Sound the alarm!

I love Murphy. How could you not? BUT she's testing us these days. I had no problems falling asleep, only to be woken by her intense barking. Something's in the backyard. Good grief, so I took her upstairs and shut the bedroom door. She doesn't like being in a room with the door shut, and I eventually let her out because she gets extremely restless in a closed space. Thankfully, I fell back asleep. 

What was in the backyard? Probably a raccoon or a possum! 

This morning, as I was sitting down at the computer, she started barking madly out the front window. What could it be this time? There's one dog in the neighborhood that she hates, but I haven't seen it lately. There's a story there which I'll tell you in a minute. 

But it's too early to walk the dog. Nope, it's this. 

A neighborhood resident

Wait -- can you see what caused her to sound the alarm? I zoomed in on that photo. 

A coyote

Looks pretty healthy and just sauntering along. I guess we won't spot any rabbits this morning. And it just saunters along the street or onto the lawn like it owns the place! 

Wait - there's more. We were just back from the walk yesterday morning, and Murphy sounded the alarm again, but at the back door. What could it be? 

Remember how I mentioned that I hadn't seen the pair of ducks that visit every year? Well, they were in the backyard! 

Mrs. and Mr. Duck!

They even went for a short swim in the pond. 

Mr. Duck is taking a swim

Then, because Murphy was making so much fuss, they stood on the rocks for a long while. Alert in case the girls went out, which they were not allowed to. 

Mrs. and Mr. Duck are enjoying the rocks

After the ducks flew away, I let the girls out, and they rushed to those rocks to see who and what was visiting. 

MOM - someone was here!!

I chuckled because Lexi stayed pretty much in the same place, but Murphy had to sniff every square inch of that space. 

MOM - they were here!

She's like a whirling dervish!!!

MOM - and they were here! 

So, it's been a crazy last couple of days, but hopefully today, or at least the rest of the day, will be quiet. There's nothing worse than getting woken up by a very loud dog barking its head off. OK -- there are worse things, but she's a lunatic. 

OH -- the story about the dog that Murphy doesn't like. Well, it's funny what you can learn just by being observant. I'll call the couple Dave and Betty. Over the last couple of years, I've often seen Dave and occasionally Betty out running with Rex. This is the dog that Murphy hates. I've also seen them walk the dog, either individually or together. On my walks, I even discovered where they live. 

There were always two vehicles in the driveway, and then one day, there was only one. The car was a bit older, so you think maybe they did like we have and went to one vehicle. But come to think of it, I haven't seen Betty in several months. And I never see Rex any longer, so perhaps Betty and Rex moved away. 

A silly thing, but if you are observant, you can learn all kinds of things! 

Anyway -- that's just a silly thing. 

More Canadian authors! Linwood Barclay - yes, I know about him and have read some of his books. I even went to one of his book signings several years ago. But here are two more Canadian authors who are new to me: Rick Mofina and Chevy Stevens. Both are mystery writers. Thanks for the comment and tip! 

I hope you all know about Bookseriesinorder, as it lists books by author or character. Wow - just checked and Rick has a lot of books. I just borrowed one of his books. He has several series and standalone books. I put one of Chevy's books on hold. This is exciting, even though I don't need to discover a new author. My list of authors is already very long. 

Another author that came to light yesterday during Monday sewing is Ma-Nee Chacoby. I've also got her book on hold. And one more author from the US, James Grippando - I just downloaded one of his books. 

I thought there was another author we discussed yesterday, but their name escapes me. 

I now have loads of reading material for the next bit. 

I'm happy to report that all the embellishments for the Trendtex challenge are made! And the majority of them are stitched to the piece. Thank goodness. The rest will happen this morning, and then I'll walk it to the post office. I want it out of my house today. I have other stuff to work on, and I can't keep getting sidetracked by that one. 

My plan to sew the embellishments on using my sewing machine worked like a charm, and hopefully, the second part, which I'll sew by hand, will also go quickly. 

Shoot - I swear there was another story I was going to share with you, but POOF - it's gone! 

Oh -- I remember what it was! I wanted to thank everyone for letting me know about the dates for 'Long Time Gone'. I think I got it all straight now. Sorting out the 80+ quilts and the year they were started was challenging. 

The reason I wanted that list was for my Concurrent show at Quilt Canada this June. It's called "Celebrating 25 years of teaching!" Of the 80+ quilts I've taught over the last 25 years, I had to curate that list down to about one-third! That was a challenge, but I had a method to my madness. I hope you can come to Quilt Canada to see all the creative work done by the students! It's going to be exciting! Because yes -- the quilts in the show are by the students - NOT by me! There are some spectacular quilts, and a wide variety of them: different colors, styles, and patterns. You won't want to miss it! 

Well, I'm off to get the day started. There is a lot to do, but the end is in sight for at least one project, so that's good. And, of course, there's more paperwork! No appointments - that I like!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

It's all about CREATIVITY

 It's the end of the week! How did that happen? There was so much going on that I just went from one thing to another, and well, here it is - FRIDAY!!

OK - so I didn't get as much done as I wanted yesterday, but I did have fun, and that's what life is all about. I watched one of the presentations for Quilt Canada (in french), and it was great. Amazing how much I still remember after all these years. And it's not even my first language. When I was listening to the French radio station the other night, they were talking about Zoom sessions where you could just converse with others in french. I must find out more about that. My writing will never be good, and that's OK - I don't want to write in french, but I'm a bit rusty in oral French. 

Why is this such a big deal? I'm supposed to be doing presentations in the fall in French, and I need to brush up. And I do NOT know all the sewing terms in french. So if anyone out there speaks French and knows sewing terms, let's talk. 

Well, after watching that presentation, I spent a good part of the day in the live (virtual) demos put on by the stores, and then I shopped. So far, I'm just window shopping - not for windows, but browsing what each store has to offer. I've found a couple of things, and yes, the shipping is higher than what I would like to pay, but what the heck - I would have spent more money if I went in person, so I'm going to buy a couple of things later today. 

