap box. That means something has to be done to eliminate one of the boxes. As I'm thinking. I have several boxes of green scraps, and let's face it, some of the scraps are really too small to keep. 

I might start again in the green boxes or pick a different color and start cutting. I will NEVER cut everything into a precut size, but I need some 1½" squares for a project. If I can't cut a 1½/" square or make a 1½" HST from it, it's garbage and will go into a pet mat. I need to have rules, and I think anything smaller than that borders on insanity, and I can't keep everything. 

I'm unsure how much that would free up in a box, but I must start somewhere. I could continue to watch The Quilt Show while I sort and cut. 

I'm still working on this scrap basket, but I'm making excellent progress. I'm practically giddy with excitement. 

The current state of the green scraps

I'll continue my quest to finish this, and then I'll find another tedious job that is sped along with Ricki and Alex! I get a chuckle as I watch some of the techniques that are shown. I also learned the story behind the BEST QUILT BOOK ever—Quilts! Quilts! Quilts! by Laura Nownes and Diana McClun. This was THE book to read when I learned to quilt, and it's probably still one of the best. I think I gave my copy away. 

I was all prepped for my Zoom, and I think the shop forgot to send the link. Hmmm—no worries. I knew they were busy with another in-store event at the same time, so I didn't bother them. I'll send an email today. I'm a bit disappointed as I had to get set up—it wasn't just turning on the computer. 

Getting set up for a Zoom call

And then I lost 1½ hours of my day. I got an email the other day about an online birthday bash from an embroidery company. Oh - that sounds like fun, but I didn't sign up. Then I got another email yesterday morning, so I signed up. I mean -- I had heard great things about this company, so why not check it out. 

Well, it was a blatant infomercial for 90 minutes. They were tooting their two clubs - one was free, which I'm signed up for but have never downloaded any designs, and the second one is $300 a year. What if I want to buy a design? I don't see where I can just buy them. I must look into it more. 

Infomercial

I totally lied. YES, you can buy all their designs on a different web page. OH --- now I have some decisions to make. I love some of their stuff, but I can't make anything and use it as a sample because we need to show our samples, so if I make something, it's for me. But some of them are super cute and very unique. OK, I might cave and just have fun with one of them. 

Anyway, after they did a big infomercial on their clubs, they proceeded to have the SLOWEST countdown to prizes I've ever seen. I have no idea why I continued to watch. I guess I was hoping for something, but that something never came. There were 1000 people watching online and others on YouTube. Good grief—how much of everyone's time got wasted? 

And the groupies!! The comment pages flew past so fast that I could barely read them. Why do people do that? I guess the presenters keep the comments and read them afterward, but if you don't have anything to say, why bother? 

I was bitter about that for a couple of hours afterward! But I have no one to blame but myself for continuing to watch. I couldn't log in on my laptop, so I was stuck in front of the desktop!

I got another quilt done. I hope this one is large enough for Quilts of Valour. I made it years ago and certainly do not need another blue-and-white quilt. So it'll get donated once I get the binding on, which I hope to catch up on this week. 

Community projects quilt - DONE

The backing is on the long arm for the next one, which is small, but I have to do something to the top before I proceed. 

I made good progress on some samples and learned so much in the process. Now, it's what I do with that knowledge that the fun comes in. I don't know why people are so afraid to make samples—and by that, I mean stitch-outs. Learn what your sewing machine can do—try some of those decorative stitches or a new presser foot. Wait until you see what I am doing! 

A play date with a sewing machine

One thing that I love is that thread box on the table. I'll take a better picture of it, but it's the best thing ever!!!

I walked to the library and got that book, which was easy to spot on the shelf. My account is just fine until July 25, when I have some books due that CANNOT be renewed, so I best deal with them now. 

We had heavy rain at one point in the morning, but it eventually cleared up, and then we had angry skies for most of the afternoon. 

Stormy skies

OK—I did something last night that I haven't done in a long time. Just before getting into bed, I glanced at my Fitbit. Oh my, I was short of 20,000 by 100 steps. So I had to walk down to Studio B to check something and then back up, and that almost killed the 100 steps. A quick trip to Studio U, and I was good! How silly is that? 

20,000 steps

I also noted on my walk that the sign for what is coming to that store is now posted, although I have known for a while since they had the name on some paper covering the windows. This would be super convenient, but I'll keep my gym. This will replace the Women's Only upstairs in the same location. 

A new gym in town

I was back in the garden last night, and I've placed almost half of the bags of mulch. 

The garden is coming along nicely

Right behind the tree to the right of the photo is a raised bed of lilies. It's extremely challenging to weed because the pond is on one side, a tree in front, and you are reaching DOWN from the back. I'm sure the sight wasn't pretty as I balanced on a rock by the pond, trying to get all the creeping vines out of that spot. I did pretty well but knew that a slip would have me going for a swim! But it was the best spot. I got it all cleaned up just as my calf was starting to cramp! 

I'll tackle a bit more tonight and definitely will go back for more mulch. The gardener guy is coming on Wednesday and will be surprised at what I've done. There won't be much for weeds. He can do the trimming and the tidying up! It really is a mostly maintenance-free backyard, and I LOVE it. 

The girls were very sucky in the morning. There must have been a storm brewing, and they were sticking close because they were scared. Or perhaps they were protecting me! Oh, they say, protecting me. Of course, girls! 

MOM -- we're protecting you!

And well, it was Christmas in July! We finished the Exit Game Advent Calendar, so Christmas really happened. The end got a bit weird, as we found the hidden door for Day 24 on Day 23—totally by accident. But that's what happens when you take an Exacto knife to your game box! 





And by the time we were done, the entire game was toast! They say it's a one-time play, and they weren't kidding! 

What's left of the EXIT Game Advent Calendar

I need to remove the non-paper stuff, and then it can be recycled. I think we paid $45 for the game? And it has taken us three months to complete. As far as I'm concerned, these are the BEST values for your dollar entertainment. However, you MUST love puzzles. If puzzles and logic are not your thing, then this is NOT the type of thing for you. 

In total, we had to look at the clues for four of the 24 puzzles. The clues are written in three levels for each day. We usually got the first level but didn't know where to go from there. We only went to the end of the three clues once, and we still weren't sure of the logic. I think we worked extremely well as a team—I know I could not have done it on my own. 

I have one more advent calendar but from a different company. We're going to take the summer off, as both of us are out and about for a good part of it. Once we're back, I'll dig it out, and we'll have until December 1 to finish it because, come December 1, we'll be working on the NEW EXIT Game Advent Calendar. 

I've been having some challenges with my noise-canceling headphones. They will turn off for no reason and then automatically turn back on. I meant to contact support, but I didn't. Then yesterday, they wouldn't turn on at all, even though they had half a charge. So, I tracked down the support page. I LOVE (not!) when the support page is not friendly. You had four choices for why you were sending them a note, and NONE was about support. How silly is that on a support page? 

I don't know where the receipt is, but I told DH I would find out when I bought them by searching the blog, and I was right! I mentioned them in my May 19, 2020, post. You have to love a searchable blog! 

I did not get a chance to open that box - perhaps later today, although I still have some sewing to do before I start writing. 

On that note, I'm out of here! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!