The stars are aligned!

I got up this morning feeling content! What a great feeling. I'm making progress on the list of quilts to be quilted, I have a few bindings that need to be put on, and I need to get back to writing those last blog posts. But I made phone calls yesterday to get on top of some upcoming events, and well, it just feels good to be in control! And if I can't, I need to learn to live with that. I think I do a good job, but sometimes things go awry. Right now, the stars are aligned!

While I work great in silence, I'm into the audiobook thing these days, and I'm more focused on the audiobook than I am on quilting or sewing. I've done those things so many times that I could do them in my sleep. How hard is it to put a binding on? After sending that e-mail to support regarding my headphones, they have not misbehaved once. Perhaps they realized they could be in danger of being replaced? 

So, there was a lot of rain in the area earlier this past week. I wasn't home for it, but I heard our neighborhood had been spared from flooding. However, the forest wasn't so lucky. I spotted this on my walk with Miss Murphy. 

Path closed

There was a sign at all the entrances, but that didn't stop us from investigating. There are two creeks in the forest, and while there is never much water in them, whenever we have rain, it can stay for weeks. And, of course, in the spring, there's water in both. Both are connected to the city drain system. 

One of the creeks in the forest

It's hard to tell in that photo, but a small creek is there. Very overgrown, but it's there. 

There were no washouts along the path, but the ruts were that much deeper. Yep—you could turn an ankle if you weren't careful, but it's a rut! Step over it!!! 

MOM - danger!!!

Look how good that Murphy girl is. Dropped leash and no running. That's because there were NO squirrels that she could see. Otherwise, she has zero issues to bound through the forest dragging her leash. 

I'm guessing there would have been some serious water along those paths during the storm, and some of the paths are level with the creeks, so there would have been loads of water. This is the only spot that I saw any signs of high water. These plants are about 18" high and covered in mud. 

Muddy vegetation

This is relatively close to our back fence, but there is a hill between this creek and our house. That hill slopes down into our backyard. So we are protected from flood waters. 

That was the big excitement on the walk. WAIT - there was something even more exciting. The other morning, Murphy spotted something and tried to take off after it. AH - I don't think so. It was a big skunk. Well, she spotted the skunk yesterday in the same spot. I see - that skunk is living under the front porch of a house. Well, they can keep the skunk, and now that I know it lives there, I'll be a bit more diligent with Murphy. 

But she is such a bull in a china shop dog that both the skunk and I know that Murphy knows about the skunk way before she gets too close. 

While a good portion of the IT world shut down yesterday, I had no issues. However, when I went to the bank to deposit a cheque, the bank was closed. I wasn't sure about the ATMs, but they were working. WAIT—do not tell me I can deposit the cheque via the phone. I know that. Some banks deliver foreign currency to your house, which is why I was at the bank the previous day. But—I like doing these things in person. 

It's an excuse to go for a walk, and I get to observe silly people doing silly things. Life would be boring if everything was delivered to my house. I notice that DH always orders Uber Eats when I'm away. Why? He's the one who cooks, and ordering take-out is so expensive! 

Here's what happened at the bank the previous day. The line was long, but I had to wait to pick up that money. One guy was at a teller for 30 minutes, and neither he nor the teller seemed to be doing anything. A manager eventually came over and told the client that the lost money he was trying to recover (since June 20 and something to do with the CRA) could not be traced through them. 

Then, there was the gentleman who wanted to make a payment to something from his Bank of Nova Scotia account. I was NOT at BNS. It took almost ten minutes (OK - maybe it was only 3 or 4) to convince him that he could not complete his transaction there. What TIME WASTERS. These bank people need to get on the ball to dispense with people faster! 

The Pony Express is pretty quiet these days. I've since added items for two more people, but I hope to have this area pretty clean by the end of next week! Lexi is so good at giving up the top of her kennel!

