There's no stopping me now....................

If you know me or if you only know me through the blog, you have probably figured out that I'm a bit of an obsessive person. I've now become obsessed with cleaning this mess which is our house. I go to bed at night trying to figure out what to get rid of the next day! It's ridiculous! But as I said the other day, the mood might not last forever and I'm taking full advantage of this situation.

I zipped off to the recycling depot and got rid of the extra recycling bins that were kicking around the garage - there were FOUR of them. I also got rid of the white styrofoam and all the hazardous waste that I had rounded up. I'm sure there'll be a wee bit more of that but for the moment that is gone.

My car is now filled with wood. Can you believe how much wood accumulates around the house? We had bits of baseboard - saved for when we needed something replaced. Come on - there was nothing long enough to do anything with. I found a lot of stakes that came from election signs that I saved to make the bag bottoms. I found slats that I used to use to hang quilts and I found dowels that were either too long or too short for my dowel racks in the basement. I found shelves that we haven't used and I found three kitchen doors.

I removed all the nails and screws and it's all on the way to be recycled this morning. Along with a wee bit more cardboard that I found and some stuff for the donation center which is also in the same location.

I did find two long slats that I kept as I hope to use those when I put the net over the fish pond. That's going to have to happen shortly as the leaves will start falling soon.

Holy cow - it feels amazing every time I drive away from that place.

There's a certain feeling in the decluttering world these days. One must say good-bye to the stuff you're getting rid of or at least thank it for giving you joy. Nope - not even one thank you to any of this stuff. It's just gone!

I'm getting to the end of the stuff that can be recycled. Although I think there are a few more things that can be recycled. I have a pile of plant pots and I'm sure I read on that web site that as long as they are clean, they can be recycled. That's a job for later today. Plus it's time to start separating what we want to keep from what is garbage so I can arrange a garbage pickup.

I couldn't just stop there. I was back in the basement and tackled that electrical room.

Before in the electrical room

Shoot - I've got to get better at taking the before pictures. I had already removed a bunch of stuff when I took that picture above.

Now I'd already been digging in this room. Behind the door are four hooks on the wall that I use to hang bags. Those hooks were chock a block filled earlier this year. Suzanne (The Quilting Barn) was looking for bags that she could use in her quilt store and I took her up on the offer so most of the bags went. Oh - I had to laugh. A while back, I gave away two boxes of old patterns. Amanda from Quebec picked them up and she uses them to fill her quilty subscription boxes. She mentioned me in her video. Here's a link to her website - Quilter's Stash Builder. I love that the things that were languishing in my house are now being used!!!!

This is what has collected since June. The ones in the bottom left are MY reusable bags so those won't ever go away. The others? I could put them in the recycling, but bags are useful so I'm hanging onto these. There's not many. I'll deal with them if they get to be too many. This is NOTHING compared to what I gave away and they are neat and hidden. I'm good with that.

Bags are neatly hung on the wall behind a door

My extra light bulbs for Studio B are in the box on the left. The other three boxes are things to do with photography and those are staying.

Stuff neatly arranged in the electrical room

Just inside the door are some long things. One is a curtain rod that I have no idea where it belongs. Maybe I just had an extra one. There's a small one that is missing the end - I hope to find the end. If not, then I guess I'll buy a new end or it goes. And there's that long white tube which is a part for the long arm that I NEED to put on.

I should be making a list of things to do as I progress through this cleaning thing. 

Long stuff stored neatly in the electrical room

The floor is nice and clean and there's the finished room. Yeah!!! I'm super excited and OK - I admit, I opened that door several times yesterday to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done.

The electrical room is neat and tidy

Since I was on a roll, I decided to tackle the storage room beside the electrical room. Oh boy - this one's a mess. Seriously?? Why is stuff haphazardly thrown onto the shelves?? I've no idea, but this is what happens over 15 years of living in the same place.

Stuff is haphazardly thrown on the shelves

There's the toolbox on the floor. The lid can't close because stuff is thrown in. There are tools and bits of hardware everywhere. I'm afraid to organize the tools for fear of seeing how many hammers we have. There was one hammer that we had for years and at some point, it went missing. I think I found that hammer in a bag of stuff in the garage. Why???  I just shake my head and wonder who the person was that created this mess. It couldn't be me - could it???

The toolbox can't close because stuff is thrown in

And behind the door in that storage room is this mess. Some of this is leftover from the days when I was dying fabric. There's still jars of dye!!!  Why????  I won't be dying fabric any time soon. This needs to go!!!

More stuff behind the door

I decided to tackle the shelves. I pulled things off the shelves and then flipped the shelves over since there was a wee bow starting in several of them. That was a wee challenge.

The top two shelves are jigsaw puzzles. There are 34 of them!!! There's also a puzzle mat for them. Hey - I could even start one now. But no - I'll wait until the dreary days of winter to make up or two. 

The shelves look much better

I came across this box and opened it and got a good laugh. This is the Madeline doll that we bought for M when she was little. I think I bought every outfit and every accessory. I think that I was more in love with Madeline than M was. I'm not ready to part with her yet. Matter of fact, I'm going to keep her so when I'm in the nursing home, I have a doll to play with. They say that dolls are good for elderly people!

Madeline doll and accessories

I bought a few other things that were Madeline as well. I've also saved them. It doesn't take up much room and now they are neatly arranged on the shelf. 

