Let's find a hobby - hurrah for craft kits!!

It's amazing what you can learn by asking perfect strangers! And even complimenting a perfect stranger is amazing. I've run into two instances where I saw someone wearing a garment that looked custom-made for them. The fit and the color were perfect. And I told them both - one in line at the grocery store, and the other in a restaurant. I think both were a bit taken aback that I would approach them until they realized what I was saying! 

Funny how we are reluctant to interact with a stranger even when they have good news! 

Well, I survived the time change. However, I had the most bizarre dream. I was dreaming in my dream - does that ever happen? DH woke me up to tell me to turn the electricity back on and set the clocks or something to that effect! 

Thankfully, we only have two devices that need to be set manually - the stove and the microwave. Easy peasy - it's already done. The rest change automatically, so if it weren't for those two appliances, the time change would be a non-issue in our house. I don't think "old time" or "new time" - I just think current time! 

I grew up in Saskatchewan, and I had a discussion (I believe I mentioned this on the blog) with someone and was shocked to realize that Saskatchewan stopped changing the time in 1966!!!! Who knew? 

I have more stuff from the magazines, but I have other stuff to share as well. It was the Family and Friends version of the virtual puzzling. It was NOT a competition and was not timed - thank goodness for that- but the first team to finish did so in 33 minutes!!! But there were about 5 of them, so that makes sense. 

The puzzle was cute and YES - it was a Halloween puzzle. But when I opened the box, I knew I was in trouble - the pieces were huge, and I didn't have enough space on my table. 

There's the box wrapped in the shipping label, and before we started, we were able to open the box and remove the plastic wrap. 

The wrapped puzzle

I think this was about the 33-minute mark when the first team was done! I was still working on the border. 

After 33 minutes

At 90 minutes, they called the event done! I think many people were finished, but then again, they were working in groups, and I was working alone. It would have been nice to work with a friend or family member, but hey—at least I was there. And the host said it was fun to work on a surprise puzzle. I agree, but you don't need to buy them this way - get a friend to give you a puzzle wrapped up, and then you have to work on that! 

After 90-minutes

After the Zoom closed, I removed all the pieces from the inside of the frame. It was driving me nuts. 

AH -- some room to work - this is better.

Later in the afternoon, I went back and finished the puzzle, and it took me 2:18 minutes. I timed myself, just for fun! That was 20 minutes faster than the cat puzzle. Both were 500 pieces. It was a Cobblehill with all the crazy shapes, which helps, and yet it doesn't!

The puzzle is done! 

I would have been much faster if I had clued into the picture. Most people started by working on the individual rooms, which I sort of did, but not with the vengeance that other teams did. Imagine if you have five people working on the puzzle and they each take two or three rooms—of course, they are going to be done way before me!!!

I also bought a third puzzle for a virtual event this coming weekend, but I won't be able to attend because of work. I'm glad I participated in the events, and I'm glad I finished the puzzles. It was interesting to learn the times, and I might do some timed "events" myself - perhaps redo these puzzles to see how I do. But speed puzzling? I don't think it's my thing. I love being able to spread out the pieces, take time to do the border, and enjoy the process. 

But I tried, and that's what counts!!

I had to pop out to Michaels for some paint, and while I was there, I browsed the shelves. They have tons and tons of kits, which is great if anyone is looking for a hobby. Everything you need is in the kit. They have their brand - Loops and Threads and seem to be ramping that up. Probably since Joann's is no longer around, they are filling the gap. 

Felting kits

They had all kinds of kits - felting, embroidery, punchneedle, etc. 

Other types of kits at Michaels

They also had some crochet kits. 

Crochet kits

Knitting was a huge deal several years ago, and I think it still is. But crochet seems to have stepped up its game. 

When I later went to Chapters (didn't buy anything), I spotted more crochet kits. 

Crochet kits at Chapters

I spotted this at Michaels - a banner bar. How cute for dressing up a room. So even if you can't "make" things, you can buy the components and make something. 

The Banner Bar at Michaels

And here are some of the components. 

Some components of the Banner Bar

Back to Chapters where diamond art is big, as are those 3D models. Diamond art is huge these days, and Michaels had a ton of it as well. 

