Plan B goes in action

Yep -- I have the best friends ever! I love our Virtual Monday Sewing Group! So much fun to get together, and you would think after this long that we would run out of things to talk about. Nope! However, we have ZERO tolerance for anything political, those who used to be royals, and COVID (anything related to policy). I never want to shut someone down on a call, but if I have to, I will! 

Our calls are so much fun and well --- what happens at Monday Sewing stays at Monday sewing. A while back, we started a show and tell; people send me pictures, and I make a presentation. It's so inspiring to see what others are working on, and right now, our focus is on sharing the Advent Calendars! How fun to see what everyone is getting, and they are quite varied. 

I didn't get a ton done, but that's OK. I have zero class commitments until the new year and no quilts that need to be quilted. My goal is to get Studio B back in shape, clearing up some stuff, like those bindings! 

This is what I worked on yesterday. It's a UFO on the 2023 UFO list. Some people will pull out a UFO, and it no longer suits their taste. However, I've yet to have that happen. I still want to make them. Here's what I worked on yesterday. 

Pattern from a magazine

It's from this magazine - Quilting and Embroidery by Quiltmakers. It's old -- the date was 2010. 

Quilting and Embroidery magazine

And now I have an issue -- this embroidery design is no longer available. I've checked for the designer's website -- gone. I've searched and searched and have been unable to find it. The designer was Susa Glenn, and should anyone have this file, I'd love it if you got in touch with me. elainetheriault@gmail.com

The embroidery motif

The fabric was all cut, so all I did was sew the blocks together. It's one of those batik strips that were so popular over 10 years ago, and I had to buy it in every color, or so it seems. This color ranged from the brown to burgundy to orange. My center is the 16 blocks on the top left - the rest I'll do something with -- the backing, perhaps. 

The blocks I sewed together

So it doesn't look like I"ll find that embroidery design, so off to Plan B - why can't I make my own? Yep -- I opened up my software, and I'm fiddling around with creating the vines at the moment. Upon close inspection, this is within my skill level. I'll buy a sunflower design and see if I can find a sunflower leaf and a blossom. I've found lots of sunflowers, but no leaves yet, although I haven't looked too hard. 

I could let it go and find something else, and I'm searching! I know I picked this quilt because of the sunflower embroidery, so that's a lesson to all. If you see something you like, you should buy it! Because it may not be around when you finally get around to finishing the project. And no -- I don't remember buying this embroidery design. I'm not that organized to have done that. 

On the binding front, I finished three quilts. 

Binding number on

Binding number two

Binding number three

There is one more flannel quilt to bind, and the rest are cotton, which is way easier. The binding is much less bulky and goes faster. There are still six or seven quilts that I've sewn the binding to the back and need to be topstitched to the front. Then I'll start all over again. I want that table clear by the end of the year, and there are several of my quilts that need attention. Mostly quilt sleeves, if memory serves me correctly. 

Here's what is left on that table to deal with. It's still a mess! 

Quilts to bind

I delivered one quilt yesterday, but this is the pile of stuff in the living room that needs to go. Lexi's kennel and a large chair are under the pile, but you can see a ton of things that are slated to leave the house, and it thrills me to death to know that! The more that goes now and someone can use it, the better. There's no sense in things languishing at my house if I'm no longer using them. 

Things that need to be picked up or delivered

Then as a treat, I opened this puzzle which I got when my neighbour moved. 

At last - a jigsaw puzzle

Thank goodness, this is only 500 pieces, as some shapes are very weird -- cats, dogs, birds, balloons, etc. And the border is scalloped!

Odd shaped puzzle pieces

Can you spot the dog?

I would usually start a puzzle with the border, but not this time. I'm building it one building at a time! I might take the day off and work on it, or I'll stop from time to time and work on it. When I get stumped, I'll go back to binding! And I have a lot of machine embroidery to do, so I should set up the embroidery machine and let it run in the background. 

