On saying no to addictions

Someone asked for a side-by-side comparison of the Visual To Do list --- January 1 and now. Let's wait until the end of this month, and then I'll share it with you! That list watches me, and I watch it!! A few things on the list are almost done and just waiting for a label or a phone call, so I'm going to wait to share them with you! But all is good!!!

Something extremely unusual happened yesterday, and it was absolutely wild and pure luck. A bag of items was on the Pony Express, and it was my job to pass it along. The weather was amazing yesterday, and I called the person before leaving for my walk and asked if she was home. Yep -- she was home. I grabbed the bag, and I was off. 

We had a wonderful chat about lots of things, since we have a lot in common. We chatted about what to do with all the extra quilts that we own, and she showed me her closet. Oh wow—every quilter has a closet like that. But WAIT -- one immediately caught my eye. I spotted a particular fabric on one quilt and asked if she had any more of it. Turns out it was a quilt top that she no longer wanted, and it is perfect for something I need. So I am going to work out an arrangement with her, and I get something that I "need," and she gets rid of a quilt top she no longer wants. 

Hey -- if more of that happened, I bet none of us would ever have to sew again! Anyway, it was the right time, the right conversation, and a win-win for both of us. I'll share the quilt at a later date. 

In case you are wondering how I can control my addictive self from working on the jigsaw puzzle when I'm supposed to be working, it's easy! I have self-control and lots of it. I also have patience and perseverance. And I have a Visual To-Do list that will scream its head off if I work on the puzzle when I'm not supposed to. 

I simply put the puzzle piece boards on top of it and the box, and let it sit. I'm not even tempted because I use it as a reward at the end of a day, regardless of how good or bad the day was. You know what? It works well. I am loving those puzzle boards—sheets of foam core with a layer of felt. My mini design boards for quilting, and since I have four of them, I can spare them now and again! I'm almost down to ONE board with puzzle pieces on it!

The puzzle is "put away" during the day.

This is the state of the puzzle as of last night. I'm making pretty good progress, and I should be able to get that done by the end of this month. It's working out so well, I might just keep one puzzle set up in that spot, and when I have a free evening, I can work on it. My evening is for reading a physical book, so I may have to split my time between the two. 

Progress on the green jigsaw puzzle

While I'm liking The Kitchen House (audiobook), I NEED this book to end. There is so much pain and sorrow, and I just want revenge!!! I'm also very aware that what is happening in this book is real. This book is fiction, but the events in the book were very common. Why the heck can't people just talk to each other? So much of what happened was because of a lack of communication. OK -- that's not true since it's based on the actions of the "superior" white man, but they could have done something. At least by talking, they could have saved themselves a lot of despair. 

I did a bad thing, and I think we have no more fish in our pond. It was super warm yesterday, and not a single one has come to the surface. The bubbler died, and I thought that keeping the pond open with the heater would be enough. It was not. Of course, DH told me to get a new one, and I did not. But it might be a good time to do a deep clean in the pond. It's very full of plant debris. 

But as I was doing some cleaning in the backyard, Miss Murphy found a ball that had been in the pond all winter and was waiting patiently for me to get the net to fish it out for her. It's a bit messy for us to play ball right now, and I hope to get out there and clean up a bit more this afternoon. 

Waiting patiently for me to rescue her ball

I had the embroidery machine working, but you'll have to wait until Wednesday to see it during my Facebook Live on felting with an embroidery machine. Everything about me is about learning! And while I'm making samples, I'm learning a ton!!

I have half of that large quilt done and will finish it later today as well. 

I also need to finish reading Smart Nation by 6:50 PM tomorrow, but that shouldn't be a problem. I'll focus on that this afternoon. 

But here's another interesting way to look at our smartphone use. The author is NOT condoning the use of smartphones for adults or children. Her emphasis is on how we use the phone. 

Case in point: a youth may need a phone for safety reasons—maps to get to school, checking the bus route, staying in touch with parents, class schedules, or whatever. There is nothing wrong with that. The same for adults: there is much we can do on our smartphones, perhaps too much, because there's an app for everything. 

And in the past, smartphone use was judged by how much time you spent on them. I only spent 10 minutes; I'm better than you, who spent 1 hour, but what did I watch or do with the phone in those ten minutes? You can't judge someone by how much time they spend, but by what they do in that time. 

An example in the book is of two children who get ONE HOUR of screen time a day. One watches children's TV with a parent and discusses what the child is watching. The other has headphones on and is watching a kids' YouTube channel on an iPad. The kid watching on the iPad gets bored, starts surfing, and ends up watching some horrible things, while the one watching TV has a great conversation with a parent about what they watched. 

Hmmm -- it's not hard to see which one got more use of their one hour of screen time. 

Here are some things you can check so you don't become addicted to your smartphone:

• Be ACTIVE, not PASSIVE, when using your phone. Watch content that encourages creativity and discussion to support brain engagement, learning, and communication skills. DH keeps insisting that he doesn't watch YouTube, but YouTube is a very educational tool when used wisely! 
• Communicate with other family members about their social media engagement. 
• Quality of Content. Is what you are watching of quality, or is it just a time-waster? 
• Remember that NOTHING on social media is regulated, whereas TV is. 