There is just a small suggestion that I'd make to the organizers. The list of live demos is a bit convoluted, and I keep getting into the wrong session. It should be listed by TIME SLOT, not by store. That way, today being Friday, I can just look at the Friday sessions, not the way it is now. But overall, I give the Quilt Canada team a HUGE THUMBS UP. They have done an amazing job. I was into one of the galleries to see the quilts as well. It's very well done. I'm impressed. 

I put my wireless earbuds on and started "watching" Quilt Canada. And while I did that, I got a customer quilt done. 

Customer quilt - DONE

It's trimmed and ready for pickup! 

I got all the fabric pressed and cut, and I have 30 more pillowcases ready to be sewn together. Yeah!!! I have one more small quilt to get done, and then I have the next batch of stuff done for MIL. Oh yes - if she is going to sew, I will keep prepping stuff for her. 

30 more pillowcase kits

OK -- here's what happens when you have a brain fart. I'm participating in the Barn Block Quilt-a-Long at Thimbles and Things. The bonus this month is to make a very complex paper pieced block. I'm reducing the size of the blocks from 18" to 9". We received the 18" block pattern. I thought I would be clever and recreate that in EQ8 so I could print the pattern out for a 9" block. 

Oh boy - I looked at it and started to draw and thought - "why am I reinventing the wheel?" So I sent a note asking for the file so I could resize it. Then I walked the dogs. Hmm - it's a paper pieced pattern, I can simply reduce it by 50%, and I'll be good. 

So when I got home, that's what I did. Thankfully before I started to piece the block, I tested the size. Hmm - NOT the right size. Then I realized that the original was also wrong. I had printed "fit to page," NOT actual size. 

I had to reprint the original, and then I reduced it by 50%, and now it's perfect! Of course, the seam allowances are wrong, but those are easy enough to add on. 

And here's my reduced pattern. Now to figure out what color goes where. 

My paper pieced pattern

Thankfully, we have one more month to get this block done. I was able to cross one more thing off The Task Master yesterday, and I have FOUR things that NEED to be done, and that will leave four things that can wait. I might just get it all done by the end of the weekend. I'll see how it goes as there are some scheduled things over the next couple of days. But overall, I feel in good shape. 

Oh boy -- it seems that we have a neighbor gone rogue! I was almost home, and Murphy was freaking out because of a squirrel. She tries so hard to be good (OK - she doesn't), but if I don't see the squirrel first and start saying "NO" to her, she goes crazy. So I was telling her to calm down and stop barking like an idiot. One of my neighbors accuses me of swearing at the dog and being a bad dog owner. Seriously???  What is her problem? And then she made a comment that I didn't really grasp at first, but after I thought about it - it was a RACIST comment.

Using her arm to encompass not just me but our house, she said, "we were NOT her peeps.". Well, thank goodness for that! I want to walk over and give her a piece of my mind, but it's not worth the trouble. But we really need to be careful what we say and to whom. It's easy to tell someone, "don't let those kinds of comments bother you," but you know what? It made me feel angry and upset for part of the morning. I'm over it now, but seriously - am I supposed to just let Murphy pull and yank on the leash? I should have offered for her to walk Murphy when the squirrels are out. 

Sigh........................

On a happier note, I found the article about creativity from John Cleese. You need to read this. It's the FIVE things that he feels are important to make your life more creative. Check out Number 2 and Number 3. Both of them are TIME. Yes - we need time to play. 

What's really scary is that when kids are small, they are supposed to have playtime to learn to explore, be curious, get creative, etc. However, their lives are filled with screens and organized activities that they don't have time to make houses from leaves and sticks. Not only do they not have time, but they are taught that leaves and sticks are not good enough. They need to have LEGO or whatever. 

I might have said this before, but what exactly is creativity? I was asked that question in an interview for a sales job. WHOA! That took me aback. What does creativity have to do with a sales job? Well, I've learned that creativity is not making quilts or coloring in a coloring book. Creativity is the ability to play, learn to make mistakes, recover from mistakes, solve problems, explore, and not be afraid to make mistakes. I did get that sales job, and I had to be very creative as I solved problems, like what to do when the cables for a computer didn't get shipped and other crazy situations. 

So do yourself a favor. Book some time where you can just play. Play with your fabric, your threads, your sewing machine, and other tools. You do NOT want to make something perfect. You are here to make mistakes with fabric choices, color, techniques. And that's how you're going to learn. Don't go for something large. Make small projects - about 9 by 12". I hope to do a bunch of that over the summer, and of course, I'll share that process with you. OH YES --- the project just came to mind. OK -- so start collecting odds and ends of STUFF in your favorite color. By odds and ends, I mean stuff that you could attach (or photocopy on fabric) so you can attach to a small project. It could be trim, ribbons, buttons, fabrics, etc. 

I made myself a note so I won't forget that. I'll start collecting today so you can see what I mean. 

Well, it's time to get the day rolling. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Pineapple pizazz!

 

Oh, it's a wee bit of a challenge to type with a bandaid on your finger! Yep -- I was so excited about eating my watermelon that I cut my finger. And it was a simple matter of I forgot to move my finger out of the way. Ouch!  It was a simple cut, but it bled like crazy. OK - the bandaid is off, and that feels better. 

Ouch

We had a great day on Monday sewing. However, I didn't seem to make a lot of progress on those darn pineapple blocks. I was shopping for a couple of things, and that took up some time. 

However, look at my Section 5 of Long Time Gone. 

Section 5 of the Long Time Gone quilt

YES --- the nine pineapple blocks are DONE!!!!  I still have four more to make for Section 4, but I'm happy that this much has been accomplished. 

Four more pineapple blocks to make

However, before I can go any further on Section 5, I have to finish that churn dash block. It's all cut out. 

The churn dash block

It shouldn't take too long. OK -- you can stop laughing now!! I know - I gave myself the rest of the week to finish that block and assemble that section. I'm realistic! I do have one more presentation this week, but that's it for the week!! Meetings and appointments - but it's a pretty wide-open week, so I'm going to take total advantage of that. I also have some quilts to put on the long arm. I won't be sitting here idle!