All is quiet on The Pony Express

I puttered in Studio B for a bit and put some stuff away. I have now put all my weaving needles and bodkins (various kinds) in one spot, where I always look for them. In the future, when I want one, it'll be where I look first. I have two of the white packages, but I've no idea where I put the second one. At least I have one pack, and I'm good with that. 

Bodkins and weaving needles

Then it was off to quilt another quilt. Gosh—we made so many quilts from the fabrics in this one. I believe there is one more quilt with regular blocks in it, but this one is very scrappy, but it looks amazing. It's flannel, and I put flannel on the back. It's trimmed, and I'll try to put the binding on this week. I have five quilts that need the binding put on, so I must get to that. 

Community projects quilt - DONE!

I had to piece the batting for the next quilt, and it's loaded and ready to go later today. 

In the storage room, there are many quilt tops to be quilted, but there is also this cupboard. It holds some bolts of fabric for quilt backings and other materials or backings that are already made. Several baskets of flannel can be pieced to make backings, and then there are some scraps to make more scrap quilts. I will only work with the backing stuff and leave the scraps for another time. 

My fabrics for community project quilt backing

It looks messy, and I might clean it up a bit more to make it easier to find material for backings when needed. But it's all contained in one spot. I'll be happy when this shelf is empty! But that's going to take a while. 

Someone recently said that I would NEVER get my "in progress" or Mount Projects table clear, and they are probably right because the minute there is some blank space, I pull something out to fill it. But that's OK. No—it's not. I need to stop doing that!! My goal is to eliminate that table, as it's blocking stuff in the room. OK—no more pulling things out! I want all that "in progress" stuff to reside on that rolling cart! 

Murphy and I were playing ball last night, and she's a devil. She loves looking for the ball in those bushes, but she also knows how to intentionally drop that ball in the pond without making it look like she did it intentionally. She's a sly one. Well, as I was using a stick to pull the ball closer to the edge, she attempted to grab the ball and ended up in the pond. 

MOM - -I swear it was an accident!!! 

Then, last night, when I was watching The Quilt Show, I pulled out something to work on. Actually, I had pulled it out last week, and now I can't remember why. Oh yes, in machine embroidery, we were talking about projects in the hoop, and I have this one that I wasn't happy with. 

The zipper is located very close to the top, which makes it hard to turn it right side out. When I turned it, some of the stitching in the corner came out. Instead of reinforcing it, I let it sit.

So, without turning it back inside out, I reinforced the corner with the sewing machine. Then, I had the fun of hand-stitching the opening closed. 

Prepared to hand stitch the opening

And there it is. It's super cute, but what a pain to turn inside out.  

My eyeglass case

I've popped my reading glasses in there. 

Perfect for my reading glasses

So you can see why I woke up content. I accomplished a lot of stuff yesterday, and every little project that gets completed is one more that won't cause issues when I downsize. Slow and steady is the name of the game, and I must keep at that long arm! That is time-consuming because once I pull out a quilt top and the binding, I still have to find a backing and usually piece the batting (those are for the community projects quilts). And that all takes time!!! But I've got time, and every quilt done is one more done!!!

Oh, and I also sorted the rest of the books and separated the standalone ones from those in a series!! I left the quilt-themed ones for now. That makes me very happy. Now, with my cross-referenced lists, it'll be relatively easy to find a book to read, with the intent of reading those on my shelf or getting from the library. But I do NOT need to get books that are not on my radar! Let's see how long that lasts!!! 

And despite the THIRD notice about our power being shut off, they didn't come again! I called at 9:15, and there was some issue, so they wouldn't be coming. Well, a three-time no-show is a bit much! I politely told them that since it caused me to change my plans, I would have to change them again when the power stayed on. Sigh.

And on that note, I'm out of here! Loads to get done today and audiobooks to listen to!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Good news/bad news!

Thanks, everyone, for the comments. I will get them answered; I'm a tad busy at the moment. I didn't even get a chance to open my Adventure advent calendar yesterday. 

However, I'm happy to report that I finished everything I had planned, which was good!

