Highway of memories!

Yesterday was a long day but also a very exciting day. Not only am I totally relaxed now because I have SEVEN FREE days next week, but just because! There is no point in being frazzled unless there is a very good reason. 

I had prepped most everything the evening before, so all I had to do was write the blog and take the girls for a short walk, which was better than no walk. Then, I was in the car for a long drive. 

I'm not the best with long drives, but I made out OK. I should know better, but I stopped for gas at one of the Service Ontario spots along the highway and paid $1.57 per liter. Shortly after, I got into the smaller areas and spotted gas for $1.45. Sigh.

However, it's not such a big deal if you do the math. My car takes 45 liters of gas, so even if the car was totally empty, which it was not, I would have paid a difference of 12 cents per liter, which equals $5.40. Hardly anything to get upset about. 

I chuckle when they announce that the gas prices are going up by 3 cents at midnight, and everyone flocks to the gas pumps. Again - if my car was completely empty, I would save $1.35. It's hardly worth the effort to go out. However, if my vehicle used 100 liters, that might be a different story, but it depends on how empty the tank is. 

I stopped at Thimbles and Things to say HI to Paula. Sue happened to be there teaching a class, so it was also fun to say hi to her. Since the Fireside Retreat closed, I don't get up there that often. Then, three ladies from the Tequila Lime class stopped in to buy their fabric, so we had a grand chat. It was so lovely to meet them in person. I can't wait to see what they bought! 

And, well, I did a bit of retail therapy shopping myself. I bought a few more fabrics (batiks) for my Tequila Lime, so I have a nice variety now that will help with the gradations I expect to use throughout the quilt. I bought a half meter of a funky print for some journal making (more on that in January) and two patterns. YES -- I didn't need either of the patterns, but they are super cute!

Sorry -- it all got winged into the car, and I didn't take pictures of any of it. Interestingly enough, Sue asked if I was still teaching tuffets! I had to laugh because we just finished one last week for someone who purchased one of my kits. I am DONE with tuffet making! 

I arrived a bit before the store opened, so I pulled into a parking lot and had a 15-minute snooze. Yep -- I can do that, and I felt great the remainder of the way.

The roads were excellent, with no construction or very little. It was a bit like an old home week as I drove past the house where Fireside Retreat used to be. Nothing much has changed - I noticed a nice table on the back deck and a hammock! Oh - that would be nice. All the barn quilt block signs are still up. Such fond memories of that location. 

The house that used to be Fireside Retreat

Then, past Bracebridge, where there used to be a quilt shop (bought and sold several times). This was when we went to the Quilter's MisBehaven retreat near Raymond, Ontario. There's the highway exit to get to that house. I didn't drive by as it's a bit off the road. Don't Google that one -- it's been closed for YEARS. I think it opened in 2006 or something like that, and it existed for 10 years? 

AH -- there's the exit to get to the Seams Appropriate quilt retreat (still in operation), which is just on the other side of the highway. I no longer book that one as two retreat houses are much closer to me and those who attend. 

Then, past Huntsville, where there used to be a quilt store and a fantastic drug store with the largest selection of quilting magazines. Sadly, that is long gone. So many memories along that section of the road. 

Once I was past Huntsville, it was "new" territory. Ah -- but there's the exit to where Maryke lives, and then, there's Morgan's' exit. They chat about them during our Virtual Retreats, and well,  I felt right at home along that stretch of the highway. 

Then I arrived in North Bay, and it was easy to find the Gem Sewing shop. They have a BEAUTIFUL classroom area. OH -- I did a bit of damage at that store as well! I found some things that I had been trying to find, which was exciting. I bought a new fabric mat for my digital cutter because I will need one based on what I plan to do with it in 2024. The best part was that it went in the car, and there was no need to worry bout shipping it. 

I spotted this in the washroom at Thimbles and Things. 

Spare time activities for a quilter

I thought it was cute, and honestly, I don't have much spare time, but I do this with fabric regularly! But it was nice to buy - just for the sake of buying. I have not done that in a long time. But the things I bought were mostly things that I wanted and couldn't find elsewhere. I'll take pictures and share them!