More Madeline stuff

The bottom shelf is still a mess and I need to tackle that another day. I've also realized that I need to get a shelf that will fit behind the door so I can store all the tools and hardware bits. Maybe I can stop and pick one up today. I won't be able to move forward until I do. Then I can move all the fabric dying stuff to the furnace room temporarily until I can get to that. And how much painting supplies does one household need?? Especially when we don't paint!

One messy shelf left

I can definitely see the light at the tunnel for these three small rooms and the furnace room. A couple of hours each day and they will be done! If I can get those four rooms, the shed, and the garage done before I run out of steam - I'll be laughing. One room is done - three to go. Plus the garage and I'm well on my way there. Just a few things to remove from the shed and it'll be done as well.

As I was running around the house collecting wood, I came across this. I made this trellis years ago and I was going to hang it on a wall for a plant - I think! Anyway - does anyone want this or have suggestions as to what to do with it?? Those slats are stapled together so it's fairly sturdy. It needs a home. I could donate it as well and hopefully, someone could find a use for it.

A wooden trellis up for grabs

OH - not going to post a picture of the sander I found that had NEVER been out of the box. Matter of fact, the box was still sealed. It's already gone. But I now have a small air compressor that's up for grabs. If anyone wants it - it's yours for free. I have ZERO issues getting rid of this stuff. Except for the Madeline doll!

I got most of another blog post ready for QUILTsocial. A little bit more work this morning and that will be put to bed. I also managed to get this QOV quilt done. It needs to be trimmed and then I'll exchange it for an unquilted one. The next quilt is already loaded for later today.

QOV quilt is done!!!

I was poking around in the quilt closet on the other side of the basement and I found two more huge pieces of fabric for backings. Matter of fact, I think once I finish with the non-quilt storage areas, I'm going to empty this quilting closet and get it organized. Once it's organized, it'll help to put away more stuff. It's hard to put things away nicely when everything is haphazardly placed on the shelves. But that's not for today.

Two more backings to be added to the backing shelf

I taught a pillowcase class last night. Three brand new sewists. One of them had sewn in Grade Eight - the others never! All three completed their pillowcases and were very happy with the results. They should be - they did an awesome job!!!! This class was held at Oh Look Fabric. Apparently, I'm a good teacher! But we all knew that.

Pillowcases from the class

I'm off to a bit of a late start this morning as I slept in due to a night of poor sleep. No worries - I'm awake and ready to go!!!

It's going to be another awesome day!

Ciao!!!

Quilt Canada - Day Two

I'm not a basketball fan, but I would be remiss if I didn't say "We ARE the Champions!". I saw the score this morning. Way to go Raptors!!

I feel like WE are the champions after surviving yesterday at Quilt Canada. I arrived bright and early so I could check out some of the quilts. Some great concurrent shows with loads of interesting ideas. I can't wait to get back home and have some planning sessions with myself. I have two deadlines when I get home - both July 1st, but both are very doable in that time frame. Unfortunately, one more item got added to that list yesterday. Yep - that deadline list ebbs and flows but stays pretty consistent.

I did take a few pictures and will try to post next week. Holy cow - yesterday had a wee bit of a slow start to it, but then BAM - that place was hopping. I'm not sure how many buses ended up coming, but that place was a beehive of activity until late in the day.

I demoed sewing machines, embroidery machines, quilting machines, embroidery software, and talked about quilting techniques. They are so many myths out there that people think is the "right" way to quilt. Holy cow!!!!  Ladies and gentlemen, we have to start thinking outside the box! The other thing I noticed is that people have taken MANY classes, but are still afraid. People, you have to STOP taking classes. No that's not right. You have to take a class, then go home and practice. Then you take the next class and practice some more. You just can't keep taking classes and hope to get better.

I try to convince them to try at least ONE new thing. Don't forget about my 86 year old father (his father lived to be 100). His motto is - I need to learn something new every day. He volunteers for a museum and spends his days tinkering with gas engines on old tractors. If they can't find a replacement part, my dad MAKES the parts. He learns something every day. I'm very proud of my dad and my mom and it's from them that I learned a good work ethic. I also learned a wee bit about hoarding!

So here's a wee homework assignment for you all. Take something - anything in your house and try to learn something new about it. Could be your phone. Could be a kitchen appliance. Could be your camera. Or get that sewing machine out. Take one of the stitches - what can you do with that one stitch. Gosh - it could even be something as simple as the zigzag. You can do a LOT of different things with the zigzag. Over and over again, I hear people say they have all these stitches, but don't know what to do with them. Well, try new things.

That's one of the reasons why I like to be nosy and see what other people are doing. How are they using things differently? That's also why I like to take classes, but at the same time, I think we use classes as a crutch. We think that if we take something like free motion quilting that we'll learn. Oh yes - we'll learn, but if we don't sit down at the machine and practice those techniques - we'll never learn.

I heard that over and over again yesterday. Oh yes - my other teacher told me to do that. Well?????  Why aren't you doing that? How do you think I learned? Or the other instructors learned? We made mistakes - lots of mistakes.

And the myths - oh - it's sad about the myths. People think they need to do things a certain way. Nope - not at all. It's your quilt and your skills. You do what you think works best for you! There's no halfway!

Perhaps I'll do a myth-busting blog post one day just cause I'm tired of hearing all these things. If you have a myth that you think would make a good topic - e-mail it to me.