Here's a quilt I made from pineapple blocks. I love this quilt, and well - you can make a pineapple quilt a thousand times and each time - totally different. 

My pineapple quilt

A block of the pineapple quilt

Some people say that paper piecing is wasteful, and it might be when you're learning to paper piece, but this is my pile of scraps after making 12 blocks. That's definitely scraps!

The scraps from paper piecing

It was getting a bit untidy in the studio as scraps were starting to appear on the floor in a wide radius from the sewing machine. I cleaned up that little cutting mat and Swiftered the floor. Yahoo!!!!

Scraps on the floor

It's my Dad's birthday today! Even though I had a chat with him yesterday, I'll give him a call later today. Actually, I'm going for a long car ride today; I might call him hands-free in the car. He's going to be 88 and still going strong. He'll be back volunteering at the museum in two weeks - shorter hours and fewer days and working on a specific project. I think he's happy about that. The restrictions are COVID-related - not my Dad's ability!

I remember my Grandpa (my dad's dad), and he was volunteering late in life. He would go to the nursing home (where he eventually lived), and he would entertain the residents with his piano playing even though he lost several fingers from his left hand.

So you see where my creativity and stubbornness and sense of giving comes from!

Good news --- I have another quilt published in a magazine. This time, it's Fons and Porter Quick + Easy Quilts - the June/July issue. You can see a picture of my quilt if you check out the link.

And yes - they misspelled my name - I sent them an e-mail. How fun is that. I haven't seen the issue yet and hope that I get my copy in the mail since everything is super slow and there's no place to buy magazines. 

The quilt commemorates my parent's 50th anniversary, and that's all I'm going to say about it at the moment until I see the quilt. 

Here's something else for you to check out - Quilt Canada 2021. This is the main show of the Canadian Quilter's Association. With the current shutdowns, they've had to take the event online. You'll be able to take tours of the quilt show, and some lectures are available. There's one on ergonomics that I think will be an excellent topic. I just need to check my availability on those days to see if I have that time free. OH -- there's also a merchant mall - so be sure to check out the vendors and see who is supporting this event and places to buy product!!! 

Even though things are not the same - we NEED to be supporting our national quilting organization! 

OK - I know that I go on and on about how much I love Zoom. But in the past, if I were attending the event in real life, I'd basically block the entire day off. Now, I just need to know if a particular time slot is open! No travel time, and I can see the quilt show on my own time. Who is going to predict our behavior once we get out of lockdown? Since I wasn't a big traveler anyway, I don't think my behavior will change a lot. Time will tell on that one. 

Besides my road trip, I think I'll be at the computer for the rest of the day. I've got homework assignments, invoices, orders, and a bunch of other stuff to take care of. Oh yeah! My favorite thing!

That's it for today - it's time to get the day started, and where's the GAZEBO weather? It's cold outside!!

No organizing tip today! I'm sure you have lots of stuff to catch up on!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Machine quilting is so much fun!!!!

What an amazing day yesterday! We had the best show and tell from the two ongoing classes. The level of creativity of the students in the class never ceases to amaze me. I don't have time to post the pictures this morning, but later today, I'll be editing and loading so I can get those up.

Then a class on machine quilting. There's so much to tell the students in that class. It's my favorite class to teach. This one is the basics - somewhat in-depth on needles and threads and setting up your sewing machine. We talk tension, thread colors, exercises to improve and a whole lot more. I get so wound up in that class. With TEN people in the class, it was busy!!!

If you haven't taken a machine quilting class from me, you should. You'll learn so much. I think the biggest hurdle to machine quilting for anyone is the lack of confidence and the lack of sewing machine knowledge. NO ONE wants to touch the tension on their machine. It's a dial! It can be reset to the same tension that you started with.

So any takers for machine quilting?

Then I was back home to try and get some more embroidery done. DH suggested watching a movie. Sure, I was going to do other things, but I could watch a movie. So while we sat and watched the movie, I was monitoring the progress of the embroidery on the mySewMonitor app on my phone which showed me EXACTLY where I was in the stitch out process and the few times I had to change the bobbin or change color or attend to a broken top thread, I got the message on the phone. We simply paused the movie, I fixed the problem and then restarted the embroidery machine and the movie. How brilliant is that!!!! 

Now, this is possible because the embroidery machine I'm using is WiFi-enabled. That's the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC. Oh yes - it's amazing and I was loving that app last night. If you have a WiFi-enabled embroidery machine and you're NOT using that app - you need to download it from your app store. It's totally free. I should have taken a picture of the app when it was in progress. I will today and then you can see for yourself. By the way, the NEW Designer EPIC 2 is on its way. Guess what that means??? You can get the Designer EPIC for a very good price. It's not a whole lot more than what I paid for my Designer 1 back in 1998.

I've got more embroidery for later today. I'm working on a sample for the upcoming convention. We have an Educator's Challenge. My idea which of course, I can't share with you is quite unique (I hope). The fabric is unique, the idea is unique and in total, it's well over 200,000 stitches. I know - go big or go home! But it's mostly stitched out and then to assemble it which is a job for tonight hopefully.

This is a tub that I unearthed when I was cleaning up one of the corners in Studio B. It contains things from highschool. Mementos, yearbooks, etc. I'm afraid (almost) to open it up. I'm not going to do it until later this month as I don't have time to go down that rabbit hole. But it'll be good for an afternoon of memories.

Memory box from highschool

Actually, it's not just high school - it's memory stuff from when I was a kid. Nothing from my adult life!

I also found these micron pens. I can't remember where I found them, but there were four pens. I didn't even try them, but they now reside in the drawer with other pens and quilt marking devices. I will never have to buy another marking device in my quilting lifetime. 

Marking pens

I also found two rolls of this plastic for making your own quilting stencils. I remember reading about this in a magazine and searching for a very long time to get my hands on it. Guess what? I've never used it!!! Does anyone want it??? If not, I'm going to cut it up and use it in my machine quilting classes.