The progress on the puzzle

I finished The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. The book was written in 2012 and is the one that took place in the abbey. Hm -- If you haven't read it, I don't want to say much, but I'm not sure I liked it. Not that I need my characters to be happy all the time, but this is quite different (in location)  from the rest of her books, or is that just my imagination? I know there are ten more books so let's hope it gets back into the flavor of the first books. Myere is too much drama for the main characters, and is that necessary? 

Oh my --- I've been on the hunt for mylar, which has now evolved into a big discussion about whether mylar is the same as foil or cellophane. Can the products be used interchangeably, etc? So I have some experimenting to do! Yes -- I know I can buy it from Kimberbell, but I wanted to find another source. I laughed when I was at the gym and brushing my hair. I looked down at the counter, and there were some fake mini poinsettias, and they were wrapped in mylar, or is that foil? NO -- I did NOT take one. 

Wrapped in mylar or is that foil?

Once I solve that, I'll share it with you. 

I finally ran out of my five bobbins yesterday and had to clean my sewing machine. Yikes--- it looks like I haven't cleaned it in years. The bobbin case itself was pretty clean, but this came from under and around the bobbin case, and I had already thrown some lint away. I've got a new needle in there as well! I'm ready to sew up a storm! 

Lint from the bobbin case

It was a glorious day, so I volunteered to drop off a quilt and I walked there and back. Instead of waiting for the light to cross the main street, I took the pedestrian bridge. There's a geocache at this bridge, and I attempted to locate it in the summer. I thought I might try again yesterday, but I had that darn bright orange jacket on, so I'm very noticeable. I decided to leave it for another day. 

The pedestrian bridge

Do you think this crosswalk is prominent or noticeable enough? It's huge, and I like that. Those drivers turning right on a red light scare me a lot. They always look left when turning right and never pay attention to what or who is on their right. It drives me crazy, and there was a lady who I thought was NOT going to yield to me, but I grabbed her attention, and she yielded. I gave her the evil eye as I walked in front of her car! It was NOT at this intersection. 

A giant cross walk

Look what I got in the mail yesterday. A nice bundle of Northcott fabrics. This was from the Quilts of Valour contest a while back, where myself and several others quilted up a bunch of quilts. I'll be turning this over to Diane, so she can make a quilt out of it! I don't need it! We may have to add something to it. I'll have her evaluate it, and we'll see. 

A nice Fat Quarter bundle

So this is Lexi - a little miffed that she can't sleep on the sofa. But her love is for the quilt, NOT the dog bed. The quilt didn't get put back in the bed last night, so she chose to sleep on the quilt! And as usual, there is a leaf on the floor. I know this would drive people mad, but ,we don't care. If we pick it up, another one or two or more will appear. I pick up the leaves, but not obsessed with it! OH -- that's one of Murphy's bones! 

Why sleep in the dog bed - quilts are better! 

Remember, there's a Virtual Retreat on Christmas Eve. It's for those that are celebrating that day at home by themselves. If you have a family event, you can drop in to say HI, but then we'll boot you out! OH -- they can drop in to say hi and have a wee nip with us. That means we get to drink all day? I'm not a huge drinker, but it could work? I'd never get anything done!

Now I have the fun task of finalizing all the distribution lists for the 2023 classes. ACK!!! I'm going to take that one list at a time because it will be overwhelming task. So bear with me -- I'll let you know when I'm done, and if you don't get an email from me, then you can contact me. But for the moment, just hang tight!!

There is a massive pile of stuff on the floor beside the computer. I don't know how I'll ever get through it all, but I MUST!!

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Why sewing on Zoom is better than inperson

OH -- Carla made a good point in her comment. Clutter in her house resulted from gifts people had given her in the past. And isn't that the truth! People think something is so cute and appropriate for you, or they just feel compelled to buy you a gift. The clutter is now gone in her house, and the new rule is NO GIFTS, please! Can you imagine the home of a school teacher? 

I LOVE her new rule, and while I haven't received too many gifts, I can see how it would add up. And think of how many times you spent hours searching for that perfect gift for someone's birthday, and there's a considerable likelihood that they didn't use it! I say if you want to give a gift, make it a consumable -- Tim's card, cash (I know tacky), or their favorite food or beverage -- not a fancy one, not the specialty kinds, not a gift basket, but if they like a specific type of cheese -- buy that cheese! Or they like beer - buy their brand of beer. Then they will use it, it doesn't become clutter, and everyone is happy. 

