Quilt retreat woes

Yesterday, I was up early and got some sample-making done. Everything was bagged and ready to be sewn later on at the retreat. Dogs walked, clothes packed, and it was time to pack the car. 

Look who slipped by the closed door. She did NOT want to get out of the car. 

Murphy -- you can't stay in the car!

She's not often in the car, as she barks like mad, so it's stressful for anyone. But she is feeling left out. In the same way that Little Bear likes to be right there, Murphy is the same. Although she's a bit large to fit into the suitcase, she hates to be left behind. Poor thing -- if I could bring her, I would. But alas, she has to stay home. Lexi? She couldn't care less! 

I managed to get all the retreat stuff into the car and had plenty of room to spare! There are a few things that won't be coming home with me. It's time to do some cleaning, and since I don't see everyone often, it's the perfect time to make that happen. 

Car packed for retreat

See? The front seat is clear! I could still pack a lot, but I'm trying to be very good about how much I bring to a retreat. 

Plenty of room still

It's only one hour from my house to the retreat, so it's a nice drive. EXCEPT for the tailgaters. I set my cruise control to 20 KM over the speed limit on the main highways. There are two construction zones, so lanes get narrower, and there's a lot of transport truck traffic on this road. 

I'm in the left lane because there are two lanes of trucks, and I have a car in front of me. My cruise control keeps my car a certain distance from the car in front of me. It's not a huge distance, but enough that I have room to stop if they need to brake suddenly. 

There are some EXTREMELy aggressive drivers on the road. I had a white Volvo on my tail. I can't move over because of the truck traffic. The cruise slowed the car down to match the speed of the cars ahead of me. But this man or woman was on my bumper. Seriously? Why? So you can ride the bumper of the person ahead of me? 

I know I did a bad thing, but I braked suddenly because I was ticked off. Well, they almost hit me and had to swerve to avoid me. Too bad -- that's why there should be a distance between us. I did it about 5 times because they would not back off. They finally did back off - slightly. But at this point, I could tell they were fuming! Yep -- so was I! I would have gladly moved, but I couldn't. 

At last, the traffic opened up, and they were able to pass. There were a lot of "gestures" happening between both vehicles. He passed me on the right and then proceeded to cut me off. I knew he was going to do that, so I was prepared. Like -- get a life buddy! Then, he proceeded to speed up and tailgate the next person. I moved to the right lane, and life goes on. 

I will tell you that using that adaptive speed control is a lesson in patience! We want to go faster, but then the gap between the car in front is going to get closed! So --- wouldn't it be nice if our cars all had adaptive speed control and everyone used it? Patience, people -- there is zero hurry to get anyway. Or if you plan properly, there should be no issue. 

I HATE people who drive fast and insist on filling in the gaps between cars, switching lanes like mad to pass a car. It's terrible at the best of times, but when we are in a traffic pattern like yesterday with nowhere to go -- back the h*** off my bumper!!!!!! Sigh.

So I was trying to be good and bring only the necessities, but in the same way that I bring stuff for people, people bring stuff for me! A jigsaw advent puzzle!! This is one that I can actually do each day with zero issues. Those EXIT game ones scare me! But I CAN DO IT!!!!

Jigsaw advent calendar

I also got a stack of books to read! Yeah!!!! 

Books to read

And then everything got unpacked, and I got ready to sew. EXCEPT -- I realized I forgot my sewing machine's power cord. ACK!!!!!!! OK -- so no need to panic -- let's see what else I brought. 

I had to do some work on today's presentation on the Husqvarna Viking DESIGNER EPIC 3. Remember, I'm at Hamilton Sewing today!! I'm super excited!!

So, the presentation was done. Then it was time to help someone finish their tuffet. By the way -- my spellcheck on the phone autocorrects that word to TAFFETA. Shoot -- we needed a hammer to get the LONG needle through the foam to make the tuffet with a fabric-covered button. 

The retreat house is on a working farm, so before we knew it, we had a hammer. 

Sewing the button onto the tuffet

Then we "begged" them for a stapler, and well, they kind of did the stapling. My hands are NOT strong enough to handle those heavy-duty staplers, so we got them to do it. And the tuffet is done!!! It looks fantastic, and getting that out of the way was excellent. I knew we were going to finish it, but I wasn't planning on doing it yesterday, but it's done. 

