Mending is such joy!!!

I love the stories of people's post op knee surgery! I love that people are PREPARED for the recovery and their reduced mobility. That's what I call sanity!! Good luck with the recoveries - I know there are two of you who very recently had knee replacements! Probably about a week apart! 

My two presentations for today are done! I need to stop tweaking them! My brain just goes on and on, not stopping as I dream up more examples and do more research to help the students. I can only hope that they watch the presentation, get inspired, and then get to work! Actually, in Colour My World, the number of quilts we'll have for our final reveal is going to be amazing. So many creative ideas! 

As for the jacket class? We are getting some jackets made, but many have not started! And after today, there is one more class. And so I'll never run another jacket class! I have learned so much from this class, and well, you just have to wait and see! I must admit that it's the class I spend the least time on; however, I have four jackets that are very close to completion, so I had better get organized and make that happen. Maybe there are only three, and the fourth is my prototype. OH -- but I have to put buttonholes on another jacket. I might have to change my focus a wee bit!

This basket holds the components of a jacket I've been working on since 2023, so it's not that old! But notice that the basket is much emptier than it was? I'll explain more later this week. As mentioned, I'm not taking a sewing machine with me to the quilting retreat, but I'll have some time when I get back to clean this all up. WAIT -- I have this weekend to work on stuff! 

A basket with jacket supplies is much emptier than it was!

I seem to be doing a lot of mending for DH. What the heck is happening here? And why is my machine agreeing to do this mending? Oh, wait --- we won't go there. I get to play while he works, so I guess I can mend an item or two. The string thing came out of the waistband, and after looking at it, I didn't like how the wide elastic was attached on one side but not the other. That's just the way all waistbands are done. So I straightened out the elastic and zigzagged the top edge. Now - it will never twist - the waistband will fold down, but the elastic will never twist. 

The elastic is stitched in place!

And I got to use my elastic threader to put the cord back in the waistband. I did not stitch it down because that would defeat the purpose, so I imagine I'll have to do it again. I still have a shirt and a pair of shorts to fix. Sigh.............

My elastic threader!

OH MY—I forgot to mention our walk in the morning. It was raining hard, not monsoon rain, but hard enough. I had on two jackets to keep the chill off, and the outer one was my rain jacket. OK -- I will say that the rain jacket is almost 35 years old (but I LOVE IT) and it was washed with a water repellent solution, but I think its days are coming to an end. By the time I got both dogs walked, I was soaked right through. Well, my thick fleece kept the water out, but everything else was wet! I could have wrung water out of my gloves and my pants! Perhaps it's time to get a new rain jacket. I have a brand new one that I use for hiking - it's not substantial enough for walking the dogs. Well, maybe it is - I should try it one day. 

Then I went for a massage in the afternoon. OH MY — that, on top of the upper body workout the day before, and I was a bit sore when I first got up this morning, but all is good now. Drink lots of water!!!! 

It was a pretty darn productive day, and I learned a ton, and I'll be passing that along to the students this morning. I'm super excited - more about what I learned than the fact that I'm passing it along to them! 

But here's something else I learned. OK -- so the jigsaw puzzle got finished last night. I got around to it about 7:45 and gave myself until 9 PM to finish. I was done 20 minutes before that. 

The puzzle is DONE!!!

I LOVE my puzzle assembly setup. Look at what I can do with those felt-covered design boards!!!!

My felt-covered design boards

Yep -- as the number of pieces reduced, I moved them to one board. Tactile -- I'm a tactile girl, and the methodical, repetitive process of moving pieces is good for your brain!!! BUT do you see that I can tip that board to almost a vertical angle, and the pieces don't budge. Not a single piece fell off the board. So if you have glare --- change the angle. I'll never lay pieces out on a table again! And I will never use those puzzle trays. 

But here's the other thing. The puzzle is set up at the end of the table, and I'm using a rolling chair. So if I need to see closer on either side, I simply swing my chair to that side. It's brilliant. There's none of that back/neck-breaking searching for a piece. There's never a piece that gets dropped on the floor or attached to my clothing because I keep ALL the pieces on the felt boards. Yes --- I have the legs of the table to deal with, but I don't even notice them, and if I did? The setup is worth the slight inconvenience. 

My puzzle assembly station

It was a very happy accident that I discovered this, and I'll never go back. I'm excited to put this one in the box, and I'll take it to my parents and donate it to the seniors in their building, who always have a puzzle on the go. And I can't wait to crack the next one open! It's an exciting one!!!

I have not been very responsible with paper for a very long time! That's why there's such a mess in the office, but as you know, I'm slowly working at it, and the paper is almost under control. If I were to compare photos from 8 years ago with photos from now, what would I see? You could barely get into the office because of all the boxes of stuff that had to be dealt with. Today, almost all the boxes are gone, and the last dregs of crap that came from upstairs are now here. 

As I was doing research for one of the classes, I was digging through my Threads magazines. I love these magazines and wish I would buckle down and read more of them. There is some amazing information in there. Anyway, the PREMIER ISSUE (October/November 1985) popped into my hands. And oh my—there's an envelope being used as a bookmark. The envelope was never opened! 