I still like Carla's rule -- NO gifts of any kind. The gift should be the QUALITY time spent with each other. Brilliant advice!!

Speaking of clutter, Elle shared pictures of her sewing room with me, and I have permission to share them with you. 

I LOVE this giant cutting/work table. Wait a minute -- her sewing machine is on that table. Hmm - I wonder how tall the table is; of course, it depends on how tall she is. But I love that giant surface. I'm also jealous of that window in her room! 

Gorgeous sewing and workspace

I have to admit that part of me is jealous of her space. Why? Because she has it paired down to one room, everything is super organized, and she doesn't need to spend loads of time looking for things or managing them! And should she need to move, it will take no time to put that into boxes. 

The supply cupboard

All things that I could achieve myself, but look at that stash. There's enough to keep her busy for a long time. There's no need to buy huge quantities like I did, half of which keeps getting passed over. Yes --- this is someone much smarter than I. But I will not worry about it as I have a plan!

The stash

I mean, how wonderful would it be, knowing that you could be out of there with a handful of boxes? 

More stash

Me? I have six boxes of novelty fabric! That will go at some point with all the quilts we are making for community projects but still!

Thanks for sharing, and that just shows that you can have an organized sewing room that fits in ONE room and seems to have all the stuff we need. Even though that fabric is contained in what looks like a closet, there's a fair amount, and it's neat and tidy so finding something is not a big deal! That's the key -- how much time do you want to spend managing your stuff?

Or would you rather spend that time sewing, reading, or whatever other hobbies you have! 

Thanks for sharing! And there's hope for all of us. The biggest issue is quantity, and I've learned the hard way that more is NOT better. 

With all these tips we are giving each other, we will have spic and span homes and be much happier! 

Well, I must confess that even with Monday sewing, I did NOT get much done yesterday. We had our usual Show and Tell, which went on a bit longer than expected as we looked at pictures of Quilt Canada, thanks to Jane! We didn't get through them all, so we'll pick them up next week. What fun to experience those pictures as a group! 

And this brings me to an interesting point. For years, we had an in-person sewing group. We packed up our sewing machines and our projects. We went to The Hobby Horse for part of it, so no setup was required as we used the classroom. Then we moved to a church where we had to store cords and power bars and set up the tables and chairs. Let's face it -- this is a considerable PHYSICAL effort, with time and money involved.  

We now have the opportunity to connect again at the church and its decision time. I've decided NOT to return to in-person sewing. Why? 

• Saves on gas. While this is only a 20 KM drive (40 round trip), it's 40 KM that I don't need to do every week, and my carbon footprint is much smaller. 
• Saves on time. Depending on the traffic, this could take a fair amount of time to get there, and there is currently construction (and has been for years) on the route I would take. 
• Better scheduling. I can get some paperwork done or go to spin class, walk the dogs, and then pop right into the virtual sewing - no travel time involved. 
• Less physically demanding. Let's face it -- my wrists, knees, legs, and back will all be happier if they don't need to set up my own table and help others. 
• I will never forget a thing. No need to worry if I forget an essential part of my project at home. 
• Never wait for the cutting table or ironing board. Yep -- it's just me!
• Wider reach of audience. We now have people from northern Ontario (more north than me), and one person from the US, who can come, people who work and want to stop by to say hi can attend, and people who just want the show and tell can attend. If you had an appointment, you would miss the entire sewing day. Now you can drop in even if for a few minutes. 
• Hot lunches -- If I want a hot lunch, I can make it in my kitchen. 
• The temperature is always right! No one can complain it's too hot or too cold!
• The weather is never an issue! 
• Cost -- our new method is FREE. OK -- so I pay for the license, but it's about $200 for the year, and I absorb the cost because I use it for teaching. But still, if I were to pass on that cost to the group, we would pay way less than we would for a physical location! 
• Talk to EVERYONE  -- with Zoom, we can chat with the entire group. When it was in person, you tended to talk to those at your table, and if you overheard someone at another table, they would have to repeat the story. 
• Show and Tell -- we have a great show and tell on Zoom. There's no way we could have shared those photos and had the same discussion about Quilt Canada if we didn't do it on Zoom. And other people can pop in an extra picture or two if they know how to do that, and we do! 
• And our group is connected on off days with a What's App group! I mean -- we are connected and so much better than it was before when we met in person. 