Diamond art and 3D model kits

Chapters also had an "adult activity " table with adult puzzle books. And I spotted this sign in Chapters somewhere. 

Why we love hobbies

And this is why we have hobbies!!!! I love it, and it's a shame that some people never experience that. We NEED to encourage young people to get involved. STOP scrolling. 

Someone mentioned in a comment that I must have 30 hours in my day. Nope—I have several things that save me time. No TV- I haven't watched in over 16 years now, although I will watch some movies and mostly learning tools on YouTube. I was watching videos of this young couple rebuilding their house, but in the last video I saw, I think they were still putting the roof on. They have now been living in the house for ten months. Oh -- I guess I'm behind! 

This is a motto that I found in my tea yesterday that I love, and it helps me to be more aware of how I spend my time. 

A great motto to live by

Other areas where I gain time—STOP SCROLLING. I do scroll, but I do it consciously. I don't let the hours pass by. I get that it's fun to watch all the stuff and you can get sucked down a rabbit hole, but do I really want to live my life watching strangers make money because I'm watching them? 

While these people make videos for fun, they also earn a decent living from the number of people who follow them, like them, and watch their videos. I spotted a video the other day of a man posting about his wife who had some health issues. He was "pleading" for people to sign up so he could get 350K followers, so his wife could make some money and buy some things she deserved. 

At what point will that bubble burst? It will! And then what will all these content creators do? How will they earn a living if no one watches? 

While I enjoy scrolling, I keep it tightly controlled and am happy not to be watching the most up-to-date video. I don't care. 

I also NEVER go into Pinterest, which is a rabbit hole! I won't touch it with a ten-foot pole. My version of Pinterest comes from my head when walking the girls. I look at things, and I use my imagination to dream up ideas. And a single picture can be the starting point for me. I may do some searching (consciously) to expand on the idea, but I don't scroll just to be inspired. 

I wanted to share a couple of other pictures - I guess the magazine treasures will have to wait until tomorrow. 

This was the floor number on one of my hotels. This is made of a felt-type fabric. It reminded me of a young girl (not sure where she lives) who cuts up old yarn and other fibers, adds glue, presses it flat to dry, then cuts it up. 

The floor number

So the "2" shape gets cut from the blue as well as the grey. Then the blue "2" is popped out, and the grey "2" is inserted. 

There is no seam

There was the tiniest gap in this one, so I knew it was the same technique as I had spotted on Instagram. 

The insert isn't quite in position.

I don't want to give you someone else to follow, but here's a short clip of her work, and it's fascinating. I love that a young person is interested in saving the world by making things with recycled textiles. I think she mostly uses yarn, but I've seen others use shredded pieces of textile waste to make the same thing. Can you imagine the insulation factor in that material? 

Speaking of glue, I had to glue some appliqué last night, and I realized that this container of glue I bought MANY years ago is finally empty. So I set it upside down on another container to get the last dregs (come on—you would have done the same). The empty container is now in the garbage, and I have a full container to work with in the future. 

Draining out the last bit of glue!

How about these signs on the bathrooms at Tim's? 

OK—so I recycled one more magazine, but while I was initially searching through the piles, I also pulled this stack out. Some magazines regarding machine embroidery. Seriously??? Why wouldn't I be reading those now instead of waiting until I no longer do machine embroidery? So that stack is also sitting on the puzzle table - hence the small space available to do that large-sized 500-piece puzzle. 

Magazines about machine embroidery

And did you know that PFAFF used to have a magazine? I love the title—especially since the whole thing behind all the connectivity with SVP (Singer, PFAFF, and Husqvarna Viking) these days is CREATIVATE!!! I couldn't find a date on it. 

A PFAFF Creative magazine

And in the magazine, I spotted a flyer for a PFAFF store just a few minutes from my house! Actually, I remember visiting the store - it was inside Bouclair when Bouclair sold fabric. I was not a PFAFF person at the time, so I probably only went there to buy fabric. 

That is all long gone!!!!

Here are my two beauties "begging" to go to the grocery store with me. They stayed home. 

MOM - can we come to the grocery store with you?

After Miss Lexi fluffed up her quilt, she lay in the sun. And now you wonder why that dog sheds like mad!!! I brush her daily, but it does no good. 

