Miracles do happen!

Oh my gosh, your comments are too funny. I always get a chuckle! YES, we reboot our router much more regularly than we used to, but it still doesn't help. This reminds me that I must reboot it this morning while walking the dogs! 

A lot happened in the house yesterday, and I can't share any of it with you! At least not yet. But I went to bed feeling MUCH BETTER than when I woke up. I was not sick, but I had a massive weight on my shoulders because I had two classes to prep for this morning, and I was struggling. And NOT with time. I'll tell you after sharing the story with the class this morning. 

Let's just say that a miracle happened, and I'm thrilled. Of course, I instigated the miracle, but why didn't I do it before? 

It was a busy day: selecting fabric, cutting, sewing, and pressing. Then I got frustrated, and this happened. 

While half of the cutting table was open for work, there still wasn't enough room, which drove me mad. So I did a "clean sweep" and literally swept EVERYTHING on the floor. It looks like a tornado went off there, but that's OK. I could work more freely, and things went much better after I had made some space. This was one side of me as I stood at the cutting table. 

The floor to the left of the cutting table

And this is the other side. 

The floor to the right

No, I'm not proud of the mess, but at least two things happened. I put a few small things away, which was good. Now, I had the room to spread my project out so I could actually work. There was no music or audiobook; this was hands-down heavy, thought-provoking work, and I needed silence. 

I hope the students today realize how much blood, sweat, and tears (not quite that bad) went into those presentations. I'm excited this morning, which I couldn't say yesterday. 

But that just shows that no one made my day better. No one provided me a pep talk or a miracle to get out of my predicament. It was only myself when I gave myself the pep talk and said - you are in or you are out! Make a choice, and VOILA - I made a choice. Not only did I clean sweep the table, but I also cleared my brain. 

I know some people can't, won't, or are afraid to do that, and I feel for them. Thankfully, I can break out but procrastinate like the best of them!

While digging for fabric, I came across this in the scrap box. Can you tell me why? 

A hole in a piece of fabric

Something else good happened yesterday. About a month ago, I tried to track down someone at Sheridan College with whom I could discuss donating this considerable tub of art supplies from when I attended the college. No one responded, and finding any email contacts online was very challenging. 

A container of art supplies

Well, guess what? A couple of days ago, someone responded, and now I've pulled the tub out, and it will be donated next week!

This tub has been sitting in various places for over twenty years!!! It's time it went. Now, I have this little space between the two desks CLEAR except for my garbage and recycling, which I always use. Actually, I could get rid of the trash can. I don't generate that much here, but recycling is constantly used. 

In my eyes, every small victory is monumental! But this one is big! 

More empty floor space in the office

Let's just say I have to take an afternoon next week and start delivering some of the stuff around the house. It needs to go! 

Look at the fabric scrap bin. It's growing, and I'll attempt to empty it later today. I like seeing it fill up and getting to start over! 

The scrap bin on the cutting table

A new project landed at my door yesterday. I wasn't sure what to expect in the package size, but this is how the fabric came. 

A box of fabric

It's a big, long tube of fabric. The project is scheduled for next week. I'll share more as I start working on it. 

Since I live close to two different grocery stores, I frequent both because I can only find some things at one or they are cheaper. Yesterday, I scored when I saw my protein bars ON SALE. Usually, they are $2.99 a bar, but they were on sale for $2. They are great to have before spin class. 

My supply of protein bars

The hilarious thing is that you can buy them in a box, but a box of 12 was on sale for $26.99. You do the math! 

I just looked at my calendar for next week. There is nothing next weekend except one class I am taking, not giving! Yeah, but I'll be at the long arm all week as I need to catch up there. 

There was no time for jigsaw puzzles yesterday. That one is still sitting on the table, and maybe later today, as a reward for all the work I did yesterday, last night, and early this morning, I deserve an hour's break to work on that puzzle. 

There are days when I think about what I do all day and realize I spend a lot of time prepping for classes or events! Thank goodness I like the projects or would be in big trouble! 

Well, it's time to get the party started!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

You will never be bored if you have a dog or two

WOW --- -what a wild weekend. I'm almost thankful for Monday and only a sewing Zoom to attend! There are so many lightbulbs going on, and people are getting excited about the possibilities of what they can do with their tools. I don't know how the rest of the groups felt, but I was WAY overstimulated yesterday. My brain was going in a thousand different directions, so I decided to walk to calm everything down. 

