Topsy turvy day for a retreat

So here I am at the retreat house! It was a challenge getting everything organized, but it's all done! And can you tell me why this happens? I had a drawer from the fridge that had been sitting on the counter for weeks (I know—not a priority) and needed to be washed. I then needed to wipe down that part of the fridge. I hate housework—can you tell? 

But that needed to be washed before I left yesterday! And the fridge got wiped down, but I see the entire fridge needs to be emptied and wiped down. A job for when I get home! 

It is the weirdest thing to come to a retreat at night. We snuck a couple of nights in between other regular retreats. The house doesn't sit empty, and we get two nights for our machine embroidery workshop. Works for me! It just felt so weird—I was discombobulated! 

We are at Springhouse Retreat, in case you are wondering. This house is fantastic and large, although I have a couple of other houses to check out in the coming months. It's nice to know that we have some choices. It's funny how when one closes, another seems to open. My first retreat was in June 2007, and since then, there have been many retreats—too many to count! 

If anyone would like to attend a quilt retreat, let me know. I have some spaces open in July. It's only three nights and a fun way to test whether you like quilting retreats. 

But I was organized yesterday, and not only did I have time to wash part of the fridge, but I got the signed contract out that needed to be done. The customer quilt was done, and I even had time for a nap as I had not slept well the night before. 

Here is the customer quilt! Everything was trimmed and ready to be delivered on my way to the retreat house. 

Customer quilt - done

My 60-minute-or-less project was to put the binding on the final placemat. 

And here's the state of the cutting mat. It's not perfect, but at least there's lots of room to work! The nice thing is that the workload will be more manageable after this retreat. WAIT --- you all know that's a lie. What will happen is that there is just ONE more event that requires coordination with others. It's easy to do something yourself, but organizing with others is challenging. So that will free up a lot of time, as does the fact that the number of classes for June is fewer than May. Only 14 one-hour Zoom sessions are scheduled, and there will be no more! 

The cutting mat is clear!

Then it was time to pack the car, which didn't take too long. And now look - I have my living room back! Other quilts needed to be picked up from the house, which also went yesterday. The little tents on the chairs are so that Miss Murphy does not sleep there! 

The living room is empty again! 

This was the back of the car. 

Lots of stuff in the car! 

And more stuff in the front seat. 

More quilts for delivery

The Pony Express is a wonderful thing, and not only did I drop off quilts, but I also picked up some quilts for my concurrent show at Quilt Canada. I got four more yesterday, so that was all good. I have one quilt to quilt—mine, and it's enormous, so that will be on the list of things to do when I get home. With mine and what I already have, I'm halfway to collecting them all. I'll check in with the others this week and arrange pick-up or drop-off. 

So last night, we got settled in, and it was crazy! A few people know each other, but most do not, so we spent a good part of the evening getting to know each other! It was not only about getting to know each other; we also had some show-and-tell. While some have never been to this house, many have never been to a retreat! It's all going to be FUN!

This is Janice's quilt from Tequila Lime. While I saw her quilt on Zoom during the final show-and-tell, it looks much nicer in person. It's incredible, and she quilted it herself and did a fabulous job. Thanks, Janice, for bringing that along. It's a beautiful quilt. 

Janice's Tequila Lime

I snapped this photo of someone else's work. While this is NOT quilting or machine embroidery, it's hand embroidery and IMPECCABLE. The satin stitch, long and short, is unbelievable. I'm unsure I would have the patience or the skill to create this. 

Hand embroidery - beautiful

We had a little briefing last night. I was up early this morning and got all the files ready. I just needed to transfer the folder with all the information I prepped yesterday onto the USBs. We have some people who are brand new to machine embroidery, so it will be fun to get them going, but we will make it work. 

I did not bring a machine as I'll just do the demos on someone else's, and that saved me from bringing that, but I still have my stuff—samples and whatnot—that I brought. All is good, and I can't wait to get started, although now that the blog is written and the files are ready to be stitched out, I might just get out for a walk before we start. 

Oh my -- I see the sun. Could it be possible that the sun is out? Of course it is because I'm in the house all day!! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

The aftermath

Phew -- so doing that Facebook Live was quite an adventure! I didn't go back and watch it, but I know a few areas where I could do things differently. But I'm OK with that. What am I always telling people? It'll never be perfect the first time -- gosh -- it'll probably never be perfect! However, one learns from experience, and I spent the morning walking through the presentation, moving from chair to chair, standing up to hold the quilts, and prepping fabric or whatever I needed as I did the walk-through. 