As you know, I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants person who never pre-books hotels. I've been caught once or twice, but not yesterday. When the first event finished, and I could get away, it was already 4:30. I popped out to the hotel (YES - I know I could book online - hate it!), and they had a "couple" of rooms left. What does that mean? 

Anyway, I got a room, and I was good for the night and ready to return to the store for the second event. OH -- we had been talking about senior discounts the other day. Someone mentioned that you need to be careful because sometimes the senior's discount works out to MORE than the real price. Wait a minute -- there is NO REAL PRICE any longer. The price is different if you book online versus in person versus having discounts through CAA or Senior or whatever. It is one of the most confusing things around. 

What I am very cautious of is booking online. The hotel has NOTHING to do with that, so if you need to make changes or need information or even the bill -- the booking company provides that. I HATE that, so I refuse to book with those booking agencies! I prefer to book in person! I take my chances, and I've been caught a few times where I had to go to several hotels, but I've always found a room. The worst case is that I have to sleep in the car, which has never happened. 

This is the wall when you exit the elevator on my floor. It's an appropriate color, I would say. 

Outside the elevators on my floor

And yes -- as I arrived at my room, which was completely at the end of the long hallway, I discovered my room key wouldn't work. OK -- there has to be something wrong with me. So I trundled all my stuff back downstairs to get the key redone. Back up to the room, and CRAP -- it won't work again. AH -- I turned the key around, and it worked, so it probably worked the first time. 

My room is the LAST one

I am so NOT good at this. What is wrong with me? I looked at the key, and the logical way to put it in was NOT the way it worked! My brain must be wired differently. But I need to try the other way if the first one doesn't work. No worries - I needed extra steps because I did NOT walk far. 

My technology setup worked like a charm. I now have the hang of it and can easily switch between the camera and the presentation. But that requires a few cables to make that happen. 

My cable collection

Some of those are power cords, some are HDMI cables, and when I set up, I think one was missing. Where the heck did I put that, or maybe it's all mixed up. I need to sort it out because I will need that third cable tomorrow. And Margaret's advice is to put my name on all of them, which is excellent advice because it's easy to get things mixed up!

At the evening presentation, I met Morgan, whom I've known virtually for several years. It's hilarious when you finally meet in person because you feel like you know that person! Thanks for helping me get all my stuff to the car!

I woke up this morning and peeked out the window, and I swear I saw snow! Nope -- just heavy frost on the vehicles!

Today is a travel day, but it is relatively short, which is good, so I plan on getting set up at the new location and going for a long walk. Then I have some computer work, so it's all good. 

One more day of presentations tomorrow and then the long drive back! 

On that note - I'm out of here. I usually eat breakfast while blogging, but I guess I could have gotten dressed and gone downstairs and blogged at the breakfast table, but I didn't. I'm in casual mode today!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Schoolgirl Sampler Show and Tell

 

The bandaid is back on - well, a new bandaid. Shortly after I finished the blog yesterday, I picked up something, opened up the cut, and it started to bleed like mad. GRR!!!  I'm sure it's probably OK this morning, but I'm doing not bad on the keyboard, so I'll leave it on for a bit longer!

I made my little road trip. OK -- I'm NOT good in the car. I have no idea why, but in the car - I get tired. I listened to an audiobook, and I chatted with my Dad for a bit. That helped, but I could NOT be a long-haul trucker. Just not going to happen. 

However, mission accomplished. I picked up my order (and a few other orders for people who live near me) from Thimbles and Things, picked up my lights, and dropped off some stuff. The staff at Thimbles and Things are on the ball. My order was filled quickly (I had ordered online the day before). I had a wee chat with Sue. So sad to not be able to go in the store and browse, but it is what it is. Let's move on! The store looks different in the classroom area - it's no longer a classroom but a shipping area. 

 I also took a drive past Fireside Retreat. Well, it's no longer Fireside Retreat, but for old times sake, I drove past. Today, it changes hands, and it was sad to drive by and see the house - empty! 

