Finding lost things!

Your comments make me chuckle. I'm not the only one who wakes up angry from a dream! Although lately, no dreams. I'm not sure what those couple of nights were all about! 

And YES -- I'm up for that hike! I'll get in touch! WOW --- just looked it up - sounds like a load of fun!

And I need to get back to responding individually to the comments!

The writing is done. OK - that's a lie. I'm in the process of sending the last set of videos, and then I have one small document to write this morning. I love writing, but sometimes, it just bogs me down. This was one of those times. I'm not sure why! Probably there was so much going on (previously) and such a big mess downstairs that I just wanted to dive in and clean it up! 

I caved - no, I didn't subscribe to ChatGPT, but you can create a few pictures each day for free, and since I'm no artist, I figured, what the heck, let's have fun with it. Here are our dogs cheering on the Blue Jays, who had a wee hiccup last night. No worries. 

The Monday Sewing dogs are cheering on the Blue Jays

This time, they are smiling - I had to request that, and the chocolate lab in the front middle is much lighter than it was the other day! We have a wee issue with two paws on the left, but what a hoot! 

You remember my orange cake from the other day. 

My original cake

This time I asked for an elegant cake in orange. I suppose CHATGPT knows I'm not the kind of person who likes frills, so this is what I got! I think it's hilarious!!!!

My elegant cake

Then I've always had visions of taking some quilts into the forest and getting a picture of myself riding my bike. After how many years, and that has never happened? So I asked ChatGPT to create something for me. 

A crazy quilter on a bike with her trusty companions

What do you think? Pretty neat, and look at that orange hairband, which I did NOT request. Is it starting to know me? I'm not sure why it defaulted to the cartoon version, but I decided to ask it for a realistic picture, and this is what I got! Look at those happy girls running beside me. 

A realistic version of the same photo

As M says, it's kind of creepy, but then she's the one who generated a picture of her current self hugging a much younger version of herself. Now that's creepy!!

However, it's a fun tool to experiment with. Will I do anything with the pictures? Likely not. 

WAIT -- Did you notice the quilted jacket? For those in the Jacket Class (Zoom) that starts this month, hosted by Thimbles and Things, I have downloaded the list of participants and will be assembling the distribution list later today. There is no prep for the first class, so no need to panic!

On Monday, we discussed the sidewalks and how some of the slabs have settled, and several of us had noticed the marks on them where they needed repair. 

This is how some of them had been repaired in the past - they would lay a bunch of asphalt next to the uneven slabs and hope for the best. 

Old repair

I had remarked on Monday that while the first set of marks (yellow) had been completed quite a while ago, and a second set of marks (white) had been completed this past summer, nothing had been done since then. 

Imagine my surprise that afternoon when I went for my walk and the sidewalk on my street had been done, but nothing else in the neighborhood had. OK - now that is very freaky! Perhaps the city was listening and decided to make a fool of me! That was very bizarre! 

The new repairs

And this root - well, I'm not sure what they are going to do with the root. And a few other streets may have been done that same day, but I haven't noticed any. I'm sure they didn't do this just for me, although I've never had an issue with tripping on the sidewalk. 

A root under the slab

I swear, when people see me walking, they must think I work for the city because who else takes pictures of the sidewalks or other oddities of the city? 

The nice thing about tidying up is that I'm actually finding things that I needed to find. A friend of mine and I were working on a machine embroidery house for Halloween. That was in March of 2024. We did an experiment and never went past that. Well, it's time to get cracking as Halloween is coming. I couldn't find what we had worked on, and I had no idea when or what I had done. So, back to the blog, where I was able to find the post. I LOVE going back to read the older blog posts! 

It appears that I only cut one piece of foam for her, and she did one stitch out, which you can see in the blog. I found my papers, but what did we learn from that experiment? I'm waiting for her to find the piece so we can reevaluate the situation and move forward. 

The lost pattern pieces for the Halloween house

I also found the base for my mini iron. It had gone missing for several months, and no clue. I found it when I put the tubs of stabilizers away! Good grief! 

The base for my mini iron is now found! 

