A mitten review

Yikes—after the clothes comments, I'd better get myself organized and get rid of some of these excess clothes! I use the dryer all the time, but I don't wear once and wash. It's a T-shirt, I'm in the house and practically have a desk job, I'm not a stinky person, and YES - most of my clothes are old. I wear them until they wear out, which takes a long, long time. The poor sweatshirt I'm wearing this morning is probably 20 years old. It's faded, and I am hoping to replace it with one of the new ones I plan to make. 

I've worn the same bicycle t-shirts for eons, and I see some of them are getting thin, and one has a tiny hole. NO!!!!!! It's time to retire them and dig out a new batch. 

And are you all like me? A drawer full of T-shirts, and I wear the same ones over and over again? 

Yep -- it's time for a serious decluttering. Since the clothes are primarily stored in categories, I might take one category at a time. Or, since DH and SIL will be out of the house later this week, I can literally take all the clothes out, place them on the bedroom floor, and do the mass sort there. Both of them would think I've lost my marbles if I do it while they are around. 

It's a date! Thursday it is!!! I've even put it in my calendar!

But I won't be donating anything until next year. The coupons they hand out are good until the end of the year, but I don't need one right now! I used my last one the other day, and I don't need to buy anything new. 

I got such a chuckle yesterday when listening to some music. We have a family Spotify account, and I have finally gotten the hang of pairing different devices and actually listening to the playlists. I have a playlist we typically play at the retreat that runs almost 12 hours. I like John Denver, and a "few" of his songs are on my playlist. It never fails that John comes up, but not too often. 

For a change (yes, sometimes change is good!), I've been listening to the Spotify playlists. Guess who came up yesterday? Yep --- dear John!!! This Spotify playlist is called Summer Hits of the 70s. Oh, what memories are on that playlist! He was a thing back in the 70s. Such a sad ending to his story. 

John Denver on the Spotify playlist

The two presentations went over well, but I did NOT complete the follow-up I wanted, and I MUST get it done this morning. Then I'm "homefree" to work on my stuff. Well, I must work on that UFO bucket of things for next weekend. 

I worked on some machine embroidery yesterday, and the project is so darn cute, but I can't share until it's been gifted. I have to make one for myself! But yesterday was all about this. We rolled the die, and yes—a quilt needed the binding attached. 

Job for today - bind a quilt!

My SIL is very lucky because she has a teacher at her beck and call to guide her through every step of making a quilt. She did a pretty decent job of attaching the binding, and there is so much to learn. She'll have to make a couple more quilts before she gets the hang of it on her own, but I'm impressed. And yes, she is already dreaming of making the next quilt! 

I'm currently working on this quilt - Farm Girl Vintage for the Many Blocks class. I was hoping to get the entire quilt top (block part) done for yesterday's session, but I didn't quite make it, but I'm close. I got a bit more accomplished last night, and I want this done, including all the flying geese for the inner border. 

Progress on Farm Girl Vintage

I should share what people are doing in the Many Blocks class because everyone is making pretty decent progress on some very intense quilts! I don't have time this morning as I'm off to spin class shortly, in my 15-year-old bicycle shorts. I'll share their progress tomorrow. 

We all agreed that we need to set goals for 2026 for what we would like to accomplish in this group. I have a plan for my 2026 goals, and the first step was to purchase an over-the-door hanger. Cliff hanger!!!! Hopefully, you see why I needed that hanger tomorrow, and if not tomorrow, then certainly by the end of the week. Perhaps this is something I can work on during Monday Sewing today. 

I also want to share the progress on my Colour My World now that the group has seen it. 

Current status of Colour My World

The center compass is done, as well as the inner row of houses. And I have two of the tall buildings done. I need to finish this month's homework and make 6 more tall buildings. And then it'll be time to start the January homework. I changed the tree tops from green to orange and am using batiks. The quilt is bright and very colorful, and I can't wait to complete it! It's all about baby steps and doing a little bit each month. The curves are tricky -- well, there really isn't any sewing curves yet, but getting that circle of houses flat was a bit tricky. All is good. 

I also managed to press and trim more half-square triangles. I am determined to clear up that little basket and keep on top of the ones I sew while working on my quilt tops. At some point, I'm going to have to start stitching these little things together because I have buckets of them - all trimmed and ready to sew together. I have several patterns in mind - just not there yet. 

