Use the good china NOW!!!

Organiziation! It's so critical to how we work. Wait — it's critical to how much we get done, or how easy it is to get something done. Even if you love working in chaos, when things have a home, it's so much easier. 

Right now, if you looked at Studio B, you would GASP. I gasp because there are boxes of threads and stabilizers all over the floor. The cutting table and the ironing board are heaped with stuff, the sewing tables are strewn with embroidery hoops, and other "debris." It's in quite a disarray. BUT since everything has a home, when I am done stitching, it will take mere minutes to put everything back in order. 

I didn't quite accomplish everything I had planned to stitch out, but I made great progress. While there are loads that I want to stitch, I think I just have two small things left. The rest is icing on the cake and can wait until I'm back. 

I started the day with a walk with the girls - separately, of course. Even though Murphy is slowing down, I don't want to put any competitive pressure on her by her needing to stay ahead of Lexi. Yes - that girl is competitive! 

Lexi and I spotted more giant hibiscuses - white ones this time. Hmmm - I walk past here often, but never noticed them before. Why is that? Did you know that Rose of Sharon is in the hibiscus family? I should have guessed because they look very similar. Of course, you all knew that!  

Giant hibiscus

And then I had my morning tea in one of my two china mugs. I don't remember how long ago I pulled these out of the cupboard and decided to use them, but it's been years since I started using them. I bought them in 2015 or 2016, and they were relegated to the back of the cupboard, still in their boxes. Yes - they are fading from repeated dishwasher use, but guess what? When I can no longer use them, and someone comes to pack up my kitchen, they will say that those mugs were well used and well loved. And they would be right. Don't keep the good stuff for a special occasion. Life is short - EVERYDAY is a special occasion. 

My well-used china mugs

Then I was determined to find the error that I knew existed in that pattern I was testing. The number of pieces in the cutting instructions for one block was short by two, but which two? I know it's of no value to me to find those errors, but I felt duty-bound (OK - I'm a Virgo) and I wanted to find the darn errors. And I did - one mislabeling and two cutting quantities that were incorrect. 

Finding an error

I think there is one more error, and I know I shouldn't spend any more time on it, but I want to know where the darn error is!! I can't help myself. I did spend some time on it, but I didn't spot the error, so I will take some time later today to try one last time. 

DH left an article about travel on the table for me to read, but I found an article on ceiling fans in the same newspaper section, so I read that instead. I was a bit disappointed in the article. While I already knew that ceiling fans do not cool the room - they only move the air around- I found the article to be a bit on the negative side. 

Article on ceiling fans

Ceiling fans have a reputation for being ugly. Well, that has changed - my fans look just fine, and since they are white with a small light, they aren't even obvious. They circulate the air because we know that hot air rises, and so they can be used in winter and summer. They are quiet and no longer wobbly if properly installed. They aren't cheap, but the article mentioned they start at $800 for a nice one, and I certainly paid less than that for each of mine. But apparently, buying ceiling fans is in again! 

I could have written a much better article that was way more positive than the one in the paper. 

I needed vinyl for a couple of my embroidery projects, and well, I have a small stash of vinyl. It's all on rolls in the depths of the stash room. I pulled one tube out to get to the black and look at all the wonderful colors I spotted as well. What can I make with that hot pink? 

Marine vinyl

I cut the black into sizes that I need. I cut them upside down, so I can mark them and cut with scissors. I do this on the kitchen island. It's a tad short, but the space is much bigger than any of the tables downstairs. WAIT -- none of the tables are free downstairs, so this is my only option. 

Cutting vinyl at the kitchen island

And the suitcase is in the hall, and I've started packing it. My goal is to fit everything into the one suitcase. I'm not sure that will happen, but I'll also have room in my clothes suitcase for stuff. 

The suitcase needs to be packed.

I looked but didn't find the onesie or the blank cushion covers, so I headed to the thrift store to see what I could find. Oh my --- a Twister hopscotch game. Of course, I had to look in the puzzles and games section! I should have bought this to put on the rocks by the pond! I did not. But I spotted two puzzles that kind of went into my bag. 

Twister hopscotch? 

I managed to find three onesies that were not stained and didn't have anything on the front. That cost me $3.99, less 20%. Then I hit the mother lode in the cushion department. I found one cream cushion cover, two beautiful green ones, and two yellow ones. They all have invisible zippers and will work perfectly for my project - showing off the free arm capabilities on the PFAFF creative icon 3. 

I decided to start with a onesie. I will confess that I rarely do T-shirts. Have I ever embroidered on a T-shirt? There was a wee bit of a learning curve, but I managed just fine. No one will know that I had to do a major rip-out job about five minutes after I started! And we all know that what takes five minutes to stitch takes a long time to rip out!

Stitching a onesie on the free-arm

While you can embroider this type of thing without the free arm, it is so much easier with the free arm. There's zero danger of the T-shirt falling back into the hoop. 

The onesie is done!!!

I also wanted to do a tote bag, but do you think I could find anything that worked? I tried several that I had, and they were too big. But then in my "panic" to find something, I found this tote bag from Micheal's in my stash. It's one of their MAKER bags, and it was the perfect size. 

However, I swear I marked the center of that bag, and look—the design is off center. I finished that last night, and I was too tired to investigate the problem. That's a job for today. I may do the other side today, but centered!

The embroidery on my tote bag

I got three other things stitched out as well, and now, except for adding to my polar bear and one more stitch-out on vinyl, I think all that remains is to clean up the samples, which I can do at Monday Sewing. That involves removing stabilizer and clipping threads on the back where necessary. 

The rest can be done at a later date. 

YES -- I finished the puzzle, and I was not disciplined, and I did part of it during the day while I was waiting for the embroidery machine to finish stitching! Rather than tidying up! I didn't get a picture of it, but I will for tomorrow. OK - I finished it in the afternoon. Obviously, I wasn't desperate to get those samples stitched out! 

I am addicted to those sayings on IG from thought.minds. They are amazing, and I have several today. 

This is one that I would like to change. I am a bit of a lecturer, and I need to shut up and listen a bit more. I've improved a whole lot on the home front, and that makes things so much easier and better. As someone said, you don't need to comment on everything that you don't agree with. Just shut up and let it go. It's not the end of the world. 

M was the first person who made me realize I was a fixer, not a listener. And I've backed off so much. I still do lecture from time to time, and if you are on the receiving end of one of my lectures when you just want a hug? STOP me and ask for a hug. I'm not a hugger, but I'll give you a hug. 

This next one is so true, and that's how I'm tackling my decluttering. Slow and steady. I'll get there—in my own way —so it's enjoyable, as much as decluttering can be enjoyable. 

And the final one - I know there are so many good ones from yesterday. 

I was in bed contemplating going to the gym this morning when I spotted this. Oh my --- I'm going to the gym this morning. 

And on that note, I'm out of here. I'm a bit behind and need to step up my game to stay on schedule. Not that it matters, but I like to leave the house by 5:55 at the latest, so I don't have to wait at the traffic light. At 6 AM, the pattern changes and the wait is longer. How silly is that, but it's a tiny motivation to get me going before that changes. Hey -- whatever it takes. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!