A slight detour

Oh, so help me now! I took a wee detour yesterday, and it was fun! I was supposed to be quilting a quilt and continuing to work on putting Studio B back in order. But this happened instead. 

Today, we have two sessions: Machine Embroidery and our Many Blocks projects. As of yesterday morning, I had nothing to share with either group. And while I get it that we're all busy, I like to have some to share (it sets an excellent example for the group!) So, I was off!!! It was a total tangent, but it needed to be done. And I needed a new sample for Quilt Canada. 

The next thing I knew, a basket of Christmas fabric was on the floor and I was rifling through it to find just the right prints. 

Searching through the Christmas fabrics

Then, I needed some background fabric for the project, so I got out the whites. It never ceases to amaze me how different all the whites are. 

A variety of white prints

While you can't see it in that photo, those are all white, but varying shades of white. UNTIL I put the ULTRA white next to them below. Again, you can't really appreciate the color difference, but those two new ones I added are very white. 

The ultra-white makes the others look cream

I found one piece of fabric large enough for all the backgrounds, and everything else got put away. Some of the Christmas fabric is still sitting out, and I may just forge ahead and cut out all the bits I need (on the digital cutter—easy as pie!), and then I can put that all away. The bits of cutting I did yesterday restored my faith in using a digital cutter for applique. 

It's one thing to know how to do something and then try to push the limits and quite another to just cut for the fun of it. I need to do more of "just for fun" because I had zero issues and I learned something new! 

Then, I had to pull fabric for the sample for Quilt Canada. I've been tasked with making a reading pillow, so I changed it up a bit! Wait until you see what I did! I pushed the technology a bit to make the first part, and I learned something! I'll share it after I share it with the groups. 

Fabric for the reading pillow

I needed something else to help tidy up Studio B. Well, it wasn't really to tidy it up, but it concerns that big metal shelf I purchased a while back. I wanted some hooks. So I ordered them from Uline, which has a super large distribution center not far from me. It was cheaper (time and money) to pay the $9 to have it shipped to me. 

My package from Uline

When I grabbed the box, I was a bit surprised at how much it weighed. AH—that's because they put a PRINT CATALOGUE in there. 

A print catalogue

Why would they do that when they have a perfectly good website? What am I going to do with it? I feel like driving it back to them and saying - No, thank you!!! Plus, I will return one of the items I bought and get a second item of the first. I wonder how difficult that will be? 

Will you look at the size of that box? Here are the two items (very small) that came in it. 

A HUGE box to ship two small items

The pictures I took of the hooks didn't come out well, so I'm going to retake them today, and OH MY—this is super exciting. Those hooks are EXACTLY what I needed!!!! 

The packing process for Quilt Canada has started. The suitcase and some of the samples are out, but I need to make some labels, and I need to get to Staples before I can do that. I can't even start typing them out as I need a template and am not sure which template I need. Oh wait—I'm supposed to go through my office supply cabinet first. I had better do that today.

Packing for Quilt Canada

I dread going through there - I'll take a picture first. Let's say someone LOVES office supplies, and the cabinet is crammed. It's probably filled with TONS and TONS of journals and notebooks. I use them, but I'll never use as many as are in that cabinet. And interspersed are some office supplies. See -- all the office supply stuff is together, so now it'll be easy to eliminate what I won't need. I still have pockets like that in the house. I'm getting there. 

Last night, DH wanted to watch a movie. I am not good with movies at the best of times. I have a zero attention span, and what the heck am I supposed to do sitting down for THREE hours? GASP!!! I don't think I lasted an hour, and he was probably glad when I left. 

I invited Miss Murphy onto the sofa, so all four of us had a spot. She is such a goof, but she didn't last long because she gets hot and has to lie on the floor, where it's much cooler. 

Hanging out with Murphy on the sofa

And my embroidery machine was working, and I kept an eye on the progress from my phone. 

Stitching progress

Oh, how I wished I had a START button on that app, which would have just started the next color since I decided to do the design all in the same color! So, he was happy when I was gone! And so was I!!! I don't think I understood one word about the movie—Dune 2, I think it was. I'm sorry—if it's not high action, I have zero interest in it! And not at night. 

You can't really tell in this photo, but the place is a mess. There are boxes on the floor and a sewing machine. I'll get there. 

