I'm PUZZLED!!!!

Creative block!!! Where do I start this morning? 

Just kidding! All I need to do is write one word, and then the rest just follows. I have more to write about The Artist's Way, but I'm leaving that until tomorrow. 

Lots of things happened yesterday, and they were very exciting. Let's take a look. I recently went through my pending folder, which was exploding, and I did quite a bit of checking things off the list yesterday morning. So that was a positive way to get some paperwork done. There are a few more papers on the floor from that folder that I need to check to make sure things got done, and then I can file/toss the paperwork. It's all good. 

On my Visual To-Do list is a category called "quilts for others," which means that it's a quilt I want to make for others, or someone asked me to make them a quilt. This is the most embarrassing category on the list because I got stuck in a rut. I'll work up my courage and explain them one at a time, preferably with time in between, so I can get over my embarrassment. 

The reason I'm sharing the stories is that you likely have similar projects, and I want to share how I dealt with them. And I might need your advice on some of it, but slow and steady - let's just deal with them one at a time. 

As I mentioned, I ran into a lady in the grocery store the other day, and she was on my list of people to call because there was a box with a partially completed quilt in it for her. 

The UFO quilt I promised to make for someone else

I sent her pictures of what had been completed so far and a diagram of where we were going with it. She had already received a quilt I made for her Mom. I called her yesterday, and we discussed it. I had phototransferred 30 pictures onto fabric and fused some lettering, which was to be the top and bottom borders. Here's what I learned in that conversation. First -- she didn't even remember the project when I sent her the photos. OH!!!! To be clear, this project was started in 2002 or 2003? So it's been many years - I don't blame her for not remembering, but I remembered, and it has been a weight on my back for all those years. 

Secondly, she mentioned numerous times that the pictures were very dated. Yep—some of the people in the photos were probably no longer around, and all the children? Well, some of them have children of their own. She felt bad for all the work I had done, but then didn't want to add to my workload. 

Bottom line? We ditched the project. Guilt gone and the next time I see her around, we can just catch up - I don't need to mention the quilt every again!!!

I'm not taking that project off the list yet. I need to sort through the box first, and when it's completely dealt with, then I can take it off the list. 

There was a stack of paper - that's now in the recycling. There were a couple of patterns, which are also in their appropriate place. I found some fabrics, and those are back on the shelf. 

Sorting through the UFO

Look at this gorgeous maple leaf neutral I found!!!

Look at the gorgeous fabric.

And THREE spools of machine embroidery thread, which is now back with the rest of the orange threads. I swear, if I could find all the threads that are in the project boxes, I'd have to buy many more containers! Don't yell at me --- I'm working on this mess!!! Are you working on yours? 

Three found spools of thread.

I also found two oraganmi boats that I made with fabric. I'm not sure why they were in the box - perhaps there was a lake behind the tree, and this boat was going on it. I know I made these as samples for another quilt, where I made an origami boat. Hmmm -- I should take a picture of that quilt. It's finished and hangs over my front door. I'm not sure where to put those, but I'll find a home for them, perhaps with my fusible supplies, because I needed a fusible to attach the two pieces of fabric. This technique would work a whole lot better these days with the much thinner fusibles!!

Two origami boats made from double-sided fabric

The stitching had NOT been done on the two borders, and I decided to try to rescue the fabric and perhaps the letters. I know—it's the pioneer spirit within me, and trust me—I LOVE doing this recovery work. I almost find it more satisfying than making something from new stuff. Plus, I have two YouTube Videos (informative) that I want to finish watching, so I can pull letters off while doing that. 

Oh shoot—I didn't seem to take any pictures of that process, but it's working. Some of the fused appliqué is stuck pretty well, but I'm persistent and have been able to remove about 1/3 of one border. That's pretty good considering I wasn't home yesterday afternoon. 

The moral of this story is- if you commit to making a project for someone, do NOT abandon it. I seemed to have gone through a period when I just couldn't wrap my head around finishing things, which has left a few things sitting here. I'm all grown up now and facing those awkward situations. Get it over -- live guilt-free! 

