Prepping for Quilt Canada

Will the chaos ever end? I contemplate this every day! Will there ever be a lull in my life when I can work on my things and spend time as I wish? I get pockets of that, but then something crazy happens, and chaos ensues! 

Let's hope that in the fall, with fewer class commitments, that will be the case. We'll just have to see how that works out, as my schedule for September includes a Facebook Live, a two-day embroidery workshop, a seven-day quilting retreat, and the Buckhorn Quilt Show, where I'm the featured quilter. I won't be home for much of August! ACK! I can see it now! July will be all about prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! Prep! 

After that - it should be smooth sailing. Just say NO!! But when a great opportunity comes along, how can you say no? At least with fewer classes, there will be more time to focus on these bigger events. The quilt retreat will be fun, and no prep is involved! 

As for prepping for Quilt Canada, I think everything is under control. There is a lot of paperwork to accomplish today and some more printing, but I will do what I can. At the very least, there are 30 quilts to display, and the quilts are the most important part! Do I dare say that it shouldn't be too big of a deal to get the rest of the paperwork completed? LOL!!!! I can see it now - it's 3 AM and I'm still struggling with something! 

I got to bed much later than usual, but all is good. 

To my knowledge, there are still four quilts that need a quilt sleeve pinned on. And one binding needs to be on a quilt—don't ask the story about that one. It is a quilt of mine that needs the binding. I hope there are no more surprises. 

I have a bag of quilt sleeves that I use for temporary sleeves. EVERYONE should have one or two of these! Mine are various lengths, which is good since the six quilts that needed sleeves are of various widths. I laid the sleeves on the first quilt and picked the one that worked the best. Two are on, and I was able to find a sleeve the exact length required! Will I get so lucky with the last four? 

Finding the appropriate size sleeve

And in case you don't know what a pinned-on sleeve looks like, here's a picture. The sleeve is a fabric tube, and I pin it on the top and bottom using safety pins! It's super simple! 

The sleeve is pinned to the quilt

I need to make the setup and tear down super easy for the volunteers, so there is a little more work required on my part to make it easy for them. That work is almost complete! When in doubt, add more information, make a list, and print a label! 

Stop by and say hello if you come to Quilt Canada. You'll find me in the SVP Booth - Husqvarna Viking, PFAFF, and Singer. My rejected Cherrywood Challenge will be on display in the Husqvarna Viking booth. And you can check out my show, "Celebrating 25 Years of Teaching Quiltmaking". That is in booths 500-599. It's so exciting to see it all come together, and there is that trip down memory lane surprise to share with you! Plus, I have a quilt in the Trendtex Challenge. Check that out as it was a tremendous amount of hand work, but it looks fantastic!!! Lots to see and do! 

I quilted another quilt yesterday, which you can't see yet. And there goes another roll of batting! I seem to be ripping through the rolls, but that is good. There are many quilts that need to be quilted, and I must get to them! It would be so nice to reduce the number of those quilts, and I have plans for that. I must look into another batting order - I like to keep a bit on hand. 

Another roll of batting bites the dust

I've mentioned this before, but when I quilt with the computerized long arm, I use a small piece of tape as a marker to advance the quilt. When stitching, I often place it on the rolled-up quilt top so I don't stitch over the tape. Sometimes, it gets caught on my sleeve and I can't find it. I couldn't find the tape yesterday, so I got a new piece of tape. Oh, it turns out the tape was attached to the front of my T-shirt in a very strategic spot! 

Since I already had a new piece of tape, I placed it on the wall for the next quilt. For the remainder of the day, every time I spotted that tape out of the corner of my eye, I thought it was a bug! 

A tape bug

Of course, Miss Murphy is a bit upset because there is a lot of packing and stuff going on, and she has no idea what is happening. I heard her snuffling in the corner as I finished a quilt last night. 

Mom - I can't settle!

Turns out she didn't like the way the mat was placed. This is how I found her this morning. What a nice, dark, and cool corner to sleep in! 

Mom - this is much better!

