You need space to bind a quilt

I thought about the stride thing yesterday with my KMs, and it's NOT the stride. I did measure that way back when I got a FitBit. I tried to verify it last night, but do you think I could find that in the app? Nope! 

The big issue is the translation from my FitBit records to the data on the Virtual Challenge site. It's sporadic, and I have no idea what's happening, but have a look and see what I mean. 

The data from the Virtual Challenge website for the last two days

For comparison, my FitBit for yesterday says 12.23 KM (instead of 11.68 - so close), but what's with the number of steps? I had 17,702 steps, not 4,986. 

And for the day before, I had 11.9 KM (not 9.99), and the steps were 15,472, not 12,116.

So why is that all cockeyed? THAT IS NOT CONSISTENT!!

Look at the difference in the steps versus the KM for those two days. Does that make sense to you? It doesn't to me. I will be short if this continues, and who knows how long it's been going on. I've not been this close to the end and being slightly behind, so I never paid attention to it before. I will calculate the KMs that Virtual Challenge calculated and then count what my FitBit collected. Then, I'll add the difference to the Virtual Challenge, and hopefully, that will bring me closer to my goal. OR I can enter the data manually, which I might do for the rest of the year; both will take a bit more time, but I'm OK with that. 

Why am I fussing? I'm sure a few of you are saying, "Get over it and move on." And yes, I could, but it's the principle of the thing. If my FitBit says 10 KM, but I'm only getting credit for 9, I want that extra K. I set my goal based on the FitBit numbers, and I'm being cheated!!!

I'll check with others to see if they have the same issue. 

I promised my binding class that I would make a video to show them how I do some of the techniques in detail. That got done this morning—FINALLY. Now, I need to edit it and remove some spots where things went awry. I've not done much video editing, so that will be my learning curve today. 

The quilt I chose was tough to do for the video as it was a flannel quilt, front and back, with a flannel binding. But why not show them the most difficult one rather than the easy one? The thing is—the technique is the SAME! 

The binding on the quilt

But here's ONE TIP that I'll share with everyone. If you are putting a binding on a quilt, and I don't care if you are planning to hand stitch it or to sew the entire thing by machine, do yourself a favor and USE AN EXTENSION table and have loads of room to support the quilt to the left of your machine. I can't imagine attempting it without somewhere for that quilt to rest while manhandling it through the machine. 

You need SPACE to bind a quilt

I do not sew on a fancy table. This is a $50 wooden banquet table that I've used for over twenty years. It is the BEST investment for my sewing room. It's hard to find wooden tables these days, but there are options. Even for sewing, a larger workspace is IMPORTANT—I would almost say critical to the success of your sewing. 

The quilt got quilted, but I had run out of steam by then, so it will get bound and in the mail today. There's a potential mail strike, so it might have to go by UPS. I can't share the front, but the quilting pattern is so perfect for it!!!!

The quilting on my secret quilt

So DH and I are getting back into the EXIT Game with one of the small games—only ten puzzles. We need to be warmed up for December 1 when we crack open the Advent Calendar. We've done pretty well on this game, looking at the clue only once and only the first of the three parts of that clue. We knew what we should have done; we just didn't do it. DRAT!!!

Well, last night, we got lucky! But I'm sure we would have figured it out the correct way. This scenario required us to find three numbers from these materials. 

How do I find three numbers in this?

It takes a moment for your brain to trigger what you need to do. We did it, and I looked up the answer, and the code was correct. But it bugged DH because he thought our logic was too random, and we've learned that NOTHING is random in these EXIT Games. I looked at the clue to see if our logic was correct. Oops --- we screwed up in two of the three numbers, but both of them gave the same number, so we were good! He wasn't impressed because I came up with obscure words, which still worked. Well, it's tough to explain, but the logic was there, and we had the correct reasoning, but not quite the same way! 

This goes to show that there is more than one way to do anything! The bottom line is that we solved the puzzle without looking at the clues! 

I got my Trendtex challenge the other day! I've known what I will do with it for a while. So yesterday, I designed the quilt and got the measurements, and all I need to do is start sewing! I cannot leave this until the last minute! There is a solid beige at the bottom of the pile. I would NOT have chosen those colors, but this is what they came up with this year. If you're not aware, the Trendtex Challenge is part of the CQA (Canadian Quilter's Association) annual show. 

The Trendtex Challenge

As I was looking through the basket of flannel that is the backing for the next group of community project quilts, look what I found. A ticket from when Wal-Mart sold fabric. The date is 2008!!! I bought four meters of flannel for a total of $17.08. 

A fabric ticket from years ago!

With all the talk about irons lately, I decided to clean up my irons. I have four that are in good working condition, two of which are brand new. I'm saving them until I need them. 

