Networking rules!!!

Here's the part about coming to a conference that is hard for me. I am a small peon in the cog of this company - I'm not even a full-time employee - just a freelance educator, but I get so excited that I WANT to be part of the bigger picture. But then I tell myself - remember, this is one of the exciting parts that I get to participate in. The daily stuff is all slog and not so fun! I must remember that, but in the meantime, I'm going to have fun!

Not only fun, but I bet they'll be happy when I go home because I've had a chance to talk to marketing people, R&D (my favorite group), and many others from other groups, and, well, I was quite happy to share my ideas!!! I have a funny story to share with you in a minute. I would like to thank Dad and grandpa (his dad) for our gift of the gab. They have zero qualms about chatting up a stranger, and I am happy to report that I am as well. I don't just talk small talk -- nope - once I find out who they are, I am in the midst of chatting about what is of interest to both them and myself. I do have a bit of homework to do when I get home to follow up on one of my conversations. 

People tend to flock to people they know, and I don't. If you had told me this when I was in my 20s, I wouldn't have believed you. I was the shyest person around. Painfully shy! I don't know what happened, but something happened along the way. 

Case in point, at lunchtime, I arrived in the lunchroom with someone I know. We just happened to meet in the hall. There was a table with three of our group members sitting at it, so my colleague sat with them - I told her to take the seat, and I would find another one. And I sat with one of the top people! I asked first, and he said yes. So then we had a grand old conversation, and another person came along and joined in. Yep --- I now have homework! 

I'm happy to do the homework because if you're not happy and do nothing about it, then that's not good. If I'm not happy and I share that with someone and they don't do anything about it, well, at least I tried! Fingers crossed! 

But these events are all about networking, and if you just stick to the people you know, your world will never expand. NEVER!!! So I make sure that people know who I am, but I never talk about ME. Nope - I ask about them, and what they do and how their jobs work, and then I offer my thoughts. But it's never about ME. I  am boring - well, I guess that's not true, but I'm not going to learn a single thing if I go on about me. 

Before I get into what happened in the day, I have to say that I'm kind of glad that I don't have my own room. When we finally got back into the room last night, we had a chance to chat, and we debriefed each other and got lots of stuff (all good, of course!) off our chests. No one needs to know the details, but it was good for both of us!!! We must have talked for an hour before I was so exhausted I may have fallen asleep while we were talking! 

And there was a lot of lightning last night, then a couple of huge claps of thunder, and finally some heavy rain. In the dark on the 26th floor, it's hard to tell how much rain, but it seemed heavy. 

So this was the view from my seat at the conference. When it was time to enter the room, there were empty seats at the front. Why do people not like the front? I didn't need to wear my glasses, and there was no one to obstruct my view! I had no idea where my colleagues were, so I sat alone! As much as I love them, I don't need to hang out with them!!!!

My view from the front row!

There were the usual updates from all the important people on the direction we are heading. And the name of this conference is the Global Sewing Summit. I believe at least 20 countries were represented, and that's all I'm going to say. It is quite fun to see so many people from all over. I had the chance to chat with several of them, and we had a grand chat about the city of Mérida in Mexico, where I vacationed back in 1980!!! That was NOT about me, but about them! 

We got a sneak peek of some new products coming up and some new technology that will be introduced at some point. I'm not going to be the one to spill the beans - you'll have to wait until it comes from the mouths of someone who has all the details. 

I ran into some people I know from their videos. This is Sara from SewingMastery.com. She is the one we direct people to when they buy a new machine. She does a lot of videos and is very good at it!!! We had a great chat!

Me and Sara

This was me at my station in the afternoon. There is a room set up that is called the Grand Experience where you can visit with the staff, and we have all the machines on display from all three brands - Singer, Husqvarna Viking and PFAFF. I was chosen to demo the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 3, which has been out for a while. I will say that being given the top-of-the-line to demo was a coup! I'm not sure how I got that assignment, but I was a very happy camper!!!

Me with the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3

I had madly made samples, and there was not a lot of room to display those samples - only the surface around the table. Thankfully, my samples were small or could be draped on the edges of the table. It worked like a charm. I was prepared to pin them to my shirt if there was no room! 