Fast asleep in her little world 

We haven't put out Halloween candy in a long time, as our street is mostly adults only now. But we have a couple of new families with kids, so I thought I'd get some mini chocolate bars, and since we were going out for dinner, I left them in a bowl on a small table. That was at 5:30 PM. 

Trick or Treat

When we got home at 7:30 PM, five chocolate bars were left. At 8 o'clock, someone kept ringing my bell because the bowl was empty. I grabbed the bowl and my tea towel and shut off the lights. There were hardly any lights on our street, so I don't know why there were so many kids on it. YES—I know most kids probably took way more than one! That's OK. 

But the houses with kids that I expected to have lights on did not. So next year? I won't hand out candy! 

October was a bit of a crazy month - the weekends just filled up so fast. And there was no time for a Virtual Retreat. BUT there will be one in November - the dates are November 28 and 29. 

And there is no time left to delve into the magazine treasures, so that will have to wait for tomorrow. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Quilting resources!

I would say that the bikes in the hotel the night before were very likely stragglers from the World Championships. Two of them ended up on my shuttle to the hotel, and let's just say they were NOT casual tour cyclists. The boxes the bikes were packed in were larger, and they had bags with extra wheels and Red Bull labels on their packs. Yep—these were NOT your ordinary tour cyclists! Good call!!

And yes—there are way too many creepy coincidences. How does that happen? 

Speaking of sleep - I had a good chuckle yesterday morning on the flight. On the way to Montreal (10 AM flight), one of my colleagues was near a fellow who fell asleep before takeoff and was snoring. She was commenting on how anyone could fall asleep that quickly. Yesterday, the second that the other two people in my row were tucked in their seats, I was asleep. I don't remember taxiing to the runway or taking off; I woke up, and we were 30 minutes from landing! 

Yep—I hadn't slept well the previous two nights, and I was exhausted. Did I snore? I hope not, but I know I have a slack jaw when I sleep, and well, you never know! 

I slept great last night, with more than 60 minutes of deep sleep, and I was barely awake at any point during the night. That is great, and I hope I'm back on my regular schedule now. There was no time difference, and while I slept well the previous nights, the last two just didn't work well for me. 

Needless to say, when I got home, the girls were beyond ecstatic to see me, and I immediately took them for a walk. YES - I took them together, which I am not fond of, but since they are now older, they are somewhat tamer. HA -- that's a total lie. 

Both of them were like dogs on the Iditarod and raring to go. I swear if they were attached to a wagon, we would have been flying around the neighborhood! They were literally hopping to try and go faster! Even Lexi was way out front and hopping like mad! 

MOM - we NEED to go faster! 

The biggest issue with them is keeping Lexi on the left and Murphy on the right, and thankfully, they have almost mastered that technique. We don't walk super far, and by the time we are halfway done, they have both calmed down, and it's rather pleasant to walk them. 

MOM -- we are just happy to be out walking! 

When I was in Studio B yesterday, I spent the day sorting samples, and if anything needed repair or something done, I tried to do it before it got put away. I still have a few things to do, but I made very good progress yesteday. 

Things I dealt with yesterday

I have five days of events at the end of this month, and I need to get my act together to make all new samples and sort the existing samples into the appropriate category. I also have two classes and two clubs this weekend, even though I tried to avoid having any classes on a long weekend. So I need to make sure all that work gets done. 

Keeping samples up to date is a never-ending process because you make something, but you want to add to it, or you need to tidy up something that didn't turn out quite right, and well, it takes loads of time, but I'm constantly learning or experimenting, and that's a good thing. A good sample highlights multiple techniques. I aim for at least three things with each sample, and if there is more, that's a bonus!

The night before, I moved to a hotel near the airport with a shuttle, so I was downstairs with plenty of time to make sure I didn't miss it. I swear that's why I didn't sleep well - I didn't want to miss that shuttle. Then at the airport, it was a breeze to get through security and print my bag tags. I use my phone for a boarding pass, but the app is sometimes extremely frustrating to navigate. Why is that? It seems that they keep moving the darn boarding pass. 

The good news is that when I dropped off my bags at the auto bag drop, there were ZERO issues. I was concerned that the one bag might be slightly over the 50-lb limit, and if it's a desk person checking, it's no big deal since I am allowed up to 70 lbs on my luggage. But both bags got scanned and disappeared without a hitch! Yeah!!!!