More half-squrae triangles 

Ok -- I have amitten review for you. I wore my new mittens for my afternoon walk yesterday. It was minus 8 with a wind chill of about minus 12, and wind with knitted mittens is never a good thing. I'm happy to report that I walked carefree yesterday, my hands swinging freely, and felt not a single bit of wind through those mittens. The felted mittens make for a windproof barrier. I was jumping up and down with glee. I went to the hardware store, came home with a tote box in one hand and some driveway rods in the other, and had no issues carrying them home with my mitts. NO need for putting my hands in my pockets to keep them warm. Hmmm -- I wish I had them when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro! I bet they would have kept my hands toasty warm and would have taken up less room in my backpack than the ski gloves I took! I need to go back to test them!

I LOVE the mittens and again  - a HUGE thank you to the maker. 

THE mittens

Now, if you want to make a pair for yourself, the pattern is on Ravelry. They are called Aran Felted Mittens, and the pattern is $6 USD. They are knitted HUGE and then felted, but they are amazing. They are a bit stiff at the moment, but after a few wears, they will start to mold to my hands. I love them!!!! I didn't get a picture of the mittens with my coat, but they are a perfect match for my orange Patagonia down sweater. Hmmm --- I wonder about a felted toque? I like my new toque, but it seems a bit short, and my ears got cold yesterday. 

When I got home, I "needed" to tidy up a few spots of ice in the driveway that drive me mad - I want a super clean, dry driveway, and the mitts are NOT suitable for shoveling, which I knew. Who shovels the driveway with mittens? You need gloves to get a grip on the shovel handle. I'm very anal about the ice in the driveway, and the two remaining spots of ice are simply because someone drove over the snow and packed it before I could shovel it. It's at the bottom of the driveway, and no one is in danger of falling. I am not a fan of putting sand or salt on my driveway, so good old-fashioned shoveling and the power of the sun do the work for me! 

How anal am I? I even shovel a foot into the street. Oh dear! 

And now it's time to get to the gym and see how many KMs I can crank out this morning. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!

Think outside the box!!!

OH MY --- I LOVE the Christmas gift exchange idea that was posted as a comment on the blog yesterday. Give a recycled item in good condition to someone! Of course, you don't spring this on people - you ask first if they are OK with the concept. It must have been a hit because they are doing it again this year. An elegant way to recycle and gift at the same time. I love it! Imagine the conversations you could have about the items you are giving? That would be the best part! 

And I have several suggestions for fixing the hat, so that is on the list of things to do this coming week. I wore my toque yesterday, and it was warm, but I still prefer my hat. I checked the Tilley website, and they no longer sell that style of hat. It's all about toques. I forgot to take a picture of it yesterday. 

I'm sure I must have posted it on my blog at some point, but I can't find the picture. However, I found this instead. OH MY  - a post from 2014, and I was cleaning up my clothes. The post's date is March 12, 2014. I think this is the BEGINNING of my cleaning up the clutter. I put all my clothes on the floor in the bedroom and then sorted them. 

Hmmm -- I think it's time to do that again. I don't buy many clothes, but I end up with so many I don't wear. And I must reread that book I was reading - Throw Out 50 Things by Gail Blanke! I was listening to audiobooks way back then!! Who knew? OH -- I just reread the blog --- I was listening to the book on an iPod!!! What's an iPod? 

That might be a good exercise to do over the holidays. I can put all my clothes together on the floor and start sorting. I wonder if I have more or less than in 2014. It better be less! And I need to be even more ruthless than I was before! I also need to retire some T-shirts, and this might be a good time to do it. 

What's hilarious is that I remember saying, on multiple occasions, that I would start the decluttering process at the top and work my way down to the basement. Then I would start all over again and keep doing that until we had barely anything left. I started that process in 2014. I haven't finished the first sweep yet!! 

In all fairness, I have made giant leaps and bounds in getting rid of and tidying up what exists in this house. I had hoped to completely do the office, but it has progressed so much. Perhaps it is time to restart at the top and work my way down! The first thing is the clothes! OK -- I feel the urge to purge coming on! 