Oh my goodness - I saw so many people yesterday. People that I knew from all over the place. People that I used to work for, people that I worked with, people who follow my blog and loads of others. It was super exciting. Two ladies stopped by to say HI. They are blog followers. One was from Sudbury and one from Ottawa. They did tell me their names, but my mind is totally blank at this point. Thanks so much for following the blog and thanks so much for stopping by to say HI!! 

I didn't get out of our booth to any of the vendors. I think today will be a quieter day? Not sure as yesterday was so crazy. I'll try to post some pictures on Facebook - I haven't even had time to do that.

Here are my pictures for today. They are from an English Paper Piecing class that I taught a while back at Oh Look Fabric. I missed getting pictures of one student's work.

We had a blast - as usual.

Loretta's hexies

Cathy's hexies

Heidi's hexies

I LOVE all those color combinations. I should be bringing my hexies with me, but there honestly isn't time to do anything here. I was out last night with Carol and we had a grand chat about stuff. I haven't had a chance to catch up with her in a while so that was awesome.

Wow  - so much excitement happening. Seems like something new everyday!!!  Yeah!   Bring it on!

On that note, I'd better find something to wear today. I was a wee bit skimpy on what I packed for the show, but that's easy to fix with a few scarves and other accessories! Don't forget that if you're in the Ottawa area and coming to Quilt Canada, stop by the Husqvarna Viking booth and say HI!!!!

Have a super day!!!!!!

Ciao!!!!!

Quilt Canada - Set Up Day

Ah - set up day. Such a fun day! It's one of those bittersweet days as you get to chat - very briefly with people you haven't seen in a while and you work. You work hard!

We had a lot of stuff to assemble and set up so it took a wee bit longer than it usually does.  I didn't seem to be in my best form yesterday as it seemed that I took 2 steps forward and then 5 steps backward as we got stuff organized. I should know better from all the years of doing set up at shows. Anyway - it doesn't matter.

I was on the small ladder hanging quilts and I was crawling under tables getting the electrical sorted out. There's nothing more exciting than turning on all the sewing machines and the lights and they all work because you've found a way to plug them all in. Let's just say that black carpet and black tablecloths make for some very dark situations under the table!

I didn't really get a chance to walk around and see what else or who else was setting up. I did see some of the crew from Mississauga who were hanging quilts. They had the fortune or misfortune to be hanging the Trendtex challenge near the back of the hall where the loading dock doors were open. At one point, we hear "HELP" and realized that the wind had caught their display and was in the process of toppling the entire section of pipe and drape. People ran to the rescue and soon everything was back in place.

Thankfully we didn't have any mishaps in our area. But I did end up bruising the heel of my hand. Ouch!! And my damn hands are getting so weak - it's driving me crazy. I must start to use my grippy things a bit more. Who would know that your hands would start to fail you! Makes me totally useless and I don't like that.

The awards ceremony started at 7 PM and we were just about finished by then so I popped to the hall next door to see the awards. Some gorgeous quilts in the show although we just saw photos of them at the awards ceremony. It's interesting to see who wins the awards and who doesn't. And you have no idea from looking at the photos as to the size of some of these pieces.

I grabbed a soup on the way home and then we chatted for a long while before retiring for the evening. Another late night and a wee glass of wine which I chased with glasses and glasses of water. I feel much better today. Tired, but at least awake!!

I think I have dinner plans for every evening and that's OK. A good time to meet up with people. Just juggling a few last things.

Here's my photo for today. This was taken a while ago in a class at Oh Look Fabric. It was a kimono class. These are very cute and just the thing to wear if you need to dress up an outfit. Make them casual, make them more elegant. And all three of the students finished them that evening. Not bad considering, they had to cut them out as well. I've forgotten the name of the pattern, but it was easy!!!

Class participants with their finished kimonos

So I need to change up my eating habits. I have no idea why I've fallen off the wagon. I've probably eaten more sugar last week and so far this week than I did all last year!  Why? I've no idea. I'm not even craving the darn stuff - it just seems "nice" to not behave. How stupid is that? So starting today???  Maybe, I'll wait until I'm back home and I'll get myself back in my normal groove.

On that note, I'm out of here to get ready for the show. Have to arrive early this morning to thread all the machines - yep - winding bobbins and threading machines - about 12 to 14 in total. No big deal!

If you're in the area of Ottawa and coming to Quilt Canada, pop by the Husqvarna Viking booth to say hello.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

And we're off.......................

Holy -- nothing like a mouth full of nutmeg to get the morning started! Yikes - I didn't stir the oatmeal well enough.

Why is it that every time I go away, I spend two days before running around like an idiot? But that's just me and it doesn't help that I HAD to finish reading a thriller book yesterday. I stayed up until midnight which is totally unheard of at my house! And I've been up for hours already - I'm going to need a nap later on!

Everything is at the front door to load into the car for the retreat. Shouldn't take too long and soon, I'll be on my way.

I made the delivery to the school yesterday and I think they'll have fun with all the stuff I took. It's going into the "maker" room at the school. I felt so good when I walked out of there. More stuff to go, but not until next week.

That green tote bag was pretty popular. I had multiple people CALL me on the phone. It's already picked up and gone!  Just before it went out the door, I thought I should check the pockets. I don't remember ever using it, but guess what I found? No - not money. A lottery ticket!!!!

Found lottery ticket

It may have been the big winner. I'll never know - it's dated 2008!!!!

It didn't help that in the last two days, I've taught two different classes in the evening at Oh Look Fabric. There went my prep time. NO worries - it's all fun. I'm just amazed at the ladies in these classes. They have very little experience sewing, but they are so willing to learn. Hopefully, I've given them a positive experience that they'll come back. Oh yes - they'll come back. Last night, they're already asking for the next quilt!! They are hooked!