The whole thing is really an eye-opener into the use of a smartphone. Thankfully, I use my phone actively for almost everything I do. I did get caught up in reels, but now I don't. How do I do that? In the same way, I don't get tempted to buy candy when I'm at the grocery store. It's like an alcoholic who sees booze and knows that if they touch it, they are gone. You want it, you feel you need it, but you just say NO. And before you know it, you've moved on. How can one do that? Well, the benefits of saying NO are that you don't feel guilty, you don't need/want to restart your addiction, and there are no consequences. 

I know -- you think that I am depriving myself of stuff. I am not. I can't eat candy because I'm addicted to sugar, and I know what it does to my body. So while I still eat sugar through lots of foods, I do NOT buy a bag of candy because I can't stop eating it. If it's not in the house, I'm good. 

It's like not touching the puzzle during the day. I know that I will be in trouble time-wise, and I have set aside a specific time to work on it. I look forward to that evening, so I'm not depriving myself of anything. I have a small amount of chocolate every day because I love it, but I don't need more than my two little squares. It's not hard to say no - just listen to your body, your heart, and your mind. You decide what you want to do. 


And if you are still not convinced about the cell phone thing, read this story about Molly Russell. Oh my—I see a documentary was made about her. It's a true and very sad story about the damage of social media and the eventual suicide of a teenager. 

Still not convinced? I see that Meta (Facebook and Instagram, owned by Mark Zuckerberg) is being sued over its algorithms. This is just one lawsuit, but I think there are multiple ones. 

Do your part—if you have young children or grandchildren, encourage them to share what they are watching online. Encourage them to learn about the QUALITY of what they are watching. Encourage them to get physical exercise or do things with their hands, rather than just focusing on screens. And set a good example by NOT being on your phone the entire time you are with them. 

Go to an event and put your phone in your pocket. Apparently Coldplay is famous for bringing this to people's atention at their concerts. OH MY GOSH --- watch this video. It's 8 minutes, but look at the bottom of the screen at the beginning. It's OBSCENE!!!!

On that note, I'm out of here. Time went back last night, but with all the electronics, including our smartphones, we should never sleep in!! I have two great presentations to share this morning, and then I can share some of this stuff with you!! I love putting presentations together—I do a lot of research through my photos and online, and I hope they all like what I did!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!

Is your smartphone a slot machine?

Taking my computer out of sleep mode was a good thing. Before I knew it, the syncing had finished, and my folders in the Classic Version of Outlook now have email in them!!! I must get busy and start deleting and resorting what's in there. I don't want to have to go through that again. 

And the program is no longer frozen. It wouldn't allow me to do anything while the syncing process was happening, so that is one positive thing that happened!!!

I went to the post office to check on my missing parcel, and they couldn't find the number in their tracking system. I knew that since I had also tried. But I did learn something - there is a GLOBAL tracking system, and it will track parcels coming from other countries, which happens a lot these days. It contains the same information as the one the company gave me. It seems that the package was delivered on February 7. 

The tracking history of my missing package

The information looks very sketchy and not detailed at all. You would think that when it hit Canada Post, it would say so. And it keeps saying France, not Canada. It started in France, and it should end up in Canada. I called the number the post office person gave me, but when I listened to the messages, it basically said the tracking number I was looking for wasn't found, and there were five reasons why. If the computer can't find it, I doubt a person will. I sent a note back to the original company to ask what the next steps are—do I reorder? Will they give me the new ones at the same price as the old ones? 

I am NOT good with follow-up, and here I am with multiple situations that require constant follow-up. Sigh............ I still have a couple of other things (as mentioned yesterday) that I need to find solutions to, but I dare not overstretch my time on follow-up. I need to wait for a resolution to at least one issue before I can move on. 

I did not take the girls for a walk in the morning. It was hovering around freezing, and the sidewalks and the streets - at least my street was covered in ice. I was not taking chances, so they were not happy, but I walked them in the afternoon. 

It was a very weird day because it was very foggy. This was on the way to the mall, and the mall is very visible from this distance, but yesterday? You could see nothing! It's very foggy again today and is supposed to hit a high of 15 by this afternoon, but it's cloudy! 

The mall is just a short distance away and lost in the fog.

 

It's amazing how many little errands one has in a day. I had some old eyeglasses that I rounded up and dropped off at a drop-off in the mall while I went to the post office, which is also in the mall. I learned that, yes, the little post office near me is closed permanently! 

I managed to empty a few more folders. I would love to clear up all the folders that are sitting in three piles on the floor so I can find some new paper to throw away. Can you believe I still have this brochure from the very first quilter's retreat house I went to in 2006? Quilter's Mis Bee Haven --- how many of you remember that place? It was small compared to some of the houses we go to now, but so many memories!!! This brochure is now in the recycling bin.

Brochure from Quilter's Mis Bee Haven

I found receipts from years ago, and can you tell me why I kept a receipt from Gymboree to buy clothes? By the way -- it's dated November 9 or September 11, 1996. Good grief --- I am my own worst enemy in this decluttering thing. I allowed this to happen. 

A thirty-year-old receipt!

But there is no time to beat myself up -- I can do the happy dance, realizing that I've made the decision to get this mess cleaned up, and the more I do, the easier it becomes. I will get it done. 