Of course, Miss Murphy was right at the door, begging for a second walk. I told her I would take her if we could QUIETLY leave the house so Miss Lexi wouldn't know we were going. Lexi was out like a light on the couch with DH. As quietly I as could lift Muprhy's leash, the next thing I knew, Lexi was at the door, and I had no choice but to take them both! 

But we had a talk at the beginning of the walk. There would be no dilly-dallying. This was a walk, not a leisurely stroll, and both of them (for the most part) did very well. The leashes got twisted around (always Lexi's fault) once, maybe twice. Minimal stopping and sniffing were allowed, and I'm sure if anyone saw us, they would think, "poor dogs." 

Well, that was not the case, and perhaps others would think, "that lady needs a wagon to hitch those dogs up to!" Yep --- they are two crazies, but they are so much fun. 

I swear Murphy has a long-memory brain. Years ago, I used to take her to the park, and we would practice jumping up on the bench and turning around and various other things. Whenever we walk through that park, she MUST jump on that bench. The first time she went to the bench after we had NOT walked in that park for a long time, she took me by surprise and struggled to get to the bench. Oh, Murphy!!!

Look at me!!! I'm smart!

Lexi just looks on in disgust. 

MOM -- I'm saving my energy - I don't jump

And they even sat nicely and LOOKED at the camera simultaneously. This is a miracle! 

After the walk

And then what's this all about? Murphy wanted to play when they got in the house, and Lexi jumped on the couch to get away from her, and then Murphy was halfway on the couch, and OK -- so I encouraged her to plunk herself up there. She does NOT like the sofa because it's too wide open, and she prefers cozy little spaces. 

HEY -- I can jump on the couch if I want to!

Our embroidery group has extensively discussed Mylar, and I hit the jackpot. An industry expert with whom I had a chat yesterday and much more research to do. You'll see why once I get things together for that. But when I passed this dead Mylar balloon on the walk? I was tempted, but I did not pick it up!

A dead Mylar balloon

Pray that your house never gets damaged. In April, a car ran off the street, through that big fence, and hit the corner of this house! They are ONLY now repairing it. Can you believe that? Like that house that had the fire damage? It took almost two years for the family to move back in! 

A house under repair

No -- this post is not all about the dogs! But it seems like it! The message here is -- get this quilt off the wall! I hope to be sewing on it today! 

Mom -- these block things fell off -- I did NOT touch them

And seriously? How did this happen? The block fell on her, and she carted it on her back for a distance before it fell off. OK, Murphy -- I get the message. The sashing pieces are all cut, and I must get to work. 

Now how did this block get from the wall to this spot?

I have some work that I can share with you! I finished cutting up all the large pieces of paper on the cutting table. As I was cutting, I remembered what these were. When we had to design fabric for the college drama department, I was to make fish and perhaps one other thing. These were large-scale drawings of my test pieces. These sure look like fish scales to me!

Large-scale drawings for the drama department

And there were lots of wavy lines to emulate fish. But they are all gone, and I'm not sad. I'm actually happy that this is off the cutting table. There is still a lot of paper to go through in those buckets, and I might have to find a home for the buckets as I need more time to continue sorting through them. I'm OK with that as I made tremendous progress in that area, and if I don't finish a particular area, that works for me. The more I do, the easier it becomes, and I almost feel lost in the decluttering area since so much is finally in place. 

More large-scale designs

Now that the cutting table is almost clear, it's a great place to dig out fabric baskets and work without having to move stuff. Yes -- this is tulle, and I have lots of colors, and I found exactly what I needed. 

Working with tulle

Then after the Zoom calls, I got to work to finish this sample of sewing machine stitches that has been sitting around FOREVER. The trick is to bring the sewing stitches into embroidery mode, which makes it way faster than doing it in sewing mode. Say what??? You can do that? Yep --- if you go into the programming mode on your embroidery machine, you can program ALMOST any sewing machine stitch into a pattern, and then you can bring that "new" stitch into embroidery mode and design stuff with it! Yep --- I've been doing much of that lately, and I've had so much fun. 

