The lost is now found!

I'm home!! And I have NOTHING on the agenda that requires an overnight stay until the end of March! Yes!!!! I'm so excited!!

Regarding Bluetooth, my brain isn't comprehending the matter this morning, and I need to process this a bit more. But I learned last night at dinner, after complaining about the Bluetooth issue, that the Sonos speaker I have is Wi-Fi-enabled. So I do not even need a Bluetooth device to make it work! I connect to the internet through the app (of course!), and then I link to Spotify or the radio. NO device required! 

Hmmmm--- I still don't get why the music followed me when there was a dedicated Bluetooth device sitting right beside the speaker the entire time. There was no need for the signal to follow ME. 

Anyway, I'll try the app later today and go from there. If that works, there should be NO signal drop in the future. Just connect to the internet! One of the retreat houses doesn't have internet for streaming, and I use my phone to hotspot, so the Wi-Fi connection won't work.   

While the girls were happy to see me, it wasn't the same desperation as before. My SIL is here, and she has been walking the girls, so they were happy to see me, but didn't go ballistic. That's a big positive. Plus, I'm sure she gave them way more attention than DH ever does when I'm away. Murphy was downstairs keeping my SIL company while she sewed, and Murphy barely registered that I was home! 

It's so nice to be able to rotate the blog pictures and have them stay that way!! During my planning session, I have a series of tech questions that I will add and see if I can find the answers. Those will be some of my goals for 2026. 

Before we packed up and came home, I got almost all the blocks I needed done for the new dog quilt with the brown panel! I know!!! I think there are 87 blocks on the left and the scraps to make 13 more on the right. 

Progress on the new dog quilt

I'm not sure that I have enough fabric, so when I got home and unpacked, I went to the basket of dog fabric and found a piece that works for this configuration, and I should be good! It's mostly browns (light to dark), with some black thrown in. A relatively cohesive quilt. 

I said goodbye to this fabulous sewing room because we might not be back for a while. A few things have changed, and I can't justify going back there. Nothing bad, but the cost for the size of the group I have is getting a bit high, which is probably the most significant factor. 

The sewing room at the retreat house

Plus, I have ignored the other house we go to for an entire year, so the retreats for the next two years are at our other retreat house. We are very fortunate to have more than one close by. The other one is a smaller house, which works just fine for the smaller groups that seem to be signing up. And in 2027, this house will have a bizarre check-in time of 4 PM, and I just can't cope with that, especially since the price didn't drop to accommodate it. 

But we may go back again - never say never! For the next two years, we're switching houses. Plus, the number of retreats I am organizing is less than in previous years, giving me time to be invited to other retreats or take more vacation, or just stay home and sew! 

When I got home, I unpacked the car and then went downstairs as I had a Zoom meeting to host. I had a few pictures to add, so I quickly added them. Thank goodness for cloud-based storage, because the file I made while at the retreat was readily accessible and updated on the desktop, and I ran Zoom on the laptop. I believe we were about 25 people on the call, and there wasn't a single internet drop, even though I didn't have the Wi-Fi pod hooked up! Go figure!

OK—so we have a problem. I did NOT use the timer, and everyone respected the time, more or less. But I do ask a lot of questions, and I want people to talk about their project, and I want to give them some advice if I see an area where it could be improved. We are scheduled for 75 minutes, but we went over that by another THIRTY minutes. Everyone had a ton of show-and-tell! And it was all good, with lots of learning moments or very inspiring moments. 

We have NO room to add anyone going forward, and probably no one will drop out. I'll just make sure I schedule those sessions for 90 minutes going forward, and maybe, just maybe, I may have a minute or two to show something I've done! Not that I care - the rest of the group is doing a great job! 

After dinner, I headed back down to unpack the bags I brought home. It didn't take that long, and everything has a home, which makes it super easy. 

There is one thing that is sort of lost in Studio B. I have some printed-on-fabric instructions that I plan to use for a scrap project. I got a few more pieces from one of the ladies who was making several children's fabric books. Hmm -- the question is, where are the other bits that I have at home? I'm not sure, so I plopped the new bits into this container and left it on a table so I can try to locate the remainder of the bits. I probably have enough to start my project, and it would be perfect for the next retreat! But then so would many other scrappy projects! 