OMG—this would have been a moment that would have made my Mom proud! Yesterday during Monday sewing, we were discussing binding techniques. Actually, the conversation started out with someone asking, "If you get a quilt quilted by a long armer, do you let them trim the quilt, is it squared up by them, and do they charge for it?"Oh my --- loads of questions. 

Anyway, then the topic came up of applying the binding. And who knew there were so many different options!!! Anyway, one of the ladies talked about something that I sort of understood, but I didn't. So she said she found the technique in a magazine. Specifically, Quilting Today magazine, issue 61, which was on the newsstands in August 1997. 

I didn't start quilting until 1998, so I wasn't sure I would have it. But I went to my bookcase, and I pulled down the pile of Quilting Today magazines and searched through them - they were NOT in order, and guess what? 

The magazine in question was found! 

Yep—I must have bought the magazine at a local guild member's boutique at some point. 

August 1997!!!

At some point, I will go through these and toss them. Ack—I'm really torn about that because I love having the resource available to me. Hmmm—what to do, what to do! There is no need to cull them at this point, so they will stay. 

I have been contemplating writing some technique articles from time to time and posting them on my blog. And this topic would make an excellent one. Of course, I'll have to make some samples and experiment to see what it's all about, and perhaps I might even change my technique. 

Not sure how to corral this, but there is the "traditional" way of trimming a quilt top after it's quilted: trim right along the edge of the quilt. Then there's the big question of how large of a seam allowance. If you do something crazy with trimming your quilt to get the binding on, I'd love to hear it. And if it's different than the three or four methods I heard yesterday, then I can add it to the article. You can send me an email at elainetheriault@gmail.com

I have TWO logic puzzles left in my book! I thought I was making good progress last night, but I wasn't, so I'll start that one over sometime today. I am chomping at the bit to start a new book, BUT not until this one is in the recycling bin! 

When I arrived home, a box was sitting on the shelf by the front door. Last night at dinner, DH casually asked if I bought another puzzle. Ah no? OK -- so I did. When I was in Saskatoon, I went to Puzzle Master (how could you not - they do free shipping!), and I bought three puzzles, and they arrived while I was away. Like quilting stores that ship, we are going to have to have them change their name on the labels to Bob's Food Emporium or something like that! Busted!!!! But wait until you see one of the puzzles I bought. I can't wait to open it up, but I  must be patient! 

It's going to be a busy day - what day is NOT busy at my house? I have phone calls to make, samples to tidy up, and homework to prepare for the weekend. Thankfully, I do NOT have any meetings or anything. 

And on that note - it's time to get moving!!

It's going to be a FABULOUS day!!!

Ciao!!!

What's in your basket? And how did you load it?

If you can't beat the system, try a different way. Seriously? This darn bone density pill and I have a love/hate relationship. To remember to take the darn thing, I left my pillbox on the counter yesterday to remind me all day that I needed to take it this morning. Then I put the pillbox on my phone so I would remember first thing this morning. 

Then I had a bad night, couldn't get to sleep, and woke up several times. As a result, I slept in. Now you think that I would take the pill in the middle of the night, but you are not allowed to lie down for 30 minutes after taking it. 

I got up at the time that I would typically make breakfast, so I just threw in the towel. I took the pill, and I'm waiting 30 minutes before I eat. But seriously? This pill is the bane of my existence, and if it ruined my sleep, then I certainly need to do something about it. 

I need to make an appointment for a physical, and I am demanding that they wipe that prescription from my file. I hate the restrictions associated with it, and my brain is rebelling, and I don't need or want that! Another medication does the same thing without the time restrictions. 

I don't care that I am going to throw some of it away to get the one I can take without any restrictions. At this point, the medication isn't doing me any good. 

Phew -- I got that off my chest!

OK -- if you are in my Show and Tell, Forty Shades of Grey, or My Kinda Town class, you should have received an email yesterday from me. If you did not, and I just realized I forgot to do an email search, so I may have missed an email or two, then let me know, and I'll add you to the list. I'm preparing the information email that goes out to the groups, and I hope to get those out soon. 