An unopened envelope used as a bookmark

Now, wouldn't it be nice to open that up and find money? Well, if it were a cheque, that would be bad because it would be stale dated by now, but cash would be fine. Nope -- I didn't find cash, but the letter was dated 2005!!!! It was information about the 2005 fundraiser for The Quilt, including a list of the committee members. The Quilt was a fundraising effort (breast cancer) started by Carol Miller way, way back!!! It is since defunk, but I did a lot of volunteer work for them. I do NOT need to keep the letter, and so it's gone. 

A bit dated! 

That was the year they requested celebrity signatures, and some of us made quilts. I think I made three quilts that year with celebrity signatures! I believe I showed them on the blog once. AHA --- I made two quilts, and you can see them at this link. WAIT -- I made a third one as well. Here's the link to the third one. 

I also found some handwritten notes about a project on the back—maybe it was for one of the celebrity quilts!!! It's also gone. 

Well, on that happy note, I'm out of here! Don't forget we have a Virtual Retreat tonight, and I found another container of scraps to cut. I was going to add it to the pile I'm putting in the car, but decided that would be a great job to do on the call. By the way, someone wanted to know what sizes I cut scraps. I don't randomly cut scraps. I only cut when I have a project in mind, and the two I am cutting my batik scraps for are a doozy—you'll have to wait until after the retreat. What I cut tonight, I'll share tomorrow. I might even just take a break and start cutting this afternoon, although I do have some tidying up to do in Studio B. 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!! 

Virtual Retreat - Saturday, March 21 - Starts at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89610782501?pwd=7dCrhiL5t8Xa4TVwZPvhL6cOymbcjK.1

Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311

Virtual Retreat - Sunday - March 22 - Starts at 3 PM

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

Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711

It's a MIRACLE!!

We all know that the internet is run by algorithms. Perhaps they do not run the internet, but algorithms play a huge part in what we see. You mention one word and BAM—your feeds are full of ads or links to items related to that word. 

Somewhere along the line, I've mentioned various cities, which is enough to trigger random comments on the blog. I deleted over ten comments concerning driver training in a West Coast city this morning. Why? I've never mentioned learning to drive, but it shows up. Or if I want carpet cleaning or other renovation services! It's a crazy world!

Well, a miracle occurred at my house. All the day job presentations went amazingly well this past week, and the three presentations for today are DONE! I did not lose any sleep over it, but I missed my afternoon walk yesterday. That's OK. Sometimes, anticipating all the work is more significant than getting the job done! 

I even had time to play around with the mySewnet Embroidery Software and create a design I'd been mulling over for several weeks. My first attempt at stitching did not work, so I immediately stopped. The second design, more like what I wanted, is ready to stitch later today! Let's hope it works!

Am I out of the woods? Absolutely not. I have three more presentations to prepare for tomorrow, but the groups are smaller and mostly show and tell. Those are easy to whip up! 

I have some follow-up emails to finish today, more samples to make for a presentation on Monday (I might have to get all my embroidery machines working to speed that process up), and two pillow shams and two accent pillows to cut and sew. I also need to shop for invisible zippers, so a quick trip to Fabricland is in order later today. 

The unfortunate thing about three Zooms in one day is that I don't finish until 2 PM, which is late to then start working, but that's the way it is! I shall endeavor in the future to NOT do that. The only reason I do that is to have free weekends - and I aim for two free weekends a month. Not in February because of a couple of things, but for the other months - yes!

It really is all about staying as organized as possible. I use piles on the floor (shhhhh!), clipboards, lists, and whatever else I can handle. The key is not to misplace those items, or I'll be in trouble! I know I could do some of this electronically, and I do! But not all! 

I even managed to tidy up a bit in Studio U from when Yagana was here. Some piles of "garbage" still needed to be sorted through, and it was so bright and sunny that I was pulled to that room for a break. No jigsaw puzzle - I won't start another one for a while. I need to finish cleaning up that room. 

The room was so bright that I had to wait for my eyes to adjust before I came downstairs! 

As DH was getting ready to leave for a trip (I seriously considered going with him, but I knew I had a super busy February), I was madly printing off materials for the class. The dogs gave him a better send-off than I did! He needs to travel to cool places in months OTHER than February and March! 

Of course, neither of the girls was happy. Lexi went outside and sulked after he left. He's her guy, and now she's alone. As you guessed, Murphy and I don't count. WAIT - unless it's time for a walk, and then I'm her best friend! 

Mom - DAD IS GONE!!!!!

Somehow, I set my Fitbit to receive notifications, which I hate. It seems to be several days behind, and I do not need this on my Fitbit. The battery needs more frequent charging. OK, I quickly refreshed my phone's notifications and turned off some of them, but I don't think that fixed the situation with my Fitbit. 

I need to go back and finish mapping my trip around the US so I can start logging my miles. I have no idea if I'm on track or not. 

Well, it's another short day. Yesterday, I took many pictures, but they were all for a presentation, so it would be boring to post them here! 

I'm off for the morning walk, and let's hope to get that afternoon walk in. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!