The aftermath of quilt retreat

OH MY --- I was exhausted when I got home. I had a decent sleep the night before, but it was short. Can you believe I went to bed at 6:30 last night and got up at 4:30 AM—that is a rarity for me. I had five minutes of awake time and 1 hour and 13 minutes of deep sleep! Phew --- I feel great this morning, and that was probably my best sleep score ever. Those sleep scores only give you excellent if the sleep duration is long. 

But let's step back and see what happened in the day -- it was jam-packed!

Instead of starting something new, I decided to only work on the scraps from the dog quilts. You know you are down to your last bits when this is what the final block looks like! And yes—those are tiny little seams along the top, but this is what I love doing. 

The last block of the red/white/black scraps

The one above is made from the brights/black/white fabrics. This one was the last in the muted tones, except for that bright blue. I had more blocks made just from that blue fabric, and they got moved to the other pile. 

The last block from the muted fabrics

That piece of brown was the only scrap left when I finished sewing. The rest of the scrap cutoffs were already in the garbage, as I was trying to keep the cutting table clear, even though I was the only one using it. 

Trimming the last block

I had planned to stop at 11:30 or whenever the scrap pile was done. I beat the clock - I finished at 11:26. I felt like I was in a puzzle competition!!!

Finished at 11:26!!!

And there was the entire bag of dog fabric scraps from the cutoff quilt backings prepped into 6" squares to be made into two more quilts!!! There were 56 muted blocks on the left, so I can make a 7-by-8 quilt from those, and there are 87 brights. I'll add something to those and will make a 9-by-10 configuration. I'll lay these out on the design wall before I go. I find the design wall at the retreat house a bit small (wide but not tall) and very hard to lay things out on. If the blocks are labeled in rows, it will be a snap to assemble them. I'll lay them and bag them later today. OH -- and there was a bag of brownish scraps from those quilts as well. They are with the panel that I'm going to design later today. 

The blocks from the bag of dog fabric scraps

One last thing I looked at before leaving was this project, which belonged to Diane. She had all those squares sewn and labeled for a quilt top, but she was going to use light grey for the sashing. I wasn't sure about it, but as soon as I brought it out, the light grey got poo-pooed, which echoed my sentiment. So that came home, and I'll dig out another fabric, and that can go to the next retreat. 

The light grey does NOT go with the blocks.

I had a scrap bag of blue flannel bits with me as well, but I decided to finish using the remainder of my blue flannel pieces for those community project quilts, and THEN I can assemble some quilt blocks, and all the blue flannel bits will be used. One must be sensible about this stuff. 

The bag of blue flannel scraps is with the blue flannel pieces.

So technically, there was ONE project that I didn't touch while at the retreat. Yeah, me for the amazing packing job. It is the Oh Canada scraps, and they are back in the retreat bag for the next time! I MUST work on those the next time. 

And when I got home yesterday, I unloaded the car, brought all the bags downstairs, and left them. I was too exhausted to do anything, so I worked on that this morning instead of going to the gym. I'll do that tomorrow morning. See the freedom I have by NOT being committed to that spin class? I might just have found the silver lining. 

This is my retreat bin, which sits under a table. There are two bags in it, along with a few scrap projects at the bottom of the bin. That pile of scrap projects is slowly decreasing, and there aren't many left in the bin. I added the two extension cords to the pile because we need them, given how we configure the tables. So if anyone said, "Do you want to go sewing today?" I could grab that bin or the two bags in it, and I could sew for at least four days without running out of stuff. I love doing these scrappy projects at a retreat!

The retreat bin is ready for the next retreat.

This was the mess before I went to bed at 6:30PM!!! There was also a huge pile of tubs and such on the floor, but there was no way I could cope with it. 

Unpacking from retreat

Here are a few other projects from the retreat that others were working on. If you think freezer paper paper piecing is new, think again! This is from a project dated in the early 2000's or even earlier - I don't have time to fact-check that. Nor the designer, but I'll dig it out later today. One of the ladies is working on this rose, and it's stunning!!!

 A paper-pieced rose

She also showed us her Love Entwined (Esther Aliu) quilt that I remember she started MANY years ago. The finished quilt is much bigger than this, but she decided to finish this center block and stop. All that is hand-appliqué, even the zigzag border. Yikes!!!!!