I had an agenda on a small whiteboard to help me along, and I'm happy with the results. 

Needless to say, I had help while I was working. First, Murphy was there as Little Bear was upstairs. 

Why is the gaffer asleep on the floor?

Then Little Bear wanted to be downstairs, so he got moved. 

The replacement is no better than the original!

Then, they were both there to help out. Lexi? She would NEVER come downstairs. That's beneath a Princess to take the stairs. 

MOM -- we want to be TALENT, not behind-the-scenes stuff!

During the actual presentation, Little Bear stayed on the floor. I could hear Murphy barking at one point, but nothing I could do about it!! 

I was messing around taking pictures, and here's the view from my primary camera. 

The view from the primary camera

And this is what my table looked like. 

Behind the scenes

My tiny little set-up gives you some appreciation for what happens in a real filming studio. It reminded me of the day when the Property Brothers (Drew and Linda) descended upon Studio B to film a segment for their show. I could see myself on the laptop screen, but I was not using the laptop camera, which was unnerving. I was looking into a camera about 10 feet away. Yet all the questions came on the laptop. Oh well -- it was OK, but remember to look at the camera, NOT the computer!

In case you're wondering, this is what my screen looked like. 

What I saw! 

I had to laugh because, after the presentation, this is what the floor looked like. 

Everything got tossed to the floor

Everything got tossed to the floor. There was no time to tidy it up, and that's OK!!!

Anyway, I had a blast! So help me, but I volunteered to do it again! Hey -- if I went to all that trouble to make this happen, I should at least get to do it again! 

Someone asked about my jacket (not during the presentation, but after). Here's a picture of the back. 

My jacket

This was the first time I wore it. Where did it come from? I wish I could say I made it, but I did not. When M was in Turkey in the fall, she was browsing some of the local markets and spotted a shop selling this kind of work. It is called Kashmiri Embroidery. 

The shop she was in had hundreds of brilliantly colored items, so I went shopping through her phone. We settled on this one. When it came to size, she tried on one, and we went one size larger. Anyway, I got the jacket when she stopped in on her way home. I tried it on, and it fits like a glove! It's beautiful. 

I suspect this type of embroidery is similar to the MOLAS from the Panama Canal area. Do they make "cheap knock-offs" for tourists? I don't know what the story is, but it's beautiful! I'm not sure how much she paid. I should ask her if she remembers. 

When I finished yesterday, I was EXHAUSTED. My brain and body protested that I needed a break, so I did. The girls, the boy, and I cuddled up in the living room and had a long nap. But only after they all entertained me!

My entertainment after the show

I went downstairs this morning to start tidying everything up. It was a disaster, to be sure! I got all the samples put away. The extension cords (I had THREE different power bars) got put away. And I returned the big mic to DH's office. Shoot -- I bought that for me, and then I was using earbuds, so I gave the mic to him. Thankfully, he wasn't home yesterday, so I stole the mic from his office. It worked like a charm! My earbuds haven't been working well for quite some time, so I've been using the mic on the laptop, which is crap! I have a new set of earbuds, and I'll try them for the virtual retreat this weekend. 

Mostly tidied up except for the technology

I need to do some significant labeling before I put everything away. Cords must be labeled; I might pack them with the appropriate camera. That way, when I grab a camera, all its cords are in one place. So I'll work on that later today - bit by bit, but the worst part is done.

Speaking of cameras, I was tidying up the remaining mess on the kitchen table, and imagine my surprise when I realized that TWO of the three cameras were FILM, not digital. I delicately opened it (although that doesn't make a difference if there is an open film in the back) and found a roll that needed to be developed. I suspect this camera belonged to M. Do I even dare get that developed? I may not want to see any of the photos. Perhaps I should give it to her and let her decide. 

An undeveloped film?

This is the second camera, which did not have any film inside. I dug the manual out of the recycling for this camera, as it's a decent camera. The other one is very cheap. This is a Nikon. I have a few rolls of film -- does anyone have a budding photographer in their family who would love to mess with film? Otherwise, it's going to get donated. 

Another film camera

I was sorting through the CDs that I found. Good grief -- I've bought a few Canon products in my time. Notice the version of the software that came with each!! I can download it online, so I don't need these. I don't think anyone uses CDs for multi-media or any other purpose, but I best keep those pouches!!! I have to deal with those today. 

