I know -- I know --- but that little plastic sunflower bag is so cute! It will not take long to finish it! And YES—I could make my own double-fold binding. I know! I'll check out the colors of the purchased first, and if I don't find anything, I'll make it! Sometimes my brain works in mysterious ways!
I have a bunch of errands to do today, and one of them takes me right past the fabric store. I already checked my stash and couldn't find anything appropriate.
I seem to have a thing for bags. While I could easily make a new bag from scratch, I seem to get attached to my tote bags—my bag from Stonehenge (oh my god—I had a dream about Stonehenge last night) and my bag from Longo's. I use the bag so long that it wears out, and I need to just say "thank you" and let it go. I can't seem to do that!
OK—we may need a bag intervention here!
Here is that silly girl as I was finishing up the blog yesterday morning. I think she is trying to tell me something!
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| MOM - you're late - let's go!!!! |
And I got a chuckle when we were out for our walk. Typically you see trucks that are commissioned by the city, but that's a scooter! And he's marking lines for something. The paint gun was attached to the front of the scooter!
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| New economical way to travel for the city |
OK - I decided it was time to get my act together and clean up some of that basement. It was starting to look like a warehouse. And the floor was in desperate need of being swept.
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| A bit of a mess to say the least |
The boxes for the PFAFF creative icon 3 went into the cold storage area under our front steps. I don't know if there is room for any more boxes!!! I need to keep the boxes for when the machine is shipped somewhere, so throwing them out is not an option. Thankfully, I have this storage area because if I didn't? Well, those boxes take up a lot of room.
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| My sewing machine box storage area |
And now when I go downstairs, it's a lot more inviting. YES—there are still a lot of things, but they are in their permanent home. YES - I need to get that new leader on the long arm. That is a goal I'll start today. Or tomorrow, depending on what happens today.
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| This looks much better. |
The other big job I tackled yesterday was my new table. I sort of dreaded working on it because it's heavy. Step one was to lay the tabletop on the floor so I could work on it. Thankfully, it was packaged so the underside faced up, and I could easily work on it, using the packaging cardboard to protect the table's surface.
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| The exposed underside of the table |
Before I could set out all the components, I put the jigsaw puzzle away, and I spotted one piece with discoloration on the back. Hmmm --- what happened to that piece? Well, no worries - it's now in a plastic bag, in the box, and ready to be traded or donated.
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| One discolored piece |
Now the puzzle table is clear. OH—do you see my Longo's bag in the background? It's there because I want to rescue the handles - I like those handles, and I was thinking of swapping them onto the bag I'm currently using. So help me god—I need to throw bags away! They owe me nothing, as I have used them many times before I wore them out!
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| The table is empty and ready for the table leg assembly. |
And now here are all the components of the table. Yikes --- that is a lot of stuff. But this table is heavy-duty and can support up to 450 pounds, so of course it needs a lot of support on the bottom. Plus the top is thick!
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| Components in place and ready to work |
I had to take a few pictures of the paper instructions and enlarge them to see exactly what was what. I think the instructions could be rewritten - some of the language - well, it didn't make sense. Also, in Step 8 you were instructed to insert screws into the tabletop and add more in Step 9, and then in Step 10 it instructs you to center the leg structure. Well, that's a bit late if you already inserted screws in Step 8. Sigh..................
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| The leg assembly |
I got to this point, and I need to get an extension for my drill bit. I swear I had one and I searched, but couldn't find it. So I'm off to the hardware store today to get one. And when I was searching, I had to clear up the puzzle mess that sat on top of the toolbox. Now the puzzles are neatly stacked BEHIND the toolbox, and I have room for about 5 more puzzles, and then I've maxed out my space. So I must stop buying, or puzzle faster!
Since I couldn't go further on the table until I got that part, I decided it was time to remake the turtle block for Down on the Farm. I tried many greens and ended up going with the lighter one I had pulled after I realized the original green didn't have enough contrast.
BUT look what I noticed when I was cutting the black for the rocks. These are the same print, and yet the base color is extremely different. You are looking at the wrong side of each. One is very blue-based, and one is very orange-based. Yet, they are both black! Imagine bleaching them both!
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| Different dye lots of the same fabric |
And there is my turtle block recut and ready to sew.
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| The turtle block is ready to sew! |
I had some time this morning, so I got this much sewn. The new green is a wee bit off, but I'm OK with that because we can at least see the turtle now.
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| Progress on the turtle block |
I should be able to finish that off today, and I hope to work on assembling the blocks and the borders during the virtual retreat tonight and tomorrow.
