I need ONE MORE DAY!!!

You did not miss a post with an update on the Visual To-Do list. I will get my act together when I'm back later this week and give you an update. I need to refocus when I'm back and get to work on those items. I have been working on them over the last couple of months, so there's been lots of progress, but no finishes. I need some finishes!

Speaking of finishes - I have two more projects to share with you. Actually, make that three. 

Here is the table runner that has been finished for several days. I dug it out of the suitcase and took a picture of it. The same motif is on the other end. This is the $4 find at the thrift store. The runner is very long, and there are a couple of very faint stains on it. I covered up one of them with the motifs. I'm very happy with how it turned out. And all I needed to do when it was done was to clean up the back - I didn't have to finish anything! I am tempted to stitch two more images in the center. I created a single image by cutting and pasting parts of this one. I'll rethink that when I'm back. I have saved the threads so it's doable. 

My $4 thrift store find

It's linen, so a good dose of starch helped enormously to make it look pretty. Speaking of starch, I also finished this one. Sorry—that's not a very good picture, but it's also a thrift-store find. There were four identical items in a bundle for $5. Are they runners? napkins? They are about 18" square. 

My table topper

I'm getting pretty good at embroidering two-sided items, where the back will show. However, the one time I had to change the bobbin, I forgot to bring up the thread, and there is a tiny nest of thread on the back. It's not a big deal, but it drives me nuts when I mess up the sequence. Just too many things on the go. But if I didn't mention it, I bet the average eye would not spot it. 

A linen-like table runner

I did rinse it thoroughly to remove the stabilizer, but it still needs a wash and then restarch. I have another table runner to finish today, and it will definitely need to be washed, so that will happen this afternoon. 

I did a lot of tidying up of threads and stabilizer last night and this morning. So while this looks finished, it's not quite done. 

This is also a ready-made item. It's a tablet case from the dollar store made of felt! For the technique I used on the embroidery machine, accessing the space I needed from both sides of the felt was a challenge, but the EPIC 3, with its free-arm capability, worked like a charm. 

The front of the felt case

This is the back of it. I'll take closer pictures later, but the center looks like it has been done with a punch needle, but nope - that is machine embroidery. I plan on putting some snaps on the front - the original had this crazy colored elastic and that would cover my embroidery, so that had to go!

The back of the case

I have two small embroideries to do today, and that will be it! One of them is to repair the boo-boo I did on my big table runner, and the other is an experiment. There is one aspect of all the stitching I've done that I'm not happy with, and I want to try one more experiment before I leave. I'm still taking my unsatisfactory samples - hey -- we all have those, and they are how we learn. Our industry experts will be at the event this week, so I need to run one last experiment before chatting with them. 

I had some felting to do, and that took a very long time, but it's all done. Of course, I want to remake one of the samples to try something that I thought of when I was finished (of course!), but that will have to wait until I'm back. This is what happens when I work. I make one sample, which leads to making more as I ask and answer the question, "what if.....".

Felting on the embroidery machine

Now let's chat about the shirt! The yoke went on much easier than I thought it would, but it was still intense. It's so amazing to sew with a fabulous sewing machine that doesn't care how thick the fabric you are working with is! 

Then I had to sew this trim over the yoke seam, and that was challenging. I have no idea why, but I broke two needles. At first I thought the sequins were hard, but they were not the problem. Anyway -- I took it a bit easy after the second needle broke, and the trim is on, and it looks amazing! Thank goodness I shortened the sleeves and the shirt, but it's going to be a bit too big for me, but that's OK. I was wondering where else I could wear this shirt and then remembered that Quilt Canada is in Calgary next year! Perfect!!!! 

Trim on the shirt

There was more hand stitching when the collar went on. Nothing that I can't handle, and soon I was topstitching the collar. There is ONE small point adding a collar that drives me nuts: where the very front edge of the collar is sewn to the placket. I can do a decent job, but it's not perfect! How the heck do they get it perfect? I must Google it and find a lesson or go back and look in my books. I know how to do it, but there's a trick or formula for accuracy I'm missing. I believe it has to do with grading seams and reducing bulk! I thought I did that, but not enough!