As I sat in the gazebo yesterday for a short break and a snack, I watched the bees in the flowering bushes. With my Zoom settings on the phone, I easily got this picture. Not the best, but that bee did not want to stay still. He was like a kid in a candy shop and didn't know where to turn first! 

A bee is doing its thing

And now there are FOUR blooms on the pond. The thing is going to go crazy in the next month. I love that we do NOTHING for the fish or the plants. They just grow and thrive on their own. I only have to clean the filter for the pump and top up the pond if the level goes low. But the sound of the water? I love it! 

Four blooms in the pond

And of course, my faithful, not-so-helpful companion is everywhere! 

MOM - I need sunglasses! 

My dentist still hasn't called me to make an appointment to fix my tooth. It's a bit rough around the edges, but it's not a crisis, and I don't have time anyway! 

We were supposed to get our yellow fever vaccines yesterday, but let's say DH threw a monkey wrench into the mix, and the appointments had to be rescheduled. I refused to reschedule with him, so we will do separate appointments. Sigh. It's going to be a fun vacation—it's going to be a fun vacation—it's going to be a fun vacation. Now you know why we NEVER travel together. 

Here's one thing about my walks: They are the best planning time in the world. I envision things, make up mental lists, look at various scenarios, and so much more. Then, when it's time to execute the plan, it comes out like a hot knife through butter. Yes, sometimes there are things I haven't considered, but with all my experience, I can usually make stuff on the fly! It's all a part of life! If you say something with confidence and authority, it's believable! That's actually a big issue today! Too many people are spewing falsehoods confidently, and we are getting into trouble. 

About all those SOs: I know I still say it a lot on Zoom—A LOT. But I'm catching myself doing it now. That means I will be able to correct it, but it's going to take time, and I only have ONE Zoom left for June! I will continue to work on fixing that little habit. Then I'll move to the next one! 

And on that happy note, it's time to start the day! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

The end of things

Oh my -- I'm as busy as ever and wasn't August supposed to be a quiet month? Well - it will be, starting tomorrow! HA - no laughing!! It seems that everything I'm working on, I still can't share with you! How crazy is that?

I finished off the second quilt for Quilts of Valour yesterday. The binding got put on by machine, and the sleeve got hand stitched in place. In case you're wondering, that particular quilt hanger is a rod with clips in case the quilt doesn't have a sleeve. This quilt needed a sleeve so the clips are just hanging there.

The sleeve is on the Quilts of Valour quilt

This is a quilt that I designed for QoV and will be used as a fund-raiser for them. They are in the process of putting my quilt and three other designer's quilts in their newsletter, which will go out shortly. Then you can see the quilt that I designed. I had to make it twice - once with the Oh Canada fabrics by Northcott and once in a blender collection. I chose the Dublin collection, which I LOVE. Anyway - enough about that - you'll see it shortly in their newsletter.

We had Monday sewing, and I'm finding that it's easier to do handwork while we chatting and I have a fair bit of stuff sitting in the handwork basket that needs to be done. After the other quilt was finished, I grabbed this challenge quilt that I made earlier this summer and hand-stitched the facing to it. It still needs some sort of hanging device on the back.

The facing is hand-stitched in place

This is part of a challenge for the Canadian Quilter's Association - the Try A Triad Challenge. They will be putting the quilts online shortly, and then you can vote on them. It's for that reason that you don't get to see the front of the piece.

Now that I have a plan for Mondays, I should be able to whip through that pile of handwork. There's not much, but a quilt that needs to have the binding hand-stitched, two sleeves, two labels, and a bit more ripping. A couple more Mondays, and that pile will be gone!

I had a pleasant surprise when I checked my progress on the Route 66 Virtual Challenge. They've added percentages along the route! I'm 67% of the way, and now I know where the next significant milestone is - 80%. I should be out of New Mexico in the next five days. I just keep marching along!

The remainder of the route for Route 66

Is anyone else doing any of these Virtual Challenges?? Some challenges are much shorter than this one. Of course - we have to go BIG.

I forgot to mention that yesterday was the first day of my week to blog on QUILTsocial. So now you have TWO days to catch up on.