Two nights ago, we had a pillowcase class. These two had never used a rotary cutter before and never really sewn. Both of them were finished by the end of the class!!!!  How exciting! I love when people go home excited about their project.

Directional print pillowcase

The main part was made from a sheet

I love seeing what people choose for their fabrics. It's all so much fun!!!

I don't have time to share with you what we did last night. That'll come next week. I'm trying to get some pictures edited so I have pictures to share while I'm away. That's almost done - just need to be loaded. See - I'm thinking of you while I'm away!!

Last weekend, we had the first of our ongoing classes for the year. One of the classes we're working on is North Star by Elizabeth Hartman. This is taking place at The Hobby Horse.

Here's the first block that we're working on.  So adorable.

Reggie Reindeer

Don't forget to check out QUILTsocial today.  By the way - didn't you like the example from yesterday's post? About the difference between a satin stitch and a zigzag???  Who knew? I heard on the John Tesh show last night, that teaching is an excellent way to learn! Yep - I agree 100%. Teaching for 20 years has made me extremely knowledgeable as has my curiosity.

On that note, I'm off to pack the car. I was even thinking last night and filled the car with gas so I wouldn't have to pay a premium this morning. Sometimes my brain works  - most times it does not!!!

Have a great day!!!


Ciao!!!!

(for the record - it's 6:37 AM - when I hit PUBLISH)

It's Red Mitten Day!!

I love how things just seem to happen. Coincidence? You decide.

And FYI - there's a NATIONAL day for almost everything you could think of. Anyway - it's National Red Mitten day today!

I was doing laundry on the weekend. I threw my scarf, down sweater, and cloth gloves in the washing along with everything else. When I went to go out later in the day, I could only find one cloth glove in the clean clothes pile and I didn't have time to dig through to find the other one. So I grabbed a pair of red mittens from the hall closet.

You have to keep in mind that I bought those red mittens (in support of the Canadian Olympics by Hudson's Bay) for M for a couple of years. As teenagers are, some of the mittens may have got lost or misplaced. Let's say they are misplaced. I grabbed two red mittens and ran out the door, only to discover that I had TWO right-hand mittens and no left hand. Well - no choice but to wear them like that. They were very toasty warm, just didn't feel right on the left hand.

Two right hand mittens - no left!

Yes - those mittens are from the 2010 Olympics. These are the FIRST pair of mittens that were sold. So? They are still very toasty warm and no reason to buy new ones. I have located the second cloth glove in the clean clothes and I really should look through the closet to see if there happen to be any left-handed red mittens!!! Otherwise, I may have to go and buy a pair today to support the Canadian Olympic team.

I got that gigantic customer quilt done yesterday. While the batting the customer had provided was wide enough, it wasn't long enough so I had to join two pieces that she had given me. That meant there was a LOT of batting.

It all pools on the floor and makes it very hard to walk.

LOTS of batting

 No worries - a couple of quick folds and the batting is now safely out of the way. No sense cutting it until the quilt was done. Could save a couple of inches and it's not a big deal to do this.

Batting folded neatly out of the way

See what I mean by a large quilt? It's about 110 inches square!!  The quilt is off the frame and ready to be trimmed and bound. Oh yes, I get the fun task of putting the binding on for the customer! No worries, I've done tons of bindings so it's not a big deal for me.

A huge quilt on the frame

This is the Kaleidoscope quilt that we did as a year-long project in 2017.  The one that I split into two quilts which were both still a very large size!

Customer quilt - DONE

Now that that one is done and everything else is somewhat under control, I hope to get the rest of the customer quilts done in the next couple of weeks. There's not many of them so that's the good news. The next one is ready to be loaded but I don't think I'm going to have time today. Today it's all about the computer. There are e-mails to answer and write, blog posts to write and edit, pictures to take and edit, patterns to write, webinars to listen to, software to learn. Oh yes - a fun day at the computer!!!!

Last night, we had a great class making the snowflake cushion. It's fast and easy - we used the Accuquilt die cutting machine to cut out the snowflakes and I know that some extra snowflakes were cut. That's awesome!  They didn't quite have time to finish the cushion. They basically had to sew the front to the back, but it was getting late. Look at the awesome job - neither of the students had done applique before. They did a super job.

Covers for the snowflake applique cushion

Here's my cushion cover. It's so darn fast to make.

My sample cushion cover

Tonight it's all about a paper pieced Christmas tree that can be turned into a small wall hanging or a cushion. Check it out at Oh Look Fabric. And all those yummy fabrics above? You can find them at Oh Look Fabric. There's also a rope bowl class on Friday night if anyone is interested. Again - super fast to make!!!!

On that note, I'm a little bit behind this morning. I've already done two major errands - well, spin class and Miss Murphy is already at the spa. Our house is dead quiet without her here. She's a busy girl!

One thing to leave you with today. Here's a great story about a young girl who participates in Row by Row who is going to be somebody famous one day. Hey - she's already famous!!! Check out her story.   The issue? How to get more kids like her involved!


I'd better get to those e-mails.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!

It's in the bag

Yesterday wasn't quite as productive as I would have liked it to be, but it was still great work!