But those samples drew in a lot of people, and I got very good feedback on them and on me!! People recognized me from the Facebook Lives, and I had offers to come and teach in stores, which I am not allowed to do in the US. They said I was a nice person and very knowledgeable. THANK YOU for the compliments!!! I'm also very personable! 

Let's just say that the entire afternoon fed my ego trip, and I was flying high. So all that hard work of creating all those samples, and FINISHING them paid off, and now I have some interesting samples to show on my future travels. 

Many people took pictures of what I had created, and that is a compliment even if they never use them. 

At one point, I had two gentlemen at the station, and they were from our Asia/Pacific area. One gentleman didn't speak, so I wasn't sure if he could understand me or if he was just being quiet. The other gentleman was videoing the samples as I spoke about them. 

Then I started to talk about the Large Magnetic Hoop, which I absolutely LOVE. The silent person quickly spoke up that he was on the R&D team for that product! OH MY GOD!!!! We then had a great chat about all things metal and magnetic hoops, and we had another person from R&D come join us. Needless to say, I was in my glory!!!!! It was a lot of fun but super exciting. The lesson here is, be careful what you say, as you never know who is listening!! 

Remember the table runner that I made on the green linen?

My linen table runner

It hung on the edge of the table, and I had lots of people stop by and ask about it. What was funny was that people recognized the design even though it was NOT the same color as the original, which was under the table, so as we closed up last night, I took it out and took a picture of it. Sorry -- it looks a bit like a cross, but the other third is folded underneath. 

The original tablecloth

What shocked me is that this is just an ordinary tablecloth that everyone has in their house, and they embroidered on it. NO WAY!!!!! I honestly thought this was a piece of linen when I first saw the pictures, but it is not. It's something like damask? I don't know if that's right, but it has a barely visible weave in it with flowers on it. You know what I mean - those tablecloths that every house had and were used for special occasions, like Christmas and Easter. 

Do you know what some people said about my tablecloth? They said, thanks for making it a different colorway because we've already seen the blue and white! YES YES YES --- they get it!!! Why replicate the original when there's a chance to show people that you don't need to make it the same color or shape, or use the designs in the exact same way? Notice how the center motif is on point in the original, and it's straight on mine? Make it different - show the versatility of those designs!!!!!

I also learned that our team goes to the - guess where? The THRIFT SHOP to buy stuff to embroider!!!!

Having the experts here to ask questions - well, I am beyond myself with excitement! Today, I'll be in a classroom helping the dealers learn the new PFAFF creative icon 3. 

Speaking of learning, I had an issue with one of my designs at home, but I was able to fudge it so no one knows. But I asked one of the design team about it, and I got a couple of good tips. I may just forgo the small table runner and cut it up to make another experiment. I will say that I think my backs look better than theirs!!!! But that's just me. 

So much shiny and new!!! I'll just wait for all the new to become available. And I NEED to up my game on the decorated clothing. I don't have much, and there is so much that can be done. I need to fix that! I may even need to resort to making and wearing a skirt! GASP!!!!!

The only thing negative is the snacks. This was the morning snack, and since I'm trying NOT to eat this stuff, I passed. YES -- me - I passed this huge tray of cookies without taking one. I did grab a tiny bar and had a nut cluster thing in the afternoon because there was nothing else on the trays. I had forgotten that I had stolen a banana at breakfast. I must remember to get another one today, as I just ate the one from yesterday. 

The snack tray

And of course, while I'm away, the emails have been pouring in with things that have to be addressed. OK, _ pouring in is exaggerating, but I have some catching up to do when I get home, including testing a quilting pattern, and I'm super excited to do that! 

I wore my snapless shirt last night, but I didn't get any pictures, and I'll finish it when I get home. 

I think I will have a bit more downtime today, so that is good, and I need to get my part of the room tidied up. There are clothes and samples all over the place. The desk where my computer is? It's a disaster, as all my crap is spread out. This is so not typical for me. I am neat and tidy!!! I'll have a go at putting at least the samples back in the suitcase, as well as any clothes that I will no longer need. 

