How to get rid of clutter FAST

A sad note to start the day. My Uncle Bob passed away yesterday. For the lifestyle he lived, he lived a long life - he was in his 80s. He is now at peace. While we did get a chance to visit him when I was home, he was pretty drugged up. He did wake up and acknowledge that there were people in his room, but I'm not sure he recognized us. I'm glad I got to see him one last time.

That makes uncle number two on my Mom's side of the family that has died of cancer. They were the brothers in law, so that's the silver lining in this story.

I had to pick something up yesterday (no worries - it's just a loan for a month or two), but it was my first visit to a storage locker facility.

Inside a storage locker

This is how you get rid of clutter FAST. You rent a unit and then buy a lot of boxes and shove all your stuff in the boxes and move them to the storage facility. This is NOT a good thing to do. Have you noticed how many storage units there are around? A LOT. I know there's a show on TV about storage lockers. I think if you need to store stuff in a storage locker, then you have TOO much stuff.

Unless, you're really downsizing and it makes sense to store stuff in the locker. I guess you could set up your sewing machine in the locker space and sew all day and then go back to your mini apartment? I wonder if those units have electricity? I will have to downsize one day, but it's not today.

Anyway, I have no intention of renting a storage locker. I'm trying to get rid of as much as I can. I have a scheduled pick-up for stuff today. I need to get my butt in gear and get it all on the front step before 8 AM. There's more stuff that I want to pack up, I'll see how I make out for time. I can always schedule another pick-up. There's a LOT going out the door this morning. And now that there'll be a bit more room in the garage, I can start a new stack for the next pickup.

Since I have the computer for the long arm, I no longer have a need for all the paper patterns that I've bought over the years. What to do with them? AHA - a friend just bought herself a long arm and needs patterns. They are now spoken for and I deliver!!!

Two bags of paper patterns - GONE (or they will be in a couple of weeks)

M wants a sewing machine. She bought an inexpensive one, but I told her that I have a couple of extras so she is getting one of them and she returned the one she bought. It's going out this weekend. I need to find all the bits and pieces which are mostly in the machine's accessory box, but I'm not sure where the darn manual is. Well - the thing is online if I can't find the real thing. The machine needs to be packed in a box and ready to go on a plane this weekend. One more thing - GONE!!!!

However, she also has a rolling cabinet filled with stuff that she was going to work on before she left home. I had to rearrange the studio a wee bit to get to the cabinet.

Moving stuff to get to the cabinet

I found a ripped pair of stretch jeans. Garbage. I found some clothes that she had purchased at the thrift shop that she was going to modify. They're in the give away pile this morning. I found her sewing basket - I'm going to empty the tools and pack them with the sewing machine. There's no room to pack the toolbox on this trip. 

M's sewing stuff

 There's some fabric in the drawers. Clothing fabrics. I might have a look for myself as I've got a hankering to make some clothes for myself. I know - call me silly, but seriously, there's a strong revival in making clothes and I want to be in there with the rest. And I could use some new clothes!!!

I learned something about tea presses yesterday. Recently I purchased a travel size tea press. The lady explained how it worked and it even came with directions, but for some reason, I missed the word HOT for what temperature of water to add.

The other day on my errands, I was back at the mall, to get a large tea press so I wouldn't have to keep making small batches. A different person walked me through the instructions and I read them when I got home. OH - you should be adding HOT water to the tea press to let the tea steep. Hmm - I wonder if that will make a difference to the strength of the tea?

Tea steeping in the tea press

I let it steep for a wee bit longer as was recommended on the directions.

Iced tea ready to go

This is what I learned once I actually thought about the tea making process.  The tea is very fruity flavored and it's nice. It's not very strong but it's probably about the same strength as if you had made a "cold" fruit drink. Then it hit me - there's NO sugar in the iced tea (oops - there's ONE gram of sugar in a serving) and that's probably what I was missing. I just checked the cold fruit drinks at Tim's - A raspberry frozen lemonade has 26 GRAMS of sugar.  I think that's the difference that I was missing. Well, now that I understand the process and I understand why the taste is "weak", I'm good to go. I just thought I was doing something wrong.

And I learned that hot or cold, the water temperature didn't seem to change the taste of the iced tea. But I'll use hot in the future. I LOVE that tea press and there's always iced tea ready to go in the fridge.

And now onto the quilting stuff.

Despite spending the entire morning on the computer, and I was running an errand on the other side of the city, I got a quilt quilted. This is the second of this customer's quilts and it's DONE.

Customer quilt - DONE

 In case, you think I was cheating and showed you the same quilt twice - here are the backs. They are different!  Both quilts are trimmed and I"ll be sending a note to the owner this morning for pickup.

The backs of the customer's quilts

Two down for this week and four more to go. Not doing very well in that department, but I should be able to get two done today. The next one is already loaded. I cheated and put one of my own on the machine. Then a customer one will go on later today.