Old CDs for cameras

As part of my cleaning process this morning, I was swiftering around getting rid of dust and decided to move the portable design wall. I simply folded it in on itself. Imagine my surprise when I spotted this block on the back! That's the MISSING block from Barn Star Sampler. I swear I had made all the pinwheels but couldn't find one. So I remade it!!! I got a chuckle!!!

My MISSING block from the Barn Start Sampler quilt

If you wonder why I called my sewing spaces STUDIOs, not sewing rooms, read this quote. It's from a book on organizing your sewing space. I must have read the book years ago, or I just decided that what I do sounds better in a studio than in a sewing room. 

We DESERVE STUDIOS!!!

To add to the circus which is my house, two nights ago, the doorbell rang at 7 PM, and this box was on my step. Good grief -- CanPar was working late!!! Anyway, I've opened the box, and it's filled with goodies that I get to play with for the next blog posts for QUILTsocial. I can't wait!!!! 

A box of goodies!! 

And I think that's enough excitement to last for a while. However, I'm back to work today as I have a presentation on Husqvarna Viking Accessories tonight. It won't take long to assemble, and I'll only use one camera. However, I might use one of my Handi-cams to show off the accessories. And I have a massage booked. Thank goodness, as I can feel how tight my shoulders are, and I've not had a chance to do much about it. She is going to HURT me today - I can already feel it. 

Almost all of our snow is gone. The weather was so warm yesterday, but when I finished at 4:30, I was too tired to go for that second walk. But it's still warm this morning and will get warmer as the day progresses, so it'll be nice to walk the girls and the boy. 

Here are the links for the Virtual Retreat this weekend. 

Saturday, February 24 -- Starts at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89816483795?pwd=Mjc3M3pvVmZPdjdsQzlHS3Zhck52dz09

Meeting ID: 898 1648 3795
Passcode: 248667

Sunday, February 25 - Starts at NOON

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82983517671?pwd=ODdsa1FJenQwdFNaQWFTNGd4bEhPZz09

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Trust your instinct!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! It was a very quiet day at our house - just the way we like it. We had popcorn for lunch while we watched the new Star Wars movie. I'm not going to say anything about the movie today, as I know some of you haven't watched it yet. It was an awesome way to spend the afternoon!

After we got home, I took a long walk with the girls to compensate for the popcorn (which had no butter, so it wasn't that big of a deal), but still, a medium popcorn has 430 calories and 20 grams of fat). That's almost ONE-QUARTER of what I'm supposed to eat in a day! It was a treat so I wasn't worried, but imagine if you did that regularly. And if you added butter. Oh boy!

I got myself busy trying to finish that UFO. Here's what happened.

Remember how I did NOT really calculate the measurements. Oh sure - I did in my head, but I wasn't writing them down. Well, after the third row was almost together, I was sure the row was going to be longer than it was supposed to be by one-half inch. So I chopped a half-inch off the last block. Guess what? I was a half-inch SHORT. If I had trusted my instincts, I would have been just fine.

Oops - now the row is ½" too short

So I ripped out one of the red pieces and made it a half-inch wider and all is well in the third row.

The third row now fits

It's very deceiving if things are going to fit - it totally depends on how many sections there are and how they are laid beside each other. See how row four and five do not look like they will fit at all.

Will rows four and five fit?

Wouldn't you know it - I did the SAME thing on row four. I was certain that I was over so I chopped down some of the red inserts only to realize that I shouldn't have chopped them at all. TRUST - where's the trust???

Row four is now too short

Thankfully with the improv style of piecing that I did, it was easy enough to fix. I made the red piece beside the PEACE block larger (after I had cut it down) and then row four fit perfectly.

A larger piece of red was required to make row four fit

Notice how the LET IT SNOW blocks on rows four and five are on the extreme right of the quilt. They're not supposed to be. Yep - made a mistake there too with the piecing! It was just one of those days. And I had inadvertently put some white blocks touching in rows three, four and five and so with a little bit of magic, it got fixed. There's only one small spot where two white backgrounds touch each other and I can live with that. I'm much happier with this improv setting than I am with the original one. I'm happy, I decided to change it up.

Work in progress

The bottom line is that it's all together - the top is anyway.

The top is finished!

I used the leftover 2 ½" wide strips as a starter for the binding. It's now completely made and I found something that'll work for the backing. It'll get made later today and that's going to be one more to cross off the 2017 UFO list. That'll leave THREE items on that list. This is SUPER EXCITING.