Stitching out sewing stitches in embroidery

Well, in this instance, I've been working on these dimensional stitches which require tulle. It's a bit hard to see in the picture; the white and purple bits of tulle are now stitched into the stitch. 

Dimensional stitches

Here's a close-up of one stitch. They are cute stitches, and some people would claim they are fussy to do, which they are a bit, and they take time. The key here is KNOWING how to fold the tulle to make it fit, and then it's super easy to do! 

One of the dimensional stitches

I have a few more stitches to stitch out; they are all programmed and need to be brought into embroidery mode, and I hope to get that stitched out today. 

I got all the yarn stitches stitched out a couple of days ago. Yep--- these are all sewing machine stitches, but they were programmed (to get the required length) and then assembled on the embroidery edit screen of my Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER EPIC 2 (You have to LOVE that large screen), and then I used the yarn couching foot to stitch the yarn in place. I always babysit stuff like this, but thankfully, it takes little time to do. 

Samples of Yarn Stitches on the DESIGNER EPIC 2

Samples of Yarn Stitches on the DESIGNER EPIC 2

And then I'll have THREE stitches left to stitch out, which are tricky. I want to do them in embroidery mode, and they need to be modified before I do that. So last night, I was back in the 333-page manual for Stitch Editor, trying to decipher how to make that happen. 

Editing a machine stitch in mySewnet embroidery software

Will this translate into something that can be stitched out? I'll test it later this week!!

And the last of that stabilizer is removed from the lettering for the quilt backing. Yeah!!! This is a good thing because now there are three more pieces that require the stabilizer to be removed. Thankfully, they will take little time. 

The last of the stabilizer for the lettering

And this is what the cutting table looks like this morning. It's in very good shape since almost ALL the stuff on the table are things that I NEED to take care of this week. A couple of things still need to be put away, but I'm so close! SO CLOSE, and the trick will be to keep it this way. Well, with all the talk about habits, I want this to become a new habit, and I can make it happen. Seeing that table so clean and knowing I could put borders on a quilt without moving anything? That should be enough incentive. 

The cutting table in the PERFECT shape

The issue that will arise is what to do with the stuff on the table when I need to switch gears in a hurry? Well, that's where the current projects table comes in. Instead of the stuff staying on the cutting table, it'll go back to the current project table. It all seems simple, so let's see how it actually works. 

So you think that quilts on the floor are magnets to dogs? How about quilts on the wall? We've already seen that Murphy likes to sleep against my design wall; Miss Lexi thinks it's OK to sleep next to my WHITE quilt. And before I snapped this picture, she was leaning on the quilt. It's time to change the quilt!

MOM -- this quilt is comfortable

OH MY GOSH --- Murphy is SO entertaining. At dinner last night, when DH and I were having an earnest conversation (not an argument, but a serious topic), Murphy was playing with her squeaky toy and moving the dog bed around as well as the blanket. How could we keep serious faces? It was impossible. I swear she is the kid who NEEDS your attention the moment you get on the phone. 

MOM, DAD! look at me! 

It's only recently that I've been back on Zoom on Sunday mornings, and I swear, she's right there wanting to be with me! MOM -- you're not paying attention to me! Oh, Murphy! Let's say there is rarely a dull moment at our house because of these girls. And we're going to enjoy every minute we have with them!

I'm not going to think about the amount of work that needs to get accomplished this week, and I'm going to focus on ONE task at a time and go from there. The biggest problem is that everything takes so long or longer than you planned. However, baby steps! 

So how is the decluttering coming along at your house? It is a horrible job and mentally stressful, but if you don't do it, the stress level will go up! I've said this before, but it took me almost TEN years to get my studio under control. Yes - TEN years!! The first step is to STOP adding to the mess. Stop acquiring new projects to work on! Or stop buying fabric, books, and tools UNLESS you are prepared to put them away immediately. That is a learned behavior (a habit), and the book I'm rereading right now on habits (The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg)-- well, it'll blow your mind how the marketing people take advantage of OUR habits and help us create habits that make us buy (think of that huge online store --- they made buying from them a HABIT that is very hard to break!)  