I'm going to be in trouble with my Mom. I searched high and low for that missing pattern yesterday. I put it in a safe place so I could make it for her and now I can't find the darn thing! GRRRR!  Will not admit defeat in that department yet. I know it's there. I saw it recently - it's just a question of where did I see it????

Lot's of paperwork to get done again today. It just never ends. All this teaching and designing requires a LOT of administration, but everything is almost under control for the moment. OK - who am I kidding - it's never under control. I wish it was as then I'd have some time to attack the paperwork in this office.

I was chatting with a friend yesterday and we were talking about clearing out stuff. While I know it would be great to set aside time and tackle the clutter problem once and for all, I don't work that way. I'm the slow and steady kind of person. I'm making inroads, just not super fast. But it's all getting looked at.

I've heard some stories from some of you and that's exciting that you're also making progress. The neater/cleaner/tidier our houses are, I find that our brains don't have to work as hard and has time to learn new things. I've managed to tidy up the kitchen (from a food perspective) and that has worked wonders. I deal with a few unprocessed foods and I don't worry about the rest. That's what my life seems to be about - removing all the unnecessary variables. I sure wish I did that when M was small, but kids seem to nag you until you give in or you do what is easy. Well, my new system is easy!!!!

On that note, I'd better get all that stuff moved to the front step and I still have to dig out a few things.

Have a super day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!

Food snob

Just wait - I do have quilting things to tell you about, but first I have to tell you my oatmeal story. I've become hooked on the Steel Cut Oats by Quaker - the one that you can cook in the microwave. I've perfected the technique and I was even able to cook it at my brother's house when I was away with no disasters in the microwave. A bit of almond milk and a banana and I'm a happy camper.

I didn't take a picture of the nutrition label, but there are 170 calories in a serving, 3 g of fat, no cholesterol, no sodium, 31 g of carbs, 6 g of protein and ZERO g of sugar.

I have a partial box of this instant oatmeal (also by Quaker) still in the cupboard and I thought I would try and use it up.

As a comparison, there are 110 calories in a serving, 1.5 g of fat, no cholesterol, but there are 140 MG of sodium, 23 g of carbs, 3 G of protein and 6 g of sugar.

Now if you were calorie counting or carb counting, you might want to pick the second one. But boy or boy - you need to taste them. The instant one is well - not worth eating in my opinion, especially after you have eaten the steel cut version. The steel cut version has a better texture, crunchier, the instant is like mush. Despite the fact that the instant is flavored and has sugar in it, it tastes flat. If this is your version of oatmeal and you don't like it, no wonder. Try the steel cut version - way superior product in taste and nutritional value.

I'm good with the extra calories - I need to find things to eat so I consume enough calories in a day and the taste is so much better. Thank you to Quaker for coming up with that. It's awesome. If you haven't tried it  - you should. Just remember that you need to cook it at a less than full power. Depends on the microwave, you may need to experiment. My microwave works at a power level of 5, my brother's (smaller microwave, a 6 or 7 worked better).

I know my kid is out there saying "I TOLD YOU TO READ the label".  Yes, food labels are important. It's not the calories or the carbs or the sugars of one product, it's the TOTAL intake of those products that you consume in one day. I'm still struggling to eat enough calories in a day and I'm not eating enough protein. My calories in the past were made up of the wrong foods. Once I got those wrong foods out of my system, the weight just fell off. And I'm keeping it off - that's the good news. I use My FitnessPal (phone app) to track my food and it's been an absolute MUST in order to make this weight go away and stay away. I still use it.

If you decide to use it, I would suggest that you start tracking your daily food BEFORE you start to change your diet. I think you'd be shocked at what you consume. The first couple of days are a bit of a hassle as you get the information in there, but once it's there - it's easy to log. I do the logging at the end of the day now as I have a pretty good idea of what I eat. Yes - I tend to eat the same kind of things every day. So what? And don't forget that you can add a food by scanning the label of the food so you get all the nutritional information. Super EASY!!!! Most restaurant food is also available to download (through the app) or I use something similar. It's not an exact science, but it gives you an idea of what you're eating and what's in what you're eating.

I have three pouches of that instant oatmeal left. Anyone want a taste test?? I'd be happy to serve you up a wee bit of eat so you can see the difference.

And now onto quilting stuff. If my phone would stop ringing! Oh god - I just got a duct cleaning call on my cell phone. ACK!!!!   And I've got a ton of e-mail that needs to be answered. Let's not panic!!!

It's time to get back to the quilting machine. I've got SIX quilts on the slate for this week. It's going to be tight, but two of them are mine so they can slide if need be. I got this one done yesterday.

Customer quilt - DONE

 I have one more exactly the same to do - that's a job for this afternoon.