I also found a binding for a quilt. What's hilarious is that it's the quilt I mentioned at the beginning of that blog post about the Halloween house! Not a big deal, except that the quilt is now bound! It was one of the ones I quilted in July, and I didn't remember that I had made the binding - it got separated from the quilt. So I made a new one. Now I have a brown binding, but I have nothing to put it on! I'm sure I'll find something where it can be used. WAIT --- I know just the quilt - it's a new one I have to make, and this will be perfect for it! 

An extra binding

As usual, I found more tools - another seam ripper. How many more will I find? I also found a couple of hairbands, which I had intended to embellish, and my bracelet. 

Lost things that are now found! 

This isn't just any bracelet; this is my bracelet from the Camino! Oh my goodness—the fastener came undone, and I need to figure out how to reassemble it. It was then put into a tub, and now I need to Google how to fix it! If only I would fix or do all these things when the moment arises. Sigh........

My long-lost Camino bracelet! 

As I was tidying and sorting in the middle of the night, I pulled out items for the upcoming jacket class. I have this massive pile to go through to take photos and find interesting things to discuss. I have no want for reference material!

Jacket class research materials! 

Only the far set of lights is one, but look at that floor! It doesn't look like the same place at all! Now that I have a little bit of extra time today, I have a lot of sewing I want to do, but I also need to address the tables. I literally moved everything I could off the floors and onto three tables and the cutting table. You'll see more on that, hopefully tomorrow. I have a few machines to pack up today, so that's my priority. Some of this stuff had been sitting under the tables in the far back for years. It's now been moved out of the homeless stage and will find a home this week. 

Look at the floor!!!!

I've found two things that I no longer want; if anyone is interested, please let me know. This is a project/tool bag with a pocket (velcro) on the front. The central part is made of mesh and features a zipper. I'm not using it, and if anyone can use it, it's yours. It's approximately 12" by 8".

Mesh project/tool pouch up for grabs 

And I have some watch bands for the Fitbit Versa 4 watch. I no longer use the watch, and I have all these extra bands. Can anyone use them? They are yours! 

Watchbands up for grabs

And in all the craziness that was yesterday, I actually got a binding stitched onto a quilt. Yeah!!! The first of at least a dozen that need to be done. I want the tub they are in, so that's an incentive to get to work!!!

A binding on a quilt

And that's it for today! Oh my -- so much going on. Well, that's a total lie! My days are lazy and long. Well, that's a lie as well. The days are long, but not lazy. But no rushing around with massive deadlines - I'm positively lost! I don't know how to work under these conditions! 

Once I get to sewing downstairs and tidying, I'm sure my day will be filled with loads of excitement! I still have one set of templates that I'm trying to locate. I've been through a lot of stuff over the last couple of months, but they are there - just where is the question!

And on that note - I'm out of here. No spin class this morning as DH needed the car, so I'd better get some stretching done on my own! It's a challenge to book an early morning appointment with a personal trainer. What's that all about? Can it be that other silly people like myself like to work out early in the morning? It's crazy!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

A little fun with AI

The masses have spoken. There will be NO new sew-along until Colour My World is done! Let's not get ourselves into any kind of mess! Thanks for making me see the light of day! I do NOT need to start another project. And by September of next year, there might be something else we want to sew! 

When I attempted to use ChatGPT to compile those documents from the QUILTsocial website, it didn't work. Someone mentioned that ChatGPT wasn't really meant to scrape data from websites. It creates things, but it doesn't do the dirty work! I'm not sure that's a good way to describe what it wasn't meant to do. What do I know - I'm totally ignorant of this AI stuff. 

However, another person and their husband, who are experts in databases and compilers, decided to write a small script for some program, and voilà — I got what I wanted! Their DH is retired, so this was the perfect little task to keep him on the edge!!!

A big thank you to everyone who reached out to help resolve my issue. I have the information in a spreadsheet, and now I can proceed with what I want to do with the data. 

But I thought I'd have some fun with AI that was a bit more in tune with what it's supposed to do. 

I was walking Lexi and thinking about what else to put in the presentation for our Monday sewing group. Sometimes, it's pictures of quilts from quilt shows, sometimes, it's what we are working on, or what we have finished. But yesterday, it was all about what people had embroidered on those oversized felt totes from Dollarama. Good grief - I bet the store is wondering why people are buying multiples of them! 