The tuffet

That was from one of the kits that I sold a while back. I wonder how the others are doing on completing their tuffets? I have one more at home -- it's a square one, and I should really finish it. 

OK -- so what can I do now? I remember unplugging that power cord but then never took it off the table. Thankfully, I threw in my Green Tea and Sweat Beans (Jen Kingwell) quilt. I had ONE more block to make, and it's applique. I needed some supplies to turn the edges under, and I had thrown all that in my bag. 

So I started making clamshells. 

Making clamshells

And before I went to bed, the entire block was done!!! You don't know how exciting that was. Now, I need to stitch it in place, and then I can sew that section together. I think there's a little bit more fused applique to finish before I can get the entire top together. But I will have progress to show at our next Jen Kingwell remedial class. My plan was to complete one section! I didn't think it was going to happen. 

The clamshell block

My goal was to finish (quilted and bound) all four of the Jen Kingwell quilts this year. And you know what? I might be able to do that! Three of them are completely done! So, with some time on my hands, I now have all the bias strips prepared for the border. YES -- I am going to do that border as well. 

I have to go home this morning to get that power cord, and I now have a huge list of other (small) things to bring. Thread to stitch this applique in place and a few other things. 

If I could get the border bias strips in place and FINISH the inside part of the quilt top this weekend, that would be amazing!!!! And so, if the quilt wasn't quilted for our final Jen Kingwell in December, it could be getting close to that point. YES -- I might make a push because it would be awesome to have this thing done. 

I'm going to do fused applique on the border - I thought about machine embroidery, and I might still go there now that I have access to a VERY long hoop. I might be able to do each border with three hoopings. Hmmm --- that sounds like a plan, and with the NEW tools on the DESIGNER EPIC 3 -- it would be amazing, and everything would be EXACTLY where I want it. Hmm -- I might just contemplate that. I'll use the mySewnet embroidery software to create the shapes and use the digital cutter to cut everything. Yep --- I'm going to do it!!!

It'll be a good experiment and shouldn't be difficult to do!! I have the tools, and I have the know-how!

This morning, I finished rejigging the fabric requirements for our Tequila Lime quilt. I have not calculated how much fabric I saved by rejigging how the quilt gets cut. WAIT -- I just calculated it. The original pattern called for 12.875 yards of fabric. We really only need 8. Seriously???? Yep, FIVE extra yards of fabric in the requirements because of how they cut the pieces. That's a HUGE issue as far as I'm concerned, but now everyone in the group knows how to regroup and save money. I'll be sending them an e-mail when I stop at home. I can't access my group distribution lists when I'm away. 

Yes -- there is a bit of work to make that happen, but I'd rather have large pieces of scrap or no scrap than five yards of little pieces that I can't use for anything. That's like taking $100 CDN, cutting it up with the rotary cutter, and throwing it away. I'd rather take a bit of time and save the money. It's more environmentally friendly as well!

On that note, I'm off to find something else to do by hand before I leave to go home and then head out to Hamilton!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Bike helmets SAVE lives, but wear it properly!

I have my cycling clothes on and getting ready to go to the gym for spin class. It's back to the routine schedule. I've been slacking off for the last two weeks with the walking and spinning. It was rare that I made the daily goal of 11.5 KM of walking while away, but I did aim for 10,000 steps in a day! No big deal. 

I recently heard of someone's husband who had a cycling accident. He hit a bump in the road and went head over handlebars. He ended up bruised, scraped, and likely with a concussion. Thank goodness he was wearing a helmet, as it likely saved his life! So if you are cycling or someone you know is cycling, especially kids, check how to PROPERLY wear a helmet and WEAR IT!

I have to tell you about some of the kids I see on their way to school. Some of them cycle, and their helmets are stuck on the BACK of their head, offering zero protection if they fall forward. It is NOT for the back of your head, but for the circumference of your head! Check it out. 

Then other kids walk to school with their parents, and half the time, the parents are not communicating with the child as they are on their cell phones. At least they are walking and not in the car. 