I promised to show you those two small wall hangings that I had given to my Mom. The label on the back tells me that they were made in 2001. I know - only a crazy new quilter would make something like this. If my memory is correct, there are 76 pieces in that snowflake alone!!! Now how can I remember a detail like that when I can't remember where the extra fabric is for my Farmer's Wife quilt?

Winter Wallhanging

Spring Wallhanging

My Mom wasn't the best at taking care of quilts. I don't think she ever hung up the spring wall hanging. She put up the winter one and it hung FOREVER in the kitchen in DIRECT sunlight. Can you guess what happened to it? I happen to have some of the original fabric (OK - I have a HUGE chunk of that blue). Look at the difference.

What the sun will do to your fabric

I had told her to take it down and she did, but the damage had been done. And then the two of them got packed in a box, never to see the light of day until I unearthed them.

I'm going to make the other two. I might even remake this one because it drives me crazy to look at it. But then, I'm going to fix the hangers and buy a hanger and physically put it on their door so the quilts can be enjoyed.



I know that when you give a quilt away, that it's no longer yours. We can't sweat the fact that they may use it for the dog to sleep on, or you may find it like this. Can you find the quilt in the picture below??

Where's the quilt?

Yes - it's on top of the bottom box right beside that white box. That's a queen sized quilt all folded up and compressed under a whole bunch of other stuff. I rescued the quilt. Took off the label. My SIL washed the quilt (twice) and it's now at a new home.

There was one other quilt that I had made for my Dad and I found it (after they had moved out of the house on the farm). It was folded up and under a cover on a chair. That one was also donated last year. You see why I'm leery about those little ones?  Well - we'll see what happens.

At least they do have two quilts and they are using them on their recliner chairs, but the quilt tops are facing inward so you can't see the nice design on the front. Oh well. At least those ones are being used.

I guess that sums up today. So much more, but no more time. I've got a trip to make today. A short one, but it'll still take a couple of hours and in the car. Not like my errand trip yesterday where I walked to the bank, then the grocery store, Indigo (and Starbucks where I bought a blueberry square as a reward for my walk and I still have money on a Starbucks card that I'm trying to use up), then the mall (where they have set up a place in the center for people to walk the World Soccer) and the final stop was the library where I bought TWO books for the price of $1.00.  It was a gloriou day and just right for a walk.

On that note, I'm out of here to try and get a few more e-mails done.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!

Motivational Monday - making due

I've been lax in keeping up with posts for the Motivational Monday. But I'm here today to chat about what I've been working on.

And what's with the weather? Yesterday, we're sweltering in the heat, today -you need a sweater. I guess just be prepared for anything and you're good - dress in layers.

No, I did NOT start reading a novel, but now I'm reading two non-fiction books. They are not page turners so it's easy to put them down. I got all ambitious last night to start listening to an audiobook and do some embroidery. I listened to the first chapter of the book, but I think I'll need to start over. I'm not sure how much I caught before I dozed off.

And I've found a home for the Anne Perry books and the big bag of batting. Everything is good!

Yesterday it was back to Monday sewing - my favorite day of the week. I got quite a bit accomplished but I'm going to run into some problems. Let's peek at what I'm working on now.

I started off by working on another series of 6-inch blocks. This time from the book called Farmer's Wife by Laurie Aaron Hird.

There are 111 blocks in the book. My goal is to get 6 blocks sewn a week. So in total that would be 19 weeks. But the good news is that 45 (if my count is correct) are done!!!! That means there are 11 weeks to finish this project and then I can pick another one to work on.

The fabrics are quite different from anything that I've been working on lately, but still very nice. I'm using Kansas Troubles.

Just looked it up - we did this as a class in 2012. Well, no time like the present to get it done. I must say that setting these weekly goals has been a godsend in getting projects like this completed. Don't worry, I won't be running out anytime soon.

Here are the five blocks that I finished yesterday. Gosh, you can barely see the contrast in that bottom right block. Oh well, live and learn.

Five blocks are done!

 The nice thing about this project is that almost all the blocks are cut out and ready to sew. They were cut using templates (Marti Michell) so there's no need to make half square triangles. That's a treat after the 150 Canadian Women project.

However, I do have one wee bit of a problem. I was working one more block and wasn't able to finish because some of the pieces were missing. Obviously, counting is not my strong point - the same thing happened with the 150 Canadian Women project.

Incomplete block due to missing pieces

Hmm - now where would the rest of that fabric be? I've no recollection what kind of a container it went into. And it wasn't on the shelf where these ongoing projects are stored. Well - as many as will fit on the shelf and that's where the bag of blocks was stored.

I had to dig deep into the stash room to find the basket of Kansas Troubles fabrics. Literally, it was on the bottom shelf deep into the corner. No, there are no leftovers from this project. It's all yardage. Drat - now I have to put that basket away and it's going to be a challenge to get back in there. Let's just say that maneuvering around some of these baskets and boxes of fabric - well I had visions of being found under stacks of it last night - unable to get up!!!

