Much ado about jigsaw puzzles!

I went for a long walk yesterday morning, and I swear there is something about the air here. The temperature was below zero C—I know—I know, I'm repeating myself. But I put my hat and scarf on and went out. While not cold, I was happy to have those items. By the time I was done, hat was off, jacket open, mitts off. The temperature rose quickly; my body was heating up. The air is dry, and it's uncanny how different it feels. 

By 9 AM, I was out walking in my sweatshirt, sleeves pushed up! Go figure!!!!

The good news is that I found the jigsaw puzzle. I started in the laundry room, where there are a few boxes of things, and I looked in a couple that they would have easy access to, but nothing. Then I looked in a box standing by the front door. It was a long, skinny box with no top, but it was leaning against the wall, and VOILA—there was the puzzle. 

Now, what is very worrisome is that they both vaguely remember the puzzle. That's common for Dad, but not so much for Mom. She usually remembers everything. But after I found it, she says she was the one who put it there. So did she remember that? Or did she just say that? Based on some of the discussions this week, I'm a bit concerned about some deterioration of her memory. 

But this puzzle threw them for a loop. The Museum has posted some pictures of gift shop items on Facebook. Knowing I was coming, I decided to buy one of the Indigenous Art puzzles, asked Dad to bring it to the apartment, and said I would get it when I got here. That threw them both for a loop as they didn't get the premise that I was buying it for myself and would pick it up. They are very easily confused, which is highly concerning. 

But here is the one thing to remember. If my parents completely understand what is happening, they remember. If they don't, they are confused and can't remember the details. I try to leave notes and send emails with all the details. I must remember to be even clearer in the future. 

I have planted some seeds and will ensure that, next time, we make a few changes. I think we are good to wait a couple of months. I know --- that statement has come back to bite many people, but I seriously think we are OK for the moment. But the bottom line is that we found the puzzle, and they won't stumble upon it and wonder what the heck it is. 

I have to laugh, and it's totally serious, so I shouldn't be laughing, but that is going to be me one day. I always joke that I don't like change. Well, I can see where that comes from. My parents resist all forms of change. However, I'd like to think that I am somewhat flexible. I don't mind new things, but I hate change in some things in my life. 

And yes, I'm working on the fact that the next visit will be a downsizing one. It has to be, as I can see the writing on the wall. It is not going to be easy, but it's going to be necessary. I don't know how much time we have left on that one, but it's coming. 

There is always a jigsaw puzzle set up in the common room downstairs, and they have this great puzzle board to put it on. It has four drawers that slide into the sides of the board that the puzzle sits on. And the pieces are meticulously sorted by color into the trays. 

The current puzzle in the common room

I have not seen the guy who works on the puzzle, although I think there are two of them. I have to stop every time I come in or go out to see if I can put a piece of two in. I don't think anyone has been around much, because it hasn't changed much in the days I've been here. But yesterday? I was on a roll—I think I put 5 pieces in at one stop. Then I had to slap my wrist and get moving! 

Not much change in five days

Oh my gosh --- I am leaving tomorrow and had a quick look at the app for my upcoming flights, and my next one is two weeks from today, and I am so not ready for that one. I don't have an outfit for the wedding (not my daughter's), and I'm supposed to make one. When I get home, I have two driving trips and three significant events to pack or prepare for. Where am I going to get the time to make a jacket? Yikes ---- I worked myself into that time constraint!!! I'll do what I can, and in the worst case, I can wear a pink T-shirt and shorts to the wedding. 

It's a wedding— who cares how the guests are dressed—it's the bride who counts. I am probably every bride's nightmare guest. I don't get the dress (color) code of weddings anyway. I guess that is why I am stalling. Why the heck can't I wear what I want? Especially since this is a destination wedding, and I really don't want to take something fancy or bulky on the plane. I travel light!!!! I have until the 14th (the day after my event) to decide whether I'm making that jacket. It's light and won't wrinkle, so I think I should bite the bullet and make it. 

Dad and I went clothes shopping in the morning. I know --- he's all spiffed up and has new jeans, and then he got a couple of new work shirts, a jacket, and a shop coat. He does a lot of welding and grinding, and works around a lot of grease and such, so his shop coat was falling apart. Literally—at the top near the front, it had huge holes that had migrated to his shirt, which has corresponding holes in the front.  