It took me two hours or perhaps a wee bit more, and I accomplished all the errands that needed to be done by car. Well, almost. I went to return a light from the lighting store and to check on ordering a lighted house sign that they were supposed to get back to me about. I walked up to the counter with my bill and the light, only to see the Return Policy staring at me, which I had not noticed before. Or maybe I did, but it didn't register. TEN days, and it was now 24 days since I purchased the lights. 

I need authorization to return a light, so I sent an email and got a response that YES, I could return the light, so I have to go back on Monday to make that happen. The gentleman thanked me for my order—yes, you should! It wasn't cheap. 

The other light from a different store was returned, no questions asked. But it's a big box store, so that was OK. 

I stopped at Chapters to see if anything new was in. Oh my, the magazine section for knitting and crafts used to be crowded, but it's not so crowded any longer. 

The magazines left in the craft section

I am surprised that the Golden Media titles are still hanging in there. And I notice that the bookstore staff pepper the shelves with books - like the Sashiko book! And I found this on that shelf. Totally unrelated. 

A puzzle book on the craft magazine shelf

I swear, my brain loves puzzles. I decided I needed this book. OK -- so their strategy worked! It's filled with 50 logic puzzles that I LOVE doing. I've been doing those kinds of puzzles since I was a teenager, and well, if I wasn't a quilter, I'd probably have been doing puzzles for years. 

Logic puzzles

One other thing I spotted on the craft shelves was this GIANT book. I've seen and posted about them before, so it's not new, but this one was HUGE. This is a PAPER book - it's literally filled with stickers, mini books, papers, cardstock, etc so you can make journals or whatever else you want to make. 

A paper book

But look at the price!!!!

Ouch!!

I suppose if you want a variety of stuff, it would cost you the same amount if you purchased all those things individually at the craft store. So maybe it's like our quilting kits—pay one price and get it all!

Then I went to the pet store to get dog food for the girls. They do not eat the same food. I winged my way to the back of the store and spotted an employee from the dog food company as she scouted the shelves. I found the two bags of food and whipped them onto the cart. I always turn them upside down on the edge of the cart so the cashier can easily scan the code on the back. 

Then I decided to mention that to the lady from the company. So the heavy bags are placed face up on the shelf. No big deal -- that's where the pretty pictures are. But as I take them off the shelf, I have to turn them over and place them wrong side up in the cart so the pricing label shows. Then, when I go to the cash register, it's an easy job for them to scan it. 

Why can't that scan code be placed on the FRONT of the bag? Then I only have to take the bag off the shelf and put it on the cart. I don't have to rotate the bag. I can manage it, but what if I'm not as strong as I am? More on that in a minute! 

She thanked me, and I headed out. And never drop a heavy bag of dog food INTO the cart—how the heck will you get it out? I balance the two of them on the top! 

When I do my car errands, I have a route. It's about three blocks long, and it's where I buy the big stuff, like dog food, etc. There is a thrift store along that route, and Fabricland and Chapters, etc. So I start at one end and work my way to the other. I hate driving a short distance and then reparking the car, but it's practical that way. 

When I popped into Fabricland to find the bias tape, I spotted a completely empty spool rack. Hmmm --- is that thread on its way out? 

An empty spool rack

From the corner of my eye, I spotted this fabric. It's a stretch velvet with sequins on it that shone as if it belonged to Dolly Parton on a stage with thousands of lights. It was brilliant. The picture doesn't do it justice. 

A bright sparkly fabric

It came in different colors. I have no use for it, but boy was it brilliant. 

I managed to find some bias tape, so I'll use that for my bag. 

The double-fold bias tape

And I found this Clover tool for making jelly roll rugs. I have seen a video of it, and it looks pretty cool. I still have batting strips, so I thought I would try it. 

Clover Fabric Tube Maker

I bought a pack of buttons and placed the three items on the counter. All of them were face up, with the scanning code on the back! The cashier even mentioned that she had to turn them over to scan them!!! I almost died! Well, she was right, but hey, these items were a lot lighter than a bag of dog food! 