Kansas Troubles basket of fabric

 Actually, there's a couple of huge pieces of yardage as well, but those are still in the stash room. I had to lift those pieces out of the basket as I couldn't lift it with them in it. I was going to take a picture because, well - let's just say that this basket is buried DEEP.

When I was looking for the remainder of the fabrics, I came across another project (on that same shelf) also made with Kansas Troubles, but the bits weren't in this basket either.

Another Kansas Troubles project, but NOT the right one

Shoot - I can't remember where those scraps could be. No idea what kind of storage box they were in and no idea even how much was left. Zip, zilch, zero! I remember NOTHING about this project other than the bag of cut blocks.

So I had a little dig through some of the other stuff in that room and in another storage room and I still came up with nothing. I'm going to leave that block for the moment and hope it's the only one that I've got issues with. I'm missing four little squares which would be easy to substitute with some of the other stuff that I found. Just annoying that I can't remember a thing about the leftovers.

I did dig out and put on the work tables, a couple of things that I would like to work on. Now to find the time to do that!!!

I found the pattern for the little wall hangings that my Mom wants me to make. The "treasured" ones that were buried in a box. I'll take a picture of the two wall hangings that I had made as I brought them home with me. I'm going to change the hanger on the back so they'll all be the same and easy to hang on a hook on their door - which I'll do when I'm there later this year.

However, the bad news is that I found the pattern that I've already made. Now I need to find the one that I haven't made. I know it's around as I had seen it not that long ago. I've probably put it out to work on and now where the heck is it???

I need to find the Summer/Fall pattern - DRAT!!!

Amazing how quickly something gets lost and then how I find other things that I didn't even know were lost. Well, if I'm not needing them, I guess they aren't lost????

After my five (and a half) blocks were sewn yesterday, I was back to working on my squirrel project from Sew Fresh Quilting. Had five squirrels to sew and I almost got all the components sewn together. It shouldn't take long to finish that up next week. OK - who am I kidding?  I hope to get the top finished next week. If I don't, I'll be very close. Again, everything is cut for that project and the extra fabric is even in the project bag (just in case).

Squirrel block progress

You'll see it next week.

I was working on my ender and leader project. It's a scrap quilt, except that the little red squares are all the same fabric. I realized yesterday that I was going to run out of red fabric. Shoot!!!! I checked the project box when I got home and there is NO MORE red fabric. So off to dig through the fabric boxes to find a match. I think this will work just fine.

Best match for the red fabric

Can't complain about that match. But seriously???  I had better start doing a better job of keeping fabric set aside or labeled or something. I didn't cut the red fabric but put it in the bag so when I need to cut, it's handy.

Then I decided that I had better get to work and get some of that cutting table tidied up. There are a few of the table runners from the table runner class that needed to be worked on. Time to get those completed. I finished the top for one as well as the binding and the backing. I'm not going to show you until later as I want the group to see it first. It's super cute and I love the fabric choice.

I've been making some of the table runners from a box of batik samples that I had acquired a while back. That means very limited fabric to work with and only pieces that measure about 12" by 18". I had the top finished for one, but nothing for the backing or the binding. I had a quick peek at my stash, but the color is a bit weird. I was going to set it aside and try to find something new on a future shopping trip, but when I was at my sewing machine this morning (near the box of batiks), I saw some pieces in there that would work. So I had to join 7 small strips to make the binding and four pieces to make the backing, but that's done!!!!  Two projects ready to be quilted.

I started to work on the third one. I was missing four squares of white and a border to finish the project. Back to the boxes of fabric this time to find something to go with that. AHA - the squares are cut and ready to be sewn on. I dug out several greens for the border and will find the best one and cut that. I'll share all this with you later this week or early next week. Needless to say, it's time to get this stuff tidied up.

And once these smaller projects are in the "to be quilted" pile, it's time to move onto a couple of big projects that are sitting there waiting to be finished. I have a sit n sew this Sunday and we're a small group. It'll be a perfect time to work on some of these bigger projects as there'll be more room.

Now I do have a couple of urgent projects that need to be worked on so I must get my act together, but we're off on an adventure this morning. But I'll be sewing this afternoon - it just means, no paperwork today. Yeah - OH - I mean that's sad.

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Bad to the bone

I'm worse than the girls when they get a new bone. Give me a thrilling novel and I can't put it down.

After I finally finished the blog yesterday, I decided to forge ahead and check my "missing" book list against the library. Hmm - 26 books to find. Thanks to those that responded with the names of great bookstores that are fairly local to me. I'm going to put the missing books on a sheet of paper so I don't take my precious list out into the big world. Then I can plan some day trips around that list and the bookstores. I'm not in the habit of buying novels, but it looks like I'll have to do that in some instances. I'm OK with that.