OK - Googled it and found a Threads Magazine article, so I'll have to investigate that for next time. Shoot - I should have done it yesterday, but like I said, my collar looks amazing, just not perfect if Patrick Grant and Esme Young (hosts of The Great British Sewing Bee) were to look at it! 

Hand stitching the collar

The cuffs are prepped and ready to sew on, but first I had to sew the side and sleeve seams. That is done, and the seams are finished - all by machine! Yep -- think about that for a minute. The sleeve seams are finished by machine! Thankfully, the sleeves are wide, so I was able to stitch all the way down through the sleeve. It was like sewing in a tunnel, but since the tunnel was wide, I could sew a few inches and reposition the fabric. 

Finishing the sleeve seam

So what remains to do today? The cuffs, the hem, and the snaps must be on the shirt! That shouldn't take nearly as long as I spent yesterday on the shirt. The large table runner needs a minor touch-up: trimming, hemming, washing, and ironing. I have a zippered pouch I'd like to finish - almost all the components are cut and ready to assemble. I have a small wall hanging to quilt and bind - all the supplies are sitting on the cutting table ready to quilt. I want to sew up the felt case that you saw earlier. 

That will leave one table runner that I was going to quilt, and that isn't going to happen, but I'll finish the prep work and take it with me - it might be a good sample while we are in the booth. There is one small wall hanging that won't get finished. The machine embroidery is done, but I have to think about the next step, so it will go as a stitch-out. I'm good with that. And there is the one embroidery sample that I'm not happy with, and after I do my experiment, I'll just bundle it all up and take it with me. 

It's going to be another intense day. When I work like that, I don't have music, nor do I listen to an audiobook. Actually, I was listening to Sugar, Fat, Salt, and I swear I didn't hear a single word the narrator said! But that's OK. I work much better and can focus 100% without listening to anything. 

I mentioned the other day that all the stuff that was not needed for the trip was put on a different table. I need to focus and see progress!!! So as I worked and things needed to be put away, I simply shoved it onto that "empty" table that I've been using to work. 

Things that need to be put away

I'm happy to report that the table is clear this morning, except for the table runner that needs to be worked on and the hand-stitching needles, which I'll need for the cuffs. The rest is put away!!!!

And the cutting table looks a bit different this morning. All the drawers are closed! And each project and its supplies are sitting in their respective piles. This picture was at the high point of productivity during the day. More drawers open, more productivity! LOL! It's all very civilized and organized. Whatever I don't get done by the end of today will be bagged, with the supplies (mostly thread) shoved in the bag, so if I can find a sewing machine tomorrow, I will be able to continue working. 

The cutting table

I am pretty happy with all the work I've done over the last two weeks, but as I always say before an event, I just need ONE MORE DAY!!! If I had one more day, I could easily finish everything. So why do I always shortchange myself by one day when I'm planning? Of course, I might surprise myself and get all that done, but I doubt it! It's probably that I push the envelope and try to squeeze that one extra day of work in, without actually having the day! 

Needless to say, the puzzle didn't get much time devoted to it. I made progress, but not much. Well, I shouldn't shortchange myself—a lot got done, but there was no need to pull new pieces. I still have quite a few that got pulled the other day. Those darn butterflies and bugs are a challenge to be sure! 

Now for what you have been waiting for - the list of classes. The dates are in - I just need to go back and proof it one more time just to be sure. Given my limited time, I'm going to post it on a separate blog tomorrow. Some people will get the information via email - those on my last year's class lists. I really need a general mailing list, but who has time for that! BTW -- the emails will NOT go out until I'm back, as I don't have access to group emails unless I'm home. 

And I won't get any work done before my flight tomorrow, since it's at 8 AM, so I'll be up and out the door. I must remember to pack some clothes! I'll do that while taking a break later today. 

On that happy note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!