I sent Zoom links to everyone who wanted to sign up for the EQ8, mySewnet embroidery software and digital cutter discussions for TOMORROW. If you have yet to receive an e-mail, let me know. Some people put everything in the same e-mail, and it's hard to catch everything. I'm NOT printing anything anymore, and I work strictly with the computer and extensively use the filing systems. But when ONE item needs to be filed in MANY places, that becomes a challenge. 

So if you think you are saving me time by putting everything in one e-mail, you are NOT! And most of you are very good at placing the topic in the subject or at least in the e-mail. I get some e-mails that say "block 3". For what?? 

My e-mail if you need to get in touch is elainetheriault@gmail.com. 

The discussions tomorrow are NOT the actual class sign-up, as they are strictly a discussion -- the official sign-up will be again put on the blog shortly. I put all the links at the end of this post. 

So what happened yesterday? Well, there was good news and bad news, and the good news is that another giant customer quilt is done. 

This one was very wide! 

That's a big quilt

But the quilt is beautiful, and the colors are stunning in real life. 

Customer quilt - DONE

However, we had a little problem near the bottom. 

Oopsy!

This wasn't a case of the seam not being sewn, it was a case of NO seam allowance in that area, and the machine just pushed into that opening. I stopped it as quickly as possible, but the quilt will need a minor repair when it goes home. You CAN NOT sew a seam and not have a seam allowance. I checked the rest of the quilt and found another spot in the same block on the other side, and there is ZERO seam allowance there. I watched the long arm, and it went right over that spot, but I held the fabric down, so it didn't catch. 

NO seam allowance

This is not just for the quilting process but for the integrity of the quilt. The moment the quilt gets washed, that raw edge will start to fray! And if you know you did that and are hoping it will work, then at least let me know so I can watch that spot. 

So fixing that delayed my timing, and I went to dinner and said I would finish the last row when I got back. 

I returned to find this on the screen. 

What? The program closed down! 

Sorry -- so much reflection, but the program basically shut down! And I still had one more row to do. I don't know if the power flickered when we were out. Sigh.............

However, the good news is that I had saved the design for this quilt when I started. You get prompted, and I never used to use that feature. Most quilts are smaller and easier, so I never saved the quilting setup. But I'm trying to get in the habit of saving, especially for the larger ones. So within mere minutes, I had the program opened, the file loaded, and the registration marks positioned the design, and I was back in business. 

What the screen should have looked like

So that was a good news/bad news kind of day for quilting!

More good news -- I found another storage spot I could take over. This wine fridge no longer works and should be moved out! That would give me room to store those plastic containers of paper! 

A storage spot!

Although they are too tall with all the paper sticking out, but I can fix that! Because of my schedule for the next week, I will have little time (well, I could make time) to sort through them. But I started today and grabbed one item. Remember, this is stuff from when I went to the textile program at Sheridan Collage --- in 2001~~~ Here's the printing for my selvage! 

The selvage of my fabric design

Here are the acetates I used to create my screen to print the fabric. 

Acetates for creating the screen 

OK -- so that's hard to see. Here's what the design looked like. Yes -- I'm not a good artist for freehand, so all of my stuff is somewhat geometric. 

My fabric design

And I still have the yardage!!!

The yardage that I designed and printed

I was going to use it for a quilt back at some point, but a chunk had been removed, and it wasn't large enough for that particular quilt. I'll move it to the backing section. 

However, all the acetates are gone. I threw them out. I will never use them, so why keep them? I've documented it all here, and that's good enough for me. 

I plan to grab one or two more pieces during the day and quickly deal with it. Some of the stuff is design stuff, and others are brand-new rolls of paper. 

I will do the same thing with the laundry baskets of clothing, and I'll take a couple of pieces a day and deal with them. YES -- I know it would be better and faster to just focus on it, but I don't really have time to focus right now. I need to get customer quilts to them so they can be bound for Christmas. I should have everything out of the house by the end of next week!

Here are the four T-shirts to work on today. I may keep one or two of the backs to use as practice for machine embroidery. 