I can also try finding some of them online through Kindle, Kobo and someone mentioned The Hub??? But where's the fun in buying them online when you can get out and explore the countryside and search through a dusty old bookstore to find a book??  I'll opt for the real thing any day. I'm going to start with the Orillia bookstore since I'll be there in a couple of weeks.

Let's just say that by the time I hit the studio it was later in the day than I had planned. What to do??  After having lunch with Ronda, I realized that this coming weekend is our ongoing class for the year - Vintage Farm Girl and the table runners. Yikes - I have homework to prep for both classes. And so that's what I ended up doing. Not anything that was on that "urgent" list, but it still has to be done by the weekend. I'm NOT going to get behind in this class - that's just NOT an option.

I got three blocks sewn together. I must say that I sewed two and was having such a bad time, I had to leave it for a bit. I dropped EVERYTHING on the floor and was getting frustrated. So a wee break to read would be in order. You know where this is going.  Even though I did go back and sew some more and got all the cutting done for the remainder of the blocks for this session, I sat outside and enjoyed the heat and my new lounger and read. I think it was 9 PM when I finally finished the book. It's from the Monk series by Anne Perry. Written in England in the last 1800's (I think) and just shocking how the women had ZERO say in anything. The story lines are warped but then so is the author who was arrested and convicted for murdering (or helping to murder) her friend's mother (for REAL!).  It's a great series if you're into that. Let me know as I'm donating these books to a bookstore real soon.

I made my favorite salad last night and as I was making it, I realized that I had forgotten to buy lime so off to the grocery store to get that. You need half an avocado, chicken breast, celery, green apple, juice from a lime and a wee bit of sea salt (tastes way better than regular salt) and it's so delicious and fast if your chicken is already cooked which it was as DH cooked it on the BBQ the night before when he grilled the steak for Saturday dinner. No dressing needed.

I can't even take a picture this morning of the three blocks that I did end up sewing as they are for the homework and the class gets first dibs on seeing them.

Now I'm way behind and I'm going to pay the price for that. I'm off to Monday sewing today where I get to start that "new" project for the blocks. I didn't get much cleaned up in the way of the studio, but I did sort that second bag of batting. After chatting with Ronda, I think I've found a home for it as well as a demo for my class this weekend. Yeah - I love when things come together like that.

And that's it for today. You can always check out QUILTsocial to see what's going on over there (embroidered quilt blocks). I'm NOT starting another novel until this work gets done. I can't afford the time of having my nose in a book. I'll listen to an audiobook which I can do while I'm working. But NO reading a novel which is good as I have a couple of non-fiction from the library that I really should be reading.

Oh here's a story about the Humboldt Strong quilts.  And Lexi would like to remind you that she came from the same place as this quilt. She's much happier to be here.

Then you have to read this story about the quilts. This is what I (and many others) envisioned would happen. It's totally crazy but at the same time, makes you realize that when you need/want to help out, a FINISHED quilt is much better than blocks or tops. Have a read.

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a great day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!

Just get er done!

It's one thing to go on and on about getting something done and quite another to actually make that happen.

I have random moments of ambition. Yesterday, it was my novels. I've mentioned several times that I wanted to get my books (novels) in order. A couple of weeks ago, I finally updated the two computer databases where I keep my lists of books that I've read. One keeps track of the series and the next book to read and the other keeps track of ALL the novels I've read. Once the computer lists were updated, it was easy to print off a "next to read" list.

Then yesterday in a burst of energy, I took all the books off the shelf and determined if they were part of a series or standalone. The standalone books were all sorted and put onto ONE shelf in the bookcase. The series books were then sorted and I wrote on my "next to read" list all the books that I had in each series (by series). If the book was the next one on the list to read, that went in a separate pile and if it was just part of the series, it went on another section of the shelf.

I'm happy to report that all books are sorted, cataloged and back on their appropriate shelf. Now when I want to read a book, it's going to be super easy to pick. I can pick from the standalone shelf or I can pick from the "next to read" in a series part of the shelf or I can arrange to get a book from the library.

There is one further thing that I'd like to do and that is to double check the "next to read" against the library catalog as some of the books are no longer available at the library and that would then become a list to search for whenever I hit a used bookstore. There's a great used bookstore in Orillia (where I'll be in a couple of weeks) and a super huge bookstore in Chatham. Once that is done, then I'm good to go with the books. And I'm super excited that I actually accomplished one of the things that I've been wanting to for a long, long time. Does anyone else know of a good used bookstore??  OK -- Just scouted through the library database. One page of six is done and there are five books on my list to be found somewhere.

I'm a Virgo - what can I say - I like to organize, but the sheer volume of what's in the house has been a deterrent in the past. But I'm over that hump. I'm ready to get myself together - so watch out!!!

I taught a class yesterday. We were using the Quick Curve Ruler by Sew Kind of Wonderful. There were four in the class and while they did have a choice of several patterns, they all had chosen the same pattern. Yeah!!!!  They were making Chic Country.  Here are the blocks that were made in class.