Stencil making plastic

I also found these rolls of preprinted quilting designs. What the heck?? Oh yes - I bought everything and anything when I first started out. They have never been used. I was going to give them away, but I've decided that they will work with my free motion class so I'm keeping them and they have found a new home in the machine quilting box.

Paper for marking free motion quilting patterns

That's so exciting that I found stuff and can find a new home for it! Or better yet that I'm finally using it up. Amazing what we buy because we desperately NEED it and then we never use it. I swear it's the product acquisition more than product consumption that is more important. Why is that? Some psych major should do some research on quilters.

Thanks to Laura, I found out that Oprah is starting a new book club. I just signed up! I'm sure her books are going to be way out of my reading league, but I'll try one or two. I've already put the first one on hold at my library!

Today is UFO day. I would have been finishing up my homework last night while the embroidery machine was working. Instead, I'll be finishing it up this morning. I have until 11 AM to be finished! Only a few more backgrounds to quilt so I should be good.

Here's something to think about. Want to try a new technique? Why not make a postcard for the Canadian Quilter's Association Quilt Canada in 2020 in Edmonton. Check out the details here. I'm going to make one!

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Quilt Canada - Day Four

I couldn't leave you in the lurch and not provide a post today. I was going to drive home right after we finished tear down yesterday, but then I decided that that was the most stupid idea ever. I was going to be tired and hungry and it would be a lot of driving in the dark, so I stayed one more night. I'm glad I did as I think I'm getting a cold and my throat is a bit sore. Now that could be entirely from all the chatting over the last couple of days.

And of course, I'm wide awake in the middle of the night, but I'm not getting up. That would be just silly. I did find an audiobook for the way home so I'm good to go. Now to get the blog post done!

At last, it was the final day of Quilt Canada. It's kind of a bittersweet day. You want it to be over, you want to go home, but after four days, the show kind of feels like home. You know where everyone's booth is and you just didn't get a chance to chat with everyone that you wanted to.

It was reasonably busy for a final show day. But I do have to admit that it was much slower than the previous days. I was perfectly OK with that. I forgot to mention that I was in the PFAFF booth yesterday and I know some people went to find me in the other booth. Sorry about that. I did know I was switching.

Lunches at the convention center were pretty decent. They had a veggie wrap that they would grill and they threw on a bit of coleslaw. The cost? $8.00. That was a very reasonable price and it was excellent which is not always the case at places like that. I did have lunch at a reasonable time.

I did get out and chat with a couple of vendors, but I didn't buy a single thing. Not even a spool of thread. I think I was so tired and brain dead that I had no desire to buy anything. Well, that's not true - I did go into one booth to buy a pattern and she was pretty much sold out and suggested that I go to her web site where I can download the pattern. I'll do that when I get home and I'll share that website with you because it's AMAZING!!!

I did send myself some notes of things to check out when I get home and I'm looking forward to doing that on paperwork days! Oh yeah!

The show closed at 4 PM. Thank you to the organizers for that. There is NO need to keep that show (or any other show) open past 4 PM on the last day. People are tired, vendors are tired, organizers are tired. Most consumers are gone. We did start a general tidying up of our booths around 3 PM and you could hear a general rustling of other vendors doing the same thing. At 4 PM, the teardown happened in full force. I envy those that are out of there in minutes!!!!  Every booth that I've ever worked at is one of the last ones to pack up!!! The booth that I used to work for was out of there before we were last night but not by much.

Let's face it - we technically have TWO booths to tear down. We're not a large group so that means all hands on deck for that process. I guess it's not that bad, but I'm always thrilled to death when it's finished. As I was leaving, there were still a couple other vendors that were almost finished. It was after 7:30 PM when I left the building. And yep - it was raining!!! My car looks like a disaster - stuff just got crammed in!

I passed by Tim's and got some chili for dinner and back to the house.

I had gotten to the show early to check out the remainder of the quilts. I took lots of pictures and I hope to share some of them with you. I was also keeping my eye on the Trendtex challenge. They had a silent auction and the bidding closed at 1:30. A few others and I were hovering. There was one piece in particular that I really, really wanted and I was willing to pay money for it. I had the highest bid at the start of the day and then some person outbid me. So I later outbid them and they never came back! Yeah!!!! 

I ended up with three pieces in total, but I didn't pay much for the other two. There was one other piece that I really thought was brilliant and I wanted it as well, but two friends were bidding on it and I decided to let them duke it out!

On that note, it's time to get everything packed up and in the car. Then the long trip home. It's actually not that long, but I will have to stop for gas along the way and for a stretch break. That's OK. My goal is to be home by lunchtime. I got an audiobook, I got snacks and I should be good!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Quilt Canada - Day Three

Holy smokes!!!!!  It was Day Three of Quilt Canada yesterday and I got to take lunch at 3 PM. YES - that's how busy it was yesterday. Unbelievable. I've no idea where all the people have come from, but it's been amazing. Loads of people popping in to chat about sewing machines or quilting machines.

We had one lady who had spent the previous two days exploring all the options of a sit-down quilting machine. She had collected brochures and made notes. She came back to our booth and asked a few more questions and then bought. She was the BEST prepared customer I've ever seen.

A lot of friends and followers came by the booth and hard to name them all, but it was great to see you all!!!  Two ladies came by from Sudbury. Now I knew I was never going to remember their names, so I made myself a note!!  Hi to Fran and Julie from Sudbury. Thanks for following the blog and thanks so much for stopping by to say HI. Gosh - I should have been taking pictures with people, but there just wasn't time for that.

I heard from many vendors that they are madly selling stock and a lot of them were going to run out of their main products by noon yesterday. People were taking kits apart so they would have fabric to sell. That's an amazing thing to happen.

I did get to the show early yesterday so I could pop around and look at some more quilts. I'll be back early again this morning to finish my tour since it's next to impossible to get out of the booth, although I expect that today will be much quieter.

I stopped by the Quilts of Valour booth. I was chatting with one of the reps and I was looking at a replica of a quilt made for the First World War. It was a signature quilt. I don't know what happened to me, but I had a very emotional moment. Huge waves of emotion just poured out - it was very bizarre, to say the least.