I haven't embroidered one yet, but I'll get there, and then I'll post a picture. But last week, I also challenged the group to make a cake using some form of AI. Oh my --- the results were hilarious! And I would say that we are pretty good cake makers!

We had a wide range of cakes, and even though it's just words (typed or verbal), the variety is wide and shows that it takes time to really think about what you want on your cake. 

I swear the cake in this picture went through some kind of natural disaster! The machine looks like it was hammered with something, and there is NO icing on that cake! I think it also makes a difference which AI program you used. 

A cake with a battered sewing machine on top

This cake was created using a sophisticated AI image generator, and the person who made it is highly skilled in this area. We even got a front and a back view of this cake! 

That's a gorgeous cake

The difference is quite remarkable! 

I made my cake last week, and can you guess what parameters I included? 

My cake

It was something like, 'I want an orange sewing-themed cake with a crazy quilter on a bike!' This is what I got! I LOVE it, and I could actually make this. Well, someone with good cake decorating skills could make this! 

This past weekend marked the first two games of the American League East (baseball, for those who didn't know), and although I'm not a fan of watching baseball, it's our team! 

I noticed that one of the Monday group had posted a picture of her dog dressed in his Blue Jays gear. 

A loyal Blue Jays fan

And while he looks pretty happy, I knew he would be jumping up and down after those two incredible wins. So this is Charlie cheering his team on! He was cheering so hard, his hat fell off! 

Go Jays Go!

When I was walking Lexi, I decided to have some fun with the Monday group, so I downloaded ChatGPT to my phone and asked it to create a picture. My parameters were to create an image with six dogs (the six dogs of the ladies in the group - I hope I didn't miss anyone's dog), with Blue Jay jackets and hats on (I guess it didn't want to hide the faces of the dogs in the front row with hats! Lexi probably said, "I'm beneath wearing a hat," anyway! And then listed the breeds: a black lab, a cockapoo, a golden retriever, a Bichon frieze, a chocolate lab, and a husky. This is what I got!!! It's hilarious!!!!

Dog baseball fans!

I was trying to make a more elegant cake, but I ran out of computing time on the free version of the app. Hmmm --- I could have loads of fun with this. Should I pay the monthly fee? I would get way more fun out of this than I would watching a streaming service. I'll have to think about it! I am a stickler for using real stuff. But can you imagine what this will do to Stock Photos? I created that picture while walking the dog, and no edits or changes were made from the first, very rudimentary commands. Yikes!!! Scary stuff!!!

Please don't ask how I got all the dogs to sit together so quietly! 

Oh, gosh — I need to get myself organized, as I've been looking for something I purchased about a month ago. Of course, I couldn't find it. But when I was searching for something else on my desk, there was the darn box! My desk is currently in an unfortunate state, but I'll get it cleaned up! 

The missing box! 

During Monday Sewing, I managed to make some progress in the tidy-up area. I had a couple of mats for my Momento cutter that needed to be cleaned, and now they are ready to go for the next cutting session. And even better, all the mats are put away! 

Cleaning the large mat for the Momento

When I was at Sewing Machine Magic two weeks ago, they have LDH scissors for sale. I had a look at them and decided to upgrade my cheap thread snips with a nice new pair. 

LDH scissors

I got the solid black ones, and I haven't used them yet, but they are now sitting beside my sewing machine. I'm looking forward to sewing something later to try them out. 

My new thread snips

After removing the cutting mats from this table, it looked a whole lot neater. I pulled out my small cutting mat and, with the ironing station right behind me, I proceeded to trim some half-square triangles. 

Trimming half-square triangles

I'm happy to report that all the ones I've recently sewn are now trimmed. That is excellent news, and I need to stay on top of it, which I'm doing a great job of now that I'm aware of it and not just letting these things build up. 

More half-square triangles trimmed

I still have this container of them sitting on the ironing surface, and I'll save that for the occasional cut or do them while on Zoom calls. 

The remainder of the half-square triangles

It was time to clear all the crap off the floor. I was growing increasingly tired of it, and I can't believe I lived with clutter strewn all over the floor for years. And then I dare to discuss hoarders. I didn't even see the mess until I had no choice but to pick it up when the floors had to be replaced. The cutting table is a disaster, but that's on the agenda for later today. 