Some of my printed-on-fabric instructions

I restocked the retreat box with thread. I grabbed a spool of white and a spool of black and put both in the box. I should put in a new wash-away pen, since the one in there appears dead, as someone who borrowed it discovered. I must remember to check that later today. And I should check the lip balm, as that is important at a retreat (houses are very dry), and I think this one is almost done. I might just quickly grab that box and pull it out of the retreat tool bag so I don't forget. 

The retreat box is restocked with thread

OK -- that is done - the box is on the cutting table. Several bags of half-square triangle cut-offs are in the retreat bag, as are the rulers, the bell, which I forgot to put on the tables. People can ring the bell when they finish a project. My retreat sewing machine is still out, as I need to clean it and change the needle before putting it away. I'll likely add a spool of thread to it as well. 

I put the bag of blue flannel scraps back in the laundry basket, and you can see how full that basket of flannel scraps is! It's definitely overflowing! I might just go in there and resort a wee bit. Well, there are a handful of scraps that have been added to the pile, but aren't sorted, and I should sort them. It won't take long, and then when I grab a bag of colors, I have everything that is sitting there. More scraps will be added as I quilt more flannel quilts before the end of this year. 

My basket of flannel scraps

The rest of the top shelf, where that basket sits, is for the larger flannel pieces I plan to use as backings for the eleven favor quilts I have to do, so there will be more scraps. And as I'm doing my planning this week, I need to set aside one day a month as my scrap-happy day. I will now have time to do that, and I MUST continue to work on these scrap quilts because I LOVE working on them. It's fun. 

I had a big problem in Studio B. Many "current" projects were not placed in a storage box. They are sitting on those three tables downstairs, and I'm supposed to be making progress on them, which I am, but slowly. Everything I worked on at the retreat did not come from a current project table. Retreat time is sort of play time, and I choose to work on things that are not current. 

I also have tubs of things that I want to embroider, and well, there is a lot of stuff. But there was one machine embroidery project that I wanted to resurrect because of my trip to BC. I tried to find that project on the single day I was home, but I couldn't. I looked on the shelves, in the project closet, in the tubs, and through the mess on the current project tables. NOTHING. 

Obviously, I can't say I looked everywhere because then I would have found it. I was determined to find that project last night. I researched all the places I've looked before in case I overlooked it. NOTHING! I finally gave in and said that I would RESTART the project. My SIL was sewing and thought I was raving mad!

As I was about to throw in the towel, I looked down! OH MY GOD --- I can see the fabric poking through the plastic on this tub that is on the floor UNDER the current project table. For some reason, I thought this contained only the blue project you see at the top! DUH!!!!

My lost project is found!

Well, what an idiot I am!!! This is what happens when you move things around! So I reacquainted myself with the contents of the tub. And I found the project was almost done! There are four parts to it, and all four are complete, though I want to remake one. So remaking ONE part is much better than making four brand new parts! The thread, the fabric -everything was there. I am such an idiot!!! But there is no time to deal with that silliness, I must forge ahead and get this done! 

It is going to be a busy week. I have two big classes on Saturday, and then two show-and-tells on Sunday. There is nothing done for any of them, and so this week will be rather busy. Plus, I have some writing to do. Will I have time for a puzzle? Not this week - that will have to wait for the following week. After this weekend, there is the UFO club the following weekend, and my commitments are done for the year! OH -- I believe I have an in-person class this Thursday, but I need to confirm that. 

Well, on that happy note, I'm out of here!! Off to spin class. I'm so excited to be home and to get back into my routines. It's interesting to note that many people need to change what they eat for breakfast and lunch, or their activities during the day. I do not. Why? It just makes those "hard" decisions about what to eat - so super easy. You grab and eat, then get onto the fun stuff for the day. My mornings are very routine, and then the rest of the day is a crap shoot! I like that. Start the day with a routine, then ramp up when the brain is fully functioning. On spin class days, the first thing I do is write the blog, so my brain can't be that foggy when I jump out of bed! 

I have several virtual retreats scheduled for the holidays and the regular monthly one. I'll try to remember to post those tomorrow. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!