The center of Love Entwined

And someone else was knitting these poppies for a Remembrance Day art installation hosted by her local Legion. They are stunning, and I can't wait to see what they do with them. 

Knitted poppies

OK -- I'm allergic to dogs or something in my house. When I woke up at the retreat house, my nose was perfectly fine. I wake up here, and my nose is itchy like mad!!! Murphy? Lexi? Thank goodness I love you lots!!!!

Let's take a wee break from the tidying up in Studio B and share the puzzle competition with you. 

It didn't take long to get from the retreat house to the puzzle competition in Georgetown. In the past, this competition was held in a community center, but it has grown, and they filled the arena (Mold Masters) with 100 tables, with a bit of room to spare, but not much! Can you believe? And I would bet that this particular event is small compared to the US or the World events. Unbelievable!!!

Canadian Jigsaw Puzzle Nationals

I don't know what "social puzzling" or "puzzle chess" is. Although I suspect social puzzling is just assembling with friends. Puzzle chess? I'll have to look that up. I would have loved to stay for the entire event (it started on Friday), but I was at the retreat. Anyway, I went up to the stands to watch the next event start. The timing worked perfectly, so I got to see the start. 

The puzzle boxes are opened and then closed again by the volunteers. I don't know if the plastic bag is open. The boxes are then put into a red cloth bag. I watched part of the pairs event, and it was intense. And it was LOUD as people were chatting. But imagine 100 tables, all but one filled, and these pairs were madly flipping pieces and finding homes for them. And there were a lot of volunteers and spectators, who were most likely family members of the puzzlers. 

Let the pairs event commence!

As I was leaving, I snapped a close-up picture of one of the teams. Most started on the border, but not all. I found out after I got home that the DIL of one of our Monday group was competing in one of the events - could have been the individual events the previous day. How fun, and I knew NOTHING about this before. I feel like a kid in a candy store. 

Talk about intense!!

Speaking of candy stores, I did go to the puzzle store around the corner, and the darn place was hopping!!! All these puzzles for this competition have never been released before and bear a label stating they were for the Canadian Nationals. How fun!

I came home and got distracted by watching the livestream of the event. I cannot believe how quickly the participants finish these puzzles. It's totally insane. I went to bed watching the teams (groups of 4) and fell asleep. I would have fallen asleep regardless of how exciting this or any other event was. 

And now back to unpacking, which I did more of this morning. As I was madly sewing the scraps together yesterday, I needed a few HSTs but didn't have time to trim them. I'll trim them this morning, and then the remaining ones to be sewn can go back into the retreat bag. 

A few HSTs to trim this morning

I pulled out my zipper box and found TWO more appropriately sized and colored zippers for my two projects that I had to stop because of zipper issues. 

Better choice of zippers

But as I dug through the zipper box, I realized that while all the zippers are in one big container, they need to be sorted into "like" families and then into plastic bags. It didn't take long to find the zippers, but what a mess. 

OH - I guess I didn't send myself the picture of the zipper box. But that's one thing about sorting and organizing. If you put all the same things in one spot, it'll be much easier to sort and bag them. 

One of the best areas I sorted out quite a while ago was my supply of plastic bags. I had tons of them and gave a good part of them away, but what remains is sorted by small assorted, snack size, regular size, and large. It is so easy to find a plastic zippered bag for anything I need. 

Sorted plastic bags

I'm running low on large bags, so I may have to crack open a box if I have any left. I think I must have kept one box of large bags. I'll have to check it out, but no need to open the new box until I need it, because the minute one bag is empty, it goes into the appropriate bag. And notice, they are labeled!!!!

The poinsettia blocks are now on the design wall, and I hope to get to work on finishing the sled blocks later today. That will leave a section of flying geese to make, and if I had been smart, I could have taken that with me to the retreat, and they would be done! And there are three bell blocks to make for each wall hanging. 

An update on the winter quilts

There was a book on the coffee table at the retreat house in the giveaway pile, and it's one I LOVE, so it followed me home and is now on the appropriate shelf. 

A new book for the collection

One of the ladies at the retreat house loves the dollar store and made several trips during the retreat, and found some treasures. This was one of the treasures - actually, this one she found a while back. Normally, I wouldn't have gotten excited about these baskets except for what she used them for, as she had several at her house. I'll tell you in one minute. 