Nothing is on the floor in front of the cutting table

I have a lot more to share with you about Studio B, but time doesn't permit it this morning. On my walk, I stopped by Indigo (a book/gift store) to see what was there. This is a very dangerous place for me to be, but I won't buy books because I can get them from the library. However, there are so many I want to read! Help!!! I confess that two jigsaw puzzles came home with me - they were on sale! OK - one of them was! The second one was a jigsaw puzzle, and then you had to solve a mystery. I have a couple of those, but there are more every time I check. 

Jigsaw puzzle and a murder mystery

More murder and puzzling 

They also have a nice selection of the non-Advent calendar EXIT Games, but I didn't buy any. I need to check which ones we have. One of our sewing group members, who is currently in Austria, spotted an EXIT Game Advent Calendar on the shelf. Now the language with that one would be a challenge!

EXIT Games!

However, they had started a jigsaw puzzle, and I had to stop for a bit. It's on their community table! I've never seen or heard of this before, but I wanted to help the cause by lending a hand. 

Community table at Indigo

This was the table when I arrived. There are three chairs: top left, bottom right, and to the bottom left of that photo. The puzzle frame was sitting on the table with the bottom facing towards the rest of the table. And a large number of pieces were still in the box. 

The table when I arrived

So I put out a couple of handfuls of the puzzle pieces and turned the puzzle so that when someone was sitting at one of the chairs, it would be in the correct orientation. 

Now this is much better! 

Believe it or not, but I even managed to find one piece and put it in the puzzle. 

I completed the mountain top!

Anyone want to join me at Indigo to do some puzzling? I might have to go every day! I wonder how long they would allow a person to stay without being too obvious that they were there for hours? 

Would anyone else stop by to chat and puzzle with me? It might be fun to see what happens. It's a rainy day today - a perfect day to work on a jigsaw puzzle. 

I'm getting closer to finishing the writing - I hope, no, I really need and want to get it completed today. I have so many other things that I want to tackle. No deadlines, but I want to move on! Today's the day to make it happen. 

Be sure to check in tomorrow, because Studio B is not the same as you've seen it lately. It probably looks even worse! 

I had a couple of issues with falling asleep and then staying asleep. Now, why is that? So I was creeping around the house, tidying up and opening windows since it was so warm. My little pouch slipped to the floor in the office, and I accidentally stepped on it. A few seconds later, I hear the car alarm go off. No way! Yes way! When I stepped on the pouch, I somehow activated the panic button on the key fob. Go figure! In a real emergency, I probably wouldn't be able to touch that button if the key fob were in my hand!  

Anywyay - if you get a chance to make a cake with AI, send it my way! It's a hilarious task to undertake, and it doesn't take much to create something, however good or bad.

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

AI Failure

OK -- I'm up for trying new things. And there was something that I have wanted to do for a long time, and last night, I decided it was a perfect job for AI. However, I'm sad to report that the job it did was dismal. A total failure, and it was an easy job. 

What's the job? I have written MANY posts for QUILTsocial.com over the last 11 years. By my count, there are close to 400 posts. Yep -- that's a lot of posts. I use many of them in my teachings, and I sometimes struggle to find the correct one, although many posts are listed by various topics, which I can use as a handout. Wouldn't it be nice if that list were complete and indexed? I can do it, but it will take a while. 

Sounds like a good job for AI. NOT!! I don't know how many times I had to retell and clarify what I wanted, and then it said, "I will do a thorough search and create a PDF." Sounds like a perfect job, right? WRONG! I got a PDF with 32 posts! That's less than 10%. Hmmmmmm --- so far, I'm not impressed, and I think I'll stick with using AI for editing! I suppose I could try again, but seriously, how hard is it to do a complete job? It knows what I want because it provided me with 32 posts containing the exact information. It just missed a whole bunch. Perhaps I need a paid account to access the entire list. 

On a much happier note, I'm making significant progress on the writing. While I had hoped to be done by now, I got a little verbose, which put me behind. No worries. I've got a system and a plan. 