T-shirts to be cut up

Here's one more item that I bought when I was in the US. I know -- I do NOT need another Kimberbell project, but this was adorable!!! And this was why I wanted that small pie dish -- someone had made a pincushion with the pie block as the top. So technically, you just need a small dish -- it doesn't have to have anything written on the bottom! 

Kimberbell embellishment kit

Now let's look under the table. OK -- so this is the long arm. This is what it looks like underneath while quilting a quilt. The top part moves back and forth, and the bottom section moves side to side! And that's how the quilt gets done! 

Underneath the long arm

But now, let's look under my sewing table. Remember, I wanted a drawer, and a drawer won't fit as a bar is under the table. 

A bar under the table

However, I found a drawer that works with that kind of table. 

It may not work, as the lip under the table is further back than shown here. But the concept is pretty cool. 

I love putting my stuff away every night. Well, the machines stay up, but I just tuck things away, making the space look neat and tidy. I can't wait to get the space completely in order. So close now! But I didn't make a mess overnight, so I don't expect it to be cleaned up overnight!

My three presentations are done for today! How did that happen? 

To make my life easy and not miss anyone, I will post the Zoom links for the three discussions HERE. 

If you want to join us and haven't signed up -- just log into the call. All these one-hour zooms are discussions to discover your level, what brand you have, and what you want to learn. There is no cost and zero commitment. 

Sunday, December 4 at 10 AM. zoom opens at 9:45

Digital Cutters  -- Brother Scan and Cut, Cricut, Silhouette

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86553551005?pwd=OERLRVhObTZFRUtLUTlHc0ZLR2RKQT09 Meeting ID: 865 5355 1005 Passcode: 675303

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, December 4 at 11:15 AM. Zoom opens at 11:00

EQ8 (Electric Quilt 8 -- software for designing quilts)

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84750425875?pwd=R015NWkrMURSYXNvQ21HdXRzRG1ZZz09 Meeting ID: 847 5042 5875 Passcode: 388459

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday, December 4 at 1:00 PM. Zoom opens at 12:45

mySewnet Embroidery Software

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87534524274?pwd=ZmNiNmFMSUdkVDQvWUM4cjlYZXhIUT09 Meeting ID: 875 3452 4274 Passcode: 355283

On that note, I'm out of here! Another busy day and I need to get 110 geocaching points by Monday, so guess what I'll do later today? And I have another quilt to quilt, but it's much smaller than the ones I've tackled the last couple of days!!!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Decluttering 101

 Happy New Year!! 

It will be another great year of decluttering, sewing, decluttering, sewing, maintaining our new uncluttered spaces, then sewing, sewing, sewing!

I want to outline a few guidelines because this decluttering business is hard work. Not only is it a physical job, but the emotional side is going to be challenging, and you need to be prepared. This can work for your house, in general, or your sewing space specifically. 