And the bonus lesson is that if you have a UFO, you do NOT need to finish every one of them. Abandon the project, shelve the material, cross it off your list, and call it a day. DO NOT leave it sitting around. MAKE A DECISION about it. 

Then we got ourselves ready because KU and I were going on a road trip. My brain kicked in, and I realized that while we were on our mission, we could drop some things off for the Pony Express. This is what we dropped off. Two quilts and three pet mats were dropped off at the first stop, and I picked up one quilt for quilting. The second stop involved dropping off some odds and ends for someone, and I didn't pick up anything. 

Items to be delivered on the Pony Express

The second stop was to the Springhouse Retreat house, where the person was currently enjoying a retreat. So, of course, I had to snap a picture of the red lawn chairs. 

The red lawn chairs at Springhouse Retreat

They were just not as nicely arranged as when we took our "famous" picture in them. I don't know where that picture is at the moment, but I'll find it for tomorrow. 

This is what remains on the Pony Express at the moment, which is not too bad. I'll try to drop that bag off today if the weather is nice. Two of the three remaining items are for me to drop off on my travels, and the bag of cars is for someone to pick up! All is good! 

What is currently waiting to be delivered/pick-up

After we did our two drop-offs, we were on our way to the Ye Old Fabric Shoppe. We found a fabric in the theme we wanted, but it was not suitable for our needs. So we looked at other things, and we got what we needed. I even picked up a few things which I'll share tomorrow. Oh boy -- I have a lot to share tomorrow!

WAIT -- there was one thing that I spotted. I did NOT buy it, but I took a picture of it. 

Ways to keep track of your pieces

Remember my picture from yesterday? 

Ways to keep track of your pieces

And that's all I'm going to say about that. 

I had wanted to check out the dollar store to see if they had any of those felt folders or laptop cases. And oh my—there was a thrift store and a Michael's right beside it. So we parked the car and went to Michael's first. The goal was to see if they had gotten their fabric aisle yet. Nope --- just the small pieces that they've always had. I first spotted the fabric aisle in North Vancouver in the fall. Nothing here yet, but I know that feature has also been implemented in part of Atlantic Canada. I don't know about my local stores. Too bad there isn't a Michaels within walking distance! It's within cycling distance, so once the weather is nicer, I must get that bike out! 

We checked out the dollar store, and they did not have the felt cases. BUT I scored big time at the thrift shop. We went in simply to check for jigsaw puzzles. I KNOW—I don't need any more, but just to check. OK — I checked the other departments but found nothing of interest, and we had a deadline to meet. 

Look what jumped into my shopping bag. 

WAIT --- first look what I spotted on the way to the puzzle section. Who remembers these tins? I was not a smoker --- EVER, but my Dad bought tobacco in these tins. He stopped smoking years ago. 

That brings back memories.

And doesn't this look nice? As Julia would say in The Artist's Way, inspiration can come from anywhere. Look at all the different reds, and they all look amazing together!!!

A display in the thrift store

OK -- so I have a thing for Dowdle puzzles. I have no idea why, but I like them. So I scored TWO of the bigger puzzles, and KU picked up a Diane Phalen quilt puzzle. 

THREE new puzzles

And then I found FIVE of the Dowdle FolkArt puzzles. 

OH -- five Dowdle FolkArt puzzles

And what the heck --- I bought them all! Eight puzzles for $40 inlcuding tax, because I had a 20% coupon with me. It's time to make another donation to get another coupon!

After we got back from dinner, I decided to tackle one of the small puzzles. It's so easy to lay out 300 pieces. Why does it seem to take forever when there are 500 or 1000 pieces? 

Laying out the pieces

Then I sorted out the border pieces. 

Sorting out the borders

I worked from the top down, and even with that, I was finished by 9:45 PM. You know what? I really enjoyed making that puzzle. It was fast, yet not super easy, and the pieces are small like a regular-sized puzzle. No missing pieces!