I also made significant progress on the project that I need to hand-deliver to the editor tomorrow. The last piece is being stitched out on the embroidery machine as I write. So everything will be ready to assemble after I walk the girls. All I can say is that it's something I've wanted to make for a while, and this turned out to be the perfect opportunity. It's absolutely stinking cute! I'm not even finished with the preparation, and I'm already loving it! 

I must say that I'm spending way more time with my embroidery machines these days, instead of sewing, but I've had numerous events related to embroidery. Four more projects on the table need to be finished - all embroidery. I guess I know what I'll be doing next week while I get some quilts quilted! 

I get a chuckle, though, when I hear of other people stitching out embroidery, and everything has to be perfectly colored and the exact color of thread chosen before they start. Not me! I just grab a handful of pretty colors and figure it out as I go! Mind you, this particular design lends itself to whimsical choices, but still. 

My random thread selection

The designs are ones that I created in the Creativate Machine Embroidery software - no digitizing involved, but basic editing, and I'm happy with them. 

As I was writing, I had to take pictures - I thought I was done, but I took a different direction, which required pictures. That resulted in mayhem! I found everything I was looking for, though! 

And whatever I do, or wherever I go, look who is there to keep me company. 

MOM - I'm here for you!

MOM - I'm kind of sleepy - wake me if you need anything

And if she gets bored and needs to be outside, she can watch over me from out there. 

MOM - I've got your back - I'm close by

Instead of Studio B looking better, it looks worse, even though I've been home for a week now. But after this round of embroidery and writing, the serious clean-up can begin. 

Drawers are open everywhere

I have to laugh because so many drawers are open - there are many more drawers open this morning. But the best part is that all the things I'm looking for are exactly where they should be. That is the critical factor to organizing. It's not enough to find a home for something; you also need to return it to its original spot, which is why things sometimes get a bit out of control. There are a few things that came home with me that need to find a place to live. Once I start tackling it with focus, the tidy up will go quickly. 

And there are TWO things that I need to find. Do I know where they are? Obviously not, since they are still on the lost list. 

Additionally, there are a few machines that need to be picked up, hopefully sometime next week, which will help alleviate the situation. 

The tray of random embroidery thread got put away, as did the threads I was using for this current project. As I finished, I returned the threads to their respective box, and the boxes were returned to the shelf. Now that this project is complete, I can move on to the next machine embroidery project and get started on that. As I work, I need to put things back when I'm done. I have a little bit of that to do from yesterday's photo-taking session. 

The best part is that while the machine worked, I was writing. I don't usually write on my laptop, but with the shared drive, I could move between computers as needed and get the work done. That is helping a huge amount! 

Here is the next tray of goodies that needs to be put away. Loads of prewound bobbins for the embroidery machine, yarn, and roving. I want to use all of that with the embroidery machine, but I need to put it away first. Then, when I'm ready, it's good to go! Oh yes - my embroidery machine works with all kinds of cool stuff, and wait until you see what I have in mind! Now that I have more downtime, I hope to come up with all kinds of neat things. 

Today's tray of stuff to put away

I realized yesterday that I NEED to make things. I was feeling somewhat off, and while I was happy writing, it wasn't enough to satisfy me. The moment that project was started, I was a happy camper! I don't need to start new things; I just need to make something. 

Speaking of yarns, look what I found at the thrift store. I popped in on my walk. Oh my goodness — this is a bit dated. I brought it home, along with a couple of other treasures that I want to experiment with on my embroidery machine. 

An OLD skein of yarn

When I'm in the grocery store, I always check to see if my protein bars are on sale. They were not - well, the individual ones were on sale, but still cheaper to buy the box of 12. But look what I spotted - they have a new LOW SUGAR version. BUT look at the difference -- 4 grams less of protein! 

Low in sugar versus regular sugar

I bet that was in reaction to one of those apps that rate various foods. A friend of mine showed me the app, and we scanned these bars. They didn't receive a good rating due to the sugar content. Well, I'm OK with a bit of sugar, but I really need to curb my intake. I'm not out of control, but getting a bit careless. The buck stops here - no excess sugar. I dropped 10 lbs easily and quickly when I completely eliminated all unnecessary sugar from my diet some years ago. Some of that weight has crept back, so I must not let it get out of control. It requires a lot of willpower. 