1. You will likely feel overwhelmed, ashamed, embarrassed, or all three as you go through your sewing room. That's OK. You can cry and leave the cluttered space as it is, or you can rise above those emotions and say, "I WILL do it." It's going to be essential to get over those feelings. The past is the past, and there's NOTHING you can do about the money you spent on projects or fabric that you'll likely never use. Just move on!
2. This is going to take a LONG time to fix. Depending on how long you've been sewing and how diligent you've been about putting things away, the time frame could be prolonged for someone (like me) or shorter if you've been on top of things. 
3. EVERYTHING needs a home. Clutter results from things not having a home, so you must find a home for EVERYTHING as you declutter. Here are several reasons why items don't have a home -- you don't have space, you don't know what to do with it, you just haven't put it away. 
4. Put LIKE things together. I'm of the mindset that as you are cleaning and tidying and if you want quick results, put the like items together. Then, when all the things are together, it will be easier to cull through them and see if you have duplicates or don't want or need them. That may require some boxes -- you decide. 
5. Clean up any visible garbage or empty dishes. That's easy!
6. Do NOT purchase new containers. This is not a good idea until you know what you need, what will go in them, and where they will be stored. If you have laundry baskets, they work great for keeping the like things until you can deal with them. I have a few extra should anyone need one or two. 
7. Be ruthless. I'm a Virgo, with some OCD tendencies -- but only when I'm in the mood! You have to set your tolerance level. How clean do you want those surfaces to be? I'm going for the bare minimum, but that's after years of high hoarding levels. 
8. STOP buying things unless you need them. I know -- all the gadgets are enticing, but what does one do with them when they get them home? I now think long and hard about every purchase, and I've stopped myself cold from buying something by visualizing where it's going to go in my studio. And just because your friend has one or it's the hottest gadget on the market does NOT mean it's necessary. 
9. Find a friend to help. Sometimes this is helpful as your friend has no emotional attachment to your stuff. It would be easy for them to ask the question, "do you really need/want that?" If you don't have a friend who you want to help, then send me a picture -- I'd be happy to be your friend!
10. Keep your eye on the prize! Yes -- keep plodding away. This is NOT going to be a quick fix. I've been at it for 6 years now and am still not done -- getting closer, but not done. That will depend on your level of tolerance, but imagine walking into your sewing space and feeling free of the weight of those projects or mess. Having clean areas to work in is a blessing, and you'll be happier and way more productive. IT'S MIND-BOGGLING when I think of the HOURS that I've spent cleaning up. 
11. A bigger sewing room is NOT the solution, and it just results in a bigger mess. But having a dedicated space just for you is well worth it. If you can wrangle that -- I'd go for it. Kids moved out? Move their stuff into another room or get rid of it. 

Those are the basic rules for our decluttering process. You will get distracted, and that's OK. This is meant to be fun (ish), and well, we're going to get distracted. I've found myself wanting to get to work on a UFO or two that I found, but I resisted. That is what lists are for, and we'll talk about lists another day. 

Task number one is to clean up the space around your sewing machine. Now here's the thing, and you MUST keep this in mind. We each have our own sewing space, and some are large, and some are small. Did you know that Paula Nadelstern sewed in her tiny New York City apartment at the kitchen table for years? When her son moved out, she took over his bedroom. If you have the luxury of a larger space, that's a bonus but NOT a necessity. 

I don't really have a "before" picture because I try to keep the area around my sewing machine neat and tidy at ALL times. Yes -- if I'm sewing something, there might be a few extra things around, but I tend to tidy up afterward - ALWAYS. 

Here's my sewing machine, with the extension table and my three critical sewing tools. I know that some people use those skirts for their sewing machine, and sometimes I have mine there. But I find it gets in the way; the tools don't sit properly, so why bother? I also know that people keep pins, clips, paper, pen, and other stuff around the sewing machine. Do you use them regularly? If your room is small, the sewing machine skirt might come in handy to keep things neat. 

Sewing machine with extension table

You have to find what works for you, but look at the sewing space and ask yourself if you absolutely need everything around the machine and how often you use it. Is that the best place for those tools? 

I also moved my machine over as far as possible on that banquet table. Yep -- I sew with that giant machine on a $50 banquet table. I've sewn on that kind of table for 20 years, and it works for me. I love the flexibility I have with that table. In a pinch, I can shove the machine back and use the front of the table to pin a border on a quilt. 

And right now, the laptop also sits in that same space because I'm hooked to those darn baking shows. 

Sewing on a banquet table

To the right of the sewing machine is a cutlery tray filled with bits for my enders and leaders. Extra sewing tools and my reading glasses should I need them. There's another tray with fabric bits beneath that one. Technically, I should combine them. Maybe, I'll do that today. Why have two when only one is needed? I also keep some pins in that container for the rare occasion I use them. 

And behind that, in that plastic container, are the bits for my sewing machine. All the feet and a few extra tools. It's a travel box when I travel with this machine. Hmmm -- I think I could consolidate some of that stuff into a smaller container. And put those travel tools with the rest of the extras as I don't use them daily. It's all about reducing what's visible in the sewing space. OK --- I thought I was done with this area, but I have work to do today!