All of a sudden, he's worried about how he looks in public. WHAT??? Does he have a lady friend that we don't know about? Anyway -- I helped him get all set up with that, and then he was off to the Museum to work on his own for the day. Based on how long he has worn the previous shop coat, I think he is good for the rest of his life. I'd be tempted to put a patch on the underside of that spot that gets all the wear and tear, but if necessary, it's easy enough to buy a new one. The existing one was at least 15 years old. 

It was interesting to find a shop coat for him. The only one I could find was at Mark's, and it was polyester/cotton, which you wouldn't think would be appropriate for a coat that could come into contact with welding sparks. I guess they figure if you are going to be a serious welder (he is not), that you have a cotton or leather jacket. So we didn't buy the shop coat we spotted. 

Then I followed him to the Museum to look at his existing coat, and it was the SAME one at Marks. So I went back and bought it for him. He's going to get his name embroidered on it (there's a shop here that does all that kind of stuff) and then he'll have a new shop coat to protect his new shirts. I told him to ditch everything old, and I think that will happen. He's OK with getting rid of stuff -- it's Mom who doesn't like to do that. I think he even sneaks stuff out of the house. 

But the problem is that Mom never leaves the apartment and rarely leaves that chair of hers, so she has a good view of everything that comes in or out the front door. 

Here's a picture of Dad at the milling machine. He is always excited to share what he's working on with everyone, and while I could never do what he does, it's fascinating to watch. And there are so many similarities between the metal work and what I do. Precision work, using multiple tools to make something happen. 

Dad and the milling machine

Since I didn't have the quilt to work on anymore, I dug into my bag, where I have three small projects. I pulled out the first one, which consists of some larger hexies, and decided I needed an iron to turn the edges. I only have one cardboard template, so glue is out of the question, and the hexies are too large to use thread. I figured out how the hexies would be positioned on the background and put that away. I have 20 hexies to turn by heat when I get home!!!

I'll work on the small hexies another day, and the third project is these hearts, which need to be stitched to the background. 

Myappliquée project

I am so anal when it comes to hand-stitchingappliquéé. The thread is 80- or 100-weight, so it's very thin, and my stitches are small. Notice how the needle is parallel to the edge of theappliquée!!!! That is key to making those stitches disappear. 

Keep the needle parallel to the edge of theappliquée

And the stitches are short and mostly parallel to the edge of theappliquée. If you look closely at the left edge of the shape above, you cannot see the stitches, and that is how handappliquéé should look! 

The stitches on the underside of the project

A heart is a great shape for learning to stitchappliquéé because it has a point, an indentation, straight edges, and two curves!!!! These hearts are being needleturned - I'm turning the edge as I stitch, and I need these for one of my upcoming events next weekend. I almost got one done, and I should be able to get the second one stitched in place. I have four in total, but if I can get two stitched down, I'll be happy. 

One heart almost stitched in place.

Here is the jigsaw puzzle I purchased at Robinson McNally the day I arrived, which seems so long ago!! Beautiful hand-drawn artwork. They didn't have one for Saskatchewan, or I would have gotten that one instead. Actually, I'm lying; there was a prairie sky puzzle, but I preferred this one. They have some beautiful designs which you can check out here. Let's just say I found some items to fill the suitcase in place of that large quilt!!

My new puzzle

Well, I should get myself moving for the day. I've got to work in a shower and a walk, and I'm trying to get some work done on a computer file cleaning while I have some downtime. Today is all about more visiting and flushing out some details for another wild trip sometime soon -- maybe next year. We need to do these things before it is too late to make them happen!!!

A sad finish to the Men's World Curling, but hey --- all of the games I watched were nail biters. And Canada put up a good fight yesterday, and I think they did an amazing job. They came home with a silver medal, which is nothing to sneeze at!! I have one question—will Canada let them cross the border with that huge hunk of cheese? 

Before I go, have a look at this beautiful display on the shelf outside the neighbor's apartment. Isn't that cute? Happy Easter!!!!

Little display outside the neighbor's apartment door

Have a wonderful day and Happy Easter!!

Ciao!!!!