I'm working with the Husqvarna Viking Designer Brilliance 80 this week. If you're in the market for an embroidery machine, this is a great machine. Check out the blog posts to see why. Even if you're not in the market for a new sewing machine, I offer a lot of tips and inspiration to make some great gifts. During the week, I also compiled a Christmas Wish List, so you might find an item or two to add to your Christmas Wish List.

QUILTsocial - Monday post

QUILTsocial - Tuesday post


On that note, today is short and sweet. I'm off on a road trip for the day. Tomorrow we leave for the retreat (I know - don't ask), and I still have a few things to prep as well as a couple of e-mails that have to be dealt with today!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Multitasking is not a good thing

I really do need to create a list of lost items. Not that that is going to help me find the missing items, but at least I'll know what I can't find and I can celebrate when I find the darn things. Like those bodkins and the doll patterns and a person's phone number and, and. I might have a stab at creating that list later today.

I actually got excited yesterday. Why? Because I had a couple of errands in the afternoon and another Zoom call. I had THINGS to do! I had three things to mail at the post office so that was my big excursion. It was a non-event. I was the only person in the store beside the clerk and she took my items, I paid with my debit card, and I was out of there.

I had to pick up something from Diane - more on that by the end of the week. And I had a great call with a friend. But besides that, I got a lot accomplished yesterday. I've realized that the more time one spends on the computer (and going through e-mail), the less one gets done in a day. I try to limit my time on e-mail, and I figured I'd have to spend 3 or 4 or sometimes even more hours in a day to keep the mailbox clean. That's not going to happen at my house.

I try to deal with the personal e-mails first and there are a few that I need to respond to. I haven't forgotten you! Then I try to deal with the work ones and lastly the ones from mailing lists. I check my favorite links first and then the rest - well. I'm not sure how to deal with it all. I don't want to delete myself from some of the lists as I do like to see what's currently selling in the quilting world even if I'm not buying.

These days, there is much more than just e-mail. People might send a text, or an Instagram message or through Facebook or Instagram. And let's not forget What's App. It can be a lot to digest in a single day and you could really spend a lot of time keeping up with it all. Matter of fact, you could spend the entire day! And as much as I love you all, I don't want to spend my entire day responding or reacting to messages and pictures. I aim for a happy medium.

I have to mention a new author (new to me) that I finished the audiobook yesterday. The Widow by Fiona Barton. Oh boy -- this is a thriller and it was great right to the end. I seem to be reading books set in Europe these days. First, it was France, then the UK, and my current one is set in Sweden. The bonus of the audiobooks is that the narrators use the accents that pertain to the region and it makes the book so much more interesting. I LOVE it. Anyway - if you haven't read The Widow and like physiological thrillers - this one is good.

I was busy as a bee yesterday. I did clean a few more things off the worktables. I tell you, why or why do we collect those little trinkets that we pick up at shows? The companies make them so darn enticing - shiny! And we NEED to pick them up. Seriously??? I think they should ban that kind of stuff. It just becomes junk when we get home. I think that's the worst problem that I'm dealing with. I'll be sharing some of those "treasures" with you.

I think with anything - the BIGGEST issue we all face is making the decision. Do I keep? Do I recycle? Do I give away? Or sell? Or repurpose? Or whatever - but we tend to fall short on making decisions and so stuff becomes clutter. I'm getting better at making decisions. Whether it's right or wrong - just make a decision and move on!!!

I think I now have ALL my embroidery floss in one area. I seem to have inherited quite a bit from other sources over the years and now it resides in one container and one basket. I'm sure that could be compressed a wee bit if I went in and sorted it a bit more. But my goal is to get like items together. Then I can sort through the stuff another day.

Two containers of embroidery floss

And there's one container with Perle Cotton.

Perle Cotton

Then I looked at some of the patterns that were sitting on the table. Oh boy - There's a small handful of some OLD patterns. When I gave all my patterns away last year, I went through the containers and kept a few as keepsakes. Don't ask - I'm allowed. There are less than 10. But what about those patterns on the right and in the middle. Do you all remember those?? That was the sort of thing that was being designed (and made) just as I was getting into quilting. Oh - yes - I can so see myself with that sweatshirt with the big flowers on the front! NOT!!!! And that dress? I don't think that's going to happen. It's just not my style.

