Drip, drip, drip!!!!

I LOVE that others are getting things done as well! And YES—sometimes we don't have the right color thread or the right whatever —but if you look in your stash, you probably have something that will work!!!

Well, we have a problem at our house, and I don't think it's going to be cheap or easy to fix. Remember that ice dam I've mentioned several times? I cannot find the picture I took of the front of our house, but it's considerably smaller than the one I shared with the neighbors the other day. When I went to the front window to look out, this is what I spotted. 

Oh oh!!!!!!

This is the top of a metal table in front of one of the windows. I felt drops! I looked up, and YIKES—the window is leaking. So I grabbed a towel and placed it on the windowsill to keep the water from splashing onto the floor. 

A leak!

By the end of the day, that towel was sopping wet. This is NOT good. 

It is NOT the window that is leaking. The water is being forced around the small ice dam, and it's going to take the path of least resistance, which is down into the house, and it just happens to be coming out the top of the window frame. And YES -- the drywall at the bottom of that window on the right is also very wet. Hmmm --- is this an insurance thing? I doubt it, but I might call them just to check. 

It's an age-old issue, and well, I can't ignore it, as I have in the past. So I've put in a call to have an engineer come and look at it. It is NOT an eavestrough thing, nor is it a roof thing or a window thing. It's a roofline design, and most likely not enough insulation to prevent an ice dam from forming. Let's wait and see what happens. 

In the meantime, I'm hoping for NON PLUS temperatures until we can get a fix on the situation. It could be temporarily fixed by breaking up the ice dam, but I'm not climbing onto the roof with a torch or hot water! I have visions of the entire living room being torn apart, including the roof, so something can be done. And while we're at it, we have a support beam issue in the house, so I'll see what they say about that. Oh -- fun and games. I can hardly wait. 

Thankfully, it's in the room we use the least, but still. Ka-ching!!!!

Well, I was in one of my tidy-up moods yesterday, and I'm tired of looking at this one rogue table in Studio B, with stuff on it. Mostly things that need to be cut for scrap quilt projects. 

A table of rogue things

There are also tubs beneath the table that are mostly things that need to be cut - fleece scraps cut into squares, etc. 

More tubs under the table

Plus, the table was sort of sitting out in the middle of the space, and I could never get to my sit-down quilting machine. 

I got busy and found a new home for everything. YES - a lot of things went onto the current projects table, but other things got hidden away under another set of tables in the room where the digital cutters sit. Should I have dealt with it, rather than moved it? I could have, but it would take days to deal with it. It got moved. 

Then I took the stuff from the sit-down quilting machine and moved it as well. 

More stuff to deal with

And before I knew it, that table and the sit-down quilting machine were CLEAR.

The table is clear! 

Then I moved it to the side so I could use that space for an extra sewing machine I have downstairs. I could use it to work on a jigsaw puzzle, or I could put the blue bin for the UFO and the stuff for my classes on it and do my hand work there. I chose the latter option, and while it's a bit messy at the moment, most of that will be dealt with (not moved) by the end of the weekend. I had all the supplies for my Cherrywood Challenge everywhere, and now they are corralled on this table. 

A better position for the table

I know -- you may not have cleared the table the same way I did, but hey -- I'm making progress, so you can't yell at me! I have a very logical mind (most of the time), and I need to make bigger messes, keep clear workspaces, and just do things my way. That was technically the last "messy" space, so I think I'm done. All that's left is to work on the current project tables and finish them! The trick now is to not add anything else to the current project tables, and I completely ignore that area when I'm working. But since I love whittling away at things, that is my goal. Will I see a dent by the end of the year? I sure hope so! 

The piles of stuff on the current project's table just keep getting bigger! I have a Facebook Live in March, and everything has to be moved. But most of it is in tubs or boxes, so it won't take long to move. I'm good. I could put my paper piecing station away, but next week, I have to start on the homework for the Colour My World quilt, so I'll leave it out. I have the room. 

The current projects tables

So, while that may look chaotic, it's actually very well organized, and all the extraneous stuff is now on those two tables. The cutting mat is CLEAR, as are the sewing tables, and the ironing board. This makes me very happy, and I can work. Imagine the day when those are clear? I do NOT intend to put anything else on them. Everything has a home now, and nothing needs to be pulled out unless I'm going to work on it. And that won't happen because I have my Visual To-Do list guiding me, and everything for that list is on those tables! 

Well, I try to work, but that Miss Murphy is a pain. She needs to be close, and I mean close! As I was stitching on my Cherrywood, she was so close that my chair was moving, and soon I was far away from the table where I had my scissors!!!

MOM -- I NEED YOU!!!!

Speaking of the Cherrywood Challenge, I accomplished all the handwork I was planning on doing. Then I had a bit of trapunto to do and finished it. Then I added the backing, stitched around the trapunto area, and trimmed the excess batting. Then I realized that OH MY GOSH - I forgot to put the regular batting in the project as well. Thankfully, I didn't have much to rip out before I could insert the piece of batting. DUH!!!! 

I am loving how it's turning out. These are NOT my colors - they are very muted, but overall, I like the quilt, so even if it doesn't get accepted, I'm not worried. I would say it has a good chance of getting accepted - lots of techniques, and the fabric is the star of the show. And I love how it looks and feels. 

I also started the quilting, and it went extremely well. When you have the correct supplies, everything goes well. I just wish I had a different fabric for the backing. What I have is excellent, but I wanted something with a storybook theme, but I couldn't find anything in my stash, and you know what? Move on! 

So today and tomorrow are all about quilting, then the binding and pictures. There are a couple of tricky spots in the quilting that I haven't figured out yet, but I will work them out this morning so I can move ahead. There is NO rush, but no time to delay!

And I got this quilt quilted. See what I mean -- that dog is everywhere! I don't let her around when I'm working on customer quilts, but she just needs to be close. 

A community project quilt - DONE

I have so much more to chat about, but I also have to be at the gym this morning to see Brooke. I can't tell you how excited I am about all this exercise at the gym. I mean that seriously. You would not believe how much more flexible I am. Getting down on the floor used to be something I didn't want to do, because getting up wasn't pretty. However, while I'm no longer 20, I have to say I'm doing pretty well at getting back up. And while I may not be as graceful as a ballerina, I can do quite well. 

The pain in my left leg still makes an appearance from time to time, but compared to this time last year? I feel like an Olympic athlete. And the feeling of euphoria after my spin class? Well, I can't describe it except that it was amazing!!! Do I like getting up early and getting my butt to the gym? I did it for years in my 20s, so why change that? 

I am determined NOT to lose my independence because of mobility issues. I will NOT give in, and I'm so glad I listened to the warning bells that were screaming in my ears. No medication, no physio, just work on my part. 

OH -- so here is the picture I received from M. She wants to know if I can make this for her. 

A wedding veil to make

It's beautiful and YES I can. I've already consulted a friend with far more experience than I. Now to have some serious chats with people and see if I can actually make it happen. Wish me luck!!

On that note, I need to get myself in some gym clothes and out the door. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!