A miracle in the backyard!

I sat at the computer yesterday morning and did some catch-up with email, and I have part of the class information written up! Saturday is still my deadline to publish that information, and I should be OK with that. So much other stuff sitting around the computer that needs to be dealt with -- how does it accumulate so fast? OR am I pulling things out when I see some open space? 

And to answer the question - will Busy Beach be a sew along? It's on my plan (the price is right)  -- just not this year. 

Speaking of sew-alongs, let's hear it one more time for Brenda's quilt. I sent the links to the blog posts to the participants and asked them to mention if I made any goofs, and I did. The tower in the top right is the Calgary Tower, NOT the CN Tower. I was going by memory, and I goofed on this one! That's it—unless something major happens, you will NOT see this quilt on my blog again! LOL

Brenda

I'm happy to report that I accomplished a lot in Studio B as well. It may not look like anything, but it's the little details that will niggle at your brain until you are going mad. As I get older, I need calm and clear and uncluttered in my workspace. So I took some time in the morning and finished off these. 

This was the original sample you saw, but now it has a sparkly bead for an eye. It looks much better. 

Machine embroidery with yarn

Then I had a chance to remake only the bird. My intent was to use up a sample similar to this (the one above). However, as I worked, I realized that this is a perfect example for showcasing the positioning and projection tools on the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3 and the soon-to-be-released (September) PFAFF creative icon 3. So I made another sample with just the bird. 

Another sample with just the bird

Now I have three samples - the original one on top, which has many teaching moments in it, the newly completed one (what I learned!), also with a sparkly bead for an eye, and the sample that I can use to show how to use the projection and placement tools. It's so super easy, but you have to remember to use them properly. 

Three samples

This was my quote in the tea the other day, and I think it's perfect in this situation. 

Quote of the day

I'm glad that that situation happened, although it was frustrating. The project wasn't big, and I learned some valuable lessons and further developed my skills. If I had just winged it and it worked, then I wouldn't have learned so much. Actually, I did set it all up properly the first time, but for whatever reason, I moved the top fabric before I pressed start. That is a big NO-NO after you have placed something! I have no idea what I was thinking. 

Since I liked the eyes on the birds, I decided my spider needed eyes too, and I found some sparkly red beads in my bead stash. So that got done. 

Eyes on the spider!

I had another sample that needed pressing and starching, and that got finished as well, but I realize that I forgot to take a picture, so you'll see that tomorrow. 

I also stitched out the new design for my shirt, and it is very cute. I'm glad I changed the design, but I didn't need another lesson to make that happen! I needed to buy some ribbon for that, and when I was standing looking at the rack and saw the ribbon hanks on sale, I decided to get many colors. Why buy one, when you can buy many? 

LOTS of ribbon to choose from

But amid the commotion, I realized as I was putting my Embellishment Attachment for the EPIC 3 away that I had lost the long, thin threading wire. DRAT!!!! How the heck will I ever find that, and I hate losing bits of anything. However, I got very lucky! As I was sitting at the embroidery machine, I glanced down and saw a line on the floor. To my surprise - it was the wire. 

The missing threader wire

The white on the left is my huge hunk of white fabric for the shirt, and I need to recut the back yoke now that the stitching is done. That was easier than cutting the yoke and embroidering on the smaller piece of fabric. I need to cut that with a clear head, so hopefully I can get it done later today. Everything else is cut out, and I need to get working - the clock is ticking. 

At last - some clear space - calm!

Seeing those empty tables, all the thread bits in the garbage, the threads back in their respective cases, and the tools in their place just makes it so much more inviting to work when the space is like that. I also opened another small table and moved everything from this table (mostly my samples I want to tidy up) and anything on the cutting table I'm not focusing on this week. It all went on the table. I need less clutter!! I don't care how cluttered the tables are - I can easily ignore that - it's my three working spaces that I need clear. 

It was a surreal day yesterday. The smoke from the fires in Northern Ontario was driven our way by the wind. It was DARK in the house, and we had to use the lights in the middle of the day. The sky was totally smoked over, and it reminded me a little bit of being in the twilight in the north in the middle of the night. It's still smoky this morning. But at least the temperature yesterday was pleasant. 