A tad messy!

It's funny about Lexi and her food. When Bear was here, and he'd help himself to her food, she didn't care. But ever since those ants got in there? Oh boy -- she doesn't let it sit!! Thanks for the tips and comments on the ants. I haven't seen them since, but I watch for them. I wonder why they were attracted to her food? I do have much sweeter stuff in the cupboard, but not really, come to think of it. 

MOM - I'm not letting those ants back in my dish!

I have to say that I'm in love with my new utensil drawer. While I threw stuff in before, I now put the things back in the appropriate spot. And it's so much fun when I need a spatula to pull open the drawer, and all of them are right there - no more shuffling to find one. Yep -- being organized takes some work, but afterward. I LOVE IT!!!

The utensil drawer is FABULOUS

This small task didn't take long, but it was so worth it. And the rest of the house is getting there. I'm so excited - I just wish I had the mindset to do this years ago, but I didn't, so let's move on and enjoy the organization now!

I'm unsure if I shared this with you, I had been looking for the post with the corner template for making cushions. Here's the link where you can see the template. As soon as the laser cutters at the library are cutting acrylic (no ventilation system yet), I'll be making an acrylic one of these. You have to scroll down to see it. 

And on that note, I'm out of here!! 

It's going to be a busy afternoon, and I can't waste a minute!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Simplicity is key!

In case some of you are getting random responses from me -- I'm trying to catch up on all the comments from the blog! Bear with me -- I should catch up soon!

Somewhere recently, I heard someone say that one of the generations (I don't remember which one, and I'm so confused as to who is whom anyway!) Well, the idea was that you are old if you carry a WALLET! Now, I don't think anyone should generalize about age because of something we carry! For the record, it has been years since I last used a wallet. This is what I use instead. 

My card holder

Someone gave this to me years ago. I do not remember who it was, but it's cute. It folds shut, but it has two sides when you open it up. I have culled my cards and only keep those that I actually use in there. I'm sure there is one or two that could probably go. What I'm surprised about is that it hasn't started to wear. I carry this in my pocket (I don't carry a purse either - only my reusable shopping bag if I need it). 

My card holder open

I was going to make a new one, but why? This one is still good! I have a leather one around here somewhere, so I should dig that one out, but I like this one!!!

I don't carry cash - what is cash? I haven't paid for anything with cash in years!! But I got a chuckle the other day while waiting in line to pay for my massage. And I guess it speaks volumes about the wallet comment. 

The man in front of me paid with his Apple Watch. The lady beside me paid with her phone!!! And yesterday, when I was out, one of the women in front of me had her cards in her phone case, while the young girl tucked her card under her phone in the case! So, I guess that person was right -- who needs a wallet? 

Speaking of phone cases, I'm not a fan of those that flip open, and you can store cards and such on one side. That gets heavy and messy! I don't want to carry that entire thing around the house. I'll keep my little cardholder, and I'm happy. If I go out in the summer and am wearing my butt bag - seriously -- we need to find a new name. I'll call it my runner's or hiking belt; I only take the cards I need - if I need anything. 

Many times, I'm out walking and have NO cards with me at all. Those are the days when I won't be shopping. And as for carrying a purse? I have my lovely Micheal Kors (do you know that purse is 12 years old? It is practically an antique!) But the stuff people carry in their purse is obscene. When I go out, I need a key fob for the car (if driving), and my little card holder (if shopping), and that's it! I don't need anything else. We do not need keys to get into our house, so there is no need to carry keys. 

I like to travel light! It's just like your house - the more stuff you carry, the more likely you are to lose something, the more likely you'll forget something, and it's more stuff to manage. I want simplicity in my life!!!!

I'm giving the book away on organizing your studio. I don't think I need it now, but I'm having a quick read through it before it goes. I've accomplished almost everything she is going through, but this is an INVENTORY page for your stuff. Yikes -- she has you working out cubic feet for fabric storage and books and patterns!!! I did NOT get that sophisticated in my process, but it's a good process, and hopefully, in the end, you have room for everything! 

Inventory for the quilting supplies

I don't know if you can read this paragraph from that book. But I had to laugh -- yep -- it's painful to sort and organize and put "like" things together. But boy or boy -- it makes it super easy to tidy things up! If you click on the pictures, you can make them bigger. 

