Guilty as charged!

Here's an update! I could take a picture like this where you can't see what's inside, and it looks good! At least nothing is spilling out of the top, but it's not empty!

The basket of scraps

I'm definitely making a dent in that basket and watching some episodes of The Quilt Show. So all is good. 

I've made a dent!

I can do about 30 minutes before I get tired of standing. Hey, I can be moving all day, but I'm not good when I stand in one spot. It's boring, I suppose! 

But my shoulder was throbbing, and I needed to lie down to settle it. I have an ultrasound on the 24th or something like that, so let's see what happens. There are days when I think a sling would be good so the weight of my arm doesn't put pressure on the shoulder. 

I'm not sure how gracefully my body is going to age. I feel arthritis in multiple spots. That darn left leg is not a happy camper, and I suppose my knees are not all that happy, either. Getting old sucks! But I'll do what I can, and I refuse to stand still just because I have aches and pains. How positively boring that would make life! 

Let's focus on the shoulder for the moment. The new shoes seem to put the left leg in check, but I know that's only a placebo effect because I can feel it twinging in the background. 

But let's move on to happier things. 

I seem to spend a lot of time managing my scraps. I'm using up the batting leftovers to make them large enough to put in a quilt. At the maximum, I have to join four pieces to create a batting, so I don't deal with small scraps here. I'll use the smaller stuff for smaller wall hangings or table runners. 

Joining batting

Another flannel quilt is done. I've trimmed this one and will put the binding on it later. 

Community projects quilt - DONE

For the life of me, I could not find that binding. I searched Mount Projects and couldn't find it there, but I got a good overview of what's on the table. I finally found the binding in the laundry basket designated for these quilts, so all is right in the world. 

The next quilt is loaded on the long arm. I will finish this one, and then I need to take a break for one day to catch up on all the trimming and binding. Then, I can get back to customer quilts on Monday. 

At one point, I returned to the long arm, and the thread had run out. I checked the bobbin thread, and it was OK. Oh, great. I forgot that I had put an almost empty spool of thread on the machine. I totally forgot to watch that. 

Top thread --- DONE!

Speaking of small bits, as I mentioned, I seem to spend my entire day dealing with the small bits I save. I made good progress in my bag of fusible fleece scraps, joining them together to make squares that I use on the back of projects instead of stabilizer or batting. 

Making bigger squares

There is something therapeutic in doing this. I don't know what it is, but I'm guessing it's twofold. First, I'm excited about NOT adding to the landfill issue. Yes -- it takes time to deal with the small bits, but guess what? Am I in a rush to make more quilts? Nope! Do I have deadlines? Nope! Working like this helps me learn about patience and perseverance. Many of you would never consider this, but you should try it!! 

Why is everyone in such a rush? Just slow down, and you'll be amazed at what can happen. I created seven squares, so I have enough to work with this coming week. I certainly do NOT sew for the sake of sewing. I couldn't care less if I ever made another quilt. I certainly do NOT care about the latest sew-along or fabric collection, and I have zero FOMO for what others are doing. I sew for ME. And I honestly think if I didn't have such a large pile of crap to fill up, I'd stop sewing. NO -- that's not true. I'd still sew, but it's no longer my focus. I'm having way more fun dealing with the bits.  

I have to sew because it's my job, but if I didn't have to sew for work, I'd probably never start anything new and only work on what I have. GASP!!!! Don't worry - I won't give it up, and I look forward to starting the two new projects in the fall! 

Today, I must get started on my projects for QUILTsocial. I have everything laid out, so things look messy, and I'm OK with that. As I finish, it'll get put away. 

I also noticed my Fitbit was dead yesterday, as I had forgotten to charge it. Imagine my surprise when I went to plug it in. I used my power tower, and WHAT?????? I've had those towers for several years, and only yesterday did I realize they are NOT the same. 

A square design

An octagon design

That is hilarious and shows that if you make a mistake in something, how many people will notice? I cannot believe I didn't see the difference. I use both of them, but this was the first time I had plugged USBs into the second one! 

Both of my boxes arrived. One of them is still sitting, as I didn't have time to unpack it. I turned it backward, so you can't see the picture on the box! What do you think it is? 

A mystery box

The second box was filled with books. I know -- I do not need more books, but these are books for the Scan and Cut. I had purchased a book before and found it extremely useful, so I decided to buy more from the same author. Yes, there is YouTube, but I have to say that NOTHING beats a good old-fashioned book with pages. These were printed on demand from my favorite online store, so I had to buy there. You can't buy them anywhere else. I have to say I LOVE print on demand, and the quality is pretty darn good! 

Books for the Scan and Cut

Now I have a LOT of learning to do!!! 

I hope to get to some of that later today. No garden work happened yesterday as it was raining in the evening, and I wasn't excited to weed in the rain. This is a job that I can tackle later today. 

OH MY GOSH --- I'm also reading another hilarious book. 

Declutter your Data

The book isn't that long (150 pages), and the author spends time at the beginning describing what she will tell us and what digital clutter is. The author is Canadian!!!

The book was written in 2018, and at that time, she estimated that the average US household had 41.5 Terabytes of digital clutter. Can you imagine what that number is now? 

Before you go - that's ridiculous, think about it. How many camera cards do you have? USBs? Online storage or storage on your devices - smartphones, tablets, computers. Don't forget all the apps you use or have downloaded. 

I laughed when she said that most people tackle the problem by buying more storage—guilty!! And that only the truly diligent delete as they go. What is in the digital clutter? Email, photos, videos, presentations. Guilty—guilty—guilty—guilty!!! 

Thankfully, the book is short, so I should be able to breeze through it. And I hope to learn new strategies for controlling this mess. DELETE DELETE DELETE

Angela Crocker has also written another book, which I want to get. It's called the Digital Legacy Plan. Click on that link to read about it. Here's a sobering thought: She predicts that in 100 years, there will be 1 billion dead people on Facebook! I doubt Facebook will still be around, but you get the idea. What happens to your digital presence on the internet when you die? 

I get notifications of someone's birthday on Facebook, and they have been dead for years. That's something to think about, so I'll get the book and read it. 

They have the book at my local branch, which might be my errand today. I also saw the new library catalog, which isn't new but came up to alert me the old one won't be around forever. I have to log into the new one and will do it later. I need to verify the status of my account before I waltz in there and try to borrow a book—just in case!

I got part of one of my car errands done yesterday! CRAP!!! But that's OK; it just means I have to do both by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Let's say we are one step closer to firming up my fall schedule!! Yeah!!! It has to be nailed down soon, and as soon as I know, I'll tell you. I'm trying to focus on things that will help you work smarter, not harder, and there are only TWO new projects should you choose to go that route. 

That's it for today. I have one Zoom this morning, and then I'll be hard at work! I sincerely hope you continue to work on cleaning out those drawers. OH -- remember that person who told me about the seven drawers she found in her living room? Tomorrow, I'll share with you what she found. I got a good chuckle!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!