So as you are cleaning and decluttering, think about EVERYTHING you do -- I bet 50% of what you do is a habit. OH -- here's a good one. How often have you been on a committee, proposed a different way of doing things, and someone shoots you down, saying, "we've always done it this way?"  That's a habit! Break out of the mold -- do something different. 

And on that note, it's time for my HABITUAL spin class at 6 AM. LOL -- some habits are good! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Thank you Mom and Dad!

Several years ago, I worked for a fabric company, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I won't go into detail, but let's just say we did not see eye to eye. I was let go (a..k.a. You're FIRED!), and I felt a bit sad at the time. 

However, I've realized that was the BEST thing that could have happened to me. The industry/market experience I gained was invaluable (yes -- enough to put up with the "issues"), and now I have an even better job. I'm working with technology which fires me up way more than fabric does. At this point, the fabric is only important to me because I can use it as a medium for my technology, but the actual fabric collection or pattern? I couldn't care less! 

With fabric, the only option you have is to encourage people to buy MORE. To be truthful, I'm not a salesperson (OK -- I'm an enabler), but I am, first and foremost  - a teacher. So working in the technology world, I teach people how to use the technology they have bought! Oh yes --- this is a match made in heaven!! I'm in my glory, and well --- this is something that I can do any day, all day, regardless of whether I'm working for a specific company or freelancing! 

It only took how long to get here? But a quote that I saw yesterday said, "you are NOT starting over, but you are restarting with experience."  Something like that. WOW --- and how profound these moments are when they come to your brain! That epiphany came while I waited for my oatmeal to cook this morning. I've been in this happy place for several years -- and it didn't happen overnight. 

I'm excited because I have two presentations this morning, and both are prepped. The presentations are done, and the demo bits are assembled and tested. Gosh --- the more I do something, the easier it becomes, and I'm becoming very familiar with Reference Guides, especially when it comes to software!

The more I do, the more I learn, and the more I want to know it ALL. I have just scratched the surface of what my embroidery software can do, but boy, it is exciting when it all comes together. 

So we had our first class on EQ8 software in the morning. Gosh -- I love that software, and again, there is so much you can do with it! I love taking any software and using it for OTHER purposes. It's design software, and anything you want to design -- why not? But then, can I use those designs with my other tech tools? You bet! 

Then we had the session on digital cutters. There is a HUGE need for information in this area. Again, there are so many things that one can do with a digital cutter. Expand beyond what everyone else is doing and think out of the box. How can this cutter help me with my day-to-day life? Yep --- I'm going to push those students, and they will push me, and at the end of the year, we're all going to be so much smarter! 

Here's the thing -- most tech companies don't care about your learning. OK -- that's not 100% true, but their focus is on the bottom line and how many units they sell. They often rely on third-party people to do the teaching/training. And here's a HUGE controversial subject. Is that a good thing if you are an ambassador for a company? Many industry people say NO, but those excited to get free equipment say yes. If you think about it --- the company receives "free" advertising whenever you mention their product, and they expect you to produce things made with it. And all it cost the company was the loan (not something they gave away), but the LOAN of a machine. 

It's all about the bottom line -- it's easy to "pay" people with an equipment loan or fabric, which doesn't cost the company the full retail price than to pay a marketing firm in CASH to promote their product. So for the company, having Ambassadors is excellent, but from an individual perspective, it can involve a LOT of time and effort, and you get very little in return. 

I know many people up in arms about the "slave labor" they perceive Ambassadors do. In a way, it makes sense because some Ambassadors pour their heart and soul into it, and I guess those are the ones that LOVE what they do and don't care if they are being "exploited." Everyone's situation is so different. 

Influencers are another ball game, and I'm not going there. 

I am NOT an Ambassador for any company, but I still pour my heart and soul into what I do. I could do many things that make way more money, but I love to do this, and I can afford to do it, so you are all stuck with me! 

I spent the afternoon puttering in the sewing room, but I don't have much to show. Some of it is for presentations this morning, and some for blog posts. But OH my --- I was able to accomplish what I wanted in editing my embroidery design. It is NOT perfect, but it works; that is all I care about. I'll take that learning experience and expand on it for the next project. Yep -- there'll always be a next project. 