Class homework

Sometimes I'll take some work for me to do once I get everyone going. I had taken a cutting project and although I did get a bit of work done on it, I wasn't completed. This morning, I decided to get it finished.

This is what I was cutting.

Batting to cut up into strips

 Yep - taking those cut-off pieces from trimming quilts and cutting them into 2 ½" strips.

Cutting 2 ½" strips of batting

 And here's the pile that's already been cut.

2 ½" strips of batting

 The scraps leftover are in a separate bag and will be used to stuff pet mats. So NOTHING goes in the garbage. NO -- I do NOT want your batting scraps.

Pet mat scraps

Yes - I realize that you can now buy rolls of batting that is pre-cut into 2 ½" strips, but where's the fun in buying it when you can make your own and reduce waste at the same time?

Rolls of batting strips cut at 2 ½"

After my little cutting episode this morning, the stool where the tote bag of batting was sitting is empty.

The bag with the batting scraps is gone!

 The scrap bag for the pet mats is overflowing.

Overflowing scrap bag of batting destined to fill pet mats

 And here's the basket with the cut strips. The strips will be joined using the fusible tape (which I make myself from yardage of fusible interfacing - the knit stuff with a bit of stretch in it). Gosh - I sound like a pioneer woman! But I don't care if it takes me forever to make something. The point is to make something, not to speed through it and onto the next project. I like using up old stuff and this makes me happy.

Basket of cut batting strips

 What can you do with those batting strips?? Loads of things. Make rugs (already made one and making more). You can use the batting strips to make baskets and bags. The best place to look for patterns in on this website where they sell Auntie's Two patterns. Loads and loads of stuff to make.

When you cut batting on the cutting mat, it craps up the cutting mat.

Lots of fluff left on the cutting mat

 I use a kitchen scrub brush to clean the mat off. I'm sure I'm taking a very thin layer of the mat off at the same time as I notice the green coloring on the back of the scrub brush. That's OK with me. Now my mat is nice and clean and ready to cut fabric.

Use a kitchen scrub brush to remove batting residue from the cutting mat

Whenever I trim a quilt, I keep the leftover batting provided it's about 2 ½" wide. I've always done that. I had TWO bags full - I usually accumulate one per year. In the past, I have given them to a guild so they could join the larger pieces and use them for small items like bags, placemats and such. I hadn't had a chance to give away the one from last year. I had planned to give it to someone and we just never had a chance to meet. I sorted the larger pieces from one of the bags that will be good for those smaller items (it's up for grabs if anyone wants it) and there is ONE more bag to go through. I'll take the narrower pieces and cut 2 ½" strips from them and the larger pieces will also be up for grabs. Or I'll end up using it myself which I do. But how many batting scraps does one need?

Bag of batting scraps to sort through

 In future, I'll trim the strips as they are cut from a quilt. The cut ones will go in a separate spot to be used to make bags and rugs depending on what's happening. The larger pieces will go into another bag. It doesn't take a whole lot of room to store and better than having to buy batting or use bigger pieces when I just need a smaller piece.

If you're OK with joining the batting to make small items or even to cut up those bigger pieces to make your own rugs/bags with "fabric/batting tubes", let me know and you can take what you need. But you have to come and pick it up  - I don't deliver.

Today is going to be HOT. We've already been to the dog park and I really didn't feel like getting my butt out on the bike although I should be out there.

I'm going to hibernate in the basement studio where it's beautiful. My goal is to work on the stuff that's on the cutting table. Some of it only needs to be put away, some of it needs to be worked on.

Stuff to work on today

And let's not forget the half-finished bags that are hanging out at the sewing machine. I might work on those as well.

Half finished bags to be worked on

I'd really love to play with scraps and do something else, but I have a responsibility to myself to get these half-finished projects done!!!!!

Do you want to see what I bought the other day for the backyard???

New seating for the backyard

Since we now have some decent space on the deck, we decided that we wanted some furniture. We got this two-seater unit with the umbrella and extra cushions - not sure how they ended up being orange!  The girls are not sure what it's all about because the unit is placed right in the path of their speedway across the deck. They're not too happy about it. Ronda helped pick up the unit since it came in a huge box and fit perfectly in her van. She helped to christen the unit. Thanks Ronda!!!!!

I got home from teaching yesterday and decided that I would like to really give the unit a test. I got my food, a bowl of watermelon and sat outside. When I got tired, I lay the back all the way back so it was completely flat and had a great snooze!!!  I'm loving it almost as much as the gazebo. The gazebo will work in the early afternoon when it's shady, but when the sun moves around and shines in the gazebo, I can move to the deck lounger! I'm set for any time of day!!!!

On that note, I'm behind for the day and had better get to work.

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!

Oh - so that's where that is.............