The backing (to be made) and the binding

I pulled the backing from this project box. This is one of the three remaining on the 2017 list. It's a red and white log cabin. I'm tempted to start working on it and NO, this isn't the one that Shelly is going to get excited about. That one is also pulled and well - I need to be working on other stuff, but I have a couple of UFO days left this year. Could I get THREE projects completed before the end of the year?? Hmmm - I could try.

The red/white backing was pulled from this box

There are loads of reds and whites in the box. I won't miss the backing that I pulled.

So does that mean the Holiday Redwork project box is empty? Of course not!!!  There was a hunk of white fabric in there that I used for the background. It's now back in the basket of white fabric. The embroidery floss is with the other embroidery floss. The crystals, which will go on after the piece is quilted, are in a plastic bag with the pattern. That bag will stay with the quilt until it's quilted so it'll be easy to make a label.

The bits from the redwork project

Is the box empty now? You'd think, but sadly it is NOT.

OK - so I confess that I'd bring home a stray puppy. Heck, I'd bring home anything stray. Well - I would have in the past. I might still bring home a stray puppy, but I won't bring home a stray project. So during one of the garage sales at The Textile Museum, I came across this.

OH MY GOD - it's the same pattern (by the same designer) as the redwork, but it's applique. I MUST have that. So I rooted through all the boxes that were there and I found patterns 5 - 12.

Holiday Sampler - Applique version

For each of the 8 blocks that I acquired, there is a fabric kit for the applique and the pattern.

The pattern for the applique and the fabric kit

Yep - I've got patterns for 8 blocks and 8 fabric kits. I paid $3 per pattern. Someone out there has the blocks 1 - 4. The scale of the blocks is slightly larger than the embroidery version.

However, it wouldn't take much to enlarge the embroidery patterns to the same size as the applique patterns and find some matching fabrics and finish (OK - start) the quilt.

Seriously?? Why oh why did I think this was a good idea at the time? The patterns and the fabric kit have gone back into that project box. I don't want to have to deal with this at the moment and my goal was to finish the redwork quilt, not the applique quilt. There is embroidery in the applique quilt as well. Hmmm - it might be fun to recreate the embroidery with the embroidery machine and get it done quick. It would be a great exercise in digitizing. And I could learn to digitize the outline of the appliques as well. Oh, shoot - that would be an awesome exercise to undertake. Ah - maybe that project needs to be pulled back out.

As I was cleaning, I've come across the oddest things. Do you know what this is?

What is this?

Well, it's the purse strap for my orange purse that I bought years ago. It was a "fancy" purse so the thing was completely wrapped in tissue paper so the leather wouldn't get damaged. Normally, I would just whack off the hardware and throw the strap away, but this is too nice of a strap to do that. I put it with the rest of my bag hardware and hopefully, I'll find something that it can be used for.

The leather strap - unwrapped at last

 I HATE straps on my shoulders. Rather, I should say that I can't use a shoulder strap for ANYTHING. My neck doesn't cope well and it's not good. So I refrain (and have for years) to use a shoulder strap for anything. I wonder if the strap is long enough for a crossbody strap? It could be shortened and used for a handle???

I wonder if the company that made my "fancy" purse would offer to give me a new one if they saw how the old one is wearing. Don't get me wrong, it's actually wearing very well as I would expect it to for the price I paid. I was just trying to get a new purse - which I don't need. So I won't even bother!

We didn't move the long arm back into position, but we need to get that done today so I can get back to work. And I was looking for two particular quilts this morning to get quilted. I have a burning desire to quilt them. I'll share them with you tomorrow because guess what? I couldn't find them. They are supposed to be in tub 15, but there isn't a tub 15 in the "to be quilted" pile. Hmmm - what does that mean? And I'm looking for a binding that got misplaced along the way. I think it's time to revisit those tubs and get things in order. Tubs 1 - 14 are in good shape - it's the ones NOT in tubs that have the issue.

I did pull two of my own quilts out that I would like to get quilted as I use them for trunk shows. It's a pain to have to pull from the "to be quilted" pile. They are now in the URGENT pile for me. A job for later today - to sort through the tubs to find the missing quilts and the missing binding. It won't take long - things are in pretty good order. I don't want to buy more tubs - I need to quilt faster!

I'm working on the class list and it should be finished by tomorrow.