ACK -- parting is such sweet sorrow

I managed to get everything put away yesterday in Studio B. Well, but that's not entirely true. I have some more Zoom presentations in March - a LOT of them, so I decided to leave the samples sitting out on a spare table. Then I don't have to walk them upstairs and then go and get them again. I'm not sure I'll need them, but just in case. 

I managed to get ONE more piece of Tequila Lime stitched. I swear it was not my day to sew yesterday, and I had to rip two pieces out for being careless in their placement. But one more section is done, and only six to go. Perhaps this afternoon, I can finish them off. It's time to get to work on the next month's homework!

One B section for Tequila Lime

I got mail!!!

My package arrived

It was the backing fabric for the playmat quilt. The entire backing will be the same fabric and coordinate with the front. It's a gift, so I'm OK going to that trouble, and thanks to Mary, I found the coordinating fabric. And thanks to Ottawa Valley Fabric for having the fabric still around. This fabric came out in 2016. 

The backing fabric for the Playmat quilt

Now, the rest will go to a good home, where a special little boy will have two connector playmats and coordinating fabric for the backing. As mentioned before, there are two extra panels, which I do NOT need. I could have made a quilt for Project Linus, but I decided to give it to someone I know will use it!!! See -- I am downsizing!!! It's a slow process, but I'm good with the pace. 

Fabric to be donated 

I managed to get a customer quilt, but it took forever. There was nothing wrong with the quilt; it was me. I was in slow-motion mode yesterday. 

Customer quilt

I also had to go to the mall to get my passport photos taken. My passport expires in a few months, and I NEED to keep it up-to-date. So, I have some things to correct on my application and hope to pop into the office this coming week. I was going to do it by mail, but I'll go to the office to hopefully speed things along. 

I snapped this photo on my way to the mall. Loads of construction in the area, and I'm always amazed when I see those big boom arms for pouring concrete! What a job that must be to keep clean!!! I love how they are still building the top yet starting to add walls to the outside along the bottom. 

Construction near the mall

I had to wait for the passport photos, so what do I do with 20 minutes? I went next door and had an apple pie crepe!!! My afternoon snack, which I did not need!!! But it was good, and I had a chance to browse the magazines I had bought at Indigo along the way. I also saw that this photo place processes film, so with M's blessing, I dropped off that roll of film. I'll get the photos on a USB stick, so we'll see what the pictures are!!!

Apple pie crepe

The CDs are sorted. The envelopes/pouches were saved, and that is one more task off my plate. I managed to get half of the stuff off the floor beside my chair, and I hope to do more today. 

Sorting the CDs

Hmm - someone is digging in my backyard. It must be the skunks looking for grubs or whatever they dig for. There are little holes everywhere!!!! 

Visitors digging holes!

I may have to give my wind mobile a quick straighten - it looks like it's leaning a wee bit. I still love it even after all the time it's been there, and I do NOT regret buying it!!!

My perpetual window machine!

Here is one of the girls and the boy! He absolutely LOVES to sit in the window, and I can see his head in the window from down the street. Getting into that bed on the stairs is NO big deal for him!! He's a big boy! Thank goodness we found a solution because otherwise, he would drive us nuts with wanting to get in bed and not being able to!!!

The sentinel and the spare

It was a sad walk with Murphy yesterday. We spotted a neighbor who lost her golden to a fungal infection last year. She's been fostering a puppy (also a golden), and he was beautiful. A month ago, she got word that she could keep him. Then, four days ago, he turned on her. He tried to bite her wrist and knocked her down. She is surrendering him today back to the rescue. So there were the two of us crying on the street. I'm so sad for her, but I will offer that she can walk Lexi whenever she wants a dog to walk. I won't let her have Murphy - she's too unruly!

But why would the dog turn like that? It's like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde - one minute fine, the next he's mad. I feel so badly for her. Two dogs in a very short time. It's hard!!!

I have one presentation this morning, and it's all good to go. It's the final show and tell on the panel class we had in the fall. I'm very pleased with the participation rate!!! It's nice to see so many finished projects - even if some are simple! It's all about the act of completing something!!!

 

It's Virtual Retreat later today. 