By the way -- does anyone know of a Canadian store that sells Electric Quilt books? I want to get one, but shipping from the US is $25 USD, and I'm not prepared to pay that. I can buy it from my favorite online store - still very expensive, but then any paper product coming from the US is costly because of tariffs. 

I had to keep looking at the blog, and yes—there is the hat. Not the best picture, but I've had the hat forever, and it's fantastic. I'll get that hat band fixed!

I have two presentations this morning, and I got everything done, except loading one more picture that I'm sending to myself. I didn't quite get as much accomplished as I would have liked, but I did great! I have some follow-up emails to send out today, and then all that's left for this year is one more writing assignment and the UFO club next weekend. Whatever will I do with my time? Just kidding!

Look what popped into my mailbox yesterday. Not only do I have a new toque, but I have new mitts! They are hand-made (knitted) and then felted! They are gorgeous!!! THANK YOU - THANK YOU!!!!! I can't wait to wear them this morning while walking the dogs. Although, should I really wear them? Leather dog leashes can be harsh on stuff like this. I may wear my old mitts and keep these for walking! By myself!

My new felted mittens

Murphy was on an absolute tear with her bed and blankets yesterday. She grabbed the bed in her mouth and pulled it way across the room. I just stood there and watched her. It was hilarious! And of course, she did that while I did my Zoom calls at the kitchen table. I only froze for a couple of seconds twice that I could tell, but the internet did not drop. YEAH!!!!! Now to get those pods properly installed so I don't have to Zoom from the kitchen. She also found a bone and started banging it on the floor while I was talking. Just like a kid - make a lot of noise while Mom is busy and can't discipline me! 

The aftermath of Murphy's rampage!

Later, I moved the bed back and got her settled so she could chew on her bone. I think that lasted for all of 5 seconds before she was on the move again! She is ten years old and still acts like a puppy!

MOM -- I won't stay here! 

My SIL had been out in the afternoon, came back, and said I was going to be mad at her. Why? What did she do? OH -- she bought me a cookie!!! That's OK. And the cookie was great! 

My snowman cookie

While I was sewing a quilt for myself yesterday, I grabbed some of the half-square triangles from this little bucket and pressed and trimmed them. 

A bucket of half-square triangles to press and trim

Plus, I trimmed all the ones that I made while sewing my quilt! I need to get those things cleaned up! All progress is progress - it doesn't matter how slow we work!

Half-square triangles trimmed!

I dug out one of my Christmas quilts. I laugh when I see this - I designed and made the quilt back in 2016 or thereabouts. It was published in a magazine with Northcott fabrics. I accidentally sent the same design to two different editors, and they both accepted it. Ooops! So I had to design a SECOND quilt with the same collection for one of the editors. I still have both quilts! 

One of my Christmas quilts

I will admit that the fabric is the classic Christmas colors, and the quilt is beautiful! Now I can snuggle under it (probably the first time it's been used) until after the holidays. My decorating is complete!

Now you may want to see what I was muttering on about yesterday. Well, we had a jacket class yesterday, and the topic was sweatshirt jackets. I was researching different ideas, and this is the type of jacket I was going to do - cover a sweatshirt in fabric. This is one that I made years ago, and it's mostly covered with raw-edge patchwork. You can still see some of the sweatshirt between the patches. 

My sweatshirt jacket

I was going to make another jacket, but this time I would completely cover it with fabric. That was until I spotted this. 

I LOVE THIS!!!!!

You can find the pattern at this link. 

So I had to go shopping, and while shopping, I had my thinking cap on, and well, I'm going down a completely different road now. I must always be aware that if I can make the jacket (or any item) serve more than one purpose, that's always good! And one must learn to think outside the box!!!

This is what I purchased to play with. 

Black and white trim

I'm going to work on a red sweatshirt that has a large logo on the front. It will be a fun challenge to come up with something that's both fun and funky. I hope to start working on that this coming week as well. I still have to remove the sleeves to work on it. 

And that's how quickly I can get bogged down in a new project. I wasn't looking for a new project; I don't need one, but I now have one! But it'll be fun!!!! Plus, I plan to incorporate some sewing machine techniques into the mix. That way, I can wear it and use it as a sample! Yep --- I'm good with that. 