Once she told us what she used them for, I decided that two of them would work perfectly for me. That was the morning that we walked to town for breakfast. I decided that I hadn't gotten enough steps for the day, and I would walk back to town and get two baskets. I had many offers for someone to pick them up in the car. Silly them—a true walker doesn't care what they carry home! 

Hmmm --- how to economize on carrying them back to the retreat house. You could NOT stack them and carry them as the handles didn't work that way. Originally, I was going to carry one in each hand, but I also wanted to stop for tea (that might have been why my sleep the night before was short!). How could I manage a basket in each hand and a tea as I walked along the highway? People might think me a bit strange. OH -- I must tell you the story of the tea, but I'm running out of time at this moment. 

So while browsing the shelves at the dollar store, I spotted zipties, bought a pack, ziptied the two baskets together, put them over my arm, held my tea in the other hand, and it worked just fine! I love problem-solving!!!! I should add a couple of zipties to the retreat bag. 

The two baskets are zipped together.

Now, where do they work well? Take a look at this in the stash room. 

Bolts on the floor with quilt backings balanced on top

Bolts of interfacings on the left

I have two spots where bolts of fabric sit on the floor. While it's not an issue, there are times when I've kicked the bolts in the top photo, toppling everything onto the floor. Extra quilt backing sits on top, and when the bolts go, so do the backings. 

In the second photo, I have bolts of interfacing and fusibles, and they are very light and are prone to sliding all over the place. 

However, a bolt of fabric fits perfectly in these baskets (40 L Laundry baskets), and now look. 

The end of the row of bolts is now secure.

I don't need all the bolts to be in the basket, just the ones at the end where they could slide forward, toppling the contents sitting on top. 

And even more compact is the area of interfacings. 

The end of the interfacings is now compact as well.

Not all the intefacings are in the basket, but that end is now solid enough that nothing is going to slide away, and it keeps the floor cleaner. Thank you to my retreat friend for that wee organizing tip!

Here is the state of the cutting table as I left it this morning. There are still bags and projects to deal with, and I plan to finish tidying up later today, though it's going to be a busy day. 

The state of the cutting table

I have an ultrasound scheduled for both knees, and I have to be there at 11:15. My knees were totally fine all week, and then the tendons in the right knee? Since I got home, I can feel them shift in and out of place, and they hurt when they do so! It's the most bizarre thing. Thankfully, they have stretched a bit since this started, but it's still not a pleasant experience. This is probably NOT what is happening to them, but that's what it feels like. I'll have to come up with a better explanation before I go to the sports clinic in two months. 

I also have a meeting at 4 PM, Monday, sewing, and some wedding stuff that has to be addressed TODAY!!!


As I was unpacking my retreat bag, I spotted a couple of postcards with some quotes on them. This will be me today!! 

A quote for the day

Of course, the girls were very excited to see me, but I was so tired, I just wanted to bring everything into the house. But then they got some cuddles, and OH MY, Murphy has a boobooo on her head. I suspect she was trying to cram her huge body under the gazebo to catch a rabbit, but she just didn't fit. Thankfully, she didn't get stuck and had no more than a superficial wound on her head. Oh Murphy!!!

MOM - Look at my boo-boo

Oh my—I have to run. I'm running late, and there is so much to do today!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

The LOST day

Yesterday was a LOST day! I accomplished nothing, yet I did do TWO things. 

My passport expires near the end of June, and I've had a note in my calendar since January that I need to renew it. There was no urgency to getting it done, but I knew I would need it probably in April, so I had time. I had gotten pictures taken, and I worked on printing the darn application. 

My plans have changed, and I need the darn thing in March. Oh boy! I intended to mail the application in, and it would take 20 business days plus mailing time to be processed. But with the changed plans, that was cutting it tight. I may or may not have gotten it, and I didn't want to take a chance. 

With the new dates in mind, I browsed the list of offices and knew I had no choice but to go to an office where I could pick it up in person. That eliminated MOST of the offices since many do now allow for pick-ups. So, I was off yesterday to wait in line at the office near me. 