Here's the link for today - February 24 - starts at 6 PM

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

Meeting ID: 898 1648 3795
Passcode: 248667

And here's the link for tomorrow - February 25 - Starting at NOON - but we might be a bit late as I have a digital cutter class just before, and I feel it will run over this month. 

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

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

Have a super day, and hope to see you at the Virtual Retreat!!!

Ciao!!!!

You've got mail!

Over the years, I've shipped many quilts to the US to be photographed for a magazine, and they've been shipped back to me. Other than paying shipping costs, I've incurred no other cost. No duty, no brokerage fees, no HST. 

Three of us in this area were fortunate enough to have quilts accepted to the CherryWood challenge, and those quilts are winging their way back to us. One person was notified that her quilt was coming home, but she would have to pay $150 in brokerage fees and duties to get it. Seriously?? The quilt belongs to her, was made in Canada, she received NO money for it, and it was simply coming back home. A second friend received the same notice. 

I believe BOTH are refusing to pay, and they should. They do NOT need to pay duty on something that they made! 

When I got a notification that mine was coming, I sent them a note asking them to change the commercial invoice to avoid such costs. I still got a COD invoice for $39.95, which was brokerage fees. I decided to pay for that rather than fight it. Time is money, after all! 

OH -- The email said I could pay online rather than mess with the driver when he drops it off, so I went that route. WAIT A MINUTE -- now the invoice is only $33.17. That's even better. Alas, I could NOT input my credit card and have it work. I know I could be better with technology, but I know how to fill out a form. I tried it MANY times. No go. And their silly payment screen just comes back with CHECK THE PAYMENT information - it doesn't highlight the issue and deletes all the information. UPS -- that system SUCKS!!!!

So, I attempted to call them to pay online. I asked about the difference in the amounts. OH -- that's the COD payment fee when you pay the driver. OK -- so I don't want to pay that amount; I only want to pay the brokerage fees of $33.17 since I'm not paying the driver. Nope, I can't do that on the phone. Seriously? Seriously!!!! I was MAD!!! I was transferred to several other people, and everyone said the same thing. 

I was shuffled to the tech support, and they couldn't help me. I mean - this is BAD customer service. You can't fix your system, so I can pay you with my credit card. Nope! 

While on hold for someone else, I decided to try PayPal. Yes, I know there are fees, but they are less than the $6 for the COD. Anyway -- the payment (which goes through my credit card) was accepted.

I've had an excellent experience with UPS - that's how I always sent my packages, but this time? Well, they sucked!!! But it's not entirely their fault; the commercial invoice was set up to trigger those brokerage fees. I'm not sure what did it, but they need to investigate. 

Do you think you could miss the fact that there is COD on this package? But since it was paid, the driver just dropped it off. 

COD charges

This is my Princess Diana Cherrywood Challenge. I dug out my Bob Ross Cherrywood Challenge, which I received a couple of years ago, and it's still in the shipping package. Look -- NO COD on that one. 

No COD charges on the one on the left

Oh well, I got it home, paid $33.17 (plus whatever percentage PayPal charged), and I'm good. I'm unsure how the others will get their quilts back, but they should NOT have to pay $150. 

I ordered THREE things from my favorite online store. GASP!!!! Yes -- I order from that store if I know I can't get the product anywhere else. Two of the three items were obscure, and if I tried to buy them from a local shop, they would have to order them from the manufacturer, which would take forever. I need them NOW. Of course, I'm not sharing you yet! 

Two were supposed to come yesterday, and one today. However, all three landed on my doorstep in the morning. ALL in separate packages. Now that's pretty environmentally friendly!

Three SEPARATE packages from Amazon

Although this one can be used as a journal cover!! The other two are garbage in my area. 

This can be recycled into a journal cover!

One was a book. The Amazon facility in Bolton, Ontario, has a book printing press. So they print books on demand. This is the second book that I've received from that location. I wonder if we can tour that facility? The quality is excellent, and the turnaround was quick. Again -- I'm not encouraging people to buy there, but sometimes there is no option. Right on the author's website is a link to Amazon. That's the only way to buy the book! 

Manufactured by Amazon.ca

The other day, I received a card from the post office that I had a package. Seriously? We have huge package mailbox slots, or they drop at the front door. The only reason to go to the post office is if a signature is required or something else. I've gone to the post office two days in a row -- NO package. What is going on? I'll go back again today but after that? Actually, they told me to call first. Did anyone send me anything? 