The puzzle is complete!

What was interesting was that the last one of the Folk Art series I did, the entire box cover was the picture, including the border on the box, and the name. I expected the same thing here, but nope—it was just the picture. Then I realized that the remaining four puzzles are the four seasons—one for spring, summer, fall, and winter. It was cheap entertainment for the evening. I might just do one a day until those are done. Then I'll let KU do them, and then they go in the donation box. I certainly do not want to keep them. 


We stopped for a snack at Tim's, and I won a coffee!!!

Winner!!!

OK --- this was Murp[hy yesterday morning -- back to lying on the pond. 

MOM --- something is here!

 I just let them out, and they were both by the pond. Murphy almost went on the pond, but the ice is almost gone. There must be something in the pond that is making them curious. Now I have to look, but I'm afraid of what I'll find. It's likely a rabbit or something. 

Look at Lexi! She is soaking up that attention like no tomorrow. 

I LOVE KU!!!!

This is why she hangs out with DH, although I don't know why, because he never gives her an ear rub like that! But KU knows where to hit all the good spots. It was hilarious. 

Today is going to be my last day —no, wait —Sunday will be my last day of goofing around with my projects, then I need to get heads down on stuff for my upcoming Facebook Live. WAIT --- they have the date as March 18!!!! 

Oh well—I'll evaluate my schedule and then move on to other projects on Monday. 

On that note, I'm out of here. So much to do! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Progress on all fronts!

As I was lamenting the loss of my distribution lists with the sewing group, TWO people piped up that they keep theirs in Excel. Of course, both of these people are familiar with Excel from their working days. They were pretty adamant that I should use EXCEL to manage my lists. 

WHAT? I do NOT get that. The issue is: why would I enter the darn lists twice (Outlook and Excel), which would require duplicate management? I already struggle with duplication. Some lists are needed year-round; others are temporary for my ongoing classes, which last about 9 months. Then those short-haul lists are toast. 

However, I may have to resort to that - I can put them all in one spreadsheet with multiple pages. 

But that is not the point. I would have no problem recreating the lists if the AUTOFIL worked. It's just a matter of clicking on the people to recreate the list, but right now, I don't have that luxury. 

Here's another problem with the NEW Outlook. There are Classic and New versions of Outlook, but did you know there are also Corporate and Personal versions? The Corporate version has many more features than the personal. Did you know that you cannot set up an "out of office" notification in the personal version? 

Here's another thought about using Excel. If the data is collected in a format that imports into Excel, then yes, it would be easy to export the information and upload it to the distribution list. One of my lists is actually generated that way, so I'm going to see if I can convert it. But to manually type email addresses in two locations? That's just too much work. I'd rather get a printout of it and manually retype it if the digital one fails. I did NOT have a printout. But I can create a printout!

But here is what the lists currently look like. There is a list of names in this distribution list. However, when I look at the Overview, it shows as ZERO members. 

When I look at the members, the list shows ZERO. 

It's only when I go into EDIT that I can see the emails. And for some reason, my name is first, not alphabetical. And why is the email listed twice, not the name of the person and the email? Because it's not connecting back to the original contact list. GRRRRRR!!!!

New version

You see --- I am not going mad! To add the emails to the list, I have to type the email address where it says Add Recipients. There is NO way to use the contact list to click. This is what it looked like in the classic version. This picture is from the Outlook reference guide. Type a name - a list comes up - you select the names you want and click the Members bar at the bottom. EASY PEASY!!!!

Classic Version

And no need to keep a duplicate in EXCEL. Perhaps if my lists were very long, I might, but in that case, I'd be using a different email service, as Outlook doesn't handle large lists very well. And you could never capture (to my knowledge) the list from Outlook and put it back into Excel. 

So it is not just me. The program changed significantly, and it was released before it was correct. It's a mess, and if I have time today, I'll give Microsoft a call. 

Sorry for the frustration with the technology, but I'm trying to wrap my head around the situation because this is the second time it's happened. But the second time in how many years? And how many distribution lists? I don't think it's that bad. I'm just frustrated that the new tool is pretty useless. 