I got myself down to the long arm and I finished quilting that lap quilt by lunch. I do need to trim it, get the binding, label, and sleeve on today. My plan is to deliver it tomorrow, but not before I make one more quilt also scheduled for delivery tomorrow. That quilt is cut out. It's small and very simple, but very cute. The quilting will be simple and thank goodness for machine binding. I'd be in big trouble if that wasn't happening at my house. 

It took a while to get that quilt cut out as there were a lot of fabrics (40) involved, but once I got going, it didn't take long. I confess that I had a chill out session in the afternoon - I was tired and I just wanted to veg out a bit. Don't ever worry about me burning both ends of the candle - I rarely stay up late, I rarely get up early (well earlier than my scheduled time) and I have no problems to take a nap if needed. 

My alarm went off at 4 AM this morning. Oh, shoot - I had forgotten to remove that alarm after we had to get Bear to the airport last week. Gosh - it seems like forever since he flew home. I miss that little muffin. He's so cute. But he is well loved and cared for at home and he's WHITE. Imagine that! He was white for only one day at our house. 

I had some books that had to be returned to the library so, after my nap, I took a brisk walk to the library to return them. As I was walking, I remembered a comment made recently by someone. They said that they found it hard to walk without a destination. Hm - that's interesting. I like to walk but I have to confess that most times, I do have a destination. So here's the thing - if you can't walk without a destination, then make one up. Decide that you're going to walk to the corner of X and Y streets. Or you're going to walk to the grocery store  - doesn't mean you have to buy anything - just create a destination and walk there. Then walk back. 

We do get set in our ways and one of those is what we eat. While we were at the retreat, we had a discussion on desserts. I'll be sending out a note to all the attendees for the next one. We had so many rich desserts - it was totally insane. Yes - I ate them, but I didn't really enjoy them. No - that's not right - I enjoyed them, I just didn't enjoy how I felt afterward. I had brought the lemon and coconut flavored yogurt pots for the dessert for my meal. They are light, they have 100 calories and it was a nice way to finish off chili for dinner. As we were having our dessert discussion, one of the ladies said that she didn't consider yogurt as a dessert. Hm - why not? We are so set in our ways that we can't have pancakes for lunch or dinner or we can't have eggs other than for breakfast. NO - we have to think outside the box and eat whatever we feel like when we feel like it. Switch things up - try foods at different times. I sometimes have oatmeal for dinner if I'm alone. Why not???

Here are the books that I bought at the used bookstore in Orillia. It's called the Book Re-View. It truly is the best bookstore around. No - it's not huge by any means, but the books are well organized. What makes this bookstore shine is the people. Carol is the friendliest person around. She cares about her clientele and will provide book lists of authors (if you need one), recommendations are very forthcoming if you ask, the staff is excellent and well - you just get a warm and cozy feeling when you're in the store. 

Now, what happens when you get a warm and cozy feeling in a used bookstore? You buy - that's what!!! Here are the books that I bought this past trip. Yikes - way too many!!!!  There's one more book that I forgot to ask about so I'm going to send them an e-mail today. I didn't take my list with me. 

Books I bought at the used bookstore

Here are the books that Mary dropped off for me at Monday sewing. One of those books was on my list and one was not. One more book off the list!!!!   I have to find the list - it's on my desk somewhere and then I'll post the last couple of missing books. I may have to break down and buy them online. That book list was a super fun summer activity.

Books from Mary

 I've put all the new acquisitions on my bookshelf which is now a tad full. NO MORE BOOKS!!!  When I was at the library, I did NOT even look at any other books. I just returned the books, paid my fine and then I was out of there. I have a "few" on loan from the library that I need to get read.

My "to read" bookshelf

 Last night, I was teaching a class on zippered pouches at Oh Look Fabric. (Check the link for the workshops for the rest of the year.) The class was full and it was a busy class. All the girls are fairly new to the sewing world and of course have basic sewing machines. They all did an amazing job despite the couple of machine difficulties we had. I'm very spoiled when it comes to sewing machines but I don't judge! We all have to learn. The frustrating thing is that you don't want to spend a lot of money on that first machine. But that very basic machine doesn't have great features which would make learning to sew so much easier. And who wants to lay out a lot of money for a machine if you're not sure you're going to sew? It's funny how the machines that the clientele bring to that shop are very basic (just learning to sew) while at other places I teach, we have a very different scenario with the machines.

Three of the five people finished their pouches and the other two were very close but we were already over our time.

Zippered pouch from class

Another zippered pouch from the class

The third pouch with a metal zipper

I don't think that any of them had ever put in a zipper so getting the pouch cut (and some had never used a rotary cutter before), zipper in and finished was a huge task given the size of the class and their skill level. Job well-done ladies!!!!!

It was late when I got home so I "slept" in after that 4 AM alarm. No spin class this morning. I so wanted to go, but I was tired. Next week or maybe I'll go on Friday. It's a different instructor on Friday, but I could still go!  Don't get set in your ways!!!

Hopefully, you've got the dates marked in your calendar for Quilts at the Creek. Don't forget those workshops. They're going to be loads of fun. Check out the link again and get signed up! There's a trunk show on the Sunday of the show. Why not come out, learn something new, see the quilts in all their glory in an outdoor setting, check out the Prince Cherrywood Challenge in person, and maybe even volunteer for a two-hour stint. It's all about supporting our local quilting activities. We need to build an AWESOME quilting community in Canada. We have the talent - let's build the community so we don't have to look elsewhere to get our fix. 