Hand applique

Several years ago, I decided that I needed to set goals to get some of these larger projects done. I set some goals in 2017 and I got quite a few done. I set more goals in 2018 (and didn't wipe out the goals from 2017). I didn't make a lot of progress, but I did get some projects finished. I now have more goals for 2019. It's time to actually get off my butt and get to work on these. Wouldn't it be nice to finish the year with ALL the goals from those three years done? It's doable but only I can make it happen.

I'm now devoting my Monday sewing day to working on these projects. It's one thing to set the goal, but if you don't' schedule the time, nothing will get done.

I have my UFO club this Sunday and someone asked if I was going to throw money into the kitty and play along with the group. I hadn't thought about that, but why not! So my project is picked, I need to ante up $100 (no need to pay myself for my time but I could!). I debated over the project to pick, but I've got a good one and it'll help with my sample making. Of course - all will be shared next week.

It's going to be a tough class and we WILL get those projects done. If you're interested in some tough love, let me know, there are two spots left.

I'm currently working on a project on Monday that's hand applique. Oh yes - when I pick a UFO, I pick good ones. It's called Gingerbread Joy by Susan H. Garman. You can read my story about this quilt at this blog post.

What did I get done this past Monday? I'm so excited - I'm beside myself. Check it out.

For some reason, I picked Block 12  - why work in order when you can work in reverse order?

I cut the pieces for the large and small pieced blocks.

Pieces cut for the large and small pieced blocks

Since I'm not taking a sewing machine to Monday, I put these pieces beside my sewing machine to use as enders and leaders. There are a lot of half square triangles to make. I'm happy to report that all the triangles are made for the large block - they just need to be trimmed. And I've started on the small ones. I have another Sit n Sew tomorrow, so I hope to work on those blocks.

Then it was on to prepping for the prep for Block 12. I had to get stuff together at home so I could finish the prep work on Monday. I have no excuse to stop. All the fabrics are with the block - I didn't' like the yellow that came with the kit. The circles are made (finished those this past Monday). The four green stems are ready to glue in place.

Applique pieces almost ready to glue in place

I need to make some bias, so when I got home, I dug out the bias tape makers and cut the bias strips. I'll make the bias on Monday. I'm thrilled with the progress of this block.

Applique tools ready

So Block 12 is very much underway including the two pieced blocks and the applique blocks.

I haven't touched the kits for Blocks 10 and 11. But all in good time. I still have the rest of the year. 

Kits for Block 10 and 11

But that's not all I did on Monday. Here's my hand stitching bag. Of course - it's orange. Do you know how many people comment on my orange accessories including the hairband with the orange flowers? Tons!!!!

Hand stitching bag

 What's in the bag?? Two spools of thread, my sewing kit including thimbles and scissors. The block to stitch and the pattern.

Hand stitching supplies

What was I stitching? Why that would be Block Nine!! The partially eaten gingerbread boy! It was mostly glued down, but I hadn't started the stitching. Now it's mostly done - boy whoever glued those bits down was pretty glue happy. That white fabric which is already stiff was pretty stiff in places from gobs of glue. I had to dig out my thimble in order to stitch through it.

Block 9 of Gingerbread Joy

I haven't lost my touch for hand applique. Notice how smooth that curve is in his arm, but then look at the messy circles!!  Whatever was I thinking? No need to change them - it's good to see how far you've come. Those circles are just messy icing bits!

Some details are good, some not so good!

 Let's put it this way - if I were to decorate a gingerbread boy with real icing, it would look way worse than this. I'm happy and that's all that counts.


Oh - here's my other supply bag of applique tools. This is the applique prep bag. Starch, pointy tools, scissors, etc. It really makes a difference to have all those tools in one place. No need to search anywhere for something.

Applique tool bag

I had a 2-hour dentist appointment yesterday. I forgot that I booked a cleaning and two cavities in the same visit. As the hygienist said - it seemed like a good idea at the time. Things are good, my dentist has a very tender touch and I'm fine today. Just need to floss more.

I got the next quilt loaded and I made great leaps and bounds in the class prep for the weekend. It's going to be tight - very tight to get it all done. I will, but somehow, I didn't plan this week very well. Well - it was being away last week that put me in the squeeze for this week. I must look further ahead for planning.

Got to run - got another crazy day scheduled and the weather outside, while warm - heck - it's positively balmy compared to what we've had, it's messy. Time for those rubber boots (which I wear all the time and LOVE LOVE LOVE).

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!