I'm sure like some of you, you come home from somewhere and it takes a long time to unpack. I'm not talking suitcases here although I do procrastinate on that sometimes. I'm talking about a quilt shopping trip! 

I had a few minutes to spare yesterday and I was rummaging around in the stash room for some reason that I've totally forgotten at the moment. I saw a bag that had been sitting there for a while. I thought it was a bag that I had shoved stuff into, but no it was a tote bag that hadn't been unpacked since I got home from Missouri Star in September!  I know - I'm hanging my head in shame. I decided it was time to unpack that bag and guess what I found? Something that I knew I had and thought I had already misplaced. Nope - the item was not misplaced, it had never been unpacked.

This is what I found. A copy of The Archive of American Patchwork & Quilting and Quilts and More magazines for the last MANY years. It's the complete history up to and including 2016.

The Archive

 Lots and lots of magazines all on this little bitty stick. Apparently, it's searchable and sure takes a lot less space than all the physical magazines. Now to get rid of the magazines.

USB filled with magazines!

Wouldn't it be great if all the magazines did that???  I'd be in heaven. I hate to throw magazines away and it's a shame when you can't find something that you wanted to keep.

I was rifling through more stuff to find something else. Oh yes - it was for the class I'm teaching today. I was trying to locate the sample I had started. While doing that (which I did find), I came across this as well. I'd been saving a bag of the cut off pieces from making the red/white 150 Canadian Women project. I knew that I had other red/white bits (from another project), but where the heck had they disappeared to?

Bag of teeny cut offs from red/white blocks to be sewn

AHA - when going through another basket, I found the bag. This bag of little cut off pieces are already sewn together as HST and trimmed.

Red/white trimmed HSTs

There are even blocks sewn together. Those blocks are teeny tiny!!!!  Now the entire thing is in one spot - a bigger bag to accommodate everything.

Red/white blocks for a mini-quilt

I was back in the studio this morning. Not enough time to sew, but time to tidy up a bit. I decided that I might as well pack for the next retreat. I know - priorities? what priorities???  And then when the retreat actually comes, there will be a rush job that needs to go in the bag!!!  Well, the bag is full! It's heavy and the red/white project is in there as an ender/leader. I'm only taking one bag. It has some stuff that has been hanging around for a while, a couple of things that are on the UFO lists, some is old, some is newer. Only one bag is allowed in the event we carpool!!!

Project bag

I know that it's sad when I have a Monday bag with projects ready to sew. A retreat bag with projects to sew and there's still a ton of stuff sitting on the tables.


I've got a couple of sit n sew days coming up this month and I have stuff set out to work on. It's a bunch of NON-quilt stuff - like bags. It would be great to get these done and out of the way. They've been sitting there for a long time and it's just time to get this stuff done.

A bevy of bags that need finishing

While I'm much better than I was at finishing things, I still have a problem and let's not forget the challenge quilt that has to be done in two weeks. I figured out what I want to do yesterday and so that shouldn't take long. It won't be a winner because I haven't allowed enough time to do that much work, but it'll be a good exercise for me.

I managed to get one quilt designed yesterday for the latest magazine submission round. It was due yesterday and I had no opportunity to work on it before. Oh, my - I have to say that it was a SNAP to design the quilt in EQ8.  I know - I do it all the time, but this one was using the CUSTOM set. It used to be a pain in the butt to use the Custom Set. But seriously, I was madly designing away in a matter of minutes and I was able to get everything done (the way I wanted it) by just messing with the controls.  There was only ONE thing I needed help with - coloring the background of the quilt. A quick trip to the HELP feature and I was set. Oh boy - that software is amazing. I even did three different versions of the quilt. I hope they like it.

Speaking of patterns, I've written many patterns and I seem to have kept EVERY scrap of paper that was involved in the design process. Now that the pattern is finished, there really isn't any need to keep all that back work. I could pitch the entire whack of paper. But NO -  I'm removing the staples and recycling the paper. I feel guilty to use regular paper for everyday stuff. Very wasteful and this paper is good to sketch quilt patterns on as well.

Let's just say that you can walk completely around the round table in the middle of the office. YES - there's still a bit of stuff on the floor, but it's looking pretty spiffy. It was before I left, but it'll get even better. Just give me some time. I will have to pick up the pace. While throwing one pattern worksheets out per day will eventually get the job done, it's not very fast.

I also got all my classes organized for the fall. It's all set in stone now and I'm glad. The weekends are PACKED.  The ongoing classes for 2019 are chosen and I'm even going to have two ongoing classes at my house. Unfortunately, they have to be during the week. One of them is going to be a UFO session. I'll be sharing all that news with you over the next couple of weeks. I still have to write up exciting blurbs about the classes. And the best thing? The classes are spread out over several sessions, so you'll get feedback, help and get the project DONE.