Speaking of decluttering, you know that one technique the professional organizers use is to grab something and ask you if you really need it? They ask questions like, "Why are you keeping this? What will you do with it?", etc. I once hired a professional organizer, and we did some of that. Still, obviously not nearly enough, because I didn't learn from it, and she developed this filing system for me that was totally useless. I think that was the case because I didn't know what I wanted and couldn't communicate it to her. 

Anyway, as I was reading Smartphone Nation yesterday, something similar came up. I think it's common knowledge that most of what comes through on social media these days is questionable content, since people and companies are just in it to earn money and don't care about the messages we get. We are targeted with all kinds of stuff, and we continue to seek out NEW experiences on our phones. The author equates the addiction to scrolling or refreshing to see what just came in with a SLOT MACHINE in a casino. 

While I totally see the comparisons, I had never thought of it that way. But yes -- those that scroll have a one-armed bandit in front of them called a smartphone. And they don't even know it! It's passive behavior and extremely scary. 

OK -- so here's the deal. Just like you declutter your house and we all need someone to hold out the things we want to keep, what if you scrolled through your phone with someone at your side to see what you are looking at? Would you be embarrassed/upset if someone saw what you are looking at? What if it was your grandchild watching you, your children, your partner, a total stranger? That's a bit mind-blowing, but imagine! What would they say? What do the things you look at say about you? 

The premise of that in the book was more for you, as a parent, to sit with your child, once a week, and see what they are scrolling through -- you'd have to start at an early age and then ask questions --- why do you watch these posts, what makes you feel good or bad about them. Too much content directed at children is extremely damaging, involving suicide, hate, bullying, sex, and violence. That's very scary!!! 

I'm afraid that if someone sat down to watch my weekly scrolling, they would be bored before it even started. I follow Max, the 10-year-old fashion prodigy; a farmer who talks about sprayer equipment (I have no idea why that one, but it's interesting); a couple from Wales renovating an old house; and the young couple from Vancouver who are rebuilding their house. I don't watch anyone else, and after this book, I do NOT stop on reels. I'm cured. I take a quick swipe up to see if any family members have posted something, and I'm done! I check in on Facebook and IG about three times a day. In total, I might be on there for 10 minutes all day! I may not check my phone for messages until 9 or 10 AM. 

I'm also not a good candidate for watching anything on a screen. It's taken me an entire week to finish watching two 60-minute educational videos. My time is precious to me, and I'm not wasting it on some addiction to a screen where people are making money off of my time. 

I'm sure there will be more to share as I still have 130 pages or so to finish the book. 

I managed to get some machine embroidery done. I finished the two mug rugs - my plan was to only make one, but I ended up making two. Solidified the learning that way!

Two machine embroidered mug rugs

I now have a very thorough understanding of this process and why it went wonky the first time I made one. I can also remove this from the Visual To-Do list!! The picture is now in the little pouch on the Visual To-Do list. I messed up a bit on the first one and had to put a binding on in sewing mode, and then I got messed up even further by sewing it to the front, requiring me to hand-stitch the binding in place. That's how I managed to finish watching one of the videos. The other video got watched because I wasn't walking the dogs. 

Then I moved on to another machine embroidery project, which I completed as well. I also did some more stitching for my upcoming Facebook Live, and I really need to focus on making a few more samples for that. 

Another machine embroidery project

I got a customer quilt done. The quilt was beautiful to quilt, but it seemed to take forever as the pattern was quite busy. But it's done, and I have an even larger one to put on the machine and get finished by Monday. 

Customer quilt - done!

Of course, the girls had to entertain me while I was eating. 

MOM - are you watching us?

And while we always think that Murphy is the bully, she is not the instigator of these play fights. Yes -- it's that sweet girl Lexi. She wants to play, but only on her terms, and I think Murphy goes down on the floor to make Lexi happy! They are a funny pair to watch. 

Well, I didn't sleep well and thus slept in, so now I must run or my day will be totally off. 

Have a super day!!!  (happy scrolling!!!!)

Ciao!!!

Change is constant - deal with it!

I'm glad to know I wasn't the only slug! Sometimes, that's the kind of day we get, and we just make the best of it and move on! Tomorrow is a brand new day! And for me, it was. I got lots done, and all was good!

My girls are over 10 years old, and I'm in denial about that. They are still puppies! They are so different; after all those years, I still can't wrap my head around it. Murphy is filled with enthusiasm, while Lexi is still enthusiastic, but she's a princess. Murphy is the bull in the china shop!

Lately, Murphy has been like a total lunatic on the walk, and my right hand is painful to prove it. Yesterday, she spotted a squirrel attempting to cross a busy four-lane street and almost didn't make it. She went ballistic! Scooters? Bicycles? If she were free, she would be after them. I wonder what she would do when she caught up. 

We stop in the forest for her to calm down and chat occasionally. This is her reaction. 

MOM -- I heard a leaf fall

MOM - I swear I saw something move 

MOM - wait - I heard a bird

MOM - I'm busy

MOM - I REALLY did hear something

Then she became so focused that she stopped panting, so she could hear! 

Mom - Oh, were you talking to me? I was busy! 

It's hilarious -- she definitely failed the Attention class. 