The sky is filled with smoke.

My local library branch is closed for the remainder of the summer while they install a makerspace and new carpet! I wonder where the maker space will go? I had requested a book and had it delivered to the next closest branch, which is about 2 KM away. Since the temperature was pleasant, I decided to walk! 

Guess what? They had a jigsaw puzzle on the go. It was on one of those puzzle boards with the drawers on the sides. Of course, I had to stop. 

A jigsaw puzzle at the library

My super sleuth eyes spotted this piece almost right away. Actually, I put the piece below that in as well. 

I added two pieces

And then I was able to assemble these three pieces together. 

A three-piece random section is now together.

But I learned something valuable. I do NOT like working on that felt surface! I need a hard surface to get the satisfaction of putting the puzzle together. Isn't that weird? Not really, because as I'm listening to the book, Sugar, Fat, Salt by Michael Moss, he talks about the sensations that make us crave more food or hate certain ones, and it's all about the crunch, the texture, and many other things that make us want more. I've got a lot to say about this book, but not today. 

On my way home, I knew there was a geocache in the retaining wall beside a shop. It's very close to my house, and I had attempted to find it several times, but no go. Yesterday seemed like just the perfect day to make that happen. And before you knew it - I found it. 

I had been looking for something ROUND, but the cache was this flat pack! 

A FLAT geocache

And it was stuck literally in the crack of the retaining wall! One more to cross off the list!!!

A clever hiding spot

I really need to get my bicycle in working order (tires just need to be pumped up) because while the walk was fine and only took 40 minutes there and 30 back, I could bike it as well. I found several shortcuts on the way home. 

I was out messing with the pond again. The high temperatures greatly affect the water levels. As I was looking in the pond, guess what I spotted? It's a MIRACLE. We have a whole new mess of BABY FISH!!!!! There must have been about ten—OK, maybe six or seven. And they were all hanging out together, but of course, by the time I got my phone, they had dispersed. But here is one of them. 

A baby fish

And here's another. We also have all kinds of bugs on the surface that make short work of mosquitoes in the backyard. I don't feel so bad about paying $70 for those fish now! I got a great deal on them. 

One more fish and some water bugs

I took the picture of my Vancouver Island puzzle and posted it on Facebook. There are now 239 posts of puzzles by Villager that the group members finished this month! And we are only halfway through.  

I put the puzzle away, and now it's time to work on the next one, which I chose from the pile. I wanted something smaller (500-piece). There was a bag of pieces in the box, and I set them aside. It was only as I was laying out the other pieces that I realized these were the border pieces that someone put in a bag. However, they missed one!!

One border piece escaped.

And when you lay out all the border pieces, it doesn't look like there are a lot! 

The border pieces

But the border is done, and I'm working on the inside. It's a rainbow of butterflies, flowers, and bugs. This is one that I bought at the thrift store. It's a no-name brand I'm not familiar with, and thankfully, only 500 pieces. I've become a puzzle snob in a very short time, and the pieces on this are very thin, and they don't really stick together well. So I'll get it done, and it will go back to the thrift store! The quality is something that you would find at the dollar store. 

Progress on the new puzzle

All is good in my world, and I don't feel stressed one bit. I have my list of projects I want to finish before I leave, and I have three days. I won't get them all done, but the ones planned for today should NOT take a lot of time if I do everything right! We all know how that goes! But I get done what I can, and what I can't? Then I'll do it when I get home. 

I'm also compiling a list of other samples that I want to make based on what I've done this past week. There's always room for one more sample to test a theory, a new technique, or a new thread. 

On that note, I'm off to see Brooke this morning. I am now going to the gym three days a week (two of them completely on my own) and am pretty consistent as long as I am home. It forces me to practice getting up and down from the floor, which is a great skill to have. I may not be super graceful, but I'm doing OK. I'm even contemplating going back to the gym FIVE days a week, but let's start with four days and see what happens. That will be after next week. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!