Clothing patterns

I'm sure that no one wants those patterns. And I'm sure they have been circulated a few times from one household to another. So here's the thing - do I do us all a favor and toss them? I think I should. However - should anyone be interested, I can provide better pictures and you're welcome to them. Otherwise, I think I'm going to recycle them.

Some of the clothing patterns are definitely vintage - or close to it since vintage is supposed to be 100 years. Look at this little pattern for making a doll dress (16" doll). It's very old. I'm keeping that little stack for me. Just because!

Vintage doll pattern

I got the binding completely sewn on the wall hanging. The sleeve got made as well. It's pinned in place and now needs to be hand-stitched.

The sleeve is ready to be handstitched 

 I got a customer quilt done. Yeah!!! I'll get it trimmed today so it can be picked up later this week. The next quilt is already loaded and ready to go this morning.

Customer quilt - DONE

I got the border on this quilt that is going to Quilts of Valour. The binding and the backing got made as well and it's in the queue to be quilted this month.

Quilt top, backing and binding ready to be quilted

My current audiobook needs to go back in 4 days so I have a lot to listen to over the next couple of days. I decided to continue sewing in Studio B and got this little quilt together. This is the one that I ripped apart the day before. The one that had Cuddle, flannel, and cotton in it. The brown border and the corner blocks were supposed to be Cuddle. I substituted cotton for both. I realized when I went to press the last border that I sewed it on upside down (there's a directional print) so that has to come off today.

Small quilt is back together

I checked the hunk of fabric (flannel) for the backing. Of course, it's not the right size. So I'll have to find something else. I was thinking of adding another border to make it a little bit larger. It's 30 by 36. I'll see what I do about it later today. I might even replace the flannel as well. I should have done that right off the bat.  You know- we all talk about multi-tasking, but I am NOT good at it.

If I'm listening to an audiobook, I need a totally mindless task to do. I can't think about two things at the same time. Stop the book and PLAN, then do the mindless sewing. Oh well - I'm not worried about it. It's not like I have anything with a deadline right at the moment. OK - that's a total lie, but you know what I mean.

I'm just plugging away at the piles - one thing at a time with the odd small (new) thing thrown in. I'm loving this process.

I got this block back in one piece (and all points are now going in the right direction) and the seams are pressed to my satisfaction. I'm happy and the block will be filed away with the other Christmas Fig blocks.

Christmas Fig block

In my cleaning, I found a little bag of half-square triangles. Already trimmed so later today, those will be placed with the others in the tin.

Half-square triangles

I trimmed the last of the random ones sitting on the cutting table and those will also be filed away later today. It's one thing to get these things sewn and then trimmed, but one must be diligent about putting things in their permanent home or it becomes clutter. Ask me how I know that!!!

More half-square triangles trimmed

AHA -- it was time to grab something NEW from the laundry basket. Remember - this isn't new - it's just the process of whittling down some stuff that's been hanging around.

I grabbed this. Now - you're NOT allowed to judge me. I like to fiddle with small things and I'm a keeper of all things. This was in one of the scrap bags from a while back. I had embroidered snowflakes on the border of a Santa quilt. I didn't like the look, so I ended up appliqueing snowflakes. What to do with the border? Instead of trashing it, I saved it with the scraps and never dealt with it.

The seam is split open

I managed to get FIVE little blocks with embroidery on them. This last one was on the mitered corner seam. And the seam had started to come open. What to do? I zigzagged the seam back together and then cut out the block.

That required setting up the sewing machine for something other than a straight stitch. I do love the safety setting. Even though I choose a zigzag stitch, the machine wouldn't sew anything but a straight stitch UNTIL I turned off the Stitch Width Safety. Thank you Opal 690Q by Husqvarna Viking for that little safety feature.

Safety message

And why is that important? because I like to sew with my Straight Stitch plate on the sewing machine. So I switched stitch plates, changed the foot, and changed the threads to bobbin weight thread and decorative thread.

Rejigging the sewing machine for decorative stitches

Here's a picture of my repaired snowflake block.