I've averaged 12.5 KM a day of walking since the new year, which isn't that spectacular given that we are only one week into the year, and the weather has been amazing except for the lack of sun, which attempted to peek its head out yesterday for mere seconds. 

OK -- so I made progress on the cutting table, but not as much as I would like. 

The cutting table

There are still a few things that need to be put away; the rest is the CURRENT projects I need to complete this week. Stuff that I'm prepping or sewing or embroidering. I still have a lot of machine embroidery, and I NEED to get it done. Hopefully, this afternoon, I can tackle the remainder of it. But this is the best shape that the cutting table has been in. And I could have it perfect in about one hour, so I will try to find that hour today. 

Can you believe I only had one picture to share with you? Wait -- there's one more I took yesterday, and let me find it. 

Maybe that large shopping bag isn't such a bad idea. I read the flyer for the drugstore, and they have the most fantastic popcorn on sale, so I went to buy some. I bought four bags and had my few groceries in the bottom. That large bag was a godsend! The popcorn is my afternoon snack when I can get it on sale, and I won't pay full price for it! 

My large shopping bag came in HANDI! (no pun intended -- oh yes --- pun intended!)

It's still too large for most of my errands, so I will chop it down. 

Here are some examples of combining technologies in my world that excite the heck out of me. 

I created all four of these ladybug designs. The one in the top left is 100% machine embroidery. The next one is machine embroidery applique with fabric, the next one is machine embroidery using an outline stitch only, and the final one is done with cardstock. I started with an image in some software. Now that's pretty darn cool!

Four ways to make a ladybug

This next sample started with an image from a coloring book, and I did some outline stitching with machine embroidery. The one above the outline stitching is done with fill stitches in embroidery, the middle one is done with paper, and the one on the top right is machine embroidery applique. 

Projects created from a coloring book photo

That is so much fun, but it taxes your brain to make it all work and even think up the darn stuff! But I'm determined to make this all happen, and the more I do, the easier it becomes!

This is a tree that I cut using my digital cutter. I did this and shared it with you a while back. This is NOT perfect, and I need to experiment some more. That is on my plate for this month. 

My fabric tree cut on the digital cutter

These classes are PUSHING me and my brain to the limit to keep ahead of the students and to become proficient. So bring it on!!! 

I'm very happy filling in my Happiness journal at the end of the day, and I LOVE those colored pens, but I really need a holder for them. It's so much fun to read what happened on this day in 2012 and 2013. As the year progresses, I won't have that entertainment!

I'm not sure how I became a morning person, but I want to thank my parents (we never do that enough) for making me who I am. I know they didn't make me exactly how I am today -- I have a lot of personal experience (i.e., mistakes!) to thank for that. But setting good routines (we were NEVER allowed to sleep in), we had chores to do (as I'm sure most of you did), but just good character and, most of all, the LOVE of doing things with my hands and my brain. And being excited and curious! That comes from both my parents, and I can't thank them enough for giving me that gift! And while my body will grow old and tired, I hope my brain never does! 

Well, it's time to get the day started! So much to do and so little time! And I'm so excited about our classes this morning! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

New habits

There are TWO new habits that I want to add to my OCD behavior this year. One is to write in The Happiness Project book every day, which takes no time at all, and the second is to promptly respond to ALL the comments that people post on the blog. So far -- I'm good! 

As M (my daughter) mentioned and I had planned, The Happiness Project book (the blue book I just found again) is by my bed, and those new snazzy colored gel pens. My writing sucks, and it is even worse writing in bed. Sigh  - I'll try to make it neater, but there are NO promises in that category. Hey --- if no one can read it, that's OK. It's mostly for me, anyway!

But I will need an easy way to access all those colored pens -- I LOVE them. And I'll choose a different color every day! OH -- a quick and easy project to make! I need to keep a list of those small projects that I want to make, so when I need to make something for QUILTsocial, I already have items to make!

And if people (YOU) took the time to write comments on the blog, I feel it's a MUST to respond to those comments. It's been hit-and-miss in the past, but it's a good connection to people. So if you comment, expect a response from me in a day or two!