But the other day, a father and daughter passed me, and she was on one of those bicycle attachments on the back of Dad's bike. I'm not sure what you call them, but she was pedaling. Well, they were having a conversation about something science-related, and she was asking questions, and Dad was giving her the answers. It was the most refreshing thing I've heard in a long time! Way to go, DAD!

It makes me sad when I see kids and parents give up so many opportunities to chat because one or both are on a device! I've seen this pair before, or I see Dad on the way home with the bike, and next time, I'll stop him to say how impressed I am! 

Oh my goodness --- we had so much fun at the Virtual Retreat! There weren't quite as many as usual, but we had a grand time, had some good laughs, and talked about some somber subjects like death and ashes and some pretty tough decisions regarding parents. 

Do you know the one thing that I love about these groups? I am NOT alone. If I were going through this decluttering thing with my parents without talking to others, I'd be devastated, embarrassed, and very discouraged. But after talking to others who are experiencing the same thing, I know that I am not alone, which is HUGE. 

So a HUGE thank you to all of you who have helped me realize that I am normal. My family's habits are NOT unique, and I only wish my brother had the same outlet because he struggles to accept what is happening, and he thinks it's all intentional. My SIL is with him, and they feed off each other, which is not good. 

And I have to say that it was the most productive day I've had in a while. 

I got the third Project Linus quilt bound! Now that there are a few of them, I'll contact the contact and ask for a drop-off date. Yeah!!! I might even try to squeeze a couple more in!

Project Linus quilt

I got the two borders on this quilt. I had the inner border cut but had to go shopping for the outer border as I had nothing in my stash that would work. It's not super big, but it'll have to do for a seasonal quilt. 

The quilt top is done!

I almost didn't think I would have enough for the binding as I had to cut one more strip for the border, but I ended up with just a few scraps left over, and now the backing and the binding are also done, and this one got moved to the "to be quilted" pile. We won't discuss that pile at the moment!

Backing and binding are also done!

I debated what to work on next and pulled out Boho Heart but went with this one instead, which is called Among the Stars Again and is one of the sew-alongs I taught at the Hobby Horse. We have one more class -- the final reveal in July and I was behind in the homework. 

All the blocks were done, and most of the border and the sashings were cut out. So I laid the blocks out as per the pattern. The values in the blocks seem a bit out of place.  

The initial layout of blocks

So I balanced it out a bit and got the top two rows sewn together. Then it was time for me to call it quits for the day. We have Monday sewing today, so I hope to get the top together, minus the border, which requires some piecing. YES -- this setting isn't perfect, but it'll have to do!

A bit more balanced

It's all about slow and steady. My goal is to NOT start anything new in July and work on finishing up some tops, including the binding and the backings. 

So, where else in the world but Canada would you experience this? We had a heat warning yesterday, and the temperature registered at 30 with humidity, bringing it to 38. 

Temperature yesterday

And then the forecasted high for today is 20, which is a drop of almost 20 degrees, and tonight it's supposed to be 11. 

Forecast for the week

Yes -- I know the temperatures are whacky everywhere. This is crazy!!

The other thing that happened yesterday was I unloaded TWO boxes of freezer paper. Yeah!! We just have to arrange a pick up of the two boxes. 

Two boxes of freezer paper are gone from my stash

And I found homes for my FIVE round tuffets kits that I still have. Now how did that happen? So I have to arrange pickups for those as well, but that is exciting as this stack is sitting near the long arm, and I'm happy to see it go. I also have a plastic tub in the storage room filled with the hardware and other bits; now, I can empty that. Yeah!!! I still have ONE square tuffet form left, and I'm keeping that. I should get my act together and make it. Perhaps the six of us can have a Zoom class once everyone gets their kits and work on them together? 

Tuffet kits

Shoot -- I still owe some pictures, and there is no more time this morning, and tomorrow is going to be tight on time as well. I'll catch up on Wednesday!

On that note, I'm off to spin class and have to take DH's car since mine is still in the garage!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Let's just do it!

I'm fired up! I'm on a roll, and there's nothing that can stop me!!

I can't even keep up with posting the pictures, but I'll try. 

Studio U looks amazing! But you have to wait until tomorrow for the pictures. While I was upstairs, I unearthed a couple more trouble spots, and so I dealt with those as well. Studio B is looking pretty good, as well. There's not much left. I know I keep saying that, but this time it's real. 