So -- can you tell me why we would ever want to meet in person? Don't get me wrong -- I love to meet in person, but it can be exhausting! And if we go for several days, as in a quilt retreat, then I'm all for it. It's a much smaller group, and you are going for several days, so it's worth the effort, and no need to set up tables and chairs where we go. But just for a couple of hours? I'm so over that. 

Here's the other thing that I don't get. People say they need that physical connection. So we are NOT a hugging group, but we crave the social aspect of it, so why would we want to get together in-person weekly when we get the social part from the comfort of our homes? And what if you have pets or other persons who require attention? You wouldn't want to leave them, so Zoom is excellent. 

Let's just say that if some of the group decides to return to the physical meeting, I might be looking for new people to join my virtual Monday sewing. I'll let you know! 

I think it's time we embrace new ways of doing things, and I believe that many good things happened because of the pandemic, and Zoom was one of them! It's so cost-effective and has so many other benefits.  

As for how much sewing I did, it wasn't a lot. But as I mentioned, sometimes, it's all about the social, and if I didn't get much done, that's OK because it didn't really take a lot of time, money, or effort out of my day. If I had traveled to the location and only accomplished the same amount, I would be sad!

I did get the rows together for my quilt. 

The rows are together

Then I got on phone calls and chatted, and well, not much more happened. I have the strips for the sashing, and the inner border joined and ready to sub-cut. 

The sashing waiting to be cut

Murphy is trying very hard to be good on her leash. And for the most part, she is so much better. But yesterday, in the forest, a squirrel taunted her. Instead of running into the trees on the side of the path,  the squirrel trotted down the path in front of her for a fair distance. Pure torture for her! 

MOM -- I NEED to chase that squirrel

And then last night, when I was reading my book, she became fascinated with something under her bed. I did not get up to investigate! 

MOM -- there's something under my bed

And what's the status of the front yard? We now have a beautiful sidewalk along the side of the house instead of that weed-infested interlock. This goes back to the deck at the back of the house. It's not as wide as the gate because there's a small space with river rock for drainage. 

The new sidewalk

Between my neighbor and myself, that little bed of river rock was overgrown with ivy. My side is now clear of ivy, and I want to go and dig out what's in the neighbor's yard, so it doesn't grow back in mine. 

Inside my neighbor's backyard

The young man who lives there wouldn't even know I was there and wouldn't even realize the ivy had disappeared. So I'll do it early one morning, and it will be done. His parents have been overseas since the pandemic, and the house -- well, the yard is going wild as we watch. It's terrible because they took such pride in their yard, and now it's full of weeds. 

We're getting a new curb along the edge of the driveway. A FLAT one will make it much easier to maintain than the raised one we had. And that space between the curb and the neighbor's lawn used to be our driveway. So less driveway to shovel in the winter, and now we have room for a couple of trees. I do worry a bit about the much narrower driveway, but I think after we have it for a bit, we won't miss the extra space. 

The new flat curb

Instead of space to park a car, this pile of stones is in our drive. This is the top of the patio/front step. 

Stones for the patio

We now have a big sturdy step up to that patio area, and they are working on putting in the stones for it. I didn't take a picture yesterday. Don't worry -- it's not what you think! There are only TWO significant flat steps. 

The steps to the patio

But all is good on that front! I still want to chat to him about the proposed small patch of grass in the front. It's so tiny that it will be a pain to maintain. Could we get something else? I did like my mulch, or someone suggested we use spreading junipers?? I'll chat with him tomorrow. 

We're getting other things fixed at the same time. The gazebo's roof will need to be replaced, but in the meantime, there are no holes in the roof. It will get a total facelift either at the end of the summer or next. We'll see how the timing goes. The fence is fixed as best it can be until we replace it. Some wobbly posts and rotted areas are repaired. So all is good! 