The repaired snowflake block

And here are the six blocks. Now to find something to make with them. In the meantime, they go into the orphan block box.

Six embroidered snowflake blocks

So with that small task out of the way, it was time to choose one more "new" project from the laundry basket. I choose this one.

NEW project

This shouldn't take that long to finish. The applique is all fused in place, but I like to do a satin stitch around the raw edges. It's just a "ME" thing. The stitching is completed around the lettering, but not the cat, the bats, the stars and the moon. I had brought up the necessary supplies (thread and stabilizer) and I was ready to go.

I managed to get one of the bats done this morning. All those points, but when you know how to turn the corners and you have a sewing machine (the Opal 690Q) with the most AMAZING satin stitch ever, well, it goes fast.

One of the bats is done

Here's a closeup of one of the points. Not bad!!  And I have WHITE Bobbin thread in the machine. Like I said, the satin stitch (not a compressed zigzag) is the BEST ever.

Detail of turning the corner with satin stitch

A quick update on the backyard. Those lily pads are growing like weeds and the leaves hit the surface a couple of days ago. This is a picture I snapped when it was feeding frenzy time. Those fish are little pigs. They love to eat.

A feeding frenzy in the pond

I've got a load of things to get done today and one of them is to finish off my presentation TONIGHT on needles.

Sewing machine needles

Here's the information to get into the presentation. You should just be able to click on the link and that'll take you to the meeting. You shouldn't need the ID or the password. But just in case.


Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89221265363?pwd=SWxkV0srSFAxd2s5dmFGSDJvWURuZz09

Meeting ID: 892 2126 5363
Password: 480367

 I was hoping to set it up as a webinar, but I can't do that. So it's going to be like a meeting and we can have up to 100 people attend. I really just want to test the format and my tools and see how it goes. I'll welcome any feedback. There'll be a chat room on the right-hand side of the screen so you can ask questions. I'll explain all when we're at the meeting. And if you have any specific questions, you can send them to my e-mail and I'll try to have answers by tonight.

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

Have a super day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!

It's all relative!

How do you handle a task that you dread doing? You procrastinate, you learn about it, you procrastinate, you talk to friends about it, you procrastinate, and then finally months later, you attempt the task. You hate it. The next time that task comes around, you still procrastinate, but you're not so leery. You may still need to get the instructions out. But here's the good news - there will come a day when you don't think twice about that task.

My task, believe it or not, was binding a quilt. Now I've bound a lot of quilts in my time, but at the beginning, it was an ordeal. And if the binding had to be hand-stitched? Well, I'd have a stack of quilts a mile high sitting here. I learned to do binding by sewing machine and I won't look back unless it's a super special quilt - then I'll break down and do it by hand.

These days, I could almost bind a quilt blindfolded!

Going for a walk was the same thing. I love to walk, but I would never consider walking the distances that I'm currently walking. That's too far! I used to think I was giving the girls a good walk by going to the library and back (maybe a 20-minute walk total). Then I started to expand that a little bit to get that stretch goal of mine. And now? I have no issues going for more than one hour at a time.

I used to think that I could walk the girls to the dog park (we haven't been in a long, long time), but that's far away. Well, yesterday, we walked to a major street, then turned left, walked down to the next major street, turned left, walked to the next major street (walked past the mall and then walked past the dog park on the far side from my house), turned left and up to the next major street and back home. Over 7000 steps. I think even Murphy was feeling a wee bit tired when we got home - just a wee bit.

Here are some observations from that walk. Oh - and this is what I'm grateful for today. The ability to WALK. Walking is a skill that one needs to do every day to keep up that skill. Yep -- some people can't walk for whatever reason, and many people can walk, yet choose to walk very little. And as we get older and it's comfier to stay inside and we walk less, we can lose the ability to walk. I know - that's darn scary.

As I get older, and walking further, I'm not a fan of walking when the sidewalks are the slight bit slippery so when I'm stuck in an apartment or wherever I end up, I'll be walking those halls! Do I care what people think of me? Not in the least.