Speaking of Canadian Quilting communities, don't forget to check out the Canadian Quilter's Association. The big show is in June 2019 in Ottawa. There are lots of great shows scheduled at that event. There's the Trendtex challenge that you can take part in (a great way to stretch yourself), there's a guild challenge involving the color purple, great resources on their webpage and other social media pages. It's easy to find things on the website - just click on the appropriate button. 

Why not enter a quilt into one of the shows??? The Quilts at the Creek is easy. You just enter the quilt. There is no judging, there is no jury. You just enter your quilt. Drop it off at one of the drop-off spots near the show date and you're good to go. It's easy and who doesn't want to see their quilt hanging in all its glory?  

Pick ONE major thing that you'd like to do next year. Take a workshop, do a challenge, enter a quilt show. Set the date in your calendar and work backward with your schedule so you know when you have to do what. I love challenges, so I'm going to do the purple challenge and I'm going to do the TrendTex challenge. 

But first, I need to get four more urgent quilts out the door. That snuck up on me very fast and I wasn't mindful of the dates. I've got to watch that in future!

On that note, I'd better get the day started. 

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!

My day off

Yesterday was supposed to be a day of getting things embroidered and sewn. However, I didn't even touch a sewing machine. Well other than to pack it up. I'm on my way to a sewing retreat this morning. I know - bad timing.

After the missed attempt at sending Bear home yesterday, I had to get to the vet so we could obtain a new health certificate so he could fly. Poor little guy - he was very out of sorts about the whole thing. I'm happy to report that he received a clean bill of health and as I write this, he's on his way from the cargo depot to the big plane that will take him home to Vancouver. His flight leaves at 7:15 AM. I think he's going to go crazy when he gets home. So will M. I kind of miss the little guy already. He was so darn cute and so fun and it was great entertainment to see what he would come up with next. Bye, bye Bear - we miss you already!

Bear and I spent a lot of time yesterday just hanging out and catching up on some sleep. Good grief - I was tired. Not only from getting up at a ridiculous time to get him to the airport which didn't work out but the travel day the day before as well. Not only did we go back to bed when we got back from the airport, but we had a long, long nap on the couch after lunch.

Then I had to get up because I was teaching a class. It was the second session of teaching the nine-year-old and her dad how to sew a dress. They had done their homework and it was well done. When the class was over, they just had to attach the skirt to the bodice and the ruffle to the skirt. So they still have a fair amount of homework to do. They didn't choose the easiest pattern for a total beginner. But they were making out just fine. Super excited to see the young ones take up sewing and this girl is going to go gangbusters. Now only on her own accord, but she has great parents (at least a great dad) to support her.

So that class was at Oh Look Fabric. If you have kids or know of kids who want to learn to sew, give the store a call and we can set something up. Even adults for that matter.

I'm making dinner tonight for the group at the retreat. My plan was to make the chili at home and take it with me. However, I sauteed the veggies and that was the extent of my cooking. I'll do the rest at the retreat right after lunch.

Thank goodness, I'm going by myself. I packed half of the car this morning and well, I still have the sewing machines (yes - taking two - one for embroidery and one for sewing). So I must get the rest of the car packed.

The winners of the International Quilter's Association quilt show were announced last night and here's a link to the winning quilts.  There are a couple of Canadians amongst the winners. I have to say that the pictures on the web do NOT do justice to the detail in these quilts. I did see most of the winners and I was certain that I had seen them all, but there are a couple that I don't recognize. And it's funny - there are some that I know I saw in person, but boy - they look different seeing them in a photograph. The level of detail and the workmanship are truly outstanding in all of these quilts.

As an FYI - I'll have some stuff to sell in an upcoming craft sale.  It takes place at The Hobby Horse on Friday, November 16 and Saturday, November 17. Be sure to mark those dates down. I'll be there for part of the day on Friday. There will be quilts, bags, runners, ornaments, and many other items. If you're in a panic about Christmas gifts, this is the place to be!!!

On that note, I'd better get the girls (no boy anymore) for their walk, finish loading the car and get myself off to the sewing retreat. I can't wait!!!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Used books any one???

I was driving around yesterday and going over all the things that I do - blogging, educating, teaching, etc. And there's one thing that I've decided I won't do anymore - workshops for quilt guilds. It was never big on my list of things to do. I never promoted it. But sometimes when I speak at a guild, I've been asked if I do workshops. I've done some in the past. But at this moment in time, I'm working with two guilds to try and get a workshop going. It's a lot of work to create something "super enticing" to get enough members of the guild to sign up. It's way more work than necessary and very time-consuming. I'm not sure how to differentiate the workshops at guilds versus teaching at a store, but there is a difference. And each guild presentation has to be almost custom created (or so it seems these days) and I don't have time for that.

So I'll work with the two guilds that I'm currently working with. And I'm teaching a very custom class next week. Then that's it! No more guild workshops. Just not going to happen.

Here's one of the things that I don't get. If the description says - technique class only, we're not going to make a project, why does the guild need to see a sample??  Sorry - I'm on a wee bit of a rant this morning. Quilters do NOT take the time to play. For whatever reason, they need to be making projects they can give away. No one wants to experiment and just have fun!  Why is that? Then they complain when they have another UFO to finish. I like to play and NONE of us take enough time to play.

Anyway, to appease the members, I made a very small sample. The topic is applique.