My irons and supplies

It was time to clean this iron, which I was going to use. It's a great iron, but the darn thing has these bursts of steam that drive me crazy. So I poured a whole lot of vinegar into it, as it desperately needed to be cleaned. 

It's a steam generator. I sat it on the kitchen sink, and it continuously generated steam for 20 minutes! All by itself. 

Generating steam!

There was a lot of junk in it. 

ICKY!!!!

Then I cleaned it off, and it seems to be working OK. 

Nice and shiny

I can't find the manual, so I'm going to try to find it online. But one very important thing about this iron—DO NOT use it until it has heated up! Oh yes, if not, it just gushes steam when it's not supposed to. Follow the guidelines for proper iron usage! 

Most of us say that our sewing machines do not mend clothes, but I fixed a small hole in the back of a pair of pants. The seam had originally been serged with a 5-thread safety, so there were two lines of stitching, but now it's fixed. 

Mending pants

I felt good that I'm not part of this fast-fashion craze. I will fix my clothes rather than throw them out. I wore my socks and gloves that I repaired the other day, and you would NEVER know they had been mended. They are comfortable to wear, meaning you can't feel the mended spots. I felt good that I was repairing it instead of throwing it out. 

With all the wind we had in the last couple of days, not many leaves are left on the trees, although it's still pretty to walk through the forest and see the leaves falling all around. However, this tree did NOT get the memo that it's fall! I don't think any of the leaves have dropped. 

This tree doesn't know it's fall

Well, there are loads on the agenda again today. I do what I can in a day, and if it doesn't get done, it doesn't get done. I'm just keeping up with the priorities and working from there. There is no rush, and there are no deadlines, although I have to think about what's on the agenda for next week. It is nice not to have a single commitment this weekend! 

On that happy note, I'm off to edit and figure out why the KMs do not translate well. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Maintenance

Sewing is a high maintenance activity!!!!  Just wait to see what happened to my day and you will understand.

 I had a short class to teach in the morning (more on that later) and then I had the entire day stretching in front of me. Well - it didn't work out that way!!!!  M's friend Caroline "volunteered" me to help with a project that their school is undertaking with a local Senior's Center. Some of the students and teachers volunteer at the center and they wanted to do something for the center. Bottom line - they are making a quilt - a memory quilt to be hung in the lobby of the building. I think it is a brilliant project. The teacher, myself and Caroline arranged to meet once I got home from my class.

They looked through some books and some of the quilts that I had made and then they discussed and came up with a very nice design. Something that will be easy for the students to help the seniors with and yet I think it will look pretty cool when it is done.

After the teacher left, Caroline was left with a task of sorting buttons which she tackled with great enthusiasm.

She left with a nice collection of buttons. And before you say "oh - she took on another project". I am being compensated for the project. The teacher had acquired a small budget which she happily gave to me and I am supplying the materials and the expertise. So it will be a win/win for everyone. I think the due date is early June so there is lots of time and the students will be doing the bulk of the work.

Then I had to drive M to work, drive Caroline home, a quick stop at Indigo (pretty convenient to have that store so close, but I still prefer Chapter's), groceries and then back home. By this time it is almost FIVE. And I had got no sewing done. I was absolutely exhausted. After reading one of the recent self help books, I am trying to get one half hour extra sleep and I am feeling great. Of course with the late Friday night at Cockadoodle, that threw my sleep schedule off. I just had a nap - a nice long TWO HOUR nap. See that's the problem - missing one hour of sleep requires more than a one hour nap to recoup.

Then pick M up from work, have dinner and computer stuff - then it was time to sew. I looked at the clock - 9 PM. I never sew that late. I know you are wondering about the maintenance - well I realized that I had run out of wound bobbins. I spent the next hour winding bobbins and tidying up the sewing room. Putting away stuff that I bought at the show and putting away the things that I had used earlier in the day when Caroline and her teacher were here. Now it is 10 PM - I sewed a couple of seams and decided to go to bed. Could not find my iPad - I know where it is because I can see it in my mind - it's under a pile of books, but where is the stack of books - my brain isn't processing that info. I found a paper book to read. But couldn't get to sleep until after twelve. Crap - going to need a nap today and that throws the whole schedule off. GRRRRRRRR

Oh yes - the other thing I did while winding the bobbins was clean out the bobbin case. I DID NOT take a picture because there was a LOT of lint. Yikes - and I changed the needle on the sewing machine. It is primed and ready for action!!!

Then this morning I was pressing and realized there was crap on the iron....