So the world is experiencing a pandemic at the moment. In the beginning, people were desperate to get gloves and masks, although gloves don't seem to be as important anymore. But why or why do people who are freaked out by the germs enough to get gloves, feel it's OK to just toss them on the sidewalks???

A used glove

Another used glove

 There are dozens of used gloves just tossed aside. I don't get it. Do these people think the glove fairy is going to come along and pick up their germ-filled glove? Seriously???

I've seen masks in the past, but I only saw one yesterday so I'm not sure what has happened to the other ones that were tossed. But the same thing - if it was important enough for you to get a mask to protect yourself or to protect others, why toss the used mask on the sidewalk?

Used mask

I'm fascinated by some of the buildings near me. This one in particular and it's so hard to really look at it when you're in the car so I stopped to snap a couple of pictures. I know I've posted before, but it's just a beautiful building.

The Arc

And here's my favorite view of it.

The end of The Arc

Other than an hour very early in the morning, I didn't turn on a single sewing machine yesterday. Not the long arm, not the serger, not a sewing machine. I had a couple of calls that went on for a wee bit of time in both cases. But that's OK - both calls were with friends and we talked for a LONG, LONG time to catch up. I managed to solve two problems that they were having. One with EQ8 and the other was with QuiltPath which is the software that drives the long arm.

I just sat in front of my computers and was able to run them through their questions and a lesson or two. It was great.

But once that was over, I decided it was time to do something that I was supposed to do before Christmas. My QuiltPath computer needs to be updated. I have put it off and put it off and I decided that since the computer was NOT on the long arm (having removed it for the phone call) that this was as good a time as any.

The computer is a very simple thing. It's just a tablet. Yep - a Windows-based tablet. Hard to believe that something so small is so powerful.

The tablet that runs the long arm

I had received the documentation which looked daunting which is why I put it off. So I bit the bullet and got started. I had to back up all my digital quilting patterns onto a USB - just in case something went wrong. Then I had to download and install the latest upgrade for Windows 10. Now here's the thing about APQS (American Professional Quilting Systems). The document to do this upgrade and get all the settings back to normal BEFORE I start upgrading the actual software to run the long arm is FIFTEEN pages long. See what I mean about daunting?

Well, most of that was pictures - very clear and explicit pictures on what the screen should look like, etc. It really wasn't that big of a deal. But I love how you get these big messages on the screen - I'm guessing that's because people are impatient and then really screw things up!!!!

Waiting for the tablet to restart

I'm on page 10 of the Windows upgrade instructions. Only five pages to go, but I ran out of time last night and I'm sure that most of this is just checking the settings so it shouldn't take too long to finish off those instructions. And then I'm going to tackle the second upgrade. Hopefully, it'll all be done today and I'll be good to go.

Speaking of computers - I'm doing it again. You can't really see in this picture (oh yes you can), but I have a LOT of windows open along the top of that screen. I can't help it - I find something that I want to investigate further and it sits there for a day or two. It's just hard to get to all of them. There's so much to see and read and check out.

My computer screen

 I will say that if you're looking for something to do and you have some Creative Grids rulers, you should check out their YouTube videos. They have a TON of very good information about how to get the most use out of their specialty rulers. I was very impressed when I was reviewing a video for the Wonky Triangle Ruler.

So what else did I find in those two cabinets beneath the sewing table? The User's Guide for the H|Class 100Q that I sent to M. Of course, I couldn't find the book when the sewing machine went, but I have it now and I'll be sending it to her.

User's Guide to the H|Class 100Q

That machine doesn't have all the bells and whistles of my big ones, but it's a great little sewing machine.

I found some practice quilt sandwiches which I think are totally used up. Time to let this one go.

A practice quilt sandwich

A sewing machine cover for my Husqvarna Mega Quilter. Oh boy - I don't think this cover has ever been used. The sewing machine is in the Stash Room so I took the cover down and put it on the machine. 

Sewing machine cover

 There was a cover on the machine, but it didn't fit as nicely as the one that is supposed to be on it. I'm just amazed at myself at how I didn't want to use the proper things? Like why hasn't this cover been on that machine from Day One to keep the dust and lint out?