Oh, there's loads more to do, but at least, hopefully, after today, everything will have a home. When I feel the need to sort, I can pick one area, pull it apart and sort it out. But like things are together, and things have a home. That was my goal for 2020, and yes - I'm down to the wire, but I did it - well, I'm going to do it!

My Cherrywood challenge got entered yesterday. Well, in advance of the 11 PM deadline. At least 12 hours - that's huge! Now we wait and see if they decide that they like it. 

I wonder what the next theme will be? I have to say that I LOVE the Cherrywood fabrics. The colors are gorgeous, the hand is beautiful and well - just nice to work with. And I love doing the challenges - more on those another day. 

OK - let's get to the serious stuff for today. 

Here's a bit of handwork that I got done during Monday's Sewing. 

This is the LAST block for Vintage Christmas. The embroidery is done, and now the blocks are ready to sew together. I was hoping to have that quilt top together, as well as Christmas Fig and Summer Moon, but alas, that hasn't happened. BUT the tidying is way more important!

The choo-choo train block from Vintage Christmas

I also got the antennae stitched on one of the three butterfly blocks that I need for my UFO homework on Quilter's Patch. 

One butterfly block - done!

In my archival digs, I unearthed a huge pile of Canadian themed fabric. What was I going to do with it? No idea - so it's now shelved. 

A stack of Canada themed fabric

I found two pincushions. Good thing because right now, I only have one in Studio B, and it's not enough!

Two found pincushions

I also started to quilt this quilt. I've agonized over how I was going to quilt it for MONTHS. After watching a video the other day, I decided to quilt a spiral using my walking foot. It's not the kind of quilting that I like as I'm constantly rotating that quilt, and I didn't baste it! Ooops!!! So far, the back looks OK. But I'm not sure I'd do this again. 

Quilting a spiral on a quilt

Here's a detail of the quilting. I was hoping to get it finished yesterday, but well - I was rather busy with other stuff. 

The spiral quilting

And yes - I'm sneaking in a few minutes here and there to work on the jigsaw puzzle. The steering wheel is done, and I'm working on the sky. Slow and steady!!

Progress on the jigsaw puzzle

I found these quarter square triangles rejected from another project, so I decided to trim them. The ones that were sewn are trimmed and ready to be used somewhere. There's still a bit of sewing to do to finish them up, but the machine is set for quilting, and I didn't want to change the thread. I have a couple of tins of random quarter square triangles, so these units will join the others when I'm finished with them. 

Trimming quarter square triangles

I decided the best thing for this doll quilt is to chop off the damaged side, rebind it by machine and donate it for a pet mat. That got moved to the current projects table, which is about to explode, but that's OK. 

Fixing the doll quilt

I also unearthed this large orange tray, which is not being used to its full potential. I found quite a bit of yardage that had been set aside for what? Oh, some project, to be sure. But it's all filed in the stash room now. 

A tray filled with yardage

I seem to have a problem with tags - the tag is still on it, and we know how long this has been since these guys designed products. One of them has since passed on, I believe. 

The tag on the orange tray

I also unearthed this bag, which is perfect for handwork. Yes - it says Worm Binder on it - EXTREME no less. What does that mean? The worms are extreme?? 

A worm binder

Inside I found a brand new pair of scissors and a $20 bill. I tried to take a picture of it, but of course, that doesn't work. But it's an OLD one - pre-plastic money days. I guess I should spend it. 

Brand new pair of scissors

I added some pockets to hold DMC floss in the worm binder, and it's filled with other pockets that are perfect for small handwork projects. I'm trying to get myself organized to do handwork in the evening when I'm tired of sewing. With all the tidying up, I freed up an easy chair upstairs that is very comfortable. I was happy as a clam last night as I ripped apart a tote bag that I want to fix. Oh yes -- I'm so busy remaking or repairing stuff that I've no time to make the new stuff. You know what? I'm OK with that. I find it very rewarding to rescue something. 

DMC floss inside the worm binder

Let's see what else I found. Oh yes - the leftover bits from my red and white log cabin. Why didn't I put this away? No idea, but all is shelved now. I even started a new scrap box for red and white. 

Red and white scraps

Oh, plastic bags do not last forever. This one just ripped apart in my hands, and all the contents spilled on the floor. 

