Thanks for all the birthday wishes. While it wasn't my most exciting birthday, nor my most productive, I was happy to just putter around. And that's what life is like when you're as "old" as I am!
I'm just kidding—someone mentioned that old is ten years older than you actually are, and I think that about sums it up.
The good news is that my leg, sciatic, and knees seem to be doing so well. Knock on wood! We don't want to jinx anything. But I'm feeling so much better from the stretching. Being able to sit for those long drives was a miracle, and I dreaded long drives because of that. Everything is going in a positive direction, and let's hope I can maintain my stretching routine to keep it up.
Hmmm --- do you believe in coincidences? I'm listening to a book called Signs by Laura Lynn Jackson, who is a psychic. Do we really get signs from others who have passed? I don't know, since it's never happened to me, but some of what she talks about is profound. If any signs have happened, I wasn't paying attention. She is finishing up the book with just general "feel good" things like prayer, meditation, eating, etc.
One of the things she talks about is positive energy. And I strongly believe in this. You wake up, and you didn't sleep well, or there is something terrible you have to do. By telling yourself that today is going to be a good day, you can really have a great day. Positive outlook is a wonderful thing!
How do I know this? BEFORE I read that in her book this morning, I told myself that very thing as I lay in bed planning my day. I said, "This is the day you are going to get your mojo back. This is the day when you are going to start to be productive again." And you know what? I have probably done more this morning than I have done all week!
The other thing that happened is I took a picture of some fabric that I purchased at Michaels wherever I was last. Regina, I guess it was.
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| Harry Potter fabric from Michaels |
Over the years, there have been all kinds of Harry Potter fabric, and I thought this was subtle, yet, you know exactly what it is if you are familiar with the books.
I took that picture this morning because I was going to tell you this story about Harry Potter (it's coming), and then Laura mentioned Harry Potter in her book! It's amazing how when you spot one thing, it seems to be everywhere.
Did you know that Tim's is sponsoring some promotion with Harry Potter? You can buy donuts with an edible sticker for each of the four houses. The icing and sprinkles match the house color. They don't look too exciting, but I snapped this picture in North Battleford last week. Wait—each donut has a different flavor. Check out the link.
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| Harry Potter donuts at Tim's |
And you can buy a snitch (the golden prize in Quidditch, which is the big game in Harry Potter) that can be filled with Timbits.
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| The snitch!!! |
And when I was at Peachtree Quilting (also called Northgate in Regina), I spotted a Harry Potter apron. I did not get a picture of it, but I found it online.
It's just so bizarre, and after reading about messages from those who have passed, I wonder who is sending me the sign of Harry Potter? Who is trying to communicate with me? It could be true—do you know otherwise?
Remember the jigsaw puzzle that I'm working on. OK - the one that I finished last night. The artwork is by Diane Phalen.
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| Jigsaw puzzle is complete. |
This morning, I happened to be putting some cards away and VOILA—Diane Phalen artwork. I also have a couple of tins I use constantly (sewing machine needles), and some other supplies, and both tins have Diane Phalen artwork.
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| Diane Phalen artwork on cards |
That puzzle is done, and I MUST wait a day or two before I open the next one. The biggest reason is that I need the table space to hoop some fabric for machine embroidery.
OK -- I admit it - My name is Elaine, and I love to hoard jigsaw puzzles. OK - I'll hoard anything I can get away with, but I have a bad habit of acquiring jigsaw puzzles faster than I can make them.
I bought several things earlier in the month from the local thrift store, and if you spent enough, you got a $10 off coupon. I can never say no to a coupon, so I went to the thrift store yesterday just to check out the puzzle section. Imagine my dismay when a lady with a cart was also browsing the puzzle section. And GASP—she had four very nice puzzles in her cart.
Hmm - do I take one and run? Do I get a cart and run her down? I decided not to make a spectacle and let her quietly shop for more puzzles. BUT I scooped up a couple that she may have wanted. There was an excellent selection yesterday. I have not run out of space in the storage cabinet where they are stored, and if I arrange things nicely, I'm sure I'll find more room!
I still have one more coupon to use before the end of the month. THEN - I will stop. And I hope to get myself organized to attempt one puzzle each week. I find I am getting faster, and that is a good thing since I have those three speed puzzling events coming up in October and November.
There are times when you think it's nearly impossible, as I had several moments with this last one, but once you separate the pieces or shape-sort (no need on this one), you are good to go. It's amazing how your eye can pick up such slight color and shape differences, and it's all a good use of the brain!
I'm glad I resurrected that hobby.
Here's one I got yesterday, and I bought it because of the town name it depicts.
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| Petty Harbour |
I know someone who is a puzzler, and that name is special to them. I'm sure they already have this one, but I'm going to offer it to her when I'm done. One of our upcoming monthly themes is a destination. I have quite a few now, and it will be a challenge to know which one to pick. I might pick this one so I can get it out of the house when I'm done.
This is why things take me so long to complete. I took the handles off that small tote bag and realized that the stitching was very loose and the binding on the edges was crap. So I took the bag completely apart. Sigh.............
Then I noticed some holes in the plastic, so I decided to fuse some interfacing on the wrong side. Well, the entire thing is plastic, so that was a challenge, but with a press cloth I was doing great. Then I decided to press the top (hem) over, and that worked, until I turned the iron temperature up and part of it shrunk a wee bit.