Dirty iron

Supplies for cleaning the iron - IRON OFF HOT IRON cleaner and paper towel

Yes - I just use a paper towel, but I believe you can buy kits that have the iron cleaner and a cloth. Yes - I must find an old face cloth to become the permanent iron cleaner cloth.

Put some of the Iron Cleaner on the paper towel - not too much

Then while the iron is HOT, rub off the dirt and other crud from the bottom of the iron. Mine has these grooves around the steam vents which make for a fun cleaning job. I never get all the junk out of those grooves. Once I used my thumb nail and it melted!!!!!!   I think if you had a thicker cloth than the paper towel that you would be able to get into those grooves without melting parts of your body!!!!

Clean iron

Gunk taken off the iron

So yes - it is pretty important to do these maintenance things in order to keep your sewing room in tip top shape.

I noticed that I seem to be spending a LOT more time sewing on my stuff these days. Granted - I am NOT sewing many samples and that is a GREAT thing because as I mentioned a couple of days ago - they just ended up as UFOs. The other is that I NO LONGER have to search for things in my room (OK - so I lost  - I mean misplaced the iPad, but that doesn't count!!!!). And the only other explanation I can think is that there is something that I am supposed to be doing, but I can't remember!!!!!

And you are going to get a bonus today - a tutorial on Starch Method Applique. It will be in a separate post.

Now you have waited long enough for the reveal from our Christmas Club. This is such a great group of ladies. They are SO CREATIVE and not afraid to let go and try anything. Remember - this is the Piece o Cake pattern - Welcome to the North Pole.

The first block they had for homework was the Three Stars.

Three Stars blocks

Three Stars Blocks

Three Stars Blocks

I forgot to take a picture of them all on the design wall so had to run around and get pictures of them all afterward On a block as simple as this - I don't think that anyone did the same thing. Some used patterned or glittery organza overlays, button hole stitch with metallic or rayon thread, satin stitch, stars made from ribbon. And some will put trim on after the blocks are quilted. This is the MOST EXCITING part of this project - seeing what everyone has come up with.

The next block was the Elves Rec Center.

Elves Rec Center

Elves Rec Center - Karen - nice sparkly trim for the roof (don't ask where she got it unless you want to go to Mexico!!!)

Elves Rec Center - Marlene - she used a frayed lamé as the trim along the roof of her rec center)

Elves Rec Center - Linda used construction (bricks) fabric for her house

Elves Rec Center - May put a row of icicles (from fabric) along her roof line and it is also beaded. 

Elves Rec Center - Jeanette used sports fabric for her Rec Center and she has the NEATEST hand writing for the signs.

 Next time - I will try to take a close up of all the blocks as they are all exciting and each person has a different twist to their blocks. VERY CREATIVE!!!!!

And I needed a picture for my article - well here it is.......

Here they are having FUN!!!!  We are going to have a baby in our class soon as Kristen (in front on the right) is due in June. See Jeanette in the back doing her version of the Queen's wave!!!!!!   Oh yes - what a group although the trouble makers (won't mention any names) were quite calm yesterday!!!!

Then we had show n tell of NON Christmas Club items.

Beth's braid from the Wednesday (last week) class

Beth with her lighthouse quilt. I think this was a Lorraine Stangness pattern. 

Beth with her postage stamp quilt. I LOVE THIS. Of course it is all little tiny squares. I think she said there were over 2000. She had it marked on the label!!!   It is stunning. I did not get a picture of the back, but it is pieced, although the pieces are much bigger than these. 

Linda had a Zentangles tile and another Linda has her Patchwork Sampler. Since you have seen those already - I did not put them up again.

Progress report

Red White: the center is TOGETHER!!!!!!  And I made the missing pieces for the border. Here is the quilt with the last border row on and ready to sew today.

So what do you think - do you like it with the border or without?????

Yep - I agree - WITH the border.


Patchwork Sampler blocks completed: ZERO
Tim Horton Hot Chocolates drank: ZERO  (that is TWO DAYS in a row). Yes there were moments yesterday when I would have drank one, but I decided that it is more important that I DO NOT. Besides misplacing the iPad, I think I have misplaced my brain too!!!!!!  And do you know how much time I gain by not waiting in the drive thru - plus the gas I will save. OK - SHOOT ME NOW!!!   Next thing you know - I'll be running around braless and hugging trees!!!!!!!

Speaking of Tim Horton's my aunt sent me an e-mail last night and I will pull a couple of pictures from it. There were a lot more examples, but I think you get the message. Each sugar cube is representative of ONE TEASPOON of sugar contained in each item.

Bottom line - guess I'll be eating a LOT of carrots, strawberries and Special K!!!!   Just kidding - I'm NOT a fanatic - yet!!!!!


Have a great day!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!