Later, when I walked Lexi, we turned a corner and saw a big German Shepherd approaching. It's best to just walk to the other side of the street. Neither is angry at the other, but both get excited. I was so busy watching that we almost ran into a skunk! When I noticed it, it was about 10 feet away. Lexi never even flinched! I guess neither dog pays much attention. 

And then she loves to do this when we walk in the forest. 

MOM - take a picture of me - I'm pretty!

MOM - it looks like I'm trapped

Mom - I'm pretty right? 

NO -- she is not tangled, she just likes to feel the leaves or grass on her body, although there is so much hair, I doubt she can feel a thing! Murphy would NEVER do that! 

We love them a lot, and that's all I can say. And this comes from DH, who never had a dog in his life, and now he's ready to babysit or rescue any dog! Our neighbors are getting a dog next weekend, and we're not sure they are dog people. DH has already volunteered (not to them) to take the dog if they no longer want it. Yikes - that dog is a brand new puppy - only eight weeks old. I'm not sure I could handle a puppy.

We've had so much rain that this little pond in the forest filled up, and the pair of ducks were back, happily swimming in the muck. 

Ducks are swimming in the muck

Can you tell me why Lexi won't sleep on that bed? Nope—she's getting closer but won't touch it. Maybe because Murphy is so aggressive with it; it doesn't help that the blankets are all in a big ball, waiting for Murphy to come and unwrap them! 

Mom - I'm close enough!

Enough about the girls, although they are technically the most important people in our house! But I managed to get this giant quilt loaded on the long arm, and my goal is to quilt it today. The Pony Express takes off on Thursday, and there's a lot to complete before it leaves! 

Quilt loaded on the long arm

We zipped out quickly to the restaurant last night since we didn't go on Friday. I love going somewhere and you're recognized; they know your drink and automatically bring it to the table. That used to happen when I worked at the Bank of Montreal YEARS ago. The Head Office in Montreal had a cafeteria for the employees and was open for breakfast. I'd go to the gym in the morning and then head to the cafeteria for breakfast. The second I walked in, I could hear one of the staff members order my breakfast. 

I don't remember what it was - probably scrambled eggs and bacon! I'm a creature of habit - no denying that. And I'm perfectly OK with that. 

While we were chatting, what's the point of going out if you sit at a table and don't talk to each other? We don't get a lot of opportunities at home, which is silly, but true. Anyway, I did something, and I think I accidentally hit my wrist on the table and CRACK - something fell. NO - I did not break my arm! 

My FitBit flew off my arm. Wow, how did the strap come undone? OH, it didn't come undone—it broke! 

Broken strap on the FitBit

Could it be trying to tell me something? I'm not ready to give it up yet, and I have BRAND NEW straps at home. When I opened the package, I found half of a strap in the bag; it was the part I needed. It wasn't new, and I remember something about replacing half the strap before. That was quickly fixed, and I was back in business. 

Fixed

We had our Virtual Retreat last night and more this afternoon. My 60-second challenge for the day was tidying up the ends of these knitted dishcloths. I found them in some of the stuff I brought home from Diane's, and well, one can always use more dishcloths. That job is done, and they are put away in the drawer. 

Knitted dishcloths

Then I puttered and tidied up a bit and found many more 60-minute or fewer projects I can work on. It will be a long time before I run out of those small projects. 

We had two great Zoom classes in the morning, and there was loads of content. I have a list of the samples to make for the final class in three weeks. I'm leaving that out as I need to continue working on them, so it's not a big deal at the last minute. There are so many cool things you can do with binding! 

The other day, I was at the grocery store and discovered these laundry detergent sheets. I had seen them online, but for some reason, I am hesitant to buy online unless I know the store. But when I spotted them in the grocery store, I decided to try them. I've used laundry sheets before as they are a HUGE thing when traveling and easily found at a travel or outdoor store. But these are meant to be used instead of pods in your washer! 

Sheets of laundry detergent

\

On the call last night, I discovered one person who has been using them for a long time and LOVES them. Someone else has recently acquired a package and has been experimenting, and they also love it. I guess I'll be using up my Tide pods and switching. No plastic, reasonably priced - $16.99 for 32 sheets, which translates into 64 washes. You can buy them online through a subscription for $13.99, but I think I'm good with this. I can't wait to try them. Will I break it open for this week's laundry or wait until the pods are done? 

I've been getting notifications from my phone for the last three days that I need to install the latest software. I finally did it last night. WHOA!!! The interface is slightly different, the look of some apps is different, and the fonts are different. But other than that, everything is pretty much the same, so it's not a big deal. However, I was mystified all day about the number in the top right-hand corner. Why do I have 45 notifications? Why do I now have only 30? Oh, that is the battery percentage - right where it always is, but with a new look. Silly me!!!

But it appears there are MANY AI assistants, and I initially got a whole list of them, which I promptly ignored. I don't care about AI on my phone. I just need to do a few things, none of which takes long, and I don't need AI—thanks, but no thanks. 

If we rely too much on AI to summarize, translate, and take notes, our brains will lose the ability to do so. And you all know what has happened to our bodies as modern conveniences came into being, and most of us are now doing less physically. The same is going to happen to our brains. What is the point of anyone writing anything anymore - just sit down and ask AI to do it? Not me! I'll write and use AI to assist in editing, but the ideas are MINE, the writing is MINE, and no one will take that away from me! I'm in full resistance mode for that!