It will be a busy day today because after the two presentations this morning, which I believe will be short, it's back to the sewing machine. My SIL has some stuff that needs to be finished today, so I have to get her started on it. I also have some machine embroidery to get done. 

Have a super day!!! Stay warm - I don't relish the thought of walking the girls in the cold, but once you get out, it's not so bad. 

Ciao!!!!

Creativity is everywhere

We had the most amazing day yesterday at Sit n Sew. Seriously - there's NOTHING like having the day to sew with friends. I'm very blessed to have the space to share with my friends and even more blessed to have friends to sew with. Thanks to everyone who shares in the Sit n Sew days.

Now, I'm going to make you wait one more day to see what we worked on. Don't worry - I won't forget, the pictures are edited and waiting to be uploaded - tomorrow.

Today, I have a disturbing story to share with you - don't worry - it's not all that bad. But first I've become my MOTHER! Oh no!!!!!

So after I couldn't find a left-hand red mitten, I decided that I should take a peek in the mitten box in the hall closet to see what I could find.

OH MY GOD - I got a huge chuckle when I found this crinkled note that was obviously left for M. She did have a habit of stealing my stuff if she couldn't find her own. Likely because it was upstairs in her room or lost or in her car. Anyway - this was good for a chuckle. Oh - I hope I threw that away.

A note to the mitten thief in our house

I found a "slightly" worn out pair of gloves. Notice that it's a matching pair of gloves. Of course - who would want to steal such a hot mess. I used these for walking the dogs. Let's just say that they are now in the garbage. My mother would have kept them!

A pair of gloves - GONE!!!

Then surprise - surprise. I found FIVE single gloves. Seriously? Yep - there were five of them. Two were nice black gloves - just the left hand of each. I guess I could "pair" them with the two right-handed red mittens I have! Just kidding - I wouldn't do that.

What's disturbing is that there's a GOOD glove (right-handed) that I thought belonged to DH for cold weather golf. Nope - he says it's not his. Could it be that I bought a pair of cold weather cycling gloves? Probably - well - where's the other one???? 

Five ODD gloves

And what else was in the basket? There are SEVEN brand new pairs of mittens/gloves. SEVEN!!  OK - I have a problem, to say the least. And I found my black leather gloves. A wee bit caked with mud that was obviously from dog walking last spring. But I love to drive in the winter with leather gloves rather than mittens so I'm glad I found those. And yes - there's a left and a right. A matching left and right!

My basket of gloves and hats

And I found a LEFT red mitten. Yeah - now I have a pair and one spare! However, the next morning when I went to take a picture - do you think I could find that mitten? I swear that it was real, but I couldn't for the life of me find it. Those mittens are nice by the way as they are fleece lined which makes them very warm.

I was getting ready to take the girls for their walk and guess what I found in the living room. The mitten THIEF!!!  (I have a new mitten thief to worry about) Not only had she stolen the mitten, but she had also taken a hat! She must have pilfered those off the table? I can't imagine I left them on the floor. And you can see the guilty party in the picture below.

My missing red mitten

She doesn't chew them or damage them in any way. She just takes them to this spot and leaves them. I should have looked there the moment I knew it was missing.

Now here's the disturbing part of my blog post. I was in Chapters the other day. I had a few minutes to kill. Normally I only look in the magazine section, but I thought I'd browse the craft section. There were almost zero books on quilting. They just don't stock them anymore - people don't buy their quilt books at Chapters. There were loads of books on knitting and paper crafts.

As I was walking to the craft section, I noticed a new section (new to me) called Creativity. Hmm - I like creativity so I popped over to have a look. Oh boy!  This is a serious problem.

An entire section of books on Creativity at Chapters

Books like this .....................

Art will save your life!

 And this....................

The creativity challenge

The section was also filled with books on mediation, how to relax and let your inner spirit out. I took a ton more pictures, but I think you get the point.

Now, why is this an issue? Why do we need a whole section on how to release our creativity? That's something that should be happening from the moment you're born. Give your kid a cardboard box - let them create ......................   a house, a castle, a car.  Give your kids some crayons and BLANK paper - let them draw. What will they draw? Whatever they want. Give your kids some old clothes and let them play dress up and become whoever they want to be.