Last day as Fireside Retreat

But life moves on, and there will be new retreats at different locations. That is, should we ever get out of the lockdown. I don't even know if we're making progress, and well - I just keep on doing my thing. 

I didn't get much chance to sew yesterday. When I got home, I was tired, and so I grabbed a quilt and went off to the gazebo. I went to read, but that didn't happen. I took my afternoon walk and well - then I had computer work to do. A homework assignment got completed and sent, and two more to do today. Plus, other paperwork has to be done. 

I did make a wee bit of progress on the churn dash block. Every little bit helps, and I have until the weekend (my deadline) to get this section done, so I'm not worried. From the Facebook group, I think we're going to see many of the quilt tops (minus the border) done for show and tell this coming month. I can hardly wait to see them all. 

The churn dash block for Long Time Gone

OK -- so let's have a look at the homework for Schoolgirl Sampler. This is one of the ongoing projects for this year hosted by The Hobby Horse. Here's the book that we're using. 

Schoolgirl Sampler

There are 72 small (4" finished) blocks in this quilt, plus lots of skinny sashing and the center block, which is applique. And let's not forget that border with all those half-square triangles. Can you believe that HALF of the blocks are assigned and only 36 small ones left to make! I'm up-to-date, although I do want to remake two of the blocks. 

OK -- let's have a look at the homework from the class. 

Anne has a beautiful palette with soft greens and pinks, and beige background. 

Anne

Barb is using more browns and taupes. 

Barb

Cathie is using blues and creams. See her little beaded bird checking out the blocks?

Cathie

Lucy is making hers in black and white and has added a few English Paper Pieced blocks into the mix. 

Lucy

Margot has several colors happening in her blocks. 

Margot

Mary has attached the numbers on her blocks!!! But they look great. 

Mary

Meg has a bright theme going on with hers, and a number of those fabrics were fussy cut, which is neat!

Meg

Here are Rose's blocks so far. She's using a nice floral print for the background. 

Rose

Ruth has chosen pink and blue, which is looking amazing. 

Ruth

Sharon is using Civil War prints. 

Sharon

Zildi is using up leftover bits from other projects. Don't tell anyone, but she had to piece a few of those small pieces to get a piece large enough to use. I LOVE that. 

Zildi

That's so exciting, and everyone is up to date, and I do believe I got homework from everyone. The quilts are going to be stunning when they are done. 

Here are my blocks—a totally random color choice. 

My first 27 blocks

I literally went to the scrap boxes and picked one that I thought would work. I have had to dip into the stash basket to find larger pieces than I could find in the scrap box. And I dug the sashing out of the stash basket. No idea what I'm going to use for the cornerstones or the borders yet! All in due course - I'll make that up when I get to that spot. 

I do have more blocks done - the homework for this month. Here are those blocks. 

The homework blocks for April

I now have a bit of work to get the next set of blocks done and work on the sashing. These ongoing projects just never end!! But a little bit each month makes the project go quickly, and I would HATE to focus on just one project at a time. I'd be bored out of my mind!!!!

So today's another day! There is lots of computer work, a quilt to quilt, and I will try and get more sewing done. Just stay out of the gazebo!!! At least, I don't have a four-hour errand to do today, which really messed up the day, but it had to be done. 

And I'm keeping up with my computerized To-Do list. Yes - there are a few things that I keep dragging to the next day, but imagine if I had that on a piece of paper? It would be a huge mess. So the computer thing is definitely working for me. 

Has anyone seen this product in their local shop? It's called Hydro Stick by OESD. It's a stabilizer for machine embroidery. I called Dancing Stitches in Waterloo - they don't have any. I searched online, and even the big online store is completely sold out. I'd like to get my hands on some if I could. I now have a note on my shopping list, so I won't forget what it's called. But if anyone knows of a store that sells OESD products (preferably Canadian), let me know, and I'll see if they have this particular stabilizer. 