They have a call for blocks- they are log cabin blocks. You can make a block, you can make a quilt top or even better - you can make an entire quilt!!!  It's better to make an entire quilt. We're going on a retreat in a couple of weeks - I'm going to challenge my group that we make a Quilts of Valour quilt while we're at the retreat and I'll get it quilted after the retreat. I might even have all the fabrics needed in my stash. I'll check that out when I get home. Maybe we can even have a Quilts of Valour sewing day at my "new" studio B.

Being as busy as we have been has meant that I didn't get a chance to buy a single thing. Not that I need anything, but it would be nice to get out and at least look. There are a couple of vendors that I'd like to chat with about certain products and I hope to get out today for a bit to check it out.

So many people to chat with - so little time. I've been juggling my evening dinners with people. Last night I went out with Leslie and Luana. Luana owns equilter.com. It's an online quilt shop that's been around for 20 years. I love chatting with her as she's got a very good handle on the quilting industry including trends in fabrics and colors and styles. I didn't get to hear her lecture at Quilt Canada, but the dinner conversation helped to compensate for that.

It's all about networking!!! And I LOVE to network!!!

Trying to keep up with the urgent e-mails while I'm away, but I know I'm neglecting some stuff. I got TWO good pieces of news yesterday. First, it appears that the magazine section of FW (which owns the popular quilting magazines - Quiltmaker, McCalls, Fons and Porter) has been purchased. We're not sure what this means yet - how many titles will continue? all or none or some? But at least there will be money in the coffers. I went ahead on a leap of faith that they would continue. I now have three quilts to make this summer.

The second piece of good news is that my floor should be done by the END OF JUNE!!!!!  Yes - I'm so excited, I can hardly wait. That means when I get home, I've got to bring up that stuff that I want to get rid of. I could get the guys to do it, but well - I don't mind doing some of that stuff. I need to make a decision about the work tables. Do I bring my two personal tables up to Studio U?? I'm so tempted because they are very good expensive tables and I really should be getting my money's worth out of them. Since I plan to sew more upstairs - I should bring them up. OK - a decision is made - they're going up!  Then all the tables in the studio will be the same and hopefully, I'll find a new configuration for them.

That means that Sit n Sew days will be back in business in July. If you're on the list - I'll be sending out the dates once I'm home. I also plan to have some days for charity quilts to use up those five tubs of fabric. I'll be putting together more information on that and sending that out. I'm so flipping excited - I can hardly wait!!!!   Thanks to Pat for the great suggestion. If anyone has ideas on how to use up that fabric and make use of that great space - let me know. I'm open!!!

I'm also so inspired and motivated to get back to the sewing machine - I told the others in our booth yesterday that I need to go home - NOW. They asked if I was sick. Nope - just motivated!!   My brain is going to explode.

I'll be heading out very early tomorrow morning so if there isn't a blog tomorrow - don't be alarmed.

The show closes at 4 PM today so that's a good thing and hopefully, it won't take too long to get everything together and on the skids for shipping back to Toronto.

I feel a sore throat coming on. I hope that wasn't from Leslie who has a cold. It's probably from all the talking. I've been trying to drink as much water as I can to prevent dehydration. I'm doing OK, but probably not enough.

I'm going to be bidding on some of the Trendtex challenge pieces today. Some of them are so fun and there's one that a few people I know want. I hate to bid over them - although I've done it before and was totally shameless in my bidding. Sorry, Peggy!!!

On that note, I guess I had better get myself organized for the day.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Quilt Canada - Day Two

I'm not a basketball fan, but I would be remiss if I didn't say "We ARE the Champions!". I saw the score this morning. Way to go Raptors!!

I feel like WE are the champions after surviving yesterday at Quilt Canada. I arrived bright and early so I could check out some of the quilts. Some great concurrent shows with loads of interesting ideas. I can't wait to get back home and have some planning sessions with myself. I have two deadlines when I get home - both July 1st, but both are very doable in that time frame. Unfortunately, one more item got added to that list yesterday. Yep - that deadline list ebbs and flows but stays pretty consistent.

I did take a few pictures and will try to post next week. Holy cow - yesterday had a wee bit of a slow start to it, but then BAM - that place was hopping. I'm not sure how many buses ended up coming, but that place was a beehive of activity until late in the day.

I demoed sewing machines, embroidery machines, quilting machines, embroidery software, and talked about quilting techniques. They are so many myths out there that people think is the "right" way to quilt. Holy cow!!!!  Ladies and gentlemen, we have to start thinking outside the box! The other thing I noticed is that people have taken MANY classes, but are still afraid. People, you have to STOP taking classes. No that's not right. You have to take a class, then go home and practice. Then you take the next class and practice some more. You just can't keep taking classes and hope to get better.

I try to convince them to try at least ONE new thing. Don't forget about my 86 year old father (his father lived to be 100). His motto is - I need to learn something new every day. He volunteers for a museum and spends his days tinkering with gas engines on old tractors. If they can't find a replacement part, my dad MAKES the parts. He learns something every day. I'm very proud of my dad and my mom and it's from them that I learned a good work ethic. I also learned a wee bit about hoarding!

So here's a wee homework assignment for you all. Take something - anything in your house and try to learn something new about it. Could be your phone. Could be a kitchen appliance. Could be your camera. Or get that sewing machine out. Take one of the stitches - what can you do with that one stitch. Gosh - it could even be something as simple as the zigzag. You can do a LOT of different things with the zigzag. Over and over again, I hear people say they have all these stitches, but don't know what to do with them. Well, try new things.

That's one of the reasons why I like to be nosy and see what other people are doing. How are they using things differently? That's also why I like to take classes, but at the same time, I think we use classes as a crutch. We think that if we take something like free motion quilting that we'll learn. Oh yes - we'll learn, but if we don't sit down at the machine and practice those techniques - we'll never learn.

I heard that over and over again yesterday. Oh yes - my other teacher told me to do that. Well?????  Why aren't you doing that? How do you think I learned? Or the other instructors learned? We made mistakes - lots of mistakes.