Society is so focused today - there are custom playhouses, iPads to play with, and costumes of known characters. Even LEGO  - you don't just buy LEGO anymore - you buy a SPECIFIC set or item that someone ELSE created. You get the picture. 

We shouldn't be learning how to be creative in our adult life - that's something that we are born with and parents/teachers should allow that to be part of everyday life.

And the meditation thing? It's not a bad thing at all. But seriously - society is in a bad way when people have ZERO time to just relax. Don't worry - I take loads of time for myself - I read a LOT and I've been known to just nap when I'm tired. I sometimes feel guilty if I've got a huge commitment, but not much. And a clean house? Not in my house.

I just think it's sad that we don't allow our children and ourselves to just play. I know many quilting friends who don't take the time to play. They just want to make stuff because there's a deadline. Make samples, make mistakes - that's how you learn. That's how I've been learning for the past 20 years and I'm still learning! I've said it before and will say it again  - the day I stop learning is the day that I'll die. That's my Dad's philosophy and I'm sticking to that.

I remember being asked in an interview for a computer sales job - how creative was I? That question surprised me as I had always equated creativity with making things. But creativity is actually problem-solving. You have a blank piece of paper and crayons - what are you going to do? That's a problem to solve. You are baking cookies late at night and realize you have no vanilla? How are you going to get more vanilla?  That really happened and we found a restaurant that gave us some vanilla! You are selling someone a computer (a really big computer for their database) and some of the cables don't arrive with the order. What do you do? That also happened to me and I managed to scrounge the cables from somewhere until the real ones arrived. All of those are examples of creativity!

The more you exercise the creative part of your brain, the better it works. Mine is often kicked into high gear and I'm solving problems for things that aren't really problems. That's a good problem to have! The other thing that gets me is the sterile house. How can you be creative in a sterile house? You can't! I'd be dead within a couple of weeks of living in a sterile house. I need stuff around me to keep me stimulated! Well - I probably don't, but who wants to live in a sterile house? Not me!

So if you're a grandparent or a parent, PUT those electronic toys away for the grandchildren/children. Get them a box of crayons and some blank paper. What can you draw together? In the car? Create games to play to keep them entertained or even easier - TALK TO THEM. Here's something I saw at the hardware store the other day and I want one.

Now, what could you do with that on fabric?????  Oh yes - I want one. Santa????

As for what did I learn yesterday? I'm finally finishing up the book - Quilter's Academy - Vol 1 by Harriet and Carrie Hargrave. 

I learned a new trick to do before putting the borders on. Hmm - I never thought of that before. This is a book for BEGINNER quilters and yet even myself after 20 years of quilting - I learned something. If you have this book - read Class 180 near the back of the book. I'm not in total agreement with everything they say, but some interesting tips on squaring up your quilt before you put the borders on. I've got to try that. I guess I'm going to have to get the Vol 2. If you're new to quilting, this book really helps you figure out how to calculate yardage (very important), good piecing and pressing habits - and there was something else that I learned from the book. It was worth the read.

Speaking of creativity. I taught a class on Improv quilting a couple of weeks back. Here's another piece that one of the students finished. It's amazing - she found a very creative way to use those cut-off motifs. They were cut because of how they were positioned on the yardage - I should say the motifs were part of running yardage, not a panel and you'll always get some images that are cut off. Then she used the black for bars and then found a totally unrelated but totally matching fabric to tone down the black bars. The nice little bit of organza is a super touch!!!  I love it and I love when students send me pictures of what they finish!

Trixi's finished Improv piece

Now that I've babbled on, I'd better get myself organized. Oh - one more thing. In that Creativity section, there were loads of books on writing. Apparently writing every day is CREATIVE!  Oh my god - who knew. Well, I did, but I don't think about it. But writing is supposed to be therapeutic. It's an outlet. I can't write in a physical journal - my hand just couldn't take it, but writing on the computer - it's great. And I know that M writes in a journal every day and loves it! That's why our parents had diaries!!!  Try it sometime. Just write - there are loads of workbooks out there (if you need help) to write. Write a story about a missing red mitten, write a story about the frost on the windowpane. Write a story (or a list) of your quilt projects, hopes, dreams, etc. There are lots of things to write about and it's not for anyone else to see - just write for the sake of writing. It'll awaken your inner spirit!!!