There was no more drama at home, although poor Lexi, who was now upstairs because she was scared of the storm, did not want to go down, so DH had to put her leash on and "force" the poor thing to go down. 

Today is the final day, and we head out tomorrow, so that will be good, as there is lots to do when I get back. But no deadlines -- well, there is a deadline - I do have a couple of samples to do. But technically, I don't have to do them. I will have to do them for myself, but not immediately. 

I am going to host a Virtual Retreat this weekend. But it will ONLY be on Saturday at 6 PM. I have to volunteer to wrap jigsaw puzzles on Sunday, so I won't be around until later in the day, and I'll probably be exhausted. 

So if you want to catch up on all the scoop from the conference, be sure to be on the call on Saturday night. I'll post a link later. 

And a reminder - if anyone is interested in the 40 Shades of Grey, you need to let me or the store (Out of Hand) know. I will send a reminder email to some of my groups when I get home. If there are no sign-ups, there is no class. We just need to know approximately how many patterns to buy since they come from Australia. 

Send me an email if you are interested at elainetheriault@gmail.com, and I'll respond later this week. 

And on that note, I'd better get myself somewhat organized for today. It's still very early here, and I may get my act together and take a walk, although breakfast isn't that far away and we start at 8 AM. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!!

A miracle in the backyard!

I sat at the computer yesterday morning and did some catch-up with email, and I have part of the class information written up! Saturday is still my deadline to publish that information, and I should be OK with that. So much other stuff sitting around the computer that needs to be dealt with -- how does it accumulate so fast? OR am I pulling things out when I see some open space? 

And to answer the question - will Busy Beach be a sew along? It's on my plan (the price is right)  -- just not this year. 

Speaking of sew-alongs, let's hear it one more time for Brenda's quilt. I sent the links to the blog posts to the participants and asked them to mention if I made any goofs, and I did. The tower in the top right is the Calgary Tower, NOT the CN Tower. I was going by memory, and I goofed on this one! That's it—unless something major happens, you will NOT see this quilt on my blog again! LOL

Brenda

I'm happy to report that I accomplished a lot in Studio B as well. It may not look like anything, but it's the little details that will niggle at your brain until you are going mad. As I get older, I need calm and clear and uncluttered in my workspace. So I took some time in the morning and finished off these. 

This was the original sample you saw, but now it has a sparkly bead for an eye. It looks much better. 

Machine embroidery with yarn

Then I had a chance to remake only the bird. My intent was to use up a sample similar to this (the one above). However, as I worked, I realized that this is a perfect example for showcasing the positioning and projection tools on the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3 and the soon-to-be-released (September) PFAFF creative icon 3. So I made another sample with just the bird. 

Another sample with just the bird

Now I have three samples - the original one on top, which has many teaching moments in it, the newly completed one (what I learned!), also with a sparkly bead for an eye, and the sample that I can use to show how to use the projection and placement tools. It's so super easy, but you have to remember to use them properly. 

Three samples

This was my quote in the tea the other day, and I think it's perfect in this situation. 

Quote of the day

I'm glad that that situation happened, although it was frustrating. The project wasn't big, and I learned some valuable lessons and further developed my skills. If I had just winged it and it worked, then I wouldn't have learned so much. Actually, I did set it all up properly the first time, but for whatever reason, I moved the top fabric before I pressed start. That is a big NO-NO after you have placed something! I have no idea what I was thinking. 

Since I liked the eyes on the birds, I decided my spider needed eyes too, and I found some sparkly red beads in my bead stash. So that got done. 

Eyes on the spider!

I had another sample that needed pressing and starching, and that got finished as well, but I realize that I forgot to take a picture, so you'll see that tomorrow. 

I also stitched out the new design for my shirt, and it is very cute. I'm glad I changed the design, but I didn't need another lesson to make that happen! I needed to buy some ribbon for that, and when I was standing looking at the rack and saw the ribbon hanks on sale, I decided to get many colors. Why buy one, when you can buy many? 