And the myths - oh - it's sad about the myths. People think they need to do things a certain way. Nope - not at all. It's your quilt and your skills. You do what you think works best for you! There's no halfway!

Perhaps I'll do a myth-busting blog post one day just cause I'm tired of hearing all these things. If you have a myth that you think would make a good topic - e-mail it to me.

Oh my goodness - I saw so many people yesterday. People that I knew from all over the place. People that I used to work for, people that I worked with, people who follow my blog and loads of others. It was super exciting. Two ladies stopped by to say HI. They are blog followers. One was from Sudbury and one from Ottawa. They did tell me their names, but my mind is totally blank at this point. Thanks so much for following the blog and thanks so much for stopping by to say HI!! 

I didn't get out of our booth to any of the vendors. I think today will be a quieter day? Not sure as yesterday was so crazy. I'll try to post some pictures on Facebook - I haven't even had time to do that.

Here are my pictures for today. They are from an English Paper Piecing class that I taught a while back at Oh Look Fabric. I missed getting pictures of one student's work.

We had a blast - as usual.

Loretta's hexies

Cathy's hexies

Heidi's hexies

I LOVE all those color combinations. I should be bringing my hexies with me, but there honestly isn't time to do anything here. I was out last night with Carol and we had a grand chat about stuff. I haven't had a chance to catch up with her in a while so that was awesome.

Wow  - so much excitement happening. Seems like something new everyday!!!  Yeah!   Bring it on!

On that note, I'd better find something to wear today. I was a wee bit skimpy on what I packed for the show, but that's easy to fix with a few scarves and other accessories! Don't forget that if you're in the Ottawa area and coming to Quilt Canada, stop by the Husqvarna Viking booth and say HI!!!!

Have a super day!!!!!!

Ciao!!!!!

Quilt Canada - Day Two

First day of Quilt Canada!  I'm amazed at how many people I saw from back home. It was great to see so many people. I'm sure there's going to be loads more over the next three days.  I have a funny story to tell about this one person I met. A while back, I got an e-mail from someone who said they had made a bicycle quilt and it was on display at the Living Arts Center in Mississauga. I should check it out. I found out later that they had found me because of the name of my blog. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the show.

As I was leaving the floor on the night of set-up, I noticed a bicycle quilt hanging in the show. Never thought more about it. After the awards ceremony, I saw a man with a very fuzzy, long beard hugging someone that I knew. Maggie called him Fuzzy and I tucked that fact in the back of my head and never thought anything about it.

When Paul and I were recapping the show when we got back to his house, Fuzzy came up in the conversation and I realized that it might be him who had contacted myself. One thing led to another and I ran into him yesterday morning. We had a grand discussion about his AMAZING pieces of art and yes - in fact he was the one that had contacted me. It's just a small, small world. Here's a link to his website. He's one very creative person and completely self-taught!!!  If you search on his website, you can find information about his work in a show in Oakville that opens this weekend. 

That's one of the reasons that I love these shows is to get to see the people. Yes, the quilts are important, but for me, it's the people!

We were fairly busy yesterday demoing machines to attendees. I learned a few things. I hate it when someone asks me a question and while I know part of the answer, I may not know the entire answer. So I dug out the manual and learned how to do Design Positioning on one of the models we have in the booth. It gets me every time. I know how, but then I miss one step and it doesn't make sense. So today, I'm going to make sure that I know how on all the machines.

Thank goodness I went in early yesterday because it took forever to get all the machines up and running. Where's the fabric, where's the stabilizer, where's the hoops and then find a design on the four embroidery machines and set them in slow motion to work. 

Most of the machines were already threaded so that was a good thing. I'm going in early again today, but this time, I get to walk around and see the quilts.

I did pop out for a bit later in the afternoon yesterday and saw some amazing quilts in the concurrent shows. And we had a lively discussion in the area of the modern quilts that were on display from one of the Canadian modern guilds. There's been a lot of chat about modern quilts and I think one day I'm going to do a post about it. It's confusing and yet it isn't when you think about the logic to it. I need to wait until my books are unpacked for that.

Speaking of packing, I don't have a start date yet, as they are trying to get the last minute details in place and oh boy - I'm so not looking forward to this. But at the same time, I want to get this done and be able to get back into Studio B and back to hosting the Sit n Sew days. I might even think about installing a new light or two and trying to see how I can reconfigure the space. Do I move my nice heavy sewing table up to Studio U???  That's a tough one, but it would make life easier in Studio B and more flexibility. I'd better come up with a plan real quick because when those movers come, they are the ones that are going to be moving it! Decisions!

I also hope to conceal ALL the excess in that storage room which by the time I get through with it, I hope it'll be empty of all the extra stuff that was stored there. Yikes - I need to be home and evaluating the situation!!! But I'll just evaluate in my mind!

I also hope to use the space in Studio B to much better advantage by rearranging some stuff and the layout because I want to do a lot more there than I've done in the past. Not only with the Sit n Sew days, but maybe some classes and definitely some events where we're working on some community project quilts. I NEED to get those five buckets of fabric that is earmarked for that used up. That is my goal - I want that studio to be a useable, friendly place to work and not have to keep clearing stuff up in order to make that happen. I'm determined to make that happen and it will!

I did eat much better yesterday. My dinner plans fell through or let's say they got juggled around and so it ended up that Paul and I went out to dinner. My secret plan worked. I've been wanting to chat to him about what we do as industry professionals and now I've got a captive audience. We've been able to bounce ideas off each other and it's been great.

What is my picture of the day? This is from a pillowcase class that I taught a couple of weeks ago. The gentleman was too shy to be in the picture. He had never sewn anything before or used a rotary cutter. He had never ironed before either. But his pillowcase was finished by the end of the class and he did an outstanding job. I was totally impressed. This was at Oh Look Fabric! Some days, teaching newbies how to sew and make a project at the same time can be a bit challenging, but when you see the smile on their face when the project is completed, it's worth the effort.