Hm--- so I went to the post office at the mall two days ago to mail a sample of an upcoming workshop I'm teaching at the Niagara Heritage Quilter's Guild. That's booked for March 23. I bought a bubble wrap envelope, had it all filled out, and took it to the cash. The manager was insistent that I should use a BOX instead. Better service, faster, cheaper, blah, blah, blah. 

I'd already written on the bubble envelope, so that would be wasting the envelope. The package arrived the next day! So that wasn't so bad for the less desirable option. How much faster would it have gotten there with the box? The same day? I think not!

So I was back at the post office yesterday to mail something else. This time, I used the flat rate box. It was a different person at the counter (DARN!), but I had it all filled out and labeled when I got there, as the cashier commented. Well, why wouldn't I? 

This box is going to Oshawa, about the same distance as the other package, but in a different direction. It was $1 cheaper! Let's see what happens!!! 

Using a flat-rate box

And while I was at the mall AGAIN, I decided to check out this wrap I keep passing. I LOVE wraps, and yes -- I already have a few too many, but this one is very dressy compared to my others, and the best part -- it's plain and can be embroidered!!! 

Can you believe that the one I wanted and saw the day before was GONE? Of course! This time I tried on the item to see if I really liked it. Yes, it's excellent, but I'm not a powder blue girl, so I asked if they had different colors. They have another store, and yes, they do. So they are shipping the other colors to this store so I can have a look. Another trip to the mall!

A powder blue wrap

Of course, they had some gorgeous orange ones, but they were already embellished, and I wanted to do the embroidery myself. 

When I finally got home from ALL my errands and was ready to work, it was almost 4 PM. I know -- I spent a lot of time in the morning chatting with people, and HEY -- sometimes you just have to do that. It shouldn't all be about work and head down! 

Time to address the elephant in the room. I've got an offer to cut those wood pieces; however, on my walk, I spotted some short strips of lattice, which I promptly picked up, and they may work. But I'm waiting for them to dry before I use them. The strips of flooring will have to work for the weekend. Then I'll see. I've no shame in picking up stuff off the street if it will work for me! 

The sit-down quilter (Platinum 160 by Husqvarna Viking) is still in the box. I forgot to take a picture of it set up on the table, but it's all set up, and the tension is tested. I had to play with it a wee bit, but it quilts like a charm with two very different colors on the top and bobbin. That's the test of a great machine --- can it sew without getting pokies on either the top or the bobbin. That is NOT recommended, but for testing, it's perfect. 

The Platinum 160 by Husqvarna Viking 

The power tower got moved to its new spot, and the old power bar was removed. Nothing is plugged in yet, and I plan to do that later today. Those cords need to be bundled up -- they are a mess. 

The power tower in its new spot

I had to dig through a pile of old quilt magazines, and OMG --- look at the date. I was practically a newborn when this was published. OK -- I'm kidding, but the magazine is almost an antique! I have sorted my magazines by title, and when I want to read a title, I grab the stack and start browsing. Sometimes they are sorted by date, and sometimes they must be sorted. So the first thing I do is sort by date, and I found FOUR duplicate copies. They are now in the recycling. I LOVE going through these old magazines, and I have some stuff to share with you another day on what I found! 

An OLD quilt magazine

So it's a sad news day. My bag I bought at Stonehenge (YES -- THE Stonehenge) is finally on its last legs. 

My Stonehenge tote bag

This has been my GO-TO shopping bag for the last two or three years. It's been to the library, the mall, the grocery store, and everywhere. But sadly, it's wearing out. I was going to take the side panels and use them on something else, but even the one is starting to wear thin. Surprisingly, the handles are entirely INTACT. 

My tote bag is wearing thin

It's a loosely woven burlap but with a plastic liner. Even the liner is breaking apart. I don't remember what I paid for this bag, but I got my money's worth. 

The bottom corners are almost gone

The holes in the corners are getting too large that I'm afraid something might slip through, so I went to the "bag closet" and found something else. Oh - I found one of those plastic bags, but look at the size? It's HUGE, which I hate. I've used it twice, and it's too big. So (I know --- do not yell at me), I'm going to chop it down. All those plastic bags come in that size, and while great, they are too big! I will take the handles off and cut about 4 inches from the top of the bag. Fiddly? Yes -- but I don't like it. And yes -- I could make a new one the exact size of the Stonehenge bag, but I have these other bags, so I might as well use them. 

