It's all about the puzzles!!!!

 OH—rushed for time this morning—I'll read the comments later, but I see comments about the wedding, which is quickly approaching! 

Well, Brooke has a conflict this morning, so I read the comments. I LOVE the idea of the movie wedding! How cool is that! And since I'm not off to the gym this morning, I managed to get quite a bit of work done on the presentation for Saturday. 

I think I have walked into a giant rabbit hole. Funny how that happens with anything I do! So, you all know I love doing jigsaw puzzles. I always have, but never took much time throughout the year to work on them because of sewing deadlines. Well, now I have time to work on them a bit more, and I try to keep it to the evenings since I still have sewing stuff to do. 

I hope this link will still work for you (I think it was a reel, so it may be gone), but someone sent me this link about my favorite jigsaw puzzle store in Georgetown - Puzzles Canada. Turns out there are puzzle competitions in Canada, including one sponsored by Puzzles Canada. It happens to be next weekend, but I won't be around. I don't even know if they are open for spectators. That led to finding the Canadian Jigsaw Puzzle Association on Facebook, which I became a member of. 

Update: I sent an email asking if spectators can attend, and I got a response almost immediately. YES --- spectators are encouraged, and of course, Puzzles Canada will be there, and of course, they will have puzzles for sale! I can go to the Sunday afternoon events on my way home. Hmmmm --- I think I might put that on my agenda - what do I have to lose? It will be loads of fun and informative! It's noted on my agenda! 

Let's just say that I'm getting a ton of Facebook posts about puzzles! Oh my!!! A new (to me) company that has some amazing puzzles is Villager.  Oh my --- I spotted one for Salt Spring Island. As so it goes!!!! Here is the link to their new puzzles. This is a Canadian company, and all the artists are women! 

I do not need to buy any new or used puzzles at the moment, but oh my --- the possibilities are endless. I guess I know what I'll be doing to take a break from sewing, as I can't see myself sewing all day, every day. Making a puzzle doesn't take up much room  - a 2-foot by 3-foot space is more than enough, and put the pieces on some make-shift boards made with felt and foam core, and you are set! 

And I spotted a virtual event that was based in Canada! It happened on May 9th. Who knew that all this stuff was happening? I've been so focused on quilting!!!! WAIT --- I also see there is another virtual event coming up. Hmmm! I might buy the puzzle they just worked on and do a practice run to see if I can actually work under pressure. And do I want to work under that kind of pressure? It would be fun to try once. 

Speaking of puzzles, here is the status of the one I'm working on. I have certainly gotten my money's worth from this one. This was after about two hours last night.  

Progress is being made on my existing puzzle

The holes are filling in, but the border is still not connected in some spots. I should be able to finish it by the time I leave for the retreat. OK -- that's doable! 

I spotted this photo on Facebook, and well, we need one of these in our neighborhood. What a great idea! 

Jigsaw Puzzle exchange library

Before I go, here's an interesting thought about puzzles versus quilting. You get loads of entertainment, it's probably no more expensive than quilting - actually, probably cheaper since it doesn't require any special tools. And once you are done, you can swap the puzzle or give it away. You don't have to worry about any UFOs. Hmmmmmmm 

OK - enough about the puzzles, let's get on with sewing. I think I mentioned that I finished all the applique for Color My World, but since the sewing machine was set up for applique - such a tough job to set it up - NOT!!! I continued with applique and completed all the stitching on this wall hanging. 

The hexagons are all stitched down

The fabric hexagons and one cardboard template were cut on a digital cutter (Momento) in mere minutes. I love that I can take an entire fat quarter and cut it with the Momento! The hexagons have been fused to the background for a couple of months. The edges are turned under, so I needed to do machine invisible applique as I did for the house blocks. 

That is done, and I still have more invisible appliqué to do later today, but first I have some piecing to do. No—wait—I think I have to do the appliqué before I do the piecing. Anyway, I have no choice now but to work on the homework - I've delayed it as much as I can. I got some of the presentation work done for the weekend, but I'm a wee bit behind. 

I got one more customer quilt done. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I have to call it quits on the long arm for the time being, until I finish preparing for the weekend classes. Although the machine works on its own, it's still very time-consuming and requires focus. So I don't get a ton of work done. Today is the day for focus!!!

I scanned one picture from Katimavik and sent it as a sample to Radar's brother. The old printer still works very well as a scanner, and I hope to use it to print something today, as I don't have time to set up the new one. Here's the new one - a white printer! 

Update --- No go on printing with the old printer. After leaving the cartridges out, they have dried up. So I have opened the box on the new one, and it's sitting on the kitchen counter. I need to print a few pages, and then I'll find a home for it tomorrow. 

The new printer

As I was looking through my Katimavik photo album, I spotted a group photo of all of us in the military option. They did not have that option very long. I'm not sure if it lasted only one year. But I counted, and there were close to 50 people in our group. I think the full program only ran once. They offered shorter programs in other years. 

The Katimavik military option group

It was an exciting and life-changing experience, and even though it was tough, it was NOT as tough as the boot camp the regular force goes through. But it was tough. I found lots of pictures of the girls in the hallway in their underwear. Why I took those pictures is beyond me, but it's a good memory. But why in our underwear? Because our uniforms were pressed and cleaned, no one wanted to get them dirty or wrinkled before inspection. Our barracks had to be clean as well. So we did that cleaning in our underwear, then got dressed! Perhaps that is why I'm not good with rules and authority! 

That group then got split into three groups - one for communications, one for infantry, and I can't remember what the third group was. Or maybe there were only two groups. It was interesting because most of the communications group were females, while the infantry were males, and we ended up at the same base (Valcartier, Quebec) for the final three months of the program. More than one couple resulted from that program. 

Hmmm—be careful what you wish for! The weather has been cool, with lots of rain and no sun. Or that's how it seemed. Then we had three HOT days with humidity. A cold front moved in, and it's back to freezing again. It's currently 7 degrees C. That's a 30-degree difference from the "feels like" 36 we had just a short time ago. 

This is the alarm pad in the house, and I don't know where it gets its data from, but I think it's a bit off! Even though it's cold, it's not this cold!

Hmmm-- where is this data coming from?

So that was a weird way to write the blog, but it got done. I have a very busy day at the sewing machine. But the first thing is to get that new printer fired up because I need a pattern! Then I'm off to work. I still have a couple of videos to finish reviewing for the weekend and quite a bit of sewing. I've been working on stuff, but not the right stuff! Typical me! 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!!