Now, if I were a busy employee and received thousands of messages a day, maybe I would use it. But AI now allows employers to expect more from their employees. And the funny thing is—it's probably computers talking to computers, and what are the humans doing? I don't want any part of it!

Speaking of those little rascals, Miss Lexi slept outside last night. At 3:30 AM, she banged on the door to be let in. I don't know how to curb that habit except to NOT let her out after dinner! Thankfully, I got right back to sleep. 

WAIT—As I was looking at that photo with all the ASISTS on it, I decided to check out my camera. They made some cool changes to the Zoom features, which I LOVE. I'll definitely be using those. I'll experiment with the new camera settings. Perhaps I could even aim to master all of them. As if!!! I just tried it and I LOVE the new Zoom features -- way more practical. OK - perhaps I'd better have a closer look at some things on the new interface! 

Here's the Zoom link for the Virtual Retreat today. We start at NOON. Be sure to stop by and say hi - it's too cold to be outside! 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073536036?pwd=uxRqMnK1aSKrmrcSO78w8QQs5g44eA.1

Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838

And on that happy note, I'm out of here to see what adventures await on our morning walk!

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!

Customer service

Yesterday was an interesting day. We had our class on Posh Santa which is a Sew Kind of Wonderful quilt. It's so darn cute. The students did an amazing job with the curved seams.

When I'm teaching, I like to chat with the students and see what's happening with them, but you don't want to be too nosy! One of the ladies was using a cane. It turns out that she was hit by a drunk driver 11 years ago. Her ankle was shattered as well as numerous other injuries. The drunk driver was killed. Please please - DO NOT drink or let anyone you know drive when they've been drinking. I don't care that he was killed - my heart breaks for those that have to live with the injuries caused by the accident. Find another way home!

After I got home, I decided to get myself to the mall (yeah me - at the mall on a Saturday!) because I wanted to hit the Bell store to get a new phone. I explained the situation to the young girl at the counter. She checks my account. Oh - your plan is costing you more than what it was before. WHAT?????  Let's just say that I was NOT a happy camper. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do. She gave me the number for the loyalty department and I left the store. I was very calm and patient through that ordeal. I was actually very calm through the entire process.

I called loyalty and got a very nice lady who announced that she was on Vancouver Island. OK - I'm already OK with that. I explained the story, then she asked for my password. OH GOD - I don't remember the password. I know my passwords for accounts, but not for this. So she asked me questions and I told her all kinds of details and at last, she was able to help me. I now know the password! She explained to me that there are TWO monthly credits on my account to compensate for the difference in the monthly amount.

Without going into all the details cause it took a LONG time and one more phone call to the loyalty department, we got everything straightened around. Everything was as it had been explained to me - we just couldn't' see the information if that makes sense.

Now that I was a happy camper once again, I went ahead and got a new phone. It doesn't feel or look like a new phone. Reminds me of my old phone and everything seems to have very seamlessly been transferred although I just can't send or receive e-mail. As a result, I had to zip around this morning and retake some photos with the camera. They are less than perfect because I was in a hurry.

New phone

I got a different case for this phone. Last time, I had the flip cover - this time I got only the back cover. Hmm - I kind of liked the flip cover and it did protect from scratches. Well - I bought this one - it was half the price of the other one.

Thank you to Bell for the great customer service and for making this happen and for honoring the deal that they offered me. I'm a happy customer and just goes to show that people will deal with your problem in a very professional way if you remain calm and professional. It was a slight mix-up but once I understood how it worked, everything was fine!!!! I know there are people that are NOT happy with their service, but I've been a Bell customer for many, many years. While I've had a couple of issues with them in the past, we've always found a way to work it out. I wouldn't switch!

In total, that errand took THREE hours - but that also included my walking to and from the mall and the data transfer to the new phone. I was so tired when I got home that I just read for the remainder of the evening instead of doing some work.

However, I was back at it this morning and I'm very happy to report that Tonga Rhapsody is now in the "to be quilted" pile. Yeah!!!!!!

Tonga Rhapsody in the "to be quilted" pile

I still have stuff in one corner of Studio B (OK - there are two piles of stuff to deal with) and I have Tuesday booked off as a cleanup day. I'm going to try and get at least one of those corners dealt with. I'm not sure if I just take one basket at a time and deal with that? Or do I lay everything out and try to sort like things together? I'm not sure how I'm going to tackle it, but tackle it I shall!!!

I had found a number of quilt backings and now I'm happy to report that they are measured, labeled and shelved! Look at the quilt backing area - it's just as neat and tidy as when Ronda and I first put all that fabric on the shelf.

One and a half shelves of backing fabric

It sure feels good to have this so organized. I'm loving it! And it was well worth the time it took to make that happen. I know there are more backings in the mess and those will get put on the shelf as well. Thank goodness I've removed some backings from the shelf as I had to squeeze a few in this morning. So - need to get more quilt backings done and off that shelf!

I've got a basket of things to tackle today for Sit n Sew. Some backings, bindings, and borders. Yeah! Now I need to get to quilting. Quilting my stuff! But that'll just result in more finished quilts and what the heck will I do with them all?