The new bag is four inches (at least) too tall

Do NOT worry -- I will ensure I keep the measurements of that Stonehenge bag, as it's the perfect size for me. And I'll recycle the handles and one side, and I will make something cool from it -- just not at the moment. 

I did a bit of cleaning on the cutting table --- this huge bag of leather scraps I bought a couple of weeks ago got put away. I can't wait to use it for little bits of applique. The leather is gorgeous!

A bag of leather scraps

Two more quilt tops from Diane have been added to the "to be quilted" pile. 

Two new quilt tops from Diane

I didn't take a "before" picture, but this is the current projects table, which looks pretty good. I know -- it's messy but much better than it was. 

The current project table

I took that large green tub and filled it with stuff from the table. Things that I won't be getting to for a while. I need to find a home on a shelf for that stuff, which I'll do. Then I could move things from the cutting table that I was supposed to be working on and to clear the space, it went to the current project table. That leaves the cutting table pretty clear. The goal is to keep the cutting table 100% clear, except for the project I'm cutting. The other things I'm also working on, but perhaps not that day, will go on the current project table, and everything else is shelved! That's the goal. I'm close! 

The cutting table this morning

The hardest thing is not getting something done before a new deadline arises, and I must switch. If I could figure out how to make that happen, I'd be golden!! 

OK -- so Lexi and Murphy are entirely different in their food habits. Murphy has to sit and wait for her food because she'd be gobbling it down before the bowl even hit the floor. She is very good about this and waits; she also knows to only touch Lexi's dish when it's empty. 

Lexi, on the other hand, is a grazer. She can leave her food all day and eats it when she feels like it. But she also likes to squirrel food away, which is hilarious. She will take a few morsels to the dog beds and try to hide them. Well, it's hard to hide it under the blanket when you're standing on it. And, of course, now that the food is OUT of Lexi's dish, it's fair game for Murphy. If we only had Lexi, I'm sure we'd be finding dog food everywhere in the house! 

Lexi trying to hide dog food in the dog bed

At last, all the stabilizer is removed from the large piece of embroidery. There is still more to remove from the smaller piece, and I made good progress last night. What will I do when this is done? I'm sure I'll find some other handwork project. 

More stabilizer removed

OK --- so how many of you spend the time EACH DAY deleting ridiculous accounts that start following you on IG. I don't have a ton of followers, but I get new requests almost every day, and I check them out and delete them. I didn't always do this, so from time to time, I try to scroll through my followers and delete those robotic accounts stuck in the middle of my good followers. 

What a flipping waste of time and the comments you get from some of those robot accounts are ridiculous. How does anyone fall for that?? Oh, people do, but it's a shame!

So there are FOUR presentations this weekend. I've got all the distribution lists in order (I think!). I don't know that I'll do that to myself in the future. I still have more work to organize, but getting those distribution lists was the worst! Well, just time-consuming, and lots of intricate filing was required. I'm still not out of the woods yet, as I have more e-mails to process for classes at Thimbles and Things. I'm trying to keep up! And I've got a couple of pocket folders that I'm using to store all my notes and ideas for the classes. 

I'm super excited, but there is one ISSUE with any of these clubs or groups. I can only encourage and inspire, but I CANNOT do the work for them. They will only learn if they are willing to make mistakes and take chances. The other day, I played with my embroidery machine and did some programming. I had a vague idea of what I wanted, primarily by size. Ultimately, I created something very cool, and who knew that was possible? It came about only because I was WILLING to spend the time and play! 

Wish me luck communicating that to the group! 

Here's a good quote. 

Well, it's time to get moving!! There is MUCH to do today, and I've now in catch-up mode!!!

OH --- so if you have cleared up your ironing board, it's time to move to the cutting table. You are going to remove EVERYTHING from it. As you remove the items, what has a home can be put away. Do THAT! Then what is left? OK -- so you have one or two projects that you are currently cutting --- put those back on the table. Then evaluate everything that is left. If it is stuff you still need to complete but need more time to work on, get a box and put it in it. Label the box and keep it handy so you can get what you need. But leaving it on the cutting table is distracting! I'll be working on my cutting table today. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!