LOTS of ribbon to choose from

But amid the commotion, I realized as I was putting my Embellishment Attachment for the EPIC 3 away that I had lost the long, thin threading wire. DRAT!!!! How the heck will I ever find that, and I hate losing bits of anything. However, I got very lucky! As I was sitting at the embroidery machine, I glanced down and saw a line on the floor. To my surprise - it was the wire. 

The missing threader wire

The white on the left is my huge hunk of white fabric for the shirt, and I need to recut the back yoke now that the stitching is done. That was easier than cutting the yoke and embroidering on the smaller piece of fabric. I need to cut that with a clear head, so hopefully I can get it done later today. Everything else is cut out, and I need to get working - the clock is ticking. 

At last - some clear space - calm!

Seeing those empty tables, all the thread bits in the garbage, the threads back in their respective cases, and the tools in their place just makes it so much more inviting to work when the space is like that. I also opened another small table and moved everything from this table (mostly my samples I want to tidy up) and anything on the cutting table I'm not focusing on this week. It all went on the table. I need less clutter!! I don't care how cluttered the tables are - I can easily ignore that - it's my three working spaces that I need clear. 

It was a surreal day yesterday. The smoke from the fires in Northern Ontario was driven our way by the wind. It was DARK in the house, and we had to use the lights in the middle of the day. The sky was totally smoked over, and it reminded me a little bit of being in the twilight in the north in the middle of the night. It's still smoky this morning. But at least the temperature yesterday was pleasant. 

The sky is filled with smoke.

My local library branch is closed for the remainder of the summer while they install a makerspace and new carpet! I wonder where the maker space will go? I had requested a book and had it delivered to the next closest branch, which is about 2 KM away. Since the temperature was pleasant, I decided to walk! 

Guess what? They had a jigsaw puzzle on the go. It was on one of those puzzle boards with the drawers on the sides. Of course, I had to stop. 

A jigsaw puzzle at the library

My super sleuth eyes spotted this piece almost right away. Actually, I put the piece below that in as well. 

I added two pieces

And then I was able to assemble these three pieces together. 

A three-piece random section is now together.

But I learned something valuable. I do NOT like working on that felt surface! I need a hard surface to get the satisfaction of putting the puzzle together. Isn't that weird? Not really, because as I'm listening to the book, Sugar, Fat, Salt by Michael Moss, he talks about the sensations that make us crave more food or hate certain ones, and it's all about the crunch, the texture, and many other things that make us want more. I've got a lot to say about this book, but not today. 

On my way home, I knew there was a geocache in the retaining wall beside a shop. It's very close to my house, and I had attempted to find it several times, but no go. Yesterday seemed like just the perfect day to make that happen. And before you knew it - I found it. 

I had been looking for something ROUND, but the cache was this flat pack! 

A FLAT geocache

And it was stuck literally in the crack of the retaining wall! One more to cross off the list!!!

A clever hiding spot

I really need to get my bicycle in working order (tires just need to be pumped up) because while the walk was fine and only took 40 minutes there and 30 back, I could bike it as well. I found several shortcuts on the way home. 

I was out messing with the pond again. The high temperatures greatly affect the water levels. As I was looking in the pond, guess what I spotted? It's a MIRACLE. We have a whole new mess of BABY FISH!!!!! There must have been about ten—OK, maybe six or seven. And they were all hanging out together, but of course, by the time I got my phone, they had dispersed. But here is one of them. 

A baby fish

And here's another. We also have all kinds of bugs on the surface that make short work of mosquitoes in the backyard. I don't feel so bad about paying $70 for those fish now! I got a great deal on them. 

One more fish and some water bugs

I took the picture of my Vancouver Island puzzle and posted it on Facebook. There are now 239 posts of puzzles by Villager that the group members finished this month! And we are only halfway through.  

I put the puzzle away, and now it's time to work on the next one, which I chose from the pile. I wanted something smaller (500-piece). There was a bag of pieces in the box, and I set them aside. It was only as I was laying out the other pieces that I realized these were the border pieces that someone put in a bag. However, they missed one!!

One border piece escaped.

And when you lay out all the border pieces, it doesn't look like there are a lot! 