I got an email from the roofer yesterday saying they can come today to steam out the ice dam. This is going to be interesting. It's not cheap, and we have warm weather today, but I'm not waiting for that block of ice to melt. We have a lot of snow and rain coming, and it's going to take more than one day to melt because it's deep and thick. So I'll pay the price and pump the guy for information. 

I did a bit more work on half-square triangles, but nothing to really chat about. I took the black tray filled with triangle bits and added it to my tray beside the sewing machine. As I sorted through it—yes, one cannot just add it to the tray, I discovered small bits. OK -- I might have saved these bits in the past, but seriously? Can you see the size? 

I think these are too small.

So as I sorted, I eliminated all the small bits. Phew --- that was a nice feeling. Seriously -- the side of the triangles was barely 1½" long --- what was I thinking? All of this went into the scrap pile, and it felt good! I hope I find a lot more like that in the other THREE bins, but I doubt it. 

A pile of very small triangles

I accomplished a lot yesterday. The binding got put on this quilt. I still have not received my little tags, and I must try to track them down today. Since this quilt is going to be given away, I didn't need to put a tag on it. Although I could have. Drat—I should have ordered those tags long ago, but now I suspect the package is lost, as it's been months.  

The binding is on!

This is the quilt top. The center is a panel. I found this fabric in a bucket on top of the bookcases a while back. It went into the retreat bag last September, and now it's done. 

The soccer quilt is complete!

I had loads of fabric, so I used what I could on the back. I still have the cutoffs from that wide border that I'm going to do something with. I had to wait to get the cutoff from the backing before I could proceed with that. It's now in the blue bin. It's not technically a UFO, but I'm counting it as such. 

The back of the soccer quilt

I now have all three of these hot mats complete. 

Three pieced-in-the-hoop hot mats.

I didn't realize that I had sewn the binding on with the sewing machine on the first one. 

Bias binding sewn on by machine

I thought, because it was bias binding, that it would be best to stitch it down by hand! So I hand-stitched two of them. Well, it makes a good example of how you can stitch the bias binding down by hand or by machine, and it looks good either way!

Bias binding stitched by hand

I also added the side pieces to that border. 

One of the two borders is complete.

Now I need to make one more unit like this. And it fits the quilt like a glove! By the way, I must have made an error in EQ8, as I only needed 14 and 2/3 units, not 16 like I thought! 

But that's not all. To get these blocks together as backing, I noticed that four of them still had raw-edge appliqué. 

The blocks for the backing of my Dear Jen quilt

Well, I got three of the four stitched. 

Block One

Block Two

Block Three

Yep --- I was on a tear, and I'm finding that working on these smaller projects is so easy, and with all my free time, well, I can accomplish anything. It also helps that I've been listening to some riveting audiobooks. So much so that I didn't get much sleep last night. Let's just say that I did a bit of cutting last night and am ready to sew today! 

It was a relatively nice afternoon, and I was getting ready to go for my walk. Oh my --- no one was home, and I was feeling sad that the girls were in the house by themselves. So I harnessed them both up and took them, which is extremely rare. 

Of course, Murphy needed to be FIRST, which is a pain because she's so strong. I don't even know why I need to go to the gym to lift weights. Just hanging onto her is a lot of work. And Lexi just ambles along at her pace. 

MOM -- we love to walk with you!

Then there is the unison sniffs. And the non-unison sniffs from both of them. I'm sure if anyone sees me, they are probably saying, "Lady - get a wagon and let them pull you!"

MOM -- wonderful sniffs!

But it was a good walk, and I'm glad I took them. Once Murphy gets out for a bit, she does settle down, but that dog is enthusiastic. 

When I got home, I put them in the backyard, where they romped around with each other like two lunatics!

MOM - it's so much fun to play!

This was the quote in my tea yesterday morning. How true is that --- only I can decide what happens to me and how I let others treat me, or how I treat them. 