OESD Hydro Stick tear away stabilizer

On that note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Long Time Gone - Part Two

 With a very HEAVY heart, I let you know that Fireside Retreat House will be sold this year. I received the bad news last night. NO!!!!!!!  I know they took a beating last year with so many cancellations because of COVID. Well, we did our best to keep them afloat and rented the house FIVE times at four nights each time. 

BUT - it wasn't enough, and with the sketchy year ahead of us, I'm sure they are anticipating a very sketchy year this coming year. Oh - this is terrible news. My heart goes out to Emma, who put a lot of time, effort, and thought into making Fireside Retreat a wonderful place to spend with friends. We don't even get a chance to say good-bye to the house. 

However, we must move on as our next scheduled retreat was SIX weeks away. I was looking forward to getting away. Now - we weren't sure that we were going to get together at that time, but there was hope. 

Now we're on a tear to find another place and FAST. Unless the place has good Wi-Fi, I'm married to my schedule. But if there's Wi-Fi, I can do my presentations from anywhere! 

I'm asking HELP from all of you. If you know of a retreat house or even a property that would be good for rental - I need to know. 

I've found Farmer's Wife, Farmer's Daughter, Seams Appropriate - but if you know of any others, let me know. Or a house that we can rent - I prefer a quilt retreat, so there are tables, etc., set up, but at this point? We might take anything!

Holy - that threw me for a curveball last night. I'm not surprised, but I'm terribly disappointed, but I completely understand. 

And now for something a bit more uplifting - the rest of a Long Time Gone homework. Sorry -- I don't have time to make comments on the blocks, but they are all WONDERFUL!!!!  Do you see how organized I am? I've got all the names and in alphabetical order! I had no choice to do that to keep everyone organized. 

Linda

Lois

Lois

Larraine

Laura

Leslie

Lynn

Lynn

Lynne

Margaret

Maria

Maria

Maryke

Nancy

Sandra

Sandy

Sharon

Sheila

Sonya

Susan

Susan

Suzanne

Theresa

Theresa

Val

Wendy

WOW --- that's an amazing show and tell, and I may have missed one or two, and I know that there's about 1/3 of the class who didn't submit homework this month! YES -- we are a big class. I don't have time this morning to make comments on all the blocks, but have a close look at them - they are fabulous, and I can't wait to see all the quilts when they are completed. 

Here are all my blocks for Long Time Gone, including the new blocks we had for homework this month. Oh boy -- I keep trying to add in a different value of orange, and it keeps failing miserably. I need to swap out those light oranges in that plus block. 

My Long Time Gone blocks

Whew -- so many emotions today. Shock at my favorite place going up for sale. Anyone want to buy it to continue it as a retreat house? And looking at the wonderful Long Time Gone blocks and trying to finish an audiobook before it disappears at 9 AM this morning. That's why I HATE having too many books on loan at one time - too much pressure. 

The next book is due in nine days which is loads of time to listen to the book. 

So - what do you want to clean today?  I've got a good one that was suggested by Helen Anne. What about all the USELESS apps on your hone. If you're like me, you have pages and pages of apps, and I never use them. I think all the ones I use are on the front screen and placed in GROUPS. So get out your smartphone (and your iPad) and continue to delete those text messages - they do take up storage!! And get rid of the apps. 

If anyone else has an area of their life that needs to be cleaned up, let me know, and I'll add it to the list. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

The way home

 

What's with the crazy weather? We had crazy rain for most of the day, and how about that wind? I don't think we had any issues at our house, but you can hear the house creaking in the wind, and those little bathroom vents flap like crazy!

The girls were thrilled to see me, and I managed to walk with each of them between the rain. I got lucky because this wasn't just rain - it was torrential rain driven by the wind. Fortunately, whenever the rain started, I was snuggled up with a quilt in my chair, trying to finish that darn book! I'm happy to report that I'm very close to the end. 

I really have to laugh when I read the flap inside the front cover, trying to remember why I thought it would be a good book. It's a FAST-PACED, philosophical book. OH - that should have been my first clue. Philosophical, NOT psychological! It's very philosophical, and sometimes, I think that half of it could be left out and still make as much sense as it does now. Oh well, not to worry - I'm almost done! 