On that note, I'm out of here. I have an all-day class to sit in on, and I'm excited about it. And after that, my time will be my own for an entire week! Now that I'm feeling better, I need that time to catch up on some quilting and other projects. And there is NOTHING scheduled for this weekend! Yeah!!!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Monday gathering, not sewing

Yesterday was Monday Sewing. However, from my point of view -- it was more like Monday searching. 

I don't know how many times I went on a quest to find something for someone. I'm not sure if this was the first thing or not, but we got to chatting about the Piecemaker Calendars. I'm missing ONE -- the very first one that came out in 1988. Hmm --- the collective group has spotted it on eBay. But do I want to pay $40 US for it?? OK -- so I caved and sent an OFFER to the seller. Let's see what she says. 

We learned several things about our phones, and I got to test one of them out while I was having lunch. Did you know that if your phone is set properly and you get a call you do not want to answer, all you have to do is flip your phone over, and the call stops ringing! That works amazing; UNLESS you have earbuds connected, and it kept asking me to use voice control the call  -- IGNORE or ANSWER! My earbuds can connect to multiple devices at the same time. That means if I'm connected to the laptop and the phone rings, the phone takes priority. AHA  -- that's good to know. 

Gosh, I think we learned one other thing, but I've already forgotten it. NO WAIT -- I know what it was. Tracking my steps with my phone. And then to sync it with my Fitbit. Now, why would I want to do that? Well, I got to the gym yesterday and realized that the Fitbit was still on the charger. DARN!!! I missed those steps walking from the far end of the parking lot to the gym. Oh well -- I still did 12.2 KM yesterday without the ones from the morning gym. I can live with that. 

My FitBit does not track my cycle distance, but I get about .5 KM from the movement of my hands and stretching. So it doesn't affect the over total at all. 

See how smart we are all going to be? I swear that I've learned so much from my sewing groups, and a lot of it is NOT related to sewing!

Then it was time to start searching for stuff for people. And soon, the bottom of the stairs looked like this. 

The mess at the bottom of the stairs

Tubs of fabric were pulled from under the long arm. Someone was looking for a northern-themed panel for a quilt. Not only did I have a panel with a polar bear on it, but I also had an entire quilt MADE and ready to be quilted. The panel was in the boxes under the long arm. 

I used my handy list of quilts in the "to be quilted" pile, and within seconds, I had my hands on the quilt. 

My master list of "to be quilted"

It's an adorable quilt -- it was a free download at Northcott, but I suspect the free pattern is now gone off their site. Who cares if that panel is still available? - the quilt can be made with any panel. Nope -- I just checked, and it's gone.  

Flannel polar bear panel quilt

And there's the cute backing fabric. Of course, the binding is made, and we're going to chat later today to see where to go. But I suspect that I just got rid of a quilt from that pile -- after I quilt it, of course! 

The backing fabric

So if ever you are looking for a particular theme or a particular color or style of quilt, I may already have one and might just be willing to part with it!

While I was in the stack of quilts, I took a picture of another quilt that I needed for someone else. This is the 4th of July by Judy Niemeyer. Why? Because we found a pack of the foundation papers on sale for $10, and I made someone buy it. I promised to dig out the pattern, and she can have the pattern -- I'm done with it! 

Here's that quilt. 

4th of July quilt by Judy Niemeyer

I made mine with bright batiks, which is precisely what she wants to use. It's a gorgeous quilt!!

Detail of the 4th of July quilt

And let's not forget the trip down memory lane when someone asks for some bits of Crimplene (or Fortrel) fabric to repair a quilt. I know -- the first thought that comes to mind is why would you need to fix a quilt made with that fabric? It didn't wear -- it got caught on a nail. For those that don't know -- both of those names are BRAND NAMES for basically a double-knit fabric. 

I was happy to dig out that tub of fabrics and find something that would work. The squares are cut and will go in the mail later today. Why do I have a tub of Fortrel? Because it belonged to my mom and I really want to make a quilt from it. Why? Because Victoria Finlay Wolfe has one her grandma made, and I like Victoria! I'm weird like that!