Inspirational quote

Shoot, there was one more thing I was going to tell you about the distribution lists, but it has slipped my mind! Not surprising. Ooops -- it was about the roof -- I'll share that nugget tomorrow. 

Have a super per day!!!!

Ciao!!

Done, done, and DONE!

Thanks for the heads up on the links. I have to click each link twice to get the HTTPS thing at the beginning. I've been very careful, but perhaps I've slipped up on a couple. I will attempt to pay even more attention to that little detail!

I did not post about Colour My World yesterday, nor will I do it today. I'll aim for tomorrow. Today, it's all about the finishes! 

I have hosted the UFO Club for over five years, and in that time, things have gotten done not only for me but for everyone who has participated in the club. It's very therapeutic and an eye-opener. There are many UFOs, and they need to get done. It is NOT a club for everyone - I can't make you fulfill your commitments - you have to be motivated to do that! 

In the past, I focused on larger projects, and sometimes I worked on the same project for many months. While the project got completed, it was sometimes disheartening as I never saw a reduction in the pile of stuff on those current project tables. And let's face it, while there are large UFOs that need to be completed, there are just as many, if not more, of those silly little things that just get forgotten and may require less than 60 minutes to complete. 

So in 2026, I decided to focus on the little projects or those that are almost complete to see if I could make a dent in the piles. Here's what happened in January. Remember, with my semi-retired schedule, I now have a lot more time on my hands. So if I'm not sewing homework for my TWO classes, I'm working on material for the TWO clubs, or UFOs. Focus -- it's that simple! Although I do have some new stuff that needs to be done as well. 

I had set aside several projects that were related to binding. So I had to make a ton of binding for various projects. There are two other bindings I made that are not shown in this photo. Some projects required a lot of binding, and others did not!

I started by making a lot of binding

And now the binding is made for this One Block Wonder quilt that needs quilting. 

Small One Block Wonder quilt moved to the "to be quilted" pile

The binding is made for this soccer quilt, which also needs to be quilted. 

The soccer quilt got moved to the "to be quilted" pile

These are four quilting samples I did a while back, but never finished the binding. The items were trimmed, and the binding is on. They are completely done! 

Four quilting samples - DONE

If you remember, last week I quilted my Vintage Christmas, which was also part of my UFO assignment for this month. I taught this quilt as an online Sew Along in 2020. When I peeked in the book, I found the distribution list of participants. There were twenty of us on that list. I wonder how many of those quilts got finished? I know one other one did for sure, because I quilted it and it hung in the Concurrent Show at Quilt Canada last year. Thanks, Shelly! Did anyone else finish? 

Vintage Christmas - DONE!!

I forged ahead, trimmed it, and bound the quilt. 

The binding is now on! 

I also got myself together and made a label for the quilt, as it's one that I'll keep. I am definitely keeping all the ones I've taught in the sew-alongs, and there are about 80 of them!! 

The label for Vintage Christmas

Now, this quilt didn't just need a label and binding to be called done; four blocks needed buttons sewn on. Do you know how horrible it is to sew buttons on a finished quilt? I may never do that again. I sewed them on by hand, wasn't a fan, wanted to quit several times, but I stuck to it, and it is completely done. The buttons had been stored in labelled plastic bags and were stuck to the quilt top, so at least I didn't have to search for them to sew on. I may have caved and not done it if I had to find buttons! 

One button on the puppy block

Three buttons on the gingerbread block

Four buttons on the snowman block

EIGHT buttons on the candle block

Thank goodness that is done. And guess what? This quilt was also on the visual to-do list, so I had another happy dance as I took the picture down. That one was also included in the Many Blocks category, so I think I had better start working on another category, which is precisely what I have planned this week! 

Vintage Christmas in the Many Blocks category on the visual to-do list

I wasn't sure what to do with the pictures I was removing, so the last one was still sitting on the table beside the list (TSK TSK!). Then I thought, "I'll get a small envelope, put the pictures in there, and keep it attached to the bottom of the rack." I am writing the month that the project was completed, so at the end of the year, I can revel in all my successes once again!!! 