How do you make an applique sample in a hurry?? You get out your AccuQuilt - that's what. I used various dies and cut a bunch of shapes. I'm using the Accuquilt way more for cutting applique than for cutting quilts. I can cut a quilt very fast with the traditional rotary cutter. But applique - that takes time. I think I have to buy one more die and then I can really crank out the stuff. I've got a couple of projects in mind - just need the time to make it happen.

Cutting shapes with the Accuquilt

The workshop is on a variety of applique techniques so I also made stems using the bias tape maker. There are other applique methods but for the sake of a sample, I wasn't going for that.

Stems made with the bias tape maker

I grabbed a piece of background fabric and VOILA - there's a sample. There's a very specific reason why each shape was chosen. It's a great way to teach how to do the stitches on the sewing machine. I did some stitching on the piece and it's delivered.

Sample for applique

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitter about the experience. I've just found that guild members are very fickle and very demanding for workshops and it's just not worth my time. No, let me rephrase that - it's not worth my PREP time as I don't get paid for prep time unless I up the charge of the workshop which I don't want to do. Solution - no more guild workshops.

A long time ago, I may have discussed dryer sheets and how bad they are to use. We haven't used them in our house for years. Why are they bad to use? They are filled with chemicals that'll leave a residue on whatever you put in the dryer with them.  I had a box of them that I found in M's room and it's been sitting on the dryer for a very long time.

When I was doing the applique above (a lot of it was fused), I goofed and got a bit of fusible on the sole plate of the iron. Rather than take a few extra minutes and use the proper tools for iron cleaning, I thought I'd grab one of those dryer sheets. Look at what happened to my ironing board cover!!!!

Ironing board cover after using a dryer sheet

The dryer sheet were a cheap brand - probably purchased at the dollar store. Needless to say, the box is in the garbage now. You should have seen the OIL on the bottom of the iron. It's like the heat literally sucked all the oil from the dryer sheet. The more expensive ones are probably not as bad, but those sheets are bad!!!

Here's another article about dryer sheets. There's a lot of information about them. Bottom line - they are BAD to use and not only damage the environment but damage your clothes.

Once that sample was done, I was off to the used book sale in Guelph.  The location was easy to find - a massive warehouse. I had to park quite a ways away from the door. There was an early bird time slot from 1 to 4 yesterday. EACH person who entered during the early bird was required to pay $10. Look at how full the place was!!!!  They would have made quite a bit of money just on that entrance fee.

The book sale

 It's very hard to see in that picture but the place was huge and it was packed. We received a map of the layout it was that big. There were all kinds of books and all the fiction were in alphabetical order by author last name. Well - all the A's were together and so on. That was VERY helpful.

WOW - the place was crazy. I didn't find any books on my list, but I did find something interesting. Whose books are the most popular at a used book sale? If you guessed James Patterson - you'd be correct. Numerous people remarked on that when I was in the P section.

At one point, someone was looking for Anne Perry. Several people said, "there are lots". Someone else asked "is she a good author?" to which we all piped up and said YES. Then we told that lady to read about Anne Perry. Rememer, she's the one who helped kill her friend's mother years ago.

I had limited cash with me but that's OK. The books were all super cheap. $3 for hard cover, $2 for soft cover and $1 for fiction soft cover. Or something like that.

When I finally found my way to the end of the line to pay, it was HUGE. I mean people had come with shopping bags, grocery carts or wheelie carts. They came prepared.

The cash

It took me 20 minutes to get through the cash.

What did I find???  I found these books about historical quilts. Yeah - that's the kind of thing that I'm really interested in and there were seven of them. $2 each. I wonder if the rest of the collection was there and it would come out later?  Oh well.  The books are Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group.   If you check under the publications section, you can see the books. They are selling for $10 - $20 a piece. I paid $2 a piece and they are in pristine condition. If I had time, I'd go back today to see if there were more. But alas - NO time for that.

Books from the International Quilt Study Group

I also found a quilt novel and a couple of other quilt books. I did buy one novel but that was it. Total cost $24 for the books and $10 to get in. That was good entertainment value for an afternoon.

More quilt books

I also found this which I thought was hilarious. I almost bought it, but decided not to. A book of projects by the Husqvarna White Education Department. Quick Gifts to Make. I couldn't find a year or any names in it, but it was before machine embroidery as there was all these things to make using pictograms which was percusor to machine embroidery.

Interesting old book from Husqvarna White Education Department

The last thing on the day's activities was to teach a class on making a pillowcase at Oh Look Fabric. There were two in the class and both of them were successful in completing the pillowcase. The pillowcases turned out amazing. When you're making a pillowcase,  working with directions fabric can make a pillowcase a bit of a challenge, but these ladies pulled it off no problem. Neither had used a rotary cutter before.

Happy pillowcase makers

Next week, we have a class on Violet Craft's large animal paper pieced wall hangings. Come out and have fun with us!

Then home where I crashed and now up and ready to start the process all over again. Except that I'm not leaving the house. I'm going to be chained to the long arm, the embroidery machine, the sewing machine and the computer all day long!

In case you didn't see it, Lexi has something to say this morning. That silly girl. She thinks she's the best dog. Well technically she is, but then again, she isn't.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!

Are you famous?

There's a saying that we all get 15 minutes of fame. But what is fame? And why do we need to be famous?

I walked to the library the other day to pick up two books that I had on hold. One was a quilting book. While I did check the other books on the "new" shelf, I didn't pick up any other books. FOCUS and RESTRAINT.  I admired the bookshelf quilt on the wall (remember that story?) and I proceeded to self-checkout. I had a small fine to pay so I went to one of the library staff to make that happen.

