I KNOW I can!!!!

I see no one dared to comment on that quilt pattern! It really is in the eye of the beholder what the "correct" way to place those ribbons is. The fact that we are different is what makes the world go round, even if we don't always agree. 

The same is true for a directional print on the border of a quilt—do you turn the border upside down?

I hope you had a chance to check out the classes that I posted yesterday. You have time to think about what you want to learn, and we should always be learning something. Now, you can decide whether to improve your techniques or make a new quilt. 

I had to laugh because I have already had questions/comments from three people about how to apply binding to a quilt. And yes, there are very different methods, but in my class at The Hobby Horse, I don't just "tell" you what to do. I show you WHY, and then you can decide how to proceed. Trust me—you will have beautiful bindings after the class, whether you stitch them down by hand or by machine!

It happened again yesterday, and I can't seem to stop it. But it's a good thing, so I'm going to run with it. Remember how I said that I was chipping away at the office? Well, I am, and all of a sudden, one day, it'll be neat and tidy. However, I grabbed a piece of art that was on the table and decided I needed to get it hung up. 

I went to one of the storage rooms in Studio B to find my picture-hanging stuff, as I needed a hook for the wall. Yes, I am old school and use hangers with a small nail on the wall. I'm not into command hooks. Before I can hang the picture, it needs a hook or something on the back that I can hang it with. I dug out my bag of picture-hanging stuff. YES, it is all in one spot—or so I thought. 

Darn it—I don't have the type of thing I need. I wanted one of those bars with the jaggy edge that you place on a nail. No such luck. Later in the day, I went to the hardware store, and they didn't have them either. So, I will have to use hooks and wire to make a hanger. That's a job for later today. 

But -- digging out that small bag took me down a different path. 

I had tidied up this room more or less several years ago, but never showed it to you. There are shelves on the other side of the storage room as well. It's not very big, but big enough. Look at that huge mess. What are all those IKEA bags for? What I was looking for was in the white basket. 

A huge mess on the shelves

When I sorted through the bag's contents, I found FOUR containers of picture hooks. Good grief—two of them were brand new. So those went in the giveaway box. 

Many boxes of picture hangers

Digging through the rest, it was clear they were improperly sorted. There was another small basket with stuff on the shelf, so I grabbed it in case the item I sought was there. No such luck. But since this small basket was out, I might as well look at it as well. 

A second basket of stuff

I found a box of plates that go over electrical outlets, and I am sure we have outlets with missing plates. This is a job I never finished years ago, so I brought that upstairs to try and find the outlets. 

A box of outlet plates

I found a tin with thumbtacks and more picture hangers. Good grief—why? I'm so happy that I'm doing this. Can you imagine someone else opening that tin and talking about me and my strange organizing habits? The picture hooks went in one of those little boxes, so they are all together. I think I have a thumbtack box in my office, so those will all be together, and the tin will be empty, and I'll give it away. 

More loose stuff

I also found a set of quilt hangers and won't use them as I now have a different hanging system. If anyone wants them, they are yours for free. Otherwise, they go in the giveaway box. 

Wooden quilt hangers

A little ball inside that slot holds the quilt in place. 

The quilt hanger

Let's see -- Oh, I found these two things. What the heck are they? 

Two mystery items

Were the orange "buttons" from some piece of furniture? And they were to cover a screw? I have no idea where they are from - I really don't have any orange furniture in the house. But, they have been sitting in that storage room for many years and never touched. They are in the garbage. And that tool? I've no idea what that is. It has threads on the end as if it screwed into something. But what? That will likely go into the garbage as well. 

Before I knew it, the second little white basket was empty. So it went in the storage under the stairs where I keep extra baskets. One day, I might start getting rid of some of those, but at the moment, I keep them, so when I need a basket, I don't have to go and buy a new one. Don't worry -- I don't have many at this point in time and they are nicely stored in a laundry basket. 

An empty basket

While rummaging in that storage unit, I decided to take the bull by the horns and tidy up a bit. I'll show you and tell you what I did tomorrow. But while I was there, and my toolbox was handy, I grabbed the needle-nose pliers. 

I had two plaques sitting in the office. See, I am chipping—not leaps and bounds, but chipping! Anyway, I wanted to keep the pictures on the plaques, but I didn't want the wood base. A piece of plastic nailed to the wood held the images in place. 