I made some progress in the sewing world. I managed to finish repairing those paper-picked units for my Tequila Lime quilt. There were four of them left to fix, and all four got completed, so all eight are the way they are supposed to be. It really was a painless experience! If you screw up, don't despair - just get to work and fix it! I had to rip ALL EIGHT UNITS completely out! NO big deal -- slow and steady. 

Two of the eight units are fixed!

I have the tip of the seven remaining units done, and I hope to get back to it later today. The tip was simple, but it was a pain to do. The rest is just a repeat of the previous units. 

Working on the remaining 7 units for the other side

I did some machine embroidery and emptied a spool of thread! 

Empty spool of thread

OH --- look what came in my mailbox (email) yesterday. 

The Island Walk

You probably can't read that -- but it's The Island Walk. 700 km walk around Prince Edward Island. I'm in!!! I've known about it for a couple of years, but they are ramping it up and trying to make it similar to the Camino, where it can be self-supporting. I must check it out -- that will NOT be for this year, as I'm already booked to finish the Camino de Santiago! 

Well, it's going to be another busy day! I'm a little behind in getting things done on my weekly task list, and I have to prepare for a presentation tonight. Slow and steady!

OH -- someone sent me an email about the permission to practice. Who among you NEEDS another quilt? Probably most of you are sewing for the sake of sewing - your family and friends are already inundated and do not want more quilts. Then why aren't you practicing? Use some of that fabric to try new techniques. NO ONE said you have to make finished items. And it's OK to throw stuff away if it doesn't turn out OK. Did you keep every coloring book picture your kids colored? Of course, you didn't. So STOP being so hard on yourself, STOP making those quilts, and try new things!!!!!

Do you have a book or pattern you bought because you wanted to learn a new technique? GET IT OUT!!!! 

On that cheery note, I'm out of here!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Is anybody out there?

 I love all your comments, even though I'm a "bad" blogger, and don't personally acknowledge them all! That's another reason I want to cut back (DH just laughed when I said that) on stuff for next year. Hey -- the process is already happening, but there's still lots to do in the meantime! 

I'm glad I inspire others to clean up our houses, studios, digital worlds, etc. We owe it to ourselves and our families to take more responsibility for ourselves! Isn't that what we teach our children? I wish I would have started a long time ago, BUT there are no regrets. I take pleasure in knowing that I've become self-aware of my stuff and am dealing with it now. 

Two more great Zoom classes in the morning. I confess that it is hard to decide which clubs or classes to eliminate because most of them are amazing, and I love the sharing and inspiration that goes on in some of these classes. I must get the remainder of the follow-up e-mails out, though! 

There's only a handful of Zooms left before I take a long break, and while I'm looking forward to that break, I will miss everyone! But there's Virtual Retreat (July 22 and 23 - yes -- it's early this month) and Monday Sewing to keep everyone entertained. 

I've come to the conclusion that I am NOT a good online shopper. I received socks yesterday and opened the package, only to discover that the size was WRONG. Since when are my feet XS/S? Am I that silly when it comes to ordering? Shoes too big, socks too small!

SMALL??

Yes, I ordered it from my favorite online store, and I was wondering why. Oh yes -- I tried to order directly from the manufacturer, but shipping to Canada was crazy. So I will return these, and I've already ordered from another Canadian store that I didn't find the first time. 

I'm ticked off because returning items is such a waste of time and resources, both for me and for the company. Hopefully, I've learned my lesson!

This is one of the blocks for the Barn Star Sampler quilt that we're making. The block is HUGE at 24½ ". But I love the colors, and it was easy to put together. I'm a bit behind with those blocks, so let's see what happens over the next little while. The next meeting isn't until October, so I should have time to catch up!

Barn Star Sampler block

I took one more trip to Diane's house, and now she has all the fabrics I had sorted out, and I brought back finished quilt tops. 

Quilt tops

More quilt tops

If I had not done that, those brown fabrics would still be in my stash twenty years from now, so while it "hurt" to donate them, I feel much better, and when I look at my brown basket of fabric, I see a nice inviting basket of browns, instead of an overstuffed hodgepodge of everything! 

It's all about using up. There goes two more bobbins of bobbin thread and a spool of thread. 