Pillowcase 

I forgot to bring the charger for my Fitbit and it's going to die today. Not sure that I'm going to find a charger for that while I'm here that I could borrow, but I'll ask around today to see what I come up with.

I was in bed fairly early last night which was good. I was very tired and needed my sleep. I'm pretty much back to normal this morning. Although I didn't pop out of bed when the alarm went off as I don't really have anything to do. But it's such a luxury to lie in bed and think and plan stuff and not have anything urgent on the plate.

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a super day and if you're around Quilt Canada - I'm in the Husqvarna booth!!!

Ciao!!!

Quilt Canada - Set Up Day

Ah - set up day. Such a fun day! It's one of those bittersweet days as you get to chat - very briefly with people you haven't seen in a while and you work. You work hard!

We had a lot of stuff to assemble and set up so it took a wee bit longer than it usually does.  I didn't seem to be in my best form yesterday as it seemed that I took 2 steps forward and then 5 steps backward as we got stuff organized. I should know better from all the years of doing set up at shows. Anyway - it doesn't matter.

I was on the small ladder hanging quilts and I was crawling under tables getting the electrical sorted out. There's nothing more exciting than turning on all the sewing machines and the lights and they all work because you've found a way to plug them all in. Let's just say that black carpet and black tablecloths make for some very dark situations under the table!

I didn't really get a chance to walk around and see what else or who else was setting up. I did see some of the crew from Mississauga who were hanging quilts. They had the fortune or misfortune to be hanging the Trendtex challenge near the back of the hall where the loading dock doors were open. At one point, we hear "HELP" and realized that the wind had caught their display and was in the process of toppling the entire section of pipe and drape. People ran to the rescue and soon everything was back in place.

Thankfully we didn't have any mishaps in our area. But I did end up bruising the heel of my hand. Ouch!! And my damn hands are getting so weak - it's driving me crazy. I must start to use my grippy things a bit more. Who would know that your hands would start to fail you! Makes me totally useless and I don't like that.

The awards ceremony started at 7 PM and we were just about finished by then so I popped to the hall next door to see the awards. Some gorgeous quilts in the show although we just saw photos of them at the awards ceremony. It's interesting to see who wins the awards and who doesn't. And you have no idea from looking at the photos as to the size of some of these pieces.

I grabbed a soup on the way home and then we chatted for a long while before retiring for the evening. Another late night and a wee glass of wine which I chased with glasses and glasses of water. I feel much better today. Tired, but at least awake!!

I think I have dinner plans for every evening and that's OK. A good time to meet up with people. Just juggling a few last things.

Here's my photo for today. This was taken a while ago in a class at Oh Look Fabric. It was a kimono class. These are very cute and just the thing to wear if you need to dress up an outfit. Make them casual, make them more elegant. And all three of the students finished them that evening. Not bad considering, they had to cut them out as well. I've forgotten the name of the pattern, but it was easy!!!

Class participants with their finished kimonos

So I need to change up my eating habits. I have no idea why I've fallen off the wagon. I've probably eaten more sugar last week and so far this week than I did all last year!  Why? I've no idea. I'm not even craving the darn stuff - it just seems "nice" to not behave. How stupid is that? So starting today???  Maybe, I'll wait until I'm back home and I'll get myself back in my normal groove.

On that note, I'm out of here to get ready for the show. Have to arrive early this morning to thread all the machines - yep - winding bobbins and threading machines - about 12 to 14 in total. No big deal!

If you're in the area of Ottawa and coming to Quilt Canada, pop by the Husqvarna Viking booth to say hello.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Travel Day - Toronto to Ottawa

I ran around the house like a busy, little bee and finished packing all the stuff. I sure do miss my larger car. But I was able to get everything in. It's not so much that this car is smaller, but there is less room in the back. I'll have to explain the difference one day.

I finished sewing the sleeve on that magazine quilt while I was at the Monday sewing. My massage appointment got canceled which was what I was waiting around for so I decided to leave as soon as the sleeve was on. I stopped at the UPS office and then back home for a quick stop to get my GPS. That's another story that deals with the car which I refuse to go into at the moment.

Let's just say that the weather didn't cooperate as far as driving goes. I hate driving in the rain. Well, I don't hate it. But I'd rather that it rained less. With all the big trucks on the road, there was a lot of spray from the vehicles.

And it poured for a good part of the way. Yeah!!  However, there were times when it wasn't pouring so not like the entire way was bad. Other than the rain, the most exciting thing that I saw was when a transport truck blew a tire right in front of me. Not immediately in front of me, but ahead of me. I had no idea what to expect but you couldn't miss the BANG and then the bits of rubber flying around. The driver of the truck immediately pulled over and the traffic around him slowed down so we were all good.

Some days I'm good on the road driving and some days I'm not. I was tired so I pulled into one of the service stations along the way and had a 20-minute snooze and then I was good to go the rest of the way. After I cleared the city (which took over ONE hour), I opened up my audiobook and listened to that. An interesting story about a grumpy old man who tries to commit suicide and fails twice (so far). It's called A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. 

An interesting character story. I notice I seem to be reading more of those these days. But they are interesting and fun to see how the characters interact with each other.

At last, I arrived at my destination. I could have stayed at a hotel, but that would be boring, so I'm staying with a quilting friend. We see each other from time to time, but don't have time to really chat so I thought this would be a good opportunity.

I got to bed much later than usual and after a glass of wine and with all that travel, it was IMPOSSIBLE to wake up this morning. I mean, I was even dreaming about it! Like a slug. I'm feeling better now. But yikes - totally useless. Thank god that doesn't happen to me on a regular basis - I'd get nothing done at home.

I have a couple extra of these label panels that you use for labels on quilts. Anyone interested in them??  You can see the entire panel here at the Northcott website. And if you want to see how to use them in your inkjet printer, I wrote instructions which you can find here.  I have two or three panels that are unspoken for. The cost per panel (which consists of 24 labels) is $11.  You can e-mail me if you're interested. Hopefully, you're close by so we don't need to worry about shipping.