The border pieces

But the border is done, and I'm working on the inside. It's a rainbow of butterflies, flowers, and bugs. This is one that I bought at the thrift store. It's a no-name brand I'm not familiar with, and thankfully, only 500 pieces. I've become a puzzle snob in a very short time, and the pieces on this are very thin, and they don't really stick together well. So I'll get it done, and it will go back to the thrift store! The quality is something that you would find at the dollar store. 

Progress on the new puzzle

All is good in my world, and I don't feel stressed one bit. I have my list of projects I want to finish before I leave, and I have three days. I won't get them all done, but the ones planned for today should NOT take a lot of time if I do everything right! We all know how that goes! But I get done what I can, and what I can't? Then I'll do it when I get home. 

I'm also compiling a list of other samples that I want to make based on what I've done this past week. There's always room for one more sample to test a theory, a new technique, or a new thread. 

On that note, I'm off to see Brooke this morning. I am now going to the gym three days a week (two of them completely on my own) and am pretty consistent as long as I am home. It forces me to practice getting up and down from the floor, which is a great skill to have. I may not be super graceful, but I'm doing OK. I'm even contemplating going back to the gym FIVE days a week, but let's start with four days and see what happens. That will be after next week. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Defying gravity!

There are days when I'm dangerous and should not touch anything. That's what happened already this morning, and it's only 6 AM. 

I saw a tiny spot that needed touching up on what I did yesterday. So I got things set up and pressed START, forgetting that I needed to check where it was stitching first. Like, how silly to trust everything to line up on its own? 

Now I have some fixing to do, but it can and will be done. I'm going to finish the rest of the stitching and then go back and do the repair. But seriously? I know better! My brain wasn't quite awake, I suppose. 

Remember yesterday, when I said I liked this pattern from Sew Fresh Quilts but couldn't find it? That's because she is still writing the pattern! That makes perfect sense. Now I can go ahead and place my order and get that one when it's published. I think it would make a great sew-along! 

Down on the Farm by Sew Fresh Quilts (in progress)

 

This is how stiff my linen was after using the Stiffy product! It was almost like cardboard, but the stitching is coming out just beautifully! Even the little area that I thought was going to cause trouble because it sort of bubbled up? It's gone! 

My stiff linen

And if you can't find Stiffy, remember that if you are a machine embroiderer or know one, they always have loads of leftover water-soluble bits. Dissolve that in water, and it becomes a paste that can be used to stiffen fabric. Actually, you don't want a paste; you want it to be a bit more liquid than that. I don't have a formula - I would go by look. 

I am using the Husqvarna Viking Mega Turnable Hoop with a stitching area of 450 mm by 450 mm. Let me say that I quickly moved everything off the table in front of the embroidery machine. Given the fabric's stiffness, I didn't want anything in the way.  

I need a lot of room for stitching that stiff fabric.

We don't know where the future of machine embroidery is going, but personally, I would say they have reached the limit on how big to make the hoops. While they will likely attempt to make the machines bigger to accommodate larger hoops, this one is a challenge to find space to hoop and then to stitch out with all your fabric attached. 

However, I will say that having to hoop the fabric ONCE, instead of four or more times, is brilliant! 

Let's see where they go - that decision is probably already in the books, but make the machine smarter. While mine is very smart, I need one that reminds me to check the placement every time! I'm so silly!!! I know better, but I'm over it - the mistake can be fixed. 

But see what I mean about needing space? 

You need a lot of space.

And when you trim the jump stitches on the back, you need a spot to put the hoop. Oh yes - trimming the jump stitches as you go is equally important. I'm very proud of how this looks on the back as well. It's turning out beautifully. YES -- if the back is going to be visible, then it needs to look impeccable. 

You need space to trim the jump stitches.

It was a huge design with 180,983 stitches, and it took all day to complete. I had to trim threads and wind bobbins, which slowed the process down. I left the machine running while I ran errands, and I swear the bobbin ran out the minute I went out the door! 

That's a lot of stitches.