Here's something to contemplate as the end of the year approaches. Some people like to make resolutions. How they want to become better or do more things or do better things or whatever they resolve to do. Most don't follow through. So here's something to contemplate. Think about all the GOOD things that you are currently doing. Give yourself a pat on the back for those things and then see how you can add, subtract or modify the good things you do to incorporate something you'd like to change. Be absolutely sure that those changes have consequences, goals, timelines, etc. I'll be chatting more about that in the next couple of days. I'm in the process of evaluating that for myself and I'm also in the process of CAREFULLY choosing my next 12 UFO projects. Two down, ten more to go.

All food for thought as the year draws to a close!!!

On that note, have a wonderful day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!

It's my birthday!!!

Birthdays come and go and some are important and some are not. People tend to shy away from them, ignore them or be in denial about them. I say - what the heck - it's part of life. It's my birthday today! No - you don't need to know how old I am. I don't act my age, I don't feel my age and that's very important to me. Hence the need to "celebrate" today!

As I was digging through stuff in the basement, I found this which gave me a chuckle.

A note from M

I'm not sure how old she was but I think she about 15 or 16. I do have a card and a gift from her for this year and I'll open that later today. For some reason, this makes me think she was sucking up for some reason!!! Sorry M!!

I know I promised you homework pictures this morning, but well - it's my birthday and I can do whatever I want! Tomorrow - I promise. They are edited and waiting to be uploaded.

I've received some additional reasons why we buy fabric and I thought of one more. I'll be adding those to the list and letting you know when that gets posted.

There's a saying out there - "doesn't matter how slow you walk/cycle/run, you'll still circling those that are sitting on the couch".  That's my paraphrasing of the saying, but you get the idea. That's how I feel with my handwork projects. While I could be way more productive if I took my sewing machine to Monday sewing, I wouldn't be touching these HUGE handwork projects that have been languishing for years.

I finished one more embroidered block yesterday. This is from Winter Wonderland by Crabapple Hill. 

One more block is done!

I started another block. One day a while back, I got myself in gear and traced all the remaining blocks. That was a great thing to do. There is this one and one more - both are relatively small. To say that I'm excited is an understatement. I hope that is right! I'd better dig out the rest of the project and evaluate what's left.

The second to last block is started

 The old me would have done a few stitches, then got distracted by something else. It happened all the time. I can't (don't want) to do that anymore. I have those darn lists I made and I'm respecting them. On my Dirty Dozen list for 2017 (there were 13 items on the list), there are 4 projects left. All of them are sewing projects (one does have some fusible applique).

On the 2018 list, 7 items are remaining. One is laid out on the tables in Studio B to add the 5 borders and then it'll be done. One is the Gingerbread quilt which just needs to be sewn together. One is Winter Wonderland - the redwork quilt. One is my monthly UFO project. That leaves three quilts on that list which require a bit of handwork and they'll get added to the Monday sewing days when I've completed the second redwork block.

On the list for 2019, 11 items are remaining. All of them are strictly piecing or embroidery machine work. Those will start to get worked on now that my schedule is calming down.

I feel very happy with my accomplishments and I'll be adding 10 more projects to a list for 2020. I've also completed a lot of stuff that wasn't on those lists. Bottom line, I'm happy - I've got a system that's working and I'm good with that.

We have a road trip coming up soon and last night, we were discussing what to bring along to work on in the car. I have a couple of rugs that need a bit more crochet on them and they are finished. Then I dug out this bag from the corner of Studio B. I knew it had a knitted afghan project in it. Oh my - look what I found in there.

Unfinished knitting projects

It's mostly the afghan, but I found some yarn to make dishcloths, half-finished hand warmers and a couple of other small projects. Hmm - that afghan will be a good project to take along and I really need to finish it. I might take everything - it's a LONG road trip.

It's just crazy to find all these half-finished projects. It would be amazing to walk downstairs and say "what shall I create today" instead of saying "what shall I finish today". But I'm not begrudging finishing these projects. I think it builds personality, it shows me that we can change and well - all around, I think it's a good thing. I'd rather have finished projects for someone to take away when I'm gone than to leave a bunch of half-finished projects. I'm working on it!!!

What do you think of this for the binding? It's rather dark - it will work, but I might put a slightly lighter green on my shopping list for the road trip - just so I have something to buy!

A potential candidate for the binding

I was back at the long arm last night and completed this quilt for a customer. It's trimmed and ready for pickup later today.