You know we chatted about magazines the other day. Here's something to keep in mind for those of us who are concerned about the cost (like me!). The American Quilter's Society has a magazine and it costs $7.99 CDN per issue. There are 6 issues per year for a total cost per year of $48. However, you can become a member for $35 (US) for TWO years and the magazine comes as part of the membership. Now - doesn't that sound like a good deal?? I should sign up because I buy that publication all the time. I could save myself some money!!!!

I did NOT get my jelly roll used yesterday. I was just too tired. However, I did get a perfect fabric for the border and binding and it was on sale!!! Even better. That'll happen later this week.

Here's something fun to watch!!!  Who knew that Marsha is a quilter?????

I'd better get myself organized for the Sit n Sew this morning.

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!

A good news day!

I'm so excited, I'm practically exploding this morning. It's a super good news day!

I started reading "The Home for Unwanted Girls" and didn't give myself enough time before the audiobook expired. It was returned (yanked from my phone is more like it - OK - so that's being dramatic!) last night and I had only read about 28%. There were holds or so I thought as Libby wouldn't let me renew. This morning, I got a notification that the book downloaded!!!  Yeah - I can keep reading. The wonders of technology. And the best part? That audiobook remembers where I was when I left off even if the book was returned! How smart is that!!!!!

Why do I love audiobooks so much? You can do a few things while listening to the audiobook so it's a bit like doing two things at once, but to really enjoy the book, I always do non-thinking things - like loading quilts on the long arm. I never listen when I'm out walking as that is walking time and I love to listen to the neighborhood. I also love hearing the music (rare) but the narrator's voices add so much to the story. In the case of this book, the narrator reads the dialogue with a french accent if the person speaks in French!

I lived in Montreal (the setting for part of the book) and it's fun to get back into that environment. I LOVE Montreal! Wish I could go back someday to live!

A number of you contacted me yesterday about this book (rave reviews all around) and one person worked with the author's father for 20 years!!!!! She briefly met the mother and the author when she was little. Isn't that crazy!

So that was good news number one for the day.

The second bit of good news is this.

Tonga Rhapsody

This is the quilt top for Tonga Rhapsody. The top is DONE!!!!!  I'm so excited about this. This is one of my UFOs for 2018. There will still be 6 on the list when this one comes off later today. But I'm working on three of those 6. It could be a banner year for me!!!

Here's a close up of the four borders that seemed to take forever. When I went to put the last border on, I realized that the pieces had been cut in long lengths so no need to join the strips. More good news!!!!

A corner of Tonga Rhapsody

The binding is made and I picked out a backing. Yep - that backing is way too bright for the quilt top. Doesn't matter. I have loads of it. I don't have any large pieces of batik and I'm not about to start piddling with small pieces to make that huge backing. This is going to have to do.

The backing is chosen

The binding is also made so during Sit n Sew today, I hope to get that backing made.

Only one small piece of bad news or more like a wee accident. This happened this morning. Ouch!!!!

Ouch

When I was pressing that binding, the darn iron jumped and smacked into my arm. It's an angry red and my arm hurts. Oh suck it up and let's move on!!!!

I also got a customer quilt quilted yesterday. Shoot - I should have taken a picture of the back of the quilt. I'll do that later. This person is an excellent piecer The back is crazy pieced, but it loaded like a charm! Thanks for that!!!!

Customer quilt - DONE

I teach a lot of PRIVATE classes at Oh Look Fabric. It could be that the timing of a class doesn't work for the student or it's on a topic that only they are interested in. It works for me. Yesterday was interesting. We had a lady who had purchased a small embroidery machine (not my brand) and was looking for someone to help her. Sure - I'm up for that. She bought it online and the first thing she said to me was, "I know I shouldn't have done that!" However after hearing some stories about "free classes" from sewing machine dealers - I'm not sure it makes any difference.

She has sewn before so it wasn't like I was teaching her how to sew. That helped a whole lot. She hadn't even turned the machine on - it was fresh out of the box. So we went through all the controls and buttons. Then we went through all the accessories and she sewed with them all and we made them ALL work. She had a list of questions on how to do certain things. She was a very happy camper. We're going to meet again and focus on the embroidery part of her machine.

So - if there's something that you want to learn - I'm up for a private class. I'll teach anything including helping you understand your sewing machine and all it can do. It'll cost you - I don't do it for free, but we can talk!

I also got a notification that a package I've been waiting for has arrived at the post office. I didn't have a chance to pick it up yesterday, but I hope to get there today.

Let's see - I had lost two books from the library. I managed to find one of them and it was returned yesterday. One more to go and I know it's in this office - just haven't dug deep enough yet!

BUT - here's the really, really good news from yesterday. I was walking back from the library when my phone rang. It was a 1-877 number which I normally don't answer. But what the heck - I'll answer it. It was Bell Mobility - that's my cell phone carrier. They were calling to see how happy I am with the service and my plan. Yep - no problems. Well, they wanted to offer me a special. OK - what kind of special??  I now get UNLIMITED data and pay the same price that I was paying before (had 3 GB). PLUS I get to upgrade my phone for a wee price (buying out the remainder of my contract). Do I want to do that??? YES YES and YES.