And for the record, I want to say that just because you are not visibly obese, it doesn't mean that you don't have food issues. I've been accused of this several times - "You are skinny, therefore you don't need to worry about what you eat!" That is so far from the truth. If I choose to eat whatever I want, I would be obese. I might as well just tape sugar to my hips and stomach because it immediately goes there when I eat. I struggle just as much as others do - I just have more willpower to stop or say NO. But trust me, I am probably more regimented on my diet than you think. I MUST eat at my scheduled times, and I constantly think about my next meal or snack. EXCEPT - if I'm away, I'm not like that. Now, why is that? There must be some trigger in the house! 

I also choose healthier (most of the time) snacks than most. But trust me - I'd have pop and chips every day if I could get away with it. 

Anyway - enough about that nonsense. Most of us have some kind of eating issue - some of us are better at coping with it than others. 

The girls were happy when I got back. At that grocery store, they have nice treats for dogs, and I always pick up two apple-flavoured bars for them. They are soft, so I can break them apart, and each one gets a small bite. They were eagerly waiting when I closed the cupboard door. 

MOM - Where's our treats? Where are our treats? 

I have to laugh at Murphy. She loves to get that ball out of the blankets, but seriously? She needs the entire length of the room in which to do so!

And Miss Lexi is now up to her old tricks. I could hear something this morning, but I had no idea what it was. I guess DH let her out before he went to bed, and of course, she didn't want to come in. So she was scratching at the door. Yep - she slept outside all night and probably loved it. She didn't want to come in, though; she wanted Murphy to go and play with her! Why doesn't he put her on a leash to do her business? It's beyond me. 

And now I'm off to conquer the world today. There's a lot more picture-taking, writing, editing, and project assembly to do. It's going to be a great day!!! Sadly, I can't share the project or the writing until they are released, which will be soon. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!

Tidy-Up time!

You guys say it best! When, as a retiree, you "complain" about not having time to do something, that becomes a problem. If you are retired, you are supposedly the person in charge of your calendar. 

And thank you for the excellent comment about my teaching style for Colour My World. I appreciate all feedback—good and bad —because that makes the next class even better. I have a couple of follow-up items to attend to later today, so please be on the lookout for an email later today. 

Do you have a friend that you could trust 100%? Yesterday, we heard about two friends who enjoy vacationing together. No significant others - just two women, enjoying their adventure vacation together. What if one of them says, "Surprise me for our next vacation." So they did! One of them is entirely in charge of where they are going; she booked the tickets, she bought the currency, and told her friend the duration and what to pack. Nothing else, and because of the flights, she won't know the final destination until she's on the third flight! I think that is amazing!

They will eventually tally up the expenses and share them, but that will be after the vacation. What a fabulous idea! 

Speaking of making your bed, look at this. I had washed the sheets earlier in the day and was in the process of making the bed. Miss Murphy decided to jump right up and make herself at home. Not on the edge, but right in the middle. Hmmmm........ 

MOM - Is this my new bed? Thank you! 

We had a grand time at the Virtual Retreat. It's all about meeting new people, engaging with them, and getting to know them. I'm not sure if anyone notices, but I like to ask questions. LOL And people like to answer those questions! I try to engage the people in conversations that will be of interest to the entire group, but I also like to catch up on what's going on in their personal space. Everyone has a voice and deserves to be heard. 

I know that some voices are quieter than others, and sometimes, it's a struggle for those voices to be heard over the more boisterous ones. I try! I won't go into detail, but the conversations can be varied and sometimes wild. However, I learn a great deal from listening to others - it's great fun. We have a couple of banned topics on my Zoom calls, and it just makes our get-togethers a better place. 

And while they chat, I'm trying to get things tidied up. I had some seam ripping to accomplish, and all that happened; the aftermath is now dealt with. WAIT -- that's not true. There is one more major seam-ripping project to happen. I hope to work on it today. 

I washed one of Murphy's mats last week. It is a crocheted mat, and the tail had come undone. So I grabbed a crochet hook and fixed the end. I should really add a couple of stitches to the end to secure it, so I don't have to repair it the next time it gets washed. 