Plastic bag accident

You're kidding me???? More thread and zippers? I swear - I could start a zipper store!!

Zippers and thread

And I must have had a thing for pink and green at some point. I think this was for more zippered pouches. All of the items are shelved now. 

Green and pink fabrics

I found this basket of Stonehenge fabric. I was going to make a second Kaleidoscope quilt from it. Seriously?? Why would I want another big quilt? I found four blocks and loads of yardage. 

A quilt block

Oh - I think there's something wrong with one of the blocks. I'll add that to my pile of stuff to pull apart tonight. Then I'll repair it and make a table topper with the four blocks. Then it can be done!

Four quilt blocks - one is not like the others

Not only do I rescue fabric, but it appears that I rescue other things as well. I bought these tiebacks - one is missing the finial. I like to use the tie backs to hang up my quilts. So what can I replace the finials with? Door knobs?  

Silver tie-backs

I did manage to fill and sew up three pet mats. I'm accumulating a stack of these, so I will have to arrange a drop-off in the next couple of weeks. 

Three pet mats

So I had a shelf/quilt rack hanging on the wall, and one day, months ago, I went downstairs to find the shelf had fallen off the wall. 

A shelf used to hang here

It appears that the plugs that I used did NOT open in the wall to secure the item. Now, why did that happen? Three plugs failed??

The plug didn't open

The wall has looks empty ever since, and I want to hang a quilt in that area. The shelf is also a quilt rack. I've decided to use the silver tie backs to hang a new quilt. I do have a black rod - I mean, where will you find a silver curtain rod? For now - it'll have to do. 

A space to hang a quilt

See -- this is the plug on the back of the rack- it barely opened. Maybe the screw was too small for the plug. That's probably what happened. 

The plug didn't open

Shoot - I thought I took a better picture of the quilt rack. But it's up for grabs - FOR free. If anyone wants it - you have to be able to come to pick it up. It's about 36" long - it might be a bit longer. The quilt goes under that bar with the three knobs on it. 

Quilt rack up for grabs

So this is what the cutting table looked like this morning - I decided to put everything left on the floor on the table so I could deal with it today. 

The stuff left to put away

And this is what the area at the bottom of the stairs looks like. Yeah!!!! Isn't all that space so inviting??

The space at the bottom of the stairs

So now I have room to set up a table with mixed media stuff that I want to work on. 

My mixed media table

As I was setting up the table, I spotted this box of stuff. Oh, god - another box. Well - it has a variety of things in it. But since I'm in the mood, I might as well deal with it today. 

One more box of crap to deal with

It's a box of odds and ends - you know the stuff you have no idea what to do with, so it goes in a box. Well, today is the day! Let's just do it and get it over with. Then I can start the new year with an immaculate space. 

So I did the unthinkable - I emptied the box onto the cutting table. 

Now the cutting table is FULL of stuff

But I'm in the mood - let's run with it. I finally decided that I NEED to throw this old ironing board cover out. I thought perhaps I could salvage a part of it for an ironing pad. Seriously?? I don't need one, so it goes. Phew - I'm going to need a lot more of that discipline today. 

Old ironing board cover - gone

I spotted this plastic cabinet. One of the wheels got broken off when I loaned it to someone. GRRR!! OK - lesson learned - do not lend stuff! It's going to remain upside down for the moment, but at some point, I'll think of some way to fix it. HEY - I could jam a piece of wood in that slot. OH - I could put a caster on a piece of wood and put it in that hole. HEY - I have a couple other of these cabinets that are broken. Let's hope that I find the casters. 

And here's something else I'd like to get rid of. I have FIVE tuffet forms that are looking for a home. They are cut, with a batting skirt on the outside. The wooden bases are predrilled, and all the supplies for a total kit are available if anyone wants one. NO - these are not free. Perhaps we can have a small class - there's only five, and that would get rid of them. 

Tuffet forms

Well, I'm sure I'm going to unearth a whole lot more treasures today!! Don't forget to set your timer for 10 minutes and grab something to tidy up. It's going to take a lot of 10-minute sessions, but when you're down to the last bit like I am - well, you can't imagine how euphoric it feels to get to this point. I'm a very happy camper!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!