Seriously????  I've always had to call them and wheedle a new deal from them. So this was quite exciting that they called me. I guess I should download some of my photos before I switch phones (Galaxy s10 - here I come!!!!). I remember the last time that it took forever to switch the phone because of all the photos. Although I know the photos get saved on Google drive. I'm not 100% sure of all the details. Just easier to download the pictures and then it'll take no time to make the switch.

Remember when it used to be a nightmare to switch phones????  No more!!!!! And technically, there's nothing wrong with my Galaxy s8. Anyone want to buy a phone??? DH is ticked that his provider has offered him anything exciting. Ooops - sorry!

Now I can use my phone as a Hot spot for demos with the sewing machines and not worry that I'm going to exceed my data limit. I don't go crazy with data, but not having to worry about it going to be awesome!!!!

In case you didn't know, this Saturday is National Jelly Roll Day. That means you should be digging out a jelly roll (you can't save them forever!!!) and do something with it.  I pulled two small jelly rolls. They each have twenty strips. I'm going to make a quilt. However, I can't share the quilt with you until late next week because I did the same quilt on QUILTsocial and the post isn't going live until late next week.

Jelly roll ready for National Jelly Roll Day

So you have ONE day - well two days - today and tomorrow to pick out a jelly roll and a pattern. If you make a jelly roll quilt that day, send me a picture. Even if you get it done next week, send me a picture and we can post them all together.

On that note - it's Sit n Sew today!!!  Oh, happy day!! I've got a quilt to load on the long arm, two quilts to trim and a backing to make. That might take all day! And then it's the used book sale at Sheridan Mall for the Mississauga Symphony.  I have loads of work to do, but I'm taking a few minutes to zip down there.

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!

Don't believe everything you hear or read

How many others are like me? When you were younger and not as smart, you believed everything you read. Right? If someone took the time to write it, it must be true. NOT!!! I learned that somewhere along the line. I wish I knew that when I was about 10 but that is one of life's lessons that you have to learn on your own. No one can tell you that.

That goes for patterns in the quilting industry as well. I'm teaching a class from a pattern (to be nice, I won't reveal the pattern maker's name) but she's Canadian.

We are doing several blocks a month and there is one block that just wouldn't work. I had no idea the instructions were wrong, although when I got to the first diagram, I thought things looked a bit wonky. You start with a square, add a few bits and it should be a rectangle according to the diagram, but the instructions say that's it a square and the resulting piece is a square. Hmm - that should have been my first clue.

Anyway, I proceeded to make the rest of the block and it was crazy all the way through. I had pre-cut all my pieces so I forged ahead. This is what I got.

Funky blocks

The two on the left were done according to the instructions - well sort of. Like I said, it was weird as the diagrams did NOT match the writing. Nope - I don't like those blocks. So I tried again, this time making a diamond from the square. That worked better in the top right, but look at those points - they all got cut off. That's not right either. Then there were not enough green strips cut to insert into the last block so that was a total wonky thing.

I e-mailed the designer telling her that I thought there was a mistake in the pattern. A day later she replied - "Nope, there's no mistake in the pattern."  Really??????  There are in fact TWO mistakes in the pattern. All of them in the cutting instructions and ONE word in the written instructions. Why can't people own up to a mistake??? Now the written instruction did word it so that it might not be considered a mistake, but that leaves the cutting totally up to the student with no guideline.

So I redid the block using my own calculations. Start with a rectangle and then trim as per the pattern diagram. Add the triangles that fit much better. Imagine putting bi-rangles (triangles created by cutting a rectangle on the diagonal) on a square? It didn't look pretty. I thought I had a picture of my first attempts, but I can't find it.

The background triangles fit nicely on the diamond

Then as I continued with the instructions, the block was PERFECT with all the points intact.

The block came out perfect

Now the quilt is modern and some blocks are improv so it doesn't really matter. What matters is that the designer said it was OK when in fact it wasn't. The instructions for that block did not match the diagram and there were two mistakes in the cutting. Once I made the changes, the block went together like a charm.

I must apologize to my class for not figuring that one out sooner. Sorry!!!!!


I'm always talking about learning experiences. Learning new things is often the topic of my blog posts. Well, I have something to share with you that I learned yesterday.

So, last week, I got a warning on my cell phone that my data was used up for this month. WHOA! How the heck did that happen? Was it because I was traveling so much? I dug into the online bill for the daily usage for the past month. Hmm - it appeared that the two biggest days were Sundays when I was at home. Now, how the heck did that happen??

I know how. There are times when I'm out and my phone is trying to connect to the WiFi but for whatever reason, I don't or can't connect. I must pay attention to when this happens. So I turn the WiFi off which then forces the phone to use data. Then when I get home, I forget to turn the WiFi back on. I know that I've lamented that there isn't an option for the phone to automatically turn the WiFi back on.

OK - so I've had my data off on the phone for the last couple of days. It was time yesterday to get that fixed and understand what is happening. I had tried the day before but that was total frustration. I couldn't find a phone number on the Bell website so I tried using the LiveChat. That was great until they asked me for very specific information like password and account number in order for them to help me. I wasn't logged in at the time. Anyway - that was a disaster.