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| A small amount of shrinkage |
No worries—that's the hem on the inside; no one will notice. I found new strapping in my bag-making supply box, and I want to put new binding on the bag. The original is just strips of plastic that are deteriorating. I don't have the width of bias tape maker that I need, so I'll just find some double-fold bias at the fabric store and use that. I have some errands near that store, so I'm all set. But it's ready to sew the new handles on! It shouldn't take long, and now - I'd better use that darn bag after all this work. But it's so pretty - I hated to throw it away!
Part of my "reluctance" to get downstairs and work is the total mess that the room is in. The ironing board has stuff, as does the cutting table, and yes, there are things on the sewing tables. So this morning, I got myself in gear and put away all the fabric and felt on the ironing board. I had pulled it for a project that I likely won't make now, so it's all back where it belongs.
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| The mess on the ironing table |
I found a basket in my stash of containers (this was the last basket, so it's not like I have hundreds) and put all the half square triangles that need to be pressed and trimmed in it. As I did, I found these wires, which were remains from when the electricians were here. Oh boy—I am still cleaning up the debris. And that makes sense, since I never totally cleaned up Studio B from when they were here. By debris, I mean little bits of wire that they missed --- this is the only bit I missed, and it's because it got buried in the crap on the ironing board. But the floor and table surfaces need to be swept or wiped. Some of that happened this morning.
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| Some wiring debris |
I even got some half-square triangles pressed and trimmed, so those can be put away.
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| Trimming half square triangles |
Plus, I would like to get that farm quilt together and off the design wall as I'm going to need that soon for some other projects. I was certain that I had some farm fabric in my farm fabric pile that might work for the border. This is what I found!
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| Farm fabric for the border |
It's perfect and might require some fancy piecing as the fabric is directional, but that's OK. I think there will be enough, and I'll do a bit of math and make it work. The border will be as wide as the quantity allows, up to a maximum of 6 inches.
And I still have all this farm fabric in my pile. Some of this will be great for backing, and I might pull the orange one for the backing. But FIRST, I need to remake that turtle block, and perhaps I can do that today.
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| My farm fabric stash |
If you ever want something you think I might have, be sure to ask!!! Someone asked me the other day if I had any tuffet kits left. I taught tuffet making many times and got into manufacturing the kit (foam, legs, upholstery batting, buttons, etc) that you needed to make the tuffet. I was happy to sell the last of those kits, and I think everyone finished the tuffets.
But WAIT—I have one more, and it happens to be square. I promised to dig it out for her, but I wasn't 100% sure where it was. This morning in my fit of tidying up, I found the box. Oh my -- it's a big box.
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| What's in the box? |
As long as we agree on a price and I'm sure that won't be a problem, here is the kit. It appears that EVERYTHING is in the kit except for the fabric you want to cover it with. The legs, the button, the batting, EVERYTHING. Oh my!!!!!!
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| A complete kit for a square tuffet |
Now, when I opened that box this morning, I thought, OH MY—that is too nice to get rid of; I should make this. That thought quickly disappeared from my thought path. I've had it for about 9 years, and I haven't made it. The tuffet I made is stuck in a corner of the bedroom, so why would I want to make another one? I'm happy to part with it for a price, of course.
So, if there is a pattern or anything else (sorry - sewing machines are NOT mine to sell, but I can get you a deal on a PFAFF Creative Icon 2 if you want) that you think I might have, ask away. I'm in a get-rid-of-things mode, and it will be wonderful to free up the floor space that this kit occupied.
I need to do more of that, says me who is buying puzzles like it's the end of the world. But I have no intentions of keeping them. I do them, and they are gone! By the way, does anyone want a Diane Phaolen quilt-themed puzzle? It's yours for the asking, or it will be donated back to the thrift store. Bought at the thrift store and all pieces are there. If the pieces are NOT in a plastic bag, I always put them into one. That makes it less likely a piece will go missing.
We need to have one of those free libraries, but for puzzles. Hey--- they exist!!! Can you imagine?
OH MY GOODNESS -- I found one that is about 40 minutes from my house and in a city (Georgetown) where I visit, especially if I want to buy from the Puzzle Warehouse. DO NOT go to Georgetown! But puzzle swapping could be fun!
Here is the blurb about my Facebook Live on September 9. Well, good grief -- that's a crappy picture. And it's not posted on the website yet. Let me get a better picture tomorrow. I'm running out of time. Studio B is going to need a major overhaul to prep for that event. I need to get started on that later today.
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| My Facebook Live event on September 9 |
I have to do it. All the fabric you have you ate going to buy premade bias tape instead of making your own binding for your bag because you don’t have a big enough binding too?
ReplyDelete2 long pins on your ironing board with your iron in between you start the first 6 inches then put your ins in and pull. Magic. 😉
There are times you just have to let some things go, regardless of how pretty they may be. You have made so many beautiful bags, why redo this plastic one?
ReplyDeleteI’ve finally started the purge process in My Happy Place but have a very, very long way to go! First though I’m going to make as many scrap backings as I can from the odd ball fabrics and cut easy quilts out for QOV and QFS. Plan is to have a large box or tote in the ready for the fabrics I’ll part with …that’s hard!! And of course the UFO’s are popping their heads up in every corner 🤦🏻♀️
ReplyDeleteLooking for my UfO list - I’m sure I’m missing doing something 😂 😱
Signs is the next book on my to read list. It came highly recommended to me and I’m looking forward to reading it. I’ve been moving my sewing room from the small bedroom it was in to the basement. I am doubling the size of the work area and look forward to getting it all set up so I can get back to my projects. It does feel cathartic to declutter and organize. You have been accomplishing a lot.
ReplyDeleteJanice