Then I was onto Staples, where I dropped off our shredding. I have a drawer in the office where all the personal papers go, and when the drawer is full (it's not a big drawer), then I bundle it up and off it goes. It's usually once a year? Maybe twice this year because I tackled the drawers in the filing cabinet. Yes - I could have a shredder at home, but I found that any shredder we had in the past didn't last long, and it was boring to sit there and shred stuff and then you had to find a home for it. I paid $6 to drop off four pounds of paper. The only negative thing is that you have to shove it through this narrow slot. 

The narrow slot on the paper shredding container

But seriously? I'm getting very good at it and have no issues. So the paper is gone, and that was my last errand. With access to this kind of service, I would NEVER consider having a shredder in the house. 

Wait -- there was one more thing to get. When I returned the second light at the hardware store, I checked for the drill extensions, but I needed to go to the washroom, and I didn't want to make any "major" decisions as there were many options. So I walked to the hardware store near the house in the afternoon. And look what I found! A set of extended screwdriver heads with two extenders. This was exactly what I needed. 

My drill extenders

My drill is old - I didn't spot anything Black and Decker in either store, but the Dewalt ones work just fine. 

And then I got to work on my table. 

Soon, I had most of the leg assembly screwed to the table top. YES—there are cords involved because this table is electric! It is an adjustable height table, and because of the size I wanted and whatever, I couldn't get a crank version for that size. I tested the legs when it was like this, and they work!!! This way, I can sit and sew, or I can raise the table to do machine embroidery! I can't wait to try it out. I still have to tidy up the cords, but I'll do that later. 

The leg assembly is almost done.

Then the leg bases went on, and I waited for DH to get home. I was certain we wouldn't be able to right the table because it was so heavy; I could barely lift one end off the floor. 

The entire leg assembly!

But he used his engineering skills, and we flipped the table on its side and then righted it!!! With two people, it took very little effort. 

My new table

Oh my --- that is a sturdy table. It's supposed to support 450 lbs. I just need it to be stable when doing machine embroidery! I now have to move two machines so this table can slide into the back area of the worktable area. Then I can put one machine on it, and I've started to bring the components of the second table downstairs, and I hope to get it mostly done today. I need to do that while the assembly is still fresh in my mind!!!

But I think I'm going to love them. How will they ever get out of the basement if we move? That's another story!

I got a chucklet earlier in the day as I spotted a gold thread - a long one this time on my quilt top that I was going to work on during the virtual retreat. There's always a gold thread somewhere.

A long gold thread

That new table surface came in very handy last night as I spread my Tequila Lime quilt out so I could remove the paper from the back. It turns out that I was working on the four corners and the four middle sections. At one point, I thought I was done, so I took the quilt into the backyard to shake all the wee bits off. 

Removing paper from Tequila Lime

No - I had done 6 of the 8 sections. But that was good progress, and I was working on the final one last night when we shut the retreat down. I will continue to work on it today, and hopefully I can get the center star points (8) done today. 

There's my little garbage bin of paper. This was near the beginning of the process. 

My bin of paper

And this is what it looked like when I shut down last night! I'll have a mess to clean up when I'm done. So better to get all the paper out in one go and clean up once. 

What a mess to remove paper from a foundation pieced project

And my new turtle is done. I just need to remove the old one from the rest of the block and replace it with the new one. That should be an easy job today. You can actually see the turtle's head now. 

The old turtle and the new

I grabbed this picture from one of the Facebook puzzling groups. This is a small portion of this person's puzzle collection. Mine pales in comparison. 

A small part of someone's puzzle collection

I guess I feel about puzzles the same way I feel about novels. Once you read them, there are so many to read/do; why would you want to reread the book? Or redo the puzzle? Unless it had a very special meaning. Nope -- get the puzzle done, read the book, and GONE!!!!

OK - I waited an hour and just made breakfast. That will work! I'll just change my schedule on Sunday morning and use up those ridiculous pills! 

I noticed people were asking questions about my upcoming Facebook Live on the PFAFF creative icon 3. That was on the Embroidery M.O.M Facebook group, and she reposted my event. Oh my --- no pressure to do a good job! But it's going to be fun, and let's just go with it! 

And yes—we have a Virtual Retreat today, from 3 PM to 9 PM. Here's the link. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89869001291?pwd=h57kT9axwTnd2xtJvuO0z2UOmUo45w.1

Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711

And it's going to be another great day!!! 

Ciao!!!!