OH GOSH -- I didn't forget to send out the confirmations for the classes; I got tied up making the big email for the groups and forgot I just needed to send a confirmation. So those will go out this morning. My apologies for that.
And do you want to know about my Stonehenge dream? OK - if you've been to Stonehenge or even if you've seen pictures of it - it's out in the middle of a field. There is nothing around it. I guess I've watched a few too many videos about the recent flash flood in Nepal, because in my dream, there was a massive building around Stonehenge and there was no damage. All was good.
Inside? We were working on some kind of fiber art project! Where did that come from? It always amazes me how our brains work.
Murphy had a wee slip on the stairs yesterday - someone came to the door, and she was downstairs, and I didn't have my barricade up. I heard her attempt to come up, but she couldn't make it, so I helped her up after I answered the door. Yikes -- I have to watch her like a hawk. She doesn't want to wait. OK—so she is like all of us—we think we are still in our 20s!!!
But she seems to be fine, and she and Lexi were having a wrestling match last night. It's not the same (not as boisterous), but they still have fun playing together.
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| MOM -- help me!!!! |
I haven't seen any words of wisdom for the last couple of days, but spotted this yesterday from Thought.minds.
Yep—we need to do this because no one else really appreciates what we are going through. Some days it might be nothing, and the next day we are devastated by something. And for some, just getting out of bed is an accomplishment. Take EVERY win as significant. I don't know why we think that feeling proud of our minor accomplishments is a bad thing. And why do we need validation from someone else? We can validate ourselves! Just tell yourself that the next time you do something small. "I did this!" "I'm super proud of myself," or whatever else is going on. You don't need someone else to blow your horn -- do it yourself and be proud!
I need to think about that for my bag situation!
I see this sign on the entrance to the forest. Oh boy --- they really need to find a permanent solution to that trail in the forest. They can regrade it all they want, but unless they dig the path up, repack it well, and add channels for the torrential downpours, they'll keep having to regrade it.
And now for some announcements. I discovered on the Teach the World to Sew Day website that the participating Michaels stores are listed there as well. At the top of the list are all the Michaels in the US and Canada that are participating. There is one store in Calgary, Toronto, and Saskatoon.
Then you find the US Dealers and then the Canadian Dealers. That date is September 19.
As mentioned, if you know someone who would like to learn to sew, this is a perfect event for them to make something for FREE and show their friends that they have learned to sew.
Here is the link to the Facebook page about the Facebook Live that I will do on the PFAFF creative icon 3 on September 9 at 3 PM EDT. I see a lot of people have responded! Yikes—I've got to get my tables together and get Studio B and my samples in order. The time will pass by quickly. And even if you are NOT in the market for a new sewing machine or a new embroidery machine, pop out to that event. Let's aim to blow the number of attendees out of the water!
I am compressing three hours (my in-person event) into one hour (Facebook Live), so if you get a chance to come and check out my presentations in person, be sure to do so, as you'll see more samples and get more information. There will be live events on the PFAFF creative icon 3 at Sew Productive (Acton, Ontario) on September 26 and at Cindy Bee's Quilt Shoppe (Espanola, Ontario) on October 25 or 26 - I'm not sure which day it will be.
Or you can check it out in person at Salon Quebec on October 1- 4 in Ste. Hyacinthe, Quebec. Yes—it's going to be a busy two months!
I also remembered on my walk that I needed to buy a new power cord for my camera switch box. I couldn't find it the last time I did a Facebook Live, but I was fortunate enough to discover the Cricut power cord worked. But I no longer own the Cricut, so I bought a new power cord yesterday. And I bought it from a local shop, NOT my "favorite" online store. I refuse to buy from them on principle. If I can't find the item anywhere else, then I have no choice, but if I have a choice? I will. I don't care if it costs more money. We need to speak out with our voice (in this case, our dollar)!
There is a Virtual Retreat tonight. Here are the links:
Saturday, August 29 - from 6 PM - 9 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89610782501?pwd=7dCrhiL5t8Xa4TVwZPvhL6cOymbcjK.1
Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311
And Sunday, August 30 - from 3 PM - 9 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89869001291?pwd=h57kT9axwTnd2xtJvuO0z2UOmUo45w.1
Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711
I think that is it for announcements.
Have a super day! It's going to be a super day - I can just feel it, and I look forward to chatting with you all tonight!!! I'm super excited - I've missed everyone over the summer!
Ciao!!!
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