I've spoken to this staff member on numerous occasions but I don't know her name and she doesn't know my name. I guess she could have looked at my name when she was in my account, but that wasn't her priority - only how much I owed. When she saw the quilt book she said, "Oh you're a quilter."  "Yes", I said. I'm certain that we've chatted about quilting or sewing in the past. Turns out we have a mutual friend. Once she knew  my name, she said "oh you're famous - you're a famous quilter!" I laughed - I'm not sure I'm THAT famous of a quilter, but my name does get around."

My name most certainly gets around and here's a couple of recent sightings.

The most recent issue (Number 47)  of A Needle Pulling Thread. The photos are NOT doing justice to the colors in this quilt. It was made with Northcott Shimmer  (multiple colorways to choose from) and it's gorgeous. Lots of Dresden plates in this quilt, but what fun!!!  The pattern is in the magazine. You can use the template in the magazine or get out that Dresden Plate ruler that you bought but never used.

That's my quilt on the cover!!!

So yep - there's another cover quilt. Super exciting. This issue should be in stores very soon - I did receive an advance copy. There have been quite a few other quilt sightings in the last couple of months. I'll try to get all the links up.

And I'm sure you all remember this quilt that I made with the license plates from Row by Row. I made the quilt in 2016 from plates collected during 2015. Some plates I bought and some were given to me from the US and Canada. I used ALL the plates I had accumulated that year and made this quilt.

It's seen in a calendar that was put together by Thimbles and Things in Orillia. I wonder if Sue knew that August is my birthday month? Or was that just a fluke?

My quilt making an appearance in a calendar

Am I famous? I don't know, but I'm happy the way things are.

But if you want to see a famous (and sexy) quilter, check out this video. I must take a walk to Chapter's today to see if I can find the current issue of Zoomer. Way to go Laura!!!!  As excited as I am to see Laura in the spotlight, I'm even more excited to see QUILTING in the spotlight. Let's hope that those Zoomer readers will say - OH - I want to be a quilter too. The association involved is The Canadian Quilter's Association. If you're not a member, you should be. There are always changes happening and things are looking up. Remember the CQA is for ALL quilters, not just the ones that have been quilting for a long time. Lots of exciting stuff and great people at the helm.

I'm now the local rep for

• GTA/Niagara – served by Elaine Theriault (ongtarep@canadianquilter.com– Simcoe, York, Peel, Halton, Hamilton, Niagara

So if your store, your quilt guild or YOU want to know more information and live in those regions, please get in touch. I'd like to provide (and will in a future blog post) information about the CQA. I'm just a tad tied up at the moment.

Speaking of tied up, here's how easy it is to learn to sew. I taught a class last night - how to make a pillowcase. It's interesting to see the different clientele of different quilt shops. Oh Look Fabric in Milton has a lot of NEW or WANT TO BE sewers. That's OK - I'm up to teach anyone.  One of these two ladies have never sewn before and the other had limited sewing skills. One knew how to cut, but the other lady had never touched a rotary cutter. She just wanted to learn how to sew.

By the end of the evening (2 hours), they had each completed their pillowcase. YEAH!!!!!

Two pillowcases - DONE!!!

I think both ladies went home feeling pretty good about their newly acquired skills. I'm proud of them and they both seemed to pick it up fairly quickly.

This is the quote on my calendar this month. And after the last couple of days, it made me think.

Amazing quote

So yes - I do whine from time to time and I get frustrated (sometimes), but the bottom line - I am a strong person and I do hope that from time to time that I am inspiring someone. If nothing else, I need to be my own inspiration because when the going gets tough, I'm usually alone. (Not that I don't have friends in the background to fall back on).

A quick update on the quilting situtation. I hit SEND on that pattern about noon yesterday and the feeling immediately afterwards was AMAZING. I like writing those patterns, but NOT under stress and the stress was caused totally by me. Do you know how hard it is to proof a pattern? It's crazy intense and the calculator is glued to my finger tips. It is being reviewed and hopefully only minor adjustments to be made.

I turned on the long arm and the darn thing worked like a charm for the ENTIRE afternoon. That dratted thing - it was testing me - I know it!!!  I got half of the urgent quilt done. Now I need to decide what to put in the other half and I'm stumped. I've been practising on paper and my clear cellophane right over the quilt. I have two ideas but not convinced of either one yet!

And I got a few more rows together on the other one on the design wall. All in all - it was a great day!!  I have an online class this afternoon, but then NO commitments until Sunday morning. Yeah!!!  I like that. I do have loads to do, but it's all good.

Here's a thought I'll leave you with today. Fame lasts 15 minutes, but the acknowledgment of your accomplishments (or even your existence) can last forever. Why not give someone a feel-good moment TODAY. Let's say you're in the grocery store and you see someone wearing an amazing outfit. I know it sounds strange, but go up to them and say - "love your outfit". I did that once and we had a great conversation. I'm sure she felt great, but you know what? So did I.

Think about the times that a total stranger gave you a compliment. Matter of fact, I was in a restaurant the other night and a man (who was sitting with his significant other) passed by our table and said "I like the flowers in your hair!".  What???  I was totally shocked, but you know - it felt really nice that he noticed. If you don't have enough courage to do that, then simply say HI to the people you pass on the street. Have you ever noticed that when we pass each other that we tend to look DOWN. Why is that? Smile and say HI. What's the worse that can happen? If the rest of the world is unhappy, that doesn't mean that we have to be.

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!