Fixing the tail end of Murphy's crocheted mat

Here is the mat back under one of the tables in Studio B, and she will be happy to have it back. Many small jobs like this need to be done. WAIT A MINUTE -- does that mean I'm back to tidying up those almost finished jobs? I must be, so let's see how I progress on that. Actually, I probably did three of those easy-to-finish jobs yesterday. I'm back!!!!

Muprhy's mat back in place

There are loads of small things that I need to address as I continue to work on the chaos in that space. I'm just trying to deal with putting things away, but I also want to finish things if I can. So it's going to be a crap shoot as to what I can accomplish. But everything done is one thing less to do another day!

At last, I finished trimming all the half-square triangles from that bag. 

Here is the bunch I trimmed the previous evening. 

Trimming half-square triangles

And here is what I trimmed yesterday. 

More half-square triangles

This is quite an accomplishment, and the entire bag, including the unstitched triangles, was returned to the retreat bag. As I sew the last ones in the bag, I'll trim as I go!

I have two more bunches of half-square triangles to trim, and then I'll be caught up and will never let it get out of hand like I used to! I'll save those for another Virtual Retreat, or I can work on them during Monday Sewing days! 

Since the tray was now empty after dealing with all the ribbon, I ran around the room and filled it with all the loose spools of machine embroidery thread. I think that will be a focus today during Monday Sewing. I must put that all away and put the boxes of thread back on their shelves. When I fire up the embroidery machine, hopefully later today, I can just pull out what I need. Of course, for the four half-finished projects, I'll keep that thread set aside. 

A tray of thread that needs a home

I emptied the two bags of project materials that were on the ironing board, and voilà - I found my sewing tools. I did a little sewing before the Virtual Retreat started, and I hope to get back to it more this afternoon. 

My sewing tools

I won't say that I am lost or overwhelmed. I do have two things that need to be completed this week, but not having an extremely urgent deadline, or perhaps I should say that having only one thing with a deadline (OK - actually two), it feels so weird to not have that intense pressure! I have my week planned out, and I'll work on it one step at a time. 

I also got the last suitcase unpacked and the items inside separated. Finished samples are stored upstairs, while supplies/tools/unfinished samples are kept downstairs. That is huge, and I'll deal with sorting and putting the finished samples away another day. For the moment, they are out of sight in Studio U. 

The last suitcase got unpacked

As part of my effort to clean up Studio B and get it back into tip-top shape, I have a massive pile of quilts that need binding. 

Quilts that need binding

As you can see, they have vastly overgrown the box, and I would really like the box to corral some smaller items. I have one of the quilts on the table to deal with today! One a day over the next week will make a big difference in emptying that box. Except for one, those are all giveaway quilts, and it would be nice to get them out of the house! Additionally, there are those eight dog quilts that need to be addressed this month. Oh yes -- I'm going to be busy! But with a lot less pressure and a lot more time!

Miss Muprhy got a new toy yesterday, and when I first gave it to her, she wasn't quite sure what to do with it. 

MOM? What's this? 

It's a chew toy with a treat in it. Sadly, Lexi has zero interest in this type of toy. She has zero interest in any toys! And only like soft things to chew. So she often gets the short end of the stick. I noticed as I made her bed last night that she had tucked a few pieces of kibble in there, and I tucked the blankets over them, hoping Murphy would not discover them. Hey - we all need a little treat stash!

Anyway, after my walk, I came home to discover that Murphy figured out what to do with the toy. So she is happy. 

MOM -- this is a great new toy and it tastes like chicken! 

Lastly, someone gave me this bag, which I won't use. It's a very nice tote bag, but the wrong brand. Would anyone like it for supplies? If not, it will go in the giveaway box. Email me if you would like it to be sent via the Pony Express. elainetheriault@gmail.com

A tote bag is up for grabs

This is what's on the calendar this week: two spin classes, an appointment with the personal trainer, a vet appointment for Murphy (we can walk), and two quilting/machine embroidery clubs on Sunday. That is it for the week!! Will I be able to cope? Will I get bored? Will I fritter the time away? The answers are yes, no, and no. It's going to be a glorious week. OH yes -- there is a writing assignment and that project to be reworked, but that's it! No car trips, no nights away, and no major appointments - the time is my own! 

And on that note, it's time to get my butt off to spin class. 

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!!