My wish came true!

How many times have I lamented that I need just one more day? A few I know. Well, guess what? I just got one more day!!

I had something planned for today, and it got postponed until next week. So that gives me one more day to prep for the two classes and the UFO Club on the weekend. YAHOO!!!!!! 

I will warn you that this blog might be a bit off-putting to some. It's filled with great joy, much happiness, more energy than you probably need (It's only five AM), so I apologize. Heck no -- I won't apologize for my joy! Embrace it!!!!!

And have you ever had those days when most things seem to be going right, and you're feeling great? I had one of those days yesterday. Oh—trust me—some crazy things happened, which I'll share in a minute —but we seem to be afraid to have a great day, but I am going to celebrate each and every great day!! Gail talks about the mental clutter in her book - Throw Out Fifty Things!

Remember the 3-D machine embroidery house that Dede and I are working on? 

Terrifying Tower by OESD

Here's the house, and it's pretty darn cute! While I've made other 3-D projects, this is the largest, with 22 pieces in the house. So far, the entire journey has been a learning curve, and yesterday was no exception! We learned a TON!!! We've spent one day cutting all the foam (inside structure) on the digital cutter, then we spent one day cutting vinyl, like total amateurs, but we learned a lot! I almost feel like we need to make at least one more to see how much quicker it would be!

We both thought that yesterday, the day to start the machine embroidery process, should be pretty smooth! NOT!!! But again, we learned a ton. How did we learn? BY DOING!!!! And when we came to an issue, we figured it out! There is no other way to learn! So if you've been sitting on something that needs some learning -- just DO IT!!! Be prepared to make mistakes, and your creativity will solve the problems. That's what creativity is - did you know that? Creativity isn't about making pretty things. Nope -- creativity is what solves problems when they arise!! The pretty stuff is just that - pretty. 

The first thing we learned is that not all vinyl is created equal! I'm talking about Heat Transfer Vinyl, or am I? I used two different kinds of vinyl for my house -- one is the OESD brand (two colors), which is the same brand as the embroidery file. The second one was purchased locally.

Now the pattern instructions suggest using all kinds of other OESD products - so many that, to be honest, we sort of discounted them. It all just seemed too complicated. And we know better! LOL!!!

We had been so careful when cutting the vinyl, making half-cuts so we could peel the pieces off like stickers and put them on the shape when needed. That was NOT how we were supposed to do it; instead, weed the background out and use transfer tape (plastic) on the vinyl. I won't go into detail - those who do it understand the process. 

Imagine my surprise when I grabbed the OESD vinyl, and I couldn't pull the back off, nor could I pull the front off. Then, after reading the package and going back into the instructions, we realized that the darn stuff is NOT heat transfer vinyl! Ooopsy!!!! So I had to finish cutting the half-cut with either the rotary cutter or scissors. Gall dang it - we should have done a full cut on that particular vinyl. Live and learn! Nothing lost - the vinyl still worked like a charm. 

However, we were unable to add a fusible to the back after the fact, which I suppose would have added a bit more stability. But I got very good at holding it in place with my fingers and then using the foot pedal to control the embroidery machine as it did the tack-down stitch. And we also learned that sometimes we had to put the foam and the vinyl together to do one tackdown stitch. 

Oh yes — it was a tremendous day for learning, but by golly, we did it!! 

Now, let's talk about the black vinyl, which was a heat-transfer vinyl. I tried weeding the background out and sticking it down, but that didn't work because of the foam's thickness. So I carefully peeled it off like a sticker (my original plan - GASP) and it worked like a charm! The vinyl had to sit on top of the foam on the stabilizer in the hoop. Sorry for those that don't do machine embroidery - you can skim over these details! BTW -- the pieces did NOT stretch. 

Peeling the pieces off like a sticker - GASP!!!! 

Then, once I got the hang of it, I was good to go, and with a bit of trepidation, I completed three pieces while Dede was here. She was using different products than I was, and she struggled a bit while experimenting with her own stuff. Some of the vinyl is shiny -- that's a whole other topic for another day! Dang it—I canceled the digital cutter club, and now I have a lot to share with the group! Perhaps I should have a recall  - one more meeting just to share our findings! I might just do that!

Machine embroidery on one side of the house

While one design was being stitched, I was preparing and cutting the shapes for the next one. 

Prepping the pieces for another side

I had to replace the bobbin halfway through this one, and for some reason, the design went wonky. I fixed it, but it went wonky again, so I'll be abandoning this one. But that's OK. And this happened on my PFAff creative icon 2. I have no idea why it went crazy. 

Something happened on this

But the more important thing we have learned throughout this project is that everything is DIFFERENT. Vinyls and foams are different, and both react differently to heat, cutting, and machine embroidery. The files are different, the instructions are different. There is NO ONE STANDARD way to do any of this. NO ONE can teach you -- you have to do it, so you can watch out and learn about the little pitfalls. Well, not a pitfall, but the little nuances. 