Customer quilt - DONE

I didn't get another one loaded - I was tired by the time I finished this one. I'll load one today and then quilt it tomorrow. I hope to be back to my schedule of one a day starting tomorrow. Now that the magazine quilt is gone, I have other stuff to work on - I actually have computer work that needs to be done. That's going to be the focus of the rest of the week. Yeah!

On that note, I'm off on an adventure today - well this morning. OK - it's not that huge - just meeting someone for coffee!

And a HUGE Happy Birthday to my aunt who also celebrates her birthday today. And to anyone else who has a birthday today. Celebrate each one with relish. Having a birthday means you're still alive and in my books - that's a great thing. I hope to celebrate a whole lot more of them.

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Be careful what you eat!

Mondays are just the best. I know that I say that every week, but it truly is an inspiration to be among so many talented women. Best of all, we learn so darn much for each other or as a result of research based on the conversations. Did you know that while a Tesla car might be a super cool car to drive, it's not a very practical car? With a fully charged battery, it has a range of 220 Miles. And it takes 1 ½ hour to get a full charge? That full charge costs about $13 US. Hmm - I think I'm very happy with getting over 700 KM for approximately $50 with my car. Sorry Tesla - while self-driving might be cool, the battery thing is not. Yep - I could charge at home, but seriously? What a pain that would be. I guess I'd better wrap my head around that because cars in the future will be like that. But not for many years.

One of these days, I'm going to post a few tips in case you're buying a new car. Let's just say that cars have changed!

I also learned about chia seeds. I put chia seeds on my oatmeal every morning, but did you know how healthy this food is?? It's a superfood. Good for weight loss, digestion, lowering blood sugar, high in fiber and much, much more. Actually, I put several things on my oatmeal in the morning, but did I think of premixing those items? Nope - well, I'm going to make up a mixture now and then I only have to scoop from one bag, not several. Thanks, Nancy!!!!

However, whatever you put on your oatmeal, it's a good idea to check the labels. When I took my first mouthful of oatmeal yesterday, I knew something was different. I checked the labels of the packages in the spice drawer. Oh dear.

I did NOT taste the cumin in my hamburger the previous night, but I sure tasted it in my oatmeal. Hey - those packages look IDENTICAL and so does the color of the spices. DH left it sitting on top and I normally check the label, just in case, but I did not. Oh well - it was interesting tasting oatmeal. I'm off to find myself a container for the cinnamon today which will then reside right beside the oatmeal.

Cumin and cinnamon look very much alike

Live and learn!!!!  DH asked what I did when I realized that I'd made a mistake. I ate it of course. It wasn't offensive - just different.

Not only was yesterday fun with friends and learning, but I got a lot accomplished. The sleeve got sewn on the POSH Santa sample and the samples were delivered as were several customer quilts and remember that stack of boxes in the basement? Well, I found a new home for the boxes. I didn't take the entire stack but got rid of a lot of the boxes. I did come home with four more customer quilts to add to the list. And something for Lexi which is still in the car. I just love the exchange of stuff that happens pretty much every Monday.

Besides the quilt sleeve, I finished the last block for the gingerbread quilt. That was HUGE. It's only taken me since January to get all the blocks completed. I'm slow and I didn't work on it every Monday as I wasn't there for all Mondays. Doesn't matter - the blocks are DONE.

The last block for the gingerbread quilt - DONE

I need to trim the applique blocks and then it's going to be put on the design wall and will be sewn on the Sit n Sew days later this month.

Time to figure out what else to take for handwork on Mondays. I could take my machine, but then the handwork will NEVER get done. This way, I'm "forced" to do the handwork.

I looked at my list of Dirty Dozen (some still not done from the 2017 and 2018 lists) to see what else is on the list that needs handwork or prepping that can be done on Monday. Hmm, there is Winter Wonderland - that is the redwork embroidery project. I think there are three blocks left to stitch. Here's the block that I'm currently working on. It's almost finished!!!!

Redwork embroidery block - almost done!

Then those blocks need to be trimmed and there's embroidery over the seams. That'll keep me busy for a while, but I need to find something else as it gets boring to do the same thing all day. I'm sure I'll find something that needs to be stitched or prepped. NO worries in that department.

I got another quilt quilted last night. This one belongs to my Mom. Yes - I've had it for several years. I didn't know what to do with it. I finally decided that an overall pattern would be just fine on it. She made the Dresden blocks from scraps of clothing fabric. Could have been her fabrics or more likely the scraps belonged to my grandmother. The background of the blocks is bleached sugar bags.