The completed projects are stored in the envelope!

But WAIT -- there's more that got done. I had to make the binding and hand-stitch it to this sample I made. I make a lot of samples, and they don't always get finished. There are a couple more small projects from the binding class I did several years ago, and I would love to have them all done. I'm very close to making that happen. 

BIAS binding hand-stitched to a sample

These placemats had the binding stitched to the back and only needed the binding topstitched to the front. DONE!!!

Four placemats - DONE

And then there are these two projects. One needed the binding sewn on, and the other needed the final join done. Guess what? Both are done, but you'll see these again tomorrow because there was another part to this project. 

Two more small (but MIGHTY) finishes!

There was one more thing in the UFO blue bucket for this month: fixing DH's golf towel. It technically wasn't a UFO, but since it had been hanging around for months, it was now a repair UFO. 

How hard could this be, and why did he want the towel repaired? After looking it over, I suspect he paid a reasonable price for it, as it's not an ordinary towel. 

Somehow, it got caught in the wheels of his push cart, and the little carabiner got ripped off. So I grabbed the towel and my seam ripper and pulled out the loose stitches. Then I went to sew it, and OH MY— we have a problem. Can you see the problem?

 

There's a GIANT strong magnet on the corner

Yes, there is a HUGE magnet attached to the towel in the corner where I need to do the stitching!! And as soon as it got close to that large stitch plate, it just clamped down and wasn't going to move! 

Hmmm --- how to fix this? So I lifted the magnet and held it, then stitched the little loop back onto the towel. Back and forth, several times, so hopefully it will stay put! 

Sewing the loop back onto the towel

And there it is—the loop with the carabiner is back on the towel. I don't know why it has the carabiner and the magnet. What do I know about golf towels? The bottom line is that it's fixed.

The golf towel is fixed! 

And then I told DH I needed a "reward" for fixing that towel, so he bought me a plane ticket to Italy! Now I like that kind of reward! Actually, we needed to book our trip tickets, so that got done. This will be a weird trip because technically we are travelling together (AGAIN!!!), but then we're not really. So you will have to wait for that one to see what happens!!

I hope people don't think I'm a nutcase because I'm celebrating how happy I am right now. That was one thing that Gail Blanke also mentioned in her book - Throw Out Fifty Things. When things are going great in our lives, people get scared and think they don't deserve that happiness. Well, if I had any of that in my head, I've decided to throw it out and embrace the fact that things are going well. 

Now they aren't just going well because I'm getting lucky, not on your life. They are going well because of what I'm doing. I'm taking charge of how I live and have worked very hard on the decluttering. It's taken over ten years to get it right! It's taken even longer to get the mental focus I need to complete these UFOs, and it's taken a long time not to feel the need to start something new! 

Only me, myself, and I are responsible for that happiness! And as I was having my happy dance in front of the visual to-do list, I remembered this quote that hangs at the top of that rack!!! How true!!!!

A great quote!

And so that pile of small UFOs is done, and everything is put away. If you look closely, you'll spot a dent on the current project tables, but there are many more small projects where those came from. The blue bin is again filled with small projects, and I need to start (slowly) working on them. 

It all makes myheart sing, and trust me, when I was working on some of those small things, I was bored to tears! Well, I wasn't bored, but some of those jobs were tedious, and I wanted to quit. BUT if I did, the alternative would be for those items to remain a UFO, and I am DETERMINED to stick to them until they are done! I can do it! This month was proof of that!

I had to laugh because one of the ladies set a goal to complete a small kit she bought years ago. Actually, she had purchased two, one for each of her kids. One was done, the other hadn't been started. Guess what? That's like starting a brand new project and getting a UFO done at the same time. That's how I feel when I open up some of this stuff. I don't need shiny and new - I want things done and out of the way. New priorities!!!

Remember - it's all about attitude!! OUR attitude!!!

On that happy note, I'm off to spin class. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!