Stuff to the right of the sewing machine

The five bobbins that I wind when I've cleaned the machine sit beneath the second spool of thread on the sewing machine. I must say that I LOVE that telescopic thread stand. 

Hiding place for the five bobbins

I don't often use black thread, but the cone sits on the sewing machine and covers up the bobbins. 

Two spools of thread on the thread stand

I know that the fabric thread catchers with pins are cute, but I use a metal tin. One flick into the garbage and the entire container is clean, and it's easy to move around if I need to. 

My thread catcher

I know that a couple of people have already sent me pictures, and I'll post them tomorrow along with my own revised photos. If you have before and after views of your sewing machine area, forward them along -- I'd love to see what tidying you did. 

Here's what else happened yesterday. I got the final customer quilt for 2021 done. 

Customer quilt - DONE

 

My barn block for the Barn Quilt sew-along at Thimbles and Things is DONE, and I just need to send in a picture to get my points. 

Barn block

The last block for the Kimberbell Candy Cane Lane bench pillow is done. 

Machine embroidery block for Candy Cane Lane

All the other blocks are trimmed and ready to sew together. A job for later today, perhaps. 

The rest of the blocks for Candy Cane Lane

And that's a wrap for today. Lots more happened yesterday, but I've run out of time, so that'll be for another day. 

Now get to work and look at your sewing table. OH -- it's OK if you create a box of things that you need to deal with later - just get that sewing table clear! I have a laundry basket sitting there, and you'll see what I mean tomorrow. 

Hopefully, it won't' take you too long to clean up that sewing table space. I have another task tomorrow  -- or perhaps, I'll post a new assignment every second day, so you have a chance to deal with the stuff that's there. That might be a better idea because no one wants to get behind. We'll look at the before and afters tomorrow and then onto assignment number two. 

I didn't talk about resolutions because I don't think they work. More on that tomorrow. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

UFO progress

I LOVE all of you! And I truly appreciate your reading my blog, and I've received so many fantastic suggestions. Jan gave me a BRILLIANT suggestion for the two UFO Clubs. I will pick a project to work on in one of the UFO clubs, and the assignment for the second one will be to quilt and bind one of my quilts. That's BRILLIANT. I'm going to have to do that as soon, I'm going to run out of room in those tubs, and I really don't want to buy another one. 

Yippeee!!! I love when a plan comes together. So thank you, Jan! You've made my day. 

And to emphasize that point here's what happened yesterday. 

I dug out some brown embroidery floss, and I did the wee bit of stem stitch embroidery that I had forgotten the previous day. 

The last part of the stem stitch on Enchanted Autumn

The backing, binding, and the top are now in the "to be quilted" pile. I CANNOT wait to follow Jan's advice and start quilting those quilts! 

I was delighted with the fabric I used for the border for that quilt. 

The border fabric for Enchanted Autumn

It has all the colors I used in the quilt and a leaf motif. It was perfect. Not sure where I found it, but it was in the project box, which is now empty and waiting for another project. As I return to decluttering, I know there are projects in plastic bags or no container, and those will get put into the plastic project boxes (Iris containers) that I've been using. 

I have other work to do, but now with the end of the year so close, I'm trying to reduce the number of UFOs as much as I can manage. What is wrong with me? Why couldn't I be focusing a bit more during the year? No worries -- I made fantastic progress this year, and I had other things to do during the year. 

I had to give the Double Wedding Ring bed runner a good press as I had not done that in my haste to finish it at the last sewing retreat. So I got that pressed, switched a couple of seams, so everything twirled nicely on the back, and I found one small seam at the edge that I had not sewn. So that top is done! This one is on the 2019 UFO list. 

Then it was onto the bias binding. It's always challenging to know exactly how much bias binding is required for a quilt with a curved edge, so I made lots! But the binding is also done. 