Before leaving the house at 9:30, I checked the wait time, which was 2 hours and 45 minutes. YIKES!!! The office closes at 4 PM. I took a book and some other stuff and wore my sweatshirt and sunglasses because it was a nice day. 

I envisioned arriving and sitting for 3 hours in a chair, and I could entertain myself. I stopped at Tim's, got a tea and a cookie, and had some chocolate in my bag. 

Imagine my surprise when I arrived at the parking lot to see the line snaking OUTSIDE the mall. Oh boy - this does not look good. 

I parked and got in line, which was around a small jut in the building, so you couldn't even see the door. Then there was the security guard who gave us the speech! Stay in the line; applications must be filled out and a PRINTED copy (not on your device); you could be sent to the back of the line if you didn't meet the requirements; this office is ONLY for passports, etc. 

Even though we were in the shade, the temperature was OK, but I had NOT planned on standing outside in my sweatshirt. The line crept along, but we made it inside in under an hour! Then the line snaked along the hallway, and again, we got the lay of the land from the security guard. Stay to the side of the wall, don't block doorways, single file, etc. 

He spent much time policing the end of the line because people would walk along and then pop onto the back of the line. AH - EXCUSE ME -- the back of the line is outside!!! You should have seen people's faces! They must have come in the other entrance or were hopeful!

That indoor line seemed to go on forever, and it took at least one more hour to reach the front of that line. Then, in groups of four, we were allowed into the office, where someone checked our documents to see that everything was in order. There were eight wickets, two of which were used for passport pick-up and six for verification. Of the six, maybe three were being used. 

My back was tired by this time, but I was OK, knowing that a seat was just around the corner. I got a number and moved to the next room, which was full of people waiting. There were about sixteen wickets in this room, but at any given time, there were about eight being used. 

I paid $20 to be able to pick up my passport in two weeks. I waited over two hours in the room with chairs! It took me over 4 1/2 hours to get that errand done, and that does not include travel time!!!

Thankfully, when I pick up the passport, I can go directly to the front door and be directed inside. 

When I left at 2:30, there was NO line-up outside, but there was still a line in the mall hallway. I don't think they could even clear the room with the chairs, let alone deal with those in the hallways. That's insane!! Why not have more people at the wickets? 

And when they called one number, no one showed up! I hope they were not yakking and missed it!! People do not pay attention when the numbers are called and it took some people precious time to get to the wicket!!! 

I get it that you can mail in your passport, and next time (in ten years), I'll mail it in six months BEFORE it expires. But when I was in North Battleford (population of 19,000), my Dad and I had to go to their Service Canada office, and there were ZERO people in line! Wait -- that's not true - two people were being serviced, and we were next in line. I should have done my passport then! 

I live in a city of over 800,000, and there are TWO underutilized offices!

When I left, it was pouring rain, with lightning and thunder. I knew that from texts on my phone, and the girls and a boy were home alone!

I had barely arrived in the house when it started to pour buckets, and there was hail. The hail was bouncing off the pond's surface like a tempest at sea!

Hail on the pond's surface

Hail on the deck

I was hungry and exhausted, so I had lunch. How can one be exhausted from doing nothing? While I waited at the passport office, I read my book. It was a gloomy, damp day, and I was tired, so I curled up on the couch and had company (Lexi was on the other side as there was not enough room for her), and we had a great nap!

The girl and the boy "protecting" ME from the storm

I had zero ambition to do anything when I woke up, so I spent the rest of the day reading the book, which I finished before going to bed!

I spotted some photos on IG or Facebook of a sewing room. Here's an idea that I like. A great way to display your zippers to easily find one. I could use something like that for my zippers, which are crammed into a box. 

Excellent storage idea for zippers

Now, I get that everyone does not have a nice open space to sew, but when I saw this, I cringed. The rest of the room was gorgeous, but her sewing machine was crammed into this tiny space! And missing the view and the light of that glorious window. I would have put a foldup ironing board in the room, moved a table under the window, and shortened the workspace if I had no other choice. 

Cramped sewing space

That would be like sewing in a can. I couldn't do it! 

Well, on that note, I have a lot of stuff on my list today, and I'll get done what I can. There is much to do, and I have to prioritize, which is easy as I look at the list and the due dates! And next week is looming with my many Zoom events! 