Taking a plaque apart

I had previously tried to pry up the brads on the corners and had no luck. This time, I tried the needle-nose pliers, even though the brads were very round. Guess what? It worked like a charm, and in no time, I had the plastic off. 

The plastic is gone

One of the pictures was held in place with some tape, and the other was not. I also peeled the label (metal) off the wood. 

The plaque is dismantled

Each picture went into a plastic bag with the sticky sides out and went with M's keepsake stuff. It's an excellent memory of what they did at school, but I didn't want that big wooden base. The problem was solved, and TWO more things were out of the office. The office, by the way, has become the dumping ground. Whatever I don't know what to do with or how to solve, it comes in here. Hence -- it's a big job to deal with. Which is why I MUST do it. I would never leave this mess to someone else. 

I contemplated keeping the brads, but then I looked at them and realized some of them were bent. So, they went in my sharps container to be tossed when full. 

The brads are in the garbage

I know this will sound very silly, but the feeling of euphoria I got from accomplishing this was incredible. I'm practically running around the house with excitement. And remember that quote from the other day. Let me get it for you. 

The source of energy - finishing a task!

I tell you—my energy is based on how much I get done! I know it doesn't work for everyone, as I'm in good health and all that. But I tell you—the more I get done, the more I want to get done, and the more I do!!!!

I had fun doing some videos yesterday. And let me tell you - that is a "fun" thing to do. Especially when you've taped it, and all is good, except, at the very last second, you screw up and have to do it all over again! It happened several times, but I was good with the final product - I had to tape three of them. 

There is only one problem. I was looking for my phone. What the heck did I do with it? Oh yes, it's on the tripod!!! DUH!!!! Obviously, the phone wasn't there at the moment I took the picture because I needed the phone to take the picture! 

My camera tripod

I updated my Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3 with the latest update, and everything worked well. It just took a long time. I don't think I've ever used a USB to do the update. I have Wi-Fi connectivity, and I'm not afraid to use it!! 

Then, I had a bit of sewing to do and got a couple of half-square triangles done. Oh yes, I had to trim them right away—no slacking off or accumulating for me!!! Holy, I am a new person!!!

Trimming half-square triangles

The customer quilt of the day was finished and I have to trim a couple of them before they can be picked up. 

Customer quilt  - DONE

My queue of customer quilts is pretty slim these days, so if anyone has a quilt they want done, let me know. However, I shouldn't say that, as I know I won't have time for anything other than the ones I currently have until October.  

The next quilt is loaded on the long arm and ready to go later today. Then, I started work on prepping the next quilt. Don't forget I have community project quilts and some of my own that need to be quilted. This area is a revolving door as far as quilts go. 

The "on deck" area for the quilts

And I had to prep the batting for this one. 

Prepping the batting for the next quilt

While I was doing that, I realized that I was walking across the room to get my press cloth. DUH—I have a drawer in that ironing board, so the press cloth is there now, along with my small ruler and scissors, which I use when I'm making the final join on a binding. 

The drawer in my ironing board

I love it when all the components for a quilt are prepped and ready to go on the long arm. This one is loaded and ready to go today. 

The prepped bits for a quilt

So, someone in our house isn't getting the message. I am very diligent about the dishwasher, which I empty in the morning when I'm making tea. Can you tell me why this cup is sitting on the counter? Later in the day, there was a glass beside it. It's nice and neat, but why not open the dishwasher and put it in? 

Hmmm -- why isn't this cup in the dishwasher?

The other day, I showed you a tree that had been hit by a car and knocked down. Well, now it's a lamp post, and these things are big and made of concrete. This happened on a big street near me that is known for speeding. 

A felled lamp post

I have one area in Studio B that needs some TLC. It's what I call my scrapbook area. There are shelves, drawers, and a bookcase, but it's a mess. Look at the table; it is supposed to be clear so I can work there. 

There is a table under there!

I'll eventually get to that area, but it's not on my priority list at the moment. 

Oh shoot—I forgot the links to the software classes. Here they are. All the classes are on Zoom and are specifically for machine embroidery software, mySewnet. 

Stitch by Stitch - Kingston  - scroll down to find the Embroidery Software Series on the right-hand side. 

Needleworks Studio - Cochrane

So check those out and get signed up!!!!

On that note, I'm off for another day of adventure at my house. Oh -- the applique got done!! Don't you worry about that!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!