Yesterday, I got smart about the process. I logged into my account so I would readily have my information at my fingertips and it allowed me to browse through the bill and the usage at the same time as I chatted with the agent. I'm not a huge fan of LiveChat (it's just typing in a window on the screen) because it does take a long time - longer than if you do it via the telephone.

No worries. I was in a good mood and wanted to solve the problem. Turns out that I already have 3 GB of data. I thought I only had two. My tablet has 1 GB of data. The tablet can pull from my phone data if needed, but the reverse won't work. OK - so the phone has 3 GB of data. That was news to me. Now to figure out how to configure everything and can I save money?

Even though there's a special on the website for $110 a month (I know - that's an obscene amount to pay for a cell phone), I don't qualify because that price is for new signups. I'm paying $5 more a month. I let it go because I was tired at this point. Our LiveChat session lasted ONE HOUR!!!

What else did I learn??  Well - lots. Did you know that you are supposed to set the BILLING CYCLE on your phone? Yes - I never did that - I guess I assumed that it was automatically set. I knew the option was there. So now the billing cycle in the phone is set to match the real billing date. There's a warning when the data level reaches a certain level. I knew that and mine was already set. It was set to 2 GB and I've left it there. Once I reach the 2GB, I know that I have 1 GB left.

I found another setting in the phone that once the phone reaches 3 GB (I set that level), the phone will automatically shut the data down so I won't go over my limit and rack up huge charges. That is great!!!!

But I also found another setting (in the advanced settings) that will turn the WiFi back on for those locations where you frequent the most - like HOME!!!!  That's exactly what I wanted, but didn't know that the feature actually existed!!!!  WOW - that was cool.

Here's the thing - because the billing cycle in the phone and the real billing cycle were NOT in sync, I wasn't really over my data!!!  That's hilarious!  However, I'm glad that it happened because I was able to figure this out and now I'm a very happy camper. That's why I didn't drive the guy crazy by trying to get that $5 off my phone bill.

So, if you haven't done that, you should set it up. You have the features in your SmartPhone - you might as well use them. I know that there are many more features in the phone that I haven't touched yet - but all in good time. Oh yes - there is one more feature I found. If you want to shut off some apps from using data, you can do that as well. I know there are loads of apps on my phone - most of which I never use. I really should delete them, but I can at least turn the data off so if they by chance are sucking up my data, I can shut them off and they will only work with WiFi. That's called the Data Saver feature.

I have a Samsung Android phone. All this stuff was found in Settings, Connections, WiFi, Advanced (which is in the top right with those three little dots). The other place is Settings, Connections, Data Usage. That's your lesson for today - now get your SmartPhone and make those changes.

I had another private class yesterday. And I learned something else. Did you know that there are embroidery machines out there that ONLY do machine embroidery?? They do NOT sew. I had no idea.

It's not my brand obviously or I would have known that. Anyway, I got her fixed up on two different things and now she has a LOT of homework to do! 

Embroidery Machine 

I'm still trying to tidy up Studio U. It's actually not in bad shape, but I've been moving this mess of wool around for months. Time to deal with it. It was given to me in a box of wool years ago. I had pulled it out several months ago to make something. It looked like a decent piece of wool. Only when I opened it up, it was mostly a bunch of scraps. Hmm - and there it sat like that. I had no idea what was in the bundle. Time to get this cleaned up!

Bundle of wool scraps

There were two sizeable pieces in the bundle. I kept those and the rest went into the pet mat bag. Seriously???  Why would someone have kept this? The bundle above I mean. I should have looked more closely at it months ago.

Two nice sized pieces of wool

I'm doing more organizing but I need to find my index cards so I can label everything. I had the darn cards just mere days ago. I put them somewhere safe and now I can't find that safe place. Once I get that done, I'll show you. I'm quite happy with the way things are in Studio U. This week, I NEED to get the work started on Studio B. I've put it off long enough.

Call me obsessive, but I keep finding fabrics that were stained from the water leak. I started to work on a magazine quilt that isn't due until June. I know - what planning on my part! These are white strips that are badly stained in some parts with blue.

White strips of fabric stained with blue

Back to the sink with the hot water and Dawn. OK - I couldn't help myself by putting the handle of the Easter Basket back in the mix to get rid of that last little stain. And there was a stain on one of our Santa Sacks that I missed last time.

Soaking in hot water and Dawn 

I'm happy to report that all the stains came out. Well, almost all, I think there were parts of a couple of the white strips that were under the Santa Sack and not completely submerged. Anyway - doesn't matter - the strips are much better than they were.

Because they were dripping wet, they went on the drying rack and outside.

White strips - now clean and drying

They are now ready to use for the magazine quilt. 

The strips are dry and ready to use

 Fortunately, the fabric is Northcott Toscana which is relatively thick and with the paint that sits on top, it has definitely prevented any fraying. Those strips have been washed twice and minimal fraying.

The only problem is that I broke the leg off my laundry rack when I brought it in the house!!!  I guess I'm due for a new one. I've had this one for years.

Oops - the leg broke off the drying rack

Now get that SmartPhone out and make those changes!!!  But look at your bill first so you know the amount of data that you have and the billing cycle. You'll never go over your data!

Have a super day!!!!!


Ciao!!!