More threads are used up!

And now I'm using this GIANT spool of thread. Thank goodness I have a telescopic thread stand to hold it, as it's quite large. I think it'll be quite a while before I run out of black thread! But now that all my piecing threads are in one place when I want something, it's a snap to open up the cupboard, pull out the container and pick! I WILL get this mess under control! Life is so much easier when things are organized! 

A giant spool of black thread

I think taking control of our messes and getting them under control is good for the brain! It helps to calm us down, allows us to take charge of our lives, and we know what we have, and therefore, we know what we need or don't need! No regrets, but I wish I had done that much earlier! 

One more customer quilt is now quilted. There are still a few more that I need to quilt. Slow and steady! And a new one pops in the queue as quickly as they get picked up. That's OK - I like quilting them. 

Customer quilt - DONE

The secret quilt got bound, which was quite a chore as it is huge and heavy, but it's ready to be mailed off today!

I wrote two rough drafts and must edit them this morning or early afternoon. I might miss part of Monday's sewing, but I must get these out the door. 

Then I'm a wee bit behind on other writing, but I should get a couple more drafts done later today and get them off tomorrow. So it's all coming together. 

I couldn't help myself, so I requested the next Harry Potter audiobook. I would have to wait several weeks, but I was OK. Imagine my surprise when I opened the Libby app and was offered to borrow the book immediately. Of course, I said YES! I'm already half done! So as long as I'm tidying/quilting, I can listen. Once it's time to write, I have to stop!

And how is this for cuteness? She knows how to be cute and likes to be with me ALWAYS. 

MOM -- I am watching you! 

It was getting dark in the evening because of impending storms, but I heard nothing. I'm unsure if we had a storm, but I believe we got rain. 

Stormy skies

Well, I'm off to spin class! 

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!

Are you up for a challenge?

While making significant progress, I have yet to complete a single thing. So today, I must focus! 

However, all my samples for my article are DONE, and now I can write. The samples turned out AMAZING! I can't wait to share those. But I swear that people just want everything to be easy and do NOT want to take the time to experiment. Sample making is way more fun than actually making a quilt, and I've learned so much over the years because of my willingness to experiment. The way I see it is -  KUDOS to me because I'm willing to learn and for others? Well -- that's their problem! 

I couldn't help myself and spent more time deleting files yesterday. I wonder how much I've deleted so far? Yep -- I found duplicate presentations in different folders. That's a HUGE problem for me, and I MUST finish setting up a SOLID file structure and stick to it. Sometimes when I'm in a hurry, a duplicate folder gets created, and then I'm lost, so I've no one to blame but myself. I'm OK with that -- I'm learning! I found the folder where I store my lectures on various quilt topics regarding techniques or whatever. GOSH -- I'm pretty darn thorough in those presentations. Is it blasphemy if I pat myself on the back for a job well done? I'm proud of what I've done and am not afraid to say it!

Good grief -- this is sounding like a fan party for me and my talents. ENOUGH! Let's move on. 

Here's something to humble me! I decided to return those sandals as they were way too big. So back to the website to understand the sizing a bit more. OH MY GOSH -- I am a dolt!!!! 

The slides are listed as ALL GENDER, and the sizing chart, which I couldn't figure out when I ordered them, has MENS and WOMENS together. I ordered a size 10 -- but a MEN's 10. I had a good chuckle over that!! 

The options for ordering

Sizing is always a hazard of online shopping. But now I know what it means when it says M10/W12 in the sizing! See - I learned a new thing by making a mistake. 

I did not get a shipping label to return them, so I decided to walk to the post office. I told DH that the logistics center was probably close to our house; sure enough, it's less than 5 KM. He urged me to go there, and since it was a bit over my walking limit, I took the car and felt guilty the entire way! These distribution centers are HUGE. NO -- this is not my "favorite" online store. I ordered directly from the brand, and they have their products in generic distribution centers. There are MANY of these fulfillment centers near me. 

A massive distribution center

Sadly, I could not return the shoes at the fulfillment center and had to take them to the post office. I was shoving them into a prepaid box when the manager stopped me. Most returns have shipping labels -- mine did not. I think I could have got one, but I don't have time to mess with that. So they are gone, and I've requested a SMALLER size. Hopefully, they arrive soon. 

