Multi-tasking at its best

My brain always seems to be working overtime, and yesterday was no exception. I'm sure you all have your favorite people that you follow on Facebook or IG. You know the ones that are either building/renovating a house/castle/chateau or own pets (goldens, huskies, or other breeds with a few cats thrown in. And as they reach their various milestones, they post the numbers. 

But have you noticed how the number of content creators has exploded? Everyone thinks they can be a content creator because how hard can it be? And some of them are definitely better than others, but have you ever considered the competition between them and the pressure to produce more and better videos than the others? More exciting videos and they get a bigger share of your time, and thus money. 

And all it does is make us spend more time online, and we get nothing done. Putting those videos together is a lot of work and can be extremely intrusive to the content creators' lives, but a number of them have given up good day jobs because the videos (and your views and likes) are more lucrative. 

But here's the thing—if you think your day job is stressful, what about constantly being on camera, thinking about the next topics, and editing? And you can't complain to your boss because you are the boss. 

And you are setting yourself up for a lot of criticism. When these content creators first came out, I thought it was very cool and subscribed to several of them. I don't watch them as much anymore. Why? Because what they are showing has just become silly, and, in some instances, I find it wasteful to see so many dollar-store props end up in the landfill. 

Or to be told by a young couple, "you probably don't understand our vision, just wait for it to be finished," when it's perfectly clear that whatever they are talking about is NOT new. We understand perfectly what you are saying because we already have that feature in our house or whatever. And many times, in house building, I see people adopting trends because they're trendy, but they're certainly not practical. The worst offenders are the "smarter" ones who install some feature because it's going to be maintenance-free. HAH!!! Owning a house, no matter the features, requires maintenance. Sorry! 

Will these content creators ever go away? I'm not sure, but just be mindful of what you watch. 

It was a crazy day, as I have a few tasks to finish before next week, and I don't want to fail at them. Do you know how hard it was to find a dog sitter for one day in a different city than where you live? 

It was insane, and I swear I spoke/texted/emailed every dog sitter in Nanaimo to find someone who would even answer me. I started by leaving phone messages, then realized these people were probably younger and only had cell phones, so I could text them. But the number of people who never responded is obscene. 

Anyway, I was on my phone and computer a lot yesterday as I tackled that task. I had another task that needed a lot of attention with multiple phone calls and emails, but it was accomplished as well. Fingers crossed that it all works out. It's out of my hands now. 

And let's not talk about passwords or phone verification issues. I swear that is going to be the death of me. I got booted out of a site for exceeding my attempts at phone verification. I get it that these steps are there to prevent AI from encroaching on websites, but it has become absolutely crazy!!! 

I want to go back to a simpler time when we didn't have cell phones! OK - I might not be that crazy, but all these security levels are insane, and it's only going to get worse as AI becomes smarter. Sigh........

I managed to get one more of the community project quilts done. This is number six of eleven. I'm on the other side of the mountain now!!!

Number six of eleven of the community project quilts

As I was buzzing around Studio B looking for something that I never found, I discovered the kit for this small pillow. All the fabrics were in the kit, and I had pulled thread for it. Good grief—if all my threads were pulled from all the projects, I might need to buy a new cabinet to store them! 

A kit I found 

All the embroidery was completed yesterday. I didn't put a red tail on the bird, but in hindsight, I should have. I am NOT ripping that out. It is what it is. You know what? He looks just fine the way he is!!! A bluebird doesn't have a red tail. By the way, this is a free download if you want. It's on Kimberbell's site and called A Little Birdie Told Me. 

The embroidery is complete.

I just might forge ahead and finish the pillow today. It's small and very cute. 

Then I needed to get the backing prepped for a quilt. OH MY --- I bought this fabric recently, and its quality is amazing. It's thick, and you can't see a single thing through it. That's pretty unusual these days. 

Incredible quality (excellent) on this fabric

I laid out one more of the dog fabric quilts on the design wall and arranged the squares. They are now in labeled rows and tucked in a bag for the next retreat. I had to add two squares, but quickly found an appropriate print in the still-full basket of dog fabric in the stash room. 

This dog fabric quilt is ready to sew together.

That left the design wall empty, so I dug out the next large project that I want to work on. It's part of my 2026 UFOs and is on the Visual To-Do list. OH MY --- I thought it was more together than it is. Only one quarter of it is intact, and the rest is in pieces. 

Tequila Lime quilt top

I'll have to sort that out later today so I can start to sew it together. I see I still need to do some trimming, but thankfully, all the paper piecing is done. This was Tequila Lime that I taught in 2023. Oh my -- how quickly time flies! 

I was given a few other tasks for the upcoming wedding. Things that I had to make or alter. Thankfully, none of them were too complex, but some required a bit of ingenuity. In total, there are five things I was asked to make or wanted to make. Four of the five are done, and I have all day to work on the last one. 

Of course, I'm still in the process of making travel arrangements. So help me god, but I have nothing on the calendar, and then everything hits at the same time. Sometimes, the only thing required for travel is booking a plane ticket. But this time, I need multiple planes, cars, hotels in various cities, and multiple dog sitters for various dogs! I'll make the final arrangements later today, and then I think everything will be done. I'll need the weekend to finish some packing for when I get back, as I have back-to-back events this month, and it's going to be fun to keep everything straight. 

As I find or remember things, I'm setting them out in piles so it won't be a mad scramble when it's time to pack them. 

Does anyone have any experience with this tool for setting snaps and rivets? VARIO creative tool by PRYM. I spoke to Emmaline Bags the other day as I was contemplating buying the big table press. But they said they are moving to this lighter tool and mentioned that unless I was riveting into thick leather, this one was likely suitable for all my needs. 

On that note, it's time to get moving on the day. Lots to do and hopefully today will be stress-free!!! Yesterday was a bit more stressful than I would like! OH -- just made the final travel arrangement. Well, that is, until we need to come home! 

OH MY -- I have the back door open, and the smell of lilacs in the house is almost overpowering. I can't imagine what it smells like in the gazebo!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!!