I'm off to spin class to rev up my energy to tackle the many tasks today!!!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!!

It's all about the car

 

OK -- I think I've put more miles on my car this week than I have the entire year so far! I had things to pick up and drop off, and it just happened that it all came together this week. Holy -- it takes time to do those errands - I was away for FIVE hours yesterday, so I didn't get a whole lot done. However, I did FOUR errands in those five hours, and I've got some fun show and tell. But not today. 

I need to catch up from two days ago. Let's say that I solved the e-mail mystery. I can't say that I'm happy with what I found, but at least I can see my e-mails. 

So this is what happened. I needed a GPS yesterday, and I decided that I was in a good enough mood to try the navigation system in my car. OH -- there's a new app to connect the car to the phone. I deleted the old one and installed the new one. Hmm - now I need to log into the new app. Guess what? Yep - they sent a verification code to e-mail, which at that time, I didn't know what was happening. I said, "screw it," and just used my phone, which isn't the best since I can't read the darn thing with my glasses on. However, I did NOT get lost, so that was a good thing. 

When I arrived home, I decided to try it again. I had to uninstall the app and reinstall it. Then I had to register my car - easy to do using a scan of the VIN number. Then I ensured the Bluetooth was connected, and I turned on the map on the navigation screen. OK - I did that SEVERAL times, but LOOK. It's a MIRACLE!!!!

The MAP on the navigation system in my car

I've managed to connect it in the past, but what a nightmare. Let's hope that it'll be a breeze to keep this thing connected with the new app. I have another errand tomorrow - a much shorter one, and I'll give it a whirl. Never give up!! But sheesh - I've had that car for over two years, and that navigation system has been a nightmare from day one. 

OK -- now let's have a look at the photos from two days ago. OH -- you'd like to know what happened to my e-mail? Well, as I was fiddling with the car, I realized that I had NOT checked the SPAM folder. You see, I was getting one or two e-mails during the day, but nothing like I normally get. So when I got home and looked in the SPAM folder - there were all my e-mails, including the ones that I sent to myself. 

Not sure what's going on there, but everything or almost everything is still going into SPAM. I tell you - if technology could stay working properly once you get things set up. Why would my e-mails go to SPAM? 

I have nothing new to report on the Snail's Trail blocks, but look who I found in the front garden the other day? Yep - a family (well, probably not!) of snails. 

Snails in the garden

Love this picture of the snail and the vegetation

I hate when they go on the driveway. I've accidentally stepped on them in the past. Sorry!!!!

Snail in the driveway

In an effort to clean up the cutting table, I trimmed some half-square triangles. Let's just say that I have NOT made a dent in clearing up the cutting table. And it's the end of the week, and it's not going to happen today!!!

Trimmed half-square triangles

I got another customer quilt done. Now to trim and make some labels for this customer. 

Customer quilt - DONE

Now here's another mystery that needs to be solved. When I enter the length of the quilt into the long-arm computer, you would think that it would be perfect or almost. This quilt was BANG on. There was no extra pattern beyond the edge of the quilt. But sometimes? It can be as much as two inches. You never want it to be short! That would be bad. 

The quilting pattern was perfectly lined up

So I will need to figure that out, but it's not the end of the world. 

I finished off a pet mat that was also sitting on the cutting table. OK - so I cleared a few things away -still didn't make a dent. But I love having access to a serger. M wants to start sewing clothes, and I'd love for her to have a serger. Hmmm - how many clothes does she want to sew? 

The beautifully serged edge on a pet mat

AHA - here's the medal that you didn't get to see yesterday. I kind of miss checking our progress across the country, but that's OK. I've got other things to do, and my other treks are still in progress. 

The medal for the BIG Canada Run

I've got a project to work on this coming week, and I needed zippers. I was trying to find them at a shop, but most shops are NOT selling zippers during the pandemic! Good grief! OK -- I can hear some of you saying - SHOP Chez Elaine first!!! So I pulled my boxes of zippers off the shelf, and I shopped. 

Shopping for zippers

I inherited many zippers from someone along the way, and where did all these separating zippers come from? And what am I going to do with them? 

Separating zippers

I did manage to find these zippers. Not exactly the colors and lengths that I need, but you know what? I can make it work!! So I saved some money by not buying zippers, and I'm using at least five from my stash, and that's a good thing. 