I have three more boxes of quilting fabric under the long arm and was looking for something specific. So I dug all three out and started to sort everything. Let's just say there is only ONE container left. I pulled a fabric collection for me, and it's in the stash room. I sorted the remainder of the bins, and they are in bags waiting to go to Diane's. She doesn't know yet! Sh! Don't tell her! 

Three remaining bins of fabric for community projects

And then I found a ton of panels. What am I going to do with these? And then I had a bright idea -- I'm going to offer them to you, BUT (there's always a but!), I'm going to make it a challenge. You see -- I do NOT want these to go into your stash. Nope -- I want you to use them. So the challenge will be -- make something creative from them. I don't care what happens to them - cut them into tiny pieces, add borders to make a wall hanging -- whatever your heart desires. 

There are three different panels, which I believe are 28" wide by 42" or something like that. There are NINE of this one. 

Panel Number One

Eight of this one. 

Panel Number Two

And there are three of this one for a total of twenty. 

Panel Number Three

So here's the deal --- I will GIVE the panels away, but you have to pay for the postage, which shouldn't be much. I want a FINISHED item from the panels. I don't care what! You get to keep the item -- I do not want them. And the deadline --- I'm going to say December 31, 2023. 

WAIT -- read the following points CAREFULLY before you ask for one! 

• If you do NOT finish the project, it defeats the purpose of the challenge, and I'll be disappointed.
• If you do NOT have time, then do not ask for one. 
• If you are notorious for missing deadlines, do NOT ask for one. 
• If you want one because of FOMO, do NOT ask for one. 
• If you want to sign up for loads of classes in the fall, it's probably best to NOT ask for one as you'll be busy. 

This is not a stash-building challenge. 

I happened upon my panel presentation yesterday, and well - it just seemed fitting. I was also at the library the other day, and there's a book about what to do with panels. I will keep one for myself, as I LOVE the panels. I will post the results in January 2024. 

If you have seriously considered the above and still want to do a project, send me an e-mail. elainetheriault@gmail.com. Use PANEL challenge in the subject. 

I managed to get the customer's quilt done. Yeah -- now some trimming to do, and I need to get the next one loaded. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I needed a wee nap in the afternoon, and when I woke up, this is what I saw! Lexi is smart as she has dug a hidey-hole under the shed and lies in the cool dirt. She's a good dog. Murphy is just busy. She has to follow us everywhere with her tongue hanging out! Oh, Murphy!

MOM -- is it time to play ball? 

How does one stay cool in this heat? And while it's hot, it's not unbearable. I walked almost 13 KM yesterday. But here's a thing I learned. I HATE hats with a passion. I hate something on my head, and I hate how I look. But practicality has won me over. I bought This Tiley hat for the Camino de Santiago last year. I wore that hat every day once the sun rose. Did you check out the picture on the website? Even that guy looks like a geek with this hat on! 

My Tiley hat

I find it annoying because you always sense something in front of you! However, I dug the hat out the other day when I walked. OK  -- game changer!! First, you are NOT squinting even with sunglasses on a sunny day. That would save a lifetime of wrinkles around the eyes!! And believe it or not, I find it very comfortable and cooling. 

And they said you can't teach an old dog new tricks! Yep-- I wear it around the neighborhood - to the mall or wherever. I couldn't care less what other people think (and they probably aren't thinking anything!). I'm going for comfort! Besides, it's a Tiley hat -- it was NOT cheap! 

So my windows are wide open this morning, and I'm enjoying the beautiful morning. NO - we have not turned on our AC yet. I have a small fan by the bed, which keeps me cool at night, and I have zero trouble sleeping. It's all in how you look at the situation -- glass half full or half empty. YES -- I understand that some people do poorly in the heat! I don't know how our society would function in any kind of hardship. We are super reliant on our services! Me? I just care about food! 

And this came in on my social media yesterday. You can check it out here. This one is on sale for $65 US. But we all have enough supplies at our house to make one. 

OH MY GOSH --- I finished The Golden Spoon last night. What a hoot, and who saw that ending coming? You'll appreciate the book more if you have watched The Great British Baking Show, but it's not necessary. 

Well, so much exciting stuff happening. I'll be nose down at the computer today as I have to clear some of those writing tasks off my plate. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!