I couldn't help myself, but I stated a REAL book yesterday as well, and I'm already hooked on the first page! Ruth Ware - her books are always good!

I did NOT get in a second walk yesterday, so my mileage was lower than normal yesterday. That leaves me with SEVEN miles to go to hit the Santa Monica Pier! Seven miles! I should be able to hit that today. How exciting to know that I've walked the entire length of Route 66. I'm pretty excited about that! 

I haven't unpacked my bag of finished stuff from the retreat. I was back to cutting fabric that I need for a quilt! NO time to waste!

This was me yesterday - cutting blue strips. 

Cutting blue strips

I started out with three boxes of blue scraps. How does one get THREE boxes? Anyway, I went through two of them and pulled out the dark blues. I further refined the fabric selections as I went through the pile, and what I didn't use went NEATLY back into one of the boxes. So here's the first of the three boxes, all neatly folded and ready for the next time I need some blues. 

One box of blue scraps neatly sorted

This morning, I went through the third box and pulled the dark blues. This is what I still need to go through in greater detail. Pick out the ones that I want and cut them. The pieces I cut are going in the third box, and I'll continue to sew them later this morning. It's Monday sewing after all!!!

Fabrics that need to be sorted through

That's a HUGE job to go through those three boxes, but I sure hope that there'll be only TWO boxes of blue scraps when I'm finished. But it also means that I should find another scrap project with blues because wouldn't it be nice if I only had ONE box of scraps? 

This quilt has a deadline, so I can't put it off. I MUST continue to cut and sew. Although I also have homework that needs to be prepped for this coming weekend, I still owe a couple of documents to my students to finish some projects. 

I just want to thank the ladies for the most amazing weekend. It was loads of fun, I learned lots about them, about me, and well - we just worked together as a team! They were great at keeping things tidy; I was great at starting and keeping the fire going! Great teamwork!

I did get a few more things finished yesterday morning before we left. The mini quilt is DONE!! The binding is made - I just need to find some backing material. 

The mini quilt top is done

So those blocks have been sitting for quite some time. And now it's done! I worked on a couple more things, and I realize that I didn't get pictures. And as mentioned, I haven't unpacked the bag yet, so I didn't catch those. You'll get to see that tomorrow. 

I also finished off these three eyeglass cases. Again, they were almost finished but just needed a bit of work. They've sat on the work tables for a while. Now they are also done, and each of them has a home. Thanks to Ronda for donating the kit to me! She got to pick one of the cases!

Three eyeglass cases

This should bring back some memories for people. It's Ronda's Dear Jane quilt that we worked on at The Hobby Horse years ago! I don't even want to say how many, but it's been a while. I quilted it before I got my long arm computer, and that was several years ago. All she had to do was hand stitch the binding in place. And now that's done!!!!

Ronda's Dear Jane quilt

Here's my retreat basket after I got home. It barely looks like anything came out of it! So much for running out of things to do. There's probably another five or more days of work in there! That hilarious! 

The retreat basket

We all did very well at taking one container of projects, and none of us ran out! Not even close. So after how many retreats? Close to 50 quilting retreats, and I've got the packing down! I did throw a few small things in the box for the next retreat! Why not - it was fun to work on some small things on Sunday morning!

Now it's back to reality! I've got seven presentations this week, which is a nice number. Then the number decreases over the next three weeks. Then some time off to regroup, do some major planning for next year, and then it'll be off again! 

If you're interested in coloring embroidery designs with InkTense pencils, you might want to check out this free class offered by Michael's and taught by Karen Charles. I LOVE Karen - she's so creative, and well, I'm not sure I'm going to do the class, but I'm going to watch Karen. Oh, silly me - of course, I'm going to do the class. 

The week's schedule is set, and it's very doable, so that's a nice feeling. I've got a few quilts to quilt and stuff to sew. As my Dad says, I'll never be bored! 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!