Zippers for my project

Did you get rid of your ten pieces of paper yesterday? I did and more. But this next item is the kind of stuff that becomes clutter. This was a bracelet for the walk across Canada. It was part of the swag that came with the medal. OK -- I do NOT need swag at my house. I wish we could see what's coming and refuse it. I really just wanted the medal. I don't need trinkets. I felt guilty, but I tossed it in the garbage. And I know there's going to be much more swag and trinkets going in the garbage as I sort through the office. Why, oh, why is this stuff made? 

Swag that went in the garbage

And trust me - there's a ton of it in the quilting world. At one point in my life, I would take anything free. Free little trinkets. And then what? They become clutter. I say NO now - I do NOT want anything free - giveaways, swag bags, or whatever. Most of the stuff is junky and not what I would use. Just say NO!!!!! 

Here's my churn dash block. Still not quite together, but I've made decent progress, considering I didn't turn on the sewing machine yesterday. I was hoping to be finished this section by the end of the weekend, which might happen. But I have a massive project to do today. It's the only thing on the schedule - well, that's not true - I have to prep for two classes tomorrow. I'll see what I get done. That's all I can do - baby steps!!!! Progress is being made, and this quilt WILL be done by the last class in June. Actually, I want it completely together by next weekend. Oh boy!!!! 

Churn dash block progress

I have a corner in the living room, which is my holding area. This is where stuff gets put to be picked up! One day, it might be nearly empty, and then bam - lots of stuff gets put there. It's a constant flow of stuff. 

The holding area in our house for outgoing things

But I'm happy with the progress of getting things out of the house. I wish I could go faster, but you know what? I'm just happy that progress is being made. That's all I care about. And it's going to happen - one day, the house will be so empty that we're not going to know what to do with all the space. It looks like that in some of the rooms. OK - it doesn't! But we're in good shape. My goal is that the day we decided to sell that the agent comes in and says - WOW! We'll just add a new cushion here and a trinket there, and that's it! No packing up boxes of crap! OH -- I have something to share about selling houses, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. 

What do you want to tidy up today? How about text messages on your phone? Remember, they do NOT delete themselves. They will be there forever. So start deleting!!!

And I'm working on something on the computer - I was doing that last night while I listened to the author talk, and OH MY - I'm excited. I hope to have it finished by next weekend. I'm learning and creating on the computer, and I LOVE it. Super exciting. 

I have to say that I have the best job in the world. I love what I do, I love learning all kinds of things, I love working on my projects, whether for a magazine or a blog or for me. There's so much to learn and well - if that enthusiasm alone would keep me alive - I'm going to live to be a very old person!! 

Well, on that note, I'd better get moving. It's going to be an insane day. And there's so much that needs to be done. Everything is quiet, and then BAM!!! The projects just come down the pipeline like crazy. But I love it, so I don't care. Slow and steady!!!

Have a g great day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Slow and steady

I'm happy to report that yesterday was a better day in the sewing department. OH - that's because I didn't sew anything! I did some cutting, but I spent a lot of time on the computer getting the homework assignments done and making videos. I have to say that the video editor on my Smartphone is pretty decent. It doesn't do crazy things, but I learned how to break apart a video and well - you'll just have to watch the video yourself. I'll post the link at the end of this blog.

It was an interesting mail day yesterday. I ordered two things and both of them came on the same day! That's going to make for boring mail days in the future.

One package that arrived yesterday

The second package

The first one is a quilt pattern. I've had my eye on the pattern for a couple of years. It was originally a coordinated Row by Row quilt from the Raleigh, NC area. I was hoping that we could get there to pick up the patterns in person. That didn't happen. Then the designer decided to publish the entire quilt as a pattern. I was hoping to find it somewhere but that didn't happen. I've been following the pattern designer and get her newsletter. When she announced she was having a sale, I jumped and bought the pattern.

Just checked - this is from the 2018 Row by Row Experience with the theme Sew Musical. There's a story that goes with this quilt. I'm not sure I should share as it'll totally show my ignorance of the musical world.

