Oh my --- it's funny how sometimes taking a picture with no reference can throw things out of whack. That's why sometimes I take a picture with my hand/finger in it to show the scale.
Remember my basket of triangles to be made into HSTs?
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| My basket of triangles to make HSTs |
Well, this is not a large basket. Have a look.
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| The basket is 7" tall. |
The basket is only 7" tall. But it's still big enough to house a LOT of those little triangles.
Perspective or scale, might be a better word, is extremely important and can be used very cleverly. I'm sure you've all seen some of those photos. Here's a link to a Pinterest account if you don't know what I mean. BUT --- don't dally long. Pinterest can be deadly in how much time you spend there, which is why I do NOT use Pinterest.
Remember this big ball from the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham? I don't think I posted it, but it won an award for Quilt Creations, and apparently in person, it's spectacular. The center is filled with an inflatable balloon.
It's called Pride Around the World by Matt Wilding. It looks fun, but how big is it? It's hard to tell if there's nothing around it to compare to.
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| Pride Around the World by Matt Wilding |
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| That ball is big!!! |
Here's a short clip of Matt talking about his project. No sound on the videos, but it is closed captioned.
I had a physio appointment, and I had no car. But I have four bikes in the garage, so it was a no-brainer to pump up the tires on one and away I went.
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| My ride to physio |
This is my townie - the model for my tattoo! It was pretty grimy and dirty and desperately needs a thorough cleaning. I wasn't sure about the tubes because, when I started to pump them up, I could hear the rubber tubes popping and expanding inside the tires. I took it for a spin down the street to see if they were holding air, and all seemed good. It's 3.7 KM from the house, and the only nasty thing is you have to cross an on-and-off ramp for a major highway. BUT, they changed the light system years ago, and so there are definite gaps in the traffic. It was not an issue.
I wasn't going to walk that far there and back. Too hot for that, and I didn't really have the time, although I do walk that far in the morning with the girls - I just didn't need a second long walk in the day.
Now that the tires are pumped up, I need to get out on that bike more often. It's fun. But that bike needs to be cleaned up. I had to wash my hands every time I got on and off because it was so dirty. Even my helmet was filthy!
As I was puttering in the garage, I also started a sorting line along one side. Hard plastic, metal, wood, etc. If I can do a bit of sorting each day, I'll soon have a load or two to take to the recycling depot. Sometimes, it just takes an intervention to get started. In this case, DH had the car, and I was stuck! Well, I wasn't stuck, but I was NOT going to get an Uber for 3.7 KM. And if I was going to walk, I would have taken the shortcut through the gym parking lot, which cuts off about 1 KM.
The bike was behind some of the junk, which is why I started sorting as I pulled the bike out!
As for physio? As suspected, my muscles are TIGHT. Hips, glutes, in particular the piriformis, which is a tight little ball. That's likely the issue for the sciatic nerve problem. So I got confirmation on the exercises from the other doctor, plus tips on how to make them happen with good form. And I got some new ones to focus specifically on the piriformis and to stretch out my quads. OMG - my hips are terribly weak! Try doing the clam shell in good form, and I can barely move my hip and instant pain! So it's all about baby steps to try and strengthen and open up those muscles!
I got both embroidery machines running yesterday. Let's say that those machines are big. I was using the Mega Turnable Hoop, which is quite big. You can stitch out an area that's almost 18" square, so the hoop is larger than that. There is also one for the NEW PFAFF creative icon 3—but I can't remember what it's called. I'd better get that terminology under my belt by Wednesday!
I was afraid the hoops would clash at one point. They came close, but not close enough to touch. And yes -- that foot pedal is on the table for lack of space anywhere else. I don't use the foot pedal for machine embroidery. WAIT -- that's a lie—I do, but I didn't need it for this project.
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| Will the hoops collide? |
Then I fired up the sewing machine, and I could monitor the hoop positions from where I sat. The rust fabric was in the HUGE hoop, while the black was in a smaller hoop.
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| Monitoring the hoop positions on the two embroidery machines |
I decided it was time to get that darn rooster block done. Remember the rooster block from Down on the Farm?
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| The original rooster block |
Remember that some of the grass stalks along the bottom weren't contrasting enough with the grass background? At first, I wasn't going to change it, but after someone commented, I decided to bite the bullet and redo that section.
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| The new rooster block |
I wasn't going to change the grass in the post area, as you can see it well enough. WAIT --- there's another piece of that dang grass on the right side of the post. So I had to cut a bit more fabric and make that happen.
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| The final rooster block |
And now the rooster block is done. All that is left is to remake the turtle because his head doesn't contrast well with the water. I may or may not work on that today.
I managed to get two samples done yesterday. I won't have time to make anything with them, but I have the stitchouts, and that's good enough for the moment.
A lot of technology was working yesterday, and I managed the two embroidery machines while I sewed on the third one. It is for all the toys on those tables that I am NOT ready to retire! I am having way too much fun, and I don't want to give up those toys, which I would have to do when I retire. Or cough up a lot of cash!
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| Having fun with the toys |
If anyone in the industry (companies that make tools, fabric, and notions) ever doubts our ability to work on these machines, don't let me hear them say that! We are sophisticated, intelligent, and very smart consumers. We have to be because otherwise, how could we use their products? I once heard an executive of a fabric company poo-poo their consumers about something, and I have never forgotten that. You can never forget who your consumer is and don't underestimate them. We are smarter than you think we are!
I sat outside for a bit in the afternoon, and Murphy was totally fascinated by something under the deck. Was it a rabbit taunting her? Or a vole? It could have been either, but those rabbits are known to sit under the deck.
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| MOM - there's something under the deck - I got this! |
Speaking of Murphy, I left her out again last night. I brought her in, and the minute that door closed, she started pacing. So I let her out so we could all get some sleep. I think she barked once at around 10:30, so I brought her in. She seemed agitated by something - i.e., she wasn't sleeping. She didn't like that door closed one bit and ended up going upstairs and plunked herself on the floor where she could hear the waterfall through the open windows, and she didn't budge all night.
What is going on in her head?
I also managed my weekly one-hour in the garden! Pulling more weeds and playing Twister on the pond rocks as I attempt to grab all the creeping vine. As if that is ever going to happen, but I need to keep it under control. I could spend more time, but an hour a week works for me. I finally got some of the mulch that has been sitting around for MONTHS spread out. Now that all the electrical junk (old lights and wiring) is gone, it looks so nice. And I broke down and ordered my other item for the backyard from my favorite online store. I could NOT find it in an actual store.
And after dinner, I worked on the puzzle again. OK -- so it's not as easy as I thought it would be. There are lots of tricky bits, and I doubt I'll get this done by Monday night. You never know!
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| Work on the jigsaw puzzle. |
Making samples or working on the puzzle? That is the question.
OK—I'm totally in love with this IG account I started following. More great words of wisdom. Here is one I chose for today. If you want to follow along, it's called Thought.Minds. Very insightful information.
I would love all their words of wisdom in a book! They are probably in a book somewhere. But I pick the ones I totally agree with and follow, and then I capture others where I could (and want) to do better. I could do better in this area.
Well, it's time to get moving. There's a lot of sewing to get done today. Actually, that's a lie - it's machine embroidery that needs to be done. A little creative thinking and I can get both machines working on different things, which will speed up the process. And instead of sewing, well, I could work on that jigsaw puzzle! But don't tell anyone!
On that note, I'm out of here.
Have a super day
Ciao!!!
PS -- in case you are wondering, the next Virtual Retreat is August 29 and 30. I feel like it's been forever since we all had a great chat!!!
captioned.
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