I could go on and on, but I won't but I'll say one last thing! I was listening to Roger Ashby on CHUM-FM this morning. He's been in the radio business for 50 years and as a young boy at home, his Dad built him a "studio" in the basement of their home. From an early age, he knew what he wanted to do. He said how lucky he is that every day for 50 years he went to work at a job that he wanted to do and loved. How many people go to work every day just because. That's sad! We've got to figure out a way to change that. We need to go to work and be inspired, be inspiring and love what we do. I love my job too much!!!!

Now I'm gone.

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!

It's Red Mitten Day!!

I love how things just seem to happen. Coincidence? You decide.

And FYI - there's a NATIONAL day for almost everything you could think of. Anyway - it's National Red Mitten day today!

I was doing laundry on the weekend. I threw my scarf, down sweater, and cloth gloves in the washing along with everything else. When I went to go out later in the day, I could only find one cloth glove in the clean clothes pile and I didn't have time to dig through to find the other one. So I grabbed a pair of red mittens from the hall closet.

You have to keep in mind that I bought those red mittens (in support of the Canadian Olympics by Hudson's Bay) for M for a couple of years. As teenagers are, some of the mittens may have got lost or misplaced. Let's say they are misplaced. I grabbed two red mittens and ran out the door, only to discover that I had TWO right-hand mittens and no left hand. Well - no choice but to wear them like that. They were very toasty warm, just didn't feel right on the left hand.

Two right hand mittens - no left!

Yes - those mittens are from the 2010 Olympics. These are the FIRST pair of mittens that were sold. So? They are still very toasty warm and no reason to buy new ones. I have located the second cloth glove in the clean clothes and I really should look through the closet to see if there happen to be any left-handed red mittens!!! Otherwise, I may have to go and buy a pair today to support the Canadian Olympic team.

I got that gigantic customer quilt done yesterday. While the batting the customer had provided was wide enough, it wasn't long enough so I had to join two pieces that she had given me. That meant there was a LOT of batting.

It all pools on the floor and makes it very hard to walk.

LOTS of batting

 No worries - a couple of quick folds and the batting is now safely out of the way. No sense cutting it until the quilt was done. Could save a couple of inches and it's not a big deal to do this.

Batting folded neatly out of the way

See what I mean by a large quilt? It's about 110 inches square!!  The quilt is off the frame and ready to be trimmed and bound. Oh yes, I get the fun task of putting the binding on for the customer! No worries, I've done tons of bindings so it's not a big deal for me.

A huge quilt on the frame

This is the Kaleidoscope quilt that we did as a year-long project in 2017.  The one that I split into two quilts which were both still a very large size!

Customer quilt - DONE

Now that that one is done and everything else is somewhat under control, I hope to get the rest of the customer quilts done in the next couple of weeks. There's not many of them so that's the good news. The next one is ready to be loaded but I don't think I'm going to have time today. Today it's all about the computer. There are e-mails to answer and write, blog posts to write and edit, pictures to take and edit, patterns to write, webinars to listen to, software to learn. Oh yes - a fun day at the computer!!!!

Last night, we had a great class making the snowflake cushion. It's fast and easy - we used the Accuquilt die cutting machine to cut out the snowflakes and I know that some extra snowflakes were cut. That's awesome!  They didn't quite have time to finish the cushion. They basically had to sew the front to the back, but it was getting late. Look at the awesome job - neither of the students had done applique before. They did a super job.

Covers for the snowflake applique cushion

Here's my cushion cover. It's so darn fast to make.

My sample cushion cover

Tonight it's all about a paper pieced Christmas tree that can be turned into a small wall hanging or a cushion. Check it out at Oh Look Fabric. And all those yummy fabrics above? You can find them at Oh Look Fabric. There's also a rope bowl class on Friday night if anyone is interested. Again - super fast to make!!!!

On that note, I'm a little bit behind this morning. I've already done two major errands - well, spin class and Miss Murphy is already at the spa. Our house is dead quiet without her here. She's a busy girl!

One thing to leave you with today. Here's a great story about a young girl who participates in Row by Row who is going to be somebody famous one day. Hey - she's already famous!!! Check out her story.   The issue? How to get more kids like her involved!


I'd better get to those e-mails.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!