However, it is stunning, minus the one little spot that I touched! I'm only going to give you this as a sneak peek, and I'll share when it's done. And you can see that little bubble in the center, but it went away. That happens often when you are stitching/quilting anything, and you do the outside first and then the inside. See - the more you do, the more you know! 

A close-up of the stitching

I'm also trying to keep the space super clean. By space, I mean Studio B, so when I am finished with something, it gets put away. Trimmed threads in the garbage, supplies put away, etc. It makes it much easier to do things when nothing is in the way. I desperately need to sweep the floor, though. 

The cutting table is mostly clear.

And all that stuff on the right-hand side? That's the stuff I hope to tackle before we leave in one week. Actually, there are still eight days!!! You can do a lot in eight days!

As for my large design, there are two more hoopings to do, but each one is only 45,000 stitches, so it will take some time to position the designs in the hoop. I had to make a couple of slight changes (3-degree rotations) to two of the sections before I was happy this morning. All I have to do now is to float the fabric and place the design. WITH the design placement tools. This time, I won't forget. 

Hey -- it was a simple little fix that I did, but I forgot that the design on the second half of the hoop had been moved ever so slightly. That was my mistake—again—why is it always my mistake? Fix it and move on! No one will know!

Speaking of sweeping the floor, I spotted this this morning. Good grief - how can that pin be leaning like that? OH -- a spider web!!! Despite my little piece I finished the other day, I am NOT afraid of spiders. 

A pin defying gravity!

So while the embroidery machine was working away, I was sewing on the other machine. I was switching between stitches and presser feet, and I totally forgot to change the stitch, and bang - I broke a needle. I'm not in a rush; I just didn't change the stitch when I changed the foot. I haven't done that in a long time. 

Ooops!!!!

See what happened when I tried to keep that second able clear? I moved the seger to the floor - it really should go under the table to be totally out of the way. I took the samples I want to work on when I'm back and piled them up, but with the vibrations from the tables (YES - I need to get those new tables installed), they fell to the floor. ACK!!!!!

My stitch samples later fell to the floor. 

BUT - the good news is that I finished two more pieces yesterday. I wrote out a list of what I want to accomplish, and there were 12 items on it. I finished one more after that list was made, and now there are 11. Can I make it? I doubt it, but I'm going to get done what I can. 

Anyway, this is the first sample I completed yesterday. And yes, except for the binding, it was all done on the embroidery machine. 

My dandelion sample

Does anyone remember that piece I have taken to various classes and showed you? The blob that looked like fluff from a dandelion or the butt of a cat with a long tail? Well, I love dandelions, so I went with that one. I checked online and found an appropriate quote. The stem was taken from another design in the Design Catalog online; I cut off the flower. The background was quilted with the Quilt Block Wizard from the Creativate Embroidery Software, which I LOVE. And the more I use it, the easier it becomes to do anything. 

The tail of the fluff ball was stitched in place. It was when I moved from the stitch I used for that to a straight stitch that I broke the needle! I was too excited about how this piece was turning out! 

But the big news on this piece is the dandelion fluffs. Where to find an embroidery pattern for that? Yes - I could have bought one, but then I couldn't say that it was mine. And I would NOT have learned anything. So I opened up the Creativate Sketch Module and sketched out the little seeds. Then I opened Stitch Editor and repositioned the points on my rough sketch. And VOILA --- Dandelion seeds. 

MY dandelion seeds

Of course, I am jumping up and down. I am learning, and my pieces are all about learning. 

Here is the second piece I finished yesterday. Again, the designs came from the Design Catalog. That is the SVP Worldwide catalog of designs, available online and used with an SVP Wi-Fi-enabled embroidery machine and a paid membership. 

Sample Number two - DONE

The design is stitched out using chenille yarn—yep, all of it — on an embroidery machine. Again, the background is quilted with something I created using the Quilt Block Wizard. 

Detail of the yarn stitching

And if you are with me and I see some chenille yarn for sale, just tell me that I don't need any more! I must have every color under the sun! And then some! Why have one, when you can have lots? 

That is my thing with puzzles. I had to go to the thrift shop yesterday and was looking for a table runner to embroider. I had a premade one at the house, but it was red, and I wanted green. Guess what? I found exactly what I envisioned for $4. How cool is that? But then I also found three puzzles (I was walking), and I brought those home. I need to puzzle faster! 