The quilt is done for my Mom

As I was loading it, I thought I could have done myself a favor and took the six blocks apart, squared up the blocks and then sewed it back together, but where's the fun in that? It was actually not bad except for one corner. Anyway, it's quilted.

I dug through my 30's fabric bin (which I could actually just walk right up to instead of navigating an obstacle course to get there) and found this blue floral for the binding. 

Fabric for the binding

Now the binding is made and ready to be attached later today. I need to call my Mom and get all the information so I can make a label. I think I'll be doing some hand stitching next week while I'm visiting. Labels and sleeves.

Binding is ready to be sewn on

As promised, here are the small projects that I finished the other day. These are for my classes in Saskatoon at The Sewing Machine Store. These two projects were designed (not by me) on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC using some of the builtin specialty stitches.

This is a little book bag that is very cleverly assembled - I had never thought of making a bag that way. Sorry - you have to take the class to find out the details!!! But it's very cute and I found those primary colors in my bright stash basket.

Bookbag

Here's a group of greeting cards. These are stitched directly onto card stock. Again, they use the specialty stitches that are builtin to the Designer EPIC. I still have to color parts of them with markers. They are very cute and you get to learn a lot about programming on the EPIC, sequin stitches, and a whole lot more.

Personalized greeting cards

Those samples are put to bed. I'll be working on more samples for the remainder of the week. As I start to pack, I'll share with you what goes in the suitcase - keeping in mind that it needs to weigh less than 50 pounds. That's going to be tricky. I have four quilts to take with me as well - all for family members and how the heck will I get that in my own suitcase and still have room for a few clothes. Oh yes - who said traveling is fun?

Now that I've got two sewing spaces, there are things that I like to have in both spaces - like a radio. I'm not about to purchase a new radio (do they still sell radios?) so I've been using my iPad as a radio in Studio B. I use the Radio Canada player app and it works like a charm. You can get many different radio stations on it - never any static. I LOVE it.

iPad used as a radio

And I could use Siri to help me find things if I needed. I'm trying to use Hey Google (on my phone) instead of typing. It seems to work pretty well. I use Alexa when I'm home. I'm pretty geeky!

I doubt, that I'll have much time before I leave to do more organizing. I'm OK with that. As I'm working down there, I'm trying to visualize what the next step will be and how I'm going to make some of the other stuff find a home.

Look at what else is in that stash room. There are FOUR HUGE tubs of Minky and fleece. Yep - how does one accumulate that much???  This is going to be moved to the large storage area where it'll become backings for community project quilts. That's just obscene.

Four tubs of Minky and fleece for quilt backings

 This is my current ender and leader project in Studio B. These are the triangles that are created when I make borders and do the join on the diagonal. I laid the triangles out and will match them up in pairs. From there, I'll make half-square triangles and then turn those half square triangles into hourglass blocks. I've got a basket filled with sewn ones, ready for the next step. But I want to finish these off first.

Triangles ready to be paired up and sewn

This bag of leaves has been sitting on the work tables for a while. Hmm - what to do with it? There are LOTS of leaves. The leaves are double-sided (made with Northcott Stonehenge Maplewood). You should check out the pictures of quilts on that link. I took them - some in my backyard, some in the forest behind my house. That was a fun day!!!!  The leaves were die cut. Any ideas what could be done with them???  Because they are double-sided, I don't think they would be good for applique, but they might be good for pillows. Anyone want them???  They are free if someone has a good idea for them. Hmm - they would be good for 3-D applique. Anyone want to make a large tree applique with 3-D leaves????

Double-sided maple leaves - up for grabs

We often hear people complain - of aches and pains or frustrations with family or friends or sewing or whatever. But how often do we hear people say LIFE IS GOOD?  Well - I just want to say that LIFE IS GOOD. While I'd like to have more stuff cleaned up, I finally feel like I have a handle on life. I'm learning to finish things, I'm learning to say no and I'm truly very content. LIFE IS GOOD - That's Bill Stearman's line, but I like it. Thanks, Bill.


On that note - I'm out of here. It looks like it's going to be rainy today. Shoot - I wanted to walk or ride my bike to the mall, but since I need to stock up on distilled water, it might be best to take the car. Can you see me carrying 6 jugs of distilled water home on my bike? I don't think so!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!