WAIT --- some of the fabric is already cut into squares, which would be the PERFECT project for the serger!!! I may have to dig that tub back out TODAY!!!

A tub of Fortrel bits

And yes -- I did get some work done -- not much, but some! It's all in fun, and I'm pretty happy to oblige!

I'm working on my scrappy green quilt, which I need to get done for the weekend. It's my UFO, and I'm not done. But I'm happy with how the blocks are going together, as those points are pretty sharp!

Sharp points on my scrappy hexagon quilt

 

Not bad, considering I didn't pin anything! I hate pinning and avoid it like the plague UNLESS it's to pin a border. I didn't even pin the LONG strips in my BOHO heart quilt the other day, but I MADE those things match. I'm also using a sewing machine with a built-in walking foot, and that does help enormously with things not stretching. 

I managed to get a few more hourglass units sewn, pressed, and trimmed. 

Hourglass units 

None of them finished at 5", so I'm still missing NINE before I can start piecing my scrap quilt. 

And a few sets of half square triangles got completed and ready to sew the second seam. 

Ready for the next set of seams

We also chatted about the flooring for our sewing rooms. Gosh -- I hate dusting and sweeping floors in general, but I'm forever running the Swifter over the floor in Studio B. It gives me great pleasure to capture those dust bunnies as they attempt to escape. I moved this cabinet this morning and expected to see great giant dust bunnies, and nope -- NO bunnies. That's because I was in there with the Swifter last week.

No dust bunnies are safe in my studio

This is a vinyl floor, and I have zero regrets about having that installed. I love it. If you can -- this is an excellent alternative to carpet. I can't imagine having carpet in the sewing room, and that would be a HUGE dust collector and challenging to keep clean. 

And if you were astute -- you would notice that the top of the baseboard does need a good wipedown! I didn't do that!

Well, it's going to be a bit warmer today than it was yesterday. That was a bit nippy. DH went downtown yesterday and decided to walk OUTSIDE from the train station to the office. NO hat, and probably no scarf. He said his brain froze, and I believe it. I tried to walk the girls in the SUN, and you could feel the temperature difference between the sun and the shade. 

Since I wasn't too productive yesterday, I have a LOT of work to do today. There are no imminent deadlines, but the weekend will be here before I know it, and I have classes to prep for. I've got THREE presentations this week, and one of them is in French, so I need to brush up on serger terms. But I like busy days -- I must NOT turn on the laptop to watch the baking show. DO NOT turn on the computer! 

Anyway -- -on that note, I'm out of here. Lots to do and so little time to get it all done. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Jen Kingwell groupies

 I'm pleased to report that I feel much better this morning. Not 100%, but much better. For some reason, my neck seems a bit stiff as well. I tried a new pillow last night, had a nap in the afternoon, ate salty chips, drank lots of water, had a wee chat with the doctor (no need for alarm). Thanks to everyone who sent e-mails and suggestions. We'll just see how things progress, but I think I'll cancel my chiro appointment this week. BTW - he did NOT adjust or go anywhere near my neck, so this can't be because of what he did. 

I have to confess that I haven't been doing the exercises he gave me for my back, so now that I'm feeling better, I might - MIGHT - try some later today. 

If you do NOT belong to a Virtual sewing group - you need to! Why? Because as the others converse about many different topics, I find that I mindlessly work on stuff that I don't want to do!  

Case in point, I had made a block for my Jen Kingwell, Long Time Gone quilt. It was slightly too large, and it would have been hard to trim it down or ease it in. So during the handwork Zoom on Sunday, I ripped most of the block apart. I was NOT looking forward to putting it back together again. However, with the Monday sewing group chatting in the background, I pressed the pieces, removed loose threads, stitched the seams' loose ends, and got the block stitched back together. I don't care how long it took - I was just glad it's back together. And this is why it takes so long to make anything! 

The name of our group is Motivational Monday and YES - it's motivating!!!!

See -- I didn't really trim very much off the blocks, but once they were trimmed, it went back together like a charm. 