Remember my Color My World quilt that I finished last month? I also put some machine embroidery on the grain elevator. 

Embroidery on my Color My World quilt

I was digging through those two boxes of personal stuff a couple of weeks ago and found some scrapbooks. Of course I did!! And I found a picture of one of the village's original elevators. We must have been special because we had not one, but TWO. 

One of the elevators from Baljennie

There's a close-up of the writing on one of them. OK -- so I made up what I put on my elevator!! I guess this was the name of the grain company that owned the elevator. And it seems that all of them were different. I must remember to ask Dad about it.

The detail of the writing

OK -- so when the railroad was discontinued, the elevators became useless and were sold off. Some were torn down, while others were moved. If you want to watch this short video on moving them, it's fascinating. Those structures are NINE STORIES tall. A feat to move the darn things. It's kind of sad, and that video is sad because this is a part of our Canadian history and it's gone! It's called PROGRESS. 

Here's a picture I stole from the internet. Oh my--- when you see them like this, you wonder why they didn't tip over. Like the pin, they are defying gravity!!!

Defying gravity!!!!

Speaking to my parents is a challenge. Not the actual speaking, but trying to get in touch with them. Dad is never home, and if he is, they are just having dinner or watching Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune, or they have company! I'm going to have to book an appointment with them!!!!

Has this happened at your Wal-Mart? Our store is a two-level store that carries groceries. But aside from the groceries, the entire store has been reshuffled. All the departments have been moved, and there are huge gaps on the floor like this. 

Wal-Mart is getting a facelift.

Who knows what they are doing and why, but I had a hard time finding the craft section. I can't even remember why I looked. OH -- I was there to get something else, and I always stop by just to browse. 

They must have gotten rid of a lot of stock, because many of the shelves were quite empty. 

Empty shelves at Wal-Mart

I'm sure they are feeling the crunch of online shopping. Just like the small shops in many downtown areas of small towns across the country felt the crunch when Wal-Mart moved in. Again - that's called PROGRESS. I don't feel sorry for them. 

It's going to be a busy day, and I hope that two more samples can get done. I'm cleaning up threads on one, and it will be bound this morning. I need to find the designs for my garment and, hopefully, get the table runner stitched out, then hem it. To hem it, I'll likely have to wash it first, as it's stiff as a board. Then it's going to be flimsy to handle, but I may have to buy some spray starch and lightly starch it before trimming and hemming. I'm making this stuff up as I go. 

Did I mention that the linen I am using was supposed to be for my wedding outfit? I think I mentioned that. But don't worry—if I still want to make an outfit, I have another piece. Yep -- why buy just one piece when you can have two? It is gorgeous linen - well, I love the color. 

There is one thing I want to mention about the design on the table runner. The sample made using those designs was blue thread on white. A very classic look, but I didn't want that look at all. I wanted something softer, so I went with the green background. The next step was: what color to use for the stitching? I had an idea and started with it, but I was going to use two colors. As I got part of it stitched, I decided to go with one color family, and it looks stunning. TRUST YOUR GUT!!!!

I knew I would get mixed up in translating the colors, so I wrote myself a chart, which came in very handy. I need to be documenting all this stuff for my machine embroidery club. I'll have way more than an hour of show-and-tell!!! 

And I'm planning my trip for 2027!!! It's going to be an adventure for sure as I'm taking my aunt, who has never traveled on an Ancestry adventure. Where are we going? This is how you say good morning where we will be: Bore Da! I am not planning on learning any of the language - it's very hard to learn, but I think that English is pretty much a given. 

Getting there might be a challenge as it's in some remote little place on earth! But I'm up for an adventure. And I see there is a somewhat famous mountain peak nearby (thanks to Princess Catherine)! That's a HUGE clue! 

My apologies to people to whom I owe an email. I'm so focused on Studio B that my mind just can't grasp more than one function at a time! I will try to send out some emails. I'm also trying to tackle those weeds in the backyard! 

And on that note, I'm out of here. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!