Making continuous bias binding

Then I searched the backings and couldn't find anything I really liked. I went through my boxes of batik fabric and found a couple of candidates, but not enough without some piecing to be done. 

Then I remembered that I had some green striped fabric that I desperately NEEDED many years ago. It was in the striped fabric bin, and IT WAS SUPER EASY TO FIND since I knew exactly where that was. The color is a bit bright, but no worries -- it's going to be just fine. 

The backing for the double wedding ring bed runner

And so this project got moved to the "to be quilted" pile as well and one more project off the UFO lists. 

Double Wedding Ring bed runner - waiting to be quilted

There are still a couple of days before the end of the year, and well, this next project won't take that long. Not nearly as long as those other two I just completed. I've put off finishing the yoga bag for some time, and this one is on the 2019 UFO list. And all that remains was to add the seam binding to the two end seams. 

One of the seams to be bound

I knew the job would be fiddly - that's why I was procrastinating. So I put on my big girl panties and got to work. It would probably have been better if I had made bias binding, but I did not, and those corners were "fun" to go around. 

Attaching the binding by machine

The pattern designer (byAnnie.com) likely recommended sewing the binding by machine front and back; I was NOT going to do that. It's a HUGE challenge - I did that with my backpack, and it was a hassle. 

So once the first side of the binding was stitched in place, I dug out a needle and thread and did the hand stitching. It allowed me to watch a couple more episodes of The Great British Baking Show. And I wonder why my Mom is more interested in watching "her" shows than she is in talking to me!! Since we were kids, she has been that way -- god forbid if she missed an episode of "The Edge of Night" or "Another World."  Can you believe that after 40+ years, the names of those are embedded in my brain?

Hand stitching and watching The Great British Baking Show

That hand stitching was fiddly. It was hard to hold the bag, there were four tight corners to go around, and it was bulky. BUT the good news -- one end is done!

The binding looks amazing before I turned that half of the bag inside out. 

One side of the binding stitched in place

And there's the other side. With my tiny little stitches, I doubt that stitching will come undone. 

The other side of the binding

And there it is, turned inside out, and the binding looks fantastic. 

The binding inside the bag

And now I get the fun task of doing that all over again on the other end. But I'm motivated right now, and I MUST get that done. I WANT that project off the UFO list by the end of this year!

I'm perusing the list to see what else can get done before the end of the year. I have one project in mind, and I'll see how it goes later today if I pull that one out. Some of those projects just need to be sewn together. So the blocks are done, the sashings (if any) are cut -- they just need to be assembled. That won't take a lot of time. However, it may take time to lay the blocks out. While I'm fussy, the actual block placement isn't supercritical in most cases. I throw them on the wall, make a couple of changes and then start sewing!

But I have a couple of quilts that I would like to get quilted before the end of the year, and I do have a project that I need to spend some time learning and one more project that I need to write instructions for. Hmmm -- what to do? And I have a sewing machine to start reviewing for QUILTsocial. Plus, some paperwork for the class registrations should be done. Hmmm -- what to do first?? 

I won't be lacking things to do. 

OH -- I also embroidered one more block for the Kimberbell Candy Cane Lane. There were no issues with this one, but lots of fiddling trimming for that tree with foam beneath to make it extra puffy!

One more machine embroidered block

And I had a helper. Well, not really a helper, but I was snacking on some hummus and cucumber. Since DH feeds the girls veggie bits when he cooks, they think they can get veggie bits from me as well. OK -- I caved and gave her some veggie bits. I mean, she was begging but trying to be very discrete! How could you not surrender? 

MOM -- can I have some veggie bits?

And that's a wrap on yesterday. I just pulled up my UFO presentation to save a copy for January as I will start putting it together. I need to choose one of my quilts to quilt and bind for January! Oh, what fun I will have today as I peruse the pile to see which one screams the loudest! Oh -- I just took a quick tour downstairs, and I already know which quilt it will be. I'm super excited!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!