The cover is now on the sewing machine

The cover that was on the Mega Quilter, is very pretty, but it's NOT huge. I tried it on the Husqvarna Viking Ruby deLuxe that is sitting in my small cabinet in Studio B. It barely fits.

The sewing machine cover barely fits this machine

Hmm - I also found a stash of plastic pellets and some crushed walnut shells that you use for filling a pin cushion. Funny, I had found two other packs of pellets somewhere and didn't know what to do with them. They are all together now in the drawer. The trick is going to be remembering that that stuff is in that drawer. I'm not sure that it's the best place for it, but for now - it's all together.

Plastic pellets and crushed walnut shells

 I guess I'm going to have to make some stuffies or something to use up those pellets. I've got a LOT of them. Again - seemed like a good idea at the time and cheap - so why not buy MORE.

Let's see - I also found all this. What the heck???  Oh yes - this is for the Featherweight sewing machine. Oh boy - I had completely forgotten I had this stuff. It's all now in a box and I put it in one of the drawers in one of those cabinets.

Supplies for the Featherweight sewing machine

And I found this stuff in a drawer. Oh boy - I wouldn't have remembered that it was there.

Bits and pieces that belong to several sewing machines

This is the foot pedal and power cord to several other sewing machines. The Mega Quilter and the Embellisher (for felting). Yikes - I'm not sure this is the best place for this. I'm thinking I have some room in a set of drawers by the long arm and that might be a better place to store all extra things for the machines. I'll check that out later today and maybe move the stuff and then I can use the drawer for something else. What? I don't know but I'm sure I"ll find something.


I have four drawer units in Studio U and none in Studio B. I might empty one of the units upstairs and then take it downstairs with some basic supplies so I don't need to run up and down, although that's amazing exercise!!! I'll see how it goes - for the moment, things are neat and tidy and together so I'm not worried about it.

I got another inspiration board hung up the other day. I really need to go through all the stuff hanging on it and see what can be tossed. For the moment, it's hanging up and stays as is!

One more inspiration board hung up

Here are some bindings that I finished off the day before. The binding is now on this quilt.

The binding is now on this quilt

I made the binding for this scrappy flannel quilt that I quilted the other day. It's now completely sewn on the quilt and in the pile of quilts to be donated to Project Linus. Oh - I didn't post the picture of this quilt. I'll find it and post it. Just a bunch of scrappy blocks made with flannel bits.

One more quilt - DONE

Here's the picture of the quilt.

Community projects quilt - DONE

As I've been cleaning up, I've come across several quilts that needed a sleeve attached. This one had a temporary sleeve pinned on. It now has a permanent sleeve that is hand-stitched in place.

Prepping the hanging sleeve 

I couldn't find any of that backing fabric, but I found something that works just fine. I watched another episode of The Quilt Show while I stitched that in place.


Here's one more quilt on the Princess bed. I think I have most of the lap-sized quilts on the bed now and starting to put some of the small ones on. You would NOT believe how high that bed is.

More quilts on the princess and the pea bed

I don't think the Princess panel is out yet, but I want one!!!

As I was messing around with the computer yesterday, I came across this photo which I have to share with you. What is this? OH MY GOD - it's STUDIO B. I don't know when the picture was taken, but look at that mess!!!!!  We've come a LONG WAY from that mess.

What Studio B used to look like

I just laugh and shake my head that I could even work in there. If only I could find some of the very early pictures of the heaping cutting tables. It's shocking that I put up with it and that I even allowed it to happen in the first place. NO MORE.

If you're looking for something to do, here's a virtual art show from a gallery. There are loads of these virtual shows out there so we can never be wanting for something to look at.

Now - I've got a question for you - has anyone participated in an online class using Zoom technology or other technology?? If so, can you send me the link or e-mail me?? I'm going to do some more investigation about this as I really think that many of the classes and venues I teach at, will NOT be hosting group classes for a while.

On that note, I'm out of here. More admin work regarding upcoming quilts, more computer work and hopefully some sewing time.

But first, it's a walk with the girls. What's with this weather??? I'm a patient person, but even I'm getting tired of this cold, windy weather.

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!