I did sneak out for a break and sat in the gazebo. It was so peaceful and I just love that spot. The girls were having fun and it was a fabulous way to spend part of the afternoon. My phone didn't seem to be working yesterday as I was getting text messages all day, but none of them came through until about 5:30. Good grief! We got something for the backyard yesterday. I don't have time to share the picture with you today so watch for that tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about it.

On that note, I'm off to the dog park.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!

Back to normal.....

It's back to normal if there is such a thing. There are pictures today - just wait for them!

I've already tossed four magazines from a stack left by M and it's been sitting on the floor forever. Three books on web design from 2001 are also gone. I think things may have changed a wee bit since then. That was the extent of my "cleaning" as I got home later yesterday. Let's just say that I'm very lucky I made that plane. 

I went back to have one last visit with my parents before leaving and of course, I left something at my brother's house that my Mom wanted. DRAT! We still had one last delivery to make. We did that and got to visit (very briefly) with an aunt and uncle. Back to my brother's house to get my car and the last thing and back to the apartment. Mom asked if I could help her load up those afghans that my Dad was to deliver later that day and of course, I said yes. Then I was off. 

I'm now leaving 25 minutes later than I should be. It's about 1 1/2 hour to drive to the airport and I still had to fill up the car. The speed limit is 110 so I pushed it (as I usually do) a wee bit more than that. I made it in about 1 hour 10 minutes. But it was still less than one hour before my plane departed when I hit the city limits. Thankfully the airport is right on the edge of town. I got to the gas station, but not before having to wait at two long lights. Then at the gas station, once I had filled the tank, I see the message "see cashier". Was there a problem? Nope - that's just if you want a receipt - well that took another precious minute or two as there were people in line. I'm not panicking - I'm not checking luggage and the security line is usually small. 

Drop off the car and into the security line. Backpack passes, purse passes - oh boy - the suitcase got flagged.  WHAT???  I don't really have time for this. I was down to less than 30 minutes. But technically who is going to stop me? I'm in Zone 5 for boarding which means I'm last. I see on the X-ray machine a BIG BLACK thing in my suitcase. What the heck is that? and that's exactly what the security wanted to know as well. Turns out it was the crystal (rock) that I bought for M. Hmm - at least we know that rock is SOLID! The security people are very good about digging through your stuff to find what they want instead of pulling it all out. Grabbed the suitcase and upstairs to find they haven't even started to board yet. Phew - I even managed to grab some lunch from the grab and go place and I'm ready. 

As I'm waiting for the flight this woman comes up to me as she's also in the same boarding zone. Within 30 seconds, I heard about where she was coming from. Seriously - I do NOT need to know that information, not in 30 seconds. Turns out she was sitting in the same row but in the window seat across the aisle. She proceeded to chat the ENTIRE time to the man beside her and her voice carried. I could NOT get into my book and I was tired, but couldn't really sleep. I was glad to get off the plane. I guess it was better than a crying baby, but still - could she have shut up for even 20 minutes? NOPE!!! 

The trip was a good one and my parents and I had a good chat before I left. They were frustrated, we were frustrated, but we acknowledged that it's a lot of change and I told my Mom that I was proud of her for all the "letting go" that she did. It was a stressful week but I think we're all the better for it and I have a "follow-up" trip scheduled for September. I think each successive trip will be that much easier as all the financial/funeral stuff is taken care of. The next visits will be just dealing with the material stuff which still has a lot of emotions attached. 

I did make my lists of what to do in various rooms on my way home. I'm going to try and eek out a few minutes today to make a few phone calls to get that process started. 

No time to hit the studio to do any work, so I decided to show you the few quilt purchases that I made when I was away. 

I managed to visit two quilt shops in Saskatoon - Periwinkle and this is what I got there. 

A Kaffe Fassett for collage, a heavier fabric for a bag and a bicycle print

I also bought a Sue Spargo pattern which I didn't take a picture of. 

At the other shop in Saskatoon (440 Quilt Shop), I bought this. 

Two Kaffe Fassett fabrics for upcoming collage projects

And here's the stripe that I bought for that table runner. I bought the green to go with it. .5 meter of each. 

Fabric for a table runner

But I have this piece of blue (same fabric collection as the green - Canvas by Northcott) and I think I might like the blue better. Sorry - but the camera did NOT do justice to the colors. They are much nicer than the picture shows. Anyway, will have to experiment with that over the weekend.

Maybe the blue is better?

Other than the ONE pattern, I bought only fabric (and only a wee bit) that I'll use right now. No stockpiling. I'm quite proud of myself - it's only taken 20 years (almost) to get there.

It's good to be home. We accomplished something that we've needed to for a long time and great bonding time with the family.

Today it's time to get back to work. I've got patterns to write, and quilts to design so it's going to be a busy day at the computer.

I see Lexi has something to say this morning so I'd go and check that out. That dog is crazy!

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!