Like the note that pops up when the color changes, it tells you which materials (foam or vinyl, even the color) to use for the placement stitch. I missed that the first time and didn't add the foam, so I had to redo the first piece!

The message within the color change

While we had a few frustrating moments yesterday, it was one of the best learning days I've had in a long time! Each new thing will help me on the next project and the next. I have learned that if we are going to continue with the OESD haunted houses, I might actually follow the real instructions and add fusible to THEIR vinyl product, then fuse it in place. But that means I also have to add fusible (or use fusible foam - got lots of that), so that it can be fused in place as well. I have to recut a piece of foam for the side of the house, and I might just try that and see what happens. OOPS - another learning moment!!!

I managed to get NINE of the 22 files embroidered yesterday. I would have had ten if that one side hadn't gone wonky!

Dede left early because she has a lot of experimenting to do before she proceeds. So that meant I also had some free time in the afternoon. So while one embroidery machine was working away, I got to work in sewing mode on the other. I rolled the dice, and this is what came up! Good answer!!!!

The roll of the di

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm picking a bunch of small things for my monthly UFO goal, and I have been slowly working on those. Well, I'm fired up, and it seemed like the stars were aligned because I feel like I accomplished a lot yesterday. 

Here's the thing --- doing these piddly, almost finished jobs can be the most boring thing in the world. You have to find a matching thread, or find the correct presser foot or setting on the sewing machine. It might be cutting fabric or whatever. But they are repetitive, "boring" little jobs. But I just stuck to my guns yesterday and methodically plowed through quite a bit! 

I love it when that happens, and because I'm more focused, it's happening more often. There's no need for me to abandon those little things. I'm super stoked to be sure, and it's hard to believe, but I went to bed super excited knowing that I had the entire day ahead of me to work on those little things. The bonus is that when I'm done, they will be done, and guess what? Less clutter in Studio B and less stuff on that table. It's a WIN-WIN!!!!

I'm doing a lot of binding, which is good because it's the last or almost the last thing on many projects - labels and sleeves also need to be done on some of them. When I cut the binding for one of the projects, I wasn't sure I had enough, so I left the fabric out. Good thing because I was short by about 2 inches!!!

Oh - short by two inches

The other bonus to finishing up these silly little projects is finding bags of thread and fabric that can finally be put away. 

Threads that can finally be put away

So, as the last section (of the day) of the embroidered house was winding down, I was doing some last-minute tidying up. Putting away fabric or thread from those projects that were no longer needed. Since I have the entire day today, I suspect I can make HUGE leaps and bounds in completing stuff for the weekend. Although I MUST take at least an hour this morning and get some follow-up emails sent out. 

I had to move the old computer off the kitchen counter. DH made the comment, "How long is this going to be here?" and I moved it into the office, but it needs to be plugged in. So I can't send emails to my groups unless it's on the old computer. Don't worry - I don't need suggestions at this point - I just need some space and a bit of time. The space should be relatively easy to find. The time will come next week, when I can focus on getting the lists on the new computer. 

Am I lucky to have had such a great day? Absolutely NOT!! I create my own luck and my own energy. While I don't always get good sleep, I make the most of every day (mostly) and have trained myself to focus. I am also motivated to get rid of this mess, as the last thing I want is to saddle someone else with it or have to deal with the entire situation when we eventually downsize. I'm doing this while I'm physically (and mentally) able. Do I need a new project to make me happy? LOL, each time I pull out an old thing and finish it? That is way more exciting than starting something new!!!!

Remember the saying that you can't change what others do, but you can change your reaction to what they do - something like that. Well, that's me!!! I'm changing what I can in my life, and getting rid of the mess is totally something I can control!!!

One last thing before I head off to spin class and hopefully refill the tank with endorphins to wing me through another couple of days of crazy and productive sewing!!!! 

I was out for my walk in the afternoon and decided to cut back through the forest, which isn't a great idea since the ice on the paths is insane. So I walked along the edge, but it's dicey. The girls and I are going different ways in the morning to avoid the mess. Anyway, as I was heading to the forest, I spotted this box. It's from a MASSIVE TV. I couldn't see the size as I walked by, but it was HUGE!!!!! Now, the house that the box was in front of is a small townhouse. Where the heck would they put that thing? They could set it up in their living room, but then they would have to sit at the back of their yard (yes, outside) to focus on it!! 

A massive TV box

I don't get it!! But that reminds me of my conversation with Bell and our communication woes. I don't have time to tell you today, but I'll try to remember tomorrow. Very interesting!!! 

On that note, I hope you all find a productive focus for the day! And if the time fairy gives you an "extra" day, do not squander it. Celebrate it - embrace it, and then get those things done that you said you would do if you had an extra day!!!!

And I have another story to share about spin class, but that has to wait!!

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!!