Panel of labels

On that note, I'd better get myself downstairs and have breakfast. It's set up day - the favorite day of any show. NOT!!!  It's a lot of hard work. A lot of fussing and it's just a long day!  But we get to see people that we haven't seen in a long time or on a regular basis so it's a fun day as well. It's all in how you look at it - half empty or half full. Since it's something that I can't get out of doing, I might as well enjoy the day!

I see it's no longer raining here but looks windy and cool.

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Ultimate Book of Quilt Blocks Show n Tell

Had a great day of training yesterday and to my surprise when I walked in, I knew someone in the room. Used to be a student in some of my classes and I see her from time to time. What a neat surprise! Always like to keep in touch with people. This industry is small!!  I'm sure some of you know her as well, and if you don't, you will! She's going to be working in a quilt store soon. Not super close to me, but close enough. Country Concessions if you must know.

Last night was a bit of a crazy night as I had to do paperwork that I would normally do in the day time. And two more quilts got added to the list of "deadline" quilts. Happily, two got removed. One was removed because it was in a box and on its way south. The second was for the Trendtex challenge which will be on display and available to bid on at Quilt Canada which happens NEXT WEEK.  You must check out the information for Quilt Canada. It's going to be exciting and yes - I'll be there all week.

Check out the Trendtex Challenge. There are some incredibly clever quilts here. I had hoped to make one, but with all the moving of stuff, I couldn't even find the darn fabric. I found it last night after I concluded that it must be in the last place I hadn't looked and yes - there it was. So lesson learned, if you're going to do a challenge, don't wait. I'll take that fabric and incorporate it into my stash.

Quilt Canada, for those of you who don't know, is in Ottawa this year. The dates are June 12 - 15. If you're going to be in the area, come check it out. I'll be in the PFAFF booth or the Husqvarna Viking booth. You can check out all the details here.

The Canadian Quilter's Association which hosts Quilt Canada is attempting to include all quilters across Canada whether they make it to Quilt Canada or not. They have various activities like their 52-week block sew along, a mystery quilt just for members and a whole lot more. They are going to update the social platforms to keep those who can't attend in the know and lots of other things. If you're not a member why not? Let's support our CANADIAN quilt institute and keep Canadians quilting!! They have a great website and a great quarterly magazine.

Today's the day - we get to finally see some of the show and tell from the ongoing class that I'm hosting at The Hobby Horse.

Actually, today is the homework that came in from the previous month's class. What I love about these classes is that there is no penalty so if the work gets completed the following month, they can still bring it in.

This is the book that we're working from. Each block is represented twice. The second time, there's a wee tweak to the first one - mostly in the coloring. Which goes to show that any block can be remade.

I'm taking it a step further and discussing how the block can be modified or changed, not only by color, but by scale, value, but also how the block is constructed. It all depends on the block.

Ultimate Quilt Block Collection book by Lynne Goldsworthy

OH MY GOD - I just realized that I did NOT post the homework blocks from the previous month. ACK!!!!  I must do that!

Hard to believe but these two first blocks are the SAME block. Yep - just the light/dark have been reversed.

The positive version

And this is the negative version

That's totally amazing. Same block - same piecing. Totally different look.



Each month, I choose a number of blocks that the class could work on. While some of the students are working on different blocks to make one quilt, others are working on smaller projects.

These next two photos are the same block. The block is made up of four smaller blocks. In the first one, all four blocks are the same. In the second photo, there are two positive blocks and two negative blocks.

All four smaller blocks are identical

There are two positive and two negative blocks

Here's one more version of this block. Notice that the value contrast between the two fabrics is quite high. In the orange block above, there is a wee bit of bleeding as the lightest values of that print are bleeding into the white and not giving the sharpest lines like this block below. Also, the contrast between the dark purple and the white is greater than the contrast between the orange and the white.

High contrast in this version of the block

We also talk about how the block could be constructed differently depending on what you're doing with it.

Here's a different block. We chat about grid systems for various blocks and how they can be changed to make something totally different from the original pattern. Oh yes - the more I talk about what we're learning, the more I want to take the class. Oops - I'm teaching the class!!!  It's an exciting class. Too late to sign up for this run, but we can always run it again if anyone is interested. Coming to class and learning from seeing what the others did is HUGE. Oh yes - I'm learning from my students almost as much as they are learning from me!

This next block was all about value placement. I do love the colors in this block. Even though there is light, medium, and dark in this block, the dark is very dominating while the two mediums are similar in value and color and tend to blend into each other. The beauty of it all? There's no right or wrong. It's just about understanding why something works or doesn't work according to your eye.

Gorgeous teal block

Oh, shoot - as I'm looking at these next two blocks which were bonus blocks in the back of the book, I see that BOTH people made the same mistake. And I missed it in class. I'm pretty sure I missed it in class. Can you spot the mistake? Well, technically it's not a mistake, but changing it would make assembly a whole lot easier. I'll e-mail the group about that as I think they are making quilts from these blocks.

Same block, two different colorways. Both are very exciting. What's nice about this block is that it is fast, especially if you chain piece. And we love chain piecing.

Blue/purple version 

Black/grey and red version

Wow - that's exciting. I hope to get another bit of show n tell up tomorrow. I spent the greater part of last night immersed in quilt design stuff.

I have to laugh. I have a super busy week this week and I'm away most of next week. And I have a lot of stuff that needs to get done before and after I leave the house each day. I'm hyped! I probably got more done last night than I would have if I were home all morning. My brain just thrives on this kind of "pressure". I crank out e-mails, thoughts, designs in no time flat. Case in point, I'm using a specific collection to design a quilt. You'll laugh when you see it. But I had no idea what to do with the fabric collection. Then on the highway yesterday - BAM - the idea just came to me and now the quilt is almost designed. I've no idea how that happens, but it does. I love it!

I honestly don't know what I would do if I retire. Yes - I can sew and read all day, but it's this busyness and keeping in the loop and designing and writing and having deadlines - well - that's what keeps me awake!! I'd probably sleep all day without that happening in my life!!!

On that note, I'm out of here. Got a few more e-mails to crank out before I leave.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!