Row by Row Quilt pattern from 2018

OK -- when I first saw the quilt, I contacted the Quilt Posse (my road trip friends) and told them about this great BOB MARLEY quilt that we had to get the patterns for. When I showed them the picture, they all had a laugh. If you are into music, you know that Margaritaville was sung by Jimmy Buffet. Bob Marley is a whole different genre!!  Bob Marley - Jamaica - beach - come on - that's close enough for me!!!!  It doesn't matter  - this is my Bob Marley quilt and I'm sticking to it!!!

Should you want to refresh yourself with the lyrics to Margaritaville, here's a link to them. 

What was in the second package? That was my zipper tape. Too late to work on for the retreat, but that's OK. I never even got close to working on the yoga bag.

Lime zipper tape

The big question is - is the zipper tape the right color???

The color is a definite MATCH

Seriously?? I couldn't have matched that better. I was thrilled. I don't normally order things online, but not many stores around me carry that zipper tape. Yep - I'd do that again if I had to, but I also know a local store that carries it - just not all the colors. It'll depend on how urgent I need the zipper tape.

Just in case you're wondering what happened to the retreat basket, I put the yoga bag and the backpack components back in the retreat basket. It's now back in Studio B on the shelf under the table. I've got a couple of other projects to prep and they'll go in the basket as well. I'm well on my way to having everything prepped for the next 5-day sewing retreat.

Quilt retreat project basket of prepped projects

I liked that system so well, that I went to Studio B and got another laundry basket. I filled it with the thing that I need to work on this week. Some are prepped, most are not. I brought the basket up to Studio U and now I have my work for the week.

Sewing projects for this week

Yes - this helps to keep me focused and I'm all for staying focused. This morning, I did manage to finish the homework assignment for the Summer Moon quilt. Yeah! And with minimal ripping. It's going to be a nice quilt, but as you can probably guess, I've already changed one of the blocks around as I didn't like it. Oh boy!!!

When I went up to Studio U yesterday, I did have a laugh. Look at the cutting table.

The cutting table in Studio U

I'm very good at taking up ALL flat surfaces! However, it looks much better this morning. My Easy Street quilt took up a lot of room on the table. I did the measurements and to put a 4-inch border on the quilt and the binding, I need 1.6 meters. I'm pretty sure that I won't have that big of a piece of purple so that's going on the shopping list.

I won't buy online - I'll wait until we're over this crisis and then get out and buy in person.

The girls are very upset. They did NOT get out for the afternoon walk yesterday. I went out on my bike instead and got in over 30 K. I couldn't help myself - I went out into the country. OK - I ended up on a nice quiet road that runs parallel to the city border. It's 4 K from civilization.

Out riding again

When I started, it was sunny. But then it got cloudy and not quite as warm as I had planned. And I got very lucky because it started to rain as soon as I got home.

I did ride up and down the length of the bike path near me to get in more KMs. I love it - we have this beautiful bike path with big poles on one side!!!  HEY - I'm not complaining - I'm thrilled to have this path. And look there's a fence on one side for added security.

The bike path near my house

What do I have to share with you today??? Well, there's my video - this video is how to shop for fabric in your stash. This is something that we're all probably having to do since we can't get out. It used to be way easier to just go to the store to find something, but no more. I've got things under control and it's easy to look through what I have. That took years and if someone could have given me some advice when I started - it would have been to find a system to organize stuff and keep it organized.

There's also another short video I should share with you. This is how to press things so they stay FLAT. I never realized how much I used my hands to press things until I made the video.

The last one I'll share is how I use a stiletto or quilter's awl INSTEAD of pinning.

I have one more video to edit today and then I'll be done with videos for the homework. And once I get the homework assignment written up this morning, then I'm off the hook. Wait - NO - there are two new blocks due on Friday for Vintage Christmas. After that, then I'll be on a routine as everything will be caught up. But that'll make FIVE of these ongoing projects that I have to keep on schedule. NO problem!!

I"m actually in really good shape as far as getting things done. And I've completely emptied my schedule for April. There is NOTHING on it except for the deadlines of the virtual sew along and our UFO group. Most of May is gone as well. You know what? I'm liking this. It's way more relaxing - I got to lie on the deck with Miss Lexi yesterday. After the crisis is over, I may be given some very serious thought to what goes back on my schedule!

On that note, have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!