The trimmings from my too large block

And here's the final block. Keep in mind, those churn dash blocks are THREE inches finished. So putting all those little pieces together is a HUGE feat. I know that some of the class has struggled with these teeny pieces. I struggled with the pieces. 

My churn dash block

Once that block was finished, I decided to lay out the blocks on my design wall. I NEED more design walls!!!  And I worked on putting Section Two together for the Long Time Gone quilt. I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw this on the wall. WOW!!!!  That makes me happy. 

Section Two of the Long Time Gone quilt

 

Here are the other blocks on the wall in their approximate location in the quilt. I still have a bunch of pineapple blocks to make and one more set of small churn dashes. Yep - I'm a wee bit behind. 

The blocks for Long Time Gone

It looks a bit messy at this point, and that darn orange star still sticks out! SIGH...........  But I'm OK with it. I might try to incorporate a few more bits of that particular orange through the rest of the quilt so that it's not alone. It's like yellow fabrics - a BEACON. 

And I have my little orange stool in Studio B that allows me to sit and contemplate what I've accomplished. However, it's like a freezer down there at the moment and not fun to sew. I might have to move upstairs for a sewing session. 

My stool to contemplate my quilt on the design wall

I have the show and tell from the weekend, and I'll get to it tomorrow. I think there are 64 of us in this class, and as you can see - we're not done yet. However, the group is begging to start another Jen Kingwell class. So we're going to be called the Jen Kingwell groupies! It didn't take much to twist my arm to sign on to teach another one. I'm so excited - I want to start now. Not really - I can wait. There's so much to do that there's no time to start a new project. 

If you're interested in participating in a Jen Kingwell sew-along, watch for a new class coming in the fall. It will be hosted by Thimbles and Things in Orillia - it will be entirely on Zoom. The project we're going to do is called Boho Heart. And because so many people wanted to do Gypsy Wife and I've started that project, I'm going to throw that in as well- as a bonus. Just shoot me now!!!

Gypsy Wife by Jen Kingwell

Boho Heart by Jen Kingwell and Andrea Bair

So that's super exciting!!  I have to come up with some fabrics for Boho Heart, but I'm sure I'll find something in the stash. These two will start in the fall, and if you sign up for BOHO Heart (the main attraction), you'll get Gypsy Wife as a bonus. 

And some people want to do one of the applique qults by Jen Kingwell. So - that will likely take place starting in January and hosted by me. That one will be Sweet Tea and Green Beans. There's a "wee" bit of applique in that quilt and some more challenging seams and other techniques. That's for January!!!  

Sweet Tea and Green Beans by Jen Kingwell

If you have one of the books and want to join along - then WAIT!! I'll be posting the information on my blog when it's time to sign up. In the meantime - just hang onto the book (s) and start gathering your fabrics. 

By the way, if anyone has a suggestion for one of these on-going classes, let me know. It's not even the end of March, and the schedule is almost full for next year. How did that happen?? OK -- so not almost full, but 1/3 filled, and we're months away from starting!

Are you looking for something to do that's quilt-related? Well, the winners of the Cherrywood Challenge will be announced this Thursday. 

That's Thursday, March 25 at 7:00 PM CENTRAL TIME. OH gosh -- I'm not good with the time change - but I believe that would be 8 PM EASTERN. 

I have a piece entered in the contest - will I win? Not likely - the competition in this event is stiff. Everyone's ideas and workmanship are amazing, and I can't imagine how much work it is to pick the winners. I'm just excited that mine made it to the finalist list. But it'll be fun to attend the "awards ceremony!"

Don't forget the Virtual Retreat this weekend on Saturday evening from 6 - 9 PM and Sunday from 10 AM - 8 PM. I'll be posting the links tomorrow. If you have one of those blocks or something that just isn't working for you - this is the perfect diversion to get it done!!!

On that note, I'm out of here. I've got a full day of writing, quilting, and presenting today, and there's no time to waste! And it's going to be warm again today, so I'm sure I'll sneak out to the gazebo